“This is truly ruthless.”
In Lin Miao's eyes, the invasive nesting implemented by the ant colony in the southern part of the Empire under Elise's direction was breathtakingly persistent and malicious.
And it is very similar to what Abhoth's servants did. To think they would come up with such similar methods in completely different worlds under completely different circumstances. Is this what they call different paths leading to the same destination?
Lin Miao's strong reaction was because the method Elise had devised on her own was strikingly similar to how the servants of Abhoth, the Outer God that had invaded Earth, opened rifts to erode and seize land.
It had been over a decade since those otherworld monsters seized parts of the coastal regions.
Today, reclaiming those lands had become the nation's mission and a staple of official propaganda.
Moreover, it was utterly impossible for the Imperial Army to disperse its forces to deal with the nests the ant colony was building everywhere.
Thanks to the hive mind, which allowed for rapid information exchange and decision-making, the ant colony was always one step ahead of them, whether massing together or scattering.
“Enemies!”
“The—the sky!”
If the Imperial Army let its guard down even slightly, they would be surrounded from all sides and completely wiped out by the ant colony, which was always aware of their movements.
Whether it was mercenaries acting recklessly for merit or furious refugees taking up arms for revenge, none could escape their doom.
Especially now that the Great Devourer had begun producing its own flying species, such as tiger hornet ants and Dragon Ants, they spared no one who stood against them.
The southern part of the Empire had completely transformed into an apocalyptic world where the Empire's original order and laws no longer existed.
【Elise estimates that if this system is maintained for a few months, the human colonies will collapse.】
And this was exactly the result Elise wanted. When everything the Empire had built gradually crumbled, and their civilization eventually regressed instead of progressing...
That seemingly indestructible high wall would inevitably collapse as well.
“O Great One, please hear my prayer.”
At that moment, inside a nest built in a ruined small city, Celia closed her eyes and prayed to Lin Miao.
“Her Majesty the Queen has chosen to avoid direct confrontation and instead focus on erosion and expanding the nests. This is undoubtedly the best strategy for victory and survival.”
Over the past few days, watching the world gradually fall to ruin had filled Celia's heart with anguish.
The sacrifices of war were at least confined to the soldiers who participated.
But a tactic like the Great Devourer's, which destroyed the entire ecosystem, could potentially claim millions of victims.
“More importantly, with the Great Devourer's current capabilities, it is impossible for them to survive in a world that is completely destroyed and devoid of nutrients.”
Celia pointed out more than just that.
She had realized that the Great Devourer's actions would ultimately destroy their own future as well.
Currently, Elise's main nest colony relied primarily on large-scale mushroom farms in the vast northern forest for food.
While mushrooms growing on the nutrients of giant trees in undeveloped regions could indeed sustain millions of ants, it was by no means infinite.
The ant colony had not yet learned how to survive in barren lands devoid of trees and mushrooms.
Lin Miao the food provided through the terrarium was also limited.
Looking at it now, expecting them to learn photosynthesis is still unrealistic. For the ant colony to take the next step, they need a new system.
Lin Miao had searched for related information, but aside from microorganisms, animals that could photosynthesize and were of a size suitable for the ant colony to consume were extremely rare and highly imperfect.
Just as Celia said, the ability to survive on completely devastated land was currently unattainable.
This meant that Lin Miao's ant colony was, in the end, still a part of the ecosystem.
Though he did not know what would happen once they transcended the ecosystem, the ant colony still had a long way to go for now.
“But right now, the powerful nation right next to our base, the Lucadia Empire, and the power of the gods who rule it, indeed pose a massive threat. Elise will certainly do everything in her power to eliminate this danger.”
Through an oracle, Lin Miao had explained to Celia why Elise was using such extreme methods and why she was so determined to destroy the Empire.
Because if the Empire's magitech civilization were allowed to continue developing, it would deal a fatal blow to the ant colony. Thus, for the sake of survival, the ant colony had to destroy the Empire.
“I... will do my best.”
Hearing this, Celia could not refute it and could only bite her lip.
In fact, as someone who had once been to the heart of the Empire—the Silver Twilight Secret Society—she understood the potential of the Empire better than anyone.
...
“I'll put her in touch with you soon.”
Bai Zhantang, who had always wanted to increase his Awakened combat power to maintain and expand his company's business, was left speechless with shock when he received Ye Yunshang's contact information from Lin Miao.
“This person... is a highly famous prospect!”
That goddess, who had been unwilling to spend all her points on a single person, had ultimately lost to Lin Miao in the bidding war.
Lin Miao had successfully transferred her from the banner of another deity to his own—or more accurately, to the name of his own Awakened agency.
“She doesn't know anything yet, so treat her well.”
Hearing Lin Miao's deliberate emphasis on “doesn't know anything,” Bai Zhantang immediately held his breath and hurriedly replied, “O-Of course.”
Ye Yunshang did not yet know of the existence of deities.
Therefore, she would have no idea why she had been transferred from her original company.
From Ye Yunshang's perspective, she had been doing perfectly fine, only to be demoted and practically kicked out overnight.
She must be incredibly shocked and disappointed right now. When will be the right time to tell her the truth... Lin Miao's eyes flickered slightly as he looked at the darkened screen of his phone.
【Divine Status upgraded due to notoriety and destructive expansion propagated by your vassals.】
【Mid-Tier Deity, Grade II → Mid-Tier Deity, Grade III】
【Certain restricted functions have been unlocked.】
Just moments ago, Lin Miao had received the notification of his Divine Status upgrade.
This was recognition for the ant colony's rampage within the Empire, which had ultimately turned the entire southern region into a lawless living hell.
I recall that generally, only deities who completely control a normal-sized world are recognized as high-tier deities.
Although the ant colony's momentum was fierce, they had currently only occupied a portion of the continent.
Even so, Lin Miao's Divine Status was still steadily rising, which proved that what the ant colony was demonstrating was no longer just simple territorial expansion.
It was highly likely because of his notoriety.
【Function Unlocked: Trait Extraction】
“This is...”
Upon reaching Mid-Tier Deity, Grade III, Lin Miao had obtained a new system function.
Unlike other deities who reached the pinnacle of specific fields to become transcendent beings, Lin Miao himself possessed no special talents. Therefore, functions bestowed by the system like this were exceptionally precious to him.
As he read the explanation that appeared, Lin Miao's eyes widened.
“I can extract a trait from one vassal and bestow it upon another?”
On the Divine Net forum, deities were always searching for promising vassals.
Different races and individuals naturally possessed different abilities.
Deities would take these outstanding and unique individuals as vassals, extracting their abilities to strengthen their own forces.
【Insufficient interference force.】
Eager to try, Lin Miao immediately attempted to use the function, only for a prompt indicating insufficient interference force to pop up.
Unlike other deities who did not require interference force to communicate with their vassals, even as a Mid-Tier Deity, Lin Miao still needed to consume a massive amount of interference force to perform this action.
Just a little bit more, I'll have enough soon.
However, Lin Miao checked and confirmed that the deficit was not large.
While regularly placing fixed amounts of magic stones into the terrarium, Lin Miao felt confident that within a few days at the earliest, he would have the opportunity to test this new ability.
Conveniently, a new enemy was also about to take the stage.
Rate on N.U.
