Chapter 6: Dark Eye

The IANT Queen was sad.

To think that the energy and resources meant for breeding were being used to fill the bellies of Elves.

She had to do it to survive, but that made it all the more miserable.

As a last resort, she had been sending distress signals.

But whether other IANTs would come to help was uncertain.

The Mana Storm would interfere with the signal, and even if it got through, there were few forces capable of mounting a rescue.

The situation was hopeless, but she chose to stay alive.

If she died, everything would be over, but as long as she lived, there was a chance.

So it went for three months.

Today was no different.

She ate the food brought by the Worker Ants and sent the Soldier Ants out on patrol.

The rough Kraken Sea was always a threat—monsters could appear anywhere, anytime, so vigilance was essential.

It was feeding time again.

The Worker Ants brought a special meal for the Queen.

She accepted it with a sorrowful look, and the watching Elves snickered.

It seemed like this day would end just like any other.

After the meal and the patrols, there was nothing left to do.

KWAANG! KWAANG! KWAANG!

The ground shook.

“What’s going on?”

“The harbor’s under attack!”

“Which lunatic dares mess with us?”

“It’s probably another dumb bug race, like this one. Look, six legs.”

“Damn it. Why do they always attack during my shift?”

The Elves were unconcerned.

This was the Kraken Sea, and they were members of the Blacktree Pirates.

Besides, there were tens of thousands of Soldier Ants under the control of the IANT Queen.

As long as they kept the IANT Queen under control, nothing could go wrong.

But the IANT Queen thought differently.

A six-legged race’s raid.

It could be her kin, responding to the distress signal.

“Move it!”

An Elf kicked the IANT Queen’s rear.

The IANT Queen shuffled out of the prison on her six legs.

For the first time in three months, she saw the outside world, and a flash of light pierced her eyes.

KWAANG! KWAANG! KWAANG!

Elves were flying through the air.

To be precise, they were shredded to pieces.

All around, enemies swarmed in.

They also had six legs, just like IANTs.

The IANT Queen immediately discarded her guess that they might be IANTs responding to her signal.

Those things were definitely not IANTs.

Even though IANTs were a hive species, each individual still possessed emotion.

The joy of finding food, the thrill of serving the colony, the sorrow of a comrade’s death, the fury at the Elves.

But those creatures felt nothing.

There was only one thing in their eyes.

Predatory instinct.

The IANT Queen trembled.

“Hurry and call the Soldier Ants! All of them!”

The Elf Pirate Captain burst in through the chaos of the base and shouted.

DUDUDUDUDUDUDUDU.

Responding to the Queen’s summons, the Soldier Ants charged in to fight the intruders.

The strongest Soldier Ants formed a protective ring around the Queen.

They clicked their mandibles threateningly at the Elves, but did not attack.

“If you want to save your Queen, protect us!”

“Stupid ants.”

“Those things look pretty dumb too, but could there be a queen among them?”

“Good point. They do look a lot like IANTs.”

“Send a spirit to check.”

The relieved Elves collapsed to the ground.

Everything was left in the hands of the IANTs.

With their overwhelming numbers, the invaders would be driven out in no time—or so they thought.

That’s why the sharpest Elf hadn’t noticed the Scout Class on the roof.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Ten Scouts leaped down all at once.

“What the—?”

“Aaagh!”

“Ugh!”

With scythe-like claws, Elves were cut in half at the waist or decapitated.

Blood sprayed and limbs flew.

The Elf Pirate Captain reacted quickly.

He flung himself forward, dodged a scythe claw, and summoned a fire spirit to attack.

BOOM! BOOM!

Two Scouts convulsed and collapsed.

When the others charged in, he drew his sword in a flash.

SHNK SHNK!

Two Scouts were sliced clean in half.

The Soldier Ants, realizing what was happening, leaped at the Scouts.

“These things aren’t so tough!”

The tables turned in an instant.

Surrounded, the Scouts fell one after another.

The Elf Pirate Captain was exhilarated.

But this was nothing more than bait to capture the IANT Queen.

