Killer ants are insect monsters encased in thick, hardened shells. On average, they grow to about half the size of an adult human.
They are hexapedal, possessing six legs, a raised upper torso, and four razor-sharp pincers on their forelimbs.
More limbs mean more angles of attack, and a thicker carapace makes them notoriously difficult to penetrate.
While these traits alone are enough to make them a headache for any adventurer, they aren't the primary reason these creatures are branded as "Newbie Killers."
What makes these ants truly troublesome is that, when cornered, they call for backup.
If you don't take them out quickly, they will endlessly summon more of their kind to swarm you.
There were twelve ants in total. Although it was mentioned earlier that any monsters leaking through would be left to the three random adventurers trailing behind, neither Sushang nor Furina had any intention of actually letting a single one slip past.
Since this was the final lesson of the day, it was only natural that they should wipe out the entire pack.
Furina wasn't the type to strike first. Her combat style relied on elegant footwork and a lithe, flexible body to dance around her opponents, waiting to land a lethal blow only after she had deciphered their attack patterns.
Her fighting style, much like that of an opera performer, looked almost over-the-top, yet it carried an aesthetic charm unique to her.
Given this, Sushang naturally became the vanguard.
The Edge of Taixuan is infinitely versatile; no matter the fighting style, there are techniques to match it.
Moreover, having already attained Eminence, Sushang had long since moved past the need to rely on rigid combat forms.
Even with her physical abilities suppressed to match Furina's level, the lethality displayed by her technique far exceeded what one would expect from a Level 1 adventurer.
With a flash, she raised her sword and appeared before the charging swarm in the blink of an eye.
The golden Xuanyuan Sword cut through the air, leaving a lingering afterimage as it pierced with surgical precision into the soft tissue tucked between the ants' armored plates.
The sheer pressure of her sword strike shattered the monster's flesh and internal organs, and in a final puff of soot, the entire creature dissolved into black smoke.
"She... she killed it in one hit!?" The leader of the three-man squad behind them watched in disbelief.
Even though he knew these two were rising stars destined to make a name for themselves, he hadn't expected to witness something like this.
Killing a killer ant in a single strike—is that really something a Level 1 can do?
Seeing this, Furina realized what Sushang was trying to show her.
Even though the outer shell is rigid, if you stab into the gaps between the plates, your attacks will be twice as effective... Is that what you're trying to tell me, Sushang?
Though she was still a novice when it came to combat, she had already survived quite a few skirmishes with monsters on this, her first day. Naturally, she knew that every monster had its own weaknesses, whether apparent or hidden.
Sushang's sudden, explosive display of power not only shocked the squad leader but also forced the ant swarm to a halt.
Confronted by a human capable of instantly slaying their comrade, the killer ants didn't retreat; instead, they grew even more frantic.
"Mademoiselle Crabaletta, cover me."
Furina didn't want to watch from the sidelines anymore. After a quick word to her hydro-construct, she took a few steps toward another killer ant.
If she could, she wanted to finish the fight herself.
Though the number of ants was significant, the tunnel wasn't particularly wide—it was one of the narrower parts of the cavern—so their numerical advantage was limited. They were only engaging two or three at a time.
With Sushang sharing the pressure, she could definitely do it!
She... she was capable too!
Furina's footsteps remained as graceful as a stage performance. Her skirt flared as she side-stepped, narrowly evading the four-pronged pincer strike.
The hardened carapace shimmered with a cold light in the dim cavern, and the pincers hissed through the air toward her shoulders.
But as if she had anticipated the trajectory, she lightly tapped her toes on the ground, bending her body backward into a soft, supple arc. The claws grazed her silver locks, cutting away a few strands.
The moment she touched the ground, her ordinary-looking sword traced a delicate arc. She didn't hack or slash crudely; instead, the blade landed precisely in the seam of the ant's armor—the very weak point Sushang had just demonstrated.
However...
Too shallow!
The tip of the blade sank only half an inch before getting caught on the edge of the thick shell. The ant let out a piercing shriek in pain, its other forelimb slamming into the ground and sending a shower of stone shards onto Furina.
She didn't get greedy. Using the force of the impact, she spun and retreated, her skirt fluttering as she evaded the follow-up strikes.
"Mademoiselle Crabaletta, bind its joints!" Before her voice even faded, Mademoiselle Crabaletta acted in perfect sync.
Several crystalline bubbles flew in from the side, precisely wrapping around the ant's forelimb joints.
The bubbles instantly hardened into a transparent, resilient membrane. While it couldn't fully trap the behemoth, it delayed its movements by a split second.
In that brief opening, Furina had already mapped out the rhythm of its attacks.
The ant's four pincers might look chaotic, but every time before it struck, the raised shell on its upper torso would tremble slightly, and its six legs would instinctively shift its center of gravity.
She danced around the ant with quick, rhythmic steps, twirling her sword into a beautiful flourish.
At times she would probe the armor seams, and at others, she would tap the ant's legs with the back of her blade, baiting it into revealing even more openings.
