158 This is... REVENGE!

However, before he could utter another word, her eyes seemed like it was about to pop out from its sockets as several wild mountain wolves pounced towards her and were about to land a strike. 

"ATTAAAACK!" She cried on top of her lungs. However, ants do not make any noise, her queen ant form was not an exemption.

That said, the ground below burst open as thousands to millions of flying ants flew up from the ground and enveloped the wild mountain wolves. Some of them even entered the wild mountain wolves' mouths, and even deeper into their bodies.

Her babies did not wait for the next second, they bit the wolves in unison--completely clouding the minds of the wild mountain wolves with pain. This consequently made the pouncing wild mountain wolves crash into the ground, where the flightless ants helped in disposing of the wild mountain wolves.

The wild mountain wolves cried as loud as they can--pleading to end their lives instantly instead. At this moment, Talia transformed into her human form and ignored the cries of the first victims of her babies as if she was a cold-blooded serial killer.

That said, Talia was able to notice Yojiro by her side and was able to command her army telepathically that they should not touch Yojiro's body at the very last second. So, her babies left Yojiro 'intact' and simply targeted the sea of wild mountain wolves that were surging towards them.

'The NPC's body is here. Where are the new recruits?' Talia thought as her face frowned--glancing around. Her heart raced faster at this moment after being unable to spot any signs of the three players. Then, she frowned when her attention was shifted to the never-ending wave of wild mountain wolves that were charging towards them.

'One of them can fly...' Talia thought as she glanced towards the tree branches, and eventually into the sky. Unfortunately, she was not able to spot any traces of any bird in that area. After a few seconds of searching, Talia gave up and thought, 'Who am I kidding! That player could have survived since these monsters could not fly!' 

"As for the other two players... There's no use searching for them. Seeing Sire Yojiro in this state, they are most likely dead by now."

"Awooo! Awooo!" The wolves cry as they struggled to their deaths. Unfortunately, the pain they felt all over their body--both inside and outside, was so painful to the point that they could only wish that they had a quick death from Yojiro's strikes instead.

Soon, the millions of ants came up from the ground and advanced forward like a surging wave in the sea. Ants, both red and black, swarmed together--engulfing the opposing wave of wild mountain wolves. 

On the other hand, Talia pondered a way on how she would transport Yojiro back to the plains so that the other NPCs from the Karakoa Fleet could tend to his injuries. Digging a hole and pulling Yojiro downwards was the fastest choice she had. But... She knew that it was not safe. 

If they dug the soil and made a path underground, there was a possibility that the land above them might collapse, consequently burying them and Yojiro alive.

How were Talia and her babies able to traverse underground?

They simply utilized the gaps between the particles of soil which was only possible for Talia on her queen ant form, and, at the same time, her ant army because of their small size. They were small enough to move along the small gaps of the soil, thus, they were not technically 'digging' and consequently not 'disturbing' the soil underground, making their traverse through the soil safe.

Well... Unless there was a big ass chicken that was jumping up and down, all over the place. The strong force caused by the chicken's impact could compact the soil below--reducing the voids or gaps between each particle of the soil and consequently crushing her babies to their death.

On another hand, Lifting Yojiro into the air with the use of her 'flying' ants was impossible. The height into which her flying ants could fly was not that high. At maximum, they could reach as high as the trees. Secondly, Yojiro was too heavy to be lifted by her 'flying' ants, even if they cover all of Yojiro's body. 

Not wanting to roast Yojiro and her 'babies' above the burning trees, Talia did not even consider that option as it was theory wise impossible, and unsafe. Thus, she was only left with the last safer option, which was to circle around and exit through the unburned portion of the forest. 

In fact, it was the most ideal path for her. Talia would be able to farm with the help of her 'babies', while, at the same time, being able to locate the areas leading to the plains that were left unburned in the southern part--the Western Forest and the Woba Mountain.

"Brother Mathew is holding the north... While Expert Bro and Scary Sister are charging straight towards the enemy's base to the west." Talia rubbed her chin as she stared daggers towards the Woba Mountain to her south. Then, she smirked--resembling a mad serial killer, and chuckled, "Then... The south is mine!" 

She glanced towards her 'babies' under Yojiro as if commanding them to carry Yojiro. Since there were millions of ants flooding everywhere, carrying Yojiro on the ground was not a problem for her babies.

When she was about to take a step forward--following the sea of her babies that were marching forward, she was flabbergasted when she saw two grayish eyeballs that remained 'undevoured' by her babies.

What's odd was each eyeball was located in two different corpses. One was located inside a wolf's skull, while the other one was located inside a human's skull. 

"My babies also consume eyeballs? Why did they not eat those two?" Talia said as her face wore a frown.

Talia can't help but be bewildered by the two eyeballs. They seemed like a pair, but for some reason, they had two different owners. So, she approached them as she commanded her army to leave that area--giving her the full 'view' of what happened based on the bones and some things that were left in the ground.

"Compared to the other wolves... This human's skull and this wolf's skull was separated to the other parts of their body." Talia murmured to herself. At this moment, she noticed that the separated bones of the wolf and the human were located meters away from each other.

"It was as if they were feasted upon by the wild wolves. Wait!" Talia's forehead weaved several more lines as her heart started to pound faster each second. Soon, her eyes landed on a bone of a human--the arm part, where its hands gripped a familiar Katana. "Could these be... the bones of the new recruits?"

Talia's body started to tremble as she slowly picked the Katana. Instantly, a notification popped out from her interface displaying the information regarding the said weapon. 

[Practice Katana of the Wind God]

Rating: Epic-rated weapon

Level Requirement: 20

Attributes:

...

...

...

[3] Sword Bound - The sword is obtained through clearing the Wind God's trial and shall be eternally bounded to its rightful user. If this Katana was used by the non-bound users, the attributes shall be reduced to 1% of its overall strength, while the Special effect [1] Wind Affinity and the Special effect [2] The Will of Wind would be disabled.

Bound User: Y???

[This Katana is proof of a man's strength and the proof of the Wind God's benevolence to humans!]

Talia's grip on the sword tightened to the point that it started to leave marks on her hand. The ants near her were worried, but, at the same time, they were scared to the point that they would do anything she would order even if it would result in their deaths. 

"So... It's them!" Talia grumbled.

Her teeth gritted to each other as her eyes burned hotter than the burning forest whilst staring at the frenzied and maniac wild mountain wolves who were still going against her army--the sea of ants.

After almost a minute, Talia took a deep breath and grumbled to herself, "They protected the NPC... Even if it costed their life. While... While I was busying myself with the loots!"

"If... If only I had arrived a few seconds earlier... I could have... I could have saved them!" Talia grumbled to herself. Then, she raised Yojiro's Katana--pointing towards the origin of the wild mountain wolves, and shouted, "ATTAAAAACK!"

"Be it players... or these bastard monsters... Devour them all! Devour everything! LEAVE NO ONE ALIVE!" Talia shouted like a General of an army.

In response, her babies charged with no restraint. The surge of ants became stronger, from a surge similar to the ones caused by an ordinary storm to a surge similar to the ones caused by a hurricane. They ravaged the land as if they were machines converting the wild mountain wolves into bones to be displayed in museums.

Their cries... Their pleads for mercy... Talia ignored it all. She simply picked up the two odd eyeballs and an inventory bag--Roval's inventory bag and placed them all into her inventory bag. Then, she stood and followed her babies along with Yojiro, and said, "This is... REVENGE!"