[God of War: I don't care about anything else. Those bugs with no honor or dignity—as long as we can slaughter them all, you can divide Terra however you want.]
[God of Knowledge: Stop talking nonsense. Why don't you manage your domestic affairs properly instead of getting so emotional over your servants!]
Some deities only treated their servants as tools to expand their power and status.
But there were also those who truly understood and valued the bond with their servants.
Uria, who currently treated the grassland beastkin as his servants, was one such existence.
To him, the beastkin who followed his orders were his most loyal subordinates.
The beastkin shared his temperament; they were all hearty men who loved combat and dueling.
Watching his subordinates get killed one by one by the ant colony, the anger and sorrow in his heart were genuine.
[God of Knowledge: Who do you think is supporting you right now so your faction doesn't completely collapse? Stop wasting energy on useless things and think about how to survive!]
However, Astaroth, the God of Knowledge, who was rapidly expanding his influence within the Empire, was extremely repulsed by Uria's attitude.
To Astaroth, servants were merely chess pieces on a board.
And Uria's beastkin were just valuable shields to block the ant colony.
Only by making this shield last as long as possible could he bring the entire Empire under his sphere of influence and, with the massive interference force obtained from it, ultimately claim the entire world for himself.
[God of Knowledge: What on earth is the Goddess of Light doing!?]
Astaroth's anger eventually turned toward Hestia, the Goddess of Light, who controlled the neighboring country.
Now was the exact moment when the main force of the ant colony had poured out.
This was clearly a golden opportunity to launch a surprise attack on their empty nest, yet the Holy Kingdom under Hestia remained completely inactive, which made him extremely dissatisfied.
[Goddess of Light: I know. I will send troops, so stop nagging.]
In truth, Hestia, who had been observing from the sidelines, also felt that it was time to act.
“Has the Goddess... handed down an oracle?”
“Yes. There were no instructions before, so everyone was arguing endlessly. But now, we can't delay any longer.”
“I understand. Then there is no other choice.”
Once Hestia made up her mind, her servants, armed with faith, would obey her commands without the slightest hesitation.
The same went for Celia, who had learned the news from Marianne.
Although Celia did not possess the Goddess's power, through her contact with the people of the Church, she had long understood what absolute authority the Goddess's words held.
If nothing else, if she denied the Goddess's will, even Celia would never be able to maintain her standing in the Church.
Although I haven't found a way to interfere with their mental world yet, if the research can go a step further, maybe...
Celia, deciding to back down for the time being, glanced at the worker ant in the cage behind her.
Surprisingly, through various experiments and magical research on this captured worker ant, Celia had successfully detected weak mental waves emanating from it.
That was precisely the hive mind of the ant colony.
Although she had not yet figured out its nature, if the research could go deeper, maybe one day she really could uncover this secret.
Beside her, Marianne spoke, “Although I am only part of the support unit this time, I will still be marching out.”
Celia looked regretful. “Lady Marianne, I wanted to go with the main force as well, but I must obtain first-hand data on-site as soon as possible.”
“...You're really something, Celia. Day in and day out, your head is filled with nothing but those monsters.”
Marianne smiled helplessly.
But soon, her smile turned a bit sly, and she quietly took Celia's hand. “What do you want? Shall I bring it back for you? I can catch something even bigger than this little thing for you.”
Celia quickly spoke in a soft voice, “Th-thank you very much...”
“But I'll need a corresponding reward.” Marianne smirked, stepping closer.
When she came in, she had already locked the laboratory door from the inside. Now, there were only the two of them.
Celia did not deliberately avoid or push away Marianne's active approach like before.
Although Marianne was short-tempered and violent, at least her feelings for her were genuine.
This caused Celia, whose heart had been occupied solely by the war against the ant colony, to gradually open up.
【Elise anticipated the moment her plan would come to fruition】
However, the two of them, alone in the locked laboratory, did not know one fact.
The worker ant in the cage was taking in everything happening here.
Of course, Elise couldn't comprehend why two females who couldn't reproduce would engage in such behavior.
She could only deduce that her target, Marianne, would soon leave the high wall.
