Normally, an Army Ant colony would move after a single night of rest.
At night, they would cluster together for warmth and protection, and at dawn, when the temperature rose, they would resume their march.
But these ants... weren’t following that pattern.
For three whole days, they had remained in their temporary encampment.
It was unclear whether they were consuming their accumulated food supply or whether the Queen was laying eggs, but one thing was certain—this was their resting phase.
That meant their usual cycle was likely something like this:
Which, for us, was a good thing.
It gave my sister’s group time to catch up.
Since they were carrying bamboo cages for collecting specimens, along with our food supplies, we needed to regroup before starting my brilliant plan.
And when my sister finally arrived...
I finally understood why most of the warriors—except for Grandfather and a few members of the Venom Blood Squad—had given me that look.
“Good heavens...”
Hwa-eun’s expression was one of pure shock as she gazed at the colossal mass of ants across the river.
And yet, that wasn’t the end of her surprise.
When I explained my plan—that we’d be running ahead of the ants to catch the venomous creatures they scared out—her eyes widened even further.
“You’re saying we’re going to run in front of that?”
“Yes. When they advance, insects, reptiles, and other creatures hiding in the grass, under rocks, and in crevices will panic and flee.
That’s when we catch them.
Panic-stricken creatures that are only focused on running are easier to grab.”
She stared at me blankly for a long moment, then muttered under her breath:
“...First bees, and now ants? We just ran ahead of the Golden Wasp Kings not too long ago...”
And then I finally understood.
The reason why Gu Pae, the Venom Blood Squad warriors, and many of the Tang Clan members had looked at me like I was insane.
Because they... were veterans.
They had already experienced this.
Hwa-eun’s words made me realize—Gu Pae, the Venom Blood Squad leader, and some of the warriors had all been part of the group that raced for their lives when we transported the Golden Wasp Kings back to the Tang Clan.
They had already been through one death-defying race.
And now I was proposing... another one.
“Well, at least last time, you got great results, didn’t you?”
“...I mean... yes... but...”
To be fair, I had felt a little bad for Hwa-eun back then.
She had been utterly exhausted—dripping with sweat, running for days without proper rest or food.
And on top of that, because I couldn’t use lightfoot techniques, she had to carry me the entire way.
But I did feel slightly less guilty because of something Grandfather had said.
‘Well, at least she got a fortuitous encounter because of it.’
She couldn’t argue with that.
According to Grandfather, consuming the Neidan of the Azure-Spotted Centipede had been a great opportunity for her.
But the real reason it had been beneficial was the race itself.
Normally, consuming a Neidan or an elixir required months of meditation to properly absorb the energy into one's body.
But since she had burned through her internal energy while sprinting for her life, she had rapidly refined the power she had gained.
In short—
That death race had actually been a blessing for her cultivation.
I firmly took my sister’s hand and said:
“Well, now that O-Gong no longer needs to absorb the energy from the Neidan, this time, you can absorb all of it properly.”
It might have sounded a little cheeky... but it was true.
I wasn’t doing this just for myself.
It was all for her sake.
For her strength, her growth, her internal energy—
This was a gift.
Her lips twitched as if she had something to say.
And then—
Grandfather spoke.
“Now that I think about it, So-ryong, you should run as well.”
“...Excuse me?”
Originally, I had planned to let Grandfather carry me while he used his lightfoot technique to keep up.
But now, he was saying...
I had to run too?
I blinked in confusion, and Grandfather simply gestured to my chest.
“You did consume an elixir, didn’t you?”
“...Oh no.”
That’s right.
I had completely forgotten.
I had also eaten the Royal Jelly given to me by the Golden Wasp Kings.
Which meant...
I also needed to refine my energy.
Hwa-eun’s lips curled into a smirk.
And before I could protest, she clasped my hand tightly and beamed.
“So-ryong, let’s run side by side tomorrow.
I can’t wait to run with you. Hehehe.”
For some reason...
Her smile reminded me of someone who had just eaten something delicious.
I had a bad feeling about this.
‘...That was just my imagination, right?’
