‘I really didn't expect them to evolve in this way.’
Breaking through the limits of biological life with the help of a special power.
When he first heard those words, Lin Miao thought it would at most mean growing a bit larger and having a tougher body.
But Elise's creativity far exceeded his imagination.
The explosive energy brought by the magic heart had turned many previously impossible combinations and designs into reality.
Lin Miao never dreamed that they would evolve such an extreme combat method as detonating internal organs to launch venom stings, only to regenerate them afterward.
“To think of such an extreme way to apply it. As expected, the application and learning capabilities derived from Her Majesty's Great Devourer are their most powerful weapons.”
Even Celia, the designer of the magic heart, was utterly shocked by Elise's method of application.
Meanwhile, the large defense shield that the imperial army was so proud of was easily riddled with holes like a sieve.
Before they could react, they were forced into a brutal siege battle against the ant colony that had already rushed to the foot of the wall.
“Stop them! Deploy the golem units!”
Lin Miao saw the commanders shouting hoarsely, directing the soldiers and knights to resist.
Those ordinary mutated species that were not Tyrants were indeed still easily blown to pieces by the Empire's magic.
The short wands in the hands of the knights—stored-magic weapons that could be used even by non-mages—indeed caused considerable trouble for the ant colony.
Additionally, the knights' armor was engraved with magic runes, allowing them to deploy defense shields in moments of crisis, which significantly weakened the ant colony's combat effectiveness.
But they still had one last trump card.
Enormous golems leaped down from the high wall one after another, crushing down toward the dense swarm of ants.
This new generation of golems, improved with advanced magic, was no longer the fragile stone lumps of the past.
Although smaller in size, their bodies were made of metal, making their movements far more agile and precise. Wielding massive weapons, they were true killing machines on the battlefield.
“Push them back!”
To the cheers of the soldiers, the golems stood directly in front of the high wall, meeting the surging ant colony head-on.
Like the colony, the golems had no concept of fear or pain.
Even if their bodies were shattered or crushed, they would tirelessly fight the enemies before them until the very last moment.
Furthermore, ordinary ants could not harm their hard bodies in the slightest, leaving at most a few scratches.
【Elise wishes to test the strength of the new warriors】
However, the current situation was exactly what Elise wanted to see.
Since she had long anticipated that the Empire would deploy its golem units, she had specifically created new mutated species to counter them.
Lin Miao zoomed in on the screen and saw a golem wielding a massive, rune-carved two-handed sword.
It was no ordinary sword. Inlaid with magic stones on its hilt that could activate the runes along its blade, it was a true magic sword.
Wielded by a golem, the blade was longer than a grown man.
But in the very next second, this sword was completely enveloped in a black, viscous substance, and the magic power on it was instantly sealed.
The ones spitting this black substance were the Tyrant-type spider ants.
Having grown several sizes larger than before, what they sprayed from their abdomens was no longer ordinary spider silk, but a completely new substance.
“Heavens, such a creature actually exists...”
Lin Miao recalled how Celia's entire body had gone numb with fright when she first saw this ability.
This ability was acquired by Elise after devouring the ribbon worms fed to her by Lin Miao. The proboscis spat out by a ribbon worm when hunting was different from spider silk; it was a living, muscular biological tissue.
Elise had transplanted this ability onto the spider ants and enhanced it.
And that was not all.
The golem, trapped and unable to move by the spider ants, met its executioner.
Another mutated species rushed forward, brandishing glittering, razor-sharp scythe-like legs.
This was a Tyrant evolved from the gladiator ants that inherited the forelimbs of a mantis. Its razor-sharp, blade-like forelimbs were covered in a gleaming coating.
This was a weapon Elise had developed specifically to break through enemy magic, created by attaching magic stone fragments to the surface of their limbs and reinforcing them.
“Even the ironclad golems covered in magic defense shields were sliced in half... This is impossible.”
“That's it! It's the same substance coated on the venom stings that shattered the defense shield!”
The enemies finally realized how the ant colony was breaking through their magic.
But it was already too late.
Elise had already obtained everything she wanted from this battle.
【Elise determines that the test was a complete success】
‘To achieve such results is indeed a success. Last time, our home base was almost breached by them.’
Carrying a vast amount of captured loot, the ant colony retreated from the high wall, thoroughly satisfied.
Although they failed to breach or destroy the Empire's high wall in this battle.
There was nothing to be done about that, as Elise had not yet been able to produce a sufficient number of Tyrants.
An all-out, reckless assault might have momentarily breached a section of the high wall, but Elise calmly judged that they did not yet possess the military strength to hold any captured territory.
Thus, they pivoted to maximizing the plunder of any resources they could carry away.
They reenacted the tactic of turning the Holy Kingdom's high wall into a hunting ground, hunting the enemy while accumulating combat experience.
For them, this was already a massive harvest.
For the imperial army, however, it was a disastrous defeat with heavy losses and absolutely nothing to show for it.
All the advantages they had once been so proud of, believing they could crush the ant colony, had been utterly shattered.
“As expected, he vanished like the wind again.”
Lin Miao browsed the Divine Net forum and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Astaroth, the God of Knowledge, who had previously been so arrogant and spent all day spamming the forum to show off after winning against a single unit of the ant colony, had naturally chosen to shut his mouth this time, vanishing without a trace.
He was probably stomping his feet in rage right now, just like when his secret facility, the Silver Twilight Secret Society, was blown up.
【Elise prepares to transplant a heart into herself】
For Lin Miao and the ant colony, the real highlight was yet to come.
After witnessing the active performance of the Tyrants with his own eyes, Elise finally decided to proceed with the plan she had been delaying: transplanting the magic heart Celia had personally crafted for her.
‘I wonder what she will become.’
From the performance of the Tyrants, Lin Miao had already witnessed firsthand what it meant to break through limits.
Therefore, he was incredibly eager to see what kind of changes would occur once Elise obtained this power.
Would her intelligence, which already far exceeded that of ordinary creatures, undergo another qualitative leap because of this?
【Elise begins her evolution】
“The heart transplant... was a success.”
Arriving at the nest ahead of time, Celia personally cut open Elise's chest and precisely implanted the meticulously polished magic stone heart, which was larger than her own head.
Immediately after, a system notification popped up, announcing that Elise had begun her evolution.
‘It's not molting?’
He watched as the worker ants busily spun silk threads, wrapping Elise's entire body into a massive cocoon.
It was almost identical to the way the other Tyrants were born.
Inside the cocoon, the magic stone heart emitted a faint glow. Elise's entire body was being thoroughly decomposed and reconstructed.
【Elise has awakened】
“So fast?”
The entire evolutionary process had actually concluded in less than a day.
The massive cocoon split open, and a pair of eyes gleaming with a crimson light lit up from the darkness.
At that moment, Lin Miao felt his breath catch in his throat.
Because the being stepping out of the cocoon could no longer be called a Queen Ant.
【Due to the great achievements of your vassal, your deity level has increased】
【Mid-Tier Deity, Grade I → Mid-Tier Deity, Grade II】
【Partially locked functions have been unlocked】
At the same time, Lin Miao's deity level had increased.
This sort of thing had already happened several times, so he would normally no longer feel surprised by the sudden level-up notifications.
But this time was different.
At that very instant, Lin Miao felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.
The terrarium before him vanished, replaced by an entirely unfamiliar sight.
It was a space like a vast universe, with countless threads of consciousness slowly flowing through it.
Immediately after, a massive face belonging to Elise flashed before Lin Miao's eyes.
Though it was only for a fleeting instant, Lin Miao felt with absolute clarity that Elise had seen him too.
Rate on N.U.
