Chapter 147: Worker Ants
Chapter 147: Worker Ants
"My first lair is inhabited by worker ants. I enslaved them with force because they were quite good at eating stones and dust and creating underground tunnels. Also the fact that they guard my treasures. There's a colony of them here, but there's no need for supreme master to worry. They are far weaker than you are, after all. Besides, the colony doesn't even have more than a thousand members. The last time I visited here, there was a queen, a royal ant guard that solely protects her, 3 ant generals, and several hundred ants workers," Xiao Xie said hurriedly with squinted eyes as she looked at Marvin.
The worker ants can eat 10 kilogram worth of rock and sand every single day, and there were several hundreds of them. The Draconian Snake subdued them with force because of this very trait. They were the ones to create her underground lairs. The draconian smake had also tasked them to roam the bloodfiend wilderness in search of treasures and bring them back to her. The punishment for not being able to fulfill her wishes usually meant death. She used to eat the worker ants that dissatisfied her in front of the entire colony.
"Tell me about how strong they are!" Marvin said as his silver eyes flickered with dangerous intentions. If it wasn't because he was careful and asked Noah to scan the surrounding for magical beasts, then they would be fighting with around a thousand enemies, but thankfully he was cautious and warry about this situation and didn't get caught off guard.
However, the little snake was getting on his nerves, as she had tried to sabotage him again and again.
"Yes, yes, the strongest among them all is the royal guard that always stays by the queen's side. It's a rank-7 demonic beast. The generals are also demonic beasts between rank-3 and rank-2. The queen isn't the strongest as she is only a rank-1 demonic beast, but she can control and command all the members of her colony by using her superior bloodline. The rest are as strong as rank-3 demonic beasts and at least rank-3 magical beasts," Xiao Xie answered as she felt Marvin's boiling anger and felt that he will torture and skin her alive.
Leilani's gaze landed on the hole in front of them as she stood beside Marvin with a thoughtful expression.
"I've read about them in my free time. The queen lays 12 eggs daily. The eggs hatch in a few days, giving birth to an equal number of worker ants. The workers do tasks that help the colony of ants survive. Some are born for the sole reason of protecting the queen. A lot of them gather food for the queen. The remaining ones tend to the eggs," she said, remembering the fact that the worker ants weren't classified as dangerous even though their reproduction ability far surpassed the elves and humans because they can't grow stronger than a certain limit.
"We need to take care of them or else it will be too late in the future," Marvin said. If they are left alone, they will grow endlessly. Today, they might only face around a thousand or so worker ants, but the same can't be said after a few days. Their reproduction rate was terrifying. In a few months, their number will possibly double. It will become more time-taxing to clear them out of the lair.
"Wait, I remembered something important. The worker ants are born as rank-3 magical beasts. This is their minimum strength. The normal ones can only grow up to become as strong as a rank-10 magical beast. While the ones with a better quality bloodline can not surpass the ranks of demonic beasts, including the queen. The only one that can become a monster lord is the King. The worker ants can become powerful than their limits only once the king is born," Leilani said. "What I mean to say is that it doesn't make sense that there are so many normal worker ants at the rank of demonic beasts when it is only possible if the queen has given birth to a king!"
Not just Bai Yue, but even Xiao Xie and Fatty Liam looked at Leilani with awe as they thought that this beautiful sister is a very knowledgeable person.
"There's no way. I made sure that there will only be one Queen and no king in the colony, regularly."
Xiao Xie knew a lot about worker ants. Normally, she used to eat a queen if there was more than one of them. Plus, she also made sure to kill anyone that possessed even a single characteristic of a king. After all, only a worker ant king could possibly be a threat to her. She used to weed out the threat because it could maximize its potential.
"That only means that they weren't loyal to you, and have given birth to a king in secret. I believe that they were planning a coup to defeat and slay you."
Marvin smiled. What goes around, comes around. He believed that even if he didn't teach the Draconian Snake a lesson then sooner or later, she would have died under the hands of the worker ant colony that was enslaved with force.
"Hateful creatures, I should have killed them after they finished creating my lairs."
Xiao Xie didn't know anything about the power system structure of the worker ants. If she knew, she would have already wiped out all of them for hiding the truth about the birth of the ant king.
"Big bro, shall I gather information about them?" Fatty Liam asked as he was somewhat skeptical about Xiao Xie's words. Though it's not like he doubted Leilani. He just wanted to make extra sure.
"Please do."
Marvin didn't decline. First off, Fatty Liam was rich and it didn't cost a lot to purchase information. Secondly, they were business partners bound to make and share a lot of wealth in the future.
Furthermore, he also believed that it will be better for Little Ball to purchase information about the worker ants.