***
The night before, we had secretly crossed ahead of the ants and secured our position.
We had no way of knowing how much longer they would stay in their temporary encampment, but it was best to be prepared in advance.
We set up camp approximately 200 meters away—around sixty zhang.
Once the ants started moving, we planned to close the distance to 100 meters and maintain that gap while running alongside them.
Meanwhile, the main force—led by my sister—would be following from across the river, collecting the venomous creatures and insects we captured along the way.
Since we couldn’t carry everything with us, we had arranged to throw the captured specimens into cages and leave them on the opposite riverbank for the others to pick up.
With everything in place, I drifted into an uneasy sleep, too excited about tomorrow’s hunt.
And then—
A sound sent chills down my spine.
— Swaaaaah!
When I opened my eyes, the sun was already rising.
As its rays bathed the valley, the wave of ants began to stir.
The rustling sound that had once resembled wind through a bamboo forest was now unmistakable—
It was the roar of a living, moving tide.
There had been no need for night guards.
Because this was the alarm.
“They’re... moving...”
Beside me, my sister stirred, blinking the sleep from her eyes as she reached out to shake me awake.
“So-ryong, wake up.”
“I’m up, Hwa-eun.”
I sat up immediately, skipping the morning routine and tightening the headband around my forehead.
Every Tang warrior—especially those who had already experienced the first race—was doing the same.
Even my sister quickly tied hers into place.
At first, I had wondered why this was necessary.
Then I remembered—
‘Ah, right. If sweat drips into your eyes while running, it stings like hell.’
It turned out that people didn’t wear headbands just to look cool.
It actually served a purpose.
With our preparations finished, the O-Gongs perched on my shoulders, the Rock Geckos climbed onto my sister, and Yohwa—when asked if she could keep up—had confidently insisted she could.
She’d be fine.
And if not, she could always jump across the river.
And then—
The red tide began.
— Swaaaaaah!
The wave of ants surged forward like a tsunami.
At the forefront of the horde were the Giant Worker Ants—
The equivalent of soldiers leading the charge.
Their task was to clear the path, ensuring the rest of the colony could march forward unimpeded.
Behind them followed the Secondary Giant Workers and the Medium Workers, advancing in perfect formation.
This was the Army Ant march.
“The ones at the very front are called the hunting unit—they attack anything in their path without hesitation. We’ll need to be careful.”
“A-understood, So-ryong.”
The hunting unit was composed of the most aggressive ants in the colony.
They attacked anything that moved—no exceptions.
As I watched the wave draw closer, I took a deep breath, ready to move.
And then—
A scream tore through the air.
— Kyeeeeh!
A deer—or maybe a roe—had burst out from the bushes between us and the ants.
It had bolted in our direction, terrified—
But then it saw us and froze.
The poor thing was caught between two nightmares.
Behind it—the swarm.
Ahead of it—humans.
And in its final moment of panic—
It made the wrong choice.
— Kyeeeeh! Kyeeh!
One of the Giant Workers clamped its massive scythe-like mandibles around the deer's hind leg.
The deer screamed, bucking wildly as it tried to shake the ant off.
But Army Ants never let go.
Even in my past life, tribes in the Amazon and Southeast Asia had used Army Ants as surgical staples—because once they bit, they never released their grip.
The deer kicked frantically, trying to free itself.
But the moment it stumbled—
The red tide swallowed it whole.
Within seconds, it was gone.
Only the echo of its final cries remained.
That was all it took for the Tang warriors to explode into action.
No one wanted to end up like that deer.
“So-ryong, let’s go!”
Hwa-eun’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
I turned to see her already in a standing start position.
Her arms were raised, ready to sprint.
Even her mind was already surging forward.
The ants were closing in.
I took one last glance ahead and nodded.
“Let’s move!”
And with that—
The chase began.
***
Army ants had almost no eyesight, so they weren’t chasing us by sight.
But their speed—fast enough to match a human’s brisk jog—was nothing to take lightly.
And if they found prey, a battle would break out, drawing in even more ants from behind in an instant.
By the time we had been running for nearly half an hour, we had already witnessed several creatures consumed before our very eyes—
A bear, three boars, and two deer.
It seemed like the ants were following the riverbank to ambush animals coming to drink water.
Leaving behind the vanishing creatures, I focused on collecting the venomous creatures that were fleeing forward.
And then—
A voice called out from the opposite side.
“So-ryong! Up ahead, a giant snake! It looks like a mangsa!”
—A giant snake!?
I turned at Gu Pae’s shout and spotted a massive serpent slithering toward us with all its strength.
Glossy scales. A thick, muscular body.
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It was a Burmese python—one of the five largest snake species in the world!
“A Crimson Python! We have to catch that one!”
Burmese pythons weren’t venomous, but they were docile, easy to raise, and one of the best large snakes to keep.
‘It’s not venomous, but it’s worth raising.’
Gu Pae looked at me with an incredulous expression.
His exasperated voice followed soon after.
“So-ryong, you said the same thing when that Whip Scorpion appeared! And before that, the Toad! At this point, we might as well catch everything that comes out!”
Well—he wasn’t wrong.
I had said we should only take the most valuable specimens...
But everything we had encountered so far was valuable!
‘Is it really my fault that every single one of these is a rare find?’
Gu Pae let out a long sigh, but I ignored it and rushed forward toward the snake.
That was when the others yelled in alarm—
“So-ryong, that’s too close to the ants!”
“So-ryong!”
I ignored their warnings and quickly grabbed the python, looping it around my shoulders.
“Damn, this thing’s heavy.”
The Burmese python could grow up to six meters, but this one was about three meters long—still massive.
As soon as I secured its head and slung it over my shoulders, a chilling sound came from behind me.
—Sssk!
I turned my head to see Giant Worker Ants had already closed the distance.
And among them—
A Sub-Giant Worker, with razor-sharp jaws, was swinging its scythe-like mandibles straight toward me.
—Too close.
—Way too close.
And then, as if to punish my greed—
—Sssssk!
My foot slipped on the grass.
—Thud!
“Damn it—!”
Gu Pae and my sister’s eyes widened in horror.
In the same moment, both of them launched forward with qinggong—
“So-ryong!”
“So-ryong!”
Their voices were almost drowned out by the roaring ant tide.
And just as I thought, damn, I should’ve been less greedy—
—Chwaaaah!
My body was suddenly yanked forward.
I skidded across the grass, dragged to safety before the ants could reach me.
And when I finally came to a stop, I found myself in front of Yohwa.
Apparently, without me realizing, she had attached spider silk to me beforehand.
—Kisit! Kisisit!
Yohwa hissed, scolding me for my recklessness.
And right beside her, my sister added her own scolding—
“Yohwa, well done! Make sure he learns his lesson! So-ryong! From now on, I won’t let you get that close to the ants again!”
“I-I’m sorry...”
I had almost turned into a meatball.
With a deep sigh of relief, I reluctantly accepted my punishment.
From that point on, I was banned from personally collecting specimens.
Instead, I was forced to give orders to the Tang warriors while following behind Yohwa—
Because, apparently, she had wrapped a silk leash around my neck and refused to let go.
‘This is ridiculous... I’m not a pet.’
I tugged at the silk thread wrapped around me and asked—
“Yohwa, can you please let me go?”
—Kisit!
A firm refusal.
Even after multiple attempts, she wouldn’t budge.
And so, until the sun began to set, I had no choice but to silently follow behind her.
And then—
Just as the ant colony stopped at a hill, I saw something unexpected.
At the base of the hill, there was a massive gate.
And before I could react, a group of martial artists suddenly rushed out, blocking our path.
“Halt! From this point forward, you are trespassing on the territory of the Beast Palace! Identify yourselves!”
The leader—a man with a rough, commanding presence—had a leash wrapped around the neck of a wolf-like beast.
His gaze shifted from his restrained beast to me, who was still being dragged along by Yohwa.
For a moment, his expression froze in confusion.
“...Uh.”
And in that moment, I knew exactly what he was thinking.
—"No. No, it’s NOT what you think it is. It’s NOT that."