Chapter 616 - Chapter 9: The Ant Queen ②
An abdomen of a deep, translucent red, many times the size of a worker ant's body, was attached to it. The abdomen seemed to have no legs, as it was plopped onto the ground. It was trying desperately to change the direction of its body, seemingly hating the glare of the Light, but its movements were sluggish, perhaps due to the paralysis. Or maybe its body was simply too massive to move around easily on its own.
Around the Queen were likely the royal guards. They were much larger than the Red Ants, and those with particularly large heads and jaws were lying overturned. Whether they were paralyzed or dead, I couldn't tell.
"Holy Overflow!"
The attack on the main body began with Harrison-san's holy magic.
"No problems to the rear."
Wilson-san surveyed the surroundings. Since his night vision is effective, he was positioned at the very back.
The vanguard jumped down from the dish. Henry-sama in the center, Harold-sama on the left, and Will on the right.
Next, the second line was Harrison-san. The third line remained on the bowl: Eleanor-sama, Bonnie holding the illuminator, Beatrix, and me. Robinson-san, at the very rear, was the last to jump down toward the back.
Suddenly, a high-pitched sound, like blades scraping against each other, echoed directly inside my head, sending shivers down my spine.
"What is this?!"
A grimacing Beatrix covered her ears with both hands, but it likely had no effect. Just like the Energy Drain we took from the evil spirit before, we weren't hearing the sound; we were feeling it.
"It's Charm. Men, keep your wits about you!"
So this is Charm.
I looked over to see Harold-sama, sword in hand, facing our way. Had he been caught?
"S-Sorry."
In the area Bonnie was illuminating, Henry-sama raised his sword against Will. Will scrambled away in a panic. Henry-sama chased after Will while swinging his sword. His movements weren't fast, as if he were resisting. Will fled while rolling toward the side where the Queen was.
Henry-sama gave chase and began clashing blades with the now-standing Will. The fact that Henry-sama's strikes were being parried by Will must have been because he was being manipulated.
"Stay focused!"
Eleanor-sama's scream echoed through the cave.
"W-What are we going to do?!"
"We can't just leave our allies! We'll ascend slightly to ensure our own safety and then counterattack! Beatrix, prepare Thunder Bolt! Jeanne, stand by!"
Eleanor-sama answered Beatrix's shout. Her eyes were sharp and upturned.
The dish ascended. There was a certain height to the ceiling. They wouldn't reach us unless they had spears.
Beatrix began her incantation. Since the Fire Ball providing light went out, it became dark all at once.
Next, Bonnie illuminated Harold-sama and Harrison-san directly beneath the bowl. The two were thrusting at the bottom of the bowl with a sword and a staff, but it only made dry, clanking sounds. This should be fine. The problem was the magic...
I heard Wilson-san's incantation from a distance. It was a high-level Shield. Normally, Wilson-san would chant without words. As expected, things were not normal.
"Shield!"
"Holy Lance!"
Harrison-san strengthened it. Four shots in a row, no less.
This is bad. This combination is...
The magic released was the 'Something-or-other Saucer' that Eleanor-sama had devised. The disc of the strengthened Shield began to rotate at high speed. Harrison-san strengthened it further with several more Holy Lances. If that thing came flying at us...
Suddenly, Bonnie illuminated the Queen.
"Now! Wilhelmina!"
"Yes!"
Henry-sama and Will, who had been clashing blades, slashed at the Queen with their silver swords.
Caught off guard, the Queen couldn't dodge. Henry-sama thrust his sword into her mouth. Will slashed at her head.
"Jeanne! Eight-shot! Strengthen the Ultimate Flying Circular Saucer all at once! Beatrix, lightning to the Queen's abdomen!"
The bowl we were on accelerated, passing over the Queen's head.
Eh? Eh? Eh?
Without really understanding, I released the Eight-shot. Small lightning-like sparks began to glow around the discs rotating at high speed kyun-kyun.
Beatrix began firing Thunder Bolts at a distant part so as not to hit Henry-sama and the others.
And Wilson-san's 'Something-or-other Saucer' flew toward the Queen, bisecting the area where her huge abdomen and waist were connected.
The Queen was successfully... I think... subjugated.
