Chapter 1192: Colony (Part 2)

The thunder monsters wanted to know who Adam’s ally was, but they didn’t dare disobey Marhen. After all, if Bathild weren’t their leader, Marhen would surely take her place.

No, that’s not even true.

In most cases, it was Marhen who acted as the leader and commander, while Bathild played the role of their strongest fighter.

However, any sufficiently intelligent and wise person could lead the monsters and rule the territory, but not everyone had the chance to become a Lord and gain the power to protect other monsters like themselves.

Marhen was a Lesser Elder, he had only one step left to evolve and become an Elder, but Marhen had been at that level for quite a long time. She had only two steps left to become a Baron.

If she killed Adam and Fromund, she would get the Twilight Crystal and surely become a High Elder.

All of this was well known to Marhen. He didn’t want to disappear in the next World Wipe, so he was ready to complete his task to the fullest, just like all the monsters following him.

They took the short path, while Bathild chose the longest one, but with every lightning leap through the air, she was getting closer to her goal.

Adam and Fromund didn’t realize it yet, but their enemies were all around them: above, below, and right in front of them.

Thump. Thump.

They crashed to the ground, coming to a stop almost a minute after falling. The Kirani Colony was very deep underground, just a little further, and it would have been considered the lands of the Lower Ring.

“Well, well…” Fromund muttered. “This is actually a colony, a huge one, right?”

Before them was a view of several wide caves that could easily accommodate an entire city.

Stone columns were the only support for the Kirani Colony, while hundreds of bugs flew between them every second.

Bright yellow crystals scattered throughout the colony were not only a source of light but also a source of energy that allowed the Kirani Bugs to work much harder.

Against the backdrop of light, the Kirani Bugs looked like countless black dots moving in all directions at once.

For humans, it was complete chaos, but for insects, there was nothing wrong with it.

Several Kirani Bugs held amber orbs in their hands, quite large ones. Inside each orb was something very small.

Adam narrowed his eyes to get a better look.

‘Damn…’ he thought.

Inside each orb were hundreds of tiny eggs, with no shells, just a liquid membrane, but Adam could see the larvae developing.

His eyes followed one of the Kirani Bugs that had stopped in front of a wall of thousands of hexagon sockets, lined up like a honeycomb.

Then, the Kirani Bug carefully placed the amber orb into an empty socket, and then another flew up, and another.

The socket was only filled after five orbs.

‘Shit, Silvana, did you see that?’ Adam asked.

Silvana nodded, she had been watching what was happening with no less interest than he was.

“Yes. Their numbers… I thought there were a lot of them when they went after the core, but now I realize that was just a tiny squad. There are thousands of future bugs growing in each socket!”

Adam took a deep breath.

“Whether they’re monsters or not, all insects have something in common, don’t they?”

Fromund was just as impressed as Adam. He nodded from time to time, but didn’t say anything as he was talking to Arayna.

“Hey, Adam,” he said, looking at the flying bugs. “Should I blow this place up?”

Adam frowned for a moment. He was annoyed that Fromund continued to joke, but when he turned around, he couldn’t say a word.

From Fromund’s eyes watching the Kirani Bugs with simple curiosity, he realized that Fromund was serious.

“No, don’t do it,” Silvana interrupted sharply. “Find the Twilight Crystals first. You can quickly absorb them, become stronger, and complete your missions. Destroying the entire colony could damage the Twilight Crystals as well.”

“Hah,” Adam smiled bitterly. “Silvana, I disagree.”

Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.

Fromund scratched the back of his head.

“Yeah, Arayna too. Shit, why should I think about the safety of crystals when there are thousands of monsters in front of me? Maybe even more!”

Fromund’s discontent was understandable, but the Kirani Bugs paid no attention to them as if they weren’t there.

Step.

At least until they left the tunnel and crossed the line.

With the earth shaking, six colossal figures appeared before them. These were the Kirani Sentinels, some of the strongest warriors under the Kirani Queen.

They were as big as two-story houses, their eyes were green like the Kirani Guards, but their protective chitin was much stronger and thicker, as their task was to protect the colony.

The Kirani Sentinels held round shields designed specifically to absorb the force of impact, and in their other hands, they carried hammers heavy enough to turn an enemy into a bloody stain with a single well-aimed strike.

“You…” the first sentinel’s voice rang out. “You dared to invade our home and kill our siblings! We will not forgive you, Phantoms!”

In a heartbeat, all six sentinels attacked. They did it in unison, showing that they had fought together often.

However, it wasn’t enough to hurt Adam and Fromund. They were much faster.

Crash.

Stone debris flew in all directions as Adam and Fromund jumped apart.

Fromund grinned widely as he summoned his spear. He swung it once, leaving a trail of flames behind him. He was ready to fight, even if each of the Kirani Sentinels was large enough to crush him like an ant.

However, Adam wasn’t that into the battle, which was unusual for him.

His gaze was fixed ahead, toward the borders of the Kirani Colony.

One level below, there were a few ancient trees, with amber vines running through them, their sharp branches dripping juice directly into a pond at their roots.

A stone path led down to the pond from a throne that was currently empty, although only one creature had the right to sit there.

‘They have a queen? Hmm… If so, she was ready for our arrival. That’s bad.’