**Chapter 74: Occupation of the Hive!**
2016-08-23
Author: Floating Tower
“Balroth Fire Demon?!”
For the sudden appearance of the Demon Avatar, not only was Tower Spirit No. 1 surprised, but even the Fallen Witch showed an expression of astonishment.
However, she quickly seemed to think of something and murmured, “No wonder the minerals provided by Modo City recently contain a lot of Bottomless Abyss materials. So you’ve already extended your reach into the lower planes during this time?”
With the Diamond Golem below and the Balroth Fire Demon above.
The Fermi Ant Tribe’s defense line had finally completely collapsed, leaving only futile resistance, fighting with their lives to block the advance of the Golem Legion.
“What do you want, Outsider!”
“Why must you kill us all?!”
Just when Soren felt that victory was in his grasp and that he would soon occupy this hive city of the Fermi Ant Tribe, a mental message connected to him, and a gentle yet somewhat flustered female voice came through: “My people seem to have not attacked you. They are just acting according to their nature.”
“Can’t you let us go?”
At this point, the voice became filled with pleading, and the remaining Fermi Ant Tribe scattered in all directions, ultimately revealing a large ant queen protected by a group of guards.
Ordinary Fermi Ant workers weigh 60 pounds, while soldier ants weigh around 160 pounds, comparable to an adult male. However, the guards appearing before him weighed at least 1500 pounds, resembling an alien creature capable of spewing corrosive toxins, equally formidable in direct combat with the Golem Puppets. As for the ant queen of the Fermi Ant Tribe, her power was astonishing, retaining the characteristics of a hive ruler, with innate strength, agility, intelligence, perception, and charm each above 20 points; they are born as a typical extraordinary magical life form.
A Fermi Ant Queen can easily possess a psionic level not weaker than a Legendary Spellcaster.
Unlike other Fermi Ant Queens, the one before Soren appeared to have its own ability to act, while those widely acknowledged as Fermi Ant Queens are too corpulent to move and depend on the tribe to feed them.
The Fermi Ant Queen before him was nearly 10 feet long, about 4 feet tall, and weighed around 3500 pounds.
The racial trait of the Fermi Ant Tribe is “Collective Consciousness,” which the ant queen relies on to control the development of the entire tribe. Although the Fermi Ant Tribe appears numerous, there are only a few queen-level individuals with independent thought in the entire mechanical realm.
Ant queens lack sufficient mobility, but they can easily cast spells up to the Nine-ring Spell level.
Their spellcasting ability is comparable to that of a Sorcerer and possesses psionic traits.
The Fermi Ant Queens have powerful telepathic abilities; they can mentally communicate with any intelligent creature within a 50-kilometer range.
The words of the Ant Queen were not only conveyed to Soren; others likely received the message as well, for the Fallen Witch turned to seek Soren’s opinion. The situation of the battle was already clear; eliminating these Fermi Ants would result in only a slight increase in casualties, and Modo City could bear such losses.
“Floating City.”
Soren’s figure flew to the front of the battle line, overlooking the Ant Queen, and after pondering for a moment, said, “I need everything that fell into your city’s Floating City!”
The Fermi Ant Queen stared at Soren and immediately replied, “No problem at all.”
“This Lord!”
“I can feel your greatness! I am willing to grant you everything within the Floating City! But I request you let us go.”
Hearing this, Soren shook his head and slowly said, “The Floating City is merely the spoils of war we need. According to the laws of the Astral Realm, you are essentially my prisoner now. So if you wish to gain freedom, you still need to pay a price.”
Upon hearing Soren’s words, the Fermi Ant Queen’s voice became a bit anxious, “What price?”
Soren raised his fingertip, and a glow of divinity emerged, coalescing into a golden light in his palm, which he then sent before the Ant Queen, slowly saying, “Accept it. I grant you freedom! In the future, I will help you become the Mother of Ants of the Fermi Tribe, the true Queen of the Ants!”
The divine glow was so alluring.
In that moment, the Ant Queen finally understood Soren’s identity, feeling both fear and desire, as a bit of divinity was so precious for mortals. She struggled against the temptation of divinity.
Because she knew one thing clearly.
If she accepted this bit of divinity, she would be completely under Soren’s control from then on.
But!
Now she had no choice; in the end, the Fermi Ant Queen bowed her head and accepted the golden divinity.
As the divinity entered her body, it began to transform her. She was enveloped in a faint golden glow, her exoskeleton becoming increasingly radiant, as if undergoing some essential change.
—“Heal Critical Wounds!”
A divine technique suddenly manifested from the Ant Queen, as Soren’s divinity endowed her with part of a Priest’s abilities. With the divinity fused within her, the connection between Soren and her also became closer; Soren could control her mind any time he wished.
Submitting to a deity, even one more powerful than the Mother of Ants, is not shameful.
“My Lord!”
“Great Lord of Shadows! Please follow me! What you desire is inside!”
