[God of Compassion: Selling a new Indian-born Awakened rookie—Gandhi.]
[God of Order: Voting proposal regarding the system correction in the East Asia region.]
It's still the same old place.
In truth, Lin Miao had long known what was happening in this forum established by the deities who had invaded Earth.
They competed with each other under rules they had set themselves, and ever since the cataclysm twenty years ago, they had already seized control of the entire Earth through their own will.
Over the years, the status and importance of the Awakened had grown day by day. In essence, the value of the Awakened system was the value of the deities who controlled Earth from afar in unknown worlds through the Divine Net.
[Rewards can be claimed based on Contribution. Current Contribution: 0]
Regardless of anything else, I have to try this feature.
Although he had obtained the authorization to officially operate, Lin Miao did not intend to post or leave messages for the time being, just to be safe.
What he had his eyes on from the very beginning was the authority to directly interfere with the system.
Since he had paid the offering and joined this place legitimately as a deity, he naturally had the right to participate in this Awakened system established and operated collectively by numerous deities.
And the Contribution rewards were benefits distributed by the system based on a deity's contribution to the Awakened system.
The types of Contribution rewards were incredibly diverse.
There were various resources, abilities, and permissions needed by the deities to expand their influence on Earth, and even “people” could be claimed as rewards.
Of course, to obtain rewards, one had to continuously invest in the system, but it wasn't as if Lin Miao had no source of income.
After all, Lin Miao's servants fought wars across that otherworld and would continue to bring him spoils of war like the holy spear from before.
Lin Miao's goal was to reclaim the peaceful childhood world of his memory, free from the invasions of Outer Gods and the covetous eyes of greedy deities.
He believed that as long as he could control this system from the inside, he could guide the future world to run smoothly without massive chaos and disasters.
To realize this belief, however, his foundation and everything else—the ant colony—had to become far stronger than they were now.
[Goddess of Wisdom: By the way, has that troublemaking deity not been caught yet?]
[Crimson Dragon Emperor: We only know they're in the Dragon Nation, but nothing else can be determined. That place is huge, with over a billion people living there. How could we possibly find them one by one?]
“Uh...”
However, posts that made Lin Miao's heart tighten would occasionally appear in the forum.
They were all messages from deities looking for Lin Miao, as his growing notoriety was suppressing the rift generation of other Outer Gods.
It seems my hunch was correct. As long as I keep hiding, they won't be able to find me.
Seeing them vent their frustrations in the posts, Lin Miao let out a small sigh of relief. At least for now, his identity had not been exposed.
He breathed a sigh of relief and immediately turned his attention back to the multiple split-screens in front of him, keeping himself incredibly busy.
【Kerrigan is highly dissatisfied with Elise nesting in her territory】
【Elise says, then you should go and conquer new lands】
To prepare for the expedition against the Empire, Elise was slowly mobilizing the majority of the forces under her command.
They left the undeveloped primeval forests and the northern territories they had long controlled, building a massive new nest on the former lands of the beastkin.
Deep underground, a complex and vast rift had already taken shape.
Even with countless worker ants mobilized, this project had taken a considerable amount of time.
Yet Elise was not in a hurry. She had absolutely no reason to act rashly when preparations were insufficient.
In any case, after some time, both the new nest and the old nest would fully mature.
Although more food was required, it would be enough to gather it from the newly conquered lands.
“Move faster! We must build the tallest and sturdiest wall!”
Meanwhile, the faction targeted by the ant colony was also desperately making preparations.
The Lucadia Empire began constructing a colossal Great Wall along the border, connecting the numerous northern fortresses left behind from centuries of warfare with the beastkin.
This Great Wall, which had absorbed an immense amount of labor, countless resources, and furthermore, had spared no expense in utilizing advanced magic taught by the deities, was clearly a direct copy of the high wall previously built by the Holy Kingdom to anyone who looked at it.
Then again, it's not like the ants can't climb over a high wall.
The ant colony was well aware of this, and so was Lin Miao.
Lin Miao scratched his head. The only reason the ant colony had never scaled the Holy Kingdom's high wall was simply because it provided them with a stable supply of prey at regular intervals.
If the ant colony truly resolved to breach the high wall, no one knew what would happen.
At the very least, it would never become an all-powerful line of defense as the people of the Empire imagined.
[God of War: Instead of wasting time building walls, why not send more troops over?! Rather than building walls, wouldn't it be better to give us more support?!]
[God of Knowledge: Are you joking?! Do you know how much damage would be caused if they sent small squads to circle behind us and wreak havoc?]
Uria, the deity of the beastkin, was extremely dissatisfied with the Empire's actions.
He had originally thought the Empire would invest heavily in the plains beastkin to act as a breakwater. Unexpectedly, what the Empire was doing now seemed to presume the eventual destruction of the beastkin.
Is this insidious bastard planning to throw us to the Great Devourer as bait?
It was only natural for Uria to harbor such suspicions.
Although they claimed they had to work together to oppose the ant colony, in essence, there had never been any trust among these deities.
【The servants launch another attack】
At that moment, the migratory colony, having completed its rest and reorganization, merged with Elise's main nest army and launched a fierce assault on the beastkin who had established a defensive line on the southern plains in front of the constructing Great Wall.
They intended to completely eradicate the beastkin forces blocking their path before attacking the Empire.
“The great God of War has said that unwavering courage and fighting spirit will surely create miracles! You have all seen it with your own eyes!”
The beastkin sovereign, Gorzan, held high the war axe bestowed upon him and shouted at the top of his lungs.
