The Queen Entity
The interior of the Queen Entity's village was bustling with people. From soldiers hurrying through the streets, guild employees hauling supplies, to adventurers sorting through the byproducts of their hunts—there wasn't a single idle soul. As the villagers watched the subjugation force moving busily about, Anel, who was crossing the street, explained the situation to me.
"This incident, as you probably guessed, is connected to the War Ant outpost."
"I figured as much."
Considering the composition of the War Ant swarm that had attacked the village, there was no way this had been an ordinary raid. One command entity, ten acid artillery, sixty-five soldier entities, and thirty charge entities. It was clearly a force specifically aimed at us. Even setting aside the command entity, the presence of ten special acid artillery types made coincidence impossible.
"At first, we thought we were just dealing with a regular outpost, so we included the black mage you brought along in the subjugation force."
"Wasn't Neon assigned to the black mage subjugation?"
At my question, Anel pointed at the banners of the various religious orders dedicated to their gods.
"They sent black magic specialists over there. There was no need to bring a black mage with them."
Fair enough. Black magic was the inquisitors' specialty, after all. I nodded at Anel's words as we moved past the security forces transporting supplies.
"You know the characteristics of War Ants, right? What makes them scary isn't their strength—it's their sheer numbers."
War Ants were weak compared to normal monsters despite their numbers. It took eight to twelve soldier entities working together to hunt a single Wood Gore. Since five soldiers were needed to hunt a Wood Gore—which camouflaged itself as a tree and acted like an assassin—without taking damage, there was a clear gap when compared to humans. But what made them terrifying wasn't quality. It was quantity.
Even a simple outpost built to expand their territory had hundreds of them at minimum, and their main nests could easily house thousands. Add in the occasional mutant special types, and if there was a command entity leading them, the massive ant legion that charged without regard for their lives could not be ignored. Of course, they had the weakness of falling into disarray once the command entity died, making them vulnerable to small elite assassination squads.
"The situation has changed. Their level, command structure, and scale are all beyond imagination."
Anel, who had been glancing at an acid artillery being dismantled by professional dissectors, wore a serious expression. The entities that had once been weak were gradually growing stronger. Their command system had become more solid, and they were even seeing mid-level management entities that commanded small units on the front lines.
"The higher-ups think it's not just an outpost—that a newly born queen entity has led a swarm here and established a nest."
"That seems the most likely."
I made a troubled face at the possibility of a queen entity's existence. To the War Ants, the queen was both alpha and omega. From mass-producing and evolving the legion, to creating special types and managing the command structure, she handled everything alone. Even if the entire legion was wiped out, as long as the queen survived, they could recover as many times as necessary. That was why the queen was an existence the legion had to protect with their lives.
If such a being was present at the outpost, subjugating them wouldn't be easy.
"What's the subjugation force's troop composition?"
"Two hundred and fifty-two adventurers, five hundred security forces, a hundred from the religious orders, and seventy-two village hunters."
"Five hundred security forces means we can fight them head-on."
Nine hundred and twenty-four people. It wasn't a small number, but it wasn't particularly large either. Since the enemy had at least several thousand troops, I was wondering how the staff officers planned to overcome the numerical disadvantage when I noticed the special guests included in the composition and made a puzzled face.
"By the way, what's with the religious order troops?"
"The personnel who came to monitor the black mage sent word, so various orders recognized the situation and quickly dispatched reinforcements."
"Whoa."
So there were days when black mages actually proved helpful. The religious order troops were probably mostly priests. The fact that we'd have a solid healer line made me feel genuinely grateful to the black mage Neon for the first time.
"How have you formed the front lines?"
"We're connecting five villages centered around Evil Village, where we are now, to prevent them from expanding further."
That wasn't bad. I felt relieved hearing they had gathered that many people and established an encirclement in just a few days. The initial response was decent. However, Anel's expression didn't brighten.
"It's too early to feel relieved. The majority of the adventurers are Iron-rank, and there are only twelve Silvers."
At her words, my face immediately crumpled as if I'd never been relieved at all.
"No Golds? Why?"
"The North has a chronic manpower shortage, and all the Gold-rank adventurers are busy handling requests."
"Didn't the Adventurers' Guild keep at least one Gold-rank force on standby in case of emergencies?"
"That force went out for the black mage subjugation."
"Who?"
"Luna unni."
Ah. I hadn't expected that, so I scratched my head. In large-scale subjugation battles, the presence or absence of a Gold-rank adventurer was crucial. Especially when subjugating a queen entity, the success rate dropped below half without one, so they needed at least someone of similar caliber. The only hope, Luna nunim, had gone to join the black mage subjugation, so she wouldn't be here. There wasn't a single Gold-rank force in the subjugation team, which should have been its core.
I racked my complicated brain, trying to squeeze out any possibility.
"They must have contacted the Gold-rank adventurers as soon as the incident broke out. Who's the one who can get here the fastest?"
"Owen."
"That's a relief amid the misfortune."
My stiff face brightened a little at the familiar name. He had a suspicious closed-eye appearance, extremely suspicious polite speech, and a very suspicious personality, but his skills were undeniable. He was an adventurer with the nickname Mystery Slayer thanks to the unique nature of the Mystery he possessed. If he joined, at least the queen subjugation wouldn't be a problem. The condition was that we had to hold the front lines and face the swarming War Ant legions until then.
Fortunately, our forces weren't limited to just the subjugation team.