She seemed quite tough, as Henry-sama and Will stepped on the Queen's body to pull out their embedded swords.
The 'Something-or-other Saucer' sliced through the Queen's massive abdomen vertically. Harrison-san was firing Holy with a reflector into the contents of the abdomen—likely the eggs. Beatrix also fired lightning magic in rapid succession.
As I watched in a daze, the men who had been manipulated returned.
"Hmph. We managed to deceive her quite well."
"It was a splendid performance. As expected of scouts."
"Won't you praise me too?"
"Ah, yes. Of course, Henry, Harrison, Robinson, and Wilhelmina, who matched Henry, were all splendid."
"I thought so, I thought so."
The three delinquent old men were smirking. Harrison-san was laughing, clutching his stomach.
A performance? Does that mean they were pretending to be caught by the Charm?
"Of course. Charm should be a trump card used after confirming the enemy's gender. Since she's a Queen, the ones she'd try to hook would be the men. So, we had Harrison cast Magic Reflection on the men to repel it."
Come to think of it, when we intruded, the women were in front and the men were clustered in the back. I had thought we were in front as shield and lighting personnel, but it seems that wasn't the case.
By the way, Wilson-san is apparently not affected by Charm. What's dangerous for him is apparently Necromancy. Of course, if he isn't recognized as a Revenant, there's no one to cast it on him.
"Wouldn't it have been fine to tell us beforehand?"
Beatrix let out a sigh. It seems the only ones not informed were Beatrix and me.
"According to Paul, who did the acting coaching, it's easier to deceive the enemy if there are people who are genuinely surprised without knowing anything."
Director Paul was secretly active... I mean, active here too!
Could it be that the reason he didn't participate in the banquet, saying he had preparations, was this?
"That's right, Bonnie, who illuminated the men properly and appealed everyone's wonderful performance to the Queen, was also a good director."
"Thank you very much! I'll thank my master who trained me later!"
I knew it.
Normally, the lighting crew should aim for the Queen's eyes to blind her. Yet Bonnie was only aiming at her male allies. Thinking back, it was strange to use Fire Ball for light when there was a lighting crew.
"If we had blinded the Queen and robbed her of her combat ability, there was a possibility she would have buried the cave itself out of spite. If that happened, we would have been buried alive and annihilated. We made her think she could win."
She says terrifying things. I didn't think it was that dangerous.
Harold-sama, who had turned away, was opening his mouth in a strange way and sticking out his tongue. Actually, it might be that Henry-sama and Eleanor-sama just wanted to act.
We defeated her, but what about this hole? There are likely many other rooms for eggs and larvae. If they act independently even without a Queen, we have to annihilate them all. Since we fired two Prominences, the area around the hole likely died, but the nest doesn't end around the Queen's room, and there were reactions to the sides and below in distant places. I don't know how far it spreads, and if we dug it all, it would collapse.
Eleanor-sama hadn't anticipated it being this much and didn't have what could be called a plan in advance.
"Even if we fill the hole, they're ants, so they'll just dig another one, right?"
It's as Beatrix pointed out. Just filling it won't stop the holes from returning.
"What if we store water? If we turn this place into a water tank, the ants likely won't come."
It's Harold-sama.
Whether it's brickwork or stonework, it'll be civil engineering work either way. It'll be quite a task.
However, since no better plan surfaced in the end, Harold-sama's plan was adopted. As a result, on the fifth and sixth days, as foundational work, we set gunpowder to collapse the ceiling of the room where the Queen was, and hardened the collapsed soil into blocks to level the ground. During that time, I acted as the lighting crew. Harold-sama, Harrison-san, and Beatrix moved to the logging team.
On the seventh day, building materials carried by the Paratroop Jaegers... the reason there were thirty people in the tower even though the participating force was ten was so they could coordinate with the outside units to handle tasks like this... were brought in, and foundational work began along with several bowls carrying illuminators.
"One week for just one, finally."
I said to Eleanor-sama as the last day's work finished and we watched everyone leave in order.
The dispatch period for the support group ended. The remaining work will be handed over to the Paratroop Jaegers.
As for results, we defeated the Queen of one ant nest and destroyed the nest. However, there are at least three remaining. Also, the magic circle wasn't found. So, it's just the participation reward. Since the ant Queen isn't a subjugation target, basically no reward is given.
