Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Contradiction (1)
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"Thanks to the changes in the world, importing them into the country has gotten easier, but there's one fundamental problem. It's become much harder to acquire them."
When I went to pick up the items I'd ordered myself.
The supplier who'd gathered the insects I requested this time let out a deep sigh right off the bat.
He said it was getting harder and harder to find rare foreign insects.
The environmental changes caused by the invasion of magical beasts didn't just affect human civilization.
Just as the ants were transforming Edelion's entire environment and ecosystem, the subordinates of the Outer God Nezahel were laying eggs and building nests in conquered territories, sparing no effort in their conquest.
Of course, ants paid no attention to Edelion's insects, which had become insignificant pests compared to them, and Nezahel's minions seemed uninterested in bugs as food too. But the very alteration of the environment was fatal.
"At this rate, they might all go extinct, so we have to protect them even more carefully, right?"
"...I hope it doesn't come to that."
I gave a wry smile at his attempt to justify his smuggling.
I had no intention of calling him out, anyway, since I was already an accomplice actively using his services.
Still, I wanted to prevent the scenario he feared from happening, if possible.
When the ants growing in that other world finally gained enough power.
If I used them to strike back at the Outer God Nezahel.
Then they wouldn't be able to keep invading Earth anymore.
"?"
"Huh? Alert?!"
It was right then that a blaring emergency bell triggered alarms throughout the entire building.
This chilling, distinctive alarm sound was something anyone living in this era of indiscriminate invasions by otherworldly magical beasts would recognize all too well, instinctively filling them with dread.
-Dungeon breach. Outflow monsters sighted nearby. All citizens, evacuate to shelters or remain indoors.
"We're on the first floor. H-Hurry to the basement! Everyone out!"
The supplier paled and shouted at the staff and customers to evacuate.
I joined them. According to the mandatory drills from childhood, in such situations, civilians had to head to the deepest parts of shelters or indoor spaces.
'The gates that are about to appear vanish if I get close, but ongoing dungeons have nothing to do with my power. Is this because I haven't done anything?'
Standing still amid the panicked crowd rushing downstairs with a clamor, I gazed toward the direction of the breached dungeon.
Just a few months ago, I would've been no different from anyone else. But surprisingly, amid the blaring alarms and chaotic atmosphere, my mind remained eerily calm.
Whether it was from seeing and hearing too much lately, or because I could feel my own rank steadily rising thanks to the ants, I wasn't sure.
I even felt like facing those horrific monsters head-on right now wouldn't faze me.
After all, the beasts that had etched massive terror into my memories and emotions were mere subordinates manipulated by deities.
"Hey, I'm a hunter, even if I'm off-duty right now. Hurry to the basement. If you left anything behind, you can come back for it later. I'll guard the entrance."
Someone grabbed my arm then.
Turning, I saw a young woman standing there with an urgent expression.
"Ah..."
As she'd said, she held her hunter license in hand.
Hunters—another product of the system created by the deities of the Divine Net for their subordinates.
I'd once admired them as heroes battling monsters, but now that I knew the truth, they looked different.
"Thanks. I'll head down right away."
Noticing her face suddenly stiffen as our eyes met, I felt puzzled but started walking again anyway.
They were the eyes and ears of the deities.
No matter how vast their territories and forces across the universe, I doubted the deities could monitor every alert and situation simultaneously. Still, I didn't want to draw attention to my still-weak presence with any suspicious behavior.
"You went through all that trouble to get it. Eat up gratefully."
We sheltered in the basement for hours until the outflow monsters from the nearby dungeon were dealt with.
Recalling that as I smirked, I opened the lid and dropped a massive stag beetle inside the breeding tank.
[Asmodra marvels at the giant prey and is greatly satisfied]
Unlike when I'd fed them larvae before, this was an adult specimen—a foreign Kairon stag beetle.
As far as I knew, this one, also called the Caucasus, was a famous stag beetle with three massive horns protruding like those of a Triceratops dinosaur. Its enormous body and incredibly tough exoskeleton pitted it against my mutant ants swarming in.
I could've weakened it like the wingless dragonfly I'd fed them before, but not this time.
This was my way of giving them a proper trial—no just gobbling it up easily, but making them work for it.
[The subordinates panic at the prey's power]
The power emanating from that colossal body was too much even for my monstrous ants, which could hardly be called ants anymore.
A single swing of its forelegs sent a large venom ant flying, and the brute force of a soldier ant armored in spiked plating was repelled, flipping it onto its back.
[Asmodra is thrilled at the thought of implanting that power into the hive]
But the ants—especially Asmodra—only grew more excited.
The stronger the enemy they devoured, the stronger they became. Knowing that, a powerful foe was just another reward for them.
[Asmodra trembles in awe at the Great One's power]
Because I'd fed it at full strength without weakening it, Asmodra properly gauged its power and attributed it to me.
