There was no room for refusal, his orders demanded unconditional obedience. For a moment, Colt and the other Divison Leader were frozen, unsure how to respond.
"Your Majesty, it's not good. Almost all the internal organs are damaged. You need treatment immediately," the gentle penguin Peggy stepped forward quickly, focused solely on tending to the queen's injuries.
In her hurry, the red book she always carried slipped to the ground, a detail that went mostly unnoticed, except by the Meleoron, whose expression changed subtly. That red book stirred faint memories of his past human life, sparking an
inexplicable excitement within him. But before he could process those scattered memories, a splash of blue blood hit his face, staining his normally green skin like paint.
"This is..." Meleoron trembled, touching his face and wiping away the thick blood, his heart pounding wildly. He could almost hear his own heartbeat echoing in his ears.
Could it be...? Slowly, like an old machine creaking into motion, Meleoron turned his head toward the side of the Ant King, and there lay a headless corpse.
Peggy had only been thinking about treating the ant queen when the ant king suddenly waved his tail without warning and killed his own men. Meleoron couldn't understand why the ant king reacted so violently…
Peggy was clearly just a colleague, someone who shouldn't have been involved with him at all. So why did it hurt so much inside?
Aside from the saddened Meleoron, Colt and the other division leaders were even more shocked. They couldn't grasp why the ant king targeted Peggy in the first place.
The ant king was known for being willful and ruthless. Since Peggy hadn't followed his order to find food, he killed her without hesitation.
To him, disobedient subordinates had no place. In fact, he never even saw these division leaders as true subordinates, they simply weren't qualified.
With cold, emotionless eyes, the ant king looked down at his blood-stained tail and ordered Colt, who was frozen with horror, "It's dirty. Wipe it for me."
Colt's pupils trembled, his body almost unable to move from the shock of witnessing Peggy's murder. "Oh, I happen to have a handkerchief here. It's my honor to wipe it for the king..." he stammered.
Seeing this, the old turtle beside him quickly stepped in to save Colt, pulling out a handkerchief and walking toward the ant king with a forced smile. But in the next moment, the division leaders saw a terrifying blur, the old turtle's head vanished instantly! The ant king had struck again.
The old turtle's heavy shell made his body more stable than Peggy's, so while both were headless, Peggy's body slumped to the ground with blood splattering everywhere, whereas the old turtle remained standing upright, his head flying off like a ghost without wings.
Although the old turtle's death wasn't as visually shocking as Peggy's, it felt even more terrifying, sending chills down the spines of the remaining division leaders. There were only eight of them left now, and in just a few breaths, two had been killed by their newly crowned king.
Compared to the enemies lurking in the shadows, it was clear their own king was causing far more damage. Only six division leaders remained.
"Don't make me repeat myself, clean it up!" The Ant King flicked his tail lazily, his gaze fixed on Colt with an expression that was both indifferent and oddly amused.
A strange smile crept across his face, this cruel and cold ruler was beginning to appreciate Colt's reckless boldness. That was the way of a true king: no creature could defy his commands without facing death.
Colt knew better than to hesitate; even a moment's delay could mean his head would be next to roll. Hastily, he took the handkerchief from the old ghost's hand and carefully wiped the Ant King's tail.
"Where's the food?" the Ant King asked once the tail was clean.
"This meal has been prepared for you," answered Neferpitou and the other guards. "From now on, we pledge to be your most loyal and dependable followers." The three of them knelt on one knee, a clear sign of their loyalty.
The Ant King's expression remained cool but acknowledging as he accepted their pledge and left with Neferpitou and the others. Once he was gone, Colt and the other division leaders felt a wave of relief wash over them, the tense atmosphere finally loosening.
"Quick, save the queen!" Colt ordered the octopus chimera ant, one of the few among the commanders with medical skills. Peggy lay collapsed nearby, unable to help.
"No! The internal damage is too severe. We can't save her with what we have," the octopus chimera ant replied grimly.
"Lady Neferpitou can you help? Your abilities will definitely save the queen," Colt said with determination.
But then Neferpitou's words cut through the room like a cold blade. "Queen? That thing's useless now." She left as lightly as she had spoken, but her words struck Colt deeply. His pupils shrank as he stared after her retreating back.
Suddenly, memories flooded his mind, the captured Pokkle, the forced memory extraction, and Neferpitou's cold dismissal back then: "It's useless." Her expression had been just as blank, just as decisive.
That's when Colt finally understood the deep sense of alienation he'd felt all along. Unlike the division leaders, the low-level soldier ants and the royal guards were the same, they had no real emotions. Or rather, the guards only had feelings for the Ant King.
The Royal guards and the king weren't like them; they were something else, demons. This realization hit Colt hard, and with it, his entire perspective shifted. To save the ant queen, he was even willing to ask the enemy for help.
Outside the ant nest, Morel stood by the entrance, gripping a large pipe and scanning the distance. The wind blew his red scarf, and since the ant king's breath had just been suppressed, he was especially alert to any movement near the nest.
"Hmm? Something's coming," he muttered. Knov squinted, spotting a small black dot approaching.
As it got closer, they realized it was Colt, a chimera ant that looked like a bird. "A bird-shaped chimera ant? What's it doing here?" Morel frowned, puzzled by why the chimera ant had arrived at such a critical moment.
Was it here to challenge them on behalf of the ant king? That seemed unlikely.
"No, wait, look! It's holding a white flag," Knov said, watching as the flag fluttered in the wind. "It's surrendering."
Colt called out as he neared the cave entrance, sweat dripping from his forehead. "We surrender! I've come seeking help, please don't attack me!"
It was a risky move for a lone ant to approach the enemy like this; getting caught was always a possibility. But Colt had no choice, if he didn't act, the queen would die.