Chapter 131
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 131
Chapter Title: Worthless Task (1)
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“...”
In the past, Asmorra had occupied a small peninsula where the old Holy Kingdom once stood, peering through the eyes of other ants as she gazed out from the coastline at a true ocean for the first time.
An endless expanse of blue waves, so vast she couldn't even begin to guess what lay beyond.
Back when her brain and intellect weren't as developed as they were now, Asmorra had been utterly overwhelmed by its sheer immensity.
Even though it was a sea narrow enough to cross in just two days on a simple sailing ship and reach the Lukadia Empire on the opposite shore.
'This world... it's far too vast.'
Realizing just how insignificant she was compared to this enormous world, Asmorra had felt fear—and at the same time, a powerful curiosity.
That was the first time she had ever shown interest in anything beyond devouring prey and creating stronger variants.
That intense experience from back then continued to influence Asmorra to this day, and by extension, the ant colony, which was increasingly shaped by her ego.
Asmorra discovers new terrain once more.
They formed a long-range scouting party of Leviathans capable of extended voyages at sea and a small contingent of flying variants, bypassing the fierce battles of the Elf Empire by crossing the ocean.
Surprisingly, the goal wasn't reconnaissance for combat.
It was pure exploration—to see where this endless world might end and discover what lay within it.
This endeavor had actually begun before the full-scale war, right from the first clashes with the elves.
'Vast.'
Through the eyes of a variant Dragon Ant soaring high on soft feathered wings, she beheld the land stretching beneath the sky.
Innumerable valleys stretched on without end, and the rain that had poured all night draped the heavens like glowing veins, threading hundreds of shining lines across the earth.
The morning sunlight flowed along the water droplets soaking the ground.
A world just one step removed from the raging battlefield pulsed like a massive heart, alive with the breath of countless beings.
She was finally beginning to truly understand the structure of the planet she now stood upon.
The massive map updating in real-time within the hive mind filled out steadily.
"Yes. The world is vast. A single nation, a single continent—that's not everything."
Jin-hyuk smiled, informing Asmorra, who brimmed with curiosity and exploratory zeal, that even the current map wasn't complete, and the ant colony still fell far short of conquering an entire planet.
Jin-hyuk's own vision depended on his ant subordinates, so he couldn't see or know what they hadn't reached or learned.
By now, Asmorra had grown enough to understand his divine oracles to a certain degree.
At the same time, she was the first daughter he'd ever named, raised from a tiny ant the size of a fingernail.
His young daughter was grasping the world's vastness, thrilling at it, yearning to explore and advance.
How could he not feel proud and endeared? His tone and demeanor naturally softened with boundless affection.
"This world... and beyond, the countless worlds in that distant universe. Will you one day come to know them, to see them?"
Jin-hyuk already knew about the universe.
Learning of the Divine Net's existence had made him the only Earthling aware that this cosmos teemed with life and civilizations, including Earth itself.
In the end, he and his ants were just a part of it all, living within it.
He believed that if this was an unavoidable fate, it was better to learn of it early and prepare.
"The sky..."
Asmorra, sitting still in her nest, lifted her head to gaze at the heavens.
Through the opening in the deep breeding chamber that let in outside light and allowed her to always see the sky.
The sky beyond the clouds her wings could scarcely reach was a sacred, mystical realm connecting her to the great existence above.
But now, that great being was teaching her.
The sky was a place she could reach—and beyond it lay the truth of the worlds.
"I want to go."
The desire, the greed of the first queen who had enabled evolution beyond her kind, boiled up within her.
Once she claimed this entire world, the next would be the sky.
Besides, Jin-hyuk subtly hinted that his own vision was tied to the ants, so they needed to see more.
Asmorra thought she could do anything for her father, Jin-hyuk.
'She's misunderstanding something again.'
Watching her, Jin-hyuk scratched his head.
"We can't hold out any longer! There are too many of them!"
"...Prepare the Elder Spine!"
But the ants had no leisure yet to look elsewhere.
They hadn't even fully claimed the surrounding lands, let alone the sky.
Thus, the ant colony, Asmorra included, pressed their foes even harder.
They made no secret of their intent to exterminate them this time and claim lordship over the land.
Facing the horde of ants charging with grim determination, the Elf Empire's forces squeezed out every ounce of strength just to endure—unable to afford divisions between elves and other races.
In the ants' eyes, they were all just equally palatable fodder to be chewed and dissolved in digestive fluids.
An elf knight leaped to save an orc soldier from a subrace unit, while human troops banded together to shield an elf artillery battery.
In the face of this apocalyptic threat bearing down on them—a true end of days—racial prejudices and forced conscriptions vanished; they fought as one, purely for survival.
"Damn these mad devil spawn..."
Erdin, the Guardian of the 5th Army at the forefront of the brutal war, trembled atop the shoulder of a towering tree giant as he surveyed the battlefield from his command post.
Explosions erupted here and there, but the black tide surging from afar showed no sign of slowing.
Seira unleashed grand magics single-handedly, and variants like Ascalon and Tyrant appeared in droves—yet the most terrifying aspect was their numbers.
With each evolution, their growth and birth cycles grew swifter and more streamlined; newborns were instantly combat-ready, injected with all necessary knowledge from the moment of emergence—an absurd loop.
The ants that had devoured nearly half the continent could, if they committed to mass production, churn out over a million troops in short order from their nests.
There was a limit to converting the power from mana stones Jin-hyuk fed them into biomass.
Even now, the ant nests felled ancient trees grown over decades for massive mushroom farms, drying up native magical beasts and wildlife from land and sea, posing a colossal threat to the ecosystem.
"Guardian! The Elder Spine is ready!"
"Fire it! Now!"
Of course, they had a weapon to bridge that overwhelming gap in forces. Erdin shouted urgently at the advent of the massive magic cannon.
The Elder Spine could unleash the battlefield's ultimate firepower—impossible to block, only to dodge. A single well-placed shot would be a game-changer.
"Those bastards...!"
"They're moving to destroy the Elder Spine!"
In response, the ants moved as if from prior experience.
Though Seira was elsewhere, they deployed Ascalons and flying types to assault and demolish the Elder Spine.
"We must hold them at all costs. The fate of this battlefield—of the entire world—rests on us."
Roel, captain of the elf knight order, raised his sword and cried out resolutely as he rushed to defend it.
It wasn't just the elf knights gathered there.
Volunteers of every race and unit flocked in, heedless of origin.
It was their final desperate struggle to protect their last hope: the Elder Spine.
"Fight... together."
Roel lowered his visor, steadying his pounding heart as he charged with sword raised.
His comrades followed suit, surging forward—only to clash against the formed ranks of Ascalon knights and mages.
The ant soldiers, genetically engineered from birth to live solely for the hive, knew no fear or hesitation.
Minds were a luxury reserved for queen-class individuals; the rank-and-file were little more than machines, flawless cogs.
"Kill them!"
Yet in this moment, united as one, the defenders felt no fear either.
With steely resolve overcoming dread, they swung at the onrushing monsters.
Bolstered by the fervent prayers of those around them, wishing for their victory.
"Fools."
Thus, Asmorra, watching through her soldiers' eyes, sneered scornfully—unlike the others.
When foes fought in earnest, all that remained was true 'skill'.
"Ah..."
Roel parried a scythe limb and severed one of the enemy's arms, only to sigh softly.
The blow from the Beheading Ant Ascalon's four scythe limbs wasn't mere brute force despite appearances.
It was a sophisticated sword art blending feints and killing intent—one once dubbed Siuma Dantu by the hardy steppe orcs, renowned warriors.
Bellona had mimicked it in battle against foes, refining it into her own technique—enough to stun any first-time observer.
In the end, Roel missed just one strike. His body split cleanly from crown to groin, spraying blood.
Even an elf knight of over a century's training, risen to captain, could perish in a single lapse.
"Gaaahhh!"
"Magic... dodge it, quick!"
Roel wasn't the only casualty.
Most who charged with death-defying resolve met gruesome ends after just a few clashes in the frontal assault.
Just as Asmorra had foreseen from the start, mocking them.
"Was that all the power they had? And with numbers like that, their forces are this strong too..."
Erdin sighed. With the desperate defenders defeated, now came the price.
They could only watch in despair as Ascalon mages invoked spells to destroy the Elder Spine.
"?!"
"W-What!?"
But then, a shockwave so intense it stunned even Erdin and halted Asmorra's thoughts slammed down near the Elder Spine.
Amid the billowing dust, someone with glowing fairy wings folded stood with gleaming eyes.
'New enemy.'
Asmorra regarded the foe who had swung a sword swirling with raging mana like a tempest, cleaving Ascalon knights in a single stroke.
"Ugh... aaahhh!!!"
The female elf, groaning in evident agony, finally roared, erupting in golden mana.
Incantation tattoos forcibly etched across her body—save her face—shone brightly.
'Kill the enemy.'
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Remodeled into a combat weapon that burned all else away to fight foes, Arie could only obey the command.
Dodging the sword of an oncoming Beheading Ant Ascalon, she seized its head—larger than her own hands—with bare grip and crushed the exoskeleton in one go.
A powered kick to the staggering body burst its thick shell with a bang.
"The enemy isn't just sitting idle either."
Jin-hyuk observed impassively and assessed.
It was inevitable that stronger, more advanced foes would emerge as needed.