Specialized Species

Led by Staffen, those who had truly witnessed the brand-new power of the ant colony had very real reasons to be terrified.

And yet, there was a slim chance that their prayers might actually be answered.

【Kerrigan is extremely shocked to see Elise's new body】

【Elise warns: You and I are fundamentally different】

The Second Queen Ant, Kerrigan, had just requested Tyrant-related support from the main nest colony when she witnessed Elise's new evolution, her face filled with disbelief.

Lin Miao looked at the system prompts popping up one after another, a helpless expression on his face.

Elise had always been openly wary of Kerrigan, and as Kerrigan's self-awareness grew stronger, she clashed with Elise more and more frequently.

【Kerrigan comments: Elise's body has absolutely no combat value; its efficiency is utterly abysmal】

【Elise sneers disdainfully: You don't understand the first thing about beauty】

The only reason Kerrigan nitpicked Elise's body was that she had always loved fighting on the front lines herself, prioritizing combat strength and slaughter above all else.

Elise, on the other hand, had never once considered stepping onto the battlefield herself.

War was meant to be fought by the soldiers she created.

A noble queen should reign supreme over all creation, protecting her massive colony by any means necessary, her sole focus being to win the favor of the Great One. That was the only true path in her eyes.

“Um...”

With the two queens arguing endlessly within the hive mind, Celia, caught in the middle, could only watch them warily.

Only Lin Miao, long accustomed to their constant bickering since their birth, paid it no mind at all.

To him, they were just two little sisters competing with each other.

【Kerrigan demands: Provide me with magic cores to create Tyrants as well】

【Elise replies: Even the main nest colony's own quota is insufficient】

After some bickering, the conversation finally turned to the most critical issue: how to allocate their limited magic stone resources.

Though the two queens had vastly different personalities, both bore the mission of protecting and expanding their respective colonies.

Kerrigan, while temporarily letting go of the topic of Elise's body, refused to yield even an inch when it came to resource allocation.

“What are you arguing for? Just split them evenly.”

Lin Miao chuckled, tossing two magic stones into the terrarium to signal them to divide them fairly and stop fighting.

Then, utilizing his surplus interference force, which had no other use, he handed down an oracle to Celia: the bestowed resources were to be shared equally between the two sisters.

“The Great One has handed down an oracle: From now on, half of the bestowed magic stones shall belong to the queen of the migratory colony.”

Celia received the will of the oracle and conveyed it to Elise through the hive mind.

Even if a bit of intent was lost along the way, such a simple command could be transmitted without any hindrance.

She was now fully capable of carrying out her duties as the Saintess of the colony.

Once the will of the Great One was handed down, even the queens would never dare to disobey.

In the end, despite her immense reluctance, Elise still allocated half of the dropped magic stones to Kerrigan's forces.

【Kerrigan falls into thought. Elise asserts: The forging of the precise magic hearts suited for the migratory colony should naturally be led by Queen Kerrigan herself】

Elise directly sent over a giant magic stone large enough to refine dozens of magic stone cores.

As long as Lin Miao continued to drop them, a steady stream of magic stones would be transported over.

Relying on the hidden passages and ant trails spread across the northern territories, the worker ants worked in shifts day and night, transporting the magic stones to Kerrigan's location as quickly as possible.

However, Kerrigan still faced a problem: the magic stones still needed to be processed and forged.

Having witnessed every single change in the ant colony from its birth to the present, Lin Miao saw through her concerns at a glance.

Kerrigan's legion placed extreme importance on mobility, whereas the core-fusing worms had massive, fragile bodies. They could only stay in the safest rear areas, relying on the protection of worker ants to forge magic cores, which fundamentally contradicted the nature of the migratory colony.

“What should we do?”

Lin Miao stared at Kerrigan on the screen, falling into deep thought.

Unlike Elise, Kerrigan's body was born for battle, growing increasingly muscular, formidable, and powerful. She was both a warring sovereign conquering all directions and a queen burdened with the mission of protecting her colony.

Just as Elise had pointed out so incisively, she could not simply indulge in battlefield slaughter; she had to shoulder her own responsibilities.

【Kerrigan begins to explore a brand-new solution】

And so, Kerrigan began to rack her brain. Most of her intellect was geared toward battlefield command and military strategy, but as a queen, she naturally had her own unique way of thinking.

Furthermore, she had her older sister, Elise, to learn from and reference.

Lin Miao watched the brand-new mutated species Kerrigan had bred, unable to help but feel inwardly shocked.