On the other side of the cave, Sushang's Xuanyuan Sword had already dispatched two more ants. The golden gleam of the blade intertwined with the shrieks of the monsters, providing the perfect cover for Furina.
The remaining ants tried to swarm in, but the sheer pressure of Sushang's sword kept them at bay, leaving them to watch helplessly as Furina darted between their comrades' attacks like a graceful white bird.
"Found it." A glint of certainty flashed in Furina's eyes.
As the ant raised all four pincers for an all-out assault, the seam on its chest widened from the exertion, exposing the tender flesh beneath.
Furina stopped dodging.
She lunged forward, using the rotational force of her body to drive her sword in with all her strength.
This strike lacked any flashy flair, yet it carried all the precision and power accumulated through countless hours of stage practice.
Her sword pierced through the hardened bubble membrane like a shooting star, burying itself deep into that narrow gap and striking the ant's vitals.
The creature's shriek cut off abruptly. Its four pincers froze in mid-air, and the tough shell began to crack. With a dull thud, the entire body dissolved into a cloud of black smoke, leaving behind only shattered shell fragments and a magic stone that clattered onto the floor.
Furina leaned on her sword, catching her breath. She didn't stop, however; she looked toward the other ant, which was still tangled in bubbles, and a confident smile bloomed on her lips.
The success had washed away her initial awkwardness. The agility and precision she had polished for her performances, combined with the sword forms Sushang had taught her, proved to be a perfect match—and it boosted her confidence for the battles to come.
"Next!" Mimicking the tone of someone in her memories, she tapped her toes again and bolted forward like an arrow. This time, her footwork was more decisive, and her swordplay carried a sharper edge.
As the four pincers came down, she sidestepped, pressing close to the ant's body. Avoiding the brunt of the attack, she dragged her blade along the seam of its chest and abdomen.
The blade, shimmering with water vapor, tore through the internal tissues. The giant ant wobbled a few times before collapsing with a crash, dissolving into smoke.
The three-man team behind them was stunned. The lead adventurer's mouth hung open, his grip on his shield slipping.
If Sushang's instant kills were the pinnacle of raw power and technique, then Furina's combat was a different kind of shock.
She lacked Sushang's overwhelming destructive force, but through breathtakingly elegant evasion and terrifyingly precise judgment, she danced through seemingly hopeless situations before delivering the finishing blow.
"Is... is this also Level 1?" the young adventurer next to the leader muttered, his voice filled with disbelief.
Furina paid no mind to their awe; her focus was entirely on her enemy.
Mademoiselle Crabaletta's bubbles kept coming—sometimes binding joints, sometimes obscuring vision—perfectly complementing her rhythm.
On the other side, Sushang had already cleared five more ants and was carving her way through the rest, her sword light leaving a trail of rising smoke wherever she went.
Another ant lunged at her, its pincers aiming for her waist. Furina didn't even look back. She retreated with nimble footwork, twisted her wrist, and stabbed backward, driving her sword right into the seam of the ant's neck.
Without hesitation, she wrenched the hilt. The blade churned inside, and the ant's movements stalled before it vanished into smoke.
The shrieking in the cavern died down. Of the twelve, only three remained.
The pair was so fast, and each strike so lethal, that the ants had no time to call for help; they couldn't possibly compensate for their dwindling numbers.
Furina and Sushang pinched them from both sides.
Sushang's Xuanyuan Sword moved in broad, sweeping arcs, instantly capturing the attention of two ants.
Meanwhile, Furina set her sights on the last one. Using the cover of Mademoiselle Crabaletta knocking debris away, she slipped around to its blind spot.
As the ant prepared to turn and support its comrades, Furina leaped into the air, her skirt spreading like butterfly wings.
She gripped her sword with both hands and, using the momentum of her descent, drove it deep into the central seam of its back—the most fragile point of all, closest to the heart.
The blade buried itself to the hilt. The ant let out a shrill, piercing shriek. Its body convulsed violently, six legs thrashing wildly, but it couldn't lay a finger on Furina.
She landed steadily, holding the hilt until the creature's body completely dissolved into soot before pulling her sword out.
The cavern finally fell silent, save for the heavy breathing of the three-man squad and Furina's own light gasps. She looked at the scattered shell fragments on the ground, then at her own sword—now coated in dust but held firmly in her hand—and a smile of relief spread across her face.
She did it! Without relying on Sushang's protection, she had used her own style to defeat her own enemies!
Sushang walked over, the golden light of the Xuanyuan Sword fading away.
She looked at the sweat on Furina's brow and beamed at her. "Furina, you took down so many on your own! You're even more amazing than I imagined!"
Originally, their goal had just been to find one and call it a day.
"Well, naturally!" Furina immediately straightened her back, wiped her brow, and struck a proud pose. "Surprising others is all part of a lady's repertoire."
Only the uncontrollable joy in her eyes betrayed how she truly felt.
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T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL