Chương 64: Maximus Goes All Out

As the cone-shaped wave of poison and acid crashed down, Lennox and Tereza activated Maximus's homemade grenades and hurled them onto the queen's burning body. The grenades struck and detonated one after another, covering the queen in thick, black, corrosive smoke that made her scream as it seeped deep into her body. The duo, seeing how effective it was, followed up with two more, after which Tereza unleashed arrows dipped in potent venom. Each arrow released life-devouring poison into the ant's massive body.

Maximus and Jane, as they leaped off Vesper's back, tossed two grenades each as well, making the ant let out a piercing, high-pitched screech.

"She is going to do it again. Move!" Lennox shouted.

"Jane, jump onto Vesper. I will move independently," Maximus commanded as his body shifted into a crimson werewolf. The ant seemed to focus solely on Maximus and unleashed another cone attack straight at him.

"You only bring trouble wherever you go," Silex complained as he summoned a burst of water and surfed across the far side of the chamber, Vesper following with explosive bursts of speed. Only Maximus remained. He drew the falchion coated in venom and lunged toward the queen, layering three Gale Steps midair before landing in front of the enormous monster with a thunderous burst of wind.

Jane's restorative flame continued to restore his spirit while Embi, still hovering above his head, enhanced the weapon with fire as Maximus poured what little spirit he had left into it. The blade shimmered faintly as he struck the section where the ant's armor had already been broken by his earlier spell. Three sharp slashes, empowered by his lupine form, landed in rapid succession before the ground cracked beneath him, and the queen's massive spear-like abdomen struck toward him.

He twisted, narrowly avoiding the initial impact, but on the return swing, the queen lashed out and carved deep across his left shoulder and chest. A thick, dark barrier activated thanks to his pauldrons, as he cried out and leaped back as far as he could, casting Nurturing Grasp while swallowing several seeds. His wound partially closed as warmth surged through his body. He turned and saw Jane smiling brightly as her Heal landed on him, amplifying his own magic and nearly sealing the massive gash.

He nodded in thanks and dashed away as he sensed another cone of poison forming, immediately followed by a spear thrust. Lennox, realizing the queen was fixated entirely on Maximus, seized the opening and lunged in close, while Tereza prepared her strongest arrow. A pitch-black arrow shot forward and struck with a ground-shaking explosion, releasing writhing dark tentacles that lashed outward from the impact point as more venom poured into the wound.

"Hah! I can do better!" Silex growled as he layered two Aqua Jets with the last of his mana, both slashing downward across the queen's body and shattering her armor. Vesper followed with a beam of his own, striking exactly where Silex's attacks crossed, piercing clean through the queen, while three globes of blood followed in rapid succession, hammering into the same spot and tearing apart her abdomen, bringing her crashing down with an earth-shaking slam.

Maximus paused for only a moment as the queen collapsed, focusing on restoring his spirit while summoning his staff back to his grasp. Lennox, however, descended upon the fallen queen with a silver-shining greatsword, green runes blazing across his body as he unleashed a devastating, unstoppable swing that tore through the ant in a single, brutal arc. BOOOM! The blade carved off a massive chunk of the ant's body, shattering the ground where it landed and forcing the creature to collapse under its own weight.

He leaped into the air as the earth gave way beneath him and landed atop her back, stabbing furiously, each thrust pumping venom into her body while every strike placed greater and greater strain on himself. He vomited blood just as the ant screeched, and almost all the eggs in the chamber hatched at once, leaving a few dozen behind for some reason. Sprout rushed in, wrapping Lennox in thick vines and yanking him back as the newborn ants began detonating around him, even harming their own mother.

I need a hundred more spirit. I have to hurry! Maximus thought as he began forcefully dragging spirit inward, every active boost on him pushing more and more energy back into his reserves with each passing second. The ant queen screamed again as she attempted to burrow into the ground, but the more she moved, the more the earth collapsed around her, burying her beneath layers of stone.

Suddenly, a pulse of dense earthen mana erupted from her body, and a new barrier exploded outward, phasing through everything until it sealed the chamber at the exit, while her form began radiating a dark emerald glow. Lennox paled and dropped to his knees.

