He turned to leave, but he couldn't take a step without reproaching himself, without feeling guilty, because in a certain way he felt twinned with the animals. Maybe they were his enemies, but so were the ants.
He had to assume that, if he left, he wouldn't forget it just like that, so he sighed and turned around again, facing the army of insects. His only advantage over them was speed, so he could escape if they didn't surround him.
He sighed again and took a deep breath, trying to calm down and gather courage. Finally, he advanced towards the ants.
As he approached, as stealthily as he could, he was finding abandoned carcasses of insects and animals, carcasses that were being picked up by his assistant. With some luck, he would have enough leather to complete the level 15 armor.
A patrol of five ants advanced towards Eldi to intercept him, because he had come too close. They were level 14 like him, but lacked the variety of resources and equipment of the man.
A combination of arrows, several Javelins, a couple Crush Earth and some Boomerang with ice finished them without needing to reach melee. It was a safe way to fight, but with a significant expenditure of energy. He couldn't repeat it many times in a row. It was effective, but not efficient.
And while his assistants were in charge of collecting, he started running towards the ants. They had already discovered him, so no more stealth was necessary.
Again a patrol of ants came out to intercept him, ten this time, but instead of facing them, he climbed a nearby tree. The ants followed him and began to climb too, and he took the opportunity to jump and run towards the army.
When another group of ants came out to intercept him, he was close enough to throw the resins, the same ones whose effect had previously shocked him. But not only did he not consider ants the same as wolves, but he had promised to himself not to hesitate.
He threw all the mixtures he had, taking into account that he should do as much damage as possible, and cause maximum confusion. He scattered them as much and as far as he could, which was not much.
The ants didn't react with violence. They didn't see danger in what only made them a little more sticky, so they relied on the patrols that were already after that little annoyance.
He used Feline Response to escape the ants that were chasing him and had already come too close. Then he ran to a nearby tree, which he climbed by jumping, and while the other patrol of ants also approached. There were twenty of them, but more than finding a place to face them, what he needed now was the time it took them to go up. The small ice traps they found along the way helped him earn a little more time.
He took out the bow and started shooting arrows with fire towards the army of ants, towards the areas where the resin should be. He spent three arrows to find the first, and another ten to get the result he wanted. Just then, the first of the ants arrived at him and received a Propel. While the damage wasn't too high, it dragged another ant down, letting him gain the necessary time to use spears and arrows.
Meanwhile, in one part of the army of ants it was all confusion. The ants that were burning were trying to reach the spring, spreading fire and confusion along their companions.
It is true that only a few lost their lives burned, those which were totally soaked with resin, being the result less meaningful than what Eldi expected. However, the confusion caused was taken advantage of by the other faction, which feared the compact strength of what might be called an ant phalanx. But the animals were clearly superior in individual confrontations, or against a group totally in chaos, as army was now.
They attacked ferociously, without contemplation, without mercy, without hesitation. And although many lost their lives, the blow against the ants was much greater. When these managed to reorganize and form a compact mass, their number had been reduced by a quarter and, most importantly, they had lost the strategic position next to the wellspring.
From there, it was a battle without quarter, where the animals could retire when they were injured, reach the wellspring and prepare for when it will be time to attack again. It is true that the ants were able to hold stoically, maintaining their formation at all times. It was a formation difficult to attack and that allowed them to damage their enemies but not finish them. So, the animals could recover and come back.
Little by little, the number of ants was decreasing. And although their effort can be considered commendable, they ended up succumbing to their enemies, being totally annihilated. In fact, the battle had been decided from the moment they had lost control of the wellspring.
From the tree where he had faced the ants that were chasing him, Eldi watched the bloody battle. He found it hard and unpleasant, but having been responsible for that development, he considered it his obligation to be there until the end.
At the foot of the tree, and prepared to go back up if needed, he observed how the animals left the place once they had fulfilled their mission, many after a drink of the regenerative waters. Some looked at the man for a moment, but they paid no more attention.
Somehow, Eldi knew that, if they were in another place, they would be enemies again, predator and prey. But there, they were allies, in that place and at that moment he was safe.
He looked at the forest ground covered with abandoned corpses as they were picked up little by little by his assistant. In fact, he spent the night there, on a tree while the fairy continued her work. He had raised to level 15 and got a lot of resources, but that didn't mitigate the bitter aftertaste of death, which he didn't quite get used to.