After slicing the Giant Termite's body in half, the Crimson Berserker Mantis shifted its attention to the three Deimos-Ranked Adamantium Ants, who were the next biggest threats on the battlefield

It was confident that no one on the battlefield could fight it. However, since it didn't want to take any chances, it planned to eliminate those that had the potential to deal damage to it before cleaning up the Humans, who would serve as food for its subordinates.

Naturally, the three Deimos-Ranked Ants, including the one that had lost its legs, all screeched defiantly at the approaching Giant Mantis and unleashed a barrage of Spiked-Adamantium Bullets, forcing the World Boss to take evasive action.

After half a minute of evading the three Ants' continuous attack, the Giant Crimson Mantis decided to use ranged attacks in order to weaken and disorient its opponents as a way to close the gap and deliver a lethal blow to one of them.

The Giant Crimson Mantis didn't have to worry about its targets, because one of the Deimos-Ranked Ants was already crippled and unable to move.

It then unleashed dozens of Crimson Slashes toward the immobile ant, forcing its companions to summon Earth Walls in order to block its attacks.

Unfortunately, this strategy backfired on the Ants because it made it easier for the Crimson Giant Mantis to close the gap between them since the Earth Walls blocked the Ants' sight, preventing them from seeing their enemy.

When they finally realized their mistake, it was already too late because the Giant Crimson Mantis was only a hundred meters away from them.

With one mighty cleave of its razor-sharp claws, the Giant Mantis slashed the Earth Wall in half and used its Burst Speed to instantly reappear beside the fallen Deimos-Ranked Ant.

Before its comrades could even come to its rescue, the Giant Mantis had already used its skill, Berserker Barrage, leaving deep gashes in the Adamantium Ant's body, and cutting off its remaining legs, rendering it completely immobile.

This all happened in the span of only a few seconds, giving the Adamantium Ant no opportunity to scream in pain.

A second later, the Giant Mantis flew upwards. Its Crimson Body reflected the light of the sun, temporarily blinding the two Ants that had moved to protect their comrade from the Giant Mantis' killing blow.

Seeing that its strategy worked, the sly World Boss used its skill, Sky Dive, to descend towards its target. It also used Speed Burst, which exponentially increased its speed, to deliver the coup de grace.

When the two Deimos-Ranked Ants regained their vision, the first thing they saw was the head of their comrade rolling on the ground in front of them.

As if guided by their natural instincts, the two Ants immediately unleashed Adamantium Spikes that sprouted from their bodies, preventing the Giant Crimson Mantis from following up with another sneak attack.

The Giant Mantis knew that the two remaining Ants would keep the needle-like protrusions on their bodies in order to deter it from attacking them at close range.

Because of this, it decided to shift its attention to the Lower-Ranked Ants and started a one-sided slaughter. This act enraged the two Deimos-Ranked Ants, forcing them to charge at the hateful Giant Crimson Mantis, whose tactics took advantage of the Ants' strong bond with the members of their colony.

The battling Insects' screeching and hissing spread throughout the battlefield as the Mantises fought against everyone in sight.

Asmodeus, who was tasked to protect everyone, glanced at his Master, who was currently standing in front of the Giant Termite who was on the brink of death.

'Master, it's no use,' Asmodeus said to Lux via telepathy. 'Even if you revive the Giant Termite, it is impossible for it to win against the Crimson Berserker Mantis. I hate to say this, but we have no choice but to take our people and leave while we still can!'

Lux, whose hands were pressed over the Giant Termite's head, was doing his best to preserve the body of the Giant Termite, as well as its soul.

Just like Asmodeus, he understood that even if he were to make the Giant Termite a member of his Covenant or Animated Undead Legion, the result would still be the same.

The Giant Mantis would slaughter them all without mercy.

'Take Master Randolph, Grandma Annie, Laura, Livia, Gerhart, and Cethus away from here!' Lux ordered. 'I have my ways to escape, so take them first!'

Since his Master had already given a direct order, Asmodeus no longer hesitated and summoned his Skeleton Warriors to grab the Dwarves.

"Gerhart, Cethus, come!" Asmodeus shouted, making the green-haired Half-Elf and the Dragon Born to look in the Archlich's direction.

Perhaps, the two understood that the battle was already lost, so they flew toward Asmodeus without asking any questions.

When everyone had gathered, the Archlich used its skill, Skeleton Make, and created a Giant Cannon.

A moment later, his two clones pressed their hands together and enveloped the Dwarves, the green-haired Half-Elf, as well as the Dragon Born in a Skeleton Cannonball, which was then loaded into the Giant Cannon.

A resounding explosion reverberated across the plains as Lux's companions were blown to safety.

Before the red-headed teenager could heave a sigh of relief, he felt something light land on top of his head, which made him smile bitterly.

"Pa!" Eiko angrily jumped up and down her Papa's head because the latter had decided to let her escape, while he remained on the battlefield.

Since the Baby Slime had the ability to instantly teleport herself to Lux's and Iris' locations, wherever they may be, she returned to her Papa's side in order to fight with him until the end.

'Master, our people have been safely evacuated,' Asmodeus said as he and Lux's other Named Creatures guarded the residents of Abingdon Town.

Pietro, who had witnessed what Lux had done, didn't say anything and simply prepared himself for the worst-case scenario. He understood that their chances of survival were slim, so he didn't look down on the Half-Elf for prioritizing the safety of his own people over theirs.

Suddenly, a blood-curdling cry reached everyone's ears as one of the Adamantium Ants' chest was pierced by the Crimson Berserker Mantis' deadly claws.

Everyone who saw this wasn't able to stop themselves from gasping in shock because they understood that when the last Adamantium Ant fell, it would be their turn to die.

While all of this was happening, Lux had fallen into some kind of a trance while he was channeling his Necromantic Energy into the Giant Termite, whose eyes had already dimmed completely.

When he regained his senses, he found himself in the middle of a colony war between the Fire Ants and the Blazed Coned Termites.

Everything around him burned in blazing flames, which made him wonder if he had unknowingly died and had gone straight to hell.

While he was still attempting to understand what was happening around him, he saw an old man casually walking in his direction despite the fact that the Fire Ants and the Blaze Coned Termites were fighting beside him.

"What you are looking at right now, is the memory of my friend," the old man said with a solemn expression on his face. "A past that has haunted it every single day of its life."

Lux stared at the old man until the latter stopped two meters away from him, giving the unfamiliar yet familiar person a critical gaze.

"Sir Drystan?" Lux inquired.

The old man smiled and gave the Half-Elf a brief nod of acknowledgment.

Although Lux hadn't met the old man before, he had a feeling that the one standing in front of him right now was the Giant Termite's one and only friend, whom it cherished very much until the bitter end.