After Rhex knelt down, Ignatia's expression didn't flicker in the slightest. Royal-type insectoids were not that rare, but they were certainly influential. It was a kind of innate superiority within the species.
Ignatia observed Rhex with her obsidian compound eyes, leaving no thought surfacing on her expression beyond her calm smile. "Stand up. We are now discussing as equals. My identity or yours matters not. What I want to hear are the true reasons for your group to want to settle here."
She had heard Bram, and she knew that most of what he said was the truth… at least from his perspective. Rhex stood up, his face calm beyond the initial shock. Still, inwardly, his thoughts were scattered.
'Why is there a Humanoid Ant Queen in this Solar System? No, most importantly, why is the Humanoid Ant Queen acting on behalf of another supreme ruler?'
Humanoid Ant Queens were one of the strongest species in the universe. They were no less even when compared with mythical beings like a Dragon, Leviathan, World Tree, or any similar innately powerful bloodline.
The two things that settled an Ant Queen in these leagues were both their reproduction capability and their personal strength. Some Ant Queens could even draw essence from their children, making them godlike.
'Perhaps, this Humanoid Ant Queen was too weak when the True World Tree took over, and was forced to submit? Although I cannot tell much through the hologram, her status and appearance make me think that she is at least a Level 150 being.' Thinking of the annihilation of that mercenary group, Rhex incorrectly assumed that Liu Shu should, at the very least, be Level 175 when the conflict occurred.
While his guesses were not that inaccurate strength-wise, Rhex failed to recognize just how truly monstrous they were compared to similarly leveled and tiered beings.
Even without Liu Shu's endless buffs, Ignatia was more than able to fight
"Your Majesty Ignatia, our group has one objective: Find a place where we can frolic as a species and call home. While it is contradictory for pirates such as ourselves to want to create such a vulnerability instead of continuing to be nomads, we spent our last few decades resolving most estrangements with other powers."
Ignatia chuckled. "Most… That means those who remain are the most troublesome."
Rhex's finger twitched for an instant, but he didn't lose composure. "That's… correct. Regardless, their numbers are not that many. With the location of this
Ignatia tapped the armrest with her finger, the rhythmic tapping sounding like a countdown. "Can your people accommodate living with others? You must've been living in spaceships for decades, if not centuries. Your people, who have been isolated for such a long time, and also have considerable strength… aren't they a ticking bomb waiting to detonate?"
Even if these people were insectoids, Ignatia was not naive enough to feel empathy for them. In her eyes, nothing but Liu Shu's intentions mattered. Whether her opponents were humans or monsters, Ignatia would not make a decision that could cause her dearest daughter trouble.
She, beyond any title that could be attributed, was Tianlian Liu Shu's proud mother. Nothing more, nothing less.
Rhex, having expected some sympathy and even proactiveness from Ignatia, was confused. His own greenish compound eyes glanced at Ignatia. "Your Majesty Ignatia, our people might be unaccustomed, but who wouldn't be when joining an external force? Moreover, being of a similar species, we would become Lady Ignatia's strength."
Without proper understanding, Rhex thought that the Golden Sap Empire must be divided into several factions. After all, even if he heard that the World Tree was involved in the empire's matters, Rhex never really considered personal action in governmental matters from it.
A World Tree, after all, was known for being indifferent to what happened inside its domain until something dared challenge its authority.
Due to his intelligence and ability to take many information sources into account, Rhex failed to reach the conclusion that, perhaps, this rare Humanoid Ant Queen was a willing subordinate.
It couldn't be called his mistake. Who had seen a willingly subjugated Humanoid Ant Queen before? As a species with endless potential, Humanoid Ant Queens were bound to stomp on everything around them until their forces and empires stretched out like an infectious disease.
Ignatia, hearing his words, was quick on the uptake. Still, she couldn't help but squint. 'Does this person think that I am the only one listening?' Her thoughts churned very quickly, her exceptional wisdom and wit piecing Rhex's attitude, words, and knowledge into perspective.
'Factions… species… conflicts… Ah.'
After she pieced everything together, Ignatia's smile gained a touch of disdain. 'Fool. Do you think I would ever think of even hurting a single branch of my precious baby?'
Ignatia could not wait to devour the Nexus for hurting Liu Shu in that war, yet this person wanted to ally with me to overthrow her and take control?
