Their new pattern was coordinated, intricate, and clearly directed by a higher consciousness.
The Ant Queen had taken full control!
-
The waves of insects struck the barrier again, but this time with alternating strikes, each one perfectly timed to push the defenses to their absolute limit.
Some of the ants changed targets, digging their claws into the stone foundation around the tunnel's entrance, attempting to go around the barrier, while others scattered into the surrounding passageways that wound around the chamber, disappearing into the dark, and preparing to circle around.
Elena narrowed her eyes.
They were clearly trying to flank them.
If the ants reached another entrance, the army would be surrounded from both sides. If that happened, it would be over!
The sheer coordination of the attack was terrifying.
The soldiers of the United Army could now understand why this creature was called a 'Calamity Species'. For those who knew the history surrounding the Age of Chaos, it was hard to imagine just how much more powerful the Beast Kings that existed during that time must have been if this Ant Queen was only a 'Calamity Species', not one of the 'Kings'.
The battle dragged on…
The United Army held their formation, but they didn't make any progress. They didn't need to, they only had to hold their position as long as possible.
Elena's eyes flickered with light, as the ground beneath her feet began to tremble…
Rumbel!
It had finally come!
A deep rumble shook the entire chamber.
Chunks of stone, some as big as buildings, fell from above and quickly vanished into the black fog below. The roots covering the chamber's inner wall writhed like serpents, twisting violently as though reacting to something unseen.
Rumbel!
The ants hesitated, their movements becoming erratic.
Even the Ant Queen was struggling to maintain her control over the ant colony.
An unseen tension filled the air…
Rumbel—! Then, the entire cavern began to roar. Du-du-du-du-du-du! Rumbel!
Hoooooooooooong!
The corrupted World Tree, the monolithic pillar that reached into the sky far above them, had awoken! The ground split as the colossal roots began to move. The walls beneath the layers of roots pulsed with a sickly light as the tree's spiritual energy flared violently in every direction, filling the cavern, and running down the length of each root, regardless of state.
This pulse of red light reached throughout the entire Western Region.
But—
Elena had expected this! She was ready!
When the battle began, she had released her spiritual energy not just to provoke the Ant Queen, but also to draw out the sleeping will of the World Tree itself. This was something that only she could know about!
The corrupted World Tree had a consciousness, though calling it a consciousness was still a bit generous. It was not truly alive, it did not possess wisdom, nor was it aware of anything, at least, that was what they concluded. It was an incomplete Will, a remnant of what the High Elves had once directly engineered into the World Tree during the rise of the Elfefalein Empire.
Felllilth had told her this!
It was a taboo truth buried by history.
The truth?
The World Tree, the treasure of the High Elves, was incomplete!
Now…
What had once served as an artificial mind to regulate the functions of the World Tree had become something else entirely. It had been corrupted, twisted, and even after the High Elves had left, it still had a 'purpose'. It was chaotic and fractured, yet its instincts remained, still seeking out that 'purpose'.
That was all Elena needed to know...
In response to the chaos beneath itself, the Corrupted World Tree's largest roots began to strip themselves away from the chamber walls. They moved like colossal arms, dragging through the tangled mess with a divine force.
This simple motion sent a shockwave through the earth.
The vibrations alone were enough to knock soldiers off their feet.
The entire western region trembled as the underground tunnels connected to this place resonated from the movement.
Elena had successfully broken the balance that had held for millennia. The natural equilibrium that had formed between the 'Ant Queen', the 'Crystal Core', and the 'World Tree' collapsed instantly, and all it took was a little push. Spiritual energy erupted from the massive roots and collided with the mental pressure radiating from the Ant Queen.
BOOM!
The impact was catastrophic!
A second explosion of spiritual energy tore through the cavern, far greater than the one that had occurred when Elena first provoked the Ant Queen. The shockwave crushed everything in its path, flattening tens of thousands of ants and throwing half the United Army backwards, shattering the shields in an instant.
For a heartbeat, the world disappeared into a white light caused by the collision.
—!
