He carefully skirted a natural stone pillar, hiding behind it as he peered at the front half of the Ant Queen's body.
Her massive rear end was connected to a surprisingly narrow torso.
Because her rear was so enormous, her front half was suspended in the air.
Her few thin legs had degenerated into what looked like stiff wooden sticks, only capable of the simplest twitches.
Her most prominent features were her two antennae.
They were exceptionally long—more than three times the length of an ordinary ant's antennae.
Two worker ants stood beside her, dedicated entirely to feeding her.
Her diet consisted entirely of plump, premium grubs.
She ate from the front while her abdomen squirmed, continually giving birth from the rear.
The Ant Queen was truly a highly efficient ant production line.Lu Qing checked her information.
'Species: Giant Strength Ant (Ant Queen)
Strength: None (Low Tier Seventh Grade)
Commander Profile: The controller of the Giant Strength Ant colony. Possesses formidable mental strength. Capable of directing the colony's division of labor and forcibly converting the Great Strength Ant soldier classes.'
Lu Qing chuckled.
A Low Tier Seventh Grade with zero combat strength!
This wasn't just a breeding machine; she was a massive bundle of experience!
"Who's there!"
The Ant Queen possessed immense mental strength, but it was strictly geared toward her own kind. Her general perception was barely better than that of an ordinary ant. Otherwise, she would have sensed Lu Qing the moment he entered the cavern.
Coupled with her lack of vision, she didn't detect a thing until he stepped out from behind the stone pillar.
Lu Qing rapidly lashed out with his Blades. The two worker ants had zero time to react before their antennae were cleanly chopped off.
"Ant Queen, you've forgotten me already?"
How could the Ant Queen possibly forget?
Her stubby little legs scrabbled frantically, but her swollen rear made it impossible to move a single inch.
Lu Qing chuckled darkly. "Surprised? I'm back, and this time I found the real you."
The Ant Queen's mind raced in panic.
"Your colony is under siege! Your Lords are in mortal peril! Every female mantis is in danger of being slaughtered! If all the females die, your Mantis Race will be wiped out! You should be out there saving them, not making trouble for me..."
Save them?
The Ant Queen naturally had no idea that he, Lu Qing, was the mastermind behind the entire disaster.
He strolled up to the Ant Queen with a relaxed air and patted her swollen abdomen with his Sickle Leg. "It doesn't matter. You wipe out my kind, I wipe out yours. It's a fair trade, and I can afford it."
That gang of female mantises spent all day dreaming about eating him after mating. Using them to buy this perfect opportunity was a massive profit in his book.
He could afford the trade, but the Ant Queen definitely couldn't.
She wouldn't feel a pang of heartache no matter how many worker ants, soldier ants, or even flying ants died. She could always breed more.
But right now, her own life was on the line.
The Ant Queen's massive abdomen and rear squirmed frantically. "We're even! Let's wipe the slate clean right here!"
Lu Qing rested his Blade Leg lightly against her antennae.
"I'll wipe the slate clean once you're dead."
He swung his Blade down without hesitation, severing both of her long antennae.
Without her antennae, the Ant Queen could no longer issue commands. Deprived of her direction, no amount of soldier ants could pose the slightest threat to him.
The soldier ants that had been rushing over in orderly formations instantly lost their collective mind. They crashed into each other in utter chaos, and some even began to tear at one another.
...
The moment her antennae were severed, the Ant Queen grew incredibly weak.
Her previously sharp mental voice dwindled to a barely perceptible whisper.
"Mantis, my Ant Race will never share the same sky with you!"
"You are all nothing but despicable, mindless bugs!"
Lu Qing merely laughed.
This was the law of the jungle—the strong devoured the weak. There was no such thing as being despicable.
Besides, he was a literal bug now anyway, which meant he had zero moral scruples left!
He patted her bloated belly with his Blade Leg, considering a different angle.
The Ant Queen was just a breeding machine, and the ant eggs she laid were Fourth Grade—which were still somewhat useful to him right now.
In that case, shouldn't he keep her captive? That way, he would have an endless supply of ant eggs to eat.
He had intended to threaten her into submission.