"That's right. But it seems Harold's team defeated quite a few insects and ants in the other sections. Also, they were able to identify the entrances of two nest holes. Thanks to that, the methodology itself is as good as established. All that's left is the flooding of the ant nest we're currently working on, and completely cutting off the holes connected to the third floor by burying them with mortar or soil. By doing that, the northwest section will be considered complete."
The frogs also worked hard, increasing their numbers to forty. Now, the Paratroop Jaegers pour water on them so they don't dry out while they sleep.
"Unfortunately, the Teleportation Circle connected to the Fire Dragon's volcano wasn't found, but that won't be known until the logging progresses, so it'll be a bit later."
Since the Henry Party will be providing support every now and then, they expect to finish by winter.
After that, if the Medioland Royal Great Church provides support, we could exterminate the ant nests themselves.
"Regarding that point, a reply came from Price."
That was fast. Are they motivated?
"Unfortunately, the dispatch of a subjugation team by the Medioland Royal Great Church has been passed over."
"Eh? Is that so?"
"Instead, the Medioland Kingdom Army magic soldiers, with James-sama as commander, will participate. It's expected that the church's monster extermination team will also join as support."
That's amazing. That busy James-sama is going to participate.
It became a larger scale than expected. Harold-sama is clapping his hands in joy. Henry-sama is also all smiles.
"That means the continent is okay, then."
When Beatrix asked, they tilted their heads.
"It's only the magic soldiers, after all. However, King Seldic has apparently advanced into the Demon Realm leading a unit centered on magic soldiers, archers, and the monster extermination team himself. So, they must have judged that there will be no war within the White Island."
Come to think of it, depending on the situation on the continent, it could have even turned into a war within the White Island at worst.
We returned to Nakanohara and had a wrap-up party. When I told the spirits about fighting the ant Queen, Renata was quite surprised.
"Jeanne, how did you manage to defeat something like that?"
"It's not that I defeated her; it was more the Henry Party's tactical victory."
Believing Eleanor-sama's words that she had a plan, I did nothing and just waited for instructions. In the end, I was brilliantly deceived along with the Queen. The opponent was B-rank. At the end, I strengthened the 'Something-or-other Saucer' and Beatrix fired lightning. As a result, Beatrix learned the high-level earth magic Stone Pillar. With this, she's an eight-spell high-level magic user. All that's left is to learn ultra-high-level magic. By the way, I learned the long-awaited Increase Offense. I was happy about that.
"This is from when I was acting with the Demon Race. It was said among them that there are likely no monsters that can win against those things."
That might be true. If you try to oppose that number, you can never win alone. It's better to run.
"Ants... Red Ants, was it? And Red Bees. I've only heard stories, but are they that troublesome?"
Serena seems to have never seen them.
"Look, when the magic power leaked out, insects and animals turned into monsters and went on a rampage, right? At that time, the ants and bees ate quite a few of the insects."
"Is that so?"
That's a surprise. If so, did the ants and bees in the Northeastern Forest protect the humans living in the plains?
"I wonder about that. Insects don't leave the forest. So, it might not have had any impact on humans."
I see. Well, if it had, there would have been damage reports.
"Then, are there bees and ants in the Northeastern Forest too?"
"The thing is, there aren't any."
Did they lose the fierce struggle?
"Those things, you see, they go crazy when the magic power becomes too strong."
"They go crazy?"
Eleanor-sama cut in midway.
"Yeah, they divide their roles, right? Queen ant, male ant, soldier ant, worker ant, I think."
"Something like that."
"When they bathe in magic power that's too strong, it seems that role division stops functioning. It's like a rebellion occurs against the Queen ant's orders."
If that happens, worker ants stop giving nectar to the Queen, and they stop taking care of eggs and larvae. Eventually, everyone except the soldier and worker ants runs out of food and dies, and since the survivors aren't immortal, they eventually die out too.
"Is that true?"
"Yeah, I can understand the words of insects and monsters, after all. I heard it after things calmed down to some extent. The ants and bees had stopped showing themselves."
I heard something good. The reason Lich's research didn't go well might have been due to that. That's likely why the Demon Race made it so Lich only handled worker ants.