Chapter 104
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: Empire of the Forest (2)
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Asmodra senses a lack of firepower
Overwhelming production volume, abundant magic stones that Jin-hyuk supplied, eliminating the need for grueling mining like others had to endure.
On top of that, the collective consciousness where every individual shared combat experience through repeated battles, allowing even newly born ants to master it perfectly.
Yet Asmodra had felt a shortfall in the scouting battles against the Elf Empire.
And that shortfall was firepower capable of piercing the elves' power, which differed from ordinary magic.
Asmodra had certainly created defensive barriers using the Demonic Power hearts of the Tyrant ants, and the shielded Tyrants had dominated the Lucadia Empire's mages as virtual natural predators with their enhanced combat prowess.
However, that defense wasn't infinite or omnipotent.
To hold their own against enemies whose firepower grew ever stronger, Asmodra believed the main force's firepower needed to be bolstered.
Bellona rages at the firepower of the enemy's steam tanks and cannons
And this issue wasn't limited to the massive horde now facing the Elf Empire.
Bellona's nomadic horde, battling the Orc Kingdom and Dwarf Federation on the western front, was also gradually being pushed back.
The primary culprit was the dwarves' firepower, blending steam and magic in their advanced civilization.
Dwarven steam tanks, rolling forward with deafening roars from their massive steel frames, unleashed shells from cannons mounted atop them—far beyond what bodies could withstand.
"Push them back!"
Witnessing the dwarves invoking their god, Bellona's nomadic horde—unable to afford the extreme attrition war like the main horde—had no choice but to retreat.
The ants' weaknesses were starting to emerge: superior close-quarters melee and mobility, but lacking frontal firepower and range.
'New power, needed.'
Asmodra, as the queen of the main horde, could not stand idly by.
The horde serving the Great Existence must exterminate all enemies in this world and claim the pinnacle.
Any obstacles blocking that path had to be shattered or overcome, by any means necessary.
Asmodra designs new soldiers
'What variant is she planning this time?'
Jin-hyuk, who had been supplying the day's magic stones, stared blankly at the sight.
Asmodra stood alone in the dim nest, her eyes gleaming against the backdrop of her massive brain.
'Bigger body, stronger firepower.'
Asmodra first searched her database for the sturdiest, most stable physique.
Now capable of preying on small mammals the size of weasels or mid-sized birds like crows, she prepared a robust torso blending beetle and turtle features.
She removed all unnecessary organs, including the digestive system, filling the space with swarms of tiny new variants.
Of course, "tiny" still meant each was larger than a human head.
These small variants resembled pill bugs, curling into balls—their hard carapaces packed with explosives and venomous fluids inside.
Asmodra incorporates newly acquired knowledge here
To this, she integrated fragments of advanced magitech knowledge absorbed from Arcaina Zero.
Not refined enough to replicate intricate magic, but similar to evenly 'releasing' Demonic Power heart energy for personal barriers.
This time, however, she changed it from release to 'explosion.'
'Living cannons...!'
Jin-hyuk gasped in admiration, grasping Asmodra's intent.
Without Seira's advice or aid, Asmodra had combined absorbed genetic data, techniques, and knowledge to create a new hybrid variant on her own.
The resulting Turtle Ant·Tyrants were colossal, dump-truck-sized behemoths. Prioritizing resources to test their power, they rapidly pupated and accelerated growth.
'Asmodra's level has risen this much. It's truly soon now. Very soon, Asmodra will grow enough to devour humans and other intelligent beings, and the ants will evolve once more.'
Jin-hyuk's lips curved faintly as he envisioned the moment, now almost tangible.
It was the moment he'd awaited since learning the ants had awakened him as a deity.
If they could communicate with him, however imperfectly, and comprehend his will.
Having been with them since they were mere ants, he felt like a father watching his children flourish.
Asmodra feels pleased by the Great Existence's approval
Of course, Asmodra was still childlike, her mood swinging wildly at a single word of praise or thumbs-up from Jin-hyuk.
But he figured that wouldn't last.
The ants' growth rate meant her ego would mature too.
'When will it be? After the elves... no, maybe midway through?'
Now able to roughly predict their evolution speed and direction, his heart began to race.
More nutrients, more experience, more knowledge—that was the true sustenance for Asmodra and the ant horde.
War with other factions had always been the perfect way—and essential—to acquire it all at once.
"The enemy is approaching again!"