But the moment he expressed the thought, the Ant Queen gnashed her mandibles.
"In your dreams! Every member of my Ant Race is clad in iron and forged with unyielding pride! We will never serve as your livestock!"
He couldn't farm her?
Lu Qing shrugged mentally and raised his Blade Leg.
"Then I'll just have to send you on your way!"
He brought his Blade down.
The Ant Queen's defenses were pitifully weak. The single strike neatly decapitated her.
Great Strength Ants were inedible!
This was primarily because their bodies contained formic acid, which was highly corrosive.
That was exactly why he had ignored several easy opportunities to hunt soldier and flying ants earlier.
By the same logic, the Ant Queen's upper half was off the menu.
But her massive, swollen abdomen was perfectly safe to eat!
His Blade Leg carved out a thick slice of tender meat.
He wolfed it down, and before he could even taste it, the meat instantly dissolved into pure energy.
'Flesh Value +0.2'
Not bad! A single bite yielded 0.2 points!
With a carcass this huge, he could easily advance to the Seventh Grade!
Lu Qing practically hummed with motivation!
To prevent the headless swarm of soldier ants from disturbing him, Lu Qing sealed the chamber entrance and threw himself entirely into grinding out experience.
Listening to the endless stream of system prompts put him in a fantastic mood!
Just as he was happily feasting, he suddenly heard a noise from the corner of the cavern.
Lu Qing scuttled over and discovered a tunnel barely the size of a washbasin.
A single ant stumbled out from within.
It was only twenty centimeters long, and its legs were practically turning to jelly as it walked.
He pulled up its stats and instantly understood.
'Species: Great Strength Ant (Male Ant)'
'Strength: First Grade (continuously dropping)'
It was a male ant used purely for breeding!
Lu Qing looked from the twenty-centimeter-long male ant to the Ant Queen's massive two-to-three-meter-long rear end, and fell deep into thought.
Wait a minute. How exactly did it accomplish the glorious mission of propagating its species?
It must have been exhausting. Hell, it might have even run the risk of drowning...
After all, the defending party was more than ten times the size of the attacker...
With the Ant Queen dead, the thoroughly drained male ant collapsed to the ground after barely a few steps.
Lu Qing ended its misery with a single slash.
...
By the time he finished devouring the Seventh Grade Ant Queen, his Experience Bar was completely full.
'Energy accumulation complete. Proceed with grade advancement?'
"Yes!"
His body instantly absorbed all the accumulated energy.
A wave of pure comfort swept through Lu Qing, causing him to let out a satisfied hum.
At the exact same moment, his physical size began to skyrocket!
In just a few short minutes, his body rapidly expanded until he was a full meter long.
His Blade Legs underwent a transformation as well.
Previously, they had been as black as ink. Now, the color was even denser, giving off a dark, chillingly abyssal aura at a single glance.
'Species: Dark Blade Mantis
Level: Low Tier Seventh Grade (10.7/500)
Skill: Deadly Slash and Pierce (Evolvable)
Skill: Swift Rapid Flight (Evolvable)'
His skills had also been enhanced.
His Flight Skill in particular had upgraded into Swift Rapid Flight.
This skill would allow him to produce explosive bursts of flight at a moment's notice.
Excellent!
His hunting capabilities had just received a massive boost.
At a meter long, his body was much larger now; getting into the tunnels had been easy, but squeezing his way out would be a little tricky.
However, thanks to the sheer strength of his Blade Legs, he effortlessly remodeled the narrow passages as he went.
Along the way, he saw swarms of soldier ants furiously attacking one another. Without the Ant Queen to guide them, they were utterly incapable of distinguishing friend from foe. Shredded pieces of worker and soldier ant corpses littered the tunnels.
With his new Seventh Grade strength, Lu Qing could now slice through fully armored Fifth Grade soldier ants in a single, effortless strike!
He carved a bloody path out of the nest with the utmost ease.
Empowered by his latest evolution, he didn't even have to follow the winding tunnels; he simply carved a straight path right to the surface.
...
It was exceptionally quiet outside.
Lu Qing turned around and threw one last glance at Ant Mountain.
The exterior remained intact, but its heart had already been utterly ruined!