Ch.77. Ant Season

After urgently considering the importance of both fronts, I determined that targeting the lizard monster was more critical.

Even though our main base was under attack, fundamentally, Giant Ants are typical cannon fodder among Grade 9 monsters. Their stats are inferior versions of Hive Spiders, and they have no biological weapons.

Moreover, while they essentially only have Giant Ants, our main base has two Chief Brains, one Hive Commander acting as my proxy, and the Heavy Hive Spider that was protecting me.

Therefore, if physically stronger and better-armed Hive Miners form groups to deal with them, supported by Grade 8-7 monsters, they should be able to hold the line even if they can’t push back due to numerical disadvantage.

Anyway, shifting my focus back to the hunting party. Thanks to my direct supply of psychic energy, the psychic flames dissipated before they could penetrate the psychic barrier.

However, as a consequence, the Chief Brain I was controlling couldn’t withstand the burden of serving as a psychic energy supply conduit and went down.

Looking at just this, the situation might seem overwhelmingly disadvantageous—but fortunately, the lizard monster’s expenditure was also intense.

In games, elemental types—specifically psychic flames—are known as “nukers” or extreme damage dealers, essentially one-time bombs.

After firing such attacks for over ten seconds at maximum output without any concern for the aftermath, the lizard monster’s internal psychic energy was completely depleted.

One might ask if it couldn’t just switch to physical attacks without psychic energy, but the answer lies in the knowledge I gained upon becoming a Hive Mind.

Monsters can move their massive bodies effortlessly because they overcome physical impossibilities with psychic power, so the depletion of psychic energy naturally has a severe negative impact on their physical abilities.

[Activating Psychic Construct (D).]

[Activating Telekinesis (D).]

Woong—Pshuk!

■■■■■—!!!

As a result, the lizard monster couldn’t avoid the psychic construct blade I launched through the Chief Brain, and its body was pierced clean through.

This meant not only had its movements slowed due to psychic energy depletion, but the psychic resistance strength of its scales had also weakened.

‘Take this!’

[Activating Telekinesis (D).]

In this situation, telekinesis functions as the most lethal counter skill against enemies with low psychic defense.

Woooooong!!!

■■■■……..!!!!

By applying pressure from all directions, I could simultaneously restrain and attack. Although the durability of its scales, muscle density, and bone strength prevented me from instantly turning it into meat chunks—pushing a little harder changed everything.

[Psychic Relay (D) is activated.]

[Activating Hive Mind (D).]

[Activating Telekinesis (D).]

Not caring about the current state of the Chief Brain I was controlling, I poured all available psychic energy into the attack.

Kwung! Kung!

The leaking energy created cracks in the ground as I unleashed telekinesis with an output that the Chief Brain’s body couldn’t normally control—and the effect was remarkably effective.

Kwadeuk……..Wudeuk!

The monster’s hard scales might be excellent against blades or arrows, but they were powerless against strong pressure applied from all directions—pressure that could easily crush solid muscles.

■■■■■■—!!!!

Thus, the lizard monster let out a final agonized scream—

Kwajak! Kwajijik!

There was no explosion sound, but instead, the sound of all its bones shattering as its entire body was crushed like meat pounded with a cutlet hammer.

Whether it was still breathing was secondary; it appeared thoroughly neutralized.

‘About half of you eat this, the rest move to those remains over there.’

Following my order, I watched blankly as the monsters devoured not only the defeated enemy but also the remains it had left behind during its metamorphosis from its original species into a lizard monster. Only then could I relax slightly and focus more on the other front—our main base.

※ ※ ※

Rewinding time to when the hunting party was fighting the lizard monster in its original form.

Woooong……..Kwajijik!

Pshuk!

Swik—Seogek!

At the main base, which had accidentally connected to an ant monster’s nest during excavation, my monsters were repelling the incoming ant-type monsters—Giant Ants—according to orders from my divided consciousness.

