Dragon Cypress controlled the Dominating Throne, flew out of the room through the hole in the wall, and shrank to about 15 centimeters in diameter.
After running back and forth many times, it moved the Spider Silk Bag and the winter food supply inside onto the soft cushion of the Throne.
Once everything was in order, Dragon Cypress contentedly lay on the chair's soft cushion, gnawing on dried meat held in its forelimbs. Simultaneously, it used its mind to operate the Dominating Throne, guiding it through the passageway to the exit of the Starship.
It left the Starship directly and flew back to its Territory, keeping a low profile and close to the ground.
All three Cypress Life Seeds were safe and sound.
Dragon Cypress didn't know how many days it had been slumbering through its Molting Evolution, as its consistent timekeeping eventually faltered. However, judging by the temperature, it was almost winter.
The Cypress Life Seeds, despite being Origin Force Plants, were still subject to natural climate restrictions and followed seasonal patterns, and had now almost halted their growth.
Dragon Cypress moved the Spider Silk Bag into the storage room of the Ant Nest and carefully stored the newly-bred fourth Life Seed, the Giant Cypress Seed, waiting to be sown the following spring.
Now at the 5th Age Period of evolution, it could again choose a plant seed for Life Seed breeding.
What to choose? After much deliberation, Dragon Cypress decided on the 'Cypress' seed.
Lastly, Dragon Cypress operated the Dominating Throne to shrink and placed it in the bedroom of the Ant Nest. It then quietly lay on top, silently absorbing Origin Force to grow.
「Some time later...」
After many attempts, Dragon Cypress became familiar with some functions of the Dominating Throne.
The Dominating Throne could fly, although not very fast, which seemed to be related to the strength of its own spiritual power.
The Dominating Throne had the function of storing Origin Force, and operating it to fly would consume Origin Force.
The stored Origin Force seemed infinite.
Compared to its stored Origin Force, the consumption for flying and traveling was negligible; without close inspection, it was almost impossible to notice any depletion.
Moreover, after Origin Force was consumed, the Dominating Throne would autonomously draw Natural Primordial Force, promptly replenishing its reserves.
Furthermore, when Dragon Cypress lay on the cushion, the Dominating Throne would automatically release Origin Force to envelop its entire body, aiding in its cultivation.
Dragon Cypress also tried several times to activate the 'Messenger' function, but each time it was shut down due to 'Poor physical condition'.
This must have been due to the significant energy consumed by advancing to the 5th Age Period.
Dragon Cypress simply came to terms with it, spending most of its time each day lying on the Dominating Throne, eating, absorbing Origin Force, occasionally heading out with a 'bucket' made from a hollow branch to fetch water from a nearby stream or pond for watering the three Cypress Life Seeds, also taking the opportunity to exercise.
「Three days later,」
It tried to activate the 'Messenger' function again, to no avail, but its physical condition had improved from 'Poor' to 'Suboptimal'.
「Another five days passed, and it was the nth attempt.」
A familiar blue light swept over it, and the feedback message came: [Messenger · Guardian of Strength replication in progress]
The next moment, an invisible suction emerged from the cushion below, lasting four to five seconds before ending.
[Messenger · Guardian of Strength generation complete. Entering the first phase of Primordial Energy Breeding.]
Dragon Cypress felt drained, its limbs weak. It took a good while before it managed to stand up, crawled to the ground, and dragged itself into the storage room to grab some dried meat.
After eating its fill, it rested for most of the day before recovering.
Intrigued yet apprehensive, Dragon Cypress climbed back onto the Dominating Throne and connected with it mentally.
No new instructions came through.
After several checks, no abnormalities were found; it seemed harmless.
Dragon Cypress began to feel a sense of anticipation.
「Until the next day,」
[Messenger · Guardian of Strength has entered the second phase of Primordial Energy Breeding. Continue?]
Two choices were present: [Yes] or [No].
Dragon Cypress ran into the storage room, picking out two strips of dried meat in preparation before choosing [Yes].
Blue light swept over, and then, a large amount of Physical Strength was drawn away once more.
With the experience from last time, Dragon Cypress calmly held a strip of meat, eating until full, resting, and taking almost half a day to return to peak condition.
