Re:Ant Lord-Chapter 39: Injuries

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[System Alert! Warning: Lethal Aura Incoming!]

He activated Tiny Tank and tried to dodge. But this time Kai was too slow to dodge. The Butt flicker Bastard was playing with. How he is serious.

BOOOOOOM!

The explosion of light and sound shattered the air. A wave of kinetic pressure hurled Kai backward like a leaf in a storm. He smashed through trees one after another. And then he fell off the edge of a cliff.

The last thing he saw before falling was Roddick hovering in the air, panting, triumphant.

"Learn your place, insect. Now die in peace."

Then the sky vanished. Kai hit the river below with a brutal splash. The huge waves swallowed him.

[Ding! System notifications.

Alert: Emergency Survival Protocol Initiated

Condition: Host in critical state.

Entering hibernation mode.]

Kai didn’t hear the warning. His consciousness had already slipped from him the moment his body smashed into the river below. The impact had crushed the air from his lungs, sending him tumbling beneath the surface. The current took him, fast and merciless, pulling his limp form into the winding underbelly of the forest.

He drifted like a broken leaf. His body, now in partial stasis thanks to the system’s survival mode, floated with the current for hours... perhaps longer.

Beneath the river’s shimmering surface, fish swam around him, sensing no threat. A few even nibbled at his shell, but none could pierce his hardened carapace. His aura was low, nearly extinguished, but just strong enough to warn off opportunistic predators.

Time became meaningless. The river twisted, narrowed, then widened again as it slithered through thick vegetation, slipping past rock beds and root-knotted banks. Somewhere along the way, Kai struck a submerged log and drifted toward a slower patch of water.

Finally, the river curved and spilled into a shallow inlet shaded by willows and fern-leafed trees. There, in the soft mud of the bank, Kai’s battered body washed ashore.

For a while, there was only silence. Crickets chirped. Water trickled past. A pair of frogs croaked in the distance.

Then some footsteps came. Not one... not two ... Eight of them. They weren’t normal two legged footsteps, Or a beast. It was Ants.

"Wait," a voice said, antennae flicking in the air. "Lokk, there’s something over there."

A second figure moved through the underbrush, large mandibles clicking in surprise. "Is that—?"

"It’s him," said another. "It’s Kai. He survived the lurker beast attack."

One by one, the figures emerged. The eight ants in total. The same hunting team Kai had assigned to carry supplies. The ones he hadn’t seen since the day they ran from the ravine.

"He’s alive... barely," said Rao, the oldest among them. He is now incharge of the team.

Another ant crouched beside Kai, placing a claw gently against his neck. "Pulse is weak. Carapace cracked. But he’s breathing."

They all fell silent, staring at the motionless form of their porter. An ant who had fought side by side with them. The one who had stepped up when no one else dared to. The one who had vanished after the vice captain led them into hell.

One of them spoke. "Do you think he fought the predator?"

"Impossible," another muttered. "Vex said Kai was too weak."

Rao growled. "Vex said a lot of things. And where is he now? That bastard left us and ran alone."

The others looked at each other.

"He abandoned us," said the youngest ant, his voice bitter. "When the Shadow Spine Lurker attacked, he ran alone in different directions.."

"I saw him flee into the fog," another added. "He never came back. If we hadn’t moved to the high ridge, we’d be dead."

"So much for the ’great vice captain,’" Rhel muttered.

They turned back to Kai, who still lay unmoving, his body coated in blood, mud, and moss.

"We need to get him home," said Rao firmly. "He stood for us in the fight. We owe him this much."

"Can he even be moved?" another ant asked.

"No choice. We carry him together. Otherwise he will die."

And so they did. The eight ants fashioned a stretcher from thick leaves and vines, hoisting Kai’s body onto it with care. His limbs dangled over the edges, limp but still intact.

The journey back to the Ant Kingdom was long and treacherous.

The first night, they camped near a hollow log, keeping Kai in the center, shielding him from the chill. One of them watched over him while the others slept in shifts. They lit no fires because it’s too dangerous.

They had no idea how he survived. Shadow lurkers might still be out there. They can’t take any risks.

On the second day, it rained. Cold water poured from the skies, drenching the forest. The makeshift stretcher became harder to carry. Mud clung to their legs. Twice, they nearly dropped him crossing shallow streams.

And yet, no one complained. Even the youngest ant, who had once whined about every small task, walked in silence.

They didn’t speak much during the journey, but at night, when the camp was quiet, they reminisced.

"You remember when Kai didn’t obey captain Darius?" someone asked.

"Yeah," another chuckled. "He demanded a better job. Said he wouldn’t carry garbage."

"I thought he was going to be executed." ant two said.

Ant three added, "He almost was. But because of Princess Mia, he survived."

Ant four said, "But he didn’t back down. He completed his work without anyone’s help."

"I must say, He got gut’s," Rao said quietly. "Even when Captain Darius made him a porter, he didn’t back down."

Silence fell again. It wasn’t guilt. It was respect. By the third day, they reached the outer perimeter of the Ant Kingdom.

Guards at the eastern gate blinked in surprise when they saw them dragging the stretcher in the rain.

"Is that...?"

"It’s the new rookie ant," Rao confirmed. "Gravely wounded. We need the healers."

Guard asked, "Where is vice captain Vex?"

"We don’t know. We were attacked by a predator beast. He ran in different directions. After that we never saw him."