“Even so, nearly half of our people should have escaped alive. After all, those monsters suffered heavy casualties in that tragic battle as well...”
“But those things are still constantly hatching from their eggs. Right at this very moment. Over time, they will definitely recover to their original numbers. That has already been proven.”
Gobad's beastkin forces, in terms of numbers alone, gathered more than half of the established powerful clans on the plains, making them the absolute main force of this land.
Yet, such a massive force had taken the initiative to attack in order to eradicate the ant colony early, only to suffer a crushing defeat in a head-on clash, ending up nearly wiped out.
Just as the scouting squad captain reported to Gorzan—the High Chief who had been elected as the leader of the joint coalition army—even if many had escaped alive, it was completely meaningless.
The warriors capable of fighting had been completely depleted, while the nearly decimated ant colony would not take long to recover to its original size. This was already common knowledge.
Even beastkin could not match the ant colony's incredibly short growth cycle from hatching to adulthood.
And this was the most fatal gap between the two sides.
“Are those things born solely to fight?”
Gorzan, left alone in his tent, muttered blankly to himself.
The servants of the Outer God and the mutated ant colony they faced seemed designed for war and created for victory down to their very genetic level.
From the low-tier individuals who sacrificed their lives for victory without a second thought, to the collective obsession that poured everything into the expansion and growth of the colony, none of it was something ordinary creatures could achieve.
[God of War: You are absolutely right. They are servants created by an Outer God, born to be nothing but tools.]
Hearing Gorzan's murmurs, the deity he worshipped, Uria, grit his teeth and posted on the deity forum of the Divine Net.
[God of War: Are you all just going to stand by and watch? We are suffering here while other guys are growing smoothly. Who will be the next to suffer?]
[God of Wisdom: Understood. I will provide you with support as soon as possible.]
Uria's anger finally elicited successive replies from the other deities, promising to help.
Of course, the world of Terra was still in its early stages of development.
In other words, these deities had not yet established a firm foothold here.
Among all the proposals, the only one that could provide substantial help came from the deity of the Lucadia Empire, which was continuously expanding its territory in the vast southern plains.
[God of Wisdom: However, we cannot just wait around now. I heard that the monster unit that fought your beastkin army is also nearly wiped out. If you can use your remaining forces to clean up these remnants, we will join forces and completely uproot the monsters' main nest in the northeastern forest together.]
'This guy...'
But this deity had instead made a counter-demand of Uria.
He wanted Uria to use his own forces to clean up the half-crippled migratory colony first. Only then would he send reinforcements to jointly wipe out the main nest of the ant colony entrenched in the undeveloped northeastern forest.
Uria, seeing through the other party's intentions, grit his teeth in anger, but he had no other choice.
[God of War: Fine!]
In the end, Uria could only accept the proposal, feeling in his heart that this was all the fault of that Outer God's servants, who just had to build their nest right next to the territory he had chosen.
'This proposal is actually quite reasonable.'
However, all the deities speaking in the forum overlooked one thing: the entity they regarded as an Outer God outside the system was currently lurking in their chatroom, listening to their entire conversation.
【The servants have set the recovery of the ant colony as the highest priority goal】
Just as the deities discussed on the deity forum, the migratory colony that had fought this battle against the beastkin army might have won, but they had also paid a devastating price.
Their pre-war numbers of tens of thousands had now plummeted to less than half.
Aside from the worker ants responsible for tending the eggs and larvae, the mutated species that served as the main combat force suffered even heavier casualties.
'No, I must have the main nest send reinforcements.'
Lin Miao calculated repeatedly in his mind but could not think of any other solution.
Now, the main nest colony, which was still continuously battering the high wall and growing stronger, had to provide support.
【Elise has decided to support the subordinate colony】
In fact, the ant colony itself had realized this.
It was just that they did not know yet that the enemy would give them no time to recover their strength and would strike again within a few days.
This was something he had to tell them himself.
He had to warn them to prepare for battle.
Relying solely on the previous intuitive warnings was not enough.
He needed a more direct and impactful method.
“Time to eat.”
Lin Miao abandoned the experiments testing their limits, quickly prepared new materials, and dropped them into the terrarium.
He only hoped they could read his intentions and react correctly, just like before.
【Elise is bewildered by the sudden influx of a large amount of prey】
Such a situation had never occurred before, so it was only natural for them to be bewildered.
But Lin Miao did not stop. He grabbed several dragonflies he had caught alive beforehand, threw them into the terrarium, and quickly closed the lid.
'I should have done this sooner.'
The ants that had already dismantled and devoured the giant centipedes Lin Miao put in earlier immediately swarmed over, instantly subduing the dragonflies, whose wings had been clipped on one side by Lin Miao so they could not fly properly.
Elise devoured the new materials Lin Miao introduced one after another, continuously absorbing their abilities.
In fact, the only reason Lin Miao could afford to throw in materials so generously now was thanks to the migratory colony's overwhelming victory on the plains.
【Prey crossing the plains is being transported to the main nest】
As the days passed, unlike the pure combat-type mutated species that only focused on fighting, the worker ants of various sizes—who were not granted any special abilities—would work non-stop as long as it was not physically impossible.
They lived solely to work, until they died on the job, after which they would be devoured by their own kind, turning into nutrients to return to the colony.
