Infinite System Inheritor Return From The Abyss-Chapter 230 Here they come

As the party continued deeper into the forest, the atmosphere grew heavier. The usual sounds of nature—the chirping of birds, the buzzing of insects, and the rustling of small animals in the underbrush—had disappeared. Only the sound of their footsteps echoed through the eerie silence.

Rio frowned and muttered, "This isn't right."

Seojun nodded in agreement. "A forest should never be this quiet."

The others, overhearing their conversation, chuckled and began mocking.

"Oh, what, are you scared now?" one of the men snickered. "You've only just realized it's quiet? Are you a rookie or something?"

Another laughed loudly. "What a joke. First, the slime, now you're scared of some silence. Are you really a Beast Doctor?"

The leader, who had been leading them, turned his head and shot them a glance. "Enough." he wasn't thrilled about their constant teasing either. "Stay focused."

Seojun kept walking, his eyes scanning the trees around them. Something felt off. The silence was too deep, too unnatural. Even the air seemed thick, like something was watching them.

As the party pressed on, the ground beneath them started to feel strange. The soil was soft in some spots, and in others, it had collapsed into uneven, unstable terrain. Seojun took a careful step, his boots sinking slightly into the ground where it felt too soft. His eyes scanned the area.

"Watch your step," he warned quietly, looking at the ground beneath them. Some of the holes around them seemed unnaturally smooth, as if something had dug them with precision, not randomly.

Rio, who was walking just ahead, stopped and frowned. "These burrows... they're not natural, This must be the new ant beast species doings."

"The ants are constantly expanding their nest. These tunnels go deep, miles even. They collapse under weight, so if we step in the wrong place..." Seojun muttered.

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One of the other men from the party laughed nervously. "Looks like we're walking on eggshells now, huh?"

But no one was laughing as the air began to change. A thin, almost invisible mist began to settle over the ground, and a faint metallic, acidic smell filled the air. Seojun felt it almost immediately.

"What is that smell?" Rio asked, his nose wrinkling.

Seojun took a deep breath, his eyes narrowing as he realized what it was. "Pheromone fog," he muttered, almost to himself. "They're marking their territory."

Rio looked confused. "Pheromones?"

"Yes," Seojun explained, his voice low. "It's how they communicate and mark where their nest is. This is the ants' territory, and the stronger the scent..." He paused, glancing around them, feeling the pressure of the air. "The closer we are to the Queen's Nest."

Just then, the group came across something even more unsettling. Half-eaten carcasses of other beasts were scattered around. Some were stripped to the bone, and others had been drained of blood completely. Pieces of armor and weapons were buried under the soil and covered in ant saliva. Seojun walked closer to one of the bodies, his face hardening as he noticed something else—a twitching corpse. It moved, revealing that it was still alive, but barely.

"They don't waste food," Seojun said grimly, his eyes scanning the scene. "They drag their prey down, keep it alive long enough to feed the Queen."

Rio looked at Seojun, wide-eyed, clearly impressed. "Wow, you really know a lot about ants, Ji-hoon. You're like some kind of expert."

Seojun nodded once, his expression serious as he kept scanning the area. He wasn't in the mood for praise, especially not here, but he didn't respond.

One of the guys snickered and elbowed another. "Oh, look at this, our little expert over here. Maybe he'll start writing a book on bugs next."

Another man laughed loudly. "Yeah, what's next? He gonna start a 'Beast Doctor's Guide to Insects'?"

The same guy from earlier chuckled. "I mean, who needs to worry about monsters when we've got our very own bug specialist?"

He waved a hand in Seojun's direction. "Come on,Kid , show us what else you know. Maybe you can talk to them and convince the ants to take a nap for us."

Rio shot the guy a look, trying to calm things down. "Hey, cut it out. This is serious." But his attempt was weak, and the group continued to make light of the situation.

"We should go back," Seojun said firmly, his voice cutting through the mocking laughter. "This is not something we can handle."

The group stopped laughing for a moment, but their dismissal was quick. One of them sneered. "What? Scared already, Kid?" Another laughed, "Not even the monsters here are a challenge for a tamer like you."

As the mockery continued, Seojun's system spoke up, [Most likely, This is not THEY can handle Host.] The system emphasized the word "they," making it clear that while Seojun himself could manage, the others weren't prepared for what lay ahead.

Seojun frowned but stood his ground. "I'm telling you, we should go back." His eyes flickered over to Rio, who stood silently beside him, clearly uncomfortable with the group's behavior but not mocking Seojun.

Rio gave a quiet nod. "I agree with Ji-hoon," he muttered, though his voice was barely above a whisper.

The rest of the group, however, remained insistent. "No way, we came here for a reason. We're going through with this," the leader of the group said stubbornly, a hint of arrogance in his voice. "You're just a Beast Doctor. You're here to help, so stop whining and get to work."

Suddenly, Seojun's senses picked up a strange vibration in the ground. It felt like a heartbeat, but deeper, like something big was moving below them.

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Just as the trees around them seemed to shift. One of the large trees beside them cracked, revealing hollowed-out spaces inside, as if something had been eating away at it from the inside. Before anyone could react, there was a sharp burst of movement beneath them. A huge, armored creature—shot up from the ground, its massive mandibles snapping.

The party scattered in shock as the ground shook beneath them. The ants weren't just attacking—they had set up traps, and now they were ready to strike.