Chapter 82
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: Bio-Weapon (3)
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‘I never imagined it would evolve in this way.’
Transcending the limits of living beings through special powers.
When I first heard those words, I thought it would just mean growing a bit larger beyond structural limits or making the body tougher and heavier.
But Asmodra's abilities didn't stop there.
By utilizing the mana heart, it became possible to draw out even more explosive energy, enabling new combinations and designs that had previously been impossible.
The concept of exploding and firing venom stingers from inside the body and then regenerating them was a shocking method I never even dreamed of.
“To utilize it in such an extreme way. As expected, the applied ingenuity and learning ability from Belzahad, born of the Queen, is the most powerful weapon.”
It was a level of application that even surprised Seira, the designer of the mana heart.
And the Imperial Army, whose large-scale barrier they trusted so much was pierced through with popping sounds, had no choice but to engage in siege warfare with the ants rushing toward the walls before they could properly respond.
“Block them now. And deploy the golems!”
People who appeared to be commanders were bellowing orders, directing soldiers and knights.
Regular variants, not Tyrants, were still exploding one after another under the enemies' magic.
The wands held by the knights, which allowed even non-mages to fire stored spells, were definitely annoying personal weapons.
Moreover, the magic spells engraved on the knights' armor deployed protective barriers in emergencies, drastically reducing the ants' combat effectiveness.
And they still had one more thing they believed in.
Gigantic golems began crawling up the barrier and jumped down all at once to push back the swarming ants.
The golems, improved with their advanced magic, were no longer mere lumps of stone.
Though smaller in size, their bodies were made of metal, or they wielded weapons with far more refined forms and movements, becoming combat weapons that swept the battlefield.
“Push them back!”
The golems, cheered on by the soldiers, stood right in front of the barrier and began blocking the countless ants charging in.
Like the ants, the golems had no concept of fear or pain.
Even if their bodies shattered or were crushed, they simply fought endlessly against the enemies before them.
Moreover, their sturdy bodies could only be scratched by ordinary ant weapons.
[Asmodra wishes to test the power of the new soldiers]
However, this situation was also exactly what Asmodra had hoped for.
Asmodra, already aware of the Empire's golem forces, had naturally prepared new variants to counter them.
“...!”
In the enlarged screen, one golem wielding a massive greatsword engraved with spells was visible.
It wasn't an ordinary sword. It was a magic sword that activated spells engraved on it through the magic stone embedded in the guard.
Moreover, its size, swung by the massive golem, was larger than an adult man.
But now, that sword was covered in sticky black material, sealing even its mana.
The variant that spewed the black material was the Spider Ant·Tyrant.
This variant, with a body even larger than before, fired a new substance from its tail instead of the sticky spider silk it had used previously.
And unlike spider silk, that substance split and spread on contact with the target, instantly enveloping it.
“To think such a creature existed...”
I remembered Seira freaking out in disgust when she first learned about it.
This ability came from the pitch glue that Asmodra had preyed upon and absorbed from the sticky bug I provided. Unlike spider silk, the pitch glue spat by sticky bugs during hunts was essentially living tissue with muscles.
Asmodra had transplanted and utilized this ability into the Spider Ants.
And that wasn't the end of it.
Another variant approached the golem that Spider Ants had captured and surrounding ants had neutralized through teamwork, its sharp blades gleaming.
This Tyrant, evolved from the Beheader Ant variant with mantis forelegs transplanted, had its razor-sharp foreleg scythes coated in a shimmering layer.
It involved encasing fragments of magic stones from its body in key areas and reinforcing them for use.
It was a weapon Asmodra had developed itself to pierce enemy magic.
“The ironclad golem wrapped in a mana barrier is being sliced apart... This can't be real.”
“That's exactly it. The same stuff applied to the venom stingers that pierced the large-scale barrier!”
The enemies seemed to have figured out how the ants breached their power.
But it was already too late.
Asmodra had obtained everything it wanted from this battle.
[Asmodra judges the test as successful]
‘With achievements like that, success is only natural. At first, we were almost pushed back and wiped out.’
The ants withdrew from the barrier, carrying a satisfactory haul of spoils.
Though they hadn't crossed or demolished the barrier the Empire had erected in this battle.
Asmodra hadn't mass-produced enough Tyrants yet due to time constraints.
If they had pushed to the end regardless, they might have breached a section momentarily, but Asmodra coldly judged that they couldn't hold onto captured territory.
Instead, the ants roamed seeking maximum gains and thoroughly looted the enemies in a frenzy after a long time attacking the barrier.
Reviving memories of thoroughly exploiting the Holy Kingdom's barrier, they hunted prey meticulously and accumulated combat experience.
