Earth Dragon Dungeon Side Story 9

Side Story 9: VS Accurate Crow; a group of monsters.

Ann grips her sword and rushes towards Accurate Crow.
Accurate Crow action, on the other hand, is rather simple.

It opened its huge beak and spewed flames.

A mass of energy comparable to a White Wyvern.

The black ant in front of it was swallowed by the flames without any chance of escaping.
Overwhelming amount of heat.
For ordinary magic, its power would be comparable to that of a General-class.
That can burnt the black ant into crisp.

『That was easy.』

That’s the end for her.
No matter how mad I am, at the end of the day, it’s just an ant.
An insect crawling on the ground could never beat the Accurate Crow that fly in the magnificent sky.

With that in mind, the Accurate Crow shook its head.

Despite so, it felt ashamed of its own act.
It was enraged by the ant cheap provocation and used its unique magic 『Black Bird Flame』.
Which is not something a king should be proud of.

I have to reflect on myself,

It said to itself.

However, immediately after that, an unscathed black ant appeared from the flame.

『How are you still alive?!』

It was very unexpected.
So much that the Accurate Crow paralyzed from the shocked and momentarily let his guard down.
Small cuts appear on its wings.
Several black feathers fly in the air.

『Guh! What happened?』

Accurate Crow saw the ant that had just cut its wings.
There’s burn marks on her body but other than that she’s still alive.
How on earth?

『Are you surprised I’m still alive?』

In contrast, Ann is calm.
She holds her sword and faces the Accurate Crow.
To tell the truth, I’m shaking right now.
After all, scary stuff is scary.
But still, that won’t change the fact that I’ll face it.

A white cloak flutters in the wind.

『I see… It’s because of that cloak. It is made out of earth dragon skin!』

Accurate Crow easily noticed the secret of the cloak.
Ann was surprised by it.

『How did you know?』

『The adventurer, who is my rival, wore the same equipment. Indeed, it’s possible to block my flame with it.』

The earth dragon skin is excellent in both magic resistance and physical resistance.
What’s more remarkable is that it absorbs the magical power of the user and improves its performance.
And it also amplifies the magical power that it absorbs.
In other words, the more magical power you put in, the faster the performance will improve.
It’s the best material.
Ann didn’t know about it, but before she knew she was able to master it.

『But for a black ant to have such magical power…. No, I see it now.』

While staring at Ann, the Accurate Crow nodded as if it’s certain of something.

『You are an Imperial Ant…』

Accurate Crow says with certainty.
It even guessed Ann’s species name.
It can talk with other species using thought transmission, clearly, it’s different from others.
Thought Ann.

『I always thought it had already gone extinct a long time ago. After four hundred years, why have you return, calamitous black ant!』

『You know who I actually am?』

『Indeed. I spent more than five hundred years in this desert. And it was you back then who made the black ants went on a rampage!』

Accurate Crow flaps its wings, creating a huge wind vortex.
The razor-sharp wind cuts everything around it including Ann.

She covers herself with the cloak.
With magical power, the magic and physical resistance of the cloak are further enhanced.
However, unlike the previous flame, it can’t nullify the wind pressure itself.
Ann was blown by the wind and slammed into a rock.

『Guh…』

She groaned in pain.
She tried to get up but the Accurate Crow is much faster.

It grabbed Ann with its tough claws.
And tighten them.

『Be crushed and die, insect!』

Die like an insect you are, bellows Accurate Crow.
It gripped harder.

『Gu… Aah…』

Crack, a crack forms on Ann’s shell.
The cloak she wore is highly resistant to physical attack however it didn’t work.
Even the earth dragon cloak is useless against the force that’s crushing her whole body.

『Guu… No… I won’t let it end like this! 』

Ptoo, as Ann fired something out of her mouth.

『What the hell?!』

The Accurate Crow immediately evaded with a quick reflex.
However, it failed.
Smoke rises from its melting face.

『Acid….』

That’s right.
What’s Ann released just now is the Killer Ant only long-range attack, Acid Juice.
However, its power and concentration are completely different from the ordinary one.

Ann once succeeded in pressurizing the acid juice by squeezing the nozzle during her fight with the earthworm, making it penetrating like a spear.

And this is the improvised version of that.
To shoot the acid juice like a high-compression bullet, 『Acid Bullet』 so to speak.
Compared to Acid Spear, it has no penetration force but rather a high firing rate.
It’s possible to shoot like a machine gun.
Just like that time with the adventurers.

『Tsk! 』

Learning from its mistake, the Accurate Crow evades by twisting its body.
Ann managed to slip out from its claws between shots.

『Guh, Haa…. Ha…. It would’ve been nice if my attack actually hit…』

Looking at it, it was only two shots.
Which were at the tip of the wings.
It’s not going to be much of damage, let alone lethal.
I never thought it could evade almost all twenty shots at a close range.
But thanks to that, I was able to escape from its grip.

I once again realized the power of King-class.

But still, I’ll hold my ground!

The Accurate Crow flies low and scowled.
It doesn’t appear to fly higher than it currently is.
It’s as if it’s making fun of me.

But this is just what I need.

Again, the Accurate Crow produced razor sharp winds.

