The Siege of the War Ant Nest
While the subjugation force maintained its strangely harmonious (?) atmosphere, the War Ant nest quickly noticed our approach. Since we had marched right up in plain sight, there was no way they could have missed it. “Kiiiik!” “Kieeeeek!” The creatures swiftly took up positions and glared warily in our direction. They were no fools. Having realized the troops sent out for expansion had been wiped out, they avoided rashly committing to an all-out battle. Fortunately for them, they had the nest. Though it had only been built recently and its sole property was indestructibility, it offered the ultimate defensive advantage. The monsters’ power fixed its form and space, meaning destroying it from the outside would require an absurdly inefficient amount of force. Therefore, from the attackers’ perspective, it was far more beneficial to annihilate the inhabitants than to demolish the entire structure. The subjugation force decided to break through head-on without any tricks.
“Engineers! Set up the barriers here!”
“Anyone with free hands, move the supplies!”
“Not a single ant is allowed to escape!”
With the craftsmen at the center, the engineers and superhumans hauled materials. In just thirty minutes a small rampart stood complete. At two meters high, the wall might look impressive at first glance, but not in the North. This was merely a breakwater, a defensive line meant to blunt the enemy’s swarm tactics. The real power would come from the pinnacle of modern technology and the mages stationed behind it, ready to rain down covering fire.
Thud. Thud.
A massive body shifted on six legs, settling into position. The enormous structure sank deep into the flat ground, its legs acting as unbreakable anchors. Atop it sat a heavy cannon barrel that looked like something straight out of my previous life. Seven magic circles spun along the muzzle, while faint red-glowing runes flickered across its thick body.
At the appearance of this fantasy version of a multi-legged tank, whistles rose from every direction. One could only wonder how such a thing could exist in what was essentially a medieval world, yet when you considered the South’s situation, it wasn’t strange at all.
“So that’s the South’s decisive battle weapon.”
“Correct. It’s imported from the South. Its versatility is limited, but it does its job well enough that any noble house of count rank or higher keeps at least three on hand.”
“I already knew that.”
Who did she think she was fooling? I shot Anel—the adventurer guild receptionist—an exasperated look. Though I carried memories from my previous life, I was a Northerner born and raised in the North. Having worked as a guild employee and absorbed information from every region, I knew exactly what the South was like.
They say it’s the place where the influence of Mysteries is strongest.
“The scholars gave long-winded explanations, but I still didn’t understand a word.”
Rumors claimed the South had absorbed otherworldly knowledge through Mysteries and pushed its technology to astonishing heights. From the descriptions it sounded like a fusion of steampunk and arcanepunk. Besides the multi-legged tanks the subjugation force had brought, they possessed guns and all sorts of fascinating gadgets. It was a region I definitely wanted to visit someday. I had heard the other regions possessed their own distinct flavors, just like the North and South.
Watching the multi-legged tank slowly gathering mana, I let out a regretful sigh.
“Still, it’s a shame. If only the guns developed in the South had a little more power, they would have spread across the North.”
“How are we supposed to use something that can’t even pierce a villager’s skin?”
“That’s true.”
As Anel said, while the South had produced many weapons, few were useful in the North aside from a handful of exceptions. They sold decently in other regions, but here in the North… well.
The people themselves are simply too strong. There’s nothing to be done about it.
“Other regions struggle to find even a single mana user, after all.”
It was no coincidence that the First Great Warrior had been revered in the North for over a thousand years. The Northern Breathing Method he completed in his later years was a mental technique influenced by Mystery that only Northerners could master. Its effects went far beyond allowing even the talentless to accumulate mana. Mental fortification, mental stabilization, physical enhancement, accelerated talent growth, improved natural recovery, and countless other benefits—it was a comprehensive gift set without equal.
Once again paying silent respect to the First Great Warrior’s achievements, I turned my attention to the commotion at the center of the wall.
"Ooooooh!"
"What we shall gain is honor. All we can lose is our lives!"
"Uwooooooh!!"
"Warriors! Take up your weapons! Let us teach those creatures the terror of the Northerner!"
The subjugation force, fired up by Rohan’s speech that somehow carried a distinctly revolutionary flavor, thrust their weapons into the air. Arash and Goro were among them. Anel watched the collective frenzy with open disgust.
“Don’t these people ever get tired? They’ve been fighting for days without proper rest, yet they’re still overflowing with energy?”
“It’s just daily life for them.”
It wasn’t occasional. With emergency summons happening as many as ten times a year, it would be strange if they couldn’t maintain tension. This wasn’t medieval Europe’s WWE-style spectacle; it was ancient East Asia where national crises were routine. Their fundamental attitude was different. Their experience was on another level. In the Central region where everyone served as someone else’s punching bag it might be different, but in the North a War Ant colony waging an expansion war was merely a somewhat unusual event.
I’m honestly surprised this place hasn’t been destroyed yet.
Even on Earth, monsters like these never came out of Gates. The Central region saw goblins and orcs everywhere, yet somehow this world kept going. The North that physically blocked what should have been an apocalyptic disaster was truly awe-inspiring.
“Argo~ It’s time to prepare for infiltration, so please come this way!”
