Cleaning Ants and Dragon Breath
Storing items in my subspace was far more efficient when I had a physical body. The capacity was incomparable. Thanks to my personal visit, recovering the treasures had gone smoothly. Even so, with the sheer volume piled up, it still took a full day to store just half of them. The value of what I'd taken was enough to buy a few countries, I figured.
For now, I decided to call it quits and take only this much. The problem was Drakan's remains. They were undoubtedly priceless, but far too massive, and I lacked the means to process the bones or scales. For the time being, I resolved to leave Drakan's corpse as it was.
So why had Kutula warned that I would trigger the great monster breakout? The idea that the monsters fled because the artifacts and treasures vanished didn't hold up theoretically. Sure, the massive accumulation might have leaked mana influencing the Dragon Mountains' beasts, but that was a slim possibility. Moving Drakan's remains could have affected them, but I'd decided against it.
Then what was causing the breakout? I dispatched a soul to scout the outside situation.
Despite the long time passed, the Dragon Mountains' king remained unchanged. Scars from countless battles marked its body, but the Black Drake still exuded overwhelming majesty, coiled up and resting in its lair. I checked the surrounding large monsters too, but found nothing unusual.
As I halted the search and turned back, I spotted something odd. It wasn't on the surface. As the soul passed through the mountain toward Drakan's lair, changes stirred in the shallow underground.
It was a swarm of countless ants. Not ordinary ants, of course. These were palm-sized monsters called cleaning ants. A single one was negligible in combat, but living in colonies of millions, they left nothing behind in their wake—hence the name. Far more terrifying than they appeared.
These ants were reacting. Large monsters in their deep lairs weren't fazed by the slight mana drop from the artifacts, but the ants were.
"Ha! So this is a god's power."
Compared to the omniscience gods displayed, my own abilities felt utterly inadequate. In any case, the cleaning ants' movement would upset the Dragon Mountains' power balance, sparking the breakout. Since I had caused it, I needed to head back and lend a hand.
Just then, the soul I'd sent to Count Ktolari's territory reached the count's side, so I teleported there. The first time is always hardest; the second was a breeze.
This second spatial jump happened far more easily than expected.
"Eek!"
Count Ktolari, quietly sipping tea, startled at my sudden appearance beside him and dropped his cup.
"Ah, sorry about that. Well, then—"
I greeted him casually as if it were nothing and turned to leave, but paused as something occurred to me.
"By the way, what was Kutula's thing about bringing three mercenaries?"
The count, staring blankly at his shattered favorite teacup, composed himself and replied.
"Kutula favors greedy humans."
"No way..."
"No one who goes down and comes back up again, in any case."
Kutula wasn't normal either. Human sacrifices? Then maybe Kutula liked me because I seemed greedy? Surely not planning to fatten me up and eat me...
"Would he like it if I brought greedy humans as gifts?"
"He'd love it."
Perfect. The world was full of greedy humans—especially nobles, where the non-greedy were rare. Next time, I'd snag a few as presents.
As I moved to leave, another thought struck.
"The breakout might happen sooner than expected. Cleaning ants are stirring in the Dragon Mountains' center. You should prepare."
"I see. You went there yourself?"
The Dragon Mountains' heart was uncharted territory for humans. His eyes gleamed at the news.
"Yeah, since Kutula wouldn't let me go. Anyway, really gotta go now—"
Before the count could respond, I slipped out of his office and hurried back to the annex.
The annex was in chaos. No wonder, with their charge vanishing without a trace.
As I approached, the waiting guards rushed out.
"Where on earth have you been without a word?!"
Joseph lit into me the moment he saw me, thoroughly agitated. In times like these, don't apologize—fight fire with fire.
"You were snoring away when I left, so who's neglecting their duty?"
It wasn't his fault, but I brazened it out.
Joseph's face flushed crimson, utterly flustered.
"We're both at fault, so let's call it even."
Leaving the stammering Joseph behind, I darted into the annex. Jayke waited inside. What was this, mountain after mountain?
"Where have you been?"
"Took a trip to the Dragon Mountains. No danger at all, so relax."
"Understood."
Jayke accepted it surprisingly easily. When I eyed him suspiciously, he chuckled.
"I've just realized that worrying about you, Viscount, is the world's most pointless endeavor."