"Order the vanguard to retreat and relay this to the main force."
Scout detachment commander, pure-blood elf Nimbus, acted immediately per protocol upon the report.
At the same time, he sighed softly at the screen materializing before him.
A horde of at least 100,000 ants surged forward in unison.
A legion of bioweapons, mixed with large and small variants.
"Retreat now. The monsters are coming!"
"Damn it, abandon the slow ones!"
They hurried into combat readiness, but the most frantic weren't those inside the defensive line preparing to fight.
The problem was the vanguard under scout detachment command.
Like the ants' hunting detachments handling recon and small ops, these swept the empire's south in packs.
"No! Take Father too. Don't abandon us!"
"Take us with you! Aaaah!"
One of their tasks was rounding up Lucadia Empire refugees who hadn't fled to the central regions, hauling them off as slaves.
Composed of those conquered or surrendered to the elves, they scoured for merit by dragging away able-bodied civilians. Now, fearing the ants, they ditched the weak and slow, forcing heartbreaking separations.
"Shut up. The ants are swarming."
Human mage Karim, a vanguard subcommander, paled and beat down resisting prisoners to pry them loose.
Karim was desperate too. Though rising as vanguard subcommander, failing the elves' slave quotas could plummet him back to the bottom.
He'd seen countless others demoted or punished for mistakes or poor results.
"How can you do this to fellow humans? Selling kin to aliens."
A young prisoner glared at him with fury-filled eyes.
Karim scoffed.
"Even humans enslave each other all the time."
No regrets or guilt, regardless of his haste.
Karim himself had been a slave gladiator from his homeland.
The elves who razed it and installed themselves as rulers had freed him. Seeing his mocking tormentors executed and strung up by their necks, he saw it as natural order.
"Move, you... Gurk."
But urging his men, Karim couldn't continue.
A sharp venom stinger from the sky shattered his skull and pierced his body into the ground.
"Activate the lattice now. Boost output before they close in!"
The ants began overrunning the earth in earnest.
Elves sheltering fleeing vanguard remnants activated the light lattice defenses.
"No! Spare us!"
"We're scout detachment!"
Chaos erupted from those left outside, but the elves showed no mercy.
Disposable alien auxiliaries could be replenished anywhere in occupied territory.
"Eeeek!"
The abandoned shrieked, squeezing eyes shut before the approaching ants.
Expecting to be butchered first.
"What... why aren't they advancing?"
Yet the massive ant swarm halted abruptly at a line, standing motionless.
Belpein, assuming it'd be like before, was slightly rattled by the ants at the first defensive line.
"You... the rumored witch?"
In that chaos, prisoners dragged near the line by Karim's unit trembled, watching worker ants mercilessly dismantle the corpses.
Seira Redenverk passed by, her face masked as an ant.
A few brave souls spoke up, but she merely glanced down through her mask and continued.
Astonishingly, the ants ignored the prisoners entirely.
'The war with the Lucadia Empire ended easier than expected, thanks to the emperor's intervention and targeting their heart. But.'
Seira gazed at the distant standoff between ants and elven lines.
Turtle Ants, differing from heavy armored ants, cracked open their carapaces in unison, exposing gaping launch ports.
'Belzahad is just strong.'
Simultaneously, gas explosions propelled ant bombs from the ports—pill-bug curled, hurtling at incredible speeds toward the lines.
"The lattice is crumbling...!"
The elven army stirred in unrest.
Seira watched the airborne bombs detonate in midair, unleashing explosions beyond magic.
Not for show—the dark blue aura cloaking their curled forms.
As designed by Asmodra, Kyr from the Turtle Ants' hearts empowered the awaiting bombs, shielding them from blast force, guiding precision to targets before detonating.
Enemy barrier collapse confirmed. Asmodra orders ground forces and waiting air forces to charge
Elves, blindsided by unforeseen ant artillery, failed to respond even as the lattice shattered.
Seizing the moment, ants surged forward on Asmodra's command.
Turtle Ant barrages continued unabated.
"These bastards are getting fun quick."
Belpein's stern face twisted into a grin as he ordered his unit to sortie.
Though the light lattice—potent counter to close assaults—was broken, the elves still held many cards.
'Whose cards run out first? If short, gotta draw more... got the confidence to draw faster?'
Jin-hyuk, watching to cheer his subordinates, intuited the elf battle flowing into a familiar pattern.
< Chapter 104 - Empire of the Forest (2) > End