《Ant Tensei (Original) and (Redux)》


 AT Prologue (Original)

    Good (Insert morning, afternoon, evening, night, or what have you, here)


    If you''re here, that probably means that you are interested in reading Ant Tensei!


    For those who don''t want to know anything other than where to start reading, the re-write is called Ant Tensei Redux. It''s in the same RoyalRoadl tab, so don''t worry about that noise.


    Here''s the link:


    http://royalroadl.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=32032</a>


    Well, you can continue reading this prologue if you so desire, but you probably haven''t noticed yet that this story is being rewritten. That pretty much means these first fourteen chapters are all that there is of the (Original) series. These tags label my original writing of Ant Tensei that started the March of 2015. Since then I decided that how I was going about writing Ant Tensei was rather narrow and I was focused far too much on meeting a daily deadline rather than writing it properly (Not that I made the deadline either ><'')


    I''ve explained it in further detail elsewhere, but the general idea is that (Original) failed to demonstrate my writing capacity as well as doing no service to the potential of Ant Tensei. If you are still interested in reading Ant Tensei (Original) you are more than welcome to, but know that as ATR is a rewrite and not a remake, the story will be similar, though everything is heavily improved in ATR.


    Also... I had a thing with spaces during the early days... >__<


    Enjoy~


    ~White


    ==============================================================


    Ant Tensei - Prologue


    My name is Aristocles von Rasok.


    As I stand here looking into the sky, I can only help but notice this creature before me.


    This creature from another world is the commander of an invasion force that came to conquer my world.


    I have hundreds of skills that no other being I have ever come across has ever achieved, I was born special. I could understand any language, run faster, use more of my brain, and accomplish anything I even thought of doing.


    Several days after enrolling in the army I managed to single handedly stave off an invasion force over over 30,000 men by using a combined array of artillery and heavy armor that I had set up. My entire company had been wiped out, so I had full run of the base.


    Slaughtering all of those idiots that just walked up on tight group formation was amazing. Their general had mounted himself on a horse with his staff behind him like some kind of king. Once they blew up, the rest of the forces went into panic and using the computer controlled artillery, I had some fun.


    From there I was given command of my nations forces. I can¡¯t even remember the name of my home country at this point. It was small, lacking resources and totally dull.


    Well, a week after my promotion, I got bored, so I took control of the country with half a dozen men and established an Empire with me at the head.


    Since It was a small nation, who really cared what I would do. There were some people who claimed I was a tyrant right off the bat, but it¡¯s just politics, so I knew nothing would come of anything I did to this region of our world. By tricking all of the major powers that offered to let me into their sphere of influence, I secured a large quantity of wealth.


    From there, I militarized more or less the entire country. Screw farming, I wanted to conquer something.


    With that, I declared war on the twenty smaller states around me and went to work.


    In less than a week, my spec ops forces that were more or less just peasants had taken control over half of them. With half of them defeated, the rest surrendered rather than face total defeat.


    Well, I was running low on oil supplies, so it would have been bothersome to occupy the territory, so I didn¡¯t really care that much what they did.


    I gave the orders to have all political members killed off over the course of the next week and changed the management of the land.


    Since my total nation was still only less than 500 square Kilometers, It was still far too small for anyone to care about.


    I spent maybe two weeks conscripting more troops. Honestly, a military of 100 men was too small, so I bumped that number up to 10,000. Now that¡¯s more like it. There wasn¡¯t a arms standard, and the only heavy artillery that we had had been more or less destroyed from the attack that I took out earlier.


    But we had guns, so that¡¯s all that mattered.


    I set my target to the large oil production nations to our west and divided my forces. 100 groups of 100 men would set out along the border and establish control over the oil reserves. After that, Subjugate the governments and begin work on the provincial system of management.


    The moment that my forces moved in, the nations just surrendered. I wasn¡¯t really surprised, the second they lost their oil, they had no way to defend themselves. I set plans to arrest all of the leaders for various petty crimes and went on my way.


    These conquests put me as one of the major powers since I had control over 90% of the planet¡¯s oil reserves.


    Well, a week later, I got bored again.


    I faked issues with our oil exports and cut the entire world off from oil besides my own. In return for getting the oil flowing, billions of wealth flowed in, as well as modern arms and tanks.


    Seeing how stupid every nation was, I used the money to mechanize my nation.


    From there, I declared an embargo and sent my military forces that had risen to nearly 100,000 to conquer one of the world¡¯s super powers.


    To be honest, for the first month we got wrecked. The casualties were around 50,000 men. I didn¡¯t really care, but it was annoying.


    After that, tanks stopped showing up and the infantry were defecting quite a bit. It seems that they weren¡¯t prepared to be fully cut off of oil