Chapter 148: The Advancing Ant Horde
Mountain Lord’s generous praise made the Corrosive-Gold Ant Queen chuckle softly:
“Mountain Lord, you overpraise me. With the abilities of everyone here, such tasks could easily be done by you all as well. My sons merely did some insignificant work to help you conserve your strength, nothing more.”
The Ant Queen’s words were mere courtesy.
Everyone knew that to annihilate a village as effortlessly as the ant horde did, even upper Earth-rank demons would find it difficult.
Perhaps only the Crystal-Scaled Venomous Python, who could release poisonous gas on a massive scale, or Mo Lin, who could control Jiangshi, might barely manage such a feat—but even then, their efficiency would not compare to that of the Ant Queen’s horde.
Therefore, none dared to underestimate the Corrosive-Gold Ant Queen.
The ant horde continued to advance, while nine Earth-rank demonic beasts followed behind, holding the rear line.
In fact, aside from these nine, there were many other Earth-rank demonic beasts within the army, but their strength was insufficient to stand beside the stronger demons, so they kept their distance.
At that moment, Mo Lin felt a searing gaze from above.
It wasn’t a look of admiration—Mo Lin knew very well—it was the Silver-Winged Eagle King’s stare.
Clearly, that Eagle King still believed Mo Lin unworthy to stand among them. After all, they already had the Crystal-Scaled Venomous Python—why had Mountain Lord invited another mid-Earth-rank python demon?
Mo Lin couldn’t be bothered to care.
If the Eagle King was foolish enough to attack him now, during such a critical moment of the human–demon war, not only would Mo Lin retaliate, but even Mountain Lord and the Spirit Monkey wouldn’t let it go unpunished.
Hadn’t Mountain Lord already set aside his previous grudge—the matter of Mo Lin devouring his Purple Crystal Dragon Ore?
Mo Lin suspected that Mountain Lord’s reason for inviting him into this powerful coalition of demonic beasts was likely related to how he had swallowed half an ore mountain in such a short span of time.
Even Mountain Lord had to guard that Purple Crystal Dragon Ore for years, yet Mo Lin had consumed an entire mine without hesitation—clearly, he had some hidden abilities.
It was likely that Mountain Lord wished to recruit Mo Lin into “Falcon Beak” to observe what strength he truly possessed in the upcoming war between humans and demons.
Mo Lin didn’t mind either way. After all, he could already tell—Mountain Lord was a player who respected the rules of the game.
The ant horde pressed on, wiping out several smaller villages along the way before Mo Lin and the others finally arrived at the watchtower.
The watchtower served as Ningjiang County’s outpost.
Reaching it meant that the county seat itself wasn’t far. At the Silver-Winged Eagle King’s speed, it could probably reach the city walls in the blink of an eye.
However, that also meant if they failed to eliminate the sentries in time and allowed them to report to Ningjiang County, the surprise element of the “Falcon Beak” operation would be lost.
The Spirit Monkey stretched lazily and glanced at the gathered demons:
“Everyone, it’s time for us to move.”
He nodded toward Mountain Lord and the Silver-Winged Eagle King:
“Ant Queen, continue commanding your swarm. The rest of you aren’t suited for this kind of task—leave it to us. You stand guard.”
The demons nodded. The watchtower, as Ningjiang’s outer defense, surely housed capable soldiers. If they relied solely on the ants, someone might escape.
“In that case, let’s begin.”
Inside the watchtower, the veteran guard Barton leaned against the cold railing, eyelids drooping.
Ever since the Six Gates launched the “Locust” Operation, demonic beast activity in Yongzhou had dropped sharply. As a watchtower guard, life had grown much easier.
But his old partner, Lin Xu, felt no drowsiness at all—he kept watching the forest intently.
Suddenly, Lin Xu spoke:
“Something’s wrong.”
Barton jolted.
“What is it?”
Lin Xu frowned.
“Too quiet.”
Barton groaned and lay back down.
“Come on, brother, you just can’t relax, can you? Quiet is good! You want to live every day scared out of your mind?”
“Thanks to the Six Gates, we can finally enjoy some peace.”
“Ah, Six Gates… I could kneel and thank Gate Master Zhu myself!”
While Barton lazily praised the Six Gates, Lin Xu kept his sharp gaze sweeping across the forest.
The silent woods—without even a breeze—looked, to him, like a giant beast lying in ambush.
“Something’s wrong…”
Lin Xu muttered. His nose twitched; a faint, indescribable odor drifted by—iron rust mixed with rotting mushrooms.
Suddenly, the ground beneath his feet trembled—barely perceptibly, but steady and rhythmic, like countless muffled drumbeats from afar.
It was as though… an enormous army was marching toward the watchtower!
“Barton! Wake up!”
Lin Xu shoved his companion awake, heart pounding, and aimed his illumination artifact into the distance.
Barton, rubbing his eyes, glanced up—and froze in terror.
“Six Gates, what… what is that?!”
The once-dark forest line was writhing, as though a boundless black river was surging out from every shadow between the trees!
But it wasn’t water. It was countless giant ants, their bodies gleaming with cold, eerie light beneath the moon.
They moved in silence, the drumming of their countless legs merging into a horrifying, thunderous thud-thud-thud-thud, pounding straight into Barton and Lin Xu’s chests.
“A-a-a-ant tide?! It’s an ant tide! Ring the alarm!!”
Barton screamed, his voice breaking with fear.
He stumbled toward the alarm bell, trembling hands reaching for the rope—only to let go the next instant.
More precisely—his whole body left the watchtower.
Because a pair of razor-sharp claws had already pierced through his chest, lifting him high into the air.
The Silver-Winged Eagle King flapped its wings and let out a shrill laugh:
“Hehehe, what’s wrong, human? Come play with me instead.”
With that, the Eagle King soared skyward with Barton’s body impaled on its talons, tossing him into free fall—only to catch him again before he hit the ground, repeating the torture over and over.
It was pure cruelty.
Mo Lin watched the scene expressionlessly, eyes cold.
After all, he had done far worse himself—like the massacre of Hongjia Village.
Even Hong Sheng and Hong Yu only knew that their entire village had been wiped out—they didn’t know what those people had gone through before they died.
If Hong Yu ever learned what Mo Lin had truly done back then, the name “The Jade-Faced Rakshasa” would surely become even more infamous.
Meanwhile, Lin Xu bolted out of the watchtower.
Just one glance at the dense ant horde was enough for him to realize their intent.
They were going to attack Ningjiang County!
He couldn’t let that happen!
His partner Barton was beyond saving—but he still had to try!
Yet he had barely taken two steps out of the tower before freezing in place.
Before him stood a monkey and a white tiger.
He didn’t recognize the monkey, but the tiger’s name was known to all—
“Mountain Lord…”
Lin Xu’s mouth went dry.
With the Mountain Lord here, there was no way he could warn Ningjiang. All he could do was pray that the people of Ningjiang would notice the demonic invasion in time and prepare.
Now, all he could do was—
“Ahhh! Demons! Die!”
Lin Xu drew his blade, shouting fiercely as he charged at the Mountain Lord and the Spirit Monkey.
Moments later, the black “river” of ants flooded over the outer palisade, collapsing the watchtower as it surged toward Ningjiang County—unstoppable.
Within the city, people still slept peacefully, unaware of the nightmare rushing toward them.