While Elise was continuously growing stronger in her own way, the exact same thing was happening on the other side.
The mages of the Church had already begun researching the worker ant that Elise had intentionally let them capture.
“Special Commissioner, shouldn't we first test if they have any weaknesses, or if there is a toxin that can deal a fatal blow to them?”
“No, there is something far more important than that. We have always known that they have never communicated through vocalization. So, how exactly do they execute such precise collective tactics? We must understand this first.”
Naturally, Lin Miao only had to open a split screen to keep an eye on them.
He couldn't help but sigh. “Does this woman do nothing but work all day long?”
Aside from war and scouting, this was the first time he had observed the daily lives of the people in that world so clearly.
And the most prominent among them was that woman.
She was a beauty dressed in mage robes, with long silver hair and blue eyes.
Her name was Celia.
Lin Miao found her familiar not just because she was on his screen all day, but also because this wasn't the first time he had seen her.
He was certain he had seen this woman before, likely when the ant colony had launched its battle in the north.
Having survived that war and escaped from the north, Celia had joined the Goddess's faction, dedicating herself entirely to researching ways to counter the ant colony.
“If we can figure out the Great Devourer's unique method of communication, we might be able to disrupt it, or even exploit it.”
Having stayed by the captured worker ant's side for days to conduct her research, her talent and knowledge were truly outstanding. She had pinpointed the core issue, one that even Lin Miao considered critical.
One of the most powerful weapons of his ant colony was the hive mind.
This was also the secret behind how they could execute far more mechanical and disciplined collective actions than ordinary ants that relied on pheromones for communication.
Just as Celia had said, if they found a way to disrupt or even paralyze this hive mind, the ant colony would suffer an unprecedented, fatal blow.
‘Wait, wouldn't that mean...’
As Lin Miao watched Celia, a strange sense of unease welled up in his heart.
If the ant colony were to lose to the forces of the other deities, he wouldn't escape unscathed either.
Unlike their self-righteous misunderstanding, he was by no means an Outer God manipulating the ant colony as a mere tool he had created.
Moreover, that wasn't all.
While Lin Miao stared blankly at the screen, someone walked up to Celia, who was standing in front of the worker ant.
The newcomer gently patted Celia on the shoulder, a lighthearted smile evident in her voice. “Celia, I have good news.”
Celia snapped her head up. A flash of surprise crossed her eyes when she saw who it was, and she instinctively stood up straight and bowed slightly. “Lady Marianne?”
Marianne smiled and waved her hand, indicating there was no need for such formality. Her voice was filled with genuine relief. “It seems the artisan mobilization decree and the wartime economic reform plan you submitted have been approved by the Church headquarters.”
The newcomer was none other than Marianne, the Apostle of the Goddess from the Holy Kingdom. She had short, neat, light-pink hair with natural curls at the ends, which made her face—as delicate as a porcelain doll—look even more fair and translucent.
【Elise has reacted to the appearance of her nemesis.】
Elise was exceptionally wary of Marianne.
Her recent curiosity and desire to study humans actually stemmed from the anger sparked by this woman.
Indeed, as a hero bestowed with great power by the Goddess, Marianne had fought valiantly on the front lines and slaughtered countless ants, making her Elise's rightful sworn enemy.
When the Goddess Hestia mentioned these Apostles of hers on the forum, she had said: I've really struck gold.
Celia let out a long sigh of relief, but her relief lasted only a brief moment before the light in her eyes quickly dimmed. “With this, we'll be able to produce more supplies and replenish more resources. But even so...”
Marianne saw right through her thoughts and patted Celia firmly on the back. “I know. Another bunch of idiots has started criticizing you, right? It's not the first time. Everything we do is to slaughter those demons.”
Unlike Elise, who had yet to fully comprehend the human race and how their society functioned, Lin Miao, who had been reluctantly watching this girl named Celia all this time, seemed to realize who Elise's true, bitter nemesis was.
It was the reformer who refused to back down in the confrontation with the ant colony, directing everything and driving every change—the ‘queen ant’ of the human colony whom Elise had been searching for all along.
‘It's this woman.’
Lin Miao looked at Celia on the screen with mixed emotions.
The enemies of the ant colony were his enemies.
And among those enemies, the core combat forces of the hostile deities were obstacles he had to eliminate.
Yet, seeing her struggle so hard to find a way to fight resonated deeply with him.
【Elise is currently devising a new plan to lure her nemesis out of the high wall.】
Regardless of what Lin Miao thought, Elise, her fury ignited, was racking her brain for a way to kill her enemy.
However, no matter how blinded by rage she was, Elise was still the Queen Ant who ruled the colony.
She did not act on impulse to lead her entire army to attack and conquer the high wall.
For this high wall was, in fact, a perfect trap that the ant colony had intentionally guided the humans to build.
There was no need to go through the trouble of sweeping the entire region; the humans themselves would carefully select and continuously deliver high-quality prey right into the high wall.
The ant colony only needed to launch periodic attacks to harvest the prey.
【Elise has ordered the migratory colony to attack the beastkin in the southern part of the plains. Once the main nest colony's forces finish clearing out the remaining enemy remnants within their territory, they will launch an attack on the enemies across the sea who dared to strike first.】
‘No way, is she trying to lure them out?’
To Lin Miao's surprise, this blade was ultimately handed to the migratory colony.
He quickly understood Elise's intention.
She was intentionally redirecting a massive amount of forces elsewhere to lure the humans inside the high wall to take the initiative and come out.
Even if they didn't come out, she could still acquire resources by invading new lands, making it a guaranteed win-win.
【The queen of the migratory colony has accepted the order.】
With the main nest colony even providing support, the queen of the migratory colony had absolutely no reason to refuse.
Unlike Elise, the Second Queen Ant, who was obsessed with fighting on the front lines herself, mobilized her forces immediately.
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