74. The Empire in Turmoil (1)
“Are those things taking a group shit or what?”
Sera Raudi tilted her head as she stared at the ant horde that hadn’t budged for hours.
“Curtis, squad leader! Shouldn’t we fire the cannons and soften them up first?”
“No! The boss said not to touch them. They might charge if we do.”
“Then how long do we have to sit here like this? Or should we at least fall back and rest?”
They were currently waiting with their hatches open, perched atop their Gigants.
“He said we’d get a signal once he takes down the queen ant.”
“What kind of signal?”
“I don’t know the details. He just said we’d know it when we see it. Just recharge your Odd in the meantime.”
“Sitting here doing nothing is making me antsy...”
Kieeeek!
Thud! Thud!
Bastian approached and opened the hatch.
“Curtis, squad leader. Time to switch.”
“We’re still good. Let your squad rest more, brother.”
“We’ve rested plenty.”
Just then, Bastian spotted the Predator moving on the left and looked surprised.
“What? Did Nancy already wake up and climb into her Gigant?”
“No. Nancy’s still resting. Glen Jacob’s piloting the Predator.”
“What? Glen Jacob in a 2nd class Gigant? Just with Odd Holes?”
Curtis smacked his lips.
“I only found out a few days ago myself, but Glen’s different from us—he’s got two Odd Holes. He can pilot a 2nd class Gigant, but walking’s about all he can manage. Of course, we couldn’t even do that...”
Glen’s Odd Holes had formed not just in his heart, but in his lungs as well. One day, during training, his heart’s Odd Hole stopped growing and plateaued, so he went to Wayne. When Wayne couldn’t expand the one in his heart any further, he created another in Glen’s lungs—the organ that first encountered Odd during breathing. The lungs were close to the heart, making connection easy, and sensing Odd while breathing was straightforward. Now, with the second Odd Hole formed and linked to the first, he could barely handle a 2nd class Gigant.
“Tch! Must be nice.”
Bastian smacked his lips enviously. Among the reversed heroes, Glen’s growth was the most dazzling. Though he’d become squad leader last, his diligent, unwavering Odd breathing over the past five years would only widen the gap further.
“Hm?”
Suddenly, Bastian’s Odd Eye flashed.
“Everyone, battle stations! They’re moving!”
“Battle stations!”
“The monsters are moving!”
The Gigants at the front lines hurriedly sealed their hatches.
But then!
“KuEEEeeek!”
“KuAAAh!”
Crunch! Crunch!
A massive ant swarm suddenly clashed with another swarm.
Chiiiik!
Curtis, reopening his hatch, shouted,
“Brother! That’s gotta be the signal the boss mentioned! Let’s pull back so we don’t get caught in the crossfire.”
As Bastian issued the order, the Predator piloted by Glen bellowed loudly.
It was an order to abandon the hard-won front line, but with the Predator shouting it, the Magic Knights assumed it was Wayne’s command and fell back without question.
The Magic Knights and dwarves retreated over 100 meters.
“They’ve lost it!”
Yond planted his spear and grumbled.
“It’s not madness! Wayne killed the queen.”
Brock said.
Barak tilted his head.
“The queen’s huge and strong. Even in a Gigant, can a human really kill it?”
“Wayne can! He carries our ancestors’ legacy.”
“Right! Wayne is strong!”
“Does that mean we’ve won?”
“Ooh! Valhalla!”
“Waaaaah!”
The dwarves erupted in victory cheers. The humans nearby joined in as the monsters turned on each other.
The princess ants attacked rivals to become the next queen, using their loyal swarms to wage war. Dozens of princess ants and 150,000 soldier ants slaughtered each other in their own battle royale. In less than half a day, ant monster corpses blanketed dozens of kilometers in black.
“Alright! Second Squad, everyone into your Gigants!”
As the monster battle reached its end, Bastian shouted.
Curtis tilted his head. “What’s up, brother?”
“Our squad’s going after princess ants and drones.”
“Huh?”
“The rest are worthless, but A-rank and B-rank monsters fetch good money.”
“Ah! We’re in too!”
The princess ants and drones were isolated, locked in bloody fights or badly wounded. Without 2nd class Gigants, it was still prime hunting.
Bastian and Curtis’s Stormtroopers flashed their blades and charged down the hill. The dwarves followed, leading their Steel Golems to hunt princess ants.
The other territory forces shook their heads in disbelief. They had no idea why the ants had stopped and turned on each other, but they had no desire to fight anymore. Exhausted physically and mentally drained, their will to battle was gone.
“Crazy bastards! Real mad dogs.”
Dorkan, squad leader from Ronsstock Territory, clicked his tongue.
Captain Perlong smirked. “Like leader, like subordinates.”
The other forces didn’t even know Wayne had vanished to hunt the queen ant.
The queen’s Odd surged into Wayne’s body like a tidal wave. Then, at some point, the dam burst.
Crack! Cracrack!
“UAAAAAAGH!”
Every bone in his body snapped—or shattered into dust. Flesh and muscle followed in agonizing waves: burning in crimson flames, then freezing cold, finally slashed by invisible blades. Wayne could only scream amid pains he’d never imagined.
The torment repeated endlessly until he blacked out.
....
“Ugh.”
Am I flying? As consciousness returned, his body felt feather-light, brimming with unknown vitality.
Wayne opened his eyes. An angel sat by his head.
“Wayne, are you alright?”
“Ah! Sabina.”
He was lying with his head in Sabina’s lap. He bolted upright.
“How long was I out?”
“Not sure. I only woke up about ten minutes ago...”
