The fallen ant jerked up, clacking its mandibles. Its legs were bent at odd angles, and the ant was having difficulty walking. It felt like it was trying to figure out how to move.
An ant beside it leaned in to assist, but the former lashed out, burying its mandible in the latter’s thorax.
The living ant screeched in response, trying to push the undead ant off. But the infected ant couldn’t feel pain. Even as others swarmed it and tore off its limbs, it didn’t give up and kept biting the ant.
Then another ant rose from the dead, then another and another. The soldier ants rushed in to contain the chaos, but failed.
Just a handful of ants threw everything into chaos.
The queen tried her best to control them, but her pheromones couldn’t affect the undead ants. Only hunger controlled them, nothing else.
Marrow took complete advantage of the chaos and targeted the soldier ants. They were bigger and stronger.
As long as Blaze infected them, the queen would lose what little control she had left over the hive.
Meanwhile, Blaze watched on from the side. He wasn’t fond of their blood. It was green, slimy, and tasted bitter. If not for the situation, he wouldn’t want to touch them again.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a choice.
[Beings infected: 12/100]
The conversion count was too low, and if he wanted to progress, he had to keep biting.
Blaze groaned in frustration. By the time he leaves the hive, the bitterness on his tongue would reach his brain.
He jumped from ant to ant, biting them as he went.
Just then, something happened.
An undead soldier ant charged toward him. Its six feet hammered on the ground as its mandible clicked erratically.
Blaze shook his head before popping out his claws. He buried the clawed feet into the sand to act as an anchor while he prepared to face the ant.
The ant lunged at him, its mandibles threatening to bite his head off. But Blaze grabbed both mandibles mid-snap.
The ant still tried to attack the zombie before him, much to Blaze’s annoyance.
I can expect intelligence from insects, can I?
With a shrug, he pulled his arms away. The chitinous mandibles cracked under pressure. Now the ant tried to pull away, but it was too late.
Blaze ripped its mandibles apart, exposing its mouth. He then shoved his hand into the gap and ripped its head off from the inside.
The ant’s legs twitched before collapsing on the ground. It died as quickly as it rose.
Blaze shook his hand to clean the rotten blood off his arm and pulled the claws back.
This is the problem with this strategy.
He merely converted the ants and didn’t tame them. It made the ants go rabid and attack anything in sight. He was no exception.
Besides, they weren’t coordinated like the living ants. While they were good at causing chaos in the hive, the queen would eventually get things under control.
I have to convert her before that happens.
He turned around and saw that Marrow was busy killing the ants.
That’s enough. Get the queen now!
In a swift move, she jumped on top of Fester and headed towards the queen. Blaze couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow as the two charged ahead.
Did she forget Fester’s back is full of spikes?
While he thought that, the queen suddenly screeched. The queen’s selected royal guards jumped to intercept Marrow.
The royal guards were roughly one-and-a-half times bigger than the soldier ants. Formidable warriors for other species, but for Marrow, they were nothing but a nuisance.
A nuisance that stalled for time.
Blaze looked ahead and saw the queen heading toward another tunnel. Perhaps it was her escape route.
She knows she can’t win, so she’s escaping?
It was the logical response. After all, a queen can create another hive, but a hive can’t live without its queen.
However, Blaze wasn’t in the mood to let her go.
While the royal guards were distracted by Marrow and Fester, he slipped past them and entered the tunnel.
Blaze’s eyes had evolved to make him see in the dark to a certain degree. That’s why he could see well deep within the hive.
However, the tunnel the queen disappeared into was covered with a thick layer of green mist. It made it difficult for him to see.
Fortunately, vision wasn’t the only developed sense he had.
Blaze took a page out of Fester’s book and began sniffing around.
Each ant colony had a unique chemical signature on their bodies. While all ants have it, the queen emits the strongest version of the said scent. This made it possible for Blaze to locate her even through the mist.
The queen screeched loudly as Blaze caught her leg. In the small tunnel, she couldn’t even turn around to push him off.
The tunnel was supposed to protect her, but now it had turned into her doom.
Despite her enormous size, the ant queen hadn’t changed much. She still depended on her children to protect her. Now that they were busy fighting for themselves, the queen was absolutely defenseless.
Blaze climbed up her leg and jumped on her back.
Even the queen could feel her death coming, and she wasn’t wrong.
Meanwhile, in the queen’s chamber, Marrow and Fester were the only undead left.
Without Blaze’s seed, the undead ants didn’t survive for long. It was the same with the skeleton they had brought along.
Now the ants had them surrounded.
Marrow killed a few ants here and there, but her tendrils couldn’t keep up with the never-ending onslaught.
To make things worse, the ants from other parts of the hive arrived there.
Marrow looked at Fester beside her and tapped the ground with her feet.
She didn’t have the authority to command other horde members, but hoped Fester would take the clue and dig an escape route for them.
However, before they could act on it, something happened.
The ants... turned on one another.
There were no undead among them to cause disharmony, but they still lashed out.
Why are you acting surprised?
Marrow turned around and saw the ant queen appear out of the tunnel. Blaze was sitting atop her head, looking down at the ants infighting.