Chapter 28: Five Minutes of Judgment

Lucifel Holy Domain.

Everyone was in the middle of preparing their defenses with total effort.

Fortunately, they didn’t have to tear down the existing production facilities. On the contrary.

“The young master asked us to preserve the economic power of the Lucifel Holy Domain as much as possible.”

The reason this request was possible was simple.

“I never thought Marshal Humildas would give us this much material.”

“The young master obtained it through negotiations.”

“How on earth did he win over that stingy man?”

Lord Park could only let out a hollow laugh. The secret to the negotiation? He didn’t know his filial son had used the fire attribute. Of course, even if he knew, he wouldn’t be particularly shocked. After all, his son had always been a bit of a delinquent.

“More importantly, why haven’t we seen a single alien? Any word from the scout ships or other colonies?”

“Not yet, sir.”

It was truly strange. According to his troublemaker son’s claims, the enemies should have been swarming by now.

“It’s too quiet, like the calm before a storm.”

That made him even more anxious. He had no way of knowing that the storm had already bypassed them.

“Still, it’s for the best. It gives us more time to prepare.”

***

*Thud! Boom! Rrrrrumble!*

The ships plummeted toward the Blue Moon. In reality, it was only a moon in appearance.

“Charge! Wipe them out!”

Its interior was a spaceship.

“Let’s go too.”

I stood up from my seat.

“Young master! It’s dangerous. Wouldn’t it be better to just stay on the ship?”

“When you come to a palace, it’s only natural to have an audience with the Queen.”

The Ant Queen actually held a title of nobility. When she first invaded this galaxy, her forces numbered 30,000 ships. Now, they had shrunk to a mere 1,000.

“And besides, wouldn’t it be more dangerous here?”

I turned my head and gestured with my chin. In the distance, the scattered Ant ships were hurriedly returning.

‘Is there even one disgruntled person among them?’

In a fit of rage, one might try to kick our defenseless backsides. In reality, they probably wouldn’t have the luxury. They would be too busy returning to the nest to protect their Queen.

“Ah…!”

“And a promise made must be kept.”

I glanced at Su Dong-tae. He was huffing through his nose, clearly excited. Despite that, he didn’t act rashly and stayed right by my side. If he was this disciplined, his loyalty would likely remain intact even if his revenge failed.

“Well then. Shall we go meet the Queen?”

I walked out of the situation room. A squad of soldiers followed behind me. The personnel from the situation room were no exception, as they could be attacked at any moment. Of course, the probability of the ship being attacked was nearing zero.

So why was I going personally?

‘I need to grow as well.’

The Force becomes stronger the closer one is to death. It doesn’t mean one should throw themselves into danger recklessly.

When someone with the Force dies, fragments are released. Those fragments stimulate the Force of those nearby.

I learned this because of a certain eccentric Marshal. He personally beheaded every prisoner in his territory. In a way, wasn’t he the true delinquent Marshal?

“Woooooooaaah!”

The Queen’s nest was noisy with shouts. The mercenaries were going wild to kill even one more enemy.

“That one’s mine! Get out of the way!”

The reason was simple. Bonuses were to be paid differentially based on military merit. Everyone was wearing body cams, so it wouldn’t be difficult to distinguish who did what.

And there was another reason.

“We must capture the Queen as quickly as possible! Anyone who finds the Queen’s chamber will be paid 3 billion Halzen!”

“Woooooooaaah!”

Even for adults, a treasure hunt is very exciting.

“Hurry and kill the Queen!”

And if we didn’t catch the Queen? We were scheduled to be wiped out. This was a time limit. Even if we packed every ship with mercenaries, the enemy’s numbers were overwhelmingly superior to ours.

“Dong-tae.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Where is the Queen’s chamber?”

“It changes frequently. They move whenever a room is filled with eggs.”

I nodded.

“We’ll go that way.”

“Understood.”

Everywhere we went was filled with the traces of battle. Broken and severed ant body parts were scattered about. Instead of blood, the floor was sticky with the distinct fluid of ants. It stuck to the bottom of my shoes with every step.

*Bang! Screeech!*

Whenever something was still moving, I finished it off. Each time, the soldiers from the situation room flinched. They weren’t used to combat.

“Aaaargh!”

Occasionally, we encountered the bodies of allies or wounded soldiers. Medics were hurriedly tending to them.

“I’ll go there for a moment.”

When the condition was critical, the medic stepped in. She crawled forward quickly and bit down with her venomous fangs.

The Naga race can freely change the components of their venom. Depending on the situation, it can be used as poison or medicine. Since it was infused with the Force, the effect was fast and powerful. The truly terrifying part was when it was used as poison. That’s why one shouldn’t mess with a medic unless they want to be assassinated.

