"You two, wake up everyone, we might have to make a run for it soon!"
"Huh? Why? The mountain ape won’t target us; it should be fine for us to just enjoy the show about to play out from afar."
"Sure, the mountain ape won’t target us, but the giant ants that will soon enough be attracted by the commotion will!" Hearing the somewhat brainless answer from one of the two adventurers keeping watch, Thomas couldn’t help sounding a bit annoyed as he motioned towards the giant ant nest that the noble group was currently standing at the periphery of.
"Ah... I will get everyone ready to run...
"Good, if we move fast enough, we might be able to avoid being noticed by the giant ants and won’t have to flee from the mountain range." Nodding his head a bit relieved upon seeing the two rapidly jump up to wake everyone up, Thomas didn’t join the two and instead kept his attention focused on the mountain ape that had appeared in the distance.
Brave as it looked, showing up in the open, Thomas understood from all the texts he had read about this monster that it was anything but brave and standoffish. Instead, it was better described as scheming and deceptive.
The brave appearance and intimidating presence it gave off. Identifying itself as a powerful monster stronger than a normal A Rank Monster was nothing more than a clearly disguised ruse, a ruse intended to make the noble group back up. Unknowingly moving deeper into the territory of the giant ants, while at the same time also being loud enough for the giant ants below ground to notice the disturbance taking place at the edge of their nest.
"An A Rank Monster!?"
"Retreat for now! This one is clearly stronger than a normal A Rank Monster!"
And exactly like it had planned, the noble group indeed began to fall back. Not because they weren’t familiar with the mountain ape, but because one of these unique monster’s abilities was to deceive the people looking at it into seeing it as a completely different monster. An ability that worked within a certain distance too far to affect him, but close enough to affect the group standing no more than a dozen meters away from it.
Paired with the intimidating presence that was similarly nothing more than a trick to deceive enemies, the mountain ape had managed to perfectly control the movements of the noble group according to its will. Indeed, worthy of its title as the most terrifying monster one could encounter wandering through the Thousand Spire Mountain Range, as one wouldn’t even know when one ended up encountering it in the first place.
"Thomas, are you ready to leave?"
"Hm? Ah, yes, I was just watching the show over there, it isn’t every day one gets to see a mountain ape in person." Slightly startled when the leader suddenly tapped him on the shoulder, Thomas quickly nodded his head before following him as the rest had already packed up everything by this point. Wasting no time as they all began running in the opposite direction of the noble group facing the mountain ape. Knowing that they needed to make as much distance as possible between themselves and that reckless little noble lord before the giant ants joined the fun.
...
Roooar-!
"Wake up the lord, we have to get ready for battle!" At the same time Thomas and his group began their retreat from the scene, one of the two powerful knights nudged his companion before taking a protective position in front of the group in case the powerful monster that had just emerged decided to attack.
Rustle~
"Hm?! Who is disturbing my sleep!?" Being suddenly shaken awake, Charles didn’t show the slightest bit of readiness for a potential battle, but instead just yelled out in annoyance.
"My lord, a powerful monster has appeared, we need to get ready for battle!"
"Huh!? A powerful monster? Where!?" Hearing his knight mention a powerful monster, Charles suddenly sat up from the small bed he had been sleeping in while having four of his servants carry him, still groggy and half-awake, he looked over towards the two-meter-tall mountain ape. "Hmph, just some mountain ape. Don’t wake me up for such a useless little monster again in the future!" Having unknowingly been able to see through the illusion created by the mountain ape due to his groggy and half asleep state, Charles didn’t realize the danger of his current situation, as he casually laid back down to sleep after a few words filled with disdain directed towards the two knights.
However, his words immediately caused the two experienced knights to realize something was wrong, as they both looked at each other.
"Mountain... Ape? Isn’t it a Rock Hide bear?"
"No... I’m sure it’s a Wind Wolf Lord!"
"Wind Wolf Lord? Rock Hide Bear? Are you two, okay? That is clearly a Deep Sea Water Jet Squid Lord!"
"Brother... What in the world... A squid, here, in the middle of a mountain range? Really?"
"Not even a normal squid, but a deep sea one... Brother, you sure you, okay?"
Hearing the conversation that broke out between the rest of the guards around them, the two experienced knights knew without doubt what was happening-
""Mountain Ape Illusion!""
And without a second thought voiced their inner thoughts out loud, causing those around them to freeze as they all remembered some of the information they had been forced to learn before entering the Thousand Spire Mountain Range.
At this moment, everyone present realized they weren’t dealing with some powerful monster, but instead the far more terrifying mountain ape.
Ruuumble~
But just as this realization hit them, a faint rumbling sound suddenly began echoing out beneath them, a sound that only become louder. Not just that but having briefly turned their attention away from the mountain ape to search for the origin of the sound, the group realized that it was already gone when they looked back at where it had been standing earlier.
"Mountain apes... Are well known for tricking people into the territory of other monsters..." Looking at where the mountain ape had been standing a few seconds ago, one of the guards standing at the front could not help muttering out a passage that he had been forced to remember a few weeks earlier before the expedition to the Thousand Spire Mountain Range.
"""..."""
A short sentence that caused everyone else to freeze on the spot as they slowly realized where the rumbling sound was coming from-
"Run!"
Causing one of the guards to yell out before taking off running, as he already spotted a giant ant emerging from the ground a few hundred meters behind him, something that didn’t have to be said twice, as everyone else wasted no time in following him. Everyone now understood that they were standing directly on top of the giant ant nest.
Normally, it would have been impossible for them to wander into the territory of these giant ants. Unfortunately, it was night and mountains didn’t really look that different from each other in the darkness. So, nobody had realized they had entered the territory of the giant ants.
Now that they had realized it, it was already too late, as the giant ants began streaming forth from their nest. Rushing out towards the people who had been bold enough to not just enter their territory but also cause a commotion in the process.
Loyal as these guards and knights might be to their lord under normal circumstances, they had been far too scared by the massive horde of giant ants suddenly appearing behind them to care about protecting some noble lord.
Even the two former A Rank Adventurers, now knights and personal bodyguards of Charles, didn’t have the slightest time to wake up their lord again, as they ran like everyone else. Knowing that wasting even a second could result in them being surrounded by giant ants. After which, death would be certain even for former A Rank Adventurers like themselves, as while the giant ants weren’t too strong on their own, there were more than enough to even exhaust an S Rank Adventurer to death.
"Quiet down, will you? Just finish the battle quickly."
Not aware of anything happening, Charles just thought his group of knights and guards had started fighting with the mountain ape and didn’t even bother opening his eyes as he tucked himself in to sleep.
Rumble~! Crack!
But just as one of the giant ants was about to reach him and brutally tear him apart, another far larger ant broke through the ground directly beneath the small bed Charles was sleeping on. Lifting him off the ground as the small bed neatly slipped into place on the back of the far larger ant. The wooden four wooden handles on either corner of the bed snuggly fit into place amidst the few spikes sticking off the body of the larger ant, as it soon enough began charging forward. Unaware of the person on its back.
"Huh? Moving again? Haaah... Sure, wake me up in the morning. Don’t bother me again!"
The person in question just carelessly mouthing out a few complaints before falling asleep. Unaware of the fact that the one carrying him wasn’t his servants, but instead something completely different...