Chapter 137 - 112: Ants, Ants
He knew the spider must have injected the ant with digestive fluid. By managing to bring the gathered branches back to its kin, the ant had fulfilled its mission. Soon, it would die.
"Follow them," he ordered his men. The group of goblins continued their exploration, following the forest path trodden by the ants. Along the way, Shire saw several more ant corpses.
"Chief, there are some big ants up ahead," Broken Tooth said, lowering his telescope.
"Big ants?" Shire took the telescope. "Those ants have much larger heads and two big mandibles. They must be Soldier Ants."
He had his men stay on alert. The Worker Ants might not have seen the goblins as a threat, but the Soldier Ants were another story. What’s more, two Soldier Ants were already approaching.
Gripping the Blazing Fire Glue, Shire made up his mind. If the Soldier Ants charged them, he would throw it immediately, all while remaining on high alert for the surrounding ant columns.
However, the two Soldier Ants ambled past the goblins, showing no intention of fighting at all. One of them even brushed Shire a few times with its antennae. Throughout this, Fulu gave no warning, which only made Shire more puzzled.
’Is this some kind of friendly gesture?’ Shire watched the two Soldier Ants crawl away, unable to make sense of the situation. Logically, the Soldier Ants were here to protect the Worker Ants. They should attack any creature that got too close to the column, yet his group of goblins was walking right beside them. He’d even considered having Caocao toss Lame Leg onto one of their backs.
’These ants are very strange.’ He decided to keep following them and see what he could discover.
...
After walking for some time, Shire noticed more and more ants appearing around them. Other ants constantly merged into the flow, forming one long, continuous column.
The goblins had to press themselves to the side of the column to avoid being trampled.
Shire discovered that the ants had formed two opposing lines of traffic on the sunken path, moving in perfect, orderly flows that never conflicted. It reminded him of his childhood, when he would squat beside a line of small ants and use his finger to block their path.
’There’s no way I could block their path now,’ he thought with a chuckle, gazing at the ant column stretching into the distance.
He also noticed the surrounding trees had a bizarre, one-sided growth pattern. The branches on one side were completely bare, while the other side remained untouched. ’This must be the result of the ants gathering leaves,’ he mused. ’They only harvest from one side of each large tree.’
’What an interesting Race,’ Shire thought as he walked, watching the Giant Ants. Each one scurried along at a rapid pace, carrying a large cluster of leafy branches in its mandibles. Shire estimated that a branch that size was so heavy only Caocao could swing it, and even he couldn’t carry it for so long. ’If those branches were replaced with seven or eight wicker baskets filled with herbs or fruit... if we could just place the baskets on their backs, we could transport goods over vast distances.’
The strength and stamina of these ants made his eyes light up. Looking at the path, worn down over countless years by the ants, Shire desperately wanted to jump onto the back of a Giant Ant and shout, "Follow me home!"
The Big-headed Soldier Ants standing guard by the path also made Shire envious. Their round, white heads, their powerful-looking mandibles, their bodies longer than those of the Worker Ants... if he could just strap a saddle to one of their backs, he could grab a Lance and live out a fairy tale, riding an ant to defeat an Evil Dragon.
Unlike horses, rugged terrain and dense forests wouldn’t hinder the ants’ advance. They were practically all-terrain, multi-purpose vehicles.
After a while, Shire finally saw a mound up ahead. It was the entrance to an underground cave, with ants constantly streaming in and out. Several Soldier Ants patrolled the opening, clearly on guard duty.
’This is the entrance to their Kingdom.’ He approached the opening, wondering whether he should enter and what dangers might lie within.
Soon, a Worker Ant emerged from the cave and came right up to the goblins. It brushed its antennae against the face of Shire, who stood at the very front. Then it turned and crawled back toward the entrance, glancing back at the goblins after taking a few steps.
’Is it telling us to follow it?’ Shire raised an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued. ’Should we go after it?’
’Could it be dangerous inside?’ he wondered, turning to the Fulu beside him. The creature’s antennae had turned green, the color representing curiosity.
"Everyone, light your torches and follow," Shire commanded. Ultimately, he decided to go down and see for himself.
The moment he entered the warren, Shire was stunned. Unlike the underground Fortress, there were no signs of artificial excavation here; it was all dug by the ants. To allow for two-way traffic, the tunnel was a full three meters high. Even the Giant Demon Caocao would have no trouble moving through it.
The tunnel sloped downward at a gentle angle, allowing the goblins to walk comfortably. Ants constantly scurried past them, some even crawling right over their heads on the ceiling.
Some of the ants carried branches, while others carried eggs. The eggs were mostly a pale yellow, each about the size and shape of an oblong watermelon.
The floor beneath their feet was hard-packed earth. Shire pushed aside tree roots that poked out from the tunnel walls as they passed fork after fork. He knew each path led to a specific underground chamber, as the ants utilized every available space. He had just peeked down one side tunnel and spotted a "nursery" filled to the brim with eggs.
The Worker Ant leading them kept turning back to brush Shire with its antennae, as if reminding him not to wander off and to keep up. But Shire was too fascinated by the sights to care.
The deeper they went, the more small ants they encountered. They were like little puppies, clearly young ones that had hatched some time ago. They often approached to touch the goblins, as if they were curiously observing a group of "foreigners."
Shire glanced back at Red Eyes. He’d just warned him not to just pick up and pet one of the young ants, which could easily cause the entire colony to riot. Now, Red Eyes was intently sizing up the juveniles, as if comparing them to Brain-Eating Monsters.
Time passed, and the goblins descended deeper and deeper. Shire had no idea where the Worker Ant was taking them, but Fulu’s continued silence about any danger allowed him to relax slightly.
They continued forward into a long corridor. Shire and his men pressed themselves against the wall as several Worker Ants, each carrying an egg, scurried past.
They were no longer seeing Worker Ants carrying branches. Instead, a few of them were now carrying lumps of a white, dough-like substance deeper into the tunnels.
’I wonder what’s up ahead,’ Shire thought, continuing forward with his torch raised. ’From the looks of it, don’t tell me they’re taking us to the Ant Queen.’
Soon enough, just as he’d thought, they emerged from the corridor. Shire’s eyes went wide as he took in the massive cavern before him. It was as large as the stone chamber he’d prepared for breeding Red Bulls, but even taller.
An Ant Queen rested not far away. She was much larger than a regular Worker Ant, even a little bigger than a Soldier Ant. Her massive, swollen abdomen seemed to fill the entire chamber.
Countless Worker Ants scurried back and forth around the Ant Queen, transporting all sorts of items.
Shire watched as their guide ant crawled up to the Ant Queen and brushed antennae with her. It then returned to his side and gestured for him to approach.
He glanced back at the Fulu. After confirming it was safe, Shire walked forward.
From their first contact with the ant column, to entering the underground warren, to the young ants swarming around them, and now to arriving in the Ant Queen’s chamber—he felt the whole time as if the colony had been expecting him. The entire colony was unfazed by the goblins’ presence. Shire felt he might finally get some answers from the Ant Queen.
The Ant Queen’s antennae touched Shire’s face. A moment later, a voice echoed in his mind.
"Goblin, it has been a long time. Are you here to trade for the soft, white things again?"