Nemesis

【Elise would never let go of the prey marching in from the south.】

“The enemy! A large force has appeared to the north! They're coming from the east too!”

In the end, Celia's prediction came true.

Having routed the Imperial army, the swarm mobilized even more forces to launch an attack on the slowly advancing forces of the Goddess of Light Association.

In particular, the forces swarming out from the northern nest were on a completely different level from the sporadic harassment meant only to delay them. This was a full-scale counteroffensive.

【Elise's goal was to obtain as much prey as possible.】

Having awakened a new greed in the process of learning the golems' weaknesses with Lin Miao's help, Elise's desire for prey had grown increasingly intense.

For the swarm to break through biological limits and achieve a massive physical evolution, it required a vast amount of knowledge and power.

And Elise finally understood that the only way to satisfy this was to continuously grow and evolve.

Because of this, her obsession with prey became increasingly pathological.

“Hurry, move! The alliance has already failed! If we get surrounded by those things coming down from the north, we'll be completely wiped out!”

Looking at the scouting reports, Marquis Lumiere went pale as he frantically urged his subordinates forward.

Having crushed the main force of the Imperial army, the swarm's next target was bound to be them.

The enemy numbered in the tens of thousands, several times their own strength.

Furthermore, this was likely not even the entirety of the enemy's forces.

Therefore, they had to run for their lives back toward the high walls.

Without golems, their only chance of survival was to hide behind those high walls.

【Elise was furious with the enemy for retreating a step ahead, ordering a full-scale pursuit.】

Fortunately, thanks to Celia's firm stance, they had not ventured any deeper. They were now barely able to maintain a distance and retreat rapidly.

Elise was absolutely livid.

If these humans had continued blindly forward, her forces could have wiped them out entirely.

“Use freezing magic to solidify the river and cross! Once we're over, shatter the ice bridge to buy us time! Also, burn everything along the way to block their path, and stick to the widest roads! The more rugged the terrain, the faster those enemies run!”

Not only that, but Celia also commanded the retreat using tactics specifically designed to target the swarm's weaknesses, drawing upon her extensive research.

“Quick, do exactly as the Special Commissioner says!”

With the full support of Marquis Lumiere, Celia was effectively commanding the entire army's retreat.

Her methods indeed proved effective; the pursuing swarm was consistently kept at bay.

What was more, although the swarm excelled at traversing complex terrain, these mutated species specialized for combat did not possess great stamina.

They required worker ants alongside them to constantly feed them in large quantities.

【Elise ordered that the enemy be stopped at all costs.】

Relying on the superb hunting capabilities honed from the countless data accumulated by the swarm, they had hunted down at least half of the retreating Imperial army as prey.

But now, they had yet to claim any decent harvest.

Elise's fury was mounting rapidly, nearly breaking through the ceiling.

Before she knew it, her goal had shifted from acquiring prey to a pure, unadulterated desire to slaughter every single one of these humans.

“In the sky!”

“They're rushing us from the flank as well!”

To stop them in their tracks, the flying combatants—the hornet ants and Dragon Ants—had already taken to the air.

Furthermore, small forces organized into hunting squads were constantly charging forward to harass them and block their path, attempting to delay them.

Even though Celia made the optimal choice at every turn, the physical delay caused by the swarm throwing their bodies into the fray was ultimately unavoidable.

“Where do you think you monsters are going?!”

Just then, a woman clad in a silver breastplate stepped to the very front of the column alongside the paladins.

It was Marianne. She brandished a grotesque, massive hammer that looked completely out of proportion with her slender limbs. Amplified holy power erupted from the hammer, effortlessly crushing the oncoming ants to death one by one.

Whether it was the soldier ants clad in spiked heavy armor or the gladiator ants brandishing sharp, scythe-like legs, their exoskeletons shattered instantly before her heavy, light-wrapped hammer, their bodies pulverized into a spray of fluids.

“Aaaah! H-help!”

Just then, the Dragon Ants and hornet ants diving from the sky launched a sudden assault on the ground, targeting isolated knights.

Marianne shattered the mandible of a hornet ant that lunged to sting her, then pulverized its head with a single punch.

“Tch.”

But when she saw a paladin nearby being grabbed by the long, powerful forelegs of a Dragon Ant, she bit her lip.

It was a knight named Leo, whom she had met a few times.

“H-help...”

“I have no choice! You understand, right? I have to kill this monster!”

Just a second before the Dragon Ant could take flight again.

She quickly scanned her surroundings. Without a moment's hesitation, she swung her massive hammer, instantly pulverizing both Leo and the Dragon Ant.

Leo stared in disbelief at his crushed chest before his body, along with the Dragon Ant's, exploded into a shower of flesh and blood.

Marianne quickly scanned the faces of the others, her tone carrying an absolute, commanding authority. “There's no time to hesitate! I know everyone is exhausted, but we must hold on just a little longer! Once we reach the high walls, we'll be safe!”

Although they had dealt with this wave of the swarm thanks to Marianne's active efforts, they had no time to catch their breath.

The main force of the swarm was hot on their heels. Fortunately, the high walls were already in sight. They had to squeeze out every last drop of strength to run there.

“You've all worked hard. But even in an emergency like this, there is one thing we must do. As painful as it is, we must burn all the corpses. We cannot let those things eat them.”

Even at a time like this, Celia was still doing precisely what the swarm detested most.

She insisted on burning all the corpses of the fallen—including those of the slain ants—before they moved on.

“I—I agree! Burn them quickly!”

With Marianne's enthusiastic agreement, a blazing fire was lit, sending thick smoke from the burning organic matter billowing high into the sky.

【Elise had never been this angry; she could no longer control her emotions.】

Behind the billowing smoke, a scouting ant flying in the sky clearly saw the image of Marianne holding Celia's hand as they forged ahead together.

Witnessing everything through these eyes, Elise ground her mandibles frantically inside her nest.

In the previous battle at the high walls, this woman had relied on the power bestowed by the goddess Hestia to ruthlessly crush the soldiers she had created.

That scene had left an extremely deep impression on her.

Out of the countless enemies she had dealt with, this individual belonging to the Goddess of Light Association was the only one who could get under her skin so frequently. In Elise's mind, the silhouette of this arch-nemesis was gradually taking shape.

'In the end, the Goddess's forces managed to escape.'

Watching this, Lin Miao let out a soft sigh.

Escaped or not, it seemed he would have to find a way to soothe Elise's temper.

“Here, some new food.”

【Elise immediately reacted to the Great One's reward.】

Fortunately, her anger did not last long.

Because the moment Lin Miao tossed the new prey into the terrarium, Elise's attention was instantly drawn to it.