Chapter 87
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: Great Invasion (1)
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[Asmora is flustered by the enemy forces' movements]
Asmora had sent a portion of her forces toward the city as planned. Most of her aerial units were included in the infiltration force.
Though they couldn't completely destroy or raze a massive city, they could disrupt the enemy, deal clear damage, and tie down their troops burdened with protecting numerous assets.
However, Asmora was taken aback by the enemy's subsequent movements.
Contrary to her intentions, the enemy had abandoned their most vital resource and begun redirecting their main forces to defend the magic stone mine.
'A deity's choice, perhaps.'
Jin-hyuk observed this without much surprise, his expression hardening.
"This is the command of His Imperial Majesty the exalted Emperor. Defend the mine at all costs!"
"Demons have appeared in the sky...! Evacuate now!"
This created two entirely different atmospheres.
The imperial troops, with grim determination, marched to protect the magic stone mine from the ants, while the city—stripped of defenders and subjected to aerial assaults—plunged into chaos and turmoil.
News had already spread of Bellun's fall and the ants' invasion, but with insufficient forces, successfully defending against the ants' air raids was nearly impossible.
Poison gas bombs and venom stinger barrages exploded everywhere, shattering defenses and claiming lives.
"The deity who treats imperial subjects as subordinates has judged that safeguarding strategic assets is more important than the lives of a few people."
Jin-hyuk taught this truth to the flustered Asmora through Seira's mouth.
Added to their own human will, they were now subordinates serving a deity.
He already knew that some deities viewed their subordinates as mere tools, so he framed this as yet another facet of their choices.
In the end, this war would also serve as a means to prove whose choices were right.
The victor would be proven correct. The loser, wrong. Nothing else would remain.
'Choices... differences in values.'
Asmora roughly grasped Jin-hyuk's intent as conveyed through Seira.
She accepted that her calculations weren't absolutely correct and that the outcome would determine the truth.
'A foolish... judgment.'
Yet at the same time, her red eyes flashed as she firmly believed in her own calculations and judgment.
If this was the judgment led by the deity of choice, with humans merely following, Asmora dared to think:
'Are deities truly perfect and complete beings?'
Jin-hyuk's power in nurturing the ants was something she had known since birth. All those memories and experiences were etched into the deepest layers of the hive mind.
Thus, her reverence and absolute obedience were genuine instinct.
However, to Asmora—who didn't fully grasp the exact concept of a deity—the "other deities" were merely more troublesome and complex enemies.
She followed Jin-hyuk not because he was a deity, but because he was her parent and the origin of all things in her world.
Jin-hyuk showed no hesitation toward other deities, and since Asmora herself had brought about the downfall of the goddess who founded the Holy Kingdom, these thoughts solidified further.
"The enemy is approaching."
"That wicked outer god is trying to take what matters most to us, as expected."
Count Leonikt, who had been appointed commander of the mine defense front by imperial decree, scowled at the report, his rugged, scar-covered face twisting.
They had secured the position first, at least.
In the worst case, they might have failed to hold the mine and been forced to fight the ants without proper footing—a fortunate turn.
Yet Count Leonikt's expression didn't soften.
'The troops' condition is abysmal. And those flying bastards are indiscriminately attacking nearby cities and villages.'
The forces under his command numbered in the tens of thousands, but they were ragtag levies hastily gathered from all directions.
They lacked proper weapons like combat golems or enchanted armor, stuck at a pre-magical development era level.
Even against mere thousands of ants, victory was far from assured.
"Everyone, remember this. We just need to buy time. Hold the mine by any means until reinforcements arrive."
Thus, Count Leonikt didn't overreach.
He planned to defend passively, dragging things out until the elite barrier garrison descended to finish off the ants.
"But the enemy is only a few thousand..."
"A few thousand or not, those are demons. Subordinates of an outer god! One misstep, and our entire force will be annihilated!"
Some hot-blooded officers eyed the chance to earn merits, but he anticipated and bellowed at them.
A veteran knight with ample combat experience and a seasoned commander, he had long realized that situational awareness was paramount on the front lines.
"The winged ones are already attacking everywhere, slaughtering people. The longer this drags, the more casualties we'll have...!"
"His Majesty commanded us to hold this place no matter what. Diverting troops to save victims is exactly what the enemy wants."
He was also a steadfast soldier.
Ready to abandon all else to fulfill the Emperor's orders, the mountains near the mine were rapidly transforming into a fortress.
'Come on, you monsters.'
Stepping out of his tent, he gritted his teeth watching soldiers dig trenches and erect palisades.