She saw the Kairon stag beetle as a monster I'd created.
Absurd as that misunderstanding was, I scratched my head.
And in the meantime, the ants dismantled the Kairon stag beetle alive with their signature swarm tactics.
'But that's not all for today.'
I looked down at the many remaining plastic containers.
Today, I'd specially acquired a large batch of massive beetles.
Besides the Kairon stag beetle I'd just dropped in, there were common domestic stag beetles, famous varieties, various rhinoceros beetles, and more.
Once Asmodra devoured them all, she'd produce even more bizarre and powerful mutants, which would reign as unstoppable monsters in Edelion.
"..."
Industry. My karma was piling up again.
I blankly watched the ants disassemble each new prey I fed them, one by one.
Even if they couldn't fully understand my words yet, even if they had to kill and eat to survive.
I was personally raising and strengthening ants that were laying one world to waste and massacring countless sentient beings, accumulating infamy.
Just like how Outer God Nezahel had sent his minions to attack the world I lived in, slaughter those around me, and upend my life.
'Tricky.'
I plopped down on the chair I'd brought in front of the breeding tank.
Even if all my plans succeeded and I drove every deity from Earth, that peace would come at the cost of massive bloodshed in another world.
And it would continue at least until the ants fully obeyed me.
Even if the ants stopped their indiscriminate slaughter under my control, the karma I'd already accrued wouldn't vanish.
[Asmodra wants to create a new variant based on the devoured abilities, but the hive calculates mass production is impossible due to excessive incoming resources]
Creating strong variants didn't just require the materials I provided and Asmodra's abilities.
The most crucial factor was resources—how much nourishment and energy they needed.
Especially since variants were made using 'special powers' the ants devoured from prey, like Demonic Power, mana, Holy Power, and such.
That was why they went crazy for such food and always craved more.
'At this rate, even feeding them large insects will hit a limit. What if the prey they need to eat keeps getting bigger?'
Asmodra's Bloodline Adjustment condition, limited to certain arthropods for now, would gradually expand.
What if it extended beyond large crustaceans to vertebrates?
Amphibians, reptiles, mammals. And finally, humans—ants devouring and absorbing their abilities?
Edelion already had mysterious magical beasts unavailable on Earth. Sooner or later, Asmodra might devour them too.
But all these hypotheticals hinged on the ants establishing a new energy supply and utilization system.
In my view, their current resource use was still primitive.
Just as humanity had striven for more efficient energy use and stronger sources, the ants would surely do the same once they hit their limits.
Especially the ones I'd observed—they definitely would.
'When that time comes, I'll probably need to help.'
I couldn't find those methods for them. They had to solve it themselves.
Unlike others' misunderstandings, I wasn't a true Outer God, and the ants weren't creatures of a created Outer God.
But if they advanced to discover new ways, I'd likely find ways to assist.
[Asmodra is satisfied with the production of new soldiers]
"Oh..."
In any case, the ants had produced new variants using the fresh prey Asmodra devoured this time.
Though they couldn't mass-produce them like the hornet ants—only a few—it seemed those few could shock the battlefield anew.
From their larval stage, they'd never stopped devouring food like mad, growing even larger than the massive Dragon Ant variants. Now, specially tended by worker ants several times smaller than themselves, they were entering pupal stages one by one.
The moment they awoke would likely coincide with the main hive sending armies to hammer the barrier and provoke the Golden Mandate Society again.
[The subordinates detect new enemies]
But around then, one of the countless scout ants the hive had scattered detected 'them'.
'What?'
I turned the screen and widened my eyes in slight surprise.
A large fleet was crossing the sea, disembarking troops and cargo along the coast.
The northern coastline, now ant territory devoid of human presence.
As promised, we've dispatched support troops. My internal control still isn't fully stabilized... This is our chance to properly punish them.
Suspecting as much, I checked the Divine Community and found a post.
Username: Judge of the Blue Eclipse. I had a feeling I knew who it was.
The one who'd incited the orcs' deity to wipe out the nomadic swarm before it recovered.
"Move the golems now. This land is dominated by monsters!"
As numerous mage-like figures chanted incantations over something, astonishingly, massive objects floating in the air drew in nearby stones and earth, forming colossal golem giants.
The golems I'd seen before, deployed by the Golden Mandate Society to build the barrier.
"Advance!"
Leading with the heavy thudding of numerous golems, their army of thousands slowly marched forward.
They dared set foot in the territory the ants had fully claimed, erecting a barrier and all.
'No way—did they coordinate from behind the scenes?'
As if in response, enemy soldiers poured out from the barrier in unison. I let out a small sigh.
It was clearly a planned joint operation.
No matter who they were, they couldn't just take hits inside the barrier forever.
I'd thought the orcs' retreat meant a reprieve, but no.
To that world, me and the ants were public enemy number one—an uncompromising absolute evil.
The war would continue until one side was annihilated.