In the heat of battle, Kashin was suddenly ambushed from behind by a shadow. Before the peak Insect General could react, the attacker seized his neck. Simultaneously, squadrons of city guard cavalry mounted on massive Ground Wolf Insects poured from numerous burrows.
"Monkdo..." A flicker of surprise crossed Balzac's eyes.
Rick, panting, retreated to Anna's side. Monkdo's arrival had, in a sense, saved his life—otherwise, Kashin's whip would have torn him apart within minutes. Now, the scene mirrored the one in Benning Town: Monkdo's entrance dominated the field, seizing control.
"Monkdo, what is the meaning of this?!" Kashin, his vital point controlled, dared not turn, roaring furiously.
"Meaning? You fool still don't get it?" Monkdo laughed brazenly, snatching the pack from Kashin's waist. "Mantis stalks the cicada, while the oriole lurks behind—I'm the oriole. You're dumber than your brother."
"You..." Kashin bristled, but forced himself to calm. "This is a Wolf Pack internal matter! Aren't you afraid of sparking conflict between the City Guard and the Hunter's Guild?"
"Heh, what conflict? I'll return our Princess Lav unharmed to Nanze—will that old codger dare trouble me?"
"What about the City Lord? How will you explain this?"
"Explain? Haven't you realized? I'm not here as Guard Captain today. I'm here in another role—one Shust knows well. Right?" Monkdo threw his head back, and above, Shust hung from the dome like a spider, ready to pounce.
"As I thought—you're shrewd, swooping in now," Shust said, dropping to stand beside Rick now that he'd been exposed.
"Could it be...?"
"Could it be...?"
Kashin and Balzac paled simultaneously, finally connecting the dots.
Seeing their realization, Monkdo laughed wildly. "Yes! I'm the one who paid Shust to assassinate Karn. I orchestrated everything from the start, though there were hitches—but this outcome is better than I dreamed."
"Why?!" Kashin ground his teeth, unable to stay calm knowing his brother's killer stood behind him.
"Because I am Shadow Wolf, one of the Wolf Pack's Four Pillars. That alone gives me cause to kill Karn."
"It's you?!"
Too many shocks at once snapped Kashin's restraint. He spun in anger, but only heard a crack from his neck. His body felt weightless, out of control. His final vision fixed on Monkdo's evil grin.
Kashin fell, neck askew. Though his fading eyes still showed defiance, as Shust said, nothing matters to the dead.
Monkdo raised his hand, and the Ground Wolf Insect cavalry advanced, their spears glinting. Murderous pressure choked the air. Some of Kashin's hunters cried out, begging Monkdo for mercy as fellow Wolf Pack members.
"You've seen too much—so you must die!"
Monkdo answered curtly, and the swarming insect spears promptly pierced their bodies.
"Hey, still want that duel?" In this critical moment, Shust eyed Balzac mockingly, the latter standing alone.
"You won't escape—I won't let you. But now..." Balzac glanced at the domineering Monkdo, then chuckled wryly and stepped beside Shust. "We'll be comrades... for now."
"Done chatting?" Monkdo beckoned arrogantly. "I'll allow you both to attack together. Come on—I haven't warmed up in ages."
Balzac and Shust exchanged a look, then flashed before Monkdo. Balzac's saber and Shust's spider silk struck simultaneously, but Monkdo merely flipped his arms, and streams of light flickered around him. Their full-powered attacks couldn't breach the luminous barriers.
"This... This is an Insect Master!" Rick gaped from the sidelines.
Monkdo's ability to unleash explosive power with a fully human form—no insectoid changes—was the hallmark of an Insect Master. Only when a human fully masters their inner insect can they wield power far exceeding the insect itself—a goal Rick also pursued.
Monkdo's inner insect was a Royal-class Iron Ridge Centipede. As an Insect Master Rank 1, he could double its strength. Rick and Moya had witnessed an Iron Ridge Centipede battle a Heavenly Wolf Spider in the Infernal Corridor—the memory still chilled Rick. The spider had won, but barely.
Now, Shust's Heavenly Wolf Spider (Insect General Rank 2, able to use 70% of the spider's power) faced Monkdo's doubled-strength centipede. Even with Balzac's Dragon Louse aiding Shust, the realm gap tilted the battle overwhelmingly.