“Woke up? Ah!”
He recalled Sabina rushing to help as he screamed, her touch easing the pain.
“More importantly, are you okay, Sabina?”
“Yes. My body’s fine, but something weird happened.”
“...?”
Sabina gave an awkward smile.
“My Odd increased several times over.”
“What?”
“You were in so much pain, I tried pulling you away from the queen ant. Suddenly, Odd got sucked into me, then flooded back in instantly.”
The queen’s Odd had poured into Wayne, then overflowed into her.
“Give me your hand. Let me check your condition.”
“Okay.”
Wayne extended his Odd to probe her body and Odd flow. His face paled.
Sensing something ominous, Sabina continued.
“At first, the influx shocked me. I tried letting go of the Gigant’s hand, but it wouldn’t release. Then too much Odd poured in with excruciating pain, and I blacked out briefly. That’s all I remember.”
Wayne stared blankly for a moment.
“Is my condition bad?”
“No way! Odd multiplied several times—it’s great! Congratulations!”
“Then why the face?”
“Because there’s not a drop of Odd left in my body.”
“Pardon?”
Sabina looked stunned. Then Bardetu approached, hefting a massive spear.
“Human, okay?”
“Huh? When’d you get here?”
“Orc guard human!”
Sabina explained.
“Don’t you remember? The orcs helped pry our Gigant from the queen ant. They got hit by that unknown force and suffered too.”
“Ah!”
“Orc okay! Orc strong! Power overflowing!”
Bardetu flexed his massively empowered muscles.
Wayne finally nodded. Without the queen’s Odd dispersing to them, he might’ve died repeating that agony—or worse. Aside from zero Odd, he was in peak condition.
Turning, he saw 300 orc warriors shielding him in the darkness. He was grateful.
“Hm? Eleven?”
Eleven lay nearby.
“He’s fine. He was awake when I opened my eyes. He watched Bardetu safely extract you from the Gigant, then crashed from exhaustion.”
Wayne approached and stroked Eleven’s head and belly. The giant wolf snored deeply, utterly spent.
‘Hm? How can I see so clearly?’
This was an underground cavern, pitch black. With no Odd, he couldn’t use Odd Eye. Yet everything was crystal clear. Strange.
“I need to rest a bit. Sabina, keep watch.”
“Yes!”
“Orc protect human!”
Sabina mounted Artemis with bow drawn; Bardetu and the orcs guarded Wayne.
‘Where’d all my Odd go?’
Wayne sat and examined his body.
“Huuuuh! Hoo! Hoo!”
Executing Karian Odd Breathing Method stage 1.
“Gasp!”
His jaw dropped. Ambient Odd flooded in instantly, cells hyper-alert, muscles surging with vitality.
He jumped to stage 2, accelerating Odd.
‘Holy shit! Is this really my body?’
Odd whirled inside, spinning at 64x speed, devouring surroundings. Previously, he could hold 64x for mere seconds. Now, minutes passed.
He pushed further. Before, his body couldn’t handle beyond 64x. Now, he surpassed 80x, then more.
‘No way! 100x acceleration!’
Astonished, yet he had margin. Odd filled to 3rd class Gigant levels in seconds, 2nd class in minutes. Enough to absorb while piloting a 2nd class.
‘What the hell changed in my body?’
He recalled fantasy novels or wuxia: marrow cleansing, body rebirth. His body was now Odd-optimized.
“Skipped straight to stages 3, 4, 5 in one go!”
By King Karian’s experience, he’d entered stage 6 entry. Stage 3 optimized organs individually; 4 linked them; 5 Odd-ified the body via acceleration. Beyond lay millisecond reactions, body like an Odd Hole, path to top Magic Knight.
Elated, stage 6 completion would qualify him for Martias.
‘Wait, where’d my other Odd go?’
Red and white Odd were useful. Regrettable, but he could hunt Python or Mririk again.
But!
‘What? I can still gather red Odd!’
Recalling red Odd’s feel, it accumulated—slowly, but steadily. He gathered it to his heart during acceleration, forming a red Odd Hole.
Then yellow Odd from the queen. It gathered fast, especially from the ground-rich source, pooling in one lung.
‘So it didn’t vanish—it permeated my flesh, bones, muscles, blood...’
In flowing water, white Odd would come easily too.
“Yawwwn! Grrr!”
Eleven woke, stretched hugely, and approached Wayne.
“Thanks. This guy rushed for me!”
Wayne petted him, activating Odd Eye. Red Odd blazed inside Eleven—more than Wayne had before.
‘Why red, not yellow? And only red?’
Ironic. Artemis’s deep green Odd Eye suggested Sabina got green Odd. Bardetu and orcs had none—just permeated, stronger, tougher.
‘Passing through me changed the Odd’s nature?’
Wayne had all kinds: yellow, red, dwarf, green. Unexplainable, even by Karian knowledge—no one held multiple Odd types, ancient or modern.
‘Anyway, jackpot!’
Wayne stood lightly, jumping 5 meters effortlessly. No reason to linger.
“Bardetu!”
“Kuok! Speak, human!”
“Before the queen’s corpse vanishes, take it through the dwarf tunnel!”
“Orc take queen ant!”
S-rank byproducts were priceless, prime 1st class Gigant material. Better used personally.
The orcs swarmed the queen.
Wayne dashed to the Gigant-piloted queen, shoving her belly aside. A small egg lay on the ground.
‘Damn, final spasm.’
Queen’s Odd pulsed from the wriggling egg. He raised his foot to crush it, then paused.
‘No, this could be useful.’