Chapter 47: Ants vs. Apocalids

The synthesis of Source Combat Muscle and Superhuman Strength Muscle hadn’t even begun.

[Not enough Evolution Points.]

“Why does this need ten million Evolution Points?”

In the Dimension War, he’d never needed this many Evolution Points before.

“I thought three million would be enough. If it takes ten million, maybe something amazing will come out.”

Choi Kangjoong decided to synthesize another Evolution Code.

[Synthesizing Wind Flight and Law Distortion with three million Evolution Points.]

The icons representing Wind Flight and Law Distortion entered the table.

[Extracting thrust generation and weight control from Wind Flight.]

[Extracting inertia distortion and resistance distortion from Law Distortion.]

[Psionic Combat Nerve is involved in Evolution Code synthesis.]

[Source Energy infuses the new Evolution Code.]

[Wind Flight and Law Distortion have been synthesized into Source Distortion Flight.]

Choi Kangjoong applied Source Distortion Flight to the flying Apocalid.

“Fly.”

The Fighter Giant lifted off from Ku-eong’s back.

It changed direction while flying straight or stopped suddenly.

Its head spun swiftly, and its speed would suddenly slow as if someone were grabbing it. Its flight ability was clearly superior to just Wind Flight.

“No more worries about the sky now.”

He applied Law Distortion to the Titan and Super Titan Class.

With just that, acceleration, turning speed, and more improved dramatically.

“Let’s go.”

“Ku-eong.”

Ku-eong, now much lighter, moved forward.

Its speed was much faster than before.

“Which dimension of the Separate Sea should I start eating first?”

The three dimensions of the Separate Sea each had different owners.

One dimension was the factory of the Dark Elf pirates.

They made dimensional ships by hand, but because there were so many, their production volume was enormous.

One dimension was filled with Monsters.

There was a massive IANT colony, with Hydra and Drake also living there.

All were under the Dark Elf pirates’ control, so conflicts were rare.

The last dimension was inhabited by Dark Elves.

They had refused to become pirates and were turned into slaves instead.

There were as many as ten million such Dark Elves.

The nautical chart noted that Dielka was conducting a liberation operation there, so caution was advised.

“Obviously, I should smash the factory first…”

The problem was that the factory dimension was low on nutrients.

It was mostly minerals, so even if he devoured it, he probably wouldn’t get even a million Evolution Points.

While pondering, Choi Kangjoong had a good idea.

“Ku-eong, don’t you want to try firing a breath?”

“Ku-eong.”

“Go alone and shoot a breath.”

“Ku-eong.”

“I’ll send just three Skyeye Giants to the Dark Elf dimension, and let’s devour the Monster dimension with the rest.”

“Kruek.”

Ku-eong relocated the Apocalid in its belly and moved separately.

Even alone, it was so massive that there was no worry of it dying.

If things got dangerous, it could just unleash a Great Mana Storm and hide.

The three Skyeye Giants also set out across the dimensional sea, positioning themselves above the Dark Elf dimension.

Poor facilities and grimy Dark Elves could be seen.

Some Dark Elves were being beaten by pirates.

It was easy to distinguish between pirates and others.

Pirates had short hair and many tattoos on their bodies.

“There they are.”

The Monster dimension came into the Skyeye Giant’s sight.

The Dark Elves in the Monster dimension had already noticed the Apocalid’s approach and were moving busily.

“The fights so far really have been too easy.”

In Dimension War, even from the mid-game, it was standard to surround the entire main dimensional base with a Shield.

It could take days to break through with Mana Cannon, so you’d have to bombard it with Bio Torpedoes or fire a breath attack.

“There’s not even a Shield here, so this should be easy.”

The main force in the Monster dimension was the IANT.

Like in the Kraken Sea, the IANT Queen was captured and being controlled.

The difference was that there were far more IANTs now, and the ant types were more diverse.

Kuung! Kuung! Kuung!

Giant cannon ants, even bigger than Cannon Giants, emerged from their tunnels, turned their bodies, and lifted the ends of their abdomens.

