The humus sagged slightly, revealing a fist-sized hole.
At the edge of the hole, a few blood-red ants poked their heads out, their antennae twitching rapidly in the air as if they were sensing something.
The corners of Su Wan’s mouth curled upward slightly.
She stepped back a few paces, and her mental power condensed into a fine needle. Aiming at the hole, she thrust it in violently!
Buzz—!
The shockwave of mental power spread down through the tunnels of the ant nest like a stone cast into a still lake, setting off layers of ripples.
After a brief silence, the ground began to tremble.
At first, it was a subtle vibration, like a light breeze passing over.
But soon, the tremors turned into violent shaking. The layer of humus began to churn and crack like the surface of boiling water!
Boom—!
The ground exploded!
Tens of thousands of blood-red ants surged from the earth like erupting magma, instantly blanketing the clearing!
Each one was about the size of a person’s pinky finger, their entire bodies an unnatural blood-red. Their six legs were long and powerful, and their mandibles were like two curved sickles, shimmering with a black-red luster.
They huddled together, dense and layered, looking like a river of flowing blood.
The soldiers were all stunned.
Then, terror struck through their hearts like a bolt of lightning!
“B-Blood... Blood-Scythe Ants...!”
A soldier’s voice cracked, turning high-pitched and shrill.
“It’s Blood-Scythe Ants! Run! Run!”
“Help—!”
No one fired a shot; no one resisted.
These elite soldiers of the City Defense Force could be arrogant and haughty when facing their own kind, casually trampling on the dignity and lives of others.
But facing these blood-colored demons surging from the ground, they didn’t even have the courage to draw their guns!
This was because they knew the Blood-Scythe Ants all too well.
In the internal training of the City Defense Force, the Blood-Scythe Ant was listed as one of the most dangerous creatures on the outskirts of the Ruin Zone, with a threat level exceeding that of many massive Aberrants.
While large Aberrants were terrifying, they were at least obvious targets. One could organize firepower to resist, find cover to hide, or use tactical coordination to maneuver around them.
But Blood-Scythe Ants were different.
Not only were they small, but their numbers were overwhelming. If you killed one, dozens more would appear!
And once bitten, the toxin would instantly invade the bloodstream!
The toxin wasn't lethal, but it would cause complete muscle relaxation throughout the body, making the limbs go soft until one didn't even have the strength to clench a fist.
More terrifyingly, this toxin would extremely amplify the sensation of pain.
What should have felt like a mere pinprick would, under the effects of the toxin, turn into an agonizing pain as if being pierced by a red-hot iron rod.
There was a special Punishment Department within the City Defense Force dedicated to dealing with internal personnel who committed capital crimes but could not be publicly executed.
They used a form of torture that involved injecting diluted Blood-Scythe Ant toxin into the prisoner's veins.
It was said that the victim would begin screaming frantically within minutes, struggling desperately, slamming their head against the wall, and biting their own arms in an attempt to use more intense physical pain to mask the amplified agony caused by the toxin.
Many would suffer a mental breakdown within half an hour, weeping and begging the executioner to give them a quick death.
Among those who could endure such torture, there might not even be one in a hundred.
Every City Defense Force soldier had heard of the horrors of this torture.
Every City Defense Force soldier knew what it meant to be bitten by a Blood-Scythe Ant.
Therefore, when that blood-red tide surged from underground, their mental state collapsed completely in an instant.
It wasn't that they didn't want to resist; they didn't dare to.
Because they knew better than anyone that falling into the hands of these ants made death the most merciful outcome.
The Blood-Scythe Ants surged forward like a tide.
The few soldiers at the very front were instantly submerged by the swarm.
Their alloy armor was useless before the swarm; those sickle-like mandibles slipped through the gaps in the armor, piercing their combat suits and biting into their flesh.
The moment the toxin entered their bodies, their frames went limp as if their bones had been removed. They collapsed to the ground, lacking even the strength to struggle.
Then, even more intense agony exploded from the wounds, like thousands of red-hot steel needles stirring inside their bodies simultaneously.
“Aaaargh—!”
The screams were heart-wrenching, a hundred times more shrill than any injury sustained on a battlefield.
One soldier rolled desperately on the ground, his hands frantically clawing at his own skin. His nails dug into his flesh until he was covered in blood, trying to use that pain to drown out the amplified agony of the toxin.
But it was useless.
Those blood-red ants were still crawling over him, still biting new wounds, and still injecting more toxin.
His screams grew weaker and weaker. After his body convulsed a few times, he fell still.
Iron Bone stood at the very back, watching the fleeing soldiers with a flash of disdain in his eyes.
But he did not make a move.
His Master’s plan did not require him to expose his strength here.
“Retreat! Retreat!” Iron Bone feigned a look of panic and turned to run.
However, he didn't run fast, falling right into the middle of the group. He was neither conspicuous nor at risk of being caught by the ant swarm.
In the first wave of the flight, seven or eight members of the thirty-man Squad Two were swallowed by the swarm.
The remaining twenty or so ran back desperately, discarding firearms, ammunition, backpacks... everything that could be thrown away was left behind.
The Blood-Scythe Ant swarm followed like a red tide, chasing after the fleeing City Defense Force soldiers.
Their speed was incredible.
Those long, slender six legs allowed them to traverse the complex terrain as if it were level ground. Vines, rubble, tree roots... nothing could block their path.
One soldier was tripped by a vine. Before he could even scramble up, the swarm crawled over him.
When the comrades behind him looked back, only a bleached-white skeleton remained on the ground.
“Aaaargh—!”
Someone was driven insane by the sight and raised their gun to fire wildly in all directions. The bullets hit their comrades, and two more fell.
“Don’t shoot! Stop fucking shooting!”
“Save me! Save me!”
“Run! Forget about them!”
Fear spread through the team like a plague.
By the time the surviving soldiers of Squad Two finally saw the outline of the main force, less than ten remained in the entire unit.
Su Wan hid to the side, not following the others in their retreat.
Under the cover of Shadow-Hide, her form was like an invisible specter. She moved silently against the tide of the fleeing crowd, flitting toward the direction where the Blood-Scythe Ants were surging out.
The attention of the Blood-Scythe Ants was entirely drawn by the panicked soldiers. Not a single one noticed a human passing over their heads, heading deep into the ant nest.
Su Wan’s mental power expanded to its full extent, like an invisible net probing into the ground.
The structure of the ant nest gradually became clear in her perception.
It was a massive and complex underground palace.
The main tunnel was two meters wide, with countless branching corridors on both sides connecting to various functional areas of the colony—brooder rooms, storage rooms, waste disposal areas...
And in the core area at the very depths, there was a massive cavity.
In the center of that cavity sat an enormous Blood-Scythe Queen.
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