Among the group of shadowguards stationed at the sealed entrance to the second underground floor, Billy was the youngest and also the weakest.
When the leader delegated the important mission of reporting to the Queen; the imminent breach in the seal, to him, he knew that the leader was sending him away from the danger… or at least that was what he thought.
He was overwhelmed by the leader's consideration.
In truth, Kasif didn't think so much. He simply picked the nearest shadowguard to do the job. His eyes had never left the sealed entrance when he issued the task.
"I will accomplish the mission without fail!"
With those words, Billy had left at his quickest speed.
…
Heinrich's face was swollen like a pig from all the beating. This was not something his wife would do in the past. At most, she would pinch his waist.
He wasn't quite mentally ready to accept the stark transformation of his wife. His loving and gentle wife had turned into a ferocious tigress.
Furthermore, his wife has reached the Transcendent Realm, while he was still at the 9th step of the Awakener Realm. That was harder to accept.
As a man, even if find it hard to accept, he had to submit to changes. One must know when to retreat when the odds are against them.
So what if his wife was stronger? So what if she is violent? He was still the bigger man! He shall not fight with his wife!
Heinrich took his beating like a man!
Vent it all out, my dear! All the anger and grievance you suffered in the past 17 years, just vent it all out! I can take it!
But he was wrong! Very wrong! He couldn't take it!
He thought after a short beating, his wife would fall into his arms and cry out all her feelings, but that wasn't the case. His wife didn't seem to be holding back and there were no signs of stopping.
He began squealing like a pig being slaughtered shortly after the beating started.
"Stop! I can't take it anymore! My wife, my dear wife, have mercy!"
Heinrich pleaded, but Elizabeth only stopped after a shadowguard appeared with an urgent report.
Billy gulped as he walked in on the scene of the Queen grabbing the collar of a pig-face person with both hands. He did not recognize the king, but considering the person's loose clothing and the location, he could make a guess.
The Queen wouldn't be intimate with any other man other than the king. It appeared that he walked in on their quality time together. He wanted to congratulate the king's recovery, but he forced the words down when he remembered the urgent task on hand.
If Heinrich knew what the young shadowguard thought, he wouldn't know whether to laugh or cry. What part of this was intimate? Look at my face, do I look recovered?
Since he didn't know, he can only look at the shadowguard like he was looking at his life savior.
Elizabeth left shortly after hearing the situation of the underground.
Heinrich heaved a sigh of relief as he fell back onto to his bed and recollected his thoughts.
…
"What the hell happened here? Where is the Transcendent-level threat?"
Elizabeth had rushed at her quickest when she heard the wails from afar. By the time she arrived, everyone was already squirming on the ground, except one.
"Ah… you're here, Elizabeth." Don stretched his limbs. He gave the beaten shadowguards and palace guards a threatening look, before saying, "You don't have to worry. The Transcendent-level threat has already been eliminated."
Kasif wanted to curse that the Transcendent-level threat was right in front the queen. However, he also didn't want to receive another round of beating. His old bones won't be able to take it.
The group was forced to swallow their grievance in silence.
Unaware of the events, Billy gazed at the leader with heartfelt gratitude. He wouldn't have been able to avoid this disaster if the leader didn't send him away.
"You are… Senior Don? Where have you been? What's with that ridiculous appearance?" Elizabeth asked with surprise.
Don's face twitched at her words. They poked right into his sore spot. If he was given a choice, he didn't want to wear such crudely made exoskeleton armor either. It was too breezy in the wrong places, making it uncomfortable.
"Haih… You wouldn't understand." Don sighed, before suggesting, "We should quickly build a sturdy gate to block off the entrance. It won't be good if the creatures down there start pouring out."
Without Don's explanation, Elizabeth could faintly guess what happened from his appearance and the scene in front of here. All the shadowguards and palace guards only suffered fleshly wounds. No one suffered any serious injuries. Most likely, they had been beaten by Don.
As for why, it was because he was trapped on the other side of the seal and suffered a lot of hardships!
"Why a gate?" Elizabeth asked. If they want to stop the creatures from pouring out, shouldn't they just seal it off? Unless… there was something good on the other side?
"There's a lot of good stuff down there, including the creatures themselves. Not are their organs highly nutritious and tasty, their exoskeletons are very sturdy and can be used to make armor like mine. However, they are quite powerful and numerous. Not just anyone can enter. Anyone below the star rank in cultivation will just be seeking death." Don explained.
"Is that true?" Elizabeth said with delight. "What kind of creatures are they? Can they really be eaten?
If what Don said was true, the Capital would have a new source of sustenance and the expenditure on food could be reduced.
"Kekeke, of course. As long as they are cooked properly, they will become edible." Don said with a sly smile. Good things must be shared.
"These creatures are…" Don suddenly paused as rumbled movements could be heard drawing closer from the second-floor entrance. "Well, you'll know soon enough."
Soon, the first creature made its appearance out of the entrance, and everyone was able to get a good look at the six-legged creature that was the size of humans. Countless more followed from behind.
"Ants! Those creatures are ants!" Kasif jumped in alarm, before warning the others, "Be careful. These creatures are said to be endowed with great physical strength!"
He had once read book on insects. Ants were said to be able to lift 50 times their own weight. Who knows if the special trait of these horrible creatures had been amplified or not after the Cataclysm?
Suddenly, all the shadowguards and palace guards sprung up from the ground and got into defensive formation with great coordination. They did not seem like people who were in pain from a great beating.
At some point during Don's beating previously, everyone had come up with the idea to pretend they were in more pain than they actually were. They were under the mindset that doing so would allow them to receive less beating. Fortunately, it pulled off well.
"Focus on sealing the entrance! I will clear the path!" Elizabeth quickly commanded, after being stunned for an instance.
At the same time, Don narrowed his eyes. How dare these brats tricked him!
Elizabeth shot out her sword at the ants with a silver flash, reaping lives wherever it went.
Before the ants were sliced in half by her blade, sparks were created from the moment of contact between the sword and exoskeleton skin.
Elizabeth knew that she didn't utilize much strength in the attack, however, she was still moved by the sight. Senior Don wasn't exaggerating about their sturdiness. They were great materials for making equipment.
It wouldn't be as strong as the steel armor worn by palace guards, but with the large quantity they could collect, it was possible to equip all the soldiers.
The battle at the underground entrance to the second floor only lasted a few minutes. With two Transcendents on the scene, it didn't take much effort for the giant ants to be quickly suppressed and the entrance resealed.
"When did you reach the Transcendent Realm, Elizabeth? Congratulations." Don said after the battle.
He made his way over, but he was quickly stopped by Elizabeth.
"Stop! Stay away from me! You should quickly go back and wash up, Senior Don!" Elizabeth said with a terrible expression.
The foul smell emanating from Don made her feel disgusted. It had a strong scent of human excrete.
"Err, right…"
Don paused his steps. It was fine when he wasn't reminded, but once he was reminded, he felt awfully unclean. He couldn't wash for weeks! It was even worse because his diarrhea was quite explosive and tend to spray everywhere. He had an interest in the art of explosions, but not like this.
In summary, his trip had been one bad experience.
"En, I'll be leaving first." Don nodded and immediately disappeared from his spot in an instance.
Following a trail of dust, one could only hear the clicks and clacks of his armor grinding against each other fading in the distance.