"What is it?!" Jane screamed, panic rising in her voice.

"She's going to detonate… an unstoppable wave of acid and poison. When it hits, none of us will remain, not even bones," Lennox said as he slumped in defeat.

"Get up, human. Are you insane?! I'm not dying here, you bastard!" Silex roared, surrounding himself with a dense blue barrier.

"Sorry, croc… it won't do you much good," Lennox replied grimly, already understanding what Silex was trying to do. Vesper let out a heavy breath and ran toward Maximus, who knelt on the ground, swallowing seeds and forcefully pulling strands of spirit inward.

"Boss, the large human says we're all dead… Boss, I'm sorry for making you chase my stupid revenge," Vesper cried. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Maximus opened his eyes, which flashed with a deep green light as a smile slowly spread across his face.

"Nonsense. We're not dead yet. Have the cleric raise a protective barrier just in case; she should have something left. I'm going in," Maximus said as he rose to his feet. He waved toward the group on the far side and lunged straight at the pulsing ant queen, charging through waves of her children as they swarmed and detonated around their struggling mother.

"Red, what the hell are you doing?!" Jane screamed as Vesper returned. He stopped beside her, panting.

"How did the boss think I could explain that to her?"

"Haha… crazy Max probably forgot she can't understand us," Silex muttered before his expression hardened.

"Bloody hell… this is getting bad, innit?" Suddenly, Tereza broke into silent laughter as she pulled out her whiteboard and began scribbling.

"I can understand you guys. I'm a Ranger, after all." Vesper and Silex stared at the board, confused.

"She says she can understand you. Probably some kind of animal communication skill," Jane explained, her hands trembling slightly.

"Oh." Vesper blinked, then shook his head.

"Boss said to have the cleric raise a barrier. He'll handle this."

"Doggo says the druid will handle it. We just need to make sure we survive," Tereza wrote quickly.

"Red will handle it?!" Jane gasped before a grin slowly spread across her face.

"Yeah… I think I believe him. Come here, you depressed maniac." She grabbed Lennox and pulled him in as she raised a compact but dense golden barrier around the group, all of them huddling together as they watched what Maximus was about to do next.

Midair, as he hovered above the ant, Maximus activated his Centipede's Blessing. A small rune shaped like a coiled centipede on his stomach ignited, and dark smoke enveloped him, swelling his form to nearly eight meters before condensing into the shape of a massive black centipede. His obsidian pincers clicked sharply while hundreds of blade-like legs skittered as he landed atop the queen. The small hatchlings began to detonate around him, but his thick shell reduced them to little more than irritating pops.

He burrowed through the rubble and coiled tightly around the thorax and head of the massive ant. The queen descended into maddened pain and hunger as she snapped at his armored body, trying to pierce his shell, but it held firm. Maximus screeched in response before clamping onto the thinner section where her head met her thorax.

The serrated pincers cracked through the armor after several crushing attempts, and once the opening formed, Maximus bit down and unleashed a breath of pure corrupting shadow, flooding every inch of the ant's interior before following it with a searing spray of acid. The ant thrashed violently and screamed as her body erupted into a towering pillar of acid and venom, engulfing both herself and the centipede-form Maximus.

He writhed with her, coiling tighter, constricting again and again, slamming her body into the fractured ground before finally unwinding and skittering away just as the transformation began to fade. As he reverted to his human form, the ant queen released one last shriek before collapsing completely, her massive body going still as the pillar of venom broke apart and fell behind her like toxic rain. You have defeated: [Silent Queen Lv. 30] Talent Points gained: +4 Battle Token earned: 5000 Seeing the confirmation that the ant had died, he rushed to check on the others, ignoring the quest rewards for now.

"Is everyone alright? Anyone injured? I have some spirit left for healing, if necessary," Maximus said quickly, offering help.

"Boss, that was incredible. Thank you, truly. My pack has finally been avenged," Vesper howled, his voice thick with emotion.

"Max… that was bloody insane!" Silex nodded, still in awe of what he had witnessed. The silly croc appreciated strength above all else, and following such a powerful leader filled him with pride.

