Chapter 14: Blood Ant Queen
Inside the blood ant colony, countless blood ants were silently marching deep inside. The muffled clatter of their steps echoed through the cave.
As they moved, the ants passed by hundreds of separate room-like cavities. Every room was being used for a different activity.
In some rooms, the worker ants rested after spending hours at relentless labor. There was a big canteen where food was continuously being served to the ants.
Its smell alone allured some of the marching ants, only to be smacked back in their position by their comrades.
"Stay focused!" The other ants yelled disdainfully.
These blood ants were paying exceptional attention to their behavior. The situation regarding the colony’s safety had worsened.
Two of their family members had died a cruel death. First it was two humans, and now, even a mindless zombie dared to attack them.
A few minutes ago, strangely, all the guards except the ones stationed near the entrance were summoned.
The blood ant queen resided in the deepest area of their home, living in the largest and most comfortable room of all.
In the center of her room was a giant bed—one that was diligently created to cater to her comfort. Apart from that, however, the room was bland, with only unhatched eggs lying all around.
This was the duty, as well as the shackles of the queen. Although she was born with an innate talent to rule over the ants of her colony, she existed only to reciprocate.
No matter what may become of the colony, the queen must stay within her chamber—these were the ideals of the blood ants.
"Times have truly changed." In the empty chamber, a faint hum echoed. This wasn’t the wild shriek of an ant. Instead, it mimicked human speech.
"To think I’ll find a traitor hidden within my own family." The feminine voice came, suppressed.
The Blood Ant Queen crushed the half-destroyed body of a blood ant beneath one of her six legs.
The latter half of her body resembled an ant, painted bright crimson. On the other hand, her upper body resembled a human’s.
Her human upper body possessed graceful curves that contrasted with her monstrous lower half. A pair of her exoskeletal bodies grew from her back, tracing her skin to cover her ample chest.
Tracing her soft hands through her long red hair, she revealed her big, puppy-like eyes. Her sclera had completely darkened as her irises turned bright red.
Two crystal-covered, claw-like mandibles stretched from the corners of her lips, giving her the sense of a monstrous appearance.
’The disturbance lately has destroyed the colony’s ecosystem. If things keep going as they are, I’m afraid our journey into the future will be extremely painful.’ As the leader of nearly 1500 ants, the blood ant queen couldn’t help but grit her teeth in anger.
Due to the stress accumulating from the continuous invasion in their nest, the ant queen could not create more eggs.
’If I want to continue expanding our population, I must first weed out the traitors.’ Resolution flashed across her eyes as she slowly moved towards her bed.
Until now, she had only spotted a single traitor. It was a lucky stroke, since the ant mindlessly ran into her chamber to directly harm the queen.
However, she could already sense something going wrong.
"That child was mindless, almost as if his actions were influenced by someone else. If they can target one of my soldiers like this, then surely, they have planted many more." Settling in, she coldly figured out the situation.
But due to her massive size, the queen could neither leave her chamber nor take the action herself.
Thus, with a shallow cry, she summoned the guards nearby.
Immediately, a few guards respectfully entered her chambers and bowed. "Yes, my queen?" The group shrieked in unison.
"Traitors have appeared within the colony. Kill all ants with green eyes without mercy." Her order was short and direct, her voice filled with authority.
Immediately, the group felt as if they’d heard something impossible.
"Traitors in our family?!"
"No way—!?"
Just thinking about it, the ants began to tremble in shock. To them, this colony was equivalent to an unspeakable oath.
’To live for family, to die for family.’
The blood ants were raised with these words etched into their hearts. But to think some family members were trying to harm their colony!
Without questioning the queen’s judgement even once, the group swore in anger.
"We vow to eliminate the traitors and save our family!" Their loud shrieks echoed through several floors before dying down eventually.
Many other blood ants were taken aback; however, no one really knew what made them swear such an oath.
Immediately, the group left the queen’s chamber, barely withholding their anger.
The queen, on the other hand, sat in silence.
’What will you do now, enemy? Will you bail out or barge in recklessly?’
***
At a distance from the ravine, Ethan suddenly sprang up. His sudden movement caught the attention of his subordinate ants, causing them to gather around him.
Just now, Ethan’s arm had been completely healed; however, he could feel a strange emptiness in his heart.
Due to the effects of his skill—dormant infection—Ethan could feel the presence of creatures he had infected through his heart.
With just a thought, he could easily activate the zombie virus lying dormant in their body.
However, strangely, after turning blood ants within the nest into zombies, one of the ants was killed almost instantly.
"Did the blood queen catch on to my plot? No, that’s not it... It’s rather plausible that she has only discovered the ’traitors’ in her faction. Either way, I cannot delay this any longer." With a confident smile cradling his lips, he stretched his arms up in the sky.
"Prepare yourselves. We’re about to bust directly into the enemy base."