Chapter 979
Lord of the Lineage, Clarity
Chapter 979 Lord of the Lineage - Clarity
Xia Xiu's vision passed through the semi-transparent cockpit shield, silently traversing the orderly terrain.
The ground is covered with light-colored soil, as smooth as if cut by a knife, as if some unseen force had silently sculpted this land into a geometric template. The straight, winding river, like a blue ink line etched by a precision instrument, flows from the foot of the mountain into the distance, carrying not a trace of silt or impurities.
The water's surface was as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the steady, rotating silver light of the "Pearl of Day and Night" in the sky.
Among those waterways, countless building complexes are arranged in a strict grid, with varying heights yet never losing their order.
Xia Xiu saw some black metal spires piercing the sky, with arrays of lights flashing identification symbols hanging from them, guiding the city's operations like lighthouses. The outer shells of these building complexes were pieced together from polygonal metal panels, perfectly symmetrical, without a single crooked or redundant section.
Even a door or a window is governed by rules that are just right.
Further away lies the enormous ant nest on the ground—Jawbone City.
Xia Xiu sat upright in the high seat of the mechanical cockpit, his silver cane resting on his lap, his gaze calmly sweeping across the approaching city entrance.
The Ant-Man guards along the way all stood with their heads bowed, as if welcoming the return of a sacred traveler. The air was filled with the scent of molten metal and the faint glow of biotin, a unique structural stabilizer used by the Vermeer Ant City to reinforce its superstructure and underground nest.
At that moment, the Fomi ant, the size of a horse and with perception beads embedded in its body, who was walking at the very front of the line, suddenly transmitted a clear thought through the telepathic link:
"My identification code is 1179-38-KH-4A-0296. Within our colony, it represents colony number 1179, city number 38, cell number KH, hatching batch number 4A, and my individual order... However, you may refer to me as 'Kirks.' This is a general identification sequence prepared for travelers."
Xia Xiu nodded slightly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
"The city you are now entering is the core city block of Jawbone City, named—[Shadnus Capital District]. It is a strategic node city in the central layer of the secluded paradise, and also our most complete urban complex in the peaceful kingdom."
As they spoke, the war machine they were riding had already entered the inner ring of the city's outer perimeter wall.
Kirks' tone was clear and calm, yet his words carried a subtle air of pride and a sense of inertia of order:
"You are currently traveling in the [Hilat District]—this is the cultural and ceremonial area of our ant race in Shadenus, consisting of five layers, and is the core area for our Jawbone City delegation to communicate with other races."
"Further ahead, you will see the [Core Zone]—the hub of the city's energy, research, and strategic resources. Our war machines and advanced ant guards are all reconstructed here."
He continued to explain the areas on the map to Xia Xiu one by one:
The Merama district is a residential area for laborers and can also accommodate short-term stays for other ethnic groups.
"The [Kres District] serves as a breeding nest and incubation center, jointly coordinated by multiple incubation masterminds, and is one of the city's most sacred areas."
"And the [Felix District]—which we call the Energy Ring—is the core area supplying energy to the entire city. The central generator operates day and night, sustaining the operation of the entire city and the surrounding energy network."
"At the heart of the city's inner ring lies Capitols. It is the seat of the Royal Council, and Queen Clarity remotely controls the entire Jawbone City and its various spawning networks from here."
"As for the outermost [Temnos District], that's the garrison area, composed of a five-tiered ant-guard system, where combat readiness, training, and sentry duty are all conducted."
After finishing his introduction, Kirkko paused briefly, his voice becoming slightly solemn:
"Her Majesty the Queen is aware of your great favor. Clarity is willing to receive you personally—Jawbone City rarely hosts powerful outsiders; you are the first person to be allowed into the Central Ring without an invitation."
Upon hearing this, Xia Xiu lowered his eyes slightly, his fingertips gently caressing the silver lever of heaven.
The civilization of the Fomi ant tribe far exceeded his initial expectations.
When he initially analyzed the racial composition of the peaceful kingdom, he thought it was orderly and conservative, and although not hostile, it would generally reject anything foreign.
This wasn't the first time he had encountered an insectoid civilization. When he was writing "Journey to the Center of the Earth," he encountered a group of underground insectoids—the Yernia insectoids—whose civilization was inferior, their structure chaotic, and they were instinctively hostile to others. Moreover, humans were on their diet. As a result, they were eventually completely wiped out in a pollution war led by Xia Xiu.