Their abdomens swelled, then shrank abruptly, and blue masses fired from their tails.

Their rate of fire was low and their speed slow, but their power was tremendous.

“Doesn’t matter if they miss.”

The Titan Class Apocalid weaved in an S-shape.

The projectiles from the cannon ants were so slow they just sliced through empty dimensional sea.

Kwaang!

One unlucky Titan got hit by a barrage from a hundred cannon ants.

A gaping hole was blown open, and even the small Apocalid inside was killed.

If not for Death Resistance and Rapid Regeneration, it would’ve needed to be sent back to the Apocalid dimension for treatment—it was a critical wound.

“They’re strong, all right. Make Bio Torpedoes.”

[Producing Bio Torpedo.]

[Producing Bio Torpedo.]

[Producing Bio Torpedo.]

[Producing Bio Torpedo.]

[Producing Bio Torpedo.]

Bio Torpedoes made in the Titan Class Apocalid’s bio-factory were transferred to the launchers.

He wished he could fire a hundred at once to wipe out the cannon ants, but that would use too many nutrients.

He decided to launch only twenty for suppression.

“Fire.”

From the backs of the eighteen Apocalids—combining Titan and Light Titan—Bio Torpedoes surged forth.

The torpedoes flew toward designated cannon ants.

Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!

Cannon ants hit by the Bio Torpedoes exploded.

The devastating attack made the cannon ants falter.

“Attack.”

Bio Pods dropped from the Titans’ bellies.

The Bio Pods adjusted their trajectory toward the cannon ants.

Kwajik! Kwajik! Kwajik!

As the Bio Pods crushed the cannon ants upon landing, Lutal emerged.

“Kruek.”

The first thing Lutal did was locate the IANT Queen.

Using the eyes and brain of the Skyeye Giant, it identified probable locations for the IANT Queen.

It was in a Dark Elf fortress near the Hydra or Drake.

Bwoong.

An Air Scout darted in to check the interior.

Ignoring death, it would enter and pinpoint the IANT Queen’s position.

“It’s inconvenient without Kai.”

Choi Kangjoong decided to acquire a stealth-related Evolution Code after this battle.

The cannon ants were torn apart by the Giants and blasted by Mana Cannons, their numbers dwindling rapidly.

Then, soldier ants and flying ants poured out from the tunnels.

They were one and a half times bigger than those he’d seen in the Kraken Sea.

“They may be bigger, but my Scouts are stronger.”

His Scouts were loaded with all sorts of superior Evolution Codes.

Just as Choi Kangjoong expected.

The Scout dodged the soldier ant’s massive jaws, ducked under, and severed its legs.

A legless soldier ant was a prime lump of nutrients for a Worker to carry away.

With a leap attack, it climbed onto the ant’s back and sliced its neck.

Warrior and Giant didn’t even need mention.

One swipe of the Warrior’s sickle brought down a soldier ant.

When the Giant swung its sickle claws, several ants were cut in two.

“Flying ants shouldn’t be a problem either.”

In Dimension War, it was hard for Apocalids to have proper anti-air defenses.

So when tens of thousands of flying ants swarmed like now, they were hard to counter.

“But this is reality.”

-Eliminate them.

The Central Command Giant rose high and deployed the Apocalid Field.

The approaching flying ants dropped in droves.

Kwakwakwakwakwakwa-quang!

Mana shells exploded in the air, blasting the flying ants to pieces.

Those that scattered were finished off by the flying Apocalids.

The flying ants tried to cling quickly and cut through their foes with powerful jaws as usual.

Buuuuung!

The flying ants’ compound eyes, made up of fifty thousand facets, tracked every detail of their enemies.

They were extremely sensitive to movement and could see in 360 degrees, giving them aerial superiority.

They dodged incoming spikes with minimal movement.

When passing the enemy, they grabbed it with their legs and bit its head to win.

As the distance closed to nearly zero, they tucked in their legs.

