"It's only been so long since the last battle, and now monsters are bursting out of the unexplored forest and swarming us again!"
The observation from the frontline fortress, relayed through communication magic, flew straight to the lord's castle in an instant.
Count Dyke, who had been looking increasingly haggard lately, openly grimaced upon hearing the news.
"Even so, I heard we killed a good number of those monsters back then. And already...?"
"They multiply at speeds beyond imagination."
The ants gave them no respite.
The moment they recovered their forces, they charged straight into war without a second's hesitation.
In fact, Seira, who had faced them from the very beginning—when they could still be called fledglings—and truly tasted their terror and might, had begun full-scale research on the ants that was unrivaled in the territory.
"We have no choice, my lord. We must join forces with the orcs and fight. We can't repeat the same mistake twice."
Seira gazed at Count Dyke with cold eyes.
She was pointing out how, in the past, when the goblin forces of the unexplored regions had proposed uniting to eliminate the ants, the lords had refused.
They had hesitated, questioning how they could trust mere goblins, and in the end, failed to stop the ants.
Repeating the same mistake and result for the same reason—what could be more foolish?
"...Damn it all. What in the world is happening to this realm? All I ever wanted was peace."
In the end, Count Dyke had no choice but to make a decision he wasn't thrilled about.
The moment he, the de facto leader of the local lords opposing the Golden Mandate Society and its allied lords who claimed to follow the goddess's will, made that call, the entire north mobilized.
They had finally declared all-out war against the ants in alliance with the orcs.
"Seira Redenverk, I hear you've studied those monsters in depth and conducted extensive research. Would you join us in meeting the orcs and briefing them on the creatures?"
In the midst of it all, Count Merlen—a priest and mage affiliated with the Golden Mandate Society—approached Seira as the representative for negotiations.
He had taken note of the research results she had gathered one by one while investigating the ants and participating in battles herself.
She had uncovered and strongly asserted much about their proliferation rate, their trait of evolving and growing stronger, and more.
"So many people live forgetting the importance of exploration. Even mere adventurers study a beast's habits before hunting it. Does it make sense to fight an enemy without even knowing what it is?"
"Well said."
In truth, Count Merlen, who had come as Daniel's successor, was similar to Daniel yet different.
Where Daniel had focused on politics, Count Merlen concentrated on the ants themselves, now his sworn enemies.
Where Daniel had shown interest in Seira's talents, he was drawn to her ideology and plans.
"At such a young age, you're already at the 4th circle. Your mana affinity seems promising too. Don't you aspire to swim in greater waters someday?"
He was even scheming to bring her under his wing entirely.
After all, he was a mage and the head of a school with many disciples.
Seira fell silent for a moment, reminded of Daniel's past persuasions to join the Golden Mandate Society under him.
She had never imagined the path to advancement she once so desperately desired would open like this.
"Monsters have appeared ahead! They're attacking a small fortress in Perie Territory right now!"
But she couldn't answer Count Merlen on the spot.
A mage who had been conducting aerial reconnaissance via familiar suddenly cried out in alarm from beside her.
"It's a monster hunting pack...! How did they get here so fast?"
Seira's voice trembled as she spotted the horde of ants fiercely assaulting a distant fortress.
A single hunting pack, numbering at least 500, was besieging the fortress, where desperate survivors—including refugees—were locked in a brutal struggle for life.
"In peacetime, they divide into countless packs of a few hundred and plunder and attack indiscriminately across vast areas. Then, when needed, they gather the required number of packs into a larger force to fight."
"So those are just one hunting pack?"
Count Merlen glanced back after hearing Seira's explanation.
They weren't heading to war right now.
They were en route to proper negotiations with the orcs, with whom they would soon fight as allies.
Thus, their forces weren't numerous.
Though a mix of knights, mages, priests, and various other combatants, their numbers fell short of a thousand.
"It's not on the schedule, but we can handle it. We must save that fortress."
"Agreed. We need to fight while their numbers are low and rack up some merits!"
The northerners urged Count Merlen to engage.
Most had lost homes, families, or subordinates to the ants.
Naturally, their grudge ran deep.
'No sign of the biggest ones. Is it because they're slow? Not many seem resistant to holy power either.'
Seira quickly analyzed the ants.
Scanning the mutant ants mixed in, she judged it feasible.
There were no variant soldier ants like the terrifying giants that had pierced through soldiers' formations on the battlefield she witnessed, and only a few blade ants that ignored holy power while swinging jaw-blades like scythes.
"Good. Let's aid them before it's too late!"
Count Merlen nodded, having heard Seira's report in full, and made the call.
After hasty reorganization, they charged en masse, slamming into the flank of the ants besieging the fortress.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Subordinates detect new enemies. Hive judgment: Retreat impossible. Calling nearby hunting packs while engaging in combat.
Of course, the ants detected their approach and began preparing.
The ants' choice was to meet them head-on.
"...Maybe the time isn't right yet?"
Jin-hyuk, who had received the alert and was watching the battle in the region, muttered softly with a question.
The hunting packs scattered everywhere were drawing attention across the north with attacks, but they hadn't engaged in large-scale battles yet.
You can't clap with one hand alone. With enemies hunkered down in fortresses on the defensive, the ants opted to sweep through unplundered areas lightly rather than massing a great army to breach one spot.
Yet in that process, the hive kept the newly created rank of soldiers on standby at the nest instead of deploying them.
For Jin-hyuk, who had inwardly anticipated these variant hornet ants shining against the Golden Mandate Society, it was a baffling move.
Ants never acted without reason thus far, so he assumed there was some other intent.
"Venom spray incoming!"
"Raise shields! Priests, bless the soldiers!"
Thanks to that, the ants fighting up front were ones whose intel was already known.
Led by people like Seira, those researching ants were gradually learning how to counter them and honing their skills.
It was worlds apart from the early days when just seeing the ants—unlike typical beasts—caused panic and flailing.
"Gahhh!"
"Why are these bastards so tough..."
But the ants' 'growth' wasn't limited to birthing new variants.
The queen continually refined the genes of later generations based on accumulated experience.
Granting forms better suited for combat, freer use of specialized traits like stingers and blades.
Legs lengthened for better stabbing with venom stingers, excretory organs strengthened for more potent sprays, and so on.
Thus, those locked in bloody combat with the hunting pack before the small fortress had no room for leisure—they fought with desperate resolve.
"Why aren't you helping the forces inside the fortress?!"
"S-Some monsters have broken inside and are causing chaos. We probably can't assist."
"These cunning devils...!"
Count Merlen, who had swept away ants with flame bursts, grimaced and gnashed his teeth, sweat beading on his face.
Above all, the ants possessed the hive mind—the strongest weapon their foes lacked.
All individuals shared situations in real-time, moving mechanically toward the hive's sole purpose.
No matter how accustomed one grew, they could never mimic that precise organization and group combat prowess—a divine authority in itself.
'This much even now—if we're outnumbered too, it's over.'
Seira, her face pale from mana expenditure, swallowed dryly at the sight of multiple ants swarming a knight swinging a greatsword like a windmill.
"St-stop... Aaaagh!"
He slew or slashed a few, but they seized the opening, ripping at limbs, stabbing armor gaps and weak points with stingers until one pierced through his visor straight into his eyeball. The knight screamed and collapsed.
Each ant acted and moved like a precision killing machine.
And in groups, they synced perfectly without a single tangle.
That was why no one could afford a moment's lapse against the ants.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Subordinates prepare to withdraw. They have already achieved minimum objectives.
But those on site, including Seira, hadn't realized the ants had shifted to the next phase.
Judging they had killed enough to prevent pursuit and drained the foes' strength, the ants turned and fled without attachment—to preserve as many individuals as possible.
'They'll be exhausted. If they'd fought to the end, we might have wiped them out.'
Jin-hyuk hardened his expression at the sight of people venting frustration and hollow fury at the ants fleeing in unison.
Their goal was saving the fortress, so it was a victory for them. But emotions pushed to the brink in the fierce fight didn't subside so easily.
The ants, however, were different. The instant the order came, they could fight or turn without hesitation.
"Everyone, calm down. We won, and we saved the fortress."
Of course, some like Count Merlen quickly composed themselves to consider what came next.
'It's clear. They've definitely grown stronger. Is it because they're monsters blessed by a truly evil outer god?'
Leaning on her staff plunged into the ground to catch her breath amid the crowd, Seira bit her lip at the sight of over half the ants surviving.
Unaware that the outer god was watching her even now.
'That silver-haired woman—I think I saw her last time too.'
"...!"
Suddenly sensing something, Seira looked up at the sky, chills crawling up her nape.
At the same time, Jin-hyuk, watching via screen, glanced skyward too and recognized her face clearly.
Though separated by vast distance, it was their first eye contact like this.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Subordinates detect approaching new enemies.
"Huh?"
And the incident wasn't over.
From the distant plains, a band of orcs charged at full speed toward the retreating ants, which had seemed to withdraw smoothly.