The spell formation within the mage tower lit a brilliant blue as Curtis’s spell took form. Dozens of magic circles that were over ten meters tall formed high in the sky, then dark clouds rapidly began to form around them.
Curtis fell to his knees and panted while squeezing his chest, and if one looked inside his body, they would see that ice covered numerous organs, especially his heart.
Curtis faced the opposite problem of Falael when he overused his mana construct. Where Falael risked overheating, Curtis ran the risk of getting reduced to an ice sculpture. And right now, the spell he’d unleashed and put him on the brink of just that.
But he felt it was worth it.
Once the dark clouds formed, it began to... snow.
Countless small, white pieces of snow rained down, and to most, such a scene would be harmless. Some might even reach forward to touch it.
But the moment the first bit of snow touched an ant, it suddenly got encased in a cocoon of ice that sucked out all of its heat.
In just a few seconds, the ice affected a huge number of ants, and the pressure on the defenders lessened significantly.
Moreover, when the snow touched a defender, they didn’t freeze. Rather, their bodies felt cool, and any discomfort they felt, like sweat or overheating, was undone.
This was Curtis’s most powerful spell, one he was only able to pull off because of the thing in his mana pool. It was no less effective than the nuke Falael unleashed, and it seemed like, soon, the daunting situation would be resolved after some effort.
...
Then a red line appeared in the sky.
It was abrupt, and for a moment, those who had been looking up to witness the spell that was about to save them from their predicament were unable to react. What had just...
Then, the clouds parted. The magic circles that had created them were all split in half before getting dissipated, like they hadn’t been there to begin with.
Then... something took a step.
An oppressive feeling suddenly engulfed the entire frontline, and a black-red aura erupted, rising into the sky like a pillar.
Weaker soldiers were suddenly unable to breathe, their bodies trembling uncontrollably, while the stronger ones were frozen in their tracks, bodies screaming at them to run.
But like a magnet, all their eyes shifted towards the source, and they saw it.
Its blade like limbs dragged across the ground as it walked, and every ant near it immediately stopped moving and prostrated in an almost fearful manner.
The ant from the special brood the queen had nurtured for so long looked up, quietly observing the frontline and everyone on it, then it raised one of its bladed limbs, prepared to sweep it horizontally.
Then, a blue flash appeared behind it and struck at incredible speeds.
But rather than dealing any damage, the ant just moved its other limb and blocked the attack, its movements almost nonchalant.
It turned its head, mandibles clicking faintly before it spoke.
"... You... are... leader...?" Its tone was inquisitive, and Sparrow would be lying if she said she didn’t feel a chill down her spine. But she just narrowed her eyes.
"Think what you want." Then she moved.