The enormous swarm of Killer Ants—a nightmare for other adventurers—was, for Liang Yue, the complete opposite.
They were nothing more than EXP to fill up his Sword Soul template's progress bar.
Calmly fixing his eyes on the swarm ahead, he adjusted his battle plan—frequent skill usage could strain the body, especially the Triple Slash. Similar to Moonlight Slash and the defensive counter Backstep Slash, it burned stamina fast; the former in particular was a burst of explosive potential, chasing the limits of speed.
"Normal sword aura…"
"For these Killer Ants, normal sword aura strikes are more than enough."
With his combat approach set, Liang Yue rose smoothly from the ground and stepped toward the swarm, fully focused.
He didn't even notice the natural sword intent flowing from him.
The vibrations from his footsteps lured every Killer Ant from the cave, flooding toward him like a tidal wave.
Facing such numbers, Liang Yue finally understood why even Killer Ants were called "newbie killers."
Their armor was thick enough to resist ordinary weapons—but not the edge of his casually raised blade. A white arc of sword aura slashed forth, cutting the nearest ant clean in half before it could close the distance.
And it didn't stop there—
The strike tore through the swarm ahead like an unstoppable wave, clearing a path with ease.
"Shame this isn't a tower defense game…"
"…"
Even after clearing the front, more ants swarmed from the sides. Their attacks weren't particularly strong—not to someone like Liang Yue.
Dual-wielding shortswords hadn't only benefited his Inner Oni Swordsmanship—it had shortened skill start-up time.
Take the Ghost Swordsman's basic skill Moonlight Slash: normally, one had to swing twice in opposite directions with one hand. But now, by stepping forward after the first strike and swinging the other sword in sync, he created dazzling arcs of moonlight in an even wider range.
The skill had always been strong—now, with top-grade second-class weapons, its damage was notably higher.
When monsters attacked, his Backstep Slash—its arc reaching far—shredded ambushers to pieces.
[Exp +68]
"…."
These were weaklings; even after cutting them down, Liang Yue felt nothing. In Arad terms, these Killer Ants wouldn't even get invited to the feast.
Once the area was cleared, he deliberately left a single crippled ant alive—cut in half and unable to fight—so it could keep calling for reinforcements.
If he could draw in nearby swarms like this, there'd be no need to wander the floor. Each clear would leave one "caller" to bring more.
Maximum efficiency.
After collecting the deep purple magic stones from the ground, Liang Yue's peripheral vision caught sight of a supporter not far away—a large pack on her back, striking reddish-brown hair.
Though her appearance was slightly different from memory, he recognized her instantly—Liliruca, of the Soma Familia.
As for her earlier "warning," he didn't believe it came from goodwill. On the contrary, his gaze drifted to the two shortswords in his hands—their value was obvious, and so were her intentions.
Given her nature, he couldn't help but assume the worst.
——
The sheer one-sidedness of the battle was something Lili had never imagined. Seeing the single surviving ant made his purpose clear—he was exploiting the Killer Ants' nature to train himself.
As a supporter, she'd worked with countless adventurers—even the Soma Familia members who exploited her would avoid confronting a swarm head-on.
But this guy… was doing exactly that.
"Just… what kind of monster of a Familia is he from?"
She couldn't hide her shock—not just at his relaxed posture throughout the fight, but at his combat style. The sword aura bursting from every swing—was it magic? A skill?
It shattered her understanding.
Soon, she had a bolder thought—could it be the weapons? If so, their value would be astronomical.
But as greed flickered in her mind, Liang Yue, having finished collecting the loot, turned his gaze toward her.
It was calm—yet it felt as if it pierced straight into her deepest thoughts, stripping away all her ill intent.
Without a word, she felt a strange tension. She hated those sharp eyes—they stung with the reminder of her own wretched past.
She considered turning to leave, but her earlier call had already revealed her position. She knew she had to explain.
"Well, um… it's good you're okay. Not many adventurers would try something like that." Her voice held a faint, nervous tremor.
After a closer look at him, she couldn't help but emphasize seriously, "Using a Killer Ant swarm… to train yourself?"
"I didn't mean anything else—just thought I'd warn you it was dangerous."
"…."
Liang Yue, of course, didn't believe her. Her real interest was in the swords—he just didn't say it outright.
And noticing she was alone down here—a supporter with no combat ability, only able to hide when monsters came—he suspected another motive.
Most likely she'd just ripped off an adventurer and was looking to slip away from the Dungeon before her "fat sheep" could find her.
Even her so-called warning probably served her own ends.
He knew exactly how Lili's story went in the original—only someone with Bell's personality could face her repeated betrayals and still choose to save her, eventually changing her for the better.
In the end, she'd leave the Soma Familia and find her footing.
But he had no intention of playing that role.
Her suffering wasn't his doing—and extending a hand of kindness would only earn him a knife in the back.
He'd rather deal with Freya than get involved with her.
Even at her "kind reminder," his expression didn't change. His voice, however, carried a pointed undertone.
"Rather than worrying about my safety…"
"…you should be thinking about your own. A supporter wandering the Dungeon alone… is the one who really ought to be worried."
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