『Hmph!』

However, this time, Ann didn’t use her cloak to defend herself.
She took the attack head on.
On the left is the fake Sacred Sword Leviathan and on the right is the Earth Dragon Sword.
Two weaving swords collide head-on with the Accurate Crow’s attack.
And she moves forward.

『Fool, did you think such mere swords can defend you from my attack?』

Accurate Crow laughs.
You’re right.
I’m not blocking them.
The injury on Ann slowly increases as she got shaven little by little.
The distance between them is shrinking, however, she’s already at her limit.

『What good comes from hiding behind the cloak.』

The Accurate Crow stares at the foolish black ant that comes toward it with cold eyes.
So you got greedy after that acid attack earlier.
It thought.

『Have you forgotten, black ant? No matter how close you are, I can always distance myself with the flap of my wings.』

Ann got hit by more storms.
Still, she didn’t stop.

『That’s true, but… There’s nothing else you can do, right? The only option you have left is keeping your distance from an insect like me.』

『Stop with the nonsense, insect. 』

More storms.
The wind pressure is already at the level of a typhoon.
Her body is full of wounds.
But still, she didn’t stop and kept moving forward.

For a moment, the Accurate Crow wondered.
Why didn’t this insect stop?
Could it be she has a plan?

『You seem to have forgotten, don’t you?』

To Accurate Crow, Ann, who’s full of wounds, seems to be grinning.

『What do you mean?』

What did I miss?
What?
What is it?
How can she still keep going in this situation?
Why are you still calm?

And the Accurate Crow learned the answer.

『Because we never fight alone!』

It’s been a while since the Accurate Crow experienced that feeling.
The feeling of fear.

Something is coming!

『All troops, at your position! Ready, fire!!』

In response to the call, countless Killer Ants, who have come out of the ground, bathe the Accurate Crow with the acid juice.
However, it’s not just any acid juice.
It’s the acid spear, a pressurized acid juice, devised by Ann.

Furthermore, these Killer Ants were born after Ann evolved.
In other words, they’re at least an Intermediate-class.

『But, how?! 』

The Accurate Crow was also bewildered by it.
Where did they come from?
I don’t sense any of their magical power at all.
Not even their presence.

『Impossible…』

While hiding their presence and magical power, could it be they’ve been hiding here, all this time?
Did they come here because they sense their master was in danger?
No, it couldn’t be. This was actually her plan from the start!

『Guh!』

Rain of acid comes all at once from every direction.
If I stop my attack now, I can avoid it.
There’s not enough time to create a defensive wind, I need to fly higher.
But I’ll be vulnerable to the black ant attack.
If I attack her, I won’t be able to escape from the acid rain.

Either way, it got completely cornered.

Its pride as the Accurate Crow was hurt.
The Great Accurate Crow!
The king of the sky was forced to retreat by an insect.
Moreover, make a humiliating decision.

『BLACK AAAAAANT!!』

The gust stopped.

The Accurate Crow has stopped attacking.

Just like she expected.
It decides to take Ann’s hit rather than being covered in acid.

The moment the attack stops, Anne closes the distance.
She immediately approached the Accurate Crow before it was able to fly higher.

At that moment, Ann felt like she could hear the Accurate Crow’s voice.

– This will be the last you’ll be able to hit me!

Its eyes full of anger seems to be suggesting so.
However,

『That’s so sweet of you.』

Ann whispered so.
The moment she got close to the Accurate Crow, she threw away the sword she had in her left hand.
The fake Sacred Sword Leviathan falls to the ground.

『Huh?!』

The Accurate Crow, who was wary of her swords, didn’t understand the meaning of her action.
With her left hand free, Ann clung to Accurate Crow and pulled herself closer to its face.

Ann faced the Accurate Crow face to face.

And suddenly, she began to shriek.

GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!

It was louder than the sound of explosion.
A unique skill created by Ann, based on Jiryuu-sama story, 『Want to know something? There was an ant before (during my previous life) that shrieked to attack』.  It’s similar to orc’s roar but in her case, her voice and fangs vibration are augmented with magic and instead of damaging the opponent, it messed with the sense of equilibrium. It’s an attack specialized in taking away the freedom of the target completely.

It has an enormous effect.

The Accurate Crow loses its balance from the damaged semicircular canal.

『Gah…. What have you done?』

Ann didn’t miss this chance.
Using the Earth Dragon Sword in her other hand, she slashed the Accurate Crow.
Blood overflows from it.

『Guaaaaa!!』

For the first time, a critical blow.
Accurate Crow’s face distorted in anguish.

Ann then raises her fangs and goes for its throat.
It’s her revenge.

To the one that called us insects.

—–Do you want to know how an ant’s bite taste like?

As soon as she said so, her fangs reached the Accurate Crow.
She bites its throat and injects her acid juice into it.
Its flesh sizzles.

『Gaha…』

Gradually, the Accurate Crow fell to the ground.

 

A victory?!

---

Jiryuu: *Yawn* It’s a bit quiet today.

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A little explanation

Accurate Crow originally do not use their body or claw to attack but instead with fire or wind from high-speed flight.

If it wasn’t playing around, the result would be completely different.
After all, it’s normal for the strong to be prideful.

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