At the moment she accepted divinity, the Fermi Ant Queen learned Soren’s identity. She humbly bowed her head to Soren and led him into the depths of the hive.
The Fallen Witch’s expression was somewhat hesitant, but after Soren nodded, she followed.
Soren had absolute control over the Ant Queen due to the divinity imprint; under such circumstances, no accidents could occur.
Tower Spirit No. 1 and Tower Spirit No. 3 also followed, very curious about what else was preserved within the Floating City. For advanced Construct Life, the arcane civilization that created them was filled with countless secrets.
“This!”
“This is the furnace of **Elemental Fission**!”
Once inside the core palace of the Ant Tribe, the Fallen Witch immediately showed a face full of surprise, for the massive energy radiation revealed that the center of the Ant Palace contained the well-preserved energy core of the Floating City, which was the **Elemental Fission** device that operated a Floating City.
It was still running, having not exploded, though some parts were no longer operational.
“My Lord.”
“There are still some things scattered throughout the city; I will send people to gather them immediately.”
The Ant Queen respectfully remained before Soren, resembling a tamed pet, as many Ant workers seemed to have completely forgotten the earlier battle, immediately following her orders to relocate various items from within the tribe.
Also transported were large amounts of metal, jewels, and unknown items.
“My Lord.”
“This is the tribute from your servants!”
The Ant Queen’s expression was somewhat sycophantic, humbly bowing her head: “They are of no use to me. But they should help your church grow.”
All the intellect of the entire Ant Tribe was concentrated in the Queen alone.
Soren glanced at her, raised a hand, and another bit of divinity fell upon her, nodding and saying, “Very well. Since you are so sincere, I will not be stingy with rewards. What you need to do next is to grow your tribe as much as possible. When your tribe is strong enough to challenge the Mother of Ants, I will help you seize the divinity on her.”
Upon hearing this, a hint of ecstasy appeared on the Ant Queen’s face.
While Soren was communicating with the Ant Queen, on the other side, the Fallen Witch and the Tower Spirits had all fallen into research of the new things.
Tower Spirits were also technology enthusiasts.
They were currently inspecting the well-preserved components everywhere, while the Fallen Witch and Tower Spirit No. 1 each held a record, counting the degree of preservation of this Floating City. Although the Floating City had been altered by the Ant Tribe and its appearance had drastically changed, there were still quite a few things preserved inside.
They needed to tally before deciding which items could be transported away.
………………
Modo City.
In a library covering several hundred acres, three witches were registering at the entrance.
“Lina!”
A beautiful, young witch greeted her companion nearby, asking, “How’s your progress on the research of **Elemental Fusion Mutations**? I heard that once completed, you can borrow the Six-ring Spells and Supermagic Specialty materials from the library, right?”
The witch named Lina lifted her head upon hearing this, adjusted her golden glasses with her fair fingers, and pouted, “It’s not that easy! This is one of the research contents of the Elemental Furnace! I estimate it will take at least another half month to write it out.”
“How about your **Golem Construct Modification and Specialty Research**?”
Hearing the other’s words, the first witch shook her head in disappointment, “Not so fast. The materials here are harder than those taught in the Northern Region. I definitely would not have chosen this project if it weren’t for the 50 contribution points.”
“By the way.”
“Branly. What research are you currently working on?”
The last witch, looking a bit taciturn but holding a thick stack of books, lifted her head upon hearing this and said淡淡道, “The layout plans for the **Urban Water Supply System**. It’s not a magical research project; it’s a task issued by the City Hall.”
“Modo City wants to improve and establish a more comprehensive water supply system.”
“Hope to unify the daily water use of all residents. I’ve made a preliminary plan to draw water from across the river and set up elevated water channels. But the City Hall did not approve; they want the final layout to be simpler and more efficient while lasting at least fifty years.”
“I’m currently reviewing materials to see if I can finish it within this week.”
The other two companions nodded upon hearing this, then cautiously asked, “What about the reward? How much Gind will the City Hall give you?”
The witch pouted and replied, “If it’s Gind as a reward, then I definitely will not accept it. This is one of the renovation plans given to the City Hall by Lady Gloria; completing it can earn me 100 contribution points.”
“Heavens!” The companion witch exclaimed in surprise, then hurriedly added, “Are there any such tasks?”
“So many contribution points!”
“I also want to take one and have a look! Once I complete one, I’ll be qualified to borrow the **Instant Casting** supermagic technique book!”
……………………
(PS: I received an invitation from Durex for the **Unbeatable Legend**, to participate in a matchmaking plan, launching beta testing on July 22, offering 10 million coins to support legal reading. This game is dirty in some aspects but still has some level of principles.
About how to get the 10 million coins, the **Unbeatable Legend** will start today, so you can go in and create a character. I think we can form a **Tower Army**, with names all having “Tower”, such as mine in “Open Sky” region, named “Floating All Things Tower.” After logging in on the 22nd, there’s a card in the package, and eight exclusive prizes can be chosen easily.) (To be continued ~^~)