“He… help me!”

There were also iron cages scattered about. Various races were imprisoned inside.

“Dong-tae. Free them.”

“Su Dong-tae is on it, Master.”

He stepped toward the cage.

*Crack! Crash!*

He simply ripped the iron door off. It was incredible strength. I was truly glad he was on my side.

“Sojin, distribute weapons.”

“Understood.”

The logistics personnel following behind handed out weapons to the prisoners. The thing to watch out for was this:

“Long live the Queen!”

There was always someone who would turn the spear the other way.

*Thwack!*

Such individuals were easily suppressed. Most of the prisoners didn’t have much strength anyway, likely due to a lack of food.

“Before handing out weapons, check if they’ve been brainwashed.”

“I’m not sure how to distinguish them,” the logistics soldier said, looking flustered.

I decided to show them a demonstration.

“You there!”

I pointed to one of the prisoners.

“Me… me? Are you talking to me?”

“Yes. Say ‘Entitutika is a fucking bitch’!”

“How could I dare…”

Before the man could finish his sentence.

*Whack!*

I swung my crowbar.

“Gah!”

He rolled across the floor. Perhaps because it was a sacred object, it felt good in my hand. The slight vibration was strangely exciting.

“Don’t kill them. Just bind them and knock them out. Once the Queen dies, the brainwashing will break.”

They were precious resources. Most of them were likely people the ants had dragged away during their piracy. That meant they knew how to handle ships. Crew members were valuable personnel.

“Yes, sir!”

The manual for treating prisoners was disseminated to the entire unit. Why give weapons to these weaklings and set them free? Because we needed every bit of help we could get. We had to buy as much time as possible until the Queen was secured.

“Ple… please give me a weapon too!”

A man with one missing leg knelt before me.

“My wife. My child. They were all brutally eaten. Right in front of my eyes… *hic*!”

Most of the prisoners were filled with rage. There was a high probability that their colleagues, families, or friends had been eaten. They would fight the enemy tenaciously.

“Give weapons to those who want them.”

As a side note, ordinary ants didn’t have weapons. They had hard exoskeletons and sturdy jaws. Their appearance wasn’t much different from giant ants. That’s why we had to provide the weapons.

[Queen discovered! Sharing coordinates!]

“Woooooooaaah!”

Cheers erupted along with the radio transmission. She was found earlier than expected.

“Let’s head that way too.”

***

Once the Queen’s chamber was discovered, troops swarmed in.

There wasn’t exactly a bounty on her head, but everyone was still aggressively trying to catch the Queen.

“So if we just catch that thing, it’s over?”

She was an overwhelming four meters in size.

“How insolent. How dare you come here. Who is your leader?!”

The Queen’s Force trembled slightly. She was terrified by this unexpected situation. Even as her fleet of tens of thousands shrank to 1,000 ships, she had never once faced a real threat. She was truly a flower in a greenhouse. But now, the situation was different.

“Do not answer her questions! Don’t even look her in the eye!”

The captains of each ship warned their subordinates.

It was for good reason. The Queen had a knack for bewitching people. If one’s Force or mental strength was strong, they might endure it. However, there was no need to expose oneself to such danger.

“Captain 21, take the left.”

“Then we’ll take the right.”

The two units that arrived first immediately began their attack.

*Rat-tat-tat-tat! Bang! Bang!*

They used ranged weapons to distract her first. It was a textbook method.

*Screeeech!*

The Queen screamed, twisting her entire body. Due to her overwhelming size, powerful Force, and strong exoskeleton, ranged attacks weren’t very effective.

“We must secure the Queen before the enemy arrives! Attack!”

Both captains drew their swords and charged. Normally, they would have left it to the combat soldiers, but they had recently changed jobs. They had to prove their worth to their new superior somehow. Thus, most captains had personally led their troops into the nest.

*Clang! Clang! Clang!*

However, melee weapons barely worked either. The Queen’s combat instincts were laughably poor, but her physical stats were overwhelming.

“Aaaargh!”

Combat soldiers were torn apart and flung away. To make matters worse…

*Crunch!*

She even ate them alive. Blood streamed down her mouth.

“Damn it!”

The combat soldiers began to feel afraid. Fear was slowly contagious. Those firing guns from the rear also stepped back.

Just then.

“Why is everyone dawdling?”

A beautiful voice came from behind. Contrary to the voice, the burly Captain of Ship 97 approached with a large sword slung over his shoulder. He had a look that naturally inspired confidence.

“The Queen’s resistance is formidable.”