Although the ant colony had made them pay a tragic price, ironically, the surviving beastkin had become even more united because of it.
Unifying so many beastkin tribes was in itself an unprecedented feat.
If the ant colony did not exist, an unprecedentedly powerful beastkin empire might have already been born on this land.
Looking at this magnificent sight, it feels like we can achieve anything.
Watching the tens of thousands of warriors gathered before him, the corners of Gorzan's mouth curled up slightly.
Furthermore, this was only a portion of their forces.
No matter how powerful the invading enemy was, at this moment, he held a force in his hands that could truly be called historic.
“According to reports, the enemy is approaching us in two directions. One is the old enemy that has been active in this area, and the other is the main force departing from their nest.”
The beastkin had already figured out the details of the ant colony approaching from two directions.
One was the migratory colony led by Kerrigan, and the other was the main nest colony dispatched by Elise.
“...This will certainly not be a quick battle. We cannot act rashly; we must minimize our losses as much as possible.”
Gorzan ordered the gathered chiefs, his expression incredibly solemn.
Just as he said, the ant colony was prepared to fight a war of attrition.
They firmly believed that if they kept wearing each other down like this, the ones who would collapse first would definitely be the beastkin.
“But we possess the power to turn the tide! And the great God of War will never fail any warrior who achieves military exploits!”
Miracles were called miracles because they made the impossible possible.
Gorzan's words made the eyes of everyone present light up.
They had already witnessed with their own eyes just how high a glorious warrior chosen by God could reach.
Divine protection, exclusive artifacts...
Since they had to fight to survive anyway, coupled with such tangible promises, it was enough to completely ignite the warriors' fighting spirit, making them yearn to achieve great deeds.
“To battle!”
“Slaughter those evil monsters and win the recognition of the God of War!”
The chiefs and commanders, their morale soaring, returned to their respective units and led their soldiers toward their pre-planned positions.
With the help of technology and weapons provided by the Empire, although they could not build a Great Wall yet, the beastkin had already constructed fortresses and defensive lines at various strategic locations.
“I see them. They've split into three directions, preparing to attack all nearby fortresses simultaneously. Our route is one of them.”
“Fortunately, Lord Slun is here.”
Slun, the beastkin warrior who had unified numerous tribes, established the Beastkin Kingdom, and ascended to the position of captain through his illustrious military exploits.
Holding the divine sword bestowed by Uria, he was an invincible general on the battlefield.
At this moment, he stood fully armed and steadfast on the defensive line he was responsible for, alongside his soldiers.
Our preparations are flawless. Next, we just need to prove our strength in front of those demons.
All preparations to counter the ant colony were in place.
There were traps to stop the jumping ants, heavy ballistas to guard against the aerial Dragon Ants, and new improved golems specifically designed to deal with the heavy-armored ants that relied on brute force to charge.
Of course, no one knew what variables might arise. Because of this, Slun intended to use his own martial prowess to handle any unexpected situations that might occur.
As long as he had the divine sword and the protection bestowed by the great God of War, he was confident he could slay any enemy, no matter how massive.
“They're here!”
“Quick! Beat the drums! Blow the horns!”
Finally, the ant colony appeared on the open horizon, a dense, black mass stretching as far as the eye could see.
They advanced majestically as a single entity.
It was Elise's main nest army.
Just as the beastkin had anticipated, the ranks were mixed with various mutated species of different shapes and sizes.
“...Huh?”
“Captain, their appearance... is a bit different from the reports?”
But when the ant colony drew close enough for the beastkin to see them clearly, a commotion immediately broke out among them.
They had long since shared all information regarding the ant colony.
Even if they had not conducted in-depth research like the humans, they had still made efforts to learn and understand the appearance and abilities of each mutated species through intelligence sharing with other factions and the assistance of their deities.
What's going on? Their appearance is slightly different, yet it doesn't seem entirely distinct...
Slun could not help but widen his eyes.
The most eye-catching ones were those giant heavy-armored ants.
These were mutated species Elise had created after devouring large beetles, but now they were clad in even thicker shells than before, and a pair of massive pincers that they didn't have previously had grown on their forelimbs.
The other ants were much the same.
Their originally smooth, black exoskeletons had transformed into a material that appeared thicker and harder.
That appearance, rather than the exoskeleton of an insect, resembled the hard shell of a crustacean.
【Elise looks forward to the victory of her newly modified variants】
“She actually managed to pull it off.”
Standing in front of the terrarium, Lin Miao looked at the leftovers of the ant colony's meals, of which only a few fragments remained, and could not help but sigh in admiration.
Among the new materials devoured by the matured Elise this time, besides large scorpions, were various crustaceans such as lobsters and crabs.
These were creatures far larger than ordinary ants.
Thanks to Elise's rapid growth, the ant colony had successfully devoured them. However, the ant colony, which previously had some difficulty even with large beetles, rejected the production of even more massive mutated species.
【Elise has begun a new attempt. It no longer creates entirely new mutated species, but instead transplants and modifies its newly acquired abilities onto existing mutated species, allowing them to undergo further evolution】
Thus, Elise made a compromise with reality.
She did not continue to create stronger and larger brand-new mutated species, but instead attempted to transplant her newly acquired abilities onto existing individuals.
The final result was these warriors clad in sturdier shells.
【Elise believes that this might be a more efficient and powerful path】
At the same time, Elise had also found a brand-new path.
This queen of the ant colony was learning step-by-step how to utilize resources more efficiently.
Rate on N.U.
