Chapter 127 – A Close Call

Chapter 127 – A Close Call

Two seconds later, Cheng Yang dashed forward another hundred meters. He could already feel his stamina depleting rapidly. If he continued at this full speed, he would slow down in just seven or eight more seconds. This was an unavoidable limitation – physical endurance had always been a mage’s weakness.

Just when things couldn’t get worse, dark shadows began emerging in the distance. In the blink of an eye, scattered Bone-devouring Ants turned into a massive swarm, surging toward Cheng Yang like a tidal wave.

Cheng Yang’s heart sank. *Is this how my second chance at life ends?*

No!

*They’re just a bunch of ants!* he tried to encourage himself, though his rational mind screamed that these were death incarnate.

The ants converging from both sides numbered at least three thousand, matching the missing portion Cheng Yang had noticed earlier. The mystery was solved, but this revelation did nothing to help his predicament.

The leading ants were less than ten meters away, needing only half a second to reach him from the bushes. Their formation stretched fifty to sixty meters wide – there was no way he could break through in time.

Cheng Yang’s feet moved frantically. *If only I had two more legs!* Every extra meter could mean a better chance of survival.

His Ice Spike skill had cooled down, but using it now to kill a few dozen ants would be pointless against such overwhelming numbers.

The first twenty ants reached him, their sharp mandibles biting into his armor. Excruciating pain spread across his body, twisting his face in agony. But Cheng Yang knew this wasn’t the time to fight back. He had to endure.

A health potion appeared in his mouth. Though the twenty ants had only dealt about 50 damage – less than a third of his health – he couldn’t afford to take chances. The potion restored his health to full.

*These potions have their limitations,* Cheng Yang thought. The one-second delay was necessary – the potion needed time to take effect after being swallowed.

From the moment he was attacked to when he drank the potion, only an instant had passed. Cheng Yang never stopped moving, charging forward at top speed.

More ants reached him, each bite from these mid-tier first-stage creatures draining two health points. Cheng Yang gritted his teeth and pushed forward another twenty meters.

Another potion went down his throat. With over fifty ants clinging to him, he was losing a hundred health points per second. There was no room for error.

The path ahead was completely blocked by ants. Any hesitation would mean being buried in the swarm. His only hope was to break through.

Another twenty ants climbed up his legs, their nimble bodies making them nearly impossible to shake off. This time, Cheng Yang didn’t hesitate. He unleashed his Ice Spike skill above his head.

A barrage of icy spikes rained down, harmless to him but deadly to the surrounding ants. Over a hundred ants perished instantly.

When the skill ended, Cheng Yang was horrified to find his health had dropped to a mere twenty points. The seventy mid-tier first-stage ants had nearly sent him to the afterlife.

*This is like walking a tightrope over an abyss,* he thought, his tension reaching its peak. *Next time I encounter such terrifying creatures, I’ll steer clear… if I survive today.*

Another potion restored his health to about 150 points. Twenty meters remained, but with his nerves frayed and stamina depleted, the distance felt endless.

*Charge!* That was his only thought now.

The ants ahead grew denser. With each step, a dozen more climbed up his legs, attacking immediately. At seven or eight steps per second, he faced seventy to eighty simultaneous attacks. His Ice Spike skill was still cooling down.

Three steps in, Cheng Yang had endured three waves of attacks, losing nearly sixty health points. Ten meters still lay ahead.

*If I leap forward, I could cover six or seven meters, but the landing would slow me down…*

A thousand thoughts raced through his mind in that instant. The conventional approach would mean certain death.

Ice Spike still cooling… Health potion still cooling…

*Am I truly at the end?*

Suddenly, an idea struck him. *Why limit myself to skills and potions?*

As his next step landed, a medicine hoe appeared beneath his foot. Pushing off the handle, he leaped forward, planting a heavy sword into the ground for his next step. Then a shield… a broken iron sword…

As the potion cooldown ended, another health potion slid down his throat, restoring his health just before the next wave of bites.

Finally, Cheng Yang broke through the encirclement. His Ice Spike skill cooled down, and a single cast turned the ants clinging to him into spiritual energy.

Looking back at the swarm, a wave of relief washed over him. Those four seconds had been a life-or-death race against time. Any hesitation or misstep would have meant certain doom.

But there were no what-ifs. He had made it. The ants hadn’t buried him, so now it was his turn to bury them.

Filled with hatred, Cheng Yang began his counterattack. Now that he was free, the ants’ speed posed no threat.

Wave after wave of Ice Spikes fell, decimating the swarm. Cheng Yang moved in circles around the ants, preventing them from surrounding him again.

The ants fell in droves. At some point, Cheng Yang completed a special mission, though he paid it no mind. His only focus was exterminating the swarm.

Soon, less than a hundred ants remained. A smile of relief appeared on Cheng Yang’s face. *No matter how strong they are, there’s always a way to defeat them.*

*At least these are just ants,* he thought. *If they could fly, I’d be running for my life.*

Just as Cheng Yang prepared to finish off the remaining ants, he noticed something unusual – one ant was fleeing in the opposite direction, its behavior starkly different from its suicidal comrades.

*An ant that fears death?* This was a first for Cheng Yang.

He wasn’t about to let it escape. Though he couldn’t charge into the swarm, he still had one skill left.

“Freeze!” he shouted. The fleeing ant instantly froze in place.

Another Ice Spike volley eliminated most of the remaining ants. Only twenty or so first-stage ants were left, their slower movements betraying their weaker strength.

With his Freeze skill now at level 2, immobilizing targets for three seconds, Cheng Yang quickly dispatched the remaining ants with another Ice Spike.

Now, his attention turned to the frozen ant that had tried to escape.

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