RinoZ
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Chapter 1273 - Anthony On Tour pt 14
🕑 Added 2023-12-01 10:48:49 +0000 UTC[You really thought you were strong enough to beat a mythic monster on your own?]
[I figured you were just an ant! How was I supposed to know?]
[Iām a tier seven, mythic ant! Probably the first one in the history of the darn Dungeon. Pay a little respect, man.]
Thankfully, my opponent wounded nothing but his pride in our confrontation. I think, for a moment, the crowd were considering rushing down and attempting to subdue the āwild monsterā, which would have been a rather difficult scenario to navigate, but thankfully they relaxed when I sat down and didnāt follow up on my strike. I meanā¦ whose first instinct is to rush at the huge monster? The Folk are crazy, Iām telling you.
He rubs a hand over his furry head, disgruntled.
[If weād known you were this strong, we would have gotten some higher ranked swordsman to guard you.]
[Thereās no way the brathians lied to you about my tier, right?]
He shrugs helplessly.
[They probably assumed the same thing I did. Tier seven, but an ant, so itās fine. As a result, you only got me and my apprentice as guards, and I hate to say it, but we arenāt up to the job.]
[Oh, the rabbit girl is your apprentice?]
[What do you mean, rabbit?]
[I donāt knowā¦ I was just getting rabbit vibes from her.]
[And what are you getting from me?]
[Dog or wolf, depending on your mood.]
I figure honesty is the best policy. If Iām being unspeakably rude, hopefully someone will tell me.
[Thatās unspeakably rude,] he says, placing a hand to the bridge of his muzzle.
Dang it.
[Hey, I didnāt know! I apologise if Iāve caused offence. You guys donāt like being discussed in relation to the animal you resemble?]
[No. We prefer to focus on the things that unite us rather than the things that divide us.]
He pushes himself to his feet and looks around. A lot of the crowd has dispersed, but there are still people in their seats, looking down at the two of us.
[We need to clear out, thereāll be another fight soon, so we need to make space.]
[Oh. So these fighting pits get used a lot?]
That wolfish grin again.
[Around the clock.]
There isnāt a fancy exit or anything, I just find a relatively empty part of the stands and climb right on over, my opponent hopping along beside me.
[So you arenāt a blademaster?] I ask.
[What? Of course not! Iām of the fifth sword, not the tenth.]
Soā¦
[Youāre halfway to a blademaster?]
[In terms of rank, yes. My student is of the fourth.]
[Oh wow. Youāre lucky I went easy on you then. I wasnāt sure how much you could take.]
I can tell he wants to rebut my statement, but after being defeated so handily, there isnāt much he can say.
[Can I get your name, by the way? Itās getting awkward just to think of you as āthat guyā.]
[You were thinking āthat dog guyā, werenāt you?]
[I would never! Yes. Yes I was.]
He sort of ripples, and I realise it was an instinct, a dog raising its hackles. Although I make sure to think that thought quietly.
[Itās fine,] he mutters. [My name is Barker.]
I carefully donāt say anything.
Once we are out of the fighting pit and back on the road, heading towards the field the Colony were setting up in, theā¦ not rabbit-Folk joins us again, grinning broadly at her teacher.
They speak to each other, she makes fun of him, at least, I think so, and then weāre back to strolling along the path.
[So does this mean Iām going to get new guards? Stronger ones?]
Barker grimaces.
[Yes. I canāt exactly help people feel safe if you can kick my backside whenever you want.]
[Oh, I definitely can. Likeā¦ I didnāt even use my middle grade stuffā¦ let alone the best stuff.]
[Alright, alright! We believe in a thing called graceful victory.]
[I donāt.]
[Okayā¦ I guess thatās fair. Once we get back toāwhat in the name of the source?!]
[What?!] I look around, wondering what brought on the sudden exclamation.]
Barker points a finger.
[What is that?]
I look where heās pointing.
[Thatās a nest.]
[Itās massive!]
I meanā¦ it really isnāt. Weāve been gone for likeā¦ an hour, at the most, and thereās only so much the carvers can do in that amount of time. Itās barely fifty metres tall.
[You said we could build a nest, right? They arenāt finished yet, but thatās a nest. We sleep in them and stuff.]
[It looks like a castle!]
[Come onā¦ this is pretty small, as far as nests go, but it does have to fit a thousand of us inside.]
Once again, Barker pinches his brow and sighs heavily.
[I probably should have checked what you were going to build. Weāre pretty lax when it comes to building codeā¦.]
Iād noticed.
[But we arenāt this relaxed. You canāt throw up something this big without checking with the council.]
[Well, you told us we couldnāt go underground, which was smart, so they had to build up. Would it be better if it was wider rather than taller?]
[Maybe? It doesnāt matter, Iāll have to check with someone regardless.]
He turns and speaks to his student, who offers a short bow before she sprints off at impressive speeds.
[Sheās going to inform the school of whatās transpired here and theyāll send someone more suitable to guard you. When they get here, they can make a judgement onā¦ that.]
He gestures towards the still growing nest.
[And you should probably expect a lot of challenges going forward. Every student of the sword loves to test their mettle against strong monsters, and word of your victory will be spreading quickly through Freehill.]
[We just came here to trade,] I sigh.
Barker shrugs.
[Winning duels isnāt a bad way to advertise. Weāre the Folk, we admire the strong.]
Comments
Jan Ullrich
Just floating an idea for the immortals ant necromancy āeven in death we/you serve the familyā
taukid
Watch as the not-rabbitkin is named "Hops"
Elmithian
Probably got teased just as much by it when he was younger as other kids irl with badly combined names do
C Gillan
The folk playing tunnel ball would likely go really well or end in a Eldest Incident
Rahsheem Reid
That would be a really great diplomatic strategy. The Barathain might really love the game or the betting rather.
DurzoMandragoran
The Folk and the Colony are gonna get along GREAT
Quinton Thornes
There Definitely needs to be tunnel ball.
mly85lc
Have some healing ants chilling at seats add mage ants at the seats along side some priest to give of healing. Plus when in Rooma do as Roomans. Enter "ants arena" fight quats of diffrece ant monster and challenge the mystic elder ant!
Stile The Fashionable
Not even the Great Tzeentch foreseen that pun , barker lol.
ZaneofBane
I wonder if they'll ask for an example of his middle grade attacks to judge his strength?
ZaneofBane
I have a feeling there will be an ant-crafted arena shortly. I also suspect the folk might be interested in hiring ants for construction projects.
alt31415
Barker lmao
Kiongku
They need solant and her team here for tunnel ball.
Patrick
Yay, 1st!!
Patrick
Great chaps!!
Buck
He just HAD to be named āBarkerā! š
SuperNewbie
Ok I actually laughed when he said his name
