Chapter 129
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 129
Chapter Title: Empty Shell (3)
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"Take back our homeland!"
The long-awaited attack order finally dropped, and with cannon fire ripping through the sky, a mass of soldiers charged forward in unison.
Magical shells fired from the massive elf cannons embedded with magic stones exploded, burning away and vaporizing the tough spiderwebs that blanketed the outer walls of what was once a glorious city.
Those spiderwebs were irritating defensive structures that hindered troop movements, allowing only the ants capable of secreting a special substance from their bodies to pass through unaffected.
Anyone seeking to attack the elves—or rather, the ants—first had to clear away the spiderwebs covering everything.
"Charge!!"
This time, the heterologous troops under their command were brimming with battle fervor as well.
A large portion hailed from the Vanest Kingdom, where parts of the land had already fallen to the ants. Forcibly conscripted and only able to fight at full strength under the influence of stimulants, they now burned with morale sans drugs, fueled by the cause of slaying ants, reclaiming lost territory, and avenging their dead families.
The elves knew this too, which was why they'd recruited even more expendable troops from the rear, baiting Vanest Kingdom natives to the front lines with promises of revenge and rewards.
They knew they were mere meat shields. Yet their blazing thirst for vengeance drowned out that reality.
'Unfortunately.'
Seira let out a soft sigh as she stood alone atop the city's spire—now a complete ant nest—like an unmoving statue with her wings fully spread, gazing down at the scene.
The spiderweb traps had been erased by long-range bombardment and firepower, but the ants' defenses were far from over.
"What the hell is... guk."
Elven Empire ground forces, advancing toward the nest with fire support and minimal issues, collapsed en masse from a trap that activated abruptly.
The bizarre carapaces clinging to building exteriors, floors, and everywhere else weren't mere shells.
They were a new variant of shell ants created by Asmora after devouring the barnacles Kim Jin-hyuk had placed in the breeding pen.
The shell ants' sturdy exoskeletons, which had withstood the bombardment, cracked open with a pop, unleashing a barrage of sharp venom stingers from within.
"No way... all of them are...?"
The assault captain, passionately directing his subordinates to liberate his own hometown and exact revenge on the ants, stared blankly at the transformed city—utterly unlike his memories—and muttered dazedly.
The shell ants swarmed in numbers beyond counting, like barnacles on a ship's hull.
They'd already merged into massive clumps resembling a single fortress wall.
To breach that, there was only one path—and it meant enduring a full volley of venom stingers from the shell ants blanketing every direction.
This colossal ant fortress, forged by squeezing every resource Seira had, now stood with its gates to hell flung wide, awaiting them.
"Then we'll just smash the whole damn city!"
As the conscripted local heterologous troops panicked, Isril—the guardian of the 3rd Legion attempting the assault—ground her teeth.
Defending lost homelands and reclaiming rightful inheritance applied only to the local heterologous troops.
The upper echelons of the Elven Empire—true elves—ultimately decided to raze the city entirely. To them, killing ants mattered more than preserving the city; turning it to ash would suffice.
"Fire the Elder Spine!"
A colossal weapon beyond ordinary cannons emerged.
This massive modular cannon, a fusion of magic, spirits, and machinery, was assembled by colossal wood giants hauling its heavy parts. Once complete, it dwarfed most houses.
The Elder Spine—the pinnacle of civilization imparted by the deities and the most advanced weapon from the Man-gigong era—was no mere mana-powered device.
Each shot consumed an artificial spirit capable of illuminating a city for a month, unleashing a massive beam that vaporized everything in its path—a weapon generations ahead.
"Such immense mana...!"
Seira sensed the colossal power building in the assembled behemoth and recoiled in shock.
In pre-deity Edelion, such a weapon was unimaginable. If fired, even the fortress wouldn't hold.
"They're targeting the Elder Spine!"
"Stop them at all costs!"
Numerous flying variants scrambled, streaking across the sky toward the elven lines to destroy the cannon.
Elves rallied around the Elder Spine, deploying winged squadrons and anti-air fire in a desperate defense.
"Too late. Everyone, prepare."
Realizing they couldn't stop the Elder Spine before firing, Seira leaped from the spire and commanded defenses from the air.
"Fire!"
Almost simultaneously, the cannon finished charging and unleashed its massive beam.
The blinding flash seared retinas, and the beam vaporized everything in a straight line.
"---!"
Seira had positioned Askalons everywhere in advance and cast spells alongside them just before launch.
Activated simultaneously through the hive mind centered on Seira, this was a technique unique to the ant collective.
Having fully absorbed and mastered the fallen Lukadia Empire's magical civilization, and with hive mind enabling free overlay and resonance, their magic was swift and potent.
'Did we block it?!'
Aiming her staff, Seira gazed at the massive triangular magical prism conjured by combined spellwork along the beam's calculated path.
Her instincts screamed that the Elder Spine's firepower couldn't be outright blocked—it had to be deflected and dispersed.
True to calculation, the beam struck the prism, shattering it not but splintering into dozens of rays scattering outward.
"Nngh..."
She spread her wings against the shockwave sweeping the nest, drawing on her power.
Though weakened, the splintered beams retained devastating force, toppling buildings and vaporizing countless ants—inflicting heavy losses.
Still, Seira's plan worked. The defenses held, unbroken overall.
"How did they block the Elder Spine... with magic? Those filthy parasites?!"
Isril, who had expected the Elder Spine to obliterate the nest instantly, paled in horror.
She'd never imagined ants could counter it with magic.
She knew they used magic, but not against such overwhelming power.
'A second shot will compound the damage. We must destroy it.'
Having blocked the impossible with superior hive magic, Seira dove from the spire into the sky.
It was a partial block at best.
The asymmetric superweapon Elder Spine—impossible to fully counter at current levels—had to be destroyed.
"Incoming raid!"
As the Elder Spine recharged for a second shot...
A swarm of flying variants streaked toward the Elven Empire main force.
Hornets, Dragon Ants, ant flies—diverse flyers stung and dive-bombed, assaulting the Elder Spine through skies already dominated by ants.
Elves desperately poured anti-air fire skyward.
Though elves sieged and ants defended, the Elder Spine had reversed roles.
"These bastards can't keep blocking forever."
Isril smirked faintly as one of her arrows pierced a Dragon Ant, sending it plummeting.
She sensed the ants' desperation.
The first shot hadn't crushed the city as hoped, but no one could block repeated strikes of that magnitude.
"Prep the second shot ASAP. Once their momentum cracks, redeploy the assault teams!"
Her robes fluttering, she nocked another arrow, victory in sight.
Repel the ants' frenzy, then bombard relentlessly with the Elder Spine.
"!"
But her plan went awry.
Expecting routine aerial defense, something new appeared—a dark blue barrier shrugging off even her guardian arrows—crashing to the ground at blinding speed.
"You... Witch of Belzahard!"
Dispelling dust with a gesture, Isril recognized Seira and flew into a rage.
Seira was already infamous locally.
Her recent solo raids on rear bases and depots had enraged the 3rd Legion further.
"Kill her now! She's going for the Elder Spine!"
As Seira channeled great magic toward the cannon, panicked Isril ordered interception.
Elven knights in gleaming silver enchanted armor abandoned even her guard, charging Seira.
Seira might win one-on-one, but deep in enemy lines—mid-spell for the Elder Spine—her barrier could shatter, body torn apart.
"Got her!"
One knight breached the barrier, blade poised to impale—shouting in ecstasy.
"...Huh?"
Yet his sword defied him, failing to slice Seira.
At the last instant, his arm severed, spraying blood into the air.
The knight stared blankly at his detached limb.
"W-what the hell?"
"A new monster...!"
Knights lunging at Seira were diced in seconds, bodies crumpling.
Landing with a thud, they retracted massive, razor-sharp hook claws glowing with dark blue demonic power, encircling protectively around Seira.
Surviving knights, unable to aid screaming comrades, retreated warily.
Unlike prior variants, these bore rugged black exoskeletons and glowing head armor akin to ants, but stood on two reverse-jointed legs, torso awkwardly erect, wielding four pairs of bladed arms.
[Asmora is somewhat satisfied with her own creations]
These were the new Askalons Asmora had experimentally assigned to Seira.
Born from the idea: if human genes yielded mage ants, why not knight ants wielding swordsmanship?
No absorption for sword arts like magic, but a massively evolved warrior had emerged: second queen Bellona.
Asmora used data extracted from her "sister" Bellona to forge them.
"No...!!!"
As Seira was shielded, she completed her great magic without glancing away—massive spell circles manifesting around her.
Massive lightning summoned at her mana heart's limit output surged through the circles into a colossal bolt, instantly crumbling the magically sensitive Elder Spine.
Before screaming Isril's eyes, their hope—the mighty weapon—collapsed in ruin.