Chapter 978
The Vermeer Ant Clan
Chapter 978 The Vermeer Ant Clan
Amund gazed with interest at the two ant-tribe armies locked in fierce combat in the distance, a hint of amusement playing on his lips.
"So?" He turned to look at Xia Xiu, his voice calm. "Which side do you think will win?"
Xia Xiu stood on the side of the ridge, his silver cane lightly tapping the rocks, silently gazing at the chaotic yet orderly battlefield in the distance.
He didn't answer immediately, but frowned and observed carefully for a good ten seconds.
“The unit with six legs,” he finally spoke, his tone as cold and iron-like as “they are clearly more well-trained, with stable formations and extremely efficient firepower distribution. From a tactical perspective, they have a complete operational calculation logic, and their pace of action is always kept within the same rhythm.”
"Their war machines are also far superior to those of the other side."
Xia Xiu continued, his eyes becoming somewhat somber, "Especially that spider-shaped multi-legged platform—its energy output mode is dual-core asynchronous power supply, equipped with an automatic heat flow pressure distribution system; that's not something that a peaceful nation's technological level could design."
Armand narrowed his eyes and asked with a half-smile:
"So? You're planning to help the stronger side?"
“…No.” Xia Xiu gently shook his head.
He gripped his cane tightly, his voice low, as if to dispel some kind of doubt.
"I'm here to help the other side."
Amund was taken aback, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, before he burst out laughing:
Interesting. Tell me why.
"It's too clean," Xia Xiu said calmly, his gaze fixed on the six-legged ant army.
"The problem over there is too obvious—they are not naturally evolved combat units."
He pointed to the center of the battlefield, to the warriors clad in lava-red chitin.
“Look at those exoskeleton structures. They’re not physiological armor that evolved for reproduction or defense, but exoskeletons designed for combat. The chitin pathways of each individual are almost identical, and the scale morphology is standardized. This is not the result of random genetic mutations within the population, but rather directed adaptive evolution after industrialization. Moreover, their combat performance is already comparable to the Terra Phase 1 [Measurers].
He paused, then continued:
"It's not just about quality... those war platforms too—their structure is too compact, their resource utilization efficiency is too high, it's clearly a product of intervention from an advanced civilization. Their entire military system wasn't built naturally, but from top-level design to grassroots combat, it all exudes a... artificial systems theory flavor."
Amund's eyes narrowed, and he slowly nodded: "So you suspect that they were... created by whom?"
Xia Xiu's voice was low and somber. "The Fifth Church."
He said calmly, "They must have some kind of connection with this six-legged legion. If they aren't directly in control, they've definitely infiltrated it very deeply. Those warriors... are more like weapons mass-produced using templates, rather than a natural tribal civilization."
Having determined his stance on intervention, Xia Xiu no longer hesitated.
The battle was not over yet, but the situation had already shifted. If they had been any later, the gray-green armored ant army would have been wiped out.
He did not invoke the power of the crown level, lest he attract the attention of the deity he worshipped, but instead directly summoned his avatar—[Sisyphus].
The next instant, his physical body exploded with a roar, like a fully powered electromagnetic ballistic missile, and shot off the hill.
The earth trembled violently, sand and stones flew everywhere, and Xia Xiu had already transformed into an irregular afterimage in the air, accurately locking onto the six-legged war platform at the forefront of the battlefield ahead—that spider-shaped war chariot was spewing out cold blue flames from its engine, like a war god marching.
boom--!
There was no warning, and no show of skill.
Xia Xiu's fist slammed directly into the head armor of the mechanical war machine, carrying the power of his physical body, which had been forged through twenty-four holy trials, like a star falling.
The metal shattered instantly, the armor broke into dozens of molten, scorching strips, and the flying parts scattered like a rainstorm. In a second, the spider-shaped vehicle transformed from a highly armed mechanical life form into a pile of black smoke-belching scrap metal.
The six-legged battle group's front line came to an abrupt halt, the command chain briefly broke, and several platforms began to erratically turn around, searching for the target source.
However, the real oppression has only just begun.
"Sisyphus."
Xia Xiu gave a soft shout, and the silent avatar followed his steps like a shadow.
Sisyphus raised his fist, and the Möbius strip on his fist suddenly began to spin rapidly, flashing with a ghostly blue arc of light.
It swung its arm suddenly and smashed forward.
That punch—it didn't hit a specific enemy, but rather struck space itself.