But the Fomi Ants before us are a different story.
Their level of industrialization, urban layout, weaponry design, and even their foreign diplomatic procedures are almost comparable to those of a mid-level extraordinary lineage in Terra.
They have even mastered a certain degree of extraordinary power—not through divine favor or a system of blessings from memes, but through the application of power they have truly built themselves.
Jawbone City is the most concrete proof.
In his eyes, this city could no longer be described by primitive terms like "anthill".
It is a well-established free port hub with clear hierarchical divisions, foreign trade processing, and functional divisions between central management agencies and military and police departments. More importantly, it is tolerant of errors, open, and has a system that allows outsiders to enter.
For a conqueror who has been traversing the chain of conquest across various realms for many years, such an autonomous order is the most worthwhile thing to incorporate.
If some races need to rebuild their foundations after being conquered, then the Fomi Ants may only need one seat.
Just then, Ant-Man named Kirks turned around and made a chin-swaying gesture to Xia Xiu, signifying "welcome".
He transmitted his thoughts through the telepathic link:
"Your Excellency, this way please—we have arrived at the Royal Nest level, and Her Majesty the Queen is awaiting you in the council chamber."
Just then, Ant-Man named Kirks turned around and made a chin-swaying gesture to Xia Xiu, signifying "welcome".
He transmitted his thoughts via telepathy: 'Your Excellency, this way please—we have arrived at the Royal Nest level, and Her Majesty the Queen is waiting for you in the council chamber.'
The area ahead was clearly different from other urban areas.
The ground became more solid and smooth, composed of polished amber-colored stone slabs arranged in a symmetrical spiral pattern. On both sides were towering bone-like dome structures, seemingly constructed from a mixture of natural rock veins and sculpted domes, with faint patterns of bio-energy flowing within them.
This is not an architectural project that a single ant nest could accomplish; it is more like a living urban structure—a biotechnological marvel that integrates biological nests with architectural mechanisms.
"Is this the palace of Queen Fomi the Ant?" Xia Xiu murmured unconsciously.
Deep within the building, a high platform resembles a vast cavern vertically embedded with a queen bee's brood chamber. Pale golden energy mist rises from the cave ceiling—refined sensory spores—the core medium used for the queen ant's mental synchronization.
Eight massive biological supports, like pillars, lifted the entire royal core. Layers of curtains veiled the central position, and ripples of spiritual energy rippled through the air with a ritualistic rhythm. The gate in front slowly opened.
A colossal queen ant, ten times the size of a regular Ant-Man, with a broad abdomen and a throbbing carapace like molten ceramic, stood on a high pedestal. Several antennae swayed gently, conveying a slow, solemn majesty—an innate, unspoken biological sovereignty that commanded the entire colony. Before the throne, covered in a mixture of metal and bone armor, Kirks knelt, emitting a low, solemn ripple of spiritual energy. A spiritual echo, like the tolling of ancient bells, resonated in the air, and his voice, like a choir's chorus, pierced the vast royal hall as he began to call out the names:
"Your Excellency, before you stands the Queen of Jawbone City, the Mother of All Colonies in the Peaceful Kingdom of Paradise, the High Throne where all eggs are nurtured, the King of Transdimensional Perception and Reason, the Keeper of the Beacon, the Illuminator of the Mirror of Nerysis, the Supreme Apostle of Wisdom and Discipline, Queen Clarity XXI—commonly known to you travelers as—the Great Queen Clarity!"
The myriad realms also enjoy playing the solfège system.
Hearing the long title, Xia Xiu couldn't help but mutter a complaint in his mind.
When the Golden Retriever was complaining, it completely ignored the fact that it also had a bunch of impressive nicknames, and they weren't just empty words.
At this moment, after his subordinates finished announcing the names, the enormous figure high above the throne slowly stretched out his two tentacles.
Queen Clarity's form has transcended the traditional structure of an ant queen.
Her massive carapace was covered with patterns ranging from deep red to obsidian, like veins of rock inlaid with red crystals, its eerie light flowing like breath. Her head had a standardized three-segment structure, with a huge and bright sensory orb rising on her forehead, its crystalline refractive surface constantly shimmering with an indescribable deep light.
The way she looked at Xia Xiu was unlike the way humans make eye contact.
Her main tentacles drooped slowly at the tips, swaying slightly, hovering in the vortex of perception in front of the throne.