A flood of question marks filled the flying ant’s brain.

It should’ve caught the enemy between its legs, but the foe had slipped away with inexplicable flight.

The flying ant could see it with its excellent eyes, but lacked the flight ability to chase.

The result: it got hit by a spike at point-blank range.

Puk! Puk! Puk!

Kaitin Spikes pierced the flying ant’s torso.

Muscles tore, and its guts spilled out.

No longer able to maintain flight, the flying ant crashed.

Workers scurried over to drag the flying ant to the digestive pit.

Now giant ants began to emerge from the tunnels.

Bigger and heavier than Giants, they made the ground quake with each movement.

-Eliminate them.

The Central Command Giant sent out a Giant.

The Giant charged at the giant ant, twice its size.

Kuuung.

The giant ant weighed several times more than the Giant.

But the one being pushed back wasn’t the Giant, but the giant ant.

That was the power of Source Combat Muscle.

The giant ant toppled over, pushed by the Giant.

In the wild, a vulnerable posture was fatal before a predator species focused solely on feeding.

Kwajik!

The Giant’s raised sickle claws plunged into the giant ant’s head and thorax.

As it pulled them out, fluids and entrails gushed out.

-Eliminate them.

The soldier ants swarming the Giant were dealt with by the Central Command Warrior’s Apocalid Field.

Kuwuuuuuh!

The Drake and Hydra started moving.

The Dark Elves judged that they couldn’t win with just the IANT.

Lutal fell into deep thought.

Should it seek out and eliminate the IANT Queen?

Or deal with the A-class Monsters like the Drake and Hydra?

If it took out the IANT Queen, the IANTs would fall into chaos and even attack the A-class Monsters.

If it eliminated the A-class Monsters first, it could definitely reduce losses among the small Apocalids.

“Kruek.”

It seemed possible to handle both, but it was an ambiguous situation with no clear solution.

Lutal’s stress levels spiked.

If it were human, it’d be going mad with frustration.

[The will of the Brutal Lord accelerates evolution.]

[Discovered evolutionary potential in the Apocalid Fighter Giant individual.]

[Please choose the evolution direction.]

[1. Stealth Bomber: Stealthy enough to reach the enemy’s core and big enough to inflict sufficient damage. The enemy will suffer a bombing to the heart without ever knowing what hit them.]

[Acquire stealth ability, evolve Kaitin Cannon, utilize knowledge of the Outer Mind, evolve into a Central Unit.]

[2. Wide Sensor: Can see even in places that are invisible. Even thick walls cannot block the detection power of the Wide Sensor.]

[Evolve observation organs, generate active detection organs, utilize knowledge of the Outer Mind, evolve into a Central Unit.]

[3. Flight Booster: An Apocalid that assists the Central Unit. Can combine with the Central Unit to act as a single body.]

[Enhance flight ability, generate nervous system linkage, utilize knowledge of the Outer Mind, evolve into a Central Unit.]

“You…?”

“Kruek.”

Even as Choi Kangjoong was surprised, Lutal urged him to hurry and choose.

“I’ll pick quickly.”

Choi Kangjoong quickly reviewed the options.

As expected of a special individual, there was nothing bad here.

“If I had Stealth Bomber, I wouldn’t even need to send Ku-eong to the factory dimension.”

He could incinerate all the factories without getting detected.

“Wide Sensor could see underground, too. It’s not bad, but Kai can figure that out even better.”

Since Wide Sensor overlapped a lot with Kai, he decided not to pick it.

“Flight Booster? This is basically detachable wings.”

The only flaw with Lutal, who was otherwise perfect, was the lack of flight ability.

It could ride a flying Apocalid, but that was never as good as flying itself.

In the fiercest battlefields where Lutal was, its durability would constantly be put to the test.

“If it has Flight Booster, Lutal will be able to fly, right?”

“Kruek.”

And as a special individual, not just flying, but it’d be tremendously sturdy.

There was nothing more to think about.

[The Fighter Giant is evolving into Flight Booster.]