When vision returned, the corrupted spiritual energy in the air had grown even denser. It was heavy, suffocating, and carried the smell of rot and soil.
Above them, the air twisted and burned with an unseen power.
And then—
They all felt it!
Hostility, and unimaginable hostility descended like a law. It was pure, unrestrained hostility radiating from the void above.
The World Tree had 'noticed' them!
And with this, the situation only continued to escalate.
-
The massive roots that had torn themselves from the chamber walls stretched outwards with deep, groaning sounds that echoed like ancient drums. They moved deliberately, coiling around fallen debris and lifting enormous fragments of raw stone into the air.
Chunks of rock, some as large as small islands, were caught and suspended by the shifting roots.
Hooooooong!
The sound of their movements was unbearable, almost deafening. The air shook violently, and the vibrations of their powerful movements ran through the ground, climbing into the soldiers' bones until it felt as if their bodies were falling apart from the inside out.
Elena raised her voice and roared a command.
"Scatter—!"
The United Army, which had been holding a defensive formation, broke apart immediately. Swoosh! They moved in an instant, scattering away from the 'falling debris' in different directions.
Groooooooo—!
The roots seemed to be moving slowly, but this was by no means correct. In reality, their slow movements were simply an illusion caused by their size.
A moment later—
The colossal roots slammed downwards!
Grooooooooooooooooooonnnnang—! Ba-BOOOM!! Flash!
Massive boulders, many of which were dozens of meters wide, some even reaching over a hundred, fell like a rain of hammers where they had been! Ba-Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-BANG! Foooosh! They crashed against the tunnel entrance in an endless volley, their impacts producing explosions that shattered the air. Dust and stone erupted in all directions, spreading like a shotgun and engulfing everything around the impact.
Hooooooooooong!
The sound was deafening, a rolling blast that tore through the chamber and blew everything back. The shockwave that followed flattened what remained of the immediate battlefield, clearing over an entire kilometer of space.
The army had managed to move in time, but the force still threw many of them away, some even being tossed into the void below.
For a moment, there was only chaos.
Then—
The next wave of 'attacks' began!
The dust settled, only to reveal several more massive islands being hurled through the air once again. The roots used them like weapons, smashing them against the ground repeatedly. Each impact carved new craters into the already broken terrain.
Elena braced herself and shouted again, her voice cutting through the chaos.
"All non-combatants, retreat! Back into the tunnel!"
BOOOOM!
The order spread quickly. Those too wounded or unable to move freely withdrew, while the defensive line tightened its formation. The offensive shifted forward to cover the gaps, and the 'trump card' advanced toward their position, preparing for what was to come.
Elena scanned the crowd, but many had already died, causing her to grimace.
But at the same time, many still lived!
It was far from over!
The United Army split, half returning to 'safety', while the other half prepared to continue.
They fought desperately as things moved forward…
During this time, the vast amount of spiritual energy saturating the chamber began to interact uncontrollably with the environment.
The High Elven runes that lined the tunnel, the chamber walls, and the enormous Spirit Stone, the Crystal Core, in the chamber's center, all began to 'react'.
Lines of light spread through the ancient carvings
Then, one after another, the runes activated.
Wang!
They flickered to life, returning to the world, and awoke from their millennium of slumber. A deep rumble echoed through the ground as a network of ancient systems came alive all at once.
Golems and arcane constructs emerged from the walls and floors. Some were humanoid, while others resembled beasts or mechanical guardians, but each one radiated the unmistakable signature of High Elven design. They were elegant and refined, with minimalist designs and simple color palettes. The aura each one radiated was at least at the fourth level, some even reaching the fifth.
They were old. Their 'armor' was cracked, their runes were dim, yet the power that poured from them was enough to shake one's resolve.
The constructs immediately moved to defend' the core.
The Ant Queen's army responded in kind.
The chamber erupted again as the two forces collided. Ants swarmed the awakened guardians, their bodies clashing with the flickering constructs.
For the soldiers of the United Army watching from the back, it was a surreal sight.
The chaos that had nearly consumed them moments before had now turned inward.