[Möbius Strip - Space Bombing]
boom! ! !
The space a hundred meters ahead seemed to have been instantly ripped away, collapsing silently. Large swathes of air were twisted and stretched in the vacuum after being emptied, then rebounded, exploded, and collapsed.
The spatial tear caused by this punch generated a huge gravitational pull, which dragged all the surrounding six-legged mechanical vehicles off the ground.
Three spider-like units and four turret support platforms struggled and twisted in the air, but in the next second, [Sisyphus] took a step forward and punched like crazy.
Ola Ola Ola Ola Ola Ola!!!
A series of explosive, drum-like strikes blasted out, and the machines were quickly reduced to scrap.
The intense flames of energy had not yet completely dissipated, and the air still retained the acrid smell of burnt ions.
Xia Xiu slowly withdrew his fist, and [Sisyphus] seemed to be drawn back into his body, turning into a purple-gold afterglow that entered his chest.
He stood motionless amidst the smoke and metal debris, like a silent observer.
He was only responsible for cleaning up the war machines; the rest of the work was up to the Ant-Men.
Xia Xiu's sudden intervention abruptly shifted the balance of power in what had been a stalemate.
The well-equipped and highly tactically skilled six-legged war machine ants were completely unprepared for an "extraterrestrial enemy" to forcibly intervene in the battlefield. They briefly lost coordination and fell into chaos, and after Xia Xiu's punch destroyed the front-line command center, this wavering immediately spread throughout the entire battle line.
The gray-green ant tribe troops who were helped by Xia Xiu were initially confused by his appearance, but their instinctive combat experience quickly led them to make the right response.
"Click-click-click!"
Amidst the rapid-fire of machine guns, the gray-green ant tribe shouted short but powerful bugle calls as they charged forward, launching counterattacks through the breaches created by Xia Xiu.
Their mobile armored formations pressed forward, unleashing almost all their firepower—flamethrowers and rotary cannons—to completely crush the remaining enemy forces.
The entire battle lasted less than three minutes.
Without its heavy support platform, the six-legged mechanical ants were forced into a retreat, ultimately being completely crushed and wiped out. But this was not the end of the victory. What truly stirred something within Xia Xiu was the aftermath of the battle.
The gray-green ant soldiers showed no mercy as they approached the fallen enemy corpses, each one clean and efficient—"two shots to the body, one shot to the head."
After confirming the target's death, they ordered the mechs to use flames to clean up the battlefield, ensuring the body was completely burned—as if they were facing not an enemy, but a plague.
That overly cautious, almost pathological, approach aroused Xia Xiu's curiosity.
He remained impassive, his gaze sweeping over the gray-green heavy mobile armor, especially the devices equipped with purification nozzles and extremely high-temperature energy furnaces...
This was not a tool that ordinary soldiers should be equipped with. This method inexplicably reminded him of a past era in Terra, of plague doctors who used bird beaks to treat diseases.
Just then, a gentle yet clear thought entered his mind.
It was an ancient, highly ordered fluctuation of the mind, devoid of tone or distracting thoughts, yet conveyed with precise accuracy:
On behalf of the Fermi Ant Nest, we express our deepest gratitude to the helpers from Heaven. You will be forever recorded as a friend of the Nest, and your deeds will be recorded in the "Book of Procreation."
Xia Xiu raised an eyebrow slightly, his gaze falling on the Ant-Man who was almost the size of a horse.
The opponent's entire body was smooth and thick, without mouthparts, and there were no visible wounds on its body. It was covered in dark green patterned armor, different from the other soldiers, and a slightly shimmering perception bead was embedded in the center of its head—clearly an individual with a central consciousness in the race.
In peaceful countries, most races maintain a superficial neutrality and order. While they are not hostile to outsiders, they are by no means friendly either. They are accustomed to communication methods that are bounded, hierarchical, and structured, and they do not easily open their hearts, much less express gratitude.
These Ant-Men are not only extremely efficient in tactics, but their thought processes also show obvious signs of being highly orchestrated.
Suddenly, a clear, pure, yet slightly inquisitive voice from the heart gently resounded:
"We mean no harm; this is merely a reasonable cultural response and strategic courtesy... Where do you come from? We have not found any information about you in the genealogical records of peaceful nations."
The other person's tone was orderly and curious, each word and sentence like a polished fragment of thought, precise and deliberate, without the slightest noise.
