Chapter 45: Treasures of the Deep

Lips quivering in impatience, he pushed himself off his makeshift chair and clapped his hands to command attention.

"Let's ransack the place and return."

His subjects stretched their limbs as they moved to the tunnel's maw, as eager to call it a day as he was.

The horrible acidic stench assaulted his nostrils and throat when he stepped inside again.

Chitin fragments cracked under their feet, resounding in their ears with each step they took toward the colony's depth.

As they pushed the carcasses that bloated the passage a few meters ahead and engulfed themselves further in the darkness, his eyes brightened with a sudden idea.

His territory was still in its infancy, but once the grace period ended, he would conquer others and increase its size. Eventually, it'll envelop this entire verdant forest, meaning this intricate tunnel's network would be his.

He tucked his fingers around his chin, the flickering light of his subjects' eyes and hair illuminating his thoughts as they journeyed deeper underground.

'Should I arrange and use it? We can grow crops or conduct research in the future. It can also serve as a shelter for the citizens.'

A continuous flux of ideas popped into his mind for a few minutes before he stepped into a broad cave.

He raised his hand, a command for the others to stop, and scanned the surroundings.

Sticky glue-like liquid marred the walls, the noise of its dripping shattering the silence at random intervals.

'What's that?!'

His eyes widened, and he backed a step, feeling his stomach churn in disgust.

The eggs littering the place sent a shiver down his spine as he watched the embryonic ants swirl in them.

"There are hundreds."

He gasped, averting his eyes not to see the disturbing spectacle.

Finally, he saw the queen's towering frame.

Five times as tall as the regular ants, she inspired a sense of dread and... ironic comedy in his sparkling eyes.

Despite her iron mandibles and abyssal exoskeletons, he stifled a laugh when he noticed her atrophied limbs tremble and despair flash in her multifaceted eyes.

'That's why the general was the boss. She must have appointed him as her guardian and focused on reproduction.'

He inhaled the burning acid sharply, a vicious smirk curling on his lips as his fingers tightened around his short sword.

"Kill her and burn everything to the ground."

Steal, claws, and flames danced in a furious show of savagery and a cacophony of crunching chitin and agonising shrieks.

Unable to move, the queen endured the torture for a brief moment before Bart leapt on her back. His broad ax whistled through the air, vengeance and hate distorting the demon's features as his tensed arms descended.

SRIEK

A blood-curdling shriek pierced the air, causing his heart to tremble and his grip on his sword to loosen as he witnessed a spectacle of pure madness.

CRACK

Blood filled Bart's eyes as he chopped on the queen's neck like an enraged beast. A guttural growl accompanied each strike as the hard chitin cracked open, revealing the thin layer of flesh underneath. Transparent, warm blood drizzled in the cave as he witnessed the final blow.

BOOM

A wave of sticky dust blew his air back as the head collapsed to the unforgiving ground.

He massaged his temple for a second before raising his thumb at Bart.

Like a hero who brought down his justice's hammer on his worst antagonist, the demon roared his bottled emotions out.

"Let him destroy the eggs next."

He turned to his subject, wanting to offer Bart an opportunity to vent all his frustration to concentrate on bringing Shihan back.

As Bart shattered them one after another ruthlessly, he focused on what lay behind the still-hot queen.

He walked on her body like a carpet, disdain and relief fueling his steps.

Once he jumped down, he finally saw them: seven sealed chests glinting a dull dark color.

An eager grin split his face in the face of treasure, making him forget everything as he opened them.

[Unit of Queen Silk x50.]

[Unit of darkness gems x10.]

[Unit of earth gems x10.]

[Unit of Queen acidic solution x100.]

"So much!"

He exclaimed, feeling the iridescent soft silk in his trembling hand. As light as a feather, yet as resistant as leather, dreams of new clothes filled his mind for a second.

Then, he gazed down, looking at his horrible novice robe.

Spots of dried blood covered its once pristine appearance, and the fabric looked rough, if not on the verge of tearing. The engravings that gave it an air of mystery and mysticism were already fading, leaving behind a set of rags.

'I can't wear beggar's clothes as the lord! I'll ask Laura what she can do with Muramasa's help.'

With this thought in mind, he placed the silk back in the chest and fished out the blueprints.

[Basic tailoring workshop blueprint x1]

[Basic stable blueprintx1]

[Basic cart blueprintx1]

[Chitinous helmet blueprint x1]

[Chitinous greaves blueprint x1]

[Chitinous gauntlet blueprint x1]

[Chitinous chest plate blueprint x1]

[Chitinous boots blueprint x1]

His fingers tightened on the papers as joy danced in his sparkling eyes.

Truthfully? He had noticed how the blueprints often mirrored the camp's buildings. Therefore, he only expected the chitinous equipment series to drop, making for a pleasant surprise.

"Hahaha. I'll build a shop for Laura and look for horses soon."

He chuckled, closing the chests' lids and turning to his subjects.

"Let's return before the acid melts our throats. Carry as many carcasses as possible and return for the remaining ones."

Following his orders, Luna and Ondine carried two chests each while he piled three in his arms. The others dragged the heavy queen's body out, each step accompanied by the sound of chitin scraping against the ground.

Once out, the two incredible women condensed two carts: one of peaceful green fires and the other of swirling blue water.

They loaded the carcasses before a fiery and watery stallion pulled everything toward the territory.

Meanwhile, the others charged more carcasses on their shoulders and followed behind. The six imps who had played the entire day under the tomte's supervision helped, too. S~eaʀᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Despite their short frames, they were deceptively powerful. After all, they were level twenty-one and tier two creatures.

Half an hour later, they passed through the protective ethereal walls, dropped everything to the ground, and left again.

Meanwhile, he guided the imps to the demonic altar and raced to the new building as broad as a complex by the river.