THUD!

Six-legged monsters dropped from the sky.

With four scythe claws radiating Aura Blade, they sliced the very air.

Before the Elf Pirate Captain or the IANT Queen could even register what they were, it was over.

SHNK SHNK! SHNK! SHNK!

Done.

Two cut the Elf Pirate Captain to pieces, while the other two shattered the shackles on the IANT Queen.

Clang.

Even as the metal shackles fell away, the IANT Queen could not feel joy.

Behind the Brutal Lord’s black eyes, she sensed a massive consciousness writhing.

It was a bottomless void, a tremendous will to consume.

Would that thing ever be satisfied, even if it devoured all dimensions?

There was no way it could be an ally.

It was just a monster that swallowed everything.

“KIIIIIIII!”

The IANT Queen gave the attack order.

The Soldier Ants charged at the Brutal Lord.

Within a second, they were all slaughtered.

Next, all of the IANT Queen’s legs were cut off.

Thud.

The Queen’s belly hit the ground.

The Walkers rushed in and dragged her to the Soil Pit.

Filled with overwhelming dread, the IANT Queen screamed for her kin.

Confronted by the Outer Mind, she was barely sane.

From a hole in the wasteland, IANTs poured out.

Worker Ants, Soldier Ants—every IANT responded to the call, numbering well over a hundred thousand.

To have kidnapped the IANT Queen by slipping through that mass was a bold feat for the Elf Pirate Captain.

But now, he too was becoming nutrients and Evolution Points in the Soil Pit.

“Elves are usually worth 10 points, but thanks to psionic absorption, they’re giving 20 each.”

With over 3,000 Elves in the pirate base alone, the total Evolution Points exceeded 100,000 if they captured them all.

Choi Kangjoong checked on the Scouts chasing the fleeing Elves.

“Huh? Only one came back.”

A Scout, missing two legs, was limping back.

Choi Kangjoong had a pretty good idea of what had happened.

Elves were stronger than Scouts, and far more intelligent.

On top of that, the forest was the Elf’s Home Ground.

If they fought seriously, Scouts couldn’t win.

The main reason the Elf Pirates had lost their base and been forced to flee was due to Lutal’s ambush and overwhelming firepower.

Choi Kangjoong read the Scout’s memories.

His suspicions were confirmed.

An Elf, realizing the Scouts were few in number, had launched a counterattack.

“Elves are so fast, they’re hard to catch. I’ll need to change the Scouts.”

Choi Kangjoong entered the Chamber of Evolution.

He selected the Scout Class and adjusted its stats.

He reduced the shell thickness and increased the leg muscle mass.

Defense decreased, but speed increased.

The greatest strength of Apocalid was being able to evolve and respond to threats on the spot.

[A new Scout Class has been created.]

[Would you like to name it?]

“Runner.”

[Apocalid Runner Scout has been saved.]

“I’ll just keep producing Runner Scouts until all the Elves are caught. There are others to handle the IANTs.”

With Lutal, Walkers, Warriors, and Cannon Giants, they had more than enough to deal with the IANTs.

Even if they died, he could just make more.

DUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUDU.

It felt like an earthquake.

It was the IANTs.

Desperate to save their Queen, they swarmed at Warriors many times their own size.

SHNK SHNK!

The Warrior coldly sliced through the IANTs.

It was even more mechanical than a person butchering meat.

A biological machine, made for slaughter and consumption.

Lutal’s four scythe claws danced brilliantly.

IANT corpses piled high around Lutal.

Walkers hurriedly carried them off and threw them into the Soil Pit.

[You have gained Evolution Points.]

[You have gained Evolution Points.]

[You have gained Evolution Points.]

[You have gained Evolution Points.] [You have gained Evolution Points.]

[Current Evolution Points: 32,623.]

[Evolution Code Decoding Rate: 100%]

So many IANTs rushed in that their Evolution Code was instantly decoded.

The IANT Evolution Code was the Acid Pouch.

It was the same as the IANTs in the Dimension War.