Rick wanted to help, but he couldn't—he had Lav, Anna, and Moya to protect. Anna and Moya had some combat ability, but against Ground Wolf Insect-mounted guards, it was negligible. Even with Rant helping, they couldn't hold out long.
Cold sweat beaded on Rick's forehead as he and Rant fell back step by step, shielding the others against the advancing guards until they reached a corner. "Looks like we have to fight!"
Rant raised his heavy shield, eyeing the ten-meter-tall cliff behind them. Wiping sweat, he readied his halberd to charge.
BOOM!—
A mud wall suddenly burst under tremendous force. Startled, everyone looked up as a black torrent poured from the breach: countless Black Tiger Ant soldiers charged Monkdo's guards, mandibles glinting.
Instantly, the thunderous clash of carapaces erupted in the clearing. Facing this new threat, Monkdo's cavalry forgot Rick's group, forming ranks to charge with insect spears.
Royal-class Ground Wolf Insects clashed with Demonic-class Black Tiger Ants—a raw battle of claw and fang. In the first charge, smaller Ground Wolf Insects tangled with ants, flinging riders who were torn apart by mandibles before they could thrust their spears.
In the open space, the Black Tiger Ants' strong power fully unleashed. If Rick had underestimated them after the tunnel battle, that contempt now vanished completely.
With the Black Tiger Ants finally given room to maneuver, their combat power proved incomparable to the tunnel skirmish, and coordinated attacks began to emerge. Rick witnessed a Ground Wolf Insect cavalryman raise his spear to strike after his mount bit a worker ant—only for several Black Tiger Ants to charge from all sides, tear the wolf insect apart by its limbs, and a burly soldier ant snatch the rider, flinging him into the swarm to be shredded.
This was no battle—just a massacre. The gap was too vast!
Soon the fighting reached Rick's group. Rant reacted first, leaping onto a riderless Ground Wolf Insect. His halberd lashed out, sending nearby ants flying in pieces. In this swarm battle, Rant's thick armor and sharp halberd shined. As a knight from House Sheffield, his mounted combat surpassed his footwork. Astride the wolf insect, he exploited its speed, keeping ants at bay.
Chaos reigned, forcing Monkdo, Balzac, and Shust to break off their duel. Shust and Balzac used aerial advantage—Black Tiger Ants couldn't fly—to pick off soldiers, while Monkdo, though powerful, fought through the swarm on foot.
Rick shielded the others through gaps, but as they retreated, his eye caught a massive white ant cocoon-like creature being carried by workers toward another tunnel. This empty space adjoined the queen's chamber. Stimulated by the Ground Wolf Insects' scent, the queen mistakenly thought an invasion was underway and ordered a breakout, causing the chaos.
Their appearance gave Rick the perfect opening. Signaling Rant and Shust on the dome, Rick charged like a cheetah over guards, leaping onto the plump white queen. As he landed, workers swarmed. Risking injury, Rick shouldered through, shattering his shoulder armor to hack them aside.
Standing on the queen's back, he slashed her soft hide, yelling over the oozing wound: "Get inside!" Moya and the others pinched their noses and dove in. Anna lingered last—then Monkdo burst from the swarm, bloodied. Despite his strength, he'd been gravely wounded, and Anna became his lifeline.
Grabbing her wrist, Monkdo roared at Rick: "Let me in!" But he felt a sting on his neck—Anna's scorpion-stinger finger had pierced him. "You... how could..." Monkdo's eyes bulged as venom raced to his heart. He fell back, blackening, and was torn apart by pursuing ants.
Elsewhere, Rant abandoned the wolf insect. With Shust and Balzac's help, they subdued the three-meter king ant. House Sheffield had a unique taming method: Rant fed the king a potion, and the glossy black ant obediently followed.
Riding the king, Rant waved his arm. The fierce ant hurled aside soldier ants twice its size. Under innate dominance, the soldiers dared not approach, watching their "father" drag the wounded "mother" toward the nest exit.
Rick stood tall on the queen's back, twin blades raised against the retreating ant horde. "We'll make it out alive... we have to..."