“We’ve already destroyed three nests, but we still haven’t caught the ‘Queen’ responsible for laying eggs. We have to move faster and kill them all before they escape!”
“I told you not to rush! Everyone is already exhausted. The support unit will be here soon. Let’s rendezvous with them first, rest up, and then continue.”
The core of the ant colony’s strategy was to constantly force choices upon the enemy.
For the ant colony, which acted with absolute rationality and executed decisions immediately once they were made, choosing was never a difficult task.
But for humans, where even the commander-in-chief had to listen to the opinions of his subordinates before taking action, making choices was always a struggle.
“Stop arguing, everyone. Listen to me. Let’s clear up to this point, then rest here. That way, we can safely rendezvous with the support unit, can’t we?”
Just then, Gilbert offered his opinion. The place he pointed to was of absolute strategic importance.
Although there was currently an ant colony nest there as well, if they could destroy it, they could establish a perfect stronghold.
“Good idea.”
Count Merlin agreed with him.
Arguing endlessly like this wouldn’t yield any results anyway.
Moreover, they were the ones who were in a hurry in the first place.
The main force of the ant colony was still locked in a fierce battle with the beastkin in the west, and there were still many nests remaining.
【Elise laid a trap based on her predictions of human behavior】
However, all of this was part of the plan that Elise had carefully mapped out step by step since the beginning of the war.
She had intentionally abandoned the nests one by one to give the humans hope, making them feel as though they could easily destroy even more.
Then, at the critical moment when her target, Marianne, left the high wall, she would lure them to attack the next nest.
Even if they had chosen a more conservative option, Elise had prepared plenty of other bait to lure them into the trap.
‘So from the very beginning, all the options were designed by her.’
Watching all of this unfold, Lin Miao couldn’t help but click his tongue in amazement.
This wasn’t even close to a strategic duel between equals.
The entire chessboard had been crafted by Elise and the ant colony themselves.
The Holy Kingdom’s army, at a disadvantage from the very start, was merely forced to place its pieces on this board.
This was the capability of the Main Nest Queen, who had invested all her consumed energy into brain development.
It was also the instinct of a race that had existed solely for the prosperity and warfare of the colony since its very inception.
“While the commander-in-chief is establishing the camp outside, we will be responsible for clearing this nest. This is another perfect opportunity to win glory before the Goddess.”
The one leading the troops into the nest this time was the mage Cleve, who was one of the Five Apostles alongside Marianne and Gilbert.
He was also the most vocal advocate for advancing quickly and destroying as many nests as possible.
‘The commander-in-chief and Gilbert are far too timid. Time is on the side of those monsters.’
He firmly believed that they had to kill as many of the ants as possible, as quickly as possible.
While the statement that time was on the side of the ant colony wasn’t wrong, Cleve’s true motive was simply to accumulate more military achievements and stand out among the Apostles.
“Attack!”
Finally, the soldiers of the Holy Kingdom launched another attack on the ant nest.
At least in the beginning, the battle progressed no differently from the previous nest raids.
Actively utilizing fire magic and holy power, the soldiers breached the interior of the nest. They fought the ants in the narrow, now-familiar tunnels, pushing them back step by step as they split into dozens of routes to advance deeper into the nest.
“All clear here.”
“Same here!”
Having gained considerable experience, they proceeded with extreme caution.
The squads dispersed across the various tunnels carried multiple communication devices, keeping in close contact at all times.
The mages also remained on high alert, constantly watching for any potential sneak attacks.
This approach had already brought them several victories, giving them absolute confidence in their system.
“...Hm?”
But just then, in one of the squads heading toward the outermost tunnel, a mage suddenly froze. He looked down at the magic circle deployed in his hands.
On the detection magic circle, red dots representing enemies suddenly began to pop up.
Yet all was dead silent around them; they could see and hear absolutely nothing.
“E-Enemies!”
The number of red dots multiplied rapidly, closing in on them at an alarming speed.
“Tremors!”
“The tunnel is collapsing!”
Before the mage could even finish his warning, a violent tremor shook the earth, throwing everyone into a massive panic.
The nests built by the ant colony were incredibly sturdy to begin with.
The Holy Kingdom’s army had even run tests to confirm that the tunnels were safe enough not to collapse easily.
Even with explosive magic, it was extremely difficult to bring down such sturdy tunnels all at once.
Yet now, without a single spell being cast, these sturdy tunnels were rapidly collapsing.
“W-What is that...”
Amidst the panicked crowd, a fallen mage stared at the creatures crawling out of the bursting soil and rocks, his face turning pale with terror.
They were digging ants, equipped with rock-hard forelimbs perfectly suited for excavation.
They swarmed out of the newly excavated tunnels, launching a fierce assault on the humans.
“F-Find a way out, quick!”
The surprise attack launched by Elise with the digging ants as the vanguard caught everyone inside the nest completely off guard.
In this massive underground labyrinth of hundreds of intricate tunnels, the ambushed Cleve and his Holy Kingdom soldiers fell into utter chaos.
“Eric’s squad has encountered at least a hundred enemies!”
“Simon’s squad was ambushed too!”
“Aaaah! There are thousands of them!”
The desperate cries for help flooding the communication devices only intensified the chaos.
A flood of conflicting reports and false alarms left no one able to accurately assess the situation, let alone issue proper orders.
Unlike the ant colony, they possessed no ability to link their minds and instantly share information.
And this kind of chaotic, disorganized melee was precisely where the ant colony excelled.
【Elise is highly satisfied with the current casualty ratio】
In truth, the reason the ants’ movements were so swift and precise was that there were only a few hundred of them executing the ambush in the first place.
Furthermore, these few hundred ants did not even focus on fighting; their primary goal was simply to move rapidly through the tunnels to maximize the chaos.
“Oh no! The exit has been blocked!”
Meanwhile, the digging ants had already completely caved in and sealed all the main pathways leading outside.
Of course, given enough time, the Holy Kingdom’s soldiers could easily dig their way out.
But gripped by absolute panic, they were now completely trapped inside this colossal nest.
The entire nest had become one giant trap!
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