[Asmora orders a charge against the enemy entrenched on the mountain]
The mine defense front began with Asmora's preemptive strike for reconnaissance.
After replenishing her forces' nutrition using stored nutrient solutions, she unleashed them in one go against the enemy camp on the mine's mountain. The rugged mountain paths and fortified positions were tough defenses, but meaningless to ants that could scale walls and ceilings freely.
"Fire!"
Unlike the forward lines, the imperial rear—hampered by poor terrain—fought with somewhat primitive methods.
Archers loosing arrows and massive ballistae were their extent, far from the frontline soldiers enhanced with personal firepower.
Ordinary arrows could no longer pierce variant exoskeletons unless hitting vitals.
Yet with vastly superior numbers, they somehow held against the ants charging like on flat ground.
The absence of heavy variants like armored ants—left behind after crossing the sea on Leviathan—gave the imperials some relief.
"..."
But into this precarious balance stepped Seira.
Seira—or rather, her body encased in variant turtle-shell ants, with a fist-sized mana core embedded in her chest, modified into a tyrant.
This granted firepower beyond human limits, bolstered by the hive mind's computational power, elevating her magic past grand mage levels.
Her spells shook the hills, splintering dozens of massive trees, pushing one imperial defensive line to the brink of collapse.
"That witch is the demons' sorceress! Stop her now!"
Count Leonikt, aware of Seira's reputation, dispatched his elite pre-positioned team.
His personal guard's knight captain, a famed mercenary leader, a 5th-circle mage from the research institute, and more.
A makeshift unit, but he believed their combined might could halt even the strongest foe.
"Activate the spell!"
And atop that, he unveiled another preparation: triggering pre-set explosion spells to induce an artificial landslide.
With a massive rumble, the earth cracked, sending trees and boulders tumbling down.
Countless ants were buried in the dust cloud, and even Seira—who had been blasting magic solo against numerous foes—leaped back to safety.
[Asmora concludes the reconnaissance battle]
The imperials cheered in exhilarated triumph amid the hardship, but Asmora calmly withdrew her forces with unshaken composure.
Enemy analysis complete. Now to exploit the gaps and reverse the tide.
That was the way of war for these variant ants under the queen's dominion.
'Normally, we'd crush them easily, but our numbers are too low now. Even without calling in the separate flying units, can she resolve this?'
Jin-hyuk's eyes sparkled in anticipation of how Asmora would overcome this crisis.
The imperials gave their all in the situation. They heeded Count Leonikt's shouts, stayed vigilant, and didn't underestimate the ants.
Acting as if holding the mine was all that mattered, staking everything on it.
Thus, the ants needed a new approach.
Unlike other deities, Jin-hyuk couldn't intervene directly, leaving it entirely to Asmora's capabilities.
[Asmora demands rapid growth from Seira]
"Will that method truly lead to victory?"
Asmora had already advanced to the next phase.
Seira gasped softly at her demand.
'What the hell is that?'
Jin-hyuk tilted his head, puzzled by what Asmora was doing to her selected blade-wing ants and bomb ants.
'Rapid growth...!'
But soon he understood.
The chosen ants' bodies stiffened and swelled, preparing to molt just like Asmora during her own shedding.
"Now, using power extracted from the mana cores... accelerate their growth."
Seira steadied her breath, and writhing tentacles erupted from her body, piercing nearby variants, drawing out their power and absorbing it into her.
Gritting her teeth, she aimed her staff and injected the overcharged energy into the pupae.
Limited cell division broke its boundaries with external force, accelerating wildly.
What should have taken ages completed in mere minutes.
'Burrowing ants.'
Jin-hyuk chuckled dryly at the variant bursting from its cocoon—utterly unlike before.
A new breed absorbing abilities from burrowing experts like mole crickets and moles.
Without a queen individual, existing variants mutated once more into exactly what the situation demanded.
This process, enhanced by rapid growth via accelerated cell division, allowed the ants to prepare for new combat in an instant.
[Asmora predicts that the enemy's confidence lies in the main force holding the barrier]
And it didn't end there.
Asmora saw through why the imperial mine defenders clung so desperately: faith in incoming reinforcements.
Doing nothing would let the barrier-stripped imperials cross the nation and annihilate the infiltration team.
"Moving all at once...?"
Jin-hyuk murmured softly at the sight of countless ants surging from nests, traversing the land.
The great invasion—rending earth, soaring skies, crossing seas, hammering from all sides—began in earnest.
'This means I'll be busier too.'
With a wry smile, he tore his eyes from the screen to his cellphone.
A desperate message from President Baek Jin-seong pleaded for the great deity's aid amid magic stone shortages and company struggles.