Re:Ant Lord-Chapter 101: Front Lines

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A murmur happened among the million ants as if it’s shifting dunes.

"Our nation will grasp this hour. Tomorrow, at sun‑crest, the Grand Legion marches. All squads carve the safe path; heavy columns secure oasis lines. When A’zhorath breathes his last, his body will belong to the Queen." She paused and her veil rippled. "Any who stand against us, Ruler or any other beast, will kneel or be destroyed."

Cheers roared. "Long live the Queen."

She raised a hand; hush returned. "Princess Thea commands the Vanguard Spear army. Princess Mia commands the Dawn Blade army. Everyone in the army will cooperate with them or you will be punished."

Glances between sisters.

The Queen continued, "General Oryx, General Pearl, General Caldera will attack the desert ruler with me." Three eight‑star Ants saluted, aura storms crackling.

"Soldiers, rest tonight. At dawn we will claim victory." She drifted back; the disk spiralled from view. Trumpets blared dismiss.

Mia tugged Kai. "Come with me, I must talk and make an attack plan with the Dawn Blade leaders."

As they left, Thea’s mocking laughter drifted: "Try not to lose your toy boy, dear little sister. I don’t think he can satisfy you. He is so weak."

Mia stiffened but walked on.

The Dawn Blade army’s eight leaders gathered around a canvas table in their sand‑walled command tent. Mia laid Kai’s maps, marked safe fissures, and noted the mine location.

"Our job," she said, pointing, "is to clear this ravine of Sand‑Drake packs by sunrise. Then set a beacon for legion supply crawlers."

Leaders murmured assent.

Kai annotated beast dens from Pred Instinct memory. "Drakes two‑ stars typically, alpha maybe three."

Private Fenn asked, "What if Thea tries to scoop our kill again?"

Mia’s smile held iron. "Then we finish first."

Kai admired her growing steel. Later, after the squad dispersed to sharpen gear, Mia lingered. "You saved my life, Kai," she said quietly.

"I’ll invoice later," he teased. Then seriously said, "Tomorrow you lead, they’ll follow."

Her eyes glimmered. "Rest now. Tomorrow is a big day."

He bowed slightly, headed to bedroll inside the adjacent shelter. Yet sleep eluded him, memories of Saber‑Cat rush still hot. He checked stats:

[Status window-

Name: Kai (Elite Worker Ant) frёewebnoѵēl.com

Species: Monarch Devourer Ant

Level: 27 (⭐⭐)

Exp: 900/1000

HP: 2000/2000

Aura: 2700/2700

Lifespan: 10+ years

Strength: 157

Speed: 120

Stamina: 118

Unallocated stats: 15]

He closed eyes, letting steady camp sounds lull him: whetstones scraping, sentries clicking, desert wind whispering of titans’ approach.

Before first light, bugle cry stirred camp. Kai rolled up, joined the squad at dune crest. In the valley below, hundreds of Sand‑Drakes basked on warm rocks.

Mia’s voice cut crisp. "Dawn Blade, advance in star formation. Kai you will be on my left; draw wing packs inward for central volley."

He nodded, heart hammering with eager fire. Sun’s rim broke the horizon. Soon the battle will begin on signals. They will charge at the enemy. The sand is spraying under their feet. A legendary battle is about to begin now.

The eastern sky flared a savage orange, as though dawn itself had caught fire, when the Ant‑Kingdom Grand Legion surged across the Dune Flats. One million disciplined soldiers moved like a single crimson tide, phalanxes in bronze, stinger cavalry astride hornet steeds, rune‑smith artillery rolling on iron‑jaw beetles.

Behind them, the desert shuddered under a deeper rumble: A’zhorath, the Desert Ruler, tossed in his death‑throes somewhere far below underground tunnels.

Ruler is weakened and about to die, but his servants did not. From the cracked wastes ahead, a black curtain of Scarab Marauders rose. Three‑storey beetles clad in volcanic chitin, their jaws dripping tar. Sand‑Drake packs two‑star terrors, skittered between their legs. Above wheeled Glass‑Wing Vultures, six‑metre wings catching the sun in rainbow blades.

High above everything, the Queen of the Ant Kingdom rode a floating dais of obsidian, her eight star rank aura shining like a miniature sun. Beside her, the three Eight‑Star rank generals Oryx, Pearl, Caldera hovered upon rune‑forged disks, as casual as nobles in a garden. Their gaze locked on the rising host.

"Left echelon, hold," General Oryx rumbled. "Range‑weavers: loose!"

Hundreds of bow‑ants drew fused‑silica longbows. At Oryx’s signal they released a swarm of arrows screamed across the sky. Wings shattered, drakes tumbled. Scarabs locked shields, shells ringing like iron bells.

A moment later the two vast forces crashed together.

Clang! Clank!

Roar!

Sand plumed in pillars as legions grappled. The air filled with the stink of ichor and scorched resin.

Princess Mia’s Dawn Blade arm’s speared into a flank of drakes, their formation tight, Kai at the left horn. Thea’s Vanguard Spear slammed another flank.

Above, the Queen raised her hand. A pillar of flaming quartz erupted beneath a Scarab captain, shattering its armour in a shower of molten glass. The Eight‑Star generals carved swathes of death through vulture ranks with effortless flicks of claw and sigil.

Yet for all the imperial might, the Ruler’s army fought with suicidal fury. Every drake killed seemed replaced by two. Glass‑Wing dive‑bombs cracked ant lines; black tar grenades from scarabs dissolved shields.

Mia threw orders like daggers, voice steady: "Left rank, step, parry, thrust! Keep the centre locked; flankers, drive them inward!"

Kai obeyed, spear flicking. He impaled a drake, ripped free, spun to parry another. "Rhythm," he told himself. "Strike, shift, breathe".

His stats burned like hot mercury in his limbs, Strength 157 let him cleave chitin, Speed 120 whipped his blade faster than drake eyes could track.

But the battlefront sprawled for kilometres; command threads tangled. A quake rolled underfoot. A’zhorath, the desert ruler convulsing again. Dunes collapsed, swallowing friendly units. Kai’s Predator Instinct spiked, a deeper threat beneath.

"Mia!" he shouted. "Something big tunnelling at two o’clock! Be careful."

She glimpsed the ripple and yelled, "Brace!"

A titanic Obsidian Naga burst from below some five‑star construct, made of fused glass. Its tail whipped, scattering ants like toys. Dawn Blade faltered. Thea’s Vanguard pivoted to engage, but not before Naga’s lashing strike smashed twenty soldiers.