"Red, what the hell? Druids shouldn't have skills like that. For that matter, nobody on this damn plane should have a skill like that! Not even this overpowered freak has something like that," Jane shouted, clearly shaken. Tereza simply stared at him before flashing a wide, ear-to-ear smile and giving him a firm thumbs-up.

"That was a blessing, wasn't it?" Lennox asked as he stepped forward, relief written across his face.

"How did you know?" Maximus replied, confused. Was it really that obvious? Then another thought struck him. Wait… did Toby have a blessing as well? He recalled the massive snake that had aided his escape.

"I have one too. Nothing as ridiculous as yours, just a strength enhancement, but skills that far exceed what a class should allow are usually blessings, rewards earned through quests or trials considered extraordinary," Lennox explained.

"I'm truly grateful I met you back then. If I hadn't… we would all be dead. This entire fight was completely unpredictable. I still don't understand what caused the ant to change so drastically," Lennox muttered.

"Such is life, unpredictable and full of challenges, but that's what makes moments like these truly precious," Maximus said with a faint smile as he patted Lennox on the shoulder. The man was still a head taller than him, forcing Maximus to tilt his gaze upward as they spoke.

"Did you receive the notifications?" Maximus asked, curiosity returning.

"Yes, we all should have," Lennox nodded.

"Yes, the rewards are waiting to be claimed," Jane added with a grin. Tereza gave another enthusiastic thumbs-up. So, it really works like that. No matter who finishes the boss, as long as you contribute… I would guess there's a threshold for how much you need to contribute, but as long as you do, you gain the quest completion rewards as well. Maximus thought. So, you're not punishing cooperation. Smart. Maximus whispered toward Astrae.

"Maximus, are you willing to join us as we travel toward the City of Beginnings? It would be an honor," Lennox said, his demeanor shifting completely from how he had treated him before. Seems like he made up his mind.

"I don't see a problem with that. I appreciate strength as well," Maximus replied with a faint smile.

"Boss, by the way… the archer woman can understand us as well," Vesper whispered, making Maximus turn sharply toward her. She winked and smiled as she approached, casually scratching behind Vesper's ears, which he clearly didn't mind in the slightest.

"You better not even think about doing that to me!" Silex hmphed. Maximus chuckled and crouched beside Silex, gently patting his large head.

"You did well, my old friend. Thank you for your help," Maximus said warmly.

"You too, Vesper," he added before Sprout and Embi arrived.

"Yes, you as well!" he finished quickly, smiling before they could protest. Then the entire chamber trembled as thick waves of dense spirit energy began erupting from the queen's corpse. Lennox turned, his face draining of color.

"Maximus… the barrier is still active!" he gasped. Maximus turned toward the corpse and activated World Sense. The spirit energy and mana within the corpse had begun to collide violently, crashing into one another and fusing at an alarming rate. Without the queen's will to keep them separated, the two forces were spiraling into instability.

"By the stars… we are truly cursed," Maximus muttered, his face paling. Think, you old bastard, think! What can I even do here? He opened his status screen, rapidly scanning through his skills and traits. There's nothing… nothing at all. I'm out of ideas…

"Judging by that look, we're completely screwed this time, huh?" Lennox frowned.

"Fuck that, I'm not going down like this." He leaped toward the exit and began slashing at the barrier, each blow stronger than the last, but it held firm.

"The damn thing is still being fueled by the queen!"

"If only we could burn through all that energy before it bursts…" Jane muttered as tears began streaming down her face. Maximus froze for a split second, then suddenly moved. He lunged forward, wrapping Jane in a tight embrace, lifting her slightly off the ground as he kissed her cheek.

"That's it!" he shouted.

"Oh, you, heavens bless that brilliant mouth of yours!" Before anyone could react, Maximus spun and rushed straight toward the queen's corpse. Using the massive wounds carved through her body, he plunged his hands inside and began drawing everything inward, funneling it all straight into his seed. Eat. Devour. Take it all; we're about to swallow a forest's worth of spirit energy in a single breath!

Maximus gritted his teeth as he began consuming the overwhelming torrent of energy, forcing it into himself despite the strain.