Chapter 128
Chapter 128
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Nest
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I couldn't unconditionally believe the wild boars' story.
But ignoring it carried too much risk.
The female was named "San," the male "Ku."
Monsters with names, no less.
Curious about who named them, I asked.
《I don't know. It just came to me when you asked.》
They were definitely strange creatures.
For now, to verify if what the wild boars said was true, we decided to move together.
It wouldn't be too late to see for myself and judge.
-Thud. Thud.
A massive vibration echoed through the quiet world.
Two uniquely massive giant wild boars moved at a leisurely pace.
I was riding on the back of the enormous bush-covered wild boar I called "San."
Not that it felt like riding.
She was so huge it was more like standing on a moving building.
I'd originally thought about flying, but they said the giant hornets would spot me, so they told me to ride on their backs.
I hoped everything they'd said so far wasn't a lie.
..........Honestly, I just really didn't want to.
Giant hornets.
They were a visual assault on the eyes just by existing.
Hunting with top-grade Corrupted Beings...
Unbelievable.
Were these things even Corrupted Beings?
Since they could talk, I decided to ask directly.
"Are you Corrupted Beings?"
《Corrupted Beings? You mean the contaminated ones?》
"Yeah....probably?"
I just called them what the system did. An old doubt surfaced alongside it.
'So who named the Corrupted Beings from the original world? The association?'
《We're not contaminated. If we must use your term, we're purifiers.》
I recalled the black wild boar eating up zombies.
"Grand title."
《It's just in human terms.》
'Not Corrupted Beings, huh...'
There seemed no reason for them to lie. But whether it was true or not, I'd see.
The conversations with me were mostly handled by San, the giant bush wild boar who felt female.
The black wild boar Ku was taciturn.
Whether taciturn or unable to speak, I couldn't tell...
"By the way, how did you know I'm the leader of the humans?"
《A crow told us. Said there's a strong predator to the north. Didn't think there'd be another human as strong as you nearby.》
"Crow?"
The skill point 5 crow I'd seen flying this way suddenly came to mind.
《Talkative one. Comes to us now and then, gossiping about the surroundings. Even knows you fought the black dog.》
Hearing them, I figured it was that one.
No way weaklings like those could converse with these guys.
That crow probably had intelligence like them.
'Gotta catch that crow and give it a lesson.'
"Any plan?"
《Simple. We draw their attention. You slip into their nest in the chaos and take out the queen.》
The wild boars' sizes were absurdly huge, so even walking, their speed got us to the destination quickly.
The first sight made me think some building had been erected.
Three massive, alien white towers in view.
About twenty stories tall.
One in the nearby field that looked like farmland.
Two more on distant ridges, spaced apart.
A total of three giant hornet monster nest towers.
And swarms of monster giant hornets buzzing busily around them.
"Crazy.....there's more than one."
《We never said just one. But taking out the nearest queen will delay their territorial expansion for a while.》
The nearest seemed to be the one in the field, not the distant ridges.
"No way there aren't more besides these three?"
《Head south, and there are more.》
"Damn..."
The situation was worse than expected.
It wasn't wrong that the wild boars were holding them back.
"The queen's in there?"
《No.》
"No?"
《That's just part of the nest.》
"That....tower is just part?"
《Yes. The queen's underground.》
"Under...ground? Subterranean?"
《Yes.》
"Not even ants, and..."
Suni kindly explained to my ignorant self.
"One mountain after another."
《Scouts spotted us. They'll swarm soon. What's the plan?》
My body became enveloped in mana, turning transparent.
I had nothing to prepare.
Might as well finish it quick since I was here.
"I'm good to start now. You?"
《Us too.》
With those words, the two giant wild boars charged.
-Rumble rumble thud.
The earth shook.
And the two slammed into the white nest tower standing in the field.
-Boom!!
-Crunch!!
One headbutt from them shattered the massive nest tower, sending it crumbling.
Tremendous destructive power.
"Whoa..."
I couldn't help but gasp at the spectacle.
Now it began.
From the wrecked nest tower, an enormous number of giant hornets poured out.
-Buzzzzzz!!
The air vibrated from the countless monster giant hornets' wingbeats.
They weren't registering as monsters.
'The original world's monster detection is getting less useful lately....especially against bugs.'
Maybe because the original world had no bug monsters.
In my transparent state, I quickly dismounted the wild boar's back.
'Underground, huh...'
No need to find an entrance.
From the roots of the shattered nest tower, monster giant hornets were crawling up to the surface.
'But....how do I get in?'
Their size made the nest holes in the ground large.
But the hole was nonstop spewing monster giant hornets.
No gap to squeeze through.
I glanced at the wild boars.
'Crazy...'
The wild boars were covered black with clinging monster giant hornets.
They were giant wild boar-shaped hornet masses.
The grotesque sight was enough to unsettle even me.
The monster giant hornets clung on, stabbing with their abdomens to inject venom.
Those attached died in droves with each boar movement, but equal numbers stuck again.
The monster giant hornets were demonstrating human wave tactics perfectly.
The ones crawling from the nest floor showed no sign of ending.
Couldn't wait forever.
'Gotta force my way in.'
I pulled a greatsword from my inventory and swung mercilessly at the monster giant hornets.
Hornet heads flew and shattered under the greatsword.
As they died, I learned the worst truth.
I'd thought at first it was like spider monsters not registering.
But worse.
They weren't even Corrupted Beings.
The quest counter didn't budge.
With so many, I'd been foolishly hoping for a skill upgrade on the way to the queen.
'This is insane. Unpaid labor...'
But no backing out now.
Killing them, I burrowed into the nest.
The monster giant hornets seemed confused by the invisible attacks, but with the chaos outside from the two boars, I slipped in easily.
Once inside the nest, I faced another dilemma.
Not an ant hill, but holes everywhere.
Hornets pouring from them headed upward.
'How am I supposed to find it...'
Basic monster detection was useless.
I fully opened my body's senses to search for the queen.
A flood of surrounding info hit my mind.
The massive number of monster giant hornets everywhere.
The giant wild boars rampaging above.
And a zone blocked like behind a wall, undetectable.
Naturally, I figured the queen was in that blocked section.
It was close.
Less than five meters below.
But the area was vast.
I instinctively knew that invisible broad region was the true hornet nest.
'This is just a thin outer wall, real one's below.'
To get the queen, I had to breach that blocked zone.
No intent to find a path.
I'd make one.
Pulled a giant hammer from inventory and smashed the floor.
-Crunch!
The floor broke, revealing a dark space.
Empty below.
I jumped down.
A tough-looking white floor appeared, different quality.
Had to break this to enter.
Infused the giant hammer with mana, raised it high, and slammed down.
-Bang!
And panicked.
'Huh? Didn't break?'
I'd put serious mana-backed force into it, but the floor didn't budge.