Wherever the migratory colony passed, they left behind countless underground tunnels that formed a transport network exclusive to the ant colony, all thanks to the worker ants.
A portion of the countless beastkin corpses, obtained at a devastating cost by the migratory colony, was currently being continuously transported to the main nest through these tunnels.
And these corpses were the core driving force that allowed Elise to grow and make the next generation of ants even stronger.
【Elise insists that the Great One suddenly bestowing so many rewards must have a deeper meaning】
The colony continued to happily devour the prey Lin Miao provided as usual, but Elise was different.
She sensed that Lin Miao's actions this time were different from before, convinced that there must be a special meaning hidden within.
【Under Elise's strong insistence, the colony has agreed to put all efforts into expanding troop production】
“Phew.”
Although they had not yet fully deciphered the message "the enemy is coming soon, prepare quickly," Elise was convinced the Great One's actions held a profound meaning. She insisted on expanding their forces with all their might, and the entire colony's nest was constantly laying eggs without a single moment of rest.
This was enough. In any case, the brand-new genetic information analyzed by Elise would be shared with the Second Queen Ant through the hive mind.
Moreover, by preparing their forces in advance, they could immediately send reinforcements if any emergency arose.
【The Second Queen Ant has completed another molting process】
“Hmm? What's going on with this one now?”
At this moment, the migratory colony's Queen Ant, who was still frantically devouring the mountain of beastkin corpses, completed another molting process, undergoing an unexpected mutation.
【The Second Queen Ant has learned a great deal from the previous battle. Knowing she cannot be protected layer by layer like Elise, she believes she must possess the ability to fight】
It seemed the previous assassination attempt by the beastkin mobile unit had left a profound impression on the migratory colony's Queen Ant.
Although she had not suffered any harm thanks to the forces she had ambushed in advance, she knew such an event could happen again at any time, and she could not always make perfect preparations beforehand.
Thus, during this molting process, she personally modified and evolved her originally defenseless body, solely to protect herself with her own hands when danger arrived.
'This is insane.'
Accompanied by splashing bodily fluids, she crawled out of her cracked old shell. The monster before him was unrecognizable compared to her previous self.
She was clad in a heavy exoskeleton of soldier ant grade, and her body size had exploded by nearly 1.5 times.
Most shocking of all were the four giant scythe-like legs growing from her back. Normally, they could assist in moving her massive body, but in times of danger, they could turn into weapons, slashing and piercing in all directions.
She had taken a completely different path from Elise, who invested all her resources into brain development.
Just as they had evolved completely different mutated species using the same genetic information, the two Queen Ants at the core of the colony were also slowly evolving in vastly different directions.
【The servants have detected the approach of enemy forces】
A few days passed just like that.
The migratory colony had completely retrieved and devoured all the corpses of both the fallen enemies and their own kin.
However, their strength had not yet fully recovered, and they were still in their most fatal period of weakness.
At this moment, a squad of beastkin riding Earth Slabs approached silently, gliding forward.
This was precisely the beastkin unit that Lin Miao had foreseen, dispatched under the deity's orders to eradicate the migratory colony.
【The migratory colony has begun preparing to evacuate】
The ant colony immediately began preparing to evacuate.
Despite their usual appearance as invincible destroyers, they were never reckless fools who only knew how to charge mindlessly.
'They just need to buy enough time.'
They knew very well that sometimes buying time and waiting for reinforcements was the most correct choice.
While constantly laying eggs, the migratory colony's Queen Ant had already given birth to new queens and was currently raising them as larvae.
Interestingly, this Second Queen Ant, just like Elise, had castrated the intelligence of the other queens she gave birth to, turning them into simple egg-laying machines.
Whether she had learned this from Elise or if it was an inherent shrewdness, they were exactly the same.
“How could this be? What on earth is going on?!”
“They ran! They've been moving north!”
When the beastkin unit arrived in a hurry, they only saw a messy, devastated plain, leaving them to slump to the ground in utter despair.
Through the aerial scouts, Lin Miao clearly saw how much panic they had fallen into because the ant colony had fled without a fight.
“These evil creatures... Do they plan to buy time by running away?!”
The battlefield was left with nothing but the traces of fierce fighting, scorched earth from the fire, and equipment ruined by the ant colony's venom.
The beastkin could obtain no spoils of war here.
Unless they could catch up to the fleeing ant colony and thoroughly eradicate them.
“Chase them! Pursue them! Before they continue to multiply, we must slaughter every single one of them from this sacred land, leaving none alive!”
Therefore, these beastkin would absolutely not stop here.
Lin Miao clearly saw a beastkin wearing armor more ornate than the others and a fur helmet, roaring orders in a booming voice.
At the same time, a fully armed beastkin warrior looked up at the sky and threw a spear glowing with blue light with all his might, instantly skewering and killing a scouting ant that had slightly lowered its altitude.
'Chasing them to the end? Then there's no helping it.'
Lin Miao sneered, but he wasn't worried in the slightest.
The ant colony had already sensed their presence, and combined with his advance preparations, they had long made perfect countermeasures.
Lin Miao had grown increasingly confident that as long as he believed in them and waited patiently, they would surely win this war.
And the main force of this battle would be the next generation of ants still waiting to break out of their eggs, larvae, and pupae.
Rate on N.U.
