Chapter 107
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: Proper Rule (1)
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'Can I make them realize just how important air superiority is?'
The moment the ants lost control of the skies to the Wingless Corps—the elite elven flying unit that the ants were facing for the first time—Jin-hyuk wanted not only to provide new materials to induce evolution but also to teach them the true value of dominating the air.
Up until now, the ants had effectively leveraged their control of the skies.
But that wasn't because they truly cherished and prioritized air superiority. It was simply because no one else possessed the ability to seize the heavens like they did.
Even the greatest heroes could only unleash their full combat potential with both feet planted firmly on the ground. Astragon's magical civilization and systems were strained just maintaining their barrier-focused land army.
And now that they faced a new enemy, it was time to change that mindset.
Even if the history he had learned and known differed vastly from what the ants would encounter, the fact remained unchanged: those who controlled the skies held the key to victory.
"Hmm, time for another round of toy play?"
He needed to figure out how to convey this to the ants, but having already gained experience from before, he quickly came up with a method.
Issuing a divine oracle to Seira, who would then relay it to Asmora, was simple and convenient. But it consumed interference power and involved two layers of interpretation, leaving room for misunderstandings.
Instead, he opted for a method he had used once before.
Deploying remote-controlled toy models to directly demonstrate his will to the ants.
He had already used robot toys to teach them about power sources and golem weaknesses.
[Asmora confirms the intense will of the Great Being]
In the end, his judgment proved effective.
As the remote-controlled toy helicopter he piloted buzzed over the breeding ground, wreaking havoc, Asmora—who had experienced something similar before—grasped his intent instantly with its even more advanced intelligence and comprehension.
Make stronger, more numerous soldiers and claim the skies for yourselves.
The heavens are that crucial, and I want you to have them.
The ants already knew the overwhelming advantage of looking down from above. The Great Being, Jin-hyuk, was simply emphasizing it further.
[Asmora orders increased resource investment]
If he emphasized it this strongly, they would follow without question.
As the origin of the hive, its greatest self, and the one suppressing the growth of other egos, Asmora's will made it natural for the ants to move according to Jin-hyuk's desires.
They produced new flying ant species and further modified existing flyers like dragonflies and hornets, creating a diverse array of aerial units.
[The subordinates are ready to fight according to the Great Being's will]
'...Faster than I expected.'
Jin-hyuk's influence over the ants exceeded even his own imagination.
Starting with Asmora, who had received its name from him, they viewed him as their creator, parent, and the great spiritual entity united with the hive.
Watching this colossal force mobilize on his single command left him speechless, swallowing dryly.
And this was now. What would happen if the ants, with even more territory and strength, fully comprehended and acted on his words?
Someday, the ants would surely surpass him.
Even having awakened as a deity, his essence remained human, his power a mere speck compared to the ant hive.
'Whether I can handle that is a distant concern.'
Jin-hyuk shook his head, pushing the thought aside.
In truth, he already felt the ant hive's presence and power far surpassed his own. But he still had much to handle—rivals to crush.
"Si, Silian!"
"Everyone, retreat! Fall back now! We can't fight unless we regroup!"
In response to Jin-hyuk's emphasis, the entire hive had sharpened itself for one purpose alone.
Elves like Silian, each with their individual egos, couldn't even imagine such structural unity.
How thoroughly, swiftly, and uniformly this massive horde moved under his will.
Of course, they too were noble warriors willing to sacrifice their lives for their race's future and their allies' victory.
But the ants ambushing them now went further.
From birth, every cell existed solely for the hive—and for Jin-hyuk—making them living weapons.
"Aah... aaagh!!!"
One ant flyer matched the speed and flight skill of a diving Wingless Corps member riding the wind, seizing him with its thorny forelegs before piercing his back with its needle-like proboscis, straight through the heart.
This awl-like proboscis was one of the ants' myriad weapons.
Screams echoed from all sides as entrails and blood rained down. Precious pureblood elves were dying indiscriminately.
"Damn...!"
Silia, pale at the sight of her comrades plummeting one by one, fired arrows to snipe the ant flyers. But the flyers, sharing vision and senses in real-time and reacting swiftly, never entered arrow range even during their acrobatic maneuvers.
Ambushes from behind for instant kills were their specialty.
And the Wingless Corps' weakness? They couldn't attack above their gliders.