Xia Xiu did not rush to respond. He slowly stepped forward, stood on a charred rock from the battlefield, looked down at the now-extinguished flames and scorched earth in the distance, and then calmly said:
“I am an astral apostle.”
Upon hearing this, the ants fell into a brief silence, perhaps exchanging information rapidly among themselves.
Astral Apostle.
They are travelers traversing the myriad realms.
Starting from the edge of the vast star realm, not belonging to any divine kingdom, nor to any civilization.
Their forms of existence are diverse, their races are varied, and their languages and logic systems are never unified, but there is only one common point that runs through them all—power.
They are witnesses in the astral plane, war ghosts traversing billions of miles of starry sea on the battlefield, mercenaries of the gods, or harbingers of the decline of civilization.
In peaceful nations, where order is paramount, even the most rigid recorder would choose to classify such an apostle from outer space as a special being requiring special treatment.
As for why this astral apostle was helping him, the Fomi ant was curious, but he wouldn't actively investigate.
A moment later, the ant-man, as large as a horse, took another step forward. The sensory orb embedded in his chest pulsated slightly, as if resonating with some kind of heartbeat. His consciousness flowed into Xia Xiu's mind again, carrying a refined and solemn respect:
"Traveler from another land, we have recorded your neutral intervention... The great Queen Ant wishes to express her gratitude."
His tone grew increasingly formal, and the telepathic communication gradually took on a tone akin to a prayer or religion. Then, the enormous ant-man bowed his head and continued:
"Would you like to travel to our capital, Jawbone City? It is a colonial city established by our Frmi people in a secluded paradise to spread our ideals of order."
Xia Xiu stood still, watching him quietly. He noticed that several segments of the other man's carapace were trembling slightly, as if performing some kind of symbolic diplomatic ritual.
The Ant-Man then "spoke" in a rather colloquial way:
"It's an open city. Although our race values order and collective will, we also welcome neutral observers and collaborators... Most of Jawbone City is above ground; you'll see buildings, parks, and our distinctive pointed roofs. Our true lair lies underground, but very few creatures of our kind venture there..."
He paused, his tone softening slightly.
"Our queen ant—Keltexla, more commonly known as Clarity—rules the anthill deep within the royal council, personally overseeing breeding and egg cell defense. She has learned of your actions and expressed her utmost respect…she wishes to receive you in person."
As he spoke, a hint of expectation and respect appeared in his compound eyes.
Xia Xiu did not respond immediately; he simply stroked the silver cane in his hand slowly, deliberately showing a hesitant expression.
The phantom of Armand, visible only to Xia Xiu, appeared behind him, arms crossed, raising an eyebrow at the Ant-Man swarm, and muttering something under his breath:
"The name of this city sounds pretty tough... Jawbone City, ha, I guess it's for biting enemies to death."
Xia Xiu still didn't look at him, and finally just nodded slightly, his golden eyes narrowing slightly:
"Okay, I accept the invitation."
In that instant, the Fomi Ants all lowered their heads.
It's not submission, but rather a matter of courtesy.
It has to be said that the first impression that the Fumi Ant Tribe left on Xia Xiu was not bad.
These orderly beings are neither blindly fanatical nor possess the repulsive religious clinginess of some divine kin.
They neither fawned over Xia Xiu's power excessively nor were they blindly loyal to or fearful of foreign forces. Instead, they completed this diplomatic contact with just the right amount of respect and rationality.
Deep down, he had already begun to sketch out a blueprint for the future.
If the courtyard can completely conquer this place and use it as a bridgehead to penetrate the territory of the gods, it will undoubtedly be a key step in opening up the heavens.
If these Fomi ants could be as pragmatic as the Gisphiles and cooperate with the Kingdom of Heaven in a lawful manner... then granting them a status as a school community would not be unacceptable.
"A tithe is fine, it's not too heavy." Xia Xiu nodded slightly, weighing the options in his mind.
He was never obsessive about governance; cooperation was always more efficient than purging. In his mind, the extermination order was reserved for stubborn kids. As for the more obedient alien races, his other colleagues in the Heavenly Kingdom would be just as extreme—although he had exterminated quite a few races, he believed that he was truly one of the few moderates in the Heavenly Kingdom.
War is not the goal; a stable order is the foundation of rule.
Of course, these Ant-Men were unaware that beneath his seemingly gentle and calm exterior, he was silently devising a strategy to take over their world in the future.
At this moment, they were simply operating their war machines with pride, solemnly escorting their distinguished guests to their capital city—Jawbone City.