In an instant, it was like a bolt from the blue.
The hazy mist behind her suddenly burst into a dazzling ring of light.
This crown is a perfect ring, with a deep bronze-colored structural mark on its outer edge, like a ring-shaped passage in an ant colony's nest; inside the ring, amber-colored light particles rotate, bearing a unique array of intentional symbols from the Vermi ant tribe. At the center of the ring, a faint blue light flickers, which is the main control circuit pulse linked to the colony's consciousness, stable, focused, and without any redundancy.
As the crown fully unfolded in the void, the atmosphere in the entire throne room instantly froze.
A transparent yet orderly wave of oppression spread out in layers, like the absolute pheromones released by an invisible queen bee, overwhelming and crushing all the Formy ants present. It was a rationally constructed, well-ordered mental structure, devoid of emotion or hatred, yet it caused every being whose thought structure deviated from rational standards to instinctively begin to shrink, crawl, and tremble.
The surrounding Vermi Ants lowered their compound eyes, their antennae lay flat, and their six limbs hung down to the ground like collapsed steel pillars. For a moment, the entire hall seemed to be engulfed in a miniature earthquake.
Xia Xiu remained standing, his silver staff at his side, his figure like a lone pine tree in the clouds, completely still.
The oppressive aura was like a gentle spring breeze brushing against his clothes; he didn't even summon his crown. He simply stood there, letting the opponent's ethereal pressure wash over him from within his crown, like a true observer rather than a fighter.
Xia Xiu sensed it.
The other party is not some kind of high-level deity incarnation, but a pure information integration entity that has evolved to the extreme from "organic rationality".
She is neither governed by faith nor corrupted by divinity; her power comes from long-term intellectual evolution and a stable cluster structure, making her a typical genealogical type of magical being.
Just like himself.
"The first threshold is that the Ethereum floating-point efficiency is close to 50 trillion, which is extremely oppressive... and it is also the master of the master-controlled mind scheduling type spectrum."
Xia Xiu made a silent assessment in his mind. His eyes gleamed, but his face wore his usual gentle smile, and he even raised his hand to pat the handle of the Heavenly Lever.
Queen Clarity seemed to have also noticed the discrepancy in this standoff of etiquette.
Her scalp, sculpted like a crystal shell, drooped slightly, and the phlogiston core on her body pulsated with a gentle frequency. Then, the radiance of the crown gradually faded, slowly receding into the amber-colored bio-central device behind her. With it, the oppressive force subsided and the air loosened.
She finally spoke, her tone gentle, yet still retaining the multi-frequency resonance unique to her race:
"Please forgive my rudeness just now. I did not intend to release my suppression; it's just that your arrival was so sudden that it caught me off guard..."
Xia Xiu looked up at her, his pale golden eyes smiling in the soft light.
"You know my identity?"
The air seemed to freeze for a moment.
Queen Clarity tilted her head slightly, her complex eyes, gleaming with a mixture of hesitation and awe. Her voice, transmitted slowly through multiple resonant chambers, seemed to conceal a deep-seated apprehension hidden beneath the respect:
"Although our race has always lived within a peaceful realm, never venturing into external conflicts... how many high-ranking beings throughout the myriad realms have not heard of your great name?"
Hugh Abraham, the Golden Tyrant, Lord of the Courtyard, the Fourth Swordholder, and Conqueror of All Realms.
"We just... don't understand why you're here."
She didn't use words like "visit" or "observation," because Clarity knew all too well that beings of this rank would never appear "by chance" in a certain place.
Xia Xiu chuckled softly, his silver cane twirling gently in his hand, his fingertips tracing the gear-like patterns on it. His smile was devoid of emotion, seemingly merely scrutinizing, yet also casual.
"Oh? So why do you think I've come here?"
Clarity fell silent.
A moment of tranquility spread through the throne room.
Of course she knew the answer.
Hugh Abraham was a walking natural disaster; everyone knew his infamous reputation for causing explosions wherever he went.
"Are you now planning to notify those beings in your peaceful kingdom who are at your level, or even higher?"
Xia Xiu asked softly, his tone calm, revealing no hint of probing or murderous intent, yet each syllable felt like a sharp blade slicing across the floor.
Clarity's compound eyes slowly closed and reopened. For a fleeting moment, she sensed a chilling aura, and immediately replied:
"I won't!"