Chapitre 198: Mind
After the human threat was successfully eliminated, the over 30,000 ants that had attacked the village got to work, and began cleaning up the battlefield, devouring everything in their way.
Unlike humans, who would have wasted a bunch of useful resources when doing this, the Earth Ants were much more efficient, and devoured absolutely everything in sight, not even wasting the corpses of their fallen sisters, which they also ate.
The ants also did not limit themselves to biological creatures, and actually tore down the huts and house that the villagers had created, before burying everything underground, not leaving anything behind.
In the end, it took the ants just under 30 minutes to make the former village completely disappear from the face of the earth, having even destroyed the paths created by the villages as they walked through the dirt.
Even if someone knew the exact location of the village, as long as some time passed, and the flora had some time to grow back up, they would be completely unable to discern if a village had actually existed here.
As she looked at the ants, who were currently retreating back underground into the colony after completing their mission, Beatrice finally took another look around, making sure that nobody had sneaked into this place, before descending to the ground, where Canty was waiting for her.
Looking at Canty, who was clearly a bit distressed at the moment, Beatrice couldn't help but slightly shake her head.
"So, are you sad at the death's of your children?" asked Beatrice as she approached the ant, who was clenching her mandibles together.
'Mistress, how could I not be distressed?' asked Canty as she raised her head and stared at her mistress, who had just descended to the ground.
"You should be happy for them, after all, you know best just how happy your children would be to be able to give their lives for the colony," said Beatrice as she knelt down and touched the forehead of the ant.
Although Canty knew the words of her mistress were true, she couldn't help but still feel a bit angry.
Over 700 Antonias had actually died to destroy some tiny village that could not resist.
Unlike Antonia, who had a colony of over 1.6 million ants at the moment, and had grown used to deaths, Canty's relationship with her children was much closer, so much so that Canty knew the names of each and every Ant that had died right now
After feeling depressed for a while, the consolation of her mistress seemed to finally have some effect on Canty, causing her antennae, which were pointing to the ground previously, to rise up once again.
'I understand mistress, I shouldn't let their sacrifices be in vain!!' said Canty as she imprinted the names of each ant that had died.
Antonia 13, Antonia 39, Antonia 154, Antonia 453, Antonia 523, Antonia 613...
As she recited the names of the children which had died in the battle, Canty, who was not particularly good at giving names, felt a fire rise up within her, sweeping away her previously depressed mood.
Unaware of Canty's terrible naming skills, but aware of the fire that seemed to have been started within the ant, a faint smile couldn't help but appear on Beatrice's face.
"That's right, I'm sure your children would have wanted you to use their deaths as fuel for the colony to grow even further," said Beatrice as she finally got up and stared at the little ant below her, which had once again begun moving.
'Mistress, I need to go back to the colony now, with the food we've obtained right now, I can give birth to at least 5 thousand new Antonias!!!' said Canty before immediately running into one of the tunnels, not allowing Beatrice, who now had a question mark over her head, to respond in the slightest.
"5 thousand Antonias??"
...
As she looked at Antonia, who was currently staring at a map, Beatrice, who had just arrived back in her home, couldn't help but feel a bit of doubt.
"Antonia, how are the ants in your colony named?" asked Beatrice as she looked at the Ant Queen.
"???"
...
At the same time, in another Timeline,
As she looked at the three mages who were standing in front of her with serious looks on their faces, 'Beatrice' couldn't help but flatly smile.
"So, what did little old me do to require the presence of three powerful mages such as your distinguished selves?" asked 'Beatrice' as she stared at the three mages in front of her with a faint smile on her face, causing the three, who were currently surrounding 'Beatrice', to become even more careful.
"Lockzick, Uerst, she seems to be proficient in illusions and manipulation, be careful, don't be influenced by her words!!" said Gerst, the leading mage, who was staring right at 'Beatrice', causing the latter to slightly chuckle.
"You flatter me too much, now, will hand the child over?" asked 'Beatrice' as she stared at the little boy that was standing behind the three mages.
In fact, 'Beatrice' was slightly surprised that the leading mage had actually managed to see through her first illusion, but even so, she didn't display any sort of surprise on her face.
Hearing the words of the Witch in front of him, Gerst couldn't help but grit his teeth.
"Although I don't know what your lady wants to do with him, do you really think that we three will allow you to get your hands on him?" asked Gerst as several earth spikes appeared behind him, floating in the air.
Not too long ago, the Magic Council had discovered the fact that the Witch of Death was collecting people with Space Affinity, such as the boy behind Gerst.
Even though the Council was unaware of what the plans of the Witch were, they immediately decided to try to impede her efforts, leading to the current scene.
Hearing the words of the Earth Mage, 'Beatrice' couldn't help but slightly smile.
"This distance should be enough, I guess we have to say goodbye for now, Mr. Earth Mage," said 'Beatrice' before winking at Gerst and suddenly disappearing, alongside the boy behind the three.
As he stared at the illusionary world around him, which was just now breaking apart, Uerst couldn't help but feel some sweat falling down his forehead.
Although the three of them would have probably sensed it if the Witch had desired to harm them while they were under the illusion, the fact that they couldn't detect that they were under its effects was chilling enough.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone