Danger

He raised his fist, punching the Ant King right in the face, then rolled on the ground toward one of its legs. Ben didn't even need to look to know that his attack barely caused any damage. He could still feel his fists stinging with pain. 

If he compared it to his old life, it was like hitting a block of iron with bare fists. He took out his pickaxe and then hit the stone surface underneath the Ant King's leg.

BAM! BAM!

[Ding! You get 1 Stone Block!]

[Ding! You get 1 Stone Block!]

[Ding! You get 1 Stone Block!]

With the hole that Ben made, the Ant King lost his balance. Its body tilted to one side. Ben kicked the ground and put his pickaxe back into his inventory. 'Craft Bronze Hammer! Modify its size.'

[Crafting completed! 50 mana used.]

A huge, imbalanced hammer appeared in his hand. The handle was the size of an average wooden staff, like those on brooms, while the hammerhead was larger, with the surface filled with sharp spikes. It looked like the hammer used to soften meat.

Both his hands turned bulkier as he increased his muscle mass. Then, with all his strength, he hit the Ant.

BANG!!!! CRANG!!!

This time, his attack worked. The chitin armor on the Ant King's head cracked, followed by a loud screech. Knowing his attack worked, Ben wanted to continue, but suddenly, he felt like he was hit by a truck.

The Ant King's hand swiped at his stomach, launching him into the air. He expected to crash into the stone wall, but to his surprise, what greeted him was something soft and squishy.

"My beloved, time your attack with me." Ben looked back and saw some kind of magical barrier that stopped his attack. Elvira was also there, with a confident smile on her face. Her hand glowed, dissipating the barrier and allowing Ben to land on the surface.

"That crack, can you break it apart?" Ben didn't know what spells Elvira had in her reservoir, but considering her status as a regressor, he was sure her fighting capabilities were more than she had shown when fighting against him.

"I can, but do you have a further plan?"

Ben nodded. "As long as his flesh is exposed, I will focus the attack there. The goal is to stun him enough for me to use Consume."

"Alright, let's go with that. Buy me some time, but remember, I can only cast this spell once. After that, my mana will run out."

"One chance… That will be enough."

The Ant King's eyes gleamed with killing intent. "You bug! How dare you hurt me!" he said with a monstrous face.

"You are the bug here!" Ben screamed, dashing forward to meet the king in a clash.

As he did this, he ordered the wounded Krell scouts to guard Elvira while the healthy ones helped attack the Ant King. This time, the Ant King's movements were more aggressive. He didn't just stand still. Despite his large body, he agilely dodged Ben's hammer attack.

The Krell scouts, meanwhile, could only try to distract the Ant King. They jumped around, trying to attack the crack on the Ant King's head. Elvira, meanwhile, closed her eyes. 

Two magic circles appeared around her, then moved and combined into one. Her eyes opened, and another magic circle appeared, drawing on top of the fused circle. 'To think I will need to use this spell now,' Elvira thought with a sigh.

It hadn't been long since she started her new life, and she already needed to pull one of her trump cards from her last life. "My beloved, dodge! Fusion Magic x3! Voltflare Lance!!!"

Swoosh!!!!

A fire lance infused with electricity appeared in the air. With Elvira's order, it started spinning at high speed, then shot toward the Ant King. Ben dodged one of the Ant's attacks while ordering the Krell scouts to grasp one of the Ant King's legs. He wanted to impede its movement to ensure the attack hit.

The Ant King looked at the incoming magic. Despite being impeded, he still jumped upward, trying to dodge it. But like it was alive, the projectile also curved upward. 'It seems she really could kill me if she wanted. Just how many more cards does she keep hidden?'

In their last fight, Elvira didn't use any spells other than Fireball. Comparing it to his spell, the difference was like heaven and earth. If he had gotten hit with this while still human, Ben was sure he would have been burned to ash with nothing remaining. Even at a distance, he could feel the scorching heat coming from the attack.

BOOM!!!!

The Ant King got hit and then fell to the ground. Through the dust, Ben could see the aftermath. The attack blew up a quarter of the Ant King's head, revealing part of its brain. Electricity crackled around its body, tying it up.

Looking at this, Ben's eyes gleamed dangerously. He kicked the ground and leaped toward the Ant King. The moment his hand made contact, the electricity also spread through his body, numbing his movements. But Ben pushed through.

It wasn't that he was immune to the paralysis; Ben used Metamorphosis to forcefully move his body. His hand pierced through the Ant King's brain. "CONSUME!!!" 

Elvira could see the Ant King's body start bulking like something was rampaging inside. Her face was pale, her eyelids heavy as her mana was now dangerously low, but Elvira still forced herself to watch just in case something happened. Despite all these attacks, she could tell the Ant King still had a lot of mana and vitality in his body.

'I hope it works; if it fails…' Elvira thought in fear. She knew the side effects of Consume. If the skill fails, Ben will be stunned for five seconds. That might seem short, but in a fight like this, that time was enough to decide who won or lost. She tried to carefully create another spell, just in case everything failed.

"You fucking bug!!! Just give up!!!" Ben roared in anger. Even now, he was still fighting the Ant King inside its body. He didn't know how the Ant King did it, but it felt like its flesh was alive, moving and fighting back against his Consume skill. While he was stuck, the barrier on the ceiling cracked open.