At first, everyone had underestimated the Ant Queen because the ants in this galaxy were weak. However, the Queen before them was in a different class.

“Tsk. I’ll cut her down in one stroke. It’s a shame to kill such a pretty thing right away, but it can’t be helped.”

“Oh! How reliable.”

“Good luck. We’re counting on you!”

The Captain of Ship 97 charged toward the Queen.

“Out of the way! Move!”

The combatants attacking the Queen hurried to clear a path. Faced with his ferocious momentum, the Queen also grew tense and took a defensive posture by pulling her front legs together.

*Whoosh!*

The Captain of Ship 97 leaped high into the air. He raised his massive sword with both hands. Every muscle in his body writhed. He looked like an illustration from a myth.

“Die! Storm Mad Slash, First Style!”

The sword emitted a flash of light as it descended.

However.

*Thud!*

The Captain of Ship 97 was swatted away by the Queen’s clumsily swung front leg.

*Crash! Flutter!*

He flew all the way to the wall and got stuck. Seeing as there was no movement, he seemed to be dead or unconscious.

“It’s not easy…”

The allies, who had been full of anticipation, were completely let down. The only saving grace was the arrival of reinforcements.

“I heard she was found, but she hasn’t been caught yet?”

“Is there still a chance for us?”

“Oh, so that’s the Queen.”

Additional troops arrived one after another. Despite that, there was no clear solution. The Queen’s chamber was spacious, but it wasn’t large enough to fit all the troops. The soldiers’ enthusiasm also waned. Even if they were mercenaries who lived with their lives on the line, it was impossible not to feel afraid when their comrades were dying right next to them.

*Thump! Thump! Thump!*

At that moment, someone approached from afar, limping.

“I guess she’s not caught yet.”

It was Judah, the scion and master of this army.

***

The captains looked ashamed.

“No need for everyone to be discouraged. She’s overexerting herself right now.”

Beyond the large entrance, the Queen looked composed.

“She may look fine on the outside, but her internals must be overloading.”

Just a little more pressure was needed. Even now, her internal flesh was likely melting due to overheating. That said, there was no reason to waste troops needlessly.

“Everyone, fall back!”

Saying that, I headed toward the room.

“It’s dangerous, Captain!”

the deputy commander stopped me.

“Then you can just protect me.”

The Queen’s chamber was littered with an enormous number of corpses. It was right to step in, even if just for a moment. But since I couldn’t say that outright…

“Since I’ve come all this way, I should at least say hello.”

I simply pretended to be bold. If Su Dong-tae hadn’t been by my side, I wouldn’t have gone in even if someone pushed me. The deputy commander wasn’t someone who could handle this.

*Thump, thump, thump.*

I limped into the room. The Queen looked down at me. Since she was an insect, I couldn’t see her expression. However, dark energy surged around her. She was terrified.

“I am Judah of the Park Family, successor to the Lucifel Holy Domain Governor under Marshal Humildas’s office. If you surrender, I will kill you painlessly.”

“You’re Park Yu?! The one who stopped Sagittarius’s detachment with only one patrol unit?”

She seemed to know me. Well, considering she had given up her plans to plunder the Lucifel Holy Domain, I had expected as much. It was a butterfly effect caused by me.

“So my reputation has spread even here.”

“If I had known this was your army, I wouldn’t have fought…”

What if she had slowly fled while guarding the nest? I wouldn’t have had any way to deal with it. Then I would have been unhappy because I wouldn’t have made any money. I had staked my entire fortune on the ships, after all.

“It’s over, so surrender. Then I’ll kill you without pain.”

“Ple… please spare me. I will cooperate with you.”

That was bullshit. Only an idiot would trust the Ant race. Even if that weren’t the case, they had no productivity. Even if I tried to use her as an egg-laying factory, I would have to feed her living people. There were occasionally vegan queen ants, but she wasn’t one of them. There were too many other restrictions as well.

“Rejected!”

“Then die!!!”

She charged forward rapidly, swinging her sharp front legs. Despite that, I stood still.

*K-boom!*

A massive man lunged in front of me.

*Shatter!*

With a single punch, Su Dong-tae blew away the incoming front leg. The giant limb was torn off and went flying.

*Screeeech!*

The Queen screamed and stumbled back. Fluid gushed from the wound.

“You… you’re a slave?!”

The Queen recognized Su Dong-tae too late. For the record, there were no members of the Small-Head race in our galaxy.

“Master. Please give me the chance to take my revenge personally. Five minutes will be enough.”

Su Dong-tae knelt before me. If I granted this, his loyalty would be permanently fixed at 100.