'No, I can't die here. This isn't why I came all this way!'
Silian desperately banked, soaring higher into the sky.
Numerous ant flyers pursued.
True to her status as part of the first Wingless Corps, Silian unleashed dizzying aerobatics, desperately loosing arrows and hurling small bombs from her belt.
The flyers were fast and agile but sacrificed defense in many areas. Several fell to her arrows and bombs, crashing to the ground.
"Haa... haa..."
Having climbed far higher than usual, she gasped for breath. The altitude was extreme.
Her strength waned; she barely had energy left to manipulate the wind spirit capsule.
"I didn't live 200 years to die to scum like you."
Her lips curled faintly as she muttered in the thrill of survival.
'When did it...?'
Something massive approached silently and snatched her in an instant.
In horror, Silian twisted her head to gaze up at the monster clutching her body with six powerful legs, crushing it.
Ant face, hornet body, dragonfly-like form—this colossal beast stared at her from within its head armor, lined with saw-like vicious jaws.
Its enormous pair of wings were entirely feathered.
Those feathers enabled silent flight and high-speed travel matching a four-person carriage.
"Spare me..."
The monster crunched her head in its jaws.
Her skull shattered, beautiful face exploded; her terrified final plea never finished.
"Nooo!!!"
Her aunt Belpein, who had watched worriedly, witnessed her niece Silian's one-shot death in real time.
A gruesome, savage killing—biting through the skull without regard for the corpse's integrity.
And it didn't end there.
The ants immediately shredded Silian's body on-site and discarded the pieces on the ground—for worker ants scurrying through the battlefield to haul to digestion chambers and convert to nutrient solution.
They took no prisoners.
Pureblood elves, nobles no less, became mere common meat upon defeat.
"Demonic scum... vile trash...! How could they!"
Elves, long-lived and low in numbers due to difficult reproduction, cherished their kin deeply and honored their dead meticulously.
Those like Belpein—who, after contacting deities to oust elders and the old guard, dubbed themselves "new elves"—clung paradoxically harder to elven unity to atone for betraying their own, preaching the "Elven Convergence."
Restoring damaged corpses intact for grand funerals was their custom.
Seeing a mangled body mixed with countless and beasts into nutrient slurry was apocalyptic horror for elves.
Especially for a cherished niece, a pureblood destined to rule their vast future empire.
"We can't! They're attacking us from the skies now!"
Her aides had to restrain furious Belpein.
Without proper command from the supreme commander, they couldn't hold against the ants who had already reclaimed the skies.
"They're attacking from the skies... and the ground simultaneously!"
The tide had fully turned.
Now the ants held the air, launching one-sided strikes; elves desperately defended.
"Kill them all. Those monsters don't belong on this land! Turn Silphiras skyward. Load this large-caliber spirit cannon with scatter shot and seal the skies first!"
Belpein, seething with rage, commanded her forces as if unleashing everything she had.
Realizing the ants' superhuman learning, analysis, and self-modifying growth was off the charts, the wise move was deploying weapons one by one to balance.
But unlike the ants—coldly calculating except when strong egos like Asmora rampaged—Belpein rashly revealed her hand over Silian's death.
"Disaster! That wicked horde has landed en masse in our rear, the Vanest Kingdom, razing it and building countless nests!"
"Guardian, urgent central council message: All legions halt conquests, redirecting full might to subjugating Belzahad...!"
Dire reports flooded in.
Seira's invasion hive had shattered the transport fleet, landed in the rear, while the elven empire deemed it impossible to leave the ants to one legion, mobilizing total war.
'...This will drag on. A lot.'
Jin-hyuk gazed uneasily at the empowered ant horde—stronger than ever—and foes enduring multiple blows without crumbling.
Ants with this power would shatter Lucadia Empire's barrier instantly, raze the empire.
Deity-influenced worlds evolved and strengthened rapidly.
Like Earth, transformed in just 20 years.
But as forces grew, local powers—colonized, annexed, or annihilated—folded into deity domains.
Toppling the enlarged enemy would likely end the Edelion conquest immediately.
'But only for that world.'
He knew many secrets.
Deities craved more than one planet; his rivals were such deities.
"Keep pushing. That's what you want too, right?"
He smirked at Asmora's face on-screen.
As if hearing, Asmora—tentacles writhing, mask-eyes flashing—raised its head from worker ants' nutrient feeding.