"The Edenberg Countship, having grasped the situation, has also sent support. Twenty knights and ten mages guarding the territory."
"That much force must have been quite the commitment even for the Countship."
"The vassal families have also heard the news and dispatched reinforcements, so the scale of the subjugation force will only grow with time."
The security forces were troops deployed for exactly this kind of situation, so that made sense. But additional support from knights and mages was good news. The territory's knights and mages were comparable to Silver-rank adventurers. With them included, we'd have forty-two Silver-rank combatants, so we wouldn't need to worry about countermeasures against special types. If acid artillery appeared like before, we could simply push with firepower (magic) or send in the knight forces to cut down only the special types and withdraw.
After chatting about this and that, we arrived at the village square.
"We've set up a temporary command center in the middle of the square. The commander is inside, so let's go give a quick greeting."
When we entered, I saw people moving busily. Guild employees carrying stacks of documents, staff officers discussing with serious faces over maps, and mages quietly circulating mana in meditation in the corner. Among them, the most noticeable were the guild scholars reading books in various spots throughout the tent. Scholars who investigated monster ecology and environments, identified weaknesses, and devised strategies were valuable assets to the guild. Like the employees, they were excellent talents who worked with a sense of mission for the North.
They had come directly to the site to identify the cause of this incident and prepare countermeasures. When they spotted us, their eyes lit up.
"Oho! Are you the adventurers who took down the acid artillery?"
"That was truly excellent work! The staff officers were having quite the headache over those acid artillery!"
"The main force of the subjugation team was fighting on the front lines, so the rear being hit by a surprise attack couldn't be helped!"
"By the way, this acid artillery had a slightly different appearance, so I wanted to study it. Thankfully we got a specimen!"
"Oh! Argo's here too! I heard you went from employee to adventurer—already Bronze-rank?"
"Ahaha... It's been a while, everyone."
Faced with their familiar passion, I smiled awkwardly and quietly stepped back. Most of them were elderly, but their vigor surpassed that of young men. If you got caught, you'd have to listen to at least an hour of monster ecology explanations, so caution was necessary. It was informative, but the downside was that it gave you a headache.
Look at them. They were already whispering among themselves.
"This War Ant colony is quite unusual."
"Hiding a queen entity is one thing, but the characteristics between individuals differ slightly from other colonies. The queen's tendencies seem quite progressive."
"You've faced them directly—what do you think? Do they feel different from the existing War Ants?"
"Uh, what exactly do you mean?"
"Their characteristics in combat. Looking at their carapace patterns and movements, they were definitely different, weren't they?"
"Now that you mention it, they did seem a little different...?"
As the scholars seriously debated and then asked us questions, Arash and Goro answered with blank faces. Unable to understand even half of what the scholars were saying, they scratched their heads and slipped away like I had. I understood the feeling and let out a small chuckle.
Thanks to them, we could identify the weaknesses of tricky monsters and break through harsh environments, which was good. But honestly, they were people I felt a bit reluctant to get too close to. In many ways, their passion was excessive.
"I wonder what the queen entity's characteristics are! I can't wait to taste its pheromones!"
"I'm going crazy wanting to dissect every last one of their secrets!"
"Has it become a subspecies after repeated evolution? If it's a subspecies, what should we name it!"
Avoiding the madmen who were muttering to themselves with sparkling eyes, I headed toward the center of the tent. On the large table with the map spread across it were several people, including adventurer employees. They were quietly laughing as they watched us being tormented by the scholars. I pouted at their mischievous expressions.
"You guys are too much. I was in trouble and you didn't even help."
"We were getting tormented by them until just a moment ago too."
"You know, right? Think of dealing with those people as a natural disaster."
I was at a loss for words at what the employees—who suffered the most from the scholars back at the guild—said. Honestly, I couldn't say that the scholars' teachings hadn't played a part in my reasons for becoming an adventurer, so I kept my mouth shut. Just then, a knight who thought the atmosphere had calmed opened his mouth.
"Now that the mood has lightened, let's introduce ourselves properly. I am Rohan. I am a senior knight of the Blue Stag Knights and the overall commander in charge of this subjugation."
Despite his gentle smile, the hand that shook mine was as hard as steel, and the aura I felt from him was far from ordinary. I grinned back and replied to his greeting.
"I'm Argo. A Bronze-rank adventurer. Thanks to obtaining a unique Mystery, I should be somewhat useful."
"What a bold fellow. I've already heard about your abilities from the staff officers here, so I'm looking forward to it."
Rohan's smile deepened, apparently pleased by my confident attitude. A senior knight, huh. That meant the Edenberg Countship had provided quite significant support. Since the leader, vice-leader, and most of the senior knights were fighting on the front lines alongside the lord, high-quality forces in the Countship were always lacking. In such a situation, sending a senior knight meant he was one of the most capable retainers protecting the Countship. The fact that they had dispatched someone like him suggested that the young lord of Edenberg had properly recognized the severity of the situation. Once the queen entity settled in and began full-scale production, the scale of the colony would rise to the tens of thousands. If things went wrong, a hostile force on the level of an enemy kingdom would appear right next to the territory. No noble would sit idly by and watch that happen.
"I'll let you know your role once the main force returns. For now, get some rest."
"Understood."
I nodded at Rohan's words and left the tent. I'd accumulated quite a bit of fatigue, so I should rest as he said. The battles ahead would be ones where I wouldn't be able to rest even if I was exhausted.