Chapter 30: Chapter 30: The Subjugation of the Queen Ant
Receiving Zeng Shen's signal, Blackie quickly crawled into the ant nest to deliver his master's message.
However, within seconds, Zeng Shen received a dire notification.
[Danger! Your actions have angered the Giant Strength Tribe's Queen Ant. Pet Blackie has been executed. Flee immediately to avoid her wrath, enslavement, or worse.]
"Damn it!"
"How dare she execute my Blackie!"
"And she wants to turn me into a breeding tool?"
Angered, Zeng Shen decided to teach the queen ant a lesson.
Taking a deep breath, he bent down and blew hard at the top of the ant mound.
His breath was like a sudden gale, scattering the sandy soil of the ant nest, creating a hole in the mound.
Inside, many ant eggs and countless worker ants scrambled in chaos, but they quickly regained order, moving the exposed eggs deeper into their tunnels.
Seeing this, Zeng Shen used the Eye of Insight on another ant. Confirming it was a beast, he cast another Beast Taming spell.
[Congratulations, host! You have tamed a Rapid Ant Beast. Follower +1.]
"No survival points this time?" Zeng Shen muttered, naming the new ant pet Blackie II before issuing a command:
"Blackie II, fulfill your brother Blackie's mission. Inform the queen that this is the consequence of defying me. Tell her that if she surrenders, worships, and serves me, I will forgive her and provide endless delicacies. Otherwise, she will face divine wrath."
Blackie II relayed Zeng Shen's message to the queen.
But in less than a second, Zeng Shen watched Blackie II flee in panic, chased by a dozen ants. They quickly encircled and attacked it, reducing it to a black ball.
[Danger! Your actions have angered the Giant Strength Tribe's Queen Ant. Pet Blackie II has been executed. Flee immediately to avoid her wrath, enslavement, or worse.]
"Seriously, is this a showdown?"
"You think I'm easy prey?"
Rolling up his sleeves, Zeng Shen unleashed Beast Taming spells on the robust black ants, one by one.
Instantly, a group of strong worker ants and an elite male ant became his pets.
"You'll be my new Blackie, and you others will be Blackie II, Blackie III," Zeng Shen declared, assigning names to the new ant pets before giving the male ant orders.
"Blackie, lead your female soldiers into the nest and capture the queen for me. I'll reward you with pretty female ants," he promised, casting Potential Empowerment on Blackie and Blackie II and III, using his last 60 faith points.
Empowered and energized, Blackie led the charge, doubling in size and rallying the female ants into the depths of the nest.
Within seconds, the ant colony erupted in chaos as ants swarmed deeper into the nest.
Urgent alerts blared in Zeng Shen's ears.
[Danger! Your actions have angered the Giant Strength Tribe's Queen Ant. Pet Blackie IV has been executed. Flee immediately to avoid her wrath, enslavement, or worse.]
[Danger! Your actions have angered the Giant Strength Tribe's Queen Ant. Pet Blackie V has been executed. Flee immediately to avoid her wrath, enslavement, or worse.]
[Danger...]
[Danger! Your actions have angered the Giant Strength Tribe's Queen Ant. Pet Blackie XV has been executed. Flee immediately to avoid her wrath, enslavement, or worse.]
Listening to the frantic alerts, Zeng Shen, unaware of the battle's outcome, was anxious. Only the empowered Blackie trio remained, while the rest had perished.
With all his faith points spent, if Blackie failed to capture the queen, this daring raid would end in failure.
He would have to wait for the wild cat tribe to contribute faith points before trying again.
Suddenly, a black line pushed through a tunnel entrance.
Zeng Shen's tension eased.
It was Blackie, using its large head to push a mass of ant corpses through the narrow passage.
Behind, Blackie II and III, slightly larger than the worker ants, carried a long, white-bellied ant with two long white antennae.
The queen ant.
"Haha," Zeng Shen laughed.
"Got you, you little vixen."
He placed a large leaf at the tunnel entrance, signaling Blackie and the others to carry the queen onto it, then transmitted a signal to Blackie.
"Tell the queen to submit to me for endless food and a warm, comfortable nest. Or else, I'll crush her with a slap."
Blackie relayed the message, raising its mandibles at the queen. The queen writhed, emitting a soft glow that floated to Zeng Shen.
[Congratulations, host! Your strategic brilliance has offered the Giant Strength Tribe's Queen Ant an irresistible deal. She has decided to follow you, gaining 1000 survival points and a new follower.]