These mutated species were completely different from any previous type.

They were extremely petite, far smaller than ordinary small worker ants, only about the size of a mouse or hamster.

Yet their appearances varied wildly, each designed for a specific task.

Hundreds and thousands of tiny insects resembling pillbugs gathered in clusters, using their sharp mandibles to gnaw and carve the surface of the magic stones.

Immediately after, leech-like mutated creatures mingled within the swarm latched on, slowly sculpting and polishing the magic stones.

Since all processes could be shared through the hive mind anyway, simply changing the method opened up a brand-new path for forging.

Kerrigan had even bred a toad-like transport individual that could house a large number of these tiny mutated insects inside its body.

They could migrate along with the colony, processing the magic stones on the spot and storing them immediately, thereby preserving the migratory colony's advantage in mobility.

【Kerrigan continues to breed brand-new mutated species】

But Kerrigan did not stop there.

After processing the magic stones and mastering the new power of the Tyrants, just as Elise had used magic stones to breed stronger mutated species, Kerrigan also began to forge her own unique Tyrant forces in her own way.

...

A dwarven unit equipped with cannons and other firearms stepped into a human village that had already been reduced to scorched earth, sighing repeatedly.

“It looks like those monsters have already swept through here.”

“Unlike the rumors... they have no fixed nest. It really is a massive hidden danger.”

The habits of the ant colony had always been thus: they took no furniture or wealth, only carrying off livestock, humans, and any other living creatures they could prey upon.

The western side of the plains was currently split between two factions: a Beastkin Kingdom that had migrated here to enslave the native tribes, and a dwarven coalition that had emerged from the mountains.

This was not only a chess game played among the gods, but also a brutal competition where various factions frantically devoured territory to strengthen themselves.

And Kerrigan's migratory colony had already become the target of everyone in this conflict, sweeping across the land like a natural disaster.

“Everything else is manageable, but the issue of mobility remains unresolved.”

The dwarven captain clicked his tongue in frustration.

The dwarven army possessed cannons of various calibers, and their combat strength was unquestionable.

If the ant colony had a fixed nest, they would have mobilized long ago to strike directly at the heart of it and wipe them out in one fell swoop.

But the problem was that Kerrigan's migratory colony was completely different from Elise's main nest colony; they had no fixed home whatsoever.

They were even better at wandering than the grassland beastkin, perfectly exploiting the dwarven army's fatal weakness of insufficient mobility.

“Captain! The scouts have spotted traces of the monsters not far from here!”

“Pursue them immediately! Even for them, resting and plundering must take time!”

At this critical moment, vital intel arrived from the front line: scouts had discovered the ant colony in a nearby basin, plundering a village and sorting through their spoils.

A sharp glint flashed in the dwarven captain's eyes.

This was the perfect opportunity to earn military merit. Even for a migratory colony, a swarm of worker ants sorting and transporting spoils was practically a free reward delivered right to them.

Furthermore, because the ants were busy handling their spoils, they wouldn't be able to retreat at full speed, making them an excellent target for a hunt.

“Advance at full speed! The unit that secures this victory will receive a bountiful reward from the great Earth God!”

The dwarven captain barked orders, urging his subordinates forward.

Dragging their heavy cannons, the dwarves struggled through forests and climbed over ridges, their minds filled with thoughts of wiping out the unsuspecting ants and claiming their rewards.

“...Strange.”

But when they finally reached their destination, the ant colony that should have been busy dismantling and processing a large amount of spoils was already long gone.

All that remained on the ground were corroded, shattered scraps of cloth, armor, weapons, and other debris.

“What on earth is this?”

His expression tense, the dwarven captain poked the viscous, greenish-black liquid on the ground with the tip of his sword.

The entire basin, once lush with vegetation, was now covered in this viscous, highly corrosive digestive fluid, which instantly rusted even the dwarf's fine steel longsword.

The liquid had not yet fully evaporated, emitting a choking, toxic gas that left the dwarven warriors coughing incessantly.

【Kerrigan is highly satisfied with the decomposition and transport efficiency of the new prey】

Gazing down upon everything through her aerial scouting ants, Kerrigan's antennae twitched slightly, as if she were wearing a smug smile.

Drawing inspiration from her older sister Elise's methods, the migratory colony's Queen Kerrigan had established a brand-new system: instead of having each individual complete the digestion process internally, they now decomposed and processed prey collectively outside their bodies.