It quietly lay on the Dominating Throne, waiting for the outcome.
「Another day passed,」
[Messenger · Guardian of Strength has entered the third phase of Primordial Energy Breeding. Continue?]
Again two choices: [Yes] and [No].
Dragon Cypress chose [Yes].
Eating, recovering, waiting.
「On the fourth day,」
[Messenger · Guardian of Strength generation complete.]
There seemed to be some movement behind the Dominating Throne.
Dragon Cypress landed with a flap of its wings and went around to the rear to inspect.
The originally seamless spherical surface had formed a tiny hexagonal hole near the center, containing a white 'Round Bead' less than one millimeter in diameter, emanating an aura of life and the presence of Origin Force.
Doesn't this look like an Ant Egg?
After gazing for a long time, as Dragon Cypress focused its thoughts, an invisible Primordial Energy Power pushed the 'Round Bead' out.
Dragon Cypress gently reached out its forelimb to catch it, cradling and inspecting it over and over.
It's alive! It really is an Ant Egg!
So the Dominating Throne's so-called 'creation of a Messenger' involves drawing energy from me to produce an 'Ant Egg'.
So it's mimicking the racial abilities of the Ant Clan and Bee Clan.
The final struggle of the Creator Civilization... Could it be that this Creator Civilization copied the Ant King and Bee King, creating a large number of so-called 'Messengers' for combat and production to withstand the onslaught from human civilization?
By controlling the Dominating Throne, even I, a Male Ant, have effectively gained the ability to 'lay eggs'...
Dragon Cypress carefully placed the Ant Egg on the ground. Its mind raced, and many of its previous questions were resolved.
The only critical point remained unclear: How did I gain control of the Dominating Throne? Was it because I underwent Evolution on it once?
That couldn't be confirmed.
If I can't understand it, I'll set it aside for now.
Dragon Cypress carefully carried the Ant Egg in its mandibles, relocated it to a corner of the 'bedroom,' and stared at it joyously for a while. Then, thinking it over and feeling uneasy, it picked it up again and placed it upon the Dominating Throne, setting it on the soft cushion.
Connecting mentally with the Throne, it received more information:
[Please select the type of Messenger]
[Guardian of Strength]
[Producer · Agriculture]
Guardians? Producers? What's the difference? Soldier Ants? Worker Ants?
The first Ant Egg is a 'Guardian'...
Dragon Cypress continued to experiment, this time selecting 'Producer · Agriculture'.
[Please select quantity]
[Quantity 1]
[Quantity 2]
The so-called 'quantity' must refer to the number of Ant Eggs produced at one time.
Producing Ant Eggs drains Physical Strength.
Even one Ant Egg is a strain.
If I choose two, I probably can't handle it.
Dragon Cypress prudently chose [Quantity 1].
[Selection complete]
Blue light swept over.
[Physical condition suboptimal. Nutritional and Physical Strength depleted. Please replenish promptly and engage in appropriate exercise.]
[Messenger function shut down]
Dragon Cypress was speechless.
It took it three days to produce a single Ant Egg.
Midway through, due to its 'suboptimal condition,' it had to rest and recover.
The Dominating Throne might need four to five days, or even longer, to produce one Ant Egg.
This rate was far behind that of a female Ant King.
In the presence of ample food and Origin Force, a female Ant King of the Giant-Headed Ant Clan could produce about five Ant Eggs in a day.
This creation of an Outworld Civilization... the Soldier Ants bred by the Dominating Throne should be somewhat stronger than those bred by female Ant Kings, right?
Could they be weaker? After all, it's an imitation, so that's very likely.
The Creator Civilization was destroyed by human civilization. And human civilization's Starships were torn apart by the Natural God.
The Natural God is the most powerful existence.
The Inherited Memory from my first Age Period Awakening says, 'The Insect Clan was created by the Natural God and is under Its protection.' From this, I can deduce that the Insect Clan is more powerful than both human civilization and the Creator Civilization...
Dragon Cypress felt it had clarified the logical relationship between the three and experienced a brief moment of disappointment. However, it quickly rallied its spirit.
Still, it could breed some helpers through the Dominating Throne for hunting, combat, and managing its Territory. An Ant King was only worthy of the title if it had Worker Ants to command.