Fortress Defense

Ants rushed to the battlefield to secure their prey;

those they targeted fought to the death just to survive.

And the ant colony would emerge victorious in battle, each victory bringing spoils that made them stronger and stronger.

This was practically the entirety of the colony's existence, an instinct carved into their very bones, and a fate destined to repeat in an endless cycle.

On the surface, this was merely a routine process that had repeated time and again.

Yet, a fundamental change had already begun to quietly unfold from within the colony.

The origin of this change was none other than the Queen Ant.

Through repeated growth and evolution, her intelligence steadily rose, and her curiosity and desire to explore were slowly breaking free from the shackles of absolute instinct.

【The Queen Ant is pondering why “he” craves war and desires their growth.】

Forget the Divine Net, all the ants—including the Queen Ant—knew absolutely nothing about the existence of deities.

They had no way of understanding how the rift in the terrarium they had stumbled upon, and everything they had done after passing through it, had snowballed into such a massive phenomenon.

【Even if she does not yet know his exact purpose, the Queen Ant has recognized that every future war is not only for the growth of the colony, but also for him.】

Through deduction, the Queen Ant had vaguely sensed the existence of the deity watching over them, as well as what he desired.

Lin Miao's eyes widened as he stared at the successive notifications.

The current Queen Ant was no longer merely aware of his existence; she was actively redefining their relationship, striving to fulfill his expectations.

This meant the ant colony had finally taken action that transcended the bounds of pure instinct.

【The Queen Ant strongly maintains that they must fight for the existence watching over them.】

Up until now, only the Queen Ant had reached this level of comprehension.

But that was enough. The Queen Ant's self-awareness had long since exerted a powerful influence over the entire colony.

【The servants must eradicate the enemy even more thoroughly. For this, too, is the divine will of the one watching over them.】

The final outcome remained war, but the underlying logic had undergone an earth-shattering transformation.

The ant colony, which had once adhered solely to absolute efficiency, was now willing to bear the cost of inefficiency to achieve its goals.

A battle of instinct to hunt for food and expand territory was never the same as a holy war waged to execute a deity's command.

Utilizing all the resources accumulated during this period, the entire colony surged forth, swarming toward the unfinished, weak points of the high wall.

“It's the Wailing Wings! They're here!”

The people stationed there turned pale as they witnessed the colossal disaster sweeping across both sky and land. They desperately sent messages to the rear while preparing for a fight to the death.

The Church of the Goddess of Light, which had finally seized control over the entire Kingdom of Karmi through high-pressure suppression and purges, was not entirely unprepared.

Aside from the high wall, they had deployed troops at various key fortresses in front of it. If the ant colony attacked, they could buy as much time as possible and halt their advance.

The Pervas Fortress, built amidst steep mountains, was one of these defensive strongholds.

Baron Magus, who had been appointed as the fortress commander and ordered to defend it to the death, fell silent as he stared at the dense swarm of ants.

He had assumed the ant colony would ignore this fortress built in such treacherous terrain and head straight for the high wall, which was teeming with prey.

When that happened, they could seize the right moment to launch a surprise attack on the ants' rear and execute their battle plan.

Yet, the ant colony did not let them off. They had deliberately split their forces to eradicate them completely.

Watching the messenger they sent out instantly caught and killed by a mutated ant running faster than a horse at full gallop, the fortress scout said, “Lord Magus. The messenger we just sent out... has been killed...”

Baron Magus grit his teeth. “What on earth are these things?!”

The variant known as the gale ant possessed astonishing speed. It had six long, slender legs, and though its body was as massive as a bull, its instantaneous burst of speed and average velocity were so fast that once targeted, escape was absolutely impossible.

“Now we can only wait for the communication crystal to finish charging. Fortunately, this fortress is built on solid bedrock. Even without extra magic reinforcement, those things won't be able to tunnel in.”

This Pervas Fortress was indeed constructed upon an incredibly hard rocky terrain.

The ant colony did not make any special effort to dig tunnels either.

After all, tunneling through such solid ground was far less efficient than simply climbing up.

“Look! The other fortresses are still holding out as well! Although some of the ants headed toward the unfinished high wall, as long as we keep defending this place, those things will never dare to recklessly press forward.”

Magus pointed to the beacon fire rising in the distance.

The beacon fire, present at every fortress, was a traditional method used to transmit messages without wasting the magic power of the communication crystals. This proved that the other fortresses had not fallen yet and were still holding their ground.

“These monsters are definitely no ordinary magical beasts. They say these are servants controlled by an evil Outer God. We must never hand over our homeland to demons coveting this world.”

Seeing the resolute expressions of his subordinates, Magus grinned, encouraging everyone. He put on his helmet and ascended the city wall. “Come! Draw your swords! Defend our land! Protect our families!”

Just then, the ant colony, which had been silently gathering below and merely surrounding the fortress, finally began to move.

Turning his head while his subordinates weren't looking, Magus swallowed hard as he stared at the dense swarm of ants blanketing the ground.

Unlike them, who were shouting loudly, beating drums, and desperately trying to boost morale, the ant colony made no sound. They performed no superfluous movements, simply standing there in silence, staring up at them.

In truth, Magus did not have much interest in the Church of the Goddess of Light, which he had recently joined.

He only wished for peace in this land and for himself and his subordinates to receive the treatment they deserved—nothing more.

Furthermore, if he could establish military merit in this moment of crisis, his prospects would only improve.

Fortuitously, since even the notoriously infamous tiger hornet ant was nowhere to be seen, they should still stand a chance in this battle.

Beside him, his lieutenant reported, “We've placed the soldiers with the longest spears at the very front. We also have mages stationed to disperse any venom they might spray using wind magic. The walls are spiked, and we've prepared oil and tinder. If they dare to climb the walls, we'll burn them right off.”

Magus smiled. “Excellent. We have prepared for everything.”

Although he had never fought a proper battle against the ant colony, especially a siege defense like this, he had obtained detailed intelligence on the ants through the Church of the Goddess of Light.

He had utilized this information to make flawless preparations.

He had made every preparation to deal with the ants that would swarm up the city walls in dark, suffocating waves.

“Should I take a monster's head as a wedding gift? My fiancée's family has been adventurers for generations, and I hear they quite like strong men.”

As if the tension was a taut string on the verge of snapping, the lieutenant cracked a joke to ease the atmosphere.

Magus shook his head. “A disgusting monster's head? Don't be ridiculous.”

He thought to himself: A monster's head as a wedding gift? People from adventurer backgrounds really do have some bizarre tastes.

“Those monsters are fully in range! Archers and mages, prepare to—huh?”

But right as Magus was about to order the official start of the battle, the words caught in his throat, and he abruptly turned his head to the side.

In that split second, a massive figure enveloped in a violent gust of wind leaped onto the towering wall. Wrapping its forelegs around the lieutenant who had just been speaking to him, its sharp mandibles crushed the man's head in a single bite.

Compared to the typical slender bodies of ants, its pair of hind legs was exceptionally developed.

“Oh no! Danger!”

Hearing the urgent shouts, Magus whipped his head around, only for the scene before him to turn his blood cold.

Another massive mutated ant had bypassed the rain of arrows and spells, lunging up from the ground to land right before his eyes.

The ant leaped as if soaring through the air. Its pitch-black compound eyes betrayed not a single shred of emotion, even in this moment of slaughter and death.

The moment his eyes met those compound eyes, Magus let out a despairing sigh as he watched its long, powerful forelegs lunge straight toward him.