Despite the ants outnumbering us hundreds to one, producing strange clicking sounds as their exoskeletons collided, they were at a severe disadvantage against a Hive Mind.

The sturdy Heavy Hive Spiders stood at the front line, with Hive Miners filling any gaps, while Chief Brains used telekinesis to attack from the rear.

The corpses of dead ants and monsters were immediately transported to the digestive glands by the Chief Brains’ telekinesis, and I used the absorbed nutrients to immediately produce more monsters to reinforce the front line.

With this routine repeating endlessly, the ants—which relied on overwhelming numbers of weak monsters—couldn’t withstand the Hive Mind’s ability to grow stronger with each kill.

Surprisingly, the Hive Miners achieved the most kills. Their biological drills easily penetrated the ants’ surprisingly tough exoskeletons, and their numbers made this outcome inevitable.

With me directly supporting them with psychic power from the portion of my consciousness I had allocated here, the tide had completely turned in our favor.

Although they kept pushing thousands more ants for every hundred that died, those ants simply became valuable nutrients for us.

The queen ant must have recognized the problem with this stalemate, as she deployed a new type of ant to break through our line.

‘…As expected, they have those bastards too.’

Identical to regular Giant Ants except for their green exoskeletons, these were actually Grade 8 lower monsters called Acid Turret Ants, specializing in ranged attacks using acidic liquid.

In the game, they were infamous for their malicious AI that would cluster together and concentrate acid attacks on a single target. Every Project Monster player probably experienced being dissolved by these creatures at least once when entering ant nest dungeons as beginners.

Yes, exactly what was happening on our front line now.

Pzzt!

After about thirteen of them appeared, the Acid Turret Ants aimed their rear ends forward and shot acidic liquid at the frontmost Heavy Hive Spider.

Psshiiiii……

Hit by thirteen doses of acidic liquid, the Heavy Hive Spider didn’t die due to its size, but suffered damage as its outer exoskeleton melted and its joints were paralyzed by acid hitting critical points.

Sakaksaksaksaksaksak.

Dozens of Giant Ants then surrounded the weakened Heavy Hive Spider, burrowing inside and gnawing away at it—showing that the ant colony had found its own strategy against us.

Of course, we weren’t just watching this happen.

Pzzt!

[Activating Telekinesis (D).]

The moment the Acid Turret Ants fired their second volley at another Heavy Hive Spider, psychic energy erupted from the orange luminous bodies—psychic amplifiers—embedded throughout the cave, attacking the Acid Turret Ants in the form of telekinesis.

Never having witnessed this attack method before, the Acid Turret Ants were restrained by the telekinesis and crushed by its intense pressure.

It was a counter that exploited the ants’ weaknesses: their poor psychic resistance and vulnerability to area attacks.

Although I could see more Acid Turret Ants being replenished from the rear, I couldn’t imagine our side losing.

‘…They’re here!’

Because finally, through the passage, the hunting party arrived—carrying the spoils, massive amounts of nutrients and genes harvested from the lizard monster’s original form.

As soon as they arrived and dove into the digestive glands, I obtained genes containing information on dozens of traits, skills, and biological weapons.

[Acquired trait ‘Flame Resistance (D).’]

[Acquired trait ‘Armor Scales (D).’]

[Acquired skill ‘Psychic Flame (D).’]

[Acquired skill ‘Grant Psychic Resistance (D).’]

[Acquired skill ‘Raid Factor (D).’]

[Acquired trait ‘Elemental Psychic User (D).’]

[Acquired biological weapon ‘Spike Tentacle (D).’]

[Acquired skill ‘Psychic Barrier (D).’]

[Acquired trait ‘Super Regeneration (E).’]

Status messages displaying dozens of traits embedded in the acquired genes rapidly appeared before my eyes.

And by combining these genes, I began creating monsters that would effectively slaughter those ants—and beyond that, to counter-invade their ant nest.