Lian threw all his weight forward and finally managed to reach Sera.
"Reach out your hand!" He suddenly shouted.
The girl, who was still falling, upon hearing that voice that revived hope, her eyes shone with joy and tears of happiness came from her eyes.
Without a moment’s hesitation, she extended her hand, and Lian caught it. Her sudden weight pulled Lian’s shoulder down, and both swung toward the gap’s wall.
Lian raised his other hand, Glacial Reaper Claw formed again.
He sank the ice claws into the root wall with all his force, the wood and soil split, and their bodies hit the wall with an impact.
Sera let out a muffled groan, their legs hung above the darkness.
Pieces of wood fell from beside them and disappeared silently into the blackness.
But before they could even catch their breath, above them, the ants had reached the edge. One of the Workers jumped down without stopping.
Its feet stuck to the wall and it started climbing down.
Then a second appeared.
A third also hung from the edge.
"Lian..." Sera looked up, fear appeared again in her eyes, and she wanted to warn him, but—
"I know."
"Throw her up!" Ravian was leaning over the edge, relief appeared in his eyes upon seeing his sister was saved, and then he shouted with all his might.
Lian tightened his arm around Sera’s wrist, Glacial Reaper Claw was cracking in the wall.
The weight of both of them was breaking the ice from inside. The first ant was less than three meters away from them.
It raised its stinger, Lian placed his feet on the wall, and the muscles of his arm and shoulder contracted.
"Hold on tight, I’m throwing you up!" Then he threw Sera upward with all his force.
Her body shot up like a rocket and rose several meters in the air. Ravian grabbed her wrist, Nemi held Ravian’s waist from behind, and both pulled Sera onto the edge.
"Haha, I’m alive!" Sera’s face showed surprise and disbelief upon seeing that she was saved and now on the ground, and she was full of gratitude toward Lian.
Nemi threw herself into her sister’s arms and whispered.
"I’m glad you’re safe, I thought I was going to lose you! Sob sob"
Ravian only sighed in relief and returned to the edge to check on their rescuer’s condition.
At the same time, the ant shot its stinger toward Lian’s neck, and Lian moved his head aside, the stinger passed by his face and sank into the wall.
He pulled Glacial Reaper Claw out.
For a moment he fell, then he sank the claw higher and swung his body.
The second ant dropped itself from the edge, Lian placed both feet on the wall and jumped, the ice claw came out of the wood.
He climbed past the first ant and with a direct kick to its head, separated the creature from the wall.
The Worker fell into the darkness.
Lian grabbed the edge, and Ravian reached out his hand, but before he could help him, a few more ants appeared on the edge.
Lian pulled himself up, the first Worker opened its jaw, he passed the ice claw under its head, stepped on its falling body, and jumped to the other side of the gap.
"Haha, glad you’re okay." Ravian said with a smile upon seeing their rescuer was also safe.
Behind them, the remaining stem broke under the weight of the ants, and several Crimson Needle Ants fell into the gap along with the rotten wood.
But the main wave did not stop. The ants were climbing down along the walls, and some were making a living bridge over each other’s bodies.
"Move now!" Lian shouted without pausing. Now was not the time for pleasantries.
The four started running again.
Sera was breathing with difficulty, but she was still on her feet.
Lian looked at the girl’s wrist, the marks of his fingers remained on her skin because of the throw, but the bone seemed intact.
"Can you run?"
"If I had another choice, maybe not, but right now I have no other option." Sera said without looking at him.
Lian gave no short answer, he just took his position at the back of the group again.
The sounds behind them had become a little distant, but not for long. The ants would find a way through, they always did.
The bitter smell reached them before the mushrooms were seen. At first, it was only a mild burning in the nose, then the air became thicker.
A sharp and sour taste settled on the tongue and made breathing difficult.
"What a disgusting smell." Even Lian felt worse because of his stronger senses.
The two girls also felt nauseous and both covered their noses.
"We’re here!" Ravian increased his speed.
The massive roots moved aside, and a wide area appeared before them.
Hundreds of giant mushrooms were growing there, some only two or three meters tall.
Some others were so large that their caps cast shadows like the roof of a multi-story building over the ground.
Their stems were white, thick, and full of green veins. The caps had colors ranging from dirty yellow, dark green, and brown, and a colored mist was gently flowing from beneath them.
Yellow and green vapor had gathered near the ground, each wave accompanied by a bitter and suffocating smell.
Nemi coughed, and Sera covered her mouth with a cloth.
Ravian ran between two large mushrooms and pointed at them.
"We’re safe here. The ants hate this smell."
They took shelter behind the stem of one of the mushrooms. Lian stood at the edge of the area. The wave of ants appeared from among the moss.
The first row came toward the mushrooms at full speed, but as soon as they entered the mist, their movements slowed down. One of the Workers stumbled a few steps, its legs bent, and it fell on the ground.
The second one also started trembling.
For a moment, Ravian breathed a sigh of relief, thinking they were really saved.
Then the second row passed over their bodies. The ants did not stop. Dozens of bodies entered the mist.
Some fell, some fell on their sides, but the rest of the colony ruthlessly passed over them. The larger Soldiers entered the area directly.
The vapor settled on their shells, their bodies trembled, but they still continued moving.
"I thought you said this place was safe." Lian gave a tired look.
"This is not possible..." Ravian stepped back, disbelief evident in his eyes, his gaze fixed on the wave of ants.
"Even Soldiers shoulden’t enter here."
"They are here! Stick to the mushrooms and don’t even breathe!" Lian warned upon feeling the presence of the monsters.
The two girls and their brother said nothing and clung to the mushrooms, not even daring to breathe.
’Damn it damn it, why did those ants come this far? Are they really willing to go this far for revenge?’ Ravian thought in terror and cursed.
"Brother, didn’t you say they don’t come here? So what’s going on? Where the fuck your information come from?" Nemi looked at her brother with anger and shouted with the utmost fury.