Re:Ant Lord-Chapter 62: Diarrhea Beasts (bonus - for castle)

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The foul stench nearly knocked him out, but he endured, adrenaline surging through him. He hammered down with a swift blow, aiming for the vulnerable joints near the beast’s shoulders.

BAM!

The beast screeched, swiping a thick paw that caught Kai in the side, sending him tumbling across the slimy ground. Pain flared in his ribs, but he grit his mandibles and forced himself back up.

A system message blinked in his mind: "Minor Injury sustained. HP -100." He ignored it. Renna lay gasping on the ground, his exoskeleton smeared with the disgusting diarrhea fluid. Kai had to finish this beast quickly. He scrambled to the creature’s front, unleashing a flurry of strikes with all his strength. The beast staggered, rearing up to shoot a fresh volley of vile fluid from its behind. Jumping in a blur, Kai twisted aside. The fluid splashed across a tree, sizzling in a horrifying display of acidic slime.

Seizing the moment, Kai lunged with both arms, driving his mandibles into the beast’s chest. The creature shrieked, thrashing violently, but its strength began to ebb. With a final push, Kai slammed the beast to the ground, caving in its chest cavity. A wet, horrifying crunch signaled the end. As the beast went limp, the system rang a crisp message:

[Ding! Diarrhea Beasts defeated. +500 EXP.]

Kai panted heavily, ignoring the monstrous smell. He turned to Renna, who was badly injured but still conscious. "Are you okay?" he asked, voice trembling. He nodded weakly, though his limbs were shocked from pain. He helped him limp away from the reeking carcass. "Stay down," he whispered. "Let me handle the rest."

Kai’s gaze landed on the second diarrhea beast. It was still circling them, spitting lumps of foul fluid that hissed on contact with the muddy ground. Time to finish it off, Kai thought grimly. Summoning what remained of his stamina, he sprinted across the clearing. He activated his Reflex mode and Worker’s Resilience skills.

[Ding! Skill activated Aura -400.]

The beast roared, swinging its horn in a wide arc, but Kai ducked low, delivering a savage strike to the beast’s lower abdomen. He finds out its weak stop using his predator instinct. The blow stunned it, giving him the opening to smash a second, lethal hit into its skull. Bones cracked, and the beast collapsed in a mushy heap of filth. A swirl of victory soared in his chest as the system chimed: freёwebnoѵel.com

[Ding! Finishing blow delivered. Beast is defeated. +500 EXP.]

A tingling warmth spread through his body as another level up notification lit his mind:

[Ding! System notifications: Congratulations Host for advanced to Level 22.]

Relief and exhaustion washed over him. He glanced at Renna, who tried to flash a shaky thumbs-up, though he was clearly in poor shape. "I need to give him some medicine soon." Kai thinks.

At the same time, he heard a ferocious roar behind him. Lomar was locked in combat with another diarrhea beast. Lomar was strong, a three-star fighter, but his foe was equally fierce. Not everyone is as strong as Kai. The stench of excreted sludge hung thick in the air, and the ground was slick with noxious liquid. Lomar’s footing slipped on the diarrhea, leaving him exposed. The beast lunged, hooking its horn under Lomar’s body.

Kai acted on reflex. He sprinted over, soared in a leap, and slammed a powerful blow down on the beast’s broad back. The creature howled in surprise, dropping Lomar. Lomar, bruised but still conscious, thrust his spear upward, pinning the beast in place. Seizing the chance, Kai hammered a finishing strike.

The beast collapsed, twitching before going still. A last spatter of vile fluid sprayed out, but both ants managed to avoid the worst of it. Lomar muttered a breathless thanks, while Kai’s system chimed a calm "+500 EXP" for the kill. He had stolen the last blow from Lomar, apparently. Usually that might cause some friction, but Lomar only looked relieved. They had survived.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team overcame the final beasts. Thren and Vexor joined forces to pin one creature, while Captain Darius was snarling in disgust and crushed the biggest diarrhea beast’s skull underfoot. The entire clearing stank of rancid fluid. The ground hissed where the slime bubbled. Each ant was caked in lumps of filth, but they were alive, and all five diarrhea beasts lay dead around them.

Kai crouched, noticing a small swirl in his mind from the system: "Level 22," it repeated, no new skill but an advancement of raw stats. He let out a heavy breath. The thick odor made him gag, and he realized he had no appetite for devouring these beast’s essence liquid. Thinking, "I am sure this will taste like shit. I don’t want to know about the taste of shit."

Their filth and acid stench turned his stomach. Even if he’d had a chance to use Essence Eater quietly, he wanted no part of it. Yuck... never mind. He also saw that Darius hovered nearby, collecting the largest beast’s shining star core. The captain’s eyes scanned each carcass to ensure no star core would be stolen. Kai felt a pang of annoyance. Let him take these star cores, Kai thought. "I don’t want them..." but deep inside he wanted all the beast cores.

True to his bastard quality, Darius barked an order: "All of you, gather the star cores from each beast. Bring them here." Thren sighed. Vexor grunted. Lomar helped with the one he’d just killed. Kai gave a weary shrug, hoisting the lumps of leftover bone to retrieve the dripping, diseased cores.

The stench made him want to retch. In the end, Darius stashed them all in a large pouch, rummaging them with a gleam of greed in his expression. "Now let’s move," he snapped. "We have a forest to cross. Don’t waste time."

Renna, badly hurt, leaned on Kai’s shoulder. They trudged away from the stinking battleground, leaving behind a reeking field of corpses and a muddy, rancid clearing that would likely remain uninhabitable for days.