I Became an Ant Lord, So I Built a Hive Full of Beauties

--- With trembling limbs, he readied every skill. Then a battered comrade Thren, someone less known, suddenly rose from behind a boulder. This ant, half-blinded and near death, locked eyes with Kai. In a hoarse whisper, he said, "Kai... run away with others. I’ll hold it off with my self-destruction." Summoning the last of his aura, the ant charged the monster in a suicidal rush. The Ore Eater roared, rearing back for a killing blow. Thɪs chapter is updated by NovᴇlFirᴇ(.)nᴇt

A flash of swirling aura erupted around the brave ant, and he triggered a final skill that caused an explosion of force at point-blank range. The cavern rattled with the impact. Chunks of debris rained from the ceiling. The predator let out an enraged howl.

Smoke and dust filled the air, and the courageous ant’s silhouette vanished in the flash. He was gone in the wake of his own self-sacrifice. The shock wave knocked the beast to one knee, battered, though still dangerously alive. It panted heavily, its stony armor cracked in places, glaring at the battered survivors with a furious hatred.

Kai coughed amid the swirling dust, choking on despair. The dust cleared enough to reveal Lomar half-buried in a rock pile, motionless. Vexor was missing. Renna was unconscious with big injuries, possibly dying. The predator was wounded but still lethal, its spines chipped and oozing strange fluid. The aura of Four-Star might overshadow them all.

Kai had no choice. He had to fight alone. Summoning every bit of grit he had, he launched himself forward. The beast responded with a furious slash. Kai twisted away, though he felt his exoskeleton crack at the impact’s edge. Pain seared him.

[Ding! HP -500]

The system beeped desperately: "HP dangerously low." But he pressed on, hitting the monster’s weaker spots in a flurry of powerful blows.

Yet the predator wouldn’t fall. Its thick hide deflected many strikes. Each time Kai landed a telling hit, the beast retaliated with a sweep of its spiked tail or a snap of its stony jaws. Kai found himself battered, flung into the rubble more than once. Bleeding from multiple wounds, he teetered on the brink of collapse. Then came the system’s last glimmer of hope: