Chapter 39
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Will of the Heavens (3)
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Ants wage war to obtain prey, and those targeted by them desperately resist in order to survive.
And the ants win those battles, growing stronger each time by claiming spoils of war.
This was an essential behavior for the ants—something so fundamental that it could be called everything they possessed, and one that was bound to continue indefinitely.
On the surface, it seemed like a process that had repeated itself so many times it had become utterly routine.
However, a fundamental change was undoubtedly beginning from within the ant colony.
And the origin of that change was the Queen herself.
[The Queen ponders why 'he' desires war and their growth.]
Of course, neither the Queen nor the other ants knew of the Divine Net system, let alone the existence of Deities.
It was still impossible for them to comprehend how the portal they had stumbled upon in the breeding grounds, and the deeds they committed after crossing it, had snowballed into something massive.
[Though she cannot grasp the exact purpose, the Queen recognizes that the wars to come are not only for the colony's growth, but also for him.]
Yet through inference, the Queen had vaguely become aware of the existence of the Deity watching over them—and even what that Deity desired.
'She figured that much out on her own?'
Jin-hyuk's eyes widened as he watched the notifications popping up one after another.
Right now, the Queen wasn't just acknowledging his existence; she was redefining their relationship and striving to fulfill his wishes.
This meant the ants were finally breaking free from part of their instincts.
[The Queen strongly asserts that they must fight for the being who watches over them.]
So far, she was the only one approaching that concept.
But that was enough. The Queen's ego was already exerting a powerful influence over the entire colony.
[The subordinates strive to exterminate their enemies even more thoroughly. For this is also the will of the heavens watching over them.]
In the end, the output was still war, but the internal difference was enormous.
The ants, who had previously acted with ruthless efficiency, were now willing to tolerate inefficiency to achieve their purpose.
There was a clear distinction between instinctual combat for hunting food and expanding territory, and a holy war to carry out a Deity's command.
"Screaming Wings!"
"M-Monsters are coming!"
The ants, deploying their full might with stockpiled resources, swarmed into vulnerabilities where the barrier hadn't been fully constructed.
Those guarding that spot paled at the sight of the colossal disaster blotting out sky and earth, desperately relaying the news to the rear while preparing for a desperate last stand.
"These bastards... They mean to isolate us."
The Golden Mandate Society, which had barely seized control of the entire Carmion Kingdom through forceful repression and purges, wasn't entirely unprepared.
Beyond the barrier itself, they had stationed troops in fortresses at key strongholds ahead of it, tasking them with delaying the ants' advance as much as possible.
This Perbas Fortress, built in rugged mountains, was one such bulwark.
'They're targeting us. Do they somehow know that leaving us alone endangers their rear?'
Baron Magus, the fortress commander ordered to defend at all costs, groaned at the sight of the densely packed ants.
He had inwardly expected the ants to bypass this stronghold nestled in treacherous terrain and charge straight for the barrier teeming with prey.
In that case, they planned to bide their time and strike the ants' rear. But the ants had dispatched separate forces to meticulously eliminate them without oversight.
"C-Commander. The messenger's been taken down..."
"What the hell are these things?"
He ground his teeth watching the messenger sent to relay news get snapped up in an instant by a variant ant outpacing a galloping horse.
Incredible speed. The variant Gale Ant, wielding its six slender legs like mad despite its bull-sized bulk, was blindingly fast—from explosive bursts to sustained velocity—impossible to escape once spotted.
"No choice but to wait until the communication orb finishes recharging. At least this fortress is built on solid bedrock, so they can't burrow in without spells."
Perbas Fortress stood atop unyielding bedrock.
The ants didn't bother digging tunnels here either. Climbing was far more efficient than excavating such rock.
"Look. The other forts are still holding. Some ants did head for the incomplete barrier, but as long as we endure, they won't charge recklessly."
Magus pointed to the beacon smokes rising in the distance.
Each fortress's beacon was a traditional signal to avoid wasting communication orb mana on routine reports—a sign that the others hadn't fallen.
"These monsters aren't mere mana beasts. They say they're subordinates of an evil Outer God. We can't hand our homeland over to the devil's grasp coveting this world."
"You're right."
"Draw your swords! Let's protect our land and families!"
Seeing his subordinates' resolute faces, he grinned, urging them on as he donned his helmet and ascended the ramparts.
It was then that the ants, who had silently gathered and encircled them, finally began to stir bit by bit.
'Fortunately, no sign of those ferocious, powerful winged demons.'
Magus swallowed dryly, turning his head so his men wouldn't see, as he eyed the ants crawling over the ground.
Unlike his men shouting war cries and beating drums to boost morale, the ants simply stood motionless, utterly silent, staring at them.
In truth, he had little interest in the Golden Mandate Society that had recently joined.
As long as the land stayed peaceful and he and his men received proper treatment, that was enough.
And establishing merits in this crisis would improve that treatment even more.
Best of all, no sign of those infamous hornet ants. This battle seemed winnable.
"I've placed our longest-spearmen up front, and mages ready to blow away venom sprays with wind magic. Thorns embedded in the walls, oil and embers to pour if they climb—everything's set."
"Good. We've done all we can."
Magus smirked at his adjutant's report. He'd never faced ants in proper combat, let alone a siege, but the Golden Mandate Society had provided detailed intel.
He'd prepared accordingly—for hordes scaling the walls pitch-black.
"Shall I fetch one of their heads as a betrothal gift? Your family are adventurers for generations. They favor strong men, I hear."
"A grotesque monster's head? Don't be ridiculous."
He let out a hollow chuckle at his adjutant's joke, meant to ease the taut thread of tension ready to snap.
Monster head as a wedding gift? Adventurers were oddballs, as expected.
"They're fully upon us! Archers and mages, prepare... Huh?"
But in that instant, as Magus moved to order the battle, he froze and glanced aside.
'What the hell is that?'
In a flash, something enormous leaped the high walls amid a fierce gust, coiling its forelegs around the adjutant he'd just been speaking to and crushing his head in powerful mandibles.
A pair of grotesquely hypertrophied hind legs on an otherwise slender ant frame.
"No! Danger!"
Magus whipped around at the urgent cry, only to see a massive variant ant piercing arrow volleys and spells, bounding from the ground.
'This is insane.'
As it soared through the air like flight, its jet-black compound eyes betrayed no emotion even in this moment of slaughter and death. Meeting that gaze, he sighed at the long, iron-hard forelegs hurtling toward him.
[The subordinates are overrunning the enemy fortress.]
"Prepared them right away for siege warfare, huh."
In a dim house with the lights off and unpacked luggage strewn about.
His eyes, staring blankly into space from the sofa, flashed red for an instant unbeknownst to him.
His vision filled with screens invisible to others.
Split into multiple panels, they broadcast numerous sites simultaneously.
The insect he'd sent after his pathfinders—the locust—possessed powerful hind legs for leaping.
The moment the Queen devoured it, she absorbed the ability and birthed a new variant.
She judged these leapers would aid in toppling human fortresses.
And her calculation proved spot-on.
Infused with mana and Demonic Power, the variants leaped with far greater force than ordinary locusts, becoming monsters that could vault straight to lofty ramparts.
Thanks to them, the ants struck the humans' meticulously prepared defenses from behind.
'All their embedded fortresses are cleared. No more rear worries.'
One screen showed a forward fortress reduced to rubble by the ants.
Unprepared for the leaping variants, the forts crumbled without even needing hornet ants' heavy hitters. Defenders fought to the last, facing total annihilation.
"You honorless, gloryless monster scum...! Aaaargh!!"
The final knight screamed as ants swarmed from all sides, tearing him limb from limb.
Honor or chivalry meant nothing to ants who wouldn't stoop to fair one-on-one duels out of courtesy.
With the last human dead, the site strewn with hundreds of corpses fell into deathly silence.
Ants made no sounds—only the chilling rustle of their movements.
"Hoo."
Letting out a small sigh, his eyes no longer wavered as before.
[These crazy monster bastards. They made another variant! Again!]
I can't take it anymore. I'm pulling resources from main base.
Wait... That's beyond breaking even. You sure? Not everyone can even bring everything anyway.
Shut up! Anyone nitpicking this gets smashed first.
He'd checked the Divine Community just in case.
As expected, Goddess Henes was venting fury over the forward fortresses' fall.
From her perspective, it had to be frustrating.
The ants' collective might and unpredictable growth potential were simply too overwhelming.
Enraged to the extreme, Henes even mentioned pulling from her main base.
Deities wandered the cosmos colonizing new planets to gain more subordinates and territory, elevating their own ranks.
Thus, drawing 'main base' resources usually meant losses—and other Deities wouldn't tolerate it.
It could spark interstellar great wars daily across countless planets.
That was their established rule and order.
Henes now invoked the situation's uniqueness to shatter that rule and summon greater power.
'...Fine. Do as you like. I'm not holding back anymore either.'
Jin-hyuk bit his lip watching the Deities' emotional exchanges, no different from any internet forum he knew.
He no longer had the luxury to feel weighed down merely by the fact of human massacres.
Thrust into a war among cosmic transcendents, survival demanded victory.
'This should be edible now, right? Longer than a stag beetle but lighter.'
Rising, he pulled out the test tube delivered that afternoon. Inside: a praying mantis.
A massive insect dwarfing the ants, larger even than a giant hornet.
Recalling how the previous Queen couldn't absorb a stag beetle, he approached the breeding grounds with pounding heart.
With Henes escalating to full war, drawing main base resources, Jin-hyuk resolved to supply faster, more new materials.
'Gonna put out the fire, I wonder?'
Sun down, the brightest light was now the central beacon tower.
Still plenty of firewood blazed fiercely.
Standing before the breeding grounds with the mantis, Jin-hyuk figured the fire-hating ants would douse it with fluids immediately.
[The Queen deems this a special fire. She judges that preserving the fire tended by humans might deceive human eyes.]
"Hm?"
But then, via the colony mind, the Queen—who had been watching—offered her view.
By not extinguishing the precious beacon fire but maintaining it, they might sow confusion among the enemy.
'Wait, she's scheming at this level now?'
Chills ran down his spine at the Queen's cunning ploy.
Analyzing foes was nothing new, but this sophistication was unprecedented.
His hand trembled slightly holding the mantis.
[The Queen awaits a reaction.]
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