Rustle~

Only a few seconds after Scaly fell asleep inside the small cave that she had turned into her own temporary home, a distinct rustling sound suddenly echoed out from one of the similar small caves a few meters away from the one Scaly was currently sleeping inside of. The main difference between this cave and Scaly's being that the one that the rustling sound had emerged from obviously went far deeper into the mountain and was far larger than the one Scaly had chosen to sleep inside of.

In a way, this was also the reason why Scaly hadn't chosen that cave, as she preferred a smaller cozier cave.

Rustle~ Rustle~ Rustle~

However, as the rustling sound from that deeper cave only grew louder, the weaker monsters that had been roaming around the mountain hunting other monsters or scavenging for food all began to scatter. Having heard the sound, it was as if it didn't just come from the cave next to Scaly but came from countless small caves across the mountain- a fact that was soon proven to be correct, as countless monsters began streaming forth from the small caves across the mountain. Soon enough, catching whatever monster around that hadn't escaped before a few of the monsters that had emerged dragged them back into nearby small caves that they had emerged from. The fate of these pitiful monsters still struggling in vain as they were dragged away still alive was unknown, but it was easy to guess that it wasn't anything good given how most of the monsters that had freely roamed the small mountain had escaped.

If Scaly had still been awake and was able to observe this scene from above, she would have been able to see thousands upon thousands of these smaller monsters suddenly spreading from the small mountain into the forest below like a swarm of locusts. Sweeping up any monster they encountered along the way before dragging them back towards the mountain.

Some of these monsters were alive, but most of them were dead, as they put up too much of a struggle for these monsters to bother bringing them back alive…

"Huh? What is that?"

"A monster horde!? How can we get that unlucky?!"

"I… I don't think this is a monster horde…"

Some distance away from the Thousand Spire Mountain Range, the group of adventurers who had just barely resumed their journey after the shock of a powerful monster flying past them. Found themselves panicking with the sudden wave of monsters that began sweeping through the forest ahead of them.

Only the leader of the group remained somewhat calm, as he jumped up a nearby tree to get a better look to see what was happening, as the disturbance caused by the wave of monsters emerging from the small mountain Scaly had chosen to sleep inside inevitably ended up causing the monsters around them to start panicking as they tried to run away. Normally a sign of a powerful monster or in most cases a monster horde having formed and scaring away local monsters.

"What in the world… Why did those damnable oversized ants suddenly get so active?! Thomas, do you know what came over them? Shouldn't it be another month before their feeding time?" But after he reached the top of the tree and saw the situation playing out in the distance and what kind of monster it was that caused this, he couldn't help frowning before turning down towards Thomas. Asking him in a somewhat questioning tone.

After all, the reason why they had originally chosen to come to the Thousand Spire Mountain Range this time around was because they had learnt that the giant ant colony that dominated a large section of the mountain range had recently gone on a feeding frenzy and wouldn't emerge again any time soon. Meaning that the mountain range would be safer than normal to explore for them.

For the monster ants that they had originally believed to have been asleep and not running about to suddenly emerge was something that directly interfered with their original plans for this trip, something that could potentially end up forcing them to return empty-handed.

In a way, the main reason why this expedition to the Thousand Spire Mountain Range had happened in the first place was because Thomas had assured him and the rest that these giant ants wouldn't be a problem for them in the foreseeable future. For them to emerge now… It was understandable that this leader was a bit irritated as he looked towards Thomas waiting for him to give him an explanation.

"This… The giant ants shouldn't have emerged any time soon under normal circumstances-"

"But they did and now we might deal with them. Do you have any ideas on how to get past them?"

"That… If I'm not wrong, their recent emergence should just be temporary. Potentially because of that flying monster from earlier waking them up from their slumber when it passed through.

If we wait for a few hours, they should return to their nest and return to slumber again, when that time comes, we should be able to resume our journey like normal. Only, we might have to be a bit more cautious when moving past their nest."

Thinking the situation over for a few seconds, Thomas slowly answered with a bit of hesitation in his voice as he followed the leader of their little group up the tree to observe the situation from afar.

Although he was confident in his own suggestion and understanding of these giant ants, he also understood that all of this was only likely to happen in case nothing more appeared to potentially disturb these giant ants.

If the flying monsters from earlier continued roaming around their nest, these giant ants might become far more unpredictable, as they could emerge again at any time.

Even then, it should still be fine in his eyes. All they needed to do was remain cautious and keep an eye out for any sign of those ants reemerging when they passed by their nest.

As for why they didn't plan to go around the nest and avoid it completely… That was because the journey would either be far too long and difficult or there would be other more dangerous monsters that they would have to watch out for.

The giant ant colony, while dangerous, was still the safest route for them to enter the Thousand Spire Mountain Range.

"Wait for them to retreat to their nest again…? Fine, we will wait for a day and see how things develop. If they really do retreat to their nest, we will continue forward as planned. Even if things go wrong in the future and those ants emerge while we pass through their territory, we should be able to retreat in time with our strength.

Not to mention, we never really expected passing through those giant ants territory would be entirely safe…" Nodding his head solemnly after hearing what Thomas said, the adventurer leader signaled for them to set up camp temporarily and observe the giant ants before making their next move.

In any case, they were still some distance from the Thousand Spire Mountain Range, and the sudden emergence of the giant ants wouldn't affect them much outside of a few weaker monsters charging in their direction every now and again.

Overall, the rest of the group were more than happy with the arrangement, as they had already been travelling for over a week without any real break.

A longer break while waiting for the giant ants to retreat was fine in their eyes, as they could use the time to relax and catch a few wild monsters and animals to grill, something that proved to be far easier with the emergence of the giant ants pushing the weaker monsters in their direction.

From what had originally been a rather reluctant break to their journey just before reaching their goal turned out to be a rather enjoyable time for the group as they soon enough pulled out what little spices, they carried along with them and began grilling the monsters and other animals they had caught. Holding a grand barbeque party amidst the slowly growing shadows of nearby trees that circled the small opening they had chosen as their temporary camp site.

Although they might not dare to face the giant ants, they were still rather strong adventurers and didn't really need to worry about any of the other monsters that lived in the forest.

The only two people not participating in this spontaneous barbeque was the leader and Thomas, who both remained vigilant on top of a nearby tree. Keeping an eye on the giant ants in the distance as it slowly began retreating after only a few hours.

"Looks like you were correct… We will head off tomorrow morning and resume our journey…" Nodding his head with satisfaction upon seeing this, the leader gently nodded his head towards Thomas while saying this before retreating to join in on the fun below.

Leaving Thomas on his own to gaze out towards the giant ants in the distance.

"…"

For some reason, even with the words of the group leader, he couldn't help feeling a sense of growing unease, but he knew there was nothing more he could do, as he slowly retreated as well. Knowing that if anything did end up happening tomorrow, he would do his best to try and warn the rest ahead of time so they would at least be able to escape alive in case something ended up going wrong when the time came…

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