One of the surviving captains let out a faint, almost disbelieving laugh. "A blessing in disguise…" he muttered.
'It's almost like she knew this would happen...'
Elena's gaze, however, remained locked on the distant core.
Yes, this was exactly what she wanted.
It was impossible alone, but this whole setup was practically a bomb just waiting to go off. Otherwise, it would be impossible to beat the second calamity with just the resources of the Cross Continent.
One had to know that fifth-order existences were the peak on the Cross Continent.
The perfect chain of events had begun to unfold.
As she predicted, the battle between the Ant Queen's Army and the High Elven Guardians immediately drew the attention of the Corrupted World Tree as well.
The core of the battle quickly turned to center around the Crystal Core.
Understanding this, the Ant Queen began to violently inhale, then paused, then let out a high-pitched shriek that shook the entire chamber.
Screeeeeeeeeeeeee—!
The wave of mental energy that rolled through the cavern was like a violent tide, flooding through the ant army, the guardian army, and the united army like a storm. It surged through every corridor and tunnel connected to the chamber, touching everything within its reach, and piercing in like nails, stretching over an unimaginable distance.
Fooosh! It came like a flood!
The moment it struck, everyone felt an invisible weight crush down on them, pressing into their skulls, and vibrating through their bones.
Each soldier felt a sharp, piercing pain in their head.
Then the pressure reversed, pulling back with the same violent force that it had used to extend! Moats of wind followed the pressure, extending, then retracting with the same speed.
Sooooooooosh!
It was unbearable!
For a brief moment, everyone's consciousness flickered, nearly knocking them out.
Like a receding tide, the mental energy drew itself back towards the Queen. As it withdrew, those caught in its reach, which was everyone, felt an immense emptiness, a draining exhaustion that pulled deep from their bones. The pain faded, leaving behind only a hollow sensation.
Then—
Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee—!
She screamed again.
Another, explosive, deep wave of pain resonated through their chests, spreading to every limb, extending upwards, until it felt as if their minds were being torn open by an unseen hand.
Many fell over, while even more fell unconscious. Some even died on the spot.
This time, the sound was also physical.
It ripped through the air like claws scraping across glass, high-pitched and merciless. The mental energy woven into this second scream carried something far worse than before. It wasn't just pressure, it was 'memories' weaponized for war!
The wave spread, striking everything within the chamber.
A storm of compressed memories erupted from the Ant Queen, exploding outwards like a psychic attack. Unlike the first assault, which only pierced their consciousness, this one detonated inside it.
The soldiers, those who still remained standing, had their eyes widen as their minds were filled with whispers, fragments, and chaotic flashes of foreign events and uncontrollable emotions. Their sense of self blurred, as their memories twisted and tangled together.
Pain washed through their bodies and minds.
Their seas of consciousness cracked.
Each soldier began to experience overlapping lives, fragments of memories that weren't their own. Moments of fear, laughter, pain, and despair flashed in front of their eyes as if they were living through their comrades' lives all at once.
Dozens of memories poured into them in a single instant.
Faces of people they had never met. Places they had never seen. Feelings that were not theirs.
Their minds convulsed.
Woosh!
Then, a second wave struck! What was worse, these memories weren't only human, no, this time, the memories were not from their allies…
They came from a time long before the current era, from a small creature's perspective.
- An Ant!
Flashes of emotions and visions exploded in rapid succession. Images of ancient bindings and an uncountable period of torture, of High Elves, glowing chains, and an unmatched agony. The Queen's memories poured into them like oil!
They saw her imprisonment, her rage, and centuries of suffering! And finally, the beginning of the corruption that had spread from above, through the World Tree, and into its body. The countless years of agony and despair were compressed into mere seconds. The remaining soldiers screamed as the flood of foreign memories relentlessly tore through their minds.
Some collapsed, some fell down, and some exploded on the spot.
The air rippled, trembling with a psychic distortion, and a twisted mix of mental and mystic energy. As this unfolded, Elena flared her spiritual energy in an attempt to block it for herself, and as many of the comrades behind her as possible.