Wasn't he being too nonchalant? Human hearts are fickle things.
The next day, House Ktolari began recruiting mercenaries with hefty bounties. The territory already hosted many, and more lurked nearby, so it went smoothly.
I had no further business here, but as the breakout's cause, I stayed to help. Cleaning ants were among the hardest monsters to defend against—other beasts aside.
A few days later, monsters began trickling from the Dragon Mountains. Starting with the weakest goblins, stronger ones followed, displaced and pushing into Ktolari territory.
The territory's forces were formidable. They boasted the Rangers—one of the continent's strongest units—plus elite troops battle-hardened against beasts. The resident mercenaries were veterans too.
Things stayed manageable until the large monsters arrived in force.
My church escorts and I hung back, focusing on treating the wounded. That alone boosted morale and strength sky-high. "If you can drag 'em back breathing, the Saint will save 'em"—nothing more reassuring for soldiers.
As mid- and large-sized monsters descended, casualties mounted. Black trolls and ogres, unique to the Great Forest and Dragon Mountains, were no joke. Holding them off at all was impressive; a normal territory might've been wiped by one black ogre.
The Rangers lived up to their reputation as beast-slaying experts. Their volley from giant anti-behemoth crossbows was a spectacle that drew awed gasps.
Even as the Rangers fought valiantly and the line buckled, Joseph and elite knights joined the front, turning the tide. A Master-class knight's power was no small thing.
But the biggest winner was Argin. He'd thrown himself into the front lines from the start, gaining heaps of real combat experience. His two mentors could only smile proudly at his daily growth.
Just as large monsters thinned out, the cleaning ants finally surged.
Like a black wave engulfing the earth, their sheer pressure froze every soldier atop the walls. When a slow large monster got caught, swarmed, reduced to a skeleton in seconds—then even that vanished under the tide—morale plummeted.
That's when I climbed the wall for the first time since the defense began.
Seeing the black tide rolling in, even I felt intimidated by their might.
Then Joseph, my guard, bellowed beside me.
"Children of Juno, fear not! The Saint is with us! Juno is with us!"
"Woooaaargh!"
Me, sure—but why Juno all of a sudden? Anyway, his cry rallied the holy knights and battle priests into a roar, lifting the wall's spirits a bit.
But that wasn't necessary. "Joseph."
"Yes, Saint?"
Sorry to disappoint the fired-up Joseph, but this fight was mine.
"Be right back."
"Pardon?"
As Joseph gawked stupidly, I'd already vanished.
I teleported to the airspace midway between the ants and the wall.
"Fly."
I levitated first, then pulled an artifact from my subspace—one I'd grabbed from Drakan's lair this time. A long staff topped with a dragon's head.
Its name? Dragon Breath. It let the user fire something akin to Drakan's breath. The description claimed its power was less than a tenth of the real thing, but who knew the baseline? Perfect for a test run.
With a name like Dragon Breath, how could I not try it? That's what being a guy is all about. And get this—it had options! Three types: fire, ice, acid.
Fire might scorch everything; acid would scar the land long-term. So I set it to ice breath, aimed the dragon head at the oncoming ants, and chanted the activation.
"Drakaness Roim Eida!"
Dragon tongue. Roughly: "Drakan's weapon, aim, fire!"
A massive mana surge erupted from the dragon's maw. I'd imagined an ice storm, but no.
Mana condensed at the staff's tip, then shot forward, slamming the ants' vanguard. From there, everything froze solid.
Even from afar, the chill hit hard, so I spatial-jumped back to the wall.
"Back."
"Saint, what in the—"
Joseph's eyes weren't on me. Everything visible was icing over.
But the power was overkill. The ants weren't the issue—the cold was spreading here already.
"Run—now!"
I leaped inside from the wall first. Priorities.
"Fall back! Retreat!"
Commanders echoed the order; troops poured off the walls into the city.
Luckily, early evac meant no breath casualties. Anyone left up there would've frozen solid.
After a while, as the chill lingered, someone climbed the wall, breath fogging white.
He shouted.
"We won!"
Others rushed up behind. What they saw: the plain packed with ice-blocked ants.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
"Long live the Saint!"
Everyone cheered in victory's thrill, with occasional praise for me.