Chapter 113: Going Alone
The Chimera Ant Queen would continuously migrate according to her needs for suitable locations.
During this period, the number of soldier ants would steadily increase to protect the dwelling. Once a location was chosen, the Queen would produce large numbers of construction ants that would build a fortress at astonishing speed. Thereafter, the Queen would reside there until her final days.
At that time, the Queen's appetite would reach its peak, requiring soldier ants to provide massive amounts of food. This would inevitably lead to collective disappearances on the scale of entire villages or towns.
Following the coastline villages of NGL, clues should be easily traceable.
Just as Mord had anticipated.
Mord looked at the village before him, clearly recently attacked. A purple-haired woman was seen weakly slumped on a ridge between fields, weeping into her hands.
The surroundings were stained with deep crimson blood.
...
Meanwhile.
In the Chimera Ant nest.
"All Squadron Leaders assemble!"
This command echoed simultaneously in the minds of all Squadron Leaders within the nest.
"Her Majesty wishes to summon us."
One by one, the Squadron Leaders departed from their respective habitats and headed toward the Queen's palace.
"Does Her Majesty's psychic signal give you headaches?" The bull-shaped Squadron Leader patted his own head, speaking in a muffled voice.
"Ah, yes, and there's some tinnitus too," agreed the blue lobster nearby.
Just then, a penguin holding a book walked over from the other end of the passage and joined the discussion: "If only Her Majesty could speak like we do."
Before long, all fourteen Squadron Leaders had gathered in the Queen's palace.
The Chimera Ant Queen looked at her subordinates and communicated via telepathy: "From now on... I must focus entirely on preparing for the King's birth!"
"Therefore, you must deliver fifty humans daily for me to consume."
"As you command, Your Majesty," all Squadron Leaders responded in unison.
"Your Majesty, may this humble servant ask a question?" The old turtle raised its head and spoke.
"Permission granted. Speak."
"Humans also possess armies, and they protect themselves with various weapons. To prevent human attacks on our fortress, we need stronger defenses. This humble servant has devised several plans and seeks Your Majesty's approval," said the old turtle. Recent encounters with NGL soldiers and subsequent clashes had inspired this idea.
"This matter is entrusted to you. Do as you please. I only wish to focus on caring for my son."
The Chimera Ant Queen now devoted all her energy to the King of Ants, paying no mind to other matters.
"As you command," the old turtle bowed its head and spoke. "One more thing—may we have your permission to possess our own names?"
"Names? What are those?"
"They are markers that distinguish each of us individually."
"Permission granted. Do as you please."
"Deepest gratitude, Your Majesty." All Squadron Leaders bowed before turning to leave, returning to their respective duties.
The Chimera Ant Queen watched their departing figures, sinking into deep contemplation.
"What an unimaginable creature, possessing its own will and desiring its own name. On one hand, they compete to achieve merits for the continuation of their species, yet on the other, they deeply value individuality."
"Finding this fascinating makes me quite strange too..." The Chimera Ant Queen lowered her head to look at her hooked claws. "Perhaps only a small amount, but my body might also contain traces of human blood."
...
That purple-haired woman was precisely the human mother of Squadron Leader Colt, and it was precisely because a wisp of emotional memory from his past life remained within him that he chose to spare her life at the most critical moment.
As she left, the woman knelt before Mord, begging him to help find her child who had been missing for many days.
Mord did not tell the woman the truth.
Instead, he turned and silently departed in the direction the Chimera Ant had gone, as indicated by the woman.
The scenes along the way were too horrifying to witness.
Corpses were everywhere—some served as food for the Queen, but even more humans had died in the mouths of those soldier ants.
Chimera Ants were inherently highly aggressive ants, and after mixing with genes from various beasts and scum, they became even more brutal.
The stench of decay had become a road marker.
Mord lightly leaped to the top of a large tree, narrowed his eyes slightly as he gazed into the distance.
That small mound of piled earth in the distance was likely the nest of the Chimera Ants.
"Found it!"
Electric light flickered around Mord's right foot as he forcefully stomped on the tree trunk. With a thunderous crash, the tree collapsed, and he transformed into a bolt of lightning shooting toward the distant fortress.
Simultaneously, a stream of air spread out from Mord's body, enveloping the surroundings—this was his Hatsu.
Every movement within a fifty-meter radius was now perfectly clear to Mord.
As he drew closer to the ant nest, Mord finally encountered an ambush.
"Bang!"
A Chimera Ant suddenly burst from the ground behind Mord like an arrow, sending soil flying in all directions.
Under the perception of his Hatsu, everything was within Mord's control. He spun around sharply, fingers curved like claws, and viciously struck at the ant's head.
The burrowing Chimera Ant opened its bloody maw, about to bite Mord, when it suddenly felt the world turn upside down.
Only in the next instant did it realize its head had been twisted off by its opponent.
"Come out, all of you." Mord halted his movement, casually tossing away the ant's head as he gazed at the seemingly empty forest, a cruel smile curling on his lips.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Over a dozen figures emerged from all directions of the forest, gathering before Mord.
Leading them was a minotaur holding a giant axe.
...
Inside the Chimera Ant nest.
"I heard there's an enemy attack?" Colt, who had just finished delivering food, asked the old turtle beside him.
"Indeed, it was discovered by our aerial scouts," Turtle nodded.
"How many? Is it the human military?"
These past few days, the Chimera Ants had already clashed with NGL's forces. Aside from the initial unprepared waves where some soldier ants were killed by NGL troops using firearms, the ants had since been overwhelmingly dominant.
Incidentally, this also allowed the ants to master the use of firearms.
Turtle's expression turned somewhat peculiar, but he still spoke: "Just one person."
"One person?" Colt found it hard to believe, reflexively questioning.
After receiving Old Turtle's confirmation, for some reason, an intense unease suddenly surged within him. Concern breeds confusion—among all the Squadron Leaders, he was undoubtedly the most loyal to the Queen.
"Don't worry, Bihorn has already taken his troops there," Turtle said.
Hearing that a Squadron Leader had personally taken action, Colt finally felt relieved.
He originally intended to go check the situation himself, but to avoid friction between two legions, Colt reconsidered and ultimately decided against it.