Chapter 180: The Queen and the Expert
Ronin's Shadow Clone let fly a kunai, aiming straight for the giant ant's head.
But as the blade closed the distance, it began to shrink rapidly. By the time it
was within a meter of the creature, it had become so small it was invisible to
the naked eye, eventually vanishing into nothingness.
What happened?
Before the clone could process the spatial anomaly affecting the weapon, the
ground beneath his feet buckled again.
The massive, three-tailed serpent had shattered the Genjutsu. Its primal
instinct had bypassed the mental trap, and it had locked onto the intruder once
more.
This time, there was no room for evasion. The giant tail whipped through the
air, striking the clone's defensive forearms with the force of a high-speed
train.
CRACK!
The impact was too much for the construct to bear. The Shadow Clone was
pulverized instantly, dissolving into a cloud of white smoke.
The giant ant watched the smoke dissipate, a flicker of confusion crossing its
compound eyes. Its distended abdomen twitched—a rhythmic, pulsing movement that
suggested whatever was gestating inside had felt the same confusion.
Back in the jungle, several hundred meters away, the real Ronin staggered as the
feedback from the clone hit him. He absorbed every visual and sensory detail of
the encounter.
The distended belly was a clear marker. That creature held supreme status: it
was the Queen.
In a Chimera Ant colony, the Queen is the only one capable of reproduction.
However, the data was contradictory. The Queen possessed no visible Nen, yet she
possessed a defense that negated a high-velocity projectile and a telepathic
ability to communicate with other species.
Ronin analyzed the possibilities:
1. The Queen had used a Condition and Vow to dump all her potential into a
specialized "Invulnerability" or "Spatial Shrinking" defense.
2. She was a non-Nen user, and the defense was provided by a hidden guardian
Ronin's clone had failed to spot.
He leaned toward the latter. The "shrinking" effect felt too clinical, too much
like a high-level Conjurer's Hatsu to be a natural biological trait.
As for the snake-ant with three tails? Ronin dismissed it as a mid-tier threat.
It was likely an elite soldier or a low-ranking guard, but it lacked the
overwhelming aura density of the Royal Guards he remembered from the manga.
Why is this colony so... weak?
Ronin shared his findings with Mashur and Vanessa.
Unfortunately, their knowledge of Chimera Ants was limited to Association
briefings. They couldn't offer the deep biological insights he needed.
"If you think they aren't as strong as the legends say, we should go and see for
ourselves," Mashur suggested.
Ronin hesitated. The serpent wasn't a threat, but the "shivering dread" his
clone felt the moment it entered the cave entrance was a red flag. His instincts
were screaming that the danger in the hive wasn't a physical one.
"Benket's group should be reaching the cave soon," Ronin said, deciding to wait.
While his Shadow Clone had been raiding the hive, Benket's squad had passed the
hidden trio. Ronin, Mashur, and Vanessa had stayed in the shadows, letting the
larger group take point.
Ronin's clone had already cleared most of the small-fry patrols and drawn the
flying ants' attention. The path for Benket was relatively easy.
Mashur and Vanessa weren't saints. If Benket wanted to lead his squad into the
heart of the nest to "investigate," they were happy to let them be the canary in
the coal mine. Everyone who entered this hive had accepted the risk. If things
went south, the trio in the rear would be the only ones with a clear exit
strategy.
Benket continued the advance.
The sudden disappearance of Ronin's trio and the appearance of the Chimera Ants
had disrupted his rhythm, but he was a seasoned coordinator.
He had a biological expert in his squad. After performing a field autopsy on the
ant corpses Ronin had left behind, the expert presented a startling theory.
"The evolutionary line of these ants has diverged from the standard Dark
Continent model," the expert said, adjusted his spectacles.
Phagogenesis allowed a Queen to pass the traits of consumed species to her
offspring.
"But look at these soldiers. They aren't hybrids of local mammals. They are
hybrids of Spiders."
He pointed to the thick, bristled legs, the extra compound eyes on the head, and
the silk-producing glands in the abdomen. They shared nearly identical traits
with the giant arachnids from the skyscraper city.
The reason was likely a restricted diet. The colony had been trapped here for
centuries, feeding exclusively on the pests of the ruins.
The tiger-monsters and scorpions in the jungle were different. They were highly
flammable, plant-based organisms—biological constructs of the Great Tree.
The expert noted that the ants couldn't absorb the "Plant" genes of the
tree-beasts. When they tried to eat them, the meat likely provided no genetic
data, which is why the ants ignored the tigers unless provoked.
"If the ants are evolving, it's because of the intruders," the expert concluded.
"They've started eating humans again since the ruins were breached."
"But the Kurta ruins in the right tunnel mentioned 'Trials'," Benket noted. "The
Kurta have been coming here for a thousand years. If the ants were catching
Kurtas, they should have evolved Scarlet Eyes and high-level Nen centuries ago."
"I don't know," the expert shrugged. "Maybe there's a secret pact. Or maybe the
Kurta weren't here for 'trials.' Maybe they were here for something else
entirely."
"We still haven't found the 'Source Tree' for the other monsters either. It's
illogical for several waves of beast tides to emerge without a primary nursery."
Benket went silent. The Mahavi Ruins were a puzzle with too many missing pieces.
Suddenly, a high-pitched buzzing filled the air.
Winged ants were erupting from the cliffside, swarming toward Benket's position
from the same direction Ronin's clone had just fled.
The harvest was beginning.
☆☆☆
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