As Min-Jae sensed the disappearing hunters outside the cave and at the same time the dark and powerful magical energy he was detecting from outside, he decided to keep all that to himself for now.
'Let it go as it naturally should. I'm just a watcher...' he thought, as he used his telekinesis to disperse two ants at the same time. 'Well, these ants are getting stronger. This one was much tougher than the previous ants we faced outside.'
"These must be the bodyguards of the queen. They're stronger," Min-Jae commented out loud.
"Even though you say that..." Ma Dong-Wook spoke as he blocked one ant's attack with his shield and dodged the next, but then it was Cha Hae-In who stabbed the ant with her sword. She gracefully vaulted over the blade, using the momentum to cut through the creature's exoskeleton. By the time she landed on the ground, the ant was already taken down.
Just after landing, she spun around and swung her sword once again, striking the ant that had been behind her. The creature staggered but didn't fall immediately. "These ants are quite durable," she said, landing another fatal strike with her graceful movement and precise swordwork, finally taking it down. "More than I would have thought possible." She swiped the sweat away from her forehead.
'She's definitely something else in comparison to other Korean S-Ranks. I'm grateful the system made me her brother.'
"The bodyguards are different from the normal ants. Though, it's fortunate that there aren't many of them here," Ma Dong-Wook said, his tone a mixture of relief and lingering fear.
"Yeah, these ants were much stronger than the rest," Min-Jae agreed.
"You say that, but you just took down four of them with some swings of your hand without breaking a sweat," Ma Dong-Wook said, completing the thought he'd been trying to express earlier.
It was an understandable observation. Even though the ants were stronger, Min-Jae was on another level entirely, so being surprised was natural.
"Well, it's telekinesis. It might not look like it, but I'm trying hard actually," Min-Jae replied.
'Lie.'
"Please do not concern yourselves. I will provide support from the rear," Min Byung-Gu said, finally sounding more confident than he had moments before.
"I'm only speculating, but... I think the first generation ants have been completely supplanted by the bodyguard ants," Baek Yoon-Ho said, drawing on his experience from previous raids. "From here on, we might be in the thick of second generation guard ants."
"In that case, we better properly prepare ourselves," Min Byung-Gu said. He raised his hands and used his S-Rank healing ability to provide buffs to each of the hunters, enhancing their physical capabilities and magical resistance.
'It's nice actually,' Min-Jae thought. The others looked visibly more satisfied and confident after receiving the buff.
As they were adjusting to the enhancement, red eyes began glowing from the darkness ahead. At least sixty of them—ants that would be stronger than the ones they'd fought moments ago.
"How about we each take ten of them at a time?" Ma Dong-Wook suggested, his confidence fully restored after receiving the buff.
"I'm rated A-Rank in combat power at least. I'll take on one or two if you want to leave a couple for me," Min Byung-Gu offered.
"You think I'm crazy enough to rely on a healer for combat? You're contributing enough with the buffs. Just enjoy the show from behind," Baek Yoon-Ho replied with a grin.
The ants surged forward as one mass, their mandibles clicking, legs skittering across the stone floor with terrifying speed.
Min-Jae stepped forward, raising his hand. "Blue."
A sphere of compressed gravitational force materialized in front of him, glowing with that characteristic blue light. The pull activated instantly, and several ants in the front line were violently dragged toward the focal point, their bodies colliding and crushing against each other as the gravity intensified.
"It's fun now," Min-Jae said with a slight smirk. "Though it's still easy."
Cha Hae-In moved like water through the chaos, her sword flashing in elegant arcs as she cut down ant after ant with precision. Choi Jong-In's flames roared through the chamber, incinerating multiple targets at once. Baek Yoon-Ho tore through the ants with raw power, while Lim Tae-Gyu's arrows found their marks with deadly accuracy from the rear.
Four minutes.
That's all it took to eliminate all sixty ants.
As the last creature fell, the hunters took a moment to catch their breath. Min-Jae casually dusted off his jacket, looking completely unbothered.
"Twenty-one," Ma Dong-Wook said, having kept count. He looked at Min-Jae with a mixture of amazement and amusement. "You took down twenty-one of them."
"Fifteen for me," Cha Hae-In added quietly, cleaning her blade.
Ma Dong-Wook chuckled. "You both siblings are handling most of it, it seems. The rest of us are just here for moral support."
---
"The queen's at the end at the very rear. Eight bodyguards in front of it," Baek Yoon-Ho said after scouting ahead with his enhanced vision.
'Eight of them. But all of them are S-Rank level. And the queen way behind won't be easy either... for them. Though, I don't think the queen is much of a fighter,' Min-Jae thought. But then he remembered the hunters outside and whatever it was that was making their magical energy disappear. The number had increased to five hunters now.
"Hunter Cha..." Ma Dong-Wook spoke up. "...Hae-In, I mean. Can you and Hunter Min-Jae take care of the bodyguards? I've got the queen."
"Well, the better idea would be, you four take on the queen, and us two take down the eight bodyguards," Min-Jae suggested.
Cha Hae-In nodded in agreement. The others didn't question the decision either—they already knew Cha Hae-In's capabilities, and now they understood Min-Jae's skills too.
"Hunter Cha, I'll be counting on both of you," Ma Dong-Wook said with a confident nod.
With the decision made, the four remaining hunters set their sights on the Ant Queen as their target.
Meanwhile...
"Concussive Taunt."
Cha Hae-In planted her sword into the ground, immediately releasing a taunting ability against the eight bodyguards of the queen. All of them, abandoning the others, turned and lined up to attack Cha Hae-In at once. Min-Jae stood calmly beside her.
"Great technique," Min-Jae said.
"Ready?" Cha Hae-In asked him.
He simply nodded.