By IMERPUS RELUR
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The moment the Pale Echo Ant emerged, the Hive shifted—not in motion, but in pattern.
The tunnels bent. Ants moved in new formations. The pheromone trails restructured themselves into radiant spirals that hummed with meaning. Lin Shen didn't issue orders—his Hive reorganized itself in response to the Herald's presence.
> [Instinct Cascade Triggered – New Protocol Deployed]
Swarm Protocol: Echo Defense Layer I
Description: Hive units adopt neural echo formations. Units killed in sequence transmit predictive data into the Hive Core. Response time increases. Evolution paths accelerate.
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Back on the surface, the Lord Plane felt like a battlefield without war.
Territories across Region 7 pulsed with magical activity, fortified walls, scouting creatures, and hurried construction. Yet Lin Shen's zone—Zone 77301—remained eerily quiet.
Because the Hive did not build defenses.
It became one.
Underground, Spiked Worker Ants reinforced choke points with resin hardened to crystal strength. Burrow Sentinels—newly fused Tier 3 variants—dug pit traps lined with organic spikes. Forager Ants scouted miles away using pheromone markers encoded with threat signatures.
> [New Variant Formed: Burrow Sentinel Ant – Tier 3]
Traits: Entrench, Piercing Lunge, Death Trigger Alarm
Description: Guardian-type ant designed to intercept enemies within tight tunnel angles. Capable of detonating scent bombs upon death to alert Hive network instantly.
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In the Hive's core chamber, Lin Shen stood before the evolving Hive Core.
The ground rippled beneath his bare feet as he linked with the Swarm Nexus.
A panel unfolded:
> [Lord Level: 4]
Troops:
Worker Ants (Tier 1): 600
Forager Ants (Tier 1): 300
Spiked Worker Ants (Tier 2): 120
Venom Fang Ants (Tier 3): 50
Burrow Sentinel Ants (Tier 3): 30
Ant General (Tier 5 – Commander Class): 3
Pale Echo Ant (Tier 6 – Memory Herald): 1
Unique Territory Trait: [Fusion Matrix – Enhanced]
Lord Trait: [Swarm Instinct – Hive Units Gain +5% Growth Rate]
Passive Sync Rate: 38%
> [Hive Alert – Echo Chamber Expansion Available]
Would you like to activate: Instinct Memory Web – Level 1?
Lin Shen nodded.
The chamber dimmed as the walls themselves began to pulse like a mind stretching beyond flesh. Echoes—memories of past skirmishes, worker paths, Forager deaths, the Worm assault—all encoded into the Hive.
> Echo Web Online.
All newly spawned ants inherit the last 72 hours of recorded instincts.
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Suddenly, a foreign vibration trembled the edge of his mind.
A mental ping.
> [Direct Message Received – Private Whisper Channel]
Sender: [Lord WhisperWind]
[Lord WhisperWind]: Ant Lord… your zone is dead silent. No movement. You hiding, or…?
[Lord WhisperWind]: To what?
Lord Lin Shen: The future. It's digging closer.
> [Pale Echo Ant senses seismic distortion within 3 km. Est. Enemy: Tier 4+ Beast Den Approaching]
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> [System Update: 36 Hours Until Beast Tide]
Optional Objective: Eliminate a nearby beast den before the tide to weaken your lane's intensity.
Lin Shen smiled.
"Let's hunt first, then defend."
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The Hive stirred like a blade unsheathed.
Swarm Protocol: Huntform activated.
The predators of the wild had no idea what was coming for them.