No matter how you look at it, the truly dangerous one for the ant colony is Celia. Marianne is just a human hero with a bit of strength. But Celia is different. The more time and power she is given, the more lethal an enemy she will become.
The real problem was that, unlike Elise, there was someone who could accurately understand their conversation and see through to the core of the matter.
And this person was also watching and listening to everything.
What should I do? If Celia really uncovers the secret of the hive mind and finds their weakness, the ant colony will definitely collapse.
Lin Miao clutched his head in agony.
He had been monitoring Celia through that worker ant for over a month now.
During this time, he had gradually come to know what kind of person Celia was and what she thought.
This left his heart filled with mixed emotions.
If the ant colony falls, I'm finished too. I must order the ant colony to kill Celia!
Only Lin Miao knew that Celia had to be stopped.
On the table in front of him lay a printed sheet of paper with Celia's appearance and features drawn on it.
Long silver hair, blue eyes, and the robe she always wore.
Elise had already memorized Celia's face. If he showed it to her, she would definitely recognize her.
Lin Miao intended to drop this drawing into the terrarium for Elise to see.
He believed that with Elise's current intelligence, she would surely understand his intent.
Once Elise knew that Celia was her true nemesis, she would stop at nothing to kill her.
Sitting alone in the dimly lit room, Lin Miao quietly thought for a long time.
All this time, he had used “having no choice” as an excuse to escape.
But now, he had to accept his true identity.
To completely expel the Outer Gods and other deities invading Earth, he had to steel his heart and eliminate all obstacles.
“An Evil God, huh?”
Lin Miao couldn't help but sigh.
Though he had been misunderstood as another entity, this title, earned through his accumulated misdeeds, didn't seem undeserved.
【The servants were laying traps】
Lin Miao glanced at the screen. The ant colony was busy digging traps.
Although most of their forces had indeed been sent to the west, this was a fact.
They knew very well that to safely hunt down their target with fewer forces, they had to be fully prepared and set up an inescapable net.
【Elise wished to offer the recovered treasure to the Great One】
There was another thing. The divine sword that the ant colony had paid a huge price to snatch from the beastkin hero had already been sent to the terrarium.
Elise immediately ordered the worker ants to move the divine sword out of the nest and offer it to Lin Miao.
Lin Miao stood up, preparing to retrieve it.
In one hand, he still clutched the paper with Celia's drawing.
At this point, saying anything or holding onto any feelings seemed hypocritical and shameless.
Strangely, his heart became completely calm.
【The servants were filled with awe toward the hand of the Great One】
Just like last time, the ant colony gently placed the divine sword on the ground, then stepped aside, quietly looking up at the sky.
When Lin Miao reached down to retrieve the divine sword as they expected, they became extremely excited.
Once might have left them half-doubting, but after two or three times, it was enough to build a firm belief.
They seemed to believe that Lin Miao was very satisfied with the “tribute” they had offered.
【Elise developed a strong interest in the object that fell from the sky】
After retrieving the divine sword, Lin Miao threw the paper with Celia's drawing into the terrarium.
He had tried his best to make the paper as small as possible, but to the ant colony, it was still massive.
It was probably like a human looking at a giant mural.
【Elise recognized that it was paper and a drawing, but was highly confused as to why the Great One would drop this, feeling deeply perplexed】
Will it take some time to understand?
Elise, looking at the drawing through the worker ant's eyes, made no effort to hide her panic.
She already knew what paper and drawings were, but she couldn't fully comprehend Lin Miao's intention in dropping this drawing.
【Elise recalled the face of this human female from the memories of the colony】
However, she wasn't confused for long.
After all, even now, Celia was still continuing her research right in front of that worker ant.
Lin Miao had long known she would recognize her.
“The one who has been hindering you, your true nemesis, is not Marianne, but this woman!”
Though she couldn't hear him, Lin Miao spoke softly as he watched Elise thinking desperately.
Then, Lin Miao reached his hand into the terrarium again and poked the face on the drawing hard with his finger until the paper tore and crumpled.
【Elise understood the will of the Great One】
With things done to this extent, the result went without saying.
A worker ant walked onto the torn drawing and bit through the face of Celia in the drawing.
Under Lin Miao's intervention, the ant colony's nemesis shifted from Marianne to Celia.
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