With it attached, they could spit acid from their mouths.

It was extremely useful in close combat.

“I should just add it to every class.”

He applied the Acid Pouch to all classes.

It didn’t appear immediately, but from now on, any new units produced—

Lutal evolved on its own, forming an Acid Pouch in its body.

SPLASH!

A Soldier Ant was hit by Lutal’s acid.

It melted away.

The exoskeleton of the IANT, famed for being tougher than iron, dissolved like cotton candy.

No trace of the body remained, but when devouring dimensions, not even that was wasted as nutrients.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The cannons of the Apocalid Cannon Giant blazed nonstop.

Mana Shells, fired point-blank, crushed dozens of IANTs at once.

“Maybe I should take a nap.”

The battle looked like it would drag on.

Watching the same thing over and over made his eyes heavy, but then a message popped up.

[An Apocalid Scout unit has discovered the potential for evolution.]

[Select an evolution direction.]

“Which Scout is it?”

Choi Kangjoong found the Scout with evolution potential.

It was near the Soil Pit.

It had fought an Elf and only had two legs left.

“Perfect timing. I thought the Scout Class needed a Central Unit.”

[1. Hyperspeed: Faster than any Apocalid on land. It runs like light, able to escape alive even from the deepest enemy strongholds.]

[Physical enhancement, mobility skill acquisition, use of Outer Mind knowledge, evolves into Central Unit.]

[2. Stealth Assassin: Small, but more powerful. The Stealth Assassin’s secret scythe claws will efficiently decapitate enemy leaders.]

[Physical enhancement, stealth skill acquisition, use of Outer Mind knowledge, evolves into Central Unit.]

[3. Dark Eye: Blends into the surroundings, can move freely through enemy territory. With superior camouflage, you’ll discover any secret, undetected by anyone.]

[Physical enhancement, camouflage skill acquisition, use of Outer Mind knowledge, evolves into Central Unit.]

“Speed, assassination, or reconnaissance. All three are tempting.”

For now, Hyperspeed or Stealth Assassin seemed best.

With either, he could easily cut off the Elves’ escape routes in the forest.

But this time, he thought of the future.

Unlike when evolving the Warrior Class, he had enough power already.

“Vision is key for a firepower build.”

Knowing exactly where the enemy was and what to target was far more efficient than firing blindly.

He had previously given the Apocalid Giant the Elf’s Evolution Code for telescopic vision to use as a surveillance satellite.

It could scout a wide area from high up, but often wasn’t enough.

It could be fooled by enemy camouflage, and dense forests or underground were hard to see.

With Dark Eye, close reconnaissance could fill in those gaps and guide firepower to the most lethal targets.

“I’ll go with Dark Eye.”

[You have selected Dark Eye.]

[Apocalid Scout is evolving.]

[Dark Eye has acquired .]

The Scout’s body shivered.

Its missing legs regrew, and its shell rapidly changed colors at random.

After a moment, its shell returned to normal, then shifted to match its surroundings exactly.

“It’d be really hard to spot with the naked eye.”

Not only that, but the Dark Eye’s exoskeleton was processed to distort even infrared and detection magic.

Unless someone was deliberately searching, finding a Dark Eye was nearly impossible.

Even if it was discovered, it could just escape with Blink.

“KIIK!”

The Dark Eye cried out in gratitude.

Like Lutal, the Dark Eye’s emotions were palpable.

Endless gratitude and a thirst for revenge.

“You want to take revenge on the Elves, don’t you?”

“KIIK!”

“Go find out where they’re hiding.”

“KIIIK!”

The Dark Eye dashed into the forest to search for the Elves.

None of the IANTs swarming about could spot the Dark Eye as it slipped through.

It used Blink from time to time, moving with incredible speed.

“I should call it Kai.”

Choi Kangjoong quickly named it and checked the battlefield.

Near the Soil Pit, it looked less like a war zone and more like an IANT butchering factory.

Lutal and the Warriors cut them down, the Walkers carried them off.

Evolution Points and nutrients kept piling up.