That alone was sufficient harvest.
For the Imperial Army, everything they trusted—expecting to overwhelm the ants—had been stripped away, leaving them with nothing but losses.
“As expected, vanished like the wind.”
I smirked as I checked the Divine Community.
The constellation Judge of the Blue Eclipse, whose momentum had surged, drawing attention daily in the community.
After claiming a hard-fought victory against the ants before, he had bragged all day. Naturally, this time he kept his mouth shut and vanished.
He was probably fuming right now. Just like when that mysterious accident occurred in his secret base, Arcanium Zero.
[Asmodra prepares to transplant a new heart]
And we still had one main event left.
Having observed all the Tyrants' performances, the moment Asmodra had postponed—transplanting the mana heart Seira made directly into itself—was approaching.
‘I wonder what will happen.’
I had already confirmed what transcending limits meant by watching the Tyrants' feats.
My heart pounded, unable to predict what that power would do to the current Asmodra.
Though continuously growing, would there be changes even in that high intelligence that seemed blocked by a wall?
[Asmodra evolves]
Perhaps my guess was right.
“Heart transplant... successful.”
Seira, who had come to the nest in advance, opened Asmodra's chest and transplanted a meticulously crafted magic stone larger than her own head.
At the same time, the glow in Asmodra's eyes dimmed, and the evolution notification appeared.
‘Not molting?’
Worker ants bustled about, spitting silk that began wrapping Asmodra's body in a cocoon.
It looked similar to when other Tyrants were born.
Inside the cocoon, faintly glowing with the mana heart's light, Asmodra's body was being entirely reconstructed.
[Asmodra awakens]
“Already?”
And the process ended in less than a day.
The massive cocoon split open with a crack, revealing Asmodra with glowing red eyes.
For a moment, my breath caught.
The being that emerged could no longer be called a Queen Ant.
「Deity rank rises due to subordinate's great achievements」
「Mid-tier Deity 5th Grade → Mid-tier Deity 4th Grade」
「Some restricted functions unlocked」
Along with it, notifications of my own rank increase appeared.
These days, with enemies like this not being rare, I wasn't surprised by sudden deity rank-up alerts anymore.
“This is...”
But what happened simultaneously was different.
My body staggered, and instead of the breeding enclosure before my eyes, something entirely different came into view.
Countless strands of consciousness flowing in a space like a vast universe.
‘I can see it.’
And Asmodra's enormous face flashed before my eyes for an instant.
A split-second blink, but I instinctively knew. Asmodra had seen me.
[Asmodra becomes aware of its further expanded consciousness and realizes it can prey upon and absorb even more]
As I stared blankly down at the breeding enclosure, hand to my forehead.
Asmodra was already adapting to its changed body.
I had a rough idea why Asmodra had created this new form for itself.
The awakened intelligence didn't stop at merely boosting brain processing power. It strongly influenced its ego and consciousness.
“Your Majesty. That form is...”
Even Seira, who had been semi-forcibly assimilated by the ants and seen everything, couldn't hide her shock. It looked like a fusion and recreation of all the creatures it had preyed upon, modeled after a human.
For starters, the size had drastically reduced.
The colossal frame that could have swallowed Seira in one bite had shrunk to around her size.
It even had a pair of arms and legs. Though grotesquely different from human limbs, like chameleon hands transplanted onto it.
Among the creatures I'd given as feed, there were no bipedal ones.
Thus, the reverse-jointed legs looked forcibly attached, with unusually thick thighs, and the waist was cinched in as if trying to preserve a waistline.
[Asmodra views this form as merely part of an experiment. For reaching a more perfect state someday]
The chest, swollen like Seira's bosom, clearly showed the mana heart embedded in the cleft.
The face was too hard to imitate, so it wore a mask resembling an ant's face, like those placed over Seira.
‘Why did it do that? Could it be... with its current technology, it can't shrink that massive brain to fit inside its body?’
But the most shocking part was the enormous brain connected by black tentacles mimicking human hair.
I could feel Asmodra's agony in pulling its brain outside the body.
It needed that brain for its prized superior intelligence and developed ego, but it couldn't fit into the ideal body it desired.
“...”
Looking at it, I didn't find Asmodra grotesque.
Instead, I felt pity. From its perspective, it was doing this to somehow attract my attention.
From the moment it became self-aware, the being it relied on and received help from was me.
It wouldn't be strange if it saw me as the entirety of its known world and absolute law.
‘Even so, this is too much.’
That's why I, too, began developing a bit of greed.
Let's see until Asmodra gains the ability and resources to create the body it truly wants, rather than this imperfect chimera.
The ants had already achieved another evolution.
I figured that day wasn't far off anyway.