"There they are. It's them!"
A group of goblins riding tamed cyclops wolves spotted something while charging ahead and freaked out in panic.
It was a scouting party made up of five small ants.
Just like always, the ants were busily twitching their antennae as they explored the new area and searched for food.
The moment they spotted prey during their scouting, a hunting unit would rush in through their linked hive mind and tear it apart—that was the ants' standard tactic.
"They've seen us. Run, run away!"
The warriors started fleeing in a hurry as soon as the ants spotted them and began closing in.
Normally, the ants would have just confirmed the sighting and retreated since the warriors outnumbered them. But when the goblins showed no will to fight and bolted without even looking back, the ants gave chase.
They instinctively knew that fleeing enemies would lead them straight to their nest.
'The chieftain said to lure them all the way into human territory.'
But the warriors had other plans.
They worried the ants might not keep up and pushed themselves even harder, luring the scouting party not toward their village deeper in the forest, but somewhere else entirely.
"Stay sharp. They could show up anytime."
This wasn't a short chase.
They kept glancing back, anxious that the ants might give up and turn around, steadily drawing them toward their target.
It was too far to reach human territory in a single day, so they aimed for a road humans frequently used instead.
"Pick up the pace!"
After that, they squeezed out their last reserves of strength to escape.
Thanks to that, the scouting ants left stranded on the road twitched their antennae, scanning the surroundings.
On the surface, it looked like just a few scout ants poking around. But in reality, it was far more than that.
The entire hive mind, sharing this intel willingly or not, was now curiously probing this new territory.
Missing out on prey wasn't a big deal. There were still plenty of faster and stronger foes in this world.
But exploring a brand-new area was something else entirely.
For ants used to the rough forest depths, the vast open plains unfolding before them were a stark, unfamiliar environment that demanded adaptation.
'Those are wheel tracks, aren't they?'
And from the start, there was one being exploring this world through the ants' eyes.
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'Those goblin bastards… did they deliberately lure the ants all the way here?'
I hadn't thought much of it at first. Alerts about ants spotting enemies and hunting them popped up nonstop, and checking every one was impossible.
I only noticed when fatigue-from-chase notifications started appearing, and by then, the pursuit was already winding down.
The goblins fleeing desperately shook off the scout ants shortly after I tuned in.
But their behavior felt off. I couldn't shake the suspicion.
They were big, muscular types—clearly warrior-class.
Warriors like that should've easily crushed a small scout party of small ants.
Even if they feared reinforcements, maintaining just enough distance to keep the chase going without engaging screamed ulterior motives.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Your subordinates are showing curiosity about the new environment.
And this was the result.
The ant hive had discovered a new territory, a bit removed from the area they'd slowly been expanding into.
A road clearly made by intelligent hands ran through it—definitely territory held by another force.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Your subordinates crave greater food sources and faster growth.
It was only natural for the ants to be curious.
The large-scale war against that goblin force had inflicted heavy casualties but also triggered explosive growth.
They devoured the massive piles of enemy corpses and evolved.
I'd already supplied plenty of nutrients through the breeding pens, so the war had ultimately helped them recover and grow stronger.
Having tasted that, the ant hive could no longer be satisfied with slowly expanding the nest and hunting scattered prey.
They'd found several abandoned goblin villages—either fled in terror at their reputation or given up without a fight—and now they were itching for war.
"Those goblins are suspicious. They've got something up their sleeves, I'm telling you."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Your subordinates cannot comprehend your will.
Of course, no matter how much I warned them about the goblins, the ants couldn't properly understand me right now.
It was a relief they didn't misinterpret and go off the rails.
These were the same ones who'd rampaged before after getting my words wrong.
'Sigh, guess I'll just help with what I can do right now.'
I gave up quickly and smirked at the test tube in my hand. A few tiny ants scurried inside it.
These were fire ants, ones I'd grabbed after work.
In my eyes, they stacked up against even the most vicious foreign species.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Your subordinates detect intruders along with the food dropped from the sky.
This time too, the ants spotted the invading fire ants amid the massive food drop into the breeding pen.
Worker ants were first to swarm out and charge them.
