Chapter 110: The Biological Campaign (Conclusion)

In a span too brief to measure, the queen ant endured the greatest trials of her life—two devastating blows that shook her very existence. First, she was mocked and easily deceived by a single male ant before countless subjects, allowing him to escape unscathed. Then, the nest she had nurtured for over twenty years was destroyed in a manner utterly beyond her comprehension, wiped out without a trace. She had expected to lose her mind, to spiral into madness, yet to her own surprise, a chilling calmness settled over her.

Below, in the vast pit, her numerous subjects panicked and stumbled over one another, trampling helpless larvae and slave ants who had scarcely seen daylight, all perishing within mere seconds. The queen lowered her head in anguish; her crimson compound eyes gradually dulled to gray. Then, with a heavy stomp of her two massive forelimbs against the ground, she unleashed a deep, continuous roar that reverberated through the air.

Miraculously, her haunting cry swept across the chaos, halting the frantic workers and soldiers who had begun tearing each other apart. They crawled out of the pit with newfound order, aligning themselves into neat ranks on the ground. Within moments, tens of millions of ants occupied nearly a hundred meters around her, all raising their heads to face their queen and mother, awaiting her command.

Workers gathered all the royal jelly within the nest, piling it into a towering mound beside her. Struggling, the queen dragged her prodigious abdomen several meters and painstakingly climbed atop the pile. Scanning her domain, she suddenly lifted her head and began to roar intermittently in a voice filled with passionate resolve:

“At this very moment, our home lies in ruins—we are homeless.”

“At this very moment, earth and sky have shattered—countless of our kin have fallen.”

“At this very moment, our provisions vanish—our sustenance is no more.”

“For twenty years, our kingdom has known no hunger, but night approaches, and without food to fuel us, we shall perish of starvation.”

“For twenty years, our kingdom has known no cold, but night approaches, and without shelter, we shall freeze beneath the forest’s biting winds.”

“Tell me—do you accept death’s cruel fate so easily?!”

The ranks of soldiers and workers stomped their hind legs in unison with a sharp hiss, then roared as one:

“No! No! No!”

“Faced with impending doom, what shall we do now?!”

“Seize! Seize! Seize!”

“Good,” the queen’s face bore an expression that might be called satisfaction. Her tone grew low and grave as she continued:

“At this very moment, I was mocked by a pitiful servant, my dignity shattered.”

“Faced with such inexplicable disaster, I find no cause or reason.”

“Perhaps I have grown old, and my reign must end.”

“But, my subjects, I beg you—for the sake of your own fate—follow me! One last battle!”

As she roared, the royal jelly beneath her dissolved rapidly, absorbed wholly into her body. Her already enormous abdomen swelled grotesquely. At her final words, a massive magic circle etched with intricate runes suddenly ignited on her lower abdomen. The queen opened her mandibles wide and thrust her head into its center. In the next moment, a dense, almost tangible yellow mist emerged within the circle, enveloping every ant within a hundred meters.

Amid eerie winds and twisted clouds, over three-quarters of the ants swelled and exploded—a failed evolution. The remaining quarter endured brief agony before rising anew, their bodies and auras greatly magnified. Though their numbers were sharply reduced to a quarter, their combat power soared tenfold.

The survivors swiftly reformed into orderly ranks. Their oval compound eyes and crescent-shaped antennae glowed crimson. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers formed battalions and charged forward. As they passed the queen, a brief roar erupted before they surged into the unknown forest depths.

“First Legion! Advance!”

“Second Legion! Advance!”

“Third Legion! Advance!”

“Legion of Glory! Advance!”

“Burning Legion! Advance!”

“Second Artillery! Advance!”

“Rapid Response Squad! Advance!”

“Leafborne Special Forces! Advance!”

“Tunnel Engineering Corps… Ouch! Master, why did you hit me?”

Ling Mo was at a loss for how to react. Listening to Vienne’s impassioned translation, his features twitched and creased into a frown. He barely tolerated the opening declarations, but when Vienne began randomly naming each ant battalion, he lost all patience. Slapping her forehead with a chop, he snapped:

“Speak plainly! The queen’s meaning should be simple! What nonsense are you adding? What’s next? Are you going to improvise a ‘I Have a Dream’ speech?”

“Alright, alright…” Vienne’s eyes glistened with tears as she rubbed her reddened forehead, muttering, “The queen basically said: our home’s gone, food’s gone, if you don’t want to die, take over other ants’ nests. Don’t worry, I’m stepping down from queen duties. When we charge, I’ll lead the way… Look! The queen’s terrifyingly huge abdomen is shrinking—she’s about to evolve!”

The three watched as the queen’s pale abdomen rapidly contracted. Simultaneously, the upper half of her body, the size of a clenched fist, swelled swiftly. In moments, she transformed into a monstrous, jet-black carapace-covered insect with six pairs of wings and a body as large as four human heads. If one looked closely, the split glossy shell bore patterns resembling twisted human faces.

A larger female ant was pinned by the queen, a conduit inserted sharply into her back as if injecting something. The ant’s tail spine snapped off with a ‘ding,’ and her two-finger-long abdomen began to stretch and swell rapidly.

“My child, on the day you are born, the entire nest will whisper your name…”

“Remember to rule our kingdom with wisdom and strength…”

“Learn to temper your power with restraint…”

“My era has ended,”

“And you shall be crowned king!”

Ling Mo and Catherine exchanged grim glances after hearing Vienne’s translation. They were about to confront the deeply dramatic translator when the previous queen, fully evolved, flapped her wings lightly. Her massive body rose into the air, oriented herself swiftly, and with rapid wingbeats, emitted a roar akin to a jet engine as she shot off into the distance.

Clearly, during flight, the posterior half of her body was shrouded in a conical white cloud. Within that cloud, her fierce form was faintly visible, leaving a stark white streak across the sky. Catherine and Vienne instantly recognized it as the famed sonic boom cloud—meaning the newly evolved queen’s flight speed was nearing or surpassing the speed of sound.

“Master, master, master! Should we follow? Should we? We won’t do that, right?!” Catherine trembled uncontrollably, her teeth chattering. Vienne frantically nodded alongside her. A magical beast capable of breaking the sound barrier—what level could it be? Regardless, none of them wanted to chase after it and meet certain death.

Just as Ling Mo prepared to speak, the chaotic barrage of stunned fan comments abruptly vanished. The magic-eyed elf’s camera zoomed out, revealing a small light screen. An elderly man clad in the robes of an elder mage from the Mage Union Council appeared. Clearing his throat softly, his face etched with grave concern, he spoke urgently:

“Teacher Ling, sorry to disturb you at this hour.”

“About half an hour ago, the World Tree Expedition Team—comprising over twenty top scholars from nine premier institutions including Ivy University, Tsinghua University, Daoqiao University, and the International Magical Beast Research Institute—was ambushed in the magical beast rainforest. They have since vanished without a trace; their fate unknown.”

“I realize this is sudden, but I hope you’ll consider it.”

“Due to limitations in cross-dimensional teleportation, locating the incident site is impossible. Our rescue forces will take approximately sixteen hours to arrive. Meanwhile, could we ask you to investigate the scene?”