“The main force of the Great Devourer is currently concentrated on the other side of the plains, battling the Empire and the beastkin. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We must burn down their nests in the northeast in one fell swoop and completely drive them out.”
Apostle Gilbert, marching alongside the vanguard, announced solemnly to the army assembled before him.
The main force of the ant colony was indeed currently engaged in a brutal war with the beastkin.
Every time the two sides clashed on a large scale, it resulted in casualties numbering in the thousands.
However, watching his subordinates fall one by one, the god Uria's anger grew fiercer and fiercer.
Coupled with the steady stream of reinforcements from the Empire, the beastkin were resisting desperately.
Consequently, the ant colony abandoned its original plan to quickly crush the beastkin and invade the Empire. Instead, they shifted to a war of attrition, patiently hunting their prey.
Just as they used the high wall of the Holy Kingdom as a trap to regularly harvest prey,
they maintained a precarious front line and began a prolonged war of attrition.
In any case, the ant colony's true objective in launching this active offensive lay elsewhere.
It could even be said that the more chaotic and brutal the war became, the more beneficial it was for their plans.
“This is a holy war! Reclaim our stolen lands and purify this defiled earth!”
The Church's army, completely ignorant of this, truly viewed the present as a golden opportunity. They finally marched out from behind the high wall and launched their attack.
The sheer number of Church troops emerging from the high wall made it seem as if even the garrison forces had been entirely redeployed.
Armed with devout faith, they were an elite force that could be considered the core army.
Even Marianne had been assigned to the support unit, which showed just how precious the mobilized military strength was this time.
All five Apostles appointed by the Goddess were deployed. The Church had even conducted large-scale conscription and reformed its entire system, committing all of their carefully nurtured, most elite forces to this battle.
If they aren't prepared, they might end up getting counter-killed instead.
Looking at the armor and weapons crafted from the modified ant colony exoskeletons, as well as the rapidly developing magic items, Lin Miao also felt that the Church's strength could not be underestimated.
Even if all of this was within the ant colony's calculations, the possibility of an unexpected upset could not be entirely ruled out.
But speaking of which, Celia still doesn't seem to have any intention of leaving her laboratory.
According to the original plan, the ant colony had intended to hunt down Marianne of the support unit.
But due to Lin Miao's intervention, the plan had changed.
Marianne had been downgraded to just one of countless troublesome enemies, while the true nemesis causing the ant colony a headache was currently staying safely in her laboratory inside the high wall, conducting her research.
【Elise determined that with the current forces guarding the nest, it was impossible to defend and conduct a flanking surprise attack at the same time】
Sending an assault squad to infiltrate the high wall and assassinate Celia was impossible from the start, so Elise decisively abandoned that idea.
【Humans have a habit of treasuring important people and not easily abandoning them. Elise decided to use the beloved companion as bait】
In its place was another plan of Elise's.
She had already confirmed, through that worker ant, that there was a deep affection between Marianne and Celia.
Elise had seen too many prey who made reckless choices due to their inability to control their emotions, ultimately losing their lives.
This time, she planned to turn this to her advantage.
She thinks that if Marianne is in danger, Celia will rush to save her? Her progress is way too fast.
It seemed that Elise's research on humans during this period had not been in vain.
Seeing that she had not only gradually come to understand human emotions but had even learned to exploit them in reverse, Lin Miao couldn't help but sigh softly in admiration.
The Church's grand army advanced rapidly along the highway that once led to the northern territories, soon arriving near their first target nest.
“The first nest is just ahead.”
“What are the scouting results?”
“Currently, no large-scale enemy activity has been detected. There are only a few individuals that look like worker ants moving around in a scattered manner.”
This place had once been a baron's castle, but now it was completely occupied by the ant colony.
Both above and below ground had become a dense network of nests for the ant colony.
“How dare they defile this sacred land...”
Upon hearing the report, Gilbert's face contorted in anger.
The ant colony had a bad habit: they would eat everything edible in their nests, and they would recklessly destroy forests to cultivate mushrooms.
Any land they used as a nest would become completely desolate.
To the former owners of this land, such behavior was undoubtedly an unforgivable sin.
Therefore, they had to destroy the ant colony's nests and reclaim their own land. This was their inherent mission.
“Everyone must be extremely careful. No one knows what kind of traps are hidden inside.”
Count Merlin, who nominally served as the commander-in-chief of this operation, acted with extreme caution.
He had previously led troops to clash with the ant colony.
Although both humans and the ant colony had undergone earth-shaking changes compared to back then, it was precisely because of this that Count Merlin was even more cautious.
This was also something Celia had repeatedly warned him about, emphasizing it countless times.
Count Merlin spoke in a deep voice, “We have prepared countermeasures for almost all currently known mutated species. However, we must still be careful. If a new mutated species appears, our defensive line will fracture and ultimately collapse entirely.”
A commander asked in confusion, “How could there be more new monsters? News just arrived a few days ago saying that a mutated species with a harder shell appeared on the western front.”
Count Merlin shook his head with a grave expression. “...It is precisely this kind of underestimating the enemy that is the most fatal.”
Some who were eager to achieve military merit or wanted to show off their newly acquired power felt that Count Merlin was too cowardly, but his attitude remained firm.
“It is right to be cautious. We must advance rapidly before they can react and prepare. But when we attack, there must not be the slightest mistake. Fortunately, we already have weapons capable of breaking through their defenses.”
Gilbert said, glancing at another sword at his waist, a cold sneer playing on his lips.
They also needed a way to pierce through the newly emerged, harder exoskeletons of the ant colony.
And they had quickly found that method.
Those increasingly skilled artisans had begun to forge weapons using exoskeletons salvaged from ant corpses.
These weapons, crafted from the exoskeletons of mutated species, possessed the property of better conducting magic power and various other forces.
Count Merlin is right. We must be cautious, but this is also a race against time. We must breach their nests before they become even stronger.
Gilbert drew his sword and gritted his teeth.
The ant colony's nest was already visible to the naked eye.
The nest, built of mud and stone to mimic a human castle, was already comparable in size to a massive castle just from the portion protruding above ground.
“Attack!”
The Church's grand army slowly advanced.
The ant colony, having long detected their approach, was moving busily, sharing everything before them in real-time across the entire hive mind.
【Elise began executing the plan】
Meanwhile, the ant colony, which had been monitoring their movements, also began to act according to the pre-established plan.
The Holy Kingdom's army currently attacking the nest was both the vanguard and the absolute main force.
However, they did not include the unit where Elise's true target, Marianne, was located.
The Goddess Hestia and Lin Miao were both in their respective places, watching the battle with bated breath.
Until now, the ant colony's method of fighting had relied on being one step ahead in intelligence and utilizing absolute numerical superiority to conduct overwhelming offenses.
But at least for now, in this land of the former northern Kingdom of Karmi, this war was destined to become a fierce clash of wits and strategy between two armies for their respective goals.
Rate on N.U.