“I’ll be right there. Since we’re starting the infiltration, I’d better go.”
“Make it look cool and come back safely.”
When Owen called from afar I gave Anel a quick farewell and ran off. She smiled brightly and waved in return.
Watching my figure disappear into the distance, Anel quietly turned and headed toward the area where the guild staff were working. An adventurer was a warrior who always charged into danger, and a receptionist existed to ensure they entered that danger in the best possible condition. Having finished her mental care duties for the day, the receptionist moved on to the tasks only she could handle.
“Did you manage to say goodbye to your comrades?”
“No. Those two are still over there shouting, so I couldn’t.”
“Haha. Sir Rohan’s speeches are quite entertaining, aren’t they?”
At Owen’s defense, Clorin looked at Rohan atop the wall with weary eyes.
“Entertaining? That man doesn’t know the meaning of moderation.”
“Well… even I have to admit it looks a little excessive.”
The acid artillery unit had taken position on the mountain, yet he stood boldly with his back to the enemy. That took real courage. Grid laughed heartily at Clorin’s reaction.
“Uahaha! Why the disgusted face? If it raises the subjugation force’s morale, that’s all that matters.”
“True. The results are good, so I won’t complain.”
Clorin gave a light shrug, then turned her gaze to me. She looked me up and down in the uniform that seemed more suited to a victory parade than a battlefield, then nodded in satisfaction.
“It definitely looks good on you.”
“I thought it would suit Sir Rohan as well.”
Rohan was the very picture of a distinguished middle-aged knight. White swept-back hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and a muscular frame—he embodied the ideal. The uniform complemented his physique perfectly, making him look truly impressive. But to a colleague who had spent ten years in the same order, the sight was apparently unbearable.
She shook her head with clear distaste.
“That man? In those clothes? I guarantee no one in the Blue Stag Knights would enjoy that sight.”
“Why?”
“His personality.”
Ah. The short but powerful answer made me glance at Rohan again without thinking.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
“Stamp your feet! Instill fear in the enemy!”
"""Waaaaaaaah!!!"""
With a personality like that, it really was better if he kept his mouth shut. I quietly sympathized as I watched the fifteen hundred ruffians—excluding non-combat personnel—stomp in unison. He would be perfect if only his mouth would stay still. Unfortunately it never did, so his strengths were always overshadowed.
“If preparations are complete, move immediately! Let’s smash them from the front!”
"""Yes!"""
We watched the morale-boosted subjugation force swiftly climb the wall, then moved to a different position. It was about time to set out.
The battle began with the roar of the multi-legged tank’s cannon.
BOOOOM!
The shell fired from the massive barrel passed through seven spinning magic circles and slammed into the nest’s slope. A tremendous flame storm erupted, incinerating every ant in the blast zone.
As dozens of ants were burned to ash, the colony launched its counterattack.
“Kiiiik!”
Under the command entity’s pheromone control, dozens of acid artillery ants turned their abdomens and fired. The special acidic liquid could melt stone on contact. Regardless of the power gap, the annoying effect forced the subjugation force to deploy their prepared countermeasures.
“Deploy impact shields!”
“Mages in assigned sectors, activate the prepared shields!”
The security forces raised their large shields at forty-five degrees and triggered the embedded impact magic on the commander’s signal. Shockwaves burst outward, deflecting the acid shells, while the mages followed up by deploying shields to block whatever got through.
After the initial exchange, the real battle began.
“Mage division! Fire prepared spells in order—units one, two, and three!”
“Kiiiiik!”
Both the commander and the command entity frantically directed their troops. With the security forces on the wall maintaining a thick defensive barrier, small teams of elites were sent out to intercept the special variants. Acid artillery and ant archers attacked from the mountain, while soldier ants spread out in wide formations and charged the subjugation force.
The clash between the two sides was fierce. The security forces held the line with their characteristic tenacity and stamina. Silver-class adventurers and knights easily cut down the approaching ants while focusing on the special types the security forces struggled to handle.
It looked like one-sided violence, yet the battle remained tightly contested.
“Damn it. No matter how many times you attack a nest, it’s always horrific!”
“It’s a monster fortress built from the foundation up—of course it’s hard to take!”
“Stop talking and swing your weapons!”
The slope was steep, and the few climbable paths were blocked at every choke point by defense-type entities, including giants. The adventurers sweeping away ants could only click their tongues at how meticulously the enemy had prepared positions that allowed one-sided attacks from above.
This was exactly why ant-type monsters were so troublesome. Knowing they were weak individually, they divided roles for maximum efficiency in group combat and threw their lives away without hesitation. Especially since this was their home ground—the nest. Advancing too deep risked being surrounded by countless ants while facing higher species, which could not be ignored. If nothing else, the higher species were enemies that even Silver-class adventurers and knights had to face with caution.
Therefore they did not overextend.
Our role is simply to draw their attention anyway.
Let’s not push ourselves.
If we just kill the queen, we’ve already won.
Our resources were limited, while the enemy possessed a troop production factory. A war of attrition would be disadvantageous. To end it in a swift decisive battle, they fought fiercely against the ants from the front, employing a strategy that had proven useful many times before—all so the assassination team could slip inside safely.