Still, she didn't jump the gun. Their conversation could benefit Liu Shu if she made these people submit. It was rather easy, at that. 'Once Liu Shu reached Level 150… who can stop her? I'll just have to control them for a few more years.'
She tapped the hologram, blurred her mouth, and then spoke to those around them. "Let's take them in."
Elyne, at the side, frowned deeply. "Ignatia… I don't want to doubt you, but his intentions are clearly not good."
Ignatia smiled, looking at her baby's
Elyne could see an extremely dangerous aura of protectiveness around the royal ant.
"Whoever wants to hurt Liu Shu, I'll devour. Whoever stands in her way, my children will use as sustenance to help her roots reach further. She is, and always will be, the most loved and eldest child of my colony."
Elyne and everyone around couldn't help but pause. Even when Ignatia had not changed her posture, it felt as if the entire underground was trembling, ready to unleash a catastrophic wave of monsters that could devour the world.
The Covenant Delegates couldn't help but gulp. They had known Flor's excessive protectiveness, but Ignatia always came across as someone much tamer. Now they understood how wrong they were.
If Flor was like poison ivy that struck all around the World Tree, Ignatia was an underground monster ready to open the earth itself to swallow all that could harm the World Tree.
Clearing her throat, Elyne nodded. "I am sorry for doubting you. I was just worried."
"I know." Ignatia's aura relaxed, her demeanor returning to that languid yet royal self. "If it weren't because of that, I wouldn't have bothered explaining myself."
The implications were something most present didn't dare ponder. After that small pause, Ignatia explained her plan to everyone in the room. It took no longer than five minutes, and everyone was instantly agreeable.
"Rhex." Ignatia finally turned toward the person patiently waiting, and she spoke lightly. "We've decided to accept you. However, you will not live in Nualis or Ceperet for the time being. Take this as a trial period to make sure that you people don't have ulterior motives."
Rhex sighed in relief, but he was confused. "Your Majesty Ignatia, while I do not mind leaving our people in the ships for a few more years, I also want to emphasize that such an arrangement might create future estrangements among us."
"Don't worry. You won't be living in those ships as well. Instead, you will all become moonlings."
Rhex and everyone else blinked, confused. "What do you mean, Your Majesty Ignatia?"
Ignatia clarified with a tug at the corner of her lips. "You all… will live on the Moon. Ceperet's Moon, to be precise."
Her words only further confused the insect group. While Fifth Energy Cycles and above would not have much problem living on an inhospitable Moon for a while, that was far from the case for anyone below Level 100.
Rhex thought that Ignatia's ants might have some spatial affinity that allowed them to live in space, and he also remembered that this group was rather new to the universe. Hence, he spoke with a respectful tone about his doubts. "Your Majesty Ignatia, usually, Level 99 beings and below have trouble living in the emptiness of space. Even if it is a moon, they don't have atmospheres that can sustain life."
That was the case for 99.999% of the moons. They were too small for such a thing to occur.
Ignatia chuckled. "Well, come to our Moon first. Once there, we can talk again."
It had been nearly 30 years since Liu Shu began working on terraforming the Moon. After such a long time, the results were nothing but incredible. With the four Sylvans working tirelessly there, while Liu Shu's subconscious constantly helped the Moon by creating air through the Wind element and space tunnels, there were now 5 cities ready to welcome people, with
After speaking about some details, the
When terraforming the Moon, Liu Shu didn't just use
They would have Level 101 Liu Shu's stats until the completion, but that was more than enough to keep these people in check.
Preparations were quickly finalized, and the day that the
She informed the others, which helped their nerves relax somewhat. Even then, on the day of arrival, the Golden Sap Empire's strongest army gathered together and left in the prepared ships.
Rhex and the others glanced at the group in the distance, and their faces tensed up. "Those are… Moon-Types?"
Zerrek asked, incredulous. Xalis buzzed her wings, her compound eyes observing the other vessels. "Those are Starry-Type ships… Moon-Type and Starry-Type… This is quite dangerous, heh."
The appearance of these ships told them a single piece of very bad news. These people not only had the strength to repel the attacks of two powerful forces, but also the leisure to avoid destroying enemy vessels and later capture them.
This could only occur when one side was massively at an advantage in a fight.
Rhex looked at the others and spoke softly. "Be careful and don't act rashly. We might want to take control of these