By IMERPUS RELUR
--
The Regional Channel had shifted from flexing power to something else—silent calculation.
Every Lord now knew: in three days, the sky would rain death. Those who failed would vanish from the Lord Plane. Those who survived? Only then would they earn a place in the larger game.
But survival wasn't guaranteed.
---
In Region 7, a private group chat had been formed.
> [Private Channel: Region 7 – Eastern War Council]
Members: 8 Lords (Lin Shen, DarkRoot, EmberFlame, WhisperWind, HollowFox, StonePalm, RainFeather, BrightWolf)
These weren't the strongest.
They were the smartest.
Quiet, resourceful Lords who had caught each other's attention.
---
[Lord EmberFlame]: Let's be honest. This isn't a fight we can win alone.
[Lord HollowFox]: Then why bother talking? Just hope we rank Top 10 and pray.
[Lord WhisperWind]: Or… coordinate zones. Divide scouting. Share incoming wave types.
[Lord DarkRoot]: I like that. We all gain info. No sharing troops—just predictions.
[Lord Lin Shen]: Agreed. My scouts have detected something already.
They paused.
> [Lord Lin Shen uploaded Beast Tide Report File]
> — Initial Beast Signature: Tier 2 & 3 land-based creatures
— Size: Small Probe Wave
— Pattern: Burrowers, armored crustaceans, minor tunneling traits
— Estimated ETA: 72 hours from southern edge
[Lord BrightWolf]: You already got this data?
[Lord RainFeather]: Your ants are fast. I underestimated you.
[Lord Lin Shen]: You still do.
[Lord StonePalm]: Ants don't speak. But they record. Let the Hive read the land for us.
For the first time, Region 7 felt like a collective intelligence was forming.
---
Back in his Hive, Lin Shen opened the Ant Forge. Lines of tiered ants carried materials into the center. Fused chitin, fermented resin, and strange glowing rocks harvested from nutrient veins.
> [Crafting Activated – Basic Carapace Shells × 10]
[Crafting Activated – Burrow Claws × 6]
[Crafting Activated – Spore Storage Glands × 4]
The Ant Forge did not create weapons. It created extensions of evolution.
Each item produced bonded with an ant's natural mutation—upgrades, not equipment.
Lin Shen stared at his troops.
> [Ant General (Tier 5 – Commander)] × 2
[Venom Fang Ants (Tier 3)] × 50
[Soldier Ants (Tier 2)] × 220
[Worker / Forager Ants (Tier 1)] × 1,000+
[Spined Acid Runners (Tier 3.5)] × 7
More than strength, Lin Shen had information. And through information came control.
---
Suddenly, a prompt appeared.
> [World Notification – Secret Quest Triggered]
Title: Echoes Beneath the Soil
Objective: Discover the Ruin beneath your Hive before the Beast Tide begins.
Reward: ???
Penalty: None. But knowledge lost is strength unfound.
Lin Shen narrowed his eyes.
> "A ruin…? Beneath me?"
He looked toward the older chamber the Hive had sealed on day one.
Back then, the Hive Core had refused to expand further.
Now… it pulsed again.
"Then we dig."
> [New Tunnel Route Created – Direction: Unknown Sub-Hive Structure]
Estimated Excavation Time: 2 hours (With 200 Worker Units)
The Beast Tide was coming.
But beneath his Hive, something older stirred.
And Lin Shen would uncover it—before the storm arrived.