TYPnovel Chapter 121: The Sweet Smell
Chapter 121: The Sweet Smell
Raiden pulled up the device to see his mission objective while travelling through the jungle.
[Mission: Eliminate the herd of Super Red Ants spotted in the Western Region.]
[Reward: 2,500 AP]
"Not bad. This, plus the amount we will get for eliminating that herd, will probably be enough to get the Golden Tree. After that, we can finally get out of this hellhole!!" Raiden closed the interference panel in his hand as he walked deeper into the wild.
The Super Red Ants were just larger than normal ants, just 100x larger. Individually, they posed no threat, but the problem was that they never travelled alone. Even the smallest colony of Ants was anywhere from 100 to 500 strong.
"Woolie!!" Be careful, human!! I sense a lot of presence approaching us!!
"Huh?? Did they detect our presence early?? That’s impossible. We are about half an hour away from their reported area." A frown appeared on Raiden’s face as he braced himself for combat.
"Oh well, it’s a good thing anyway, we can finish this mission early, and if we are fast enough, we can do another mission before leaving!!"
"Woolie!!" Just stay behind Emperor Woolie and watch me work.
Raiden braced himself for the incoming beasts as the sound of footsteps grew louder and louder.
BANG!!
The peace was broken as a group of Super Red Ants burst through the trees, advancing towards him with mad frenzy.
Crack!!
But before they could get closer, they were hit with a tremendous amount of thunder, frying them on the spot.
"Woolie Woo!!" Have you asked my permission to hurt him?!
But it was like Woolie’s voice fell on deaf ears as the Red Ants kept advancing towards Raiden.
’This won’t do. I need to fall back now to give Woolie some space.’
Raiden made the decision quickly as he retreated, his footsteps moving in a rhythmic pattern.
[Seven Star Steps (Level 3)]
It was this martial art that allowed Raiden to move and view between Terra Beasts quite easily. He had been practising for a whole month now in combat and alone. His current level was more than sufficient to save him in a normal situation, but it was not a normal situation.
As soon as he retreated even more, Super Red Ants burst through the thick jungle and foliage, their numbers surpassing anything Raiden had imagined.
By an eye count alone, he could approximately see there were at least a few thousand of these ants, and they were moving against him in a frenzy.
"Damnit!! Whoever wrote it was a small colony was clearly high!! It’s a full fucking hive!! Woolie!! We are falling back, now!!" Raiden called out in an urgent voice as he ran the way he came from.
"Woolie!!" It’s just ants, human!! I can take them easily!!
Bang!!
Woolie argued, not willing to give up a fight as he let out another burst of thunder, frying a few dozen ants to a crisp. He was an Emperor, and Emperors did not run away.
"I know you can!! But look at them, and how they are fighting. Something has obviously gone wrong, okay? I don’t think it’s a simple mission. Fall back and stay close to me." Raiden spoke with a solemn expression as he observed the ants throw themselves at Woolie with reckless abandon, caring nothing for their lost companions.
From the information he knew, the Red Ants weren’t dumb. They only threw themselves into a fight they knew they could win, and they never charged in suicidally like this.
The biggest red flag Raiden noticed, though, was that they didn’t care for Woolie, who was their biggest enemy at all. They were ignoring him and charging towards Raiden only, like they were high on some drugs. They were solely focused on him.
"Woolie!!" Fine! I will follow you for now!!
With a massive burst of violet discharge, Woolie pushed back hundreds of Red Ants, creating an empty space before he caught up to Raiden.
’Someone or something has done this to them. We need to get out of here now.’
Raiden started running back towards the base, his speed faster than any normal human athlete could achieve.
He tapped on his watch to contact the base about the abnormality, only to find the signal missing.
"What is happening?! It is supposed to work for 1000 km around the base!! Fuck!!" Raiden was sure something was very wrong. It was a trap meant for him.
He stopped in his place and closed his eyes, trying to hear the sounds from afar. At first, it was all blurry, but a few seconds later, he heard chaotic footsteps coming towards him from the direction of the base.
Seeing this, he changed his course without hesitation, running diagonally deeper into the jungle. No matter how dangerous Terra Beasts can get, they can never be as dangerous as humans.
"Shaa Sha!!" Rai Rai~! There is a very good smell on you. I want to get closer to you!
Neva exclaimed from the top of his head, narrowing his eyes as thousands of scenarios ran through his head. He didn’t use any kind of special perfume today, so what smell was she talking about??
"Smell?? What kind of smell, Neva?? What is it doing to you? Can you pinpoint its exact location?" Raiden didn’t stop running as he went deeper and deeper into the jungle.
He could hear multiple Terra Beasts roaring and closing in on his location, not giving him a chance to pause.
"Sha Sha!!"A very sweet smell!! It’s making me sleepy, and I want to get close to you. And it’s coming from...here!!
She jumped up from the top of his head and landed on his shoulder, where the smell was the strongest.
"Woolie!!" I can smell it too, human!! It wants me to lose my reason and attack you!!
A sinking feeling crept in Raiden’s stomach as he heard the words of his battle crazy sheep.
He started running through everything that happened before he left the base, every interaction and every scenario, before finally remembering that forceful pat from Bai Zang.
"Bai Zang, you bastard!! Just wait till I come back!! I will have my revenge!!" Raiden growled in anger.
ROAR!!!
Before Raiden could do anything, though, a massive tiger leapt from his left side, his jaws already halfway open to bite Raiden’s head off!!