Though un-evolved standard specimens, these workers were much larger than small ants.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Your subordinates panic at the enemies' fierce counterattack.
Yet even in small numbers, deprived of their pack tactics, the fire ants put up impressive resistance.
Their potent formic acid sprays could kill small ants outright and cripple larger workers with injuries.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Your subordinates respond swiftly.
But these were ants who'd endured goblin shamans' even harsher spells.
Their hard-earned experience was shared across the hive and would persist as long as the colony survived.
"Of course they'll win."
And they had overwhelming numbers anyway.
More workers poured out, swiftly overwhelming the fire ants.
Whether for their fierce resistance, the fire ants were torn apart especially brutally, then devoured on the spot. The intel was relayed to the queen for absorption.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Based on the newly absorbed information, they grow even stronger.
This was all I could do for them.
If combat units equipped with these new abilities joined as I hoped, it might give the ranged-vulnerable ants fresh tactics.
I let out a hollow chuckle at their synchronized head-bobs of gratitude, then spent the rest of the night—right up until bedtime—staring blankly at them.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Your subordinates have discovered the enemy hive.
The alert came early next morning, as dawn broke in their world too.
Whatever they recognized as an enemy hive had to be a base built by some other force.
Until now, it'd only been crude goblin villages. This time, they'd found a new type of enemy hive.
"A… castle?"
I mumbled blankly at the sight on my screen.
It wasn't some dirt mound wall.
Sure, it was low and a bit shabby for a real castle, but it was undeniably a proper stone-walled fortress.
And the fairly large village sprawling around it. Plenty of people probably lived inside too.
'Human territory.'
I furrowed my brow and let out a small sigh.
I'd known a moment like this would come eventually, but not this soon.
In the distance, faintly visible broad fields bustled with people farming.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Your subordinates prepare for war, expecting a massive food supply.
"..."
Unlike me—a mere human tormented by doubts at every turn—they never hesitated, even as a colossal horde.
If food lay before them, and devouring it would strengthen the hive, they'd kill and eat without a second thought.
Goblin, human—it was all the same prey to them.
That very instinct had awakened me, clueless as I was, as a deity.
'Can we… win this?'
I bit my lip. Even to me, this human force looked stronger than the goblin band that had blundered into us before.
No missiles to raze the area or machine guns spitting bullets, but magic and spells with otherworldly power.
I had no clue to their limits.
Right now, my fate was tied to the ants.
If they resolved to war, I had to want them to win, no matter the foe.
"Those goblin bastards are definitely suspicious."
Resentment toward the goblins who'd lured the scouts here boiled up too.
If my hunch was right, they'd intentionally led the ants straight there.
And if the goal was pitting us against these humans, the aim was obvious: mutual destruction.
'Deal with those guys next, for sure.'
From the moment I realized my ants might get wiped out fighting these humans, a weird unease had been gnawing at me. I needed a way to vent it.
Best if I could unleash it on the true culprits afterward.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Your subordinates prepare for a large-scale mobilization. In their judgment, the enemy hive is assaultable in scale.
"Scale isn't everything."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Your subordinates receive your warning and burn with even greater battle spirit.
"Why?!"
Watching hundreds—no, thousands—of ants of all sizes stream out of the nest left me baffled, a disbelieving chuckle escaping me.
Refusing to fight wasn't an option for them.
Even massive losses would pay off in the end if they won—that much was clear.
'Not wrong, maybe.'
They could evolve by absorbing mana and demonic power.
Each breakthrough unlocked new abilities.
Plus my support. They brimmed with confidence that any crisis could be overcome.
'Honestly, looking at this… we might not even lose.'
Checking the forces they'd mobilized made me think victory was possible.
I still didn't know the enemy's full strength.
The ants had just estimated based on rough numbers.
But the endless black tide of small ants from nest to vanguard, hundreds of mid-sized workers, frequent stage-1 evolved workers, and dozens of imposing soldier ants made the goblin fight look like child's play.
Leading the charge were stage-1 evolved soldiers.
With massive builds and reinforced exoskeletons, they bulldozed trees, hurled boulders, and spearheaded the advance like living tanks.