Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat!-Chapter 363: The Golden Swarm

A feast of otherworldly cookout had Uncle Jed and the others stuffed to the gills. Even Dot was sprawled out, patting her little belly, a half-empty bottle of peach juice clutched tightly in her arms.

Uncle Jed, meanwhile, had once again succumbed to his paranoia. He kept muttering to Ethan, his voice a low, insistent drone.

"Something’s not right..."

Ethan simply rolled his eyes. He began to perform the technique Uncle Jed had taught him the day before. With each motion, tiny silver specks of light shimmered within the fascia and muscles all over his body.

Suddenly, Uncle Jed’s roar cut through the air.

"Nora, Ethan... run!"

Ethan, who hadn’t even finished what he was doing, jolted upright. He spun around, his Soul Sense sweeping outward in every direction. Within a five-kilometer radius, nothing seemed out of place.

But Uncle Jed had already burst out of the tent, Dot cradled in his arms. Nora followed, scrambling after him.

"What are you waiting for? Pack up and run!"

’This old man, always so jumpy,’ Ethan thought, exasperated. But the next second, he felt it—a disturbance on the edge of his perception. The sand began to ripple. He sharpened his focus.

Beneath the shifting dunes, tiny, fist-sized creatures emerged. They were golden, ant-like beings, and in the brief moment Ethan watched, they advanced several hundred meters, moving with astonishing speed.

"What are those things?" His mind raced as he hurriedly stored their belongings. He sprinted after Uncle Jed. "What are they?"

"Gold-Eater Ants," Uncle Jed panted, hauling Nora along while still holding Dot. "I knew something was off. We’ve wandered into their territory. No wonder the Sand Worms haven’t been chasing us."

"That can’t be right," Nora called from behind him. "The map didn’t show any Gold-Eater Ant activity here!"

"When was that map from?" Uncle Jed snapped, not looking back.

"Eight... eight years ago, when I left Clearspring City. It was the latest map I... acquired," she admitted, her voice trailing off.

Uncle Jed didn’t need to say anything more. Ethan understood. Eight years was plenty of time for any creature population to shift. These weren’t game-spawned monsters stuck in place. They were living species.

As they ran, Ethan kept his Soul Sense locked on the ants. They weren’t targeting them directly—just migrating in their direction. But even so, their speed was terrifying. Uncle Jed, gliding across the sand while carrying Dot and dragging Nora, was still faster than Ethan in his Stag Form.

Ethan realized he hadn’t yet mastered how to properly exert force. The Stag’s run relied on friction and leg power, while Uncle Jed’s movement barely disturbed the ground. He skimmed over the sand as if it were water, leaving almost no trace. Ethan, by contrast, kicked up clouds of sand with every stride, each step sinking as though he were stomping through a giant sponge.

He thought about trying Uncle Jed’s technique but gave up. Without refined control of his muscles, he’d just waste time. Better to keep running, even if it meant throwing up sand behind him.

"Uncle Jed, this isn’t working! They’re getting closer!" freēwēbηovel.c૦m

The Gold-Eater Ants were now only two kilometers away and closing fast.

"No choice but to run," Uncle Jed called over his shoulder. "They’re the apex predators of the Sea of Death. They’ll devour everything—living creatures, rock, metal. Doesn’t matter."

Ethan’s blood ran cold. On Earth, there was a species much like this—Army Ants that could strip livestock to bone. It was even said an entire kingdom vanished because of them.

"Don’t even think about it..." Uncle Jed shouted back. "Unless you can fly, just keep running. If you can’t... we’re going to die here today!"

"Fly?"

’Damn... how could I forget?’

He skidded to a stop.

"Ethan..." Nora’s voice broke as she saw him freeze in place.

"Kid, what are you doing?" Uncle Jed cursed under his breath. He stopped abruptly, set Dot in Nora’s arms, and shoved her forward. "You two run! Ethan and I will buy you some time."

"Uncle Jed..."

Nora hesitated, clutching Dot to her chest. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she turned and started to run again. She couldn’t match Uncle Jed’s speed, but she had no choice. For the child in her arms, she had to keep going. Otherwise, Ethan and Uncle Jed’s sacrifice would mean nothing.

Ethan stood perfectly still, channeling his Soul Power with every ounce of focus. Within his Mindscape, he locked onto a target, dragged it out, and hurled it onto the sand.

Thud!

A colossal object appeared, slamming into the dunes hard enough to shake the ground.

"What is this?" Uncle Jed demanded, eyes wide as he gripped an oversized machete Ethan had previously given him.

"A... car," Ethan said, too busy to explain more. He popped the trunk, pulled out an air needle key, and crouched beside one of the massive tires. Jamming the needle into the valve, he pressed down.

Hiss... hiss... hiss...

Air began to leak out, slow and steady.

"Faster, faster..." Ethan muttered under his breath, his Soul Sense flicking between the tire and the approaching swarm. Two tires were half-deflated, but it wasn’t enough. The Gold-Eater Ants were only eight hundred meters away now.

"Ethan... what in the hell are you doing?" Uncle Jed’s voice was tight with panic. "Let me help—"

He darted to the other side of the car, raised the machete, and swung it down toward the tire.

"Don’t—!"

Ethan knew exactly what Uncle Jed intended the moment he moved. He yanked the car’s steel frame with a burst of Soul Power. The fifteen-ton Predator Beast X lurched sideways just enough that Uncle Jed’s blade missed the tire and clanged off the wheel’s steel plate.

"Get lost, you damn old man! Stop messing around!" Ethan roared, cold sweat running down his back. Are you trying to help, or are you in league with those ants?

Uncle Jed glared but didn’t argue. He knew he’d nearly made things worse. And with the swarm barely five hundred meters away, there was no more time to spare.

"Ugh..." He stomped the sand in frustration, then charged straight toward the ants.

Ethan didn’t waste time watching him. Someone had to stall the creatures, or none of them would make it out alive.

At this point, someone might wonder why Ethan would bring out the Predator Beast X only to deflate its tires rather than simply driving away. The answer was simple: on soft sand, fully inflated tires had no traction. The wheels would just spin and bury themselves deeper.

Deflating them increased the contact surface and grip, allowing the car to move without sinking. While the Predator Beast X’s wide tires were designed for rough terrain, Ethan needed every bit of acceleration he could get. The ants’ speed easily outmatched the vehicle’s maximum of 120 kilometers per hour.

As the third tire sagged halfway flat, Uncle Jed reached the swarm. He bent low, swung the machete in a wide arc, and sent the first ant flying. The entire mass of golden bodies froze as if shocked. A heartbeat later, they surged forward in perfect unison, pouring toward him like a living tide.

Uncle Jed swung furiously, knocking one after another aside. The blade rang with metallic clinks each time it struck the ants’ chitin. But fighting them at ground level was exhausting. Ethan glanced up and saw that after only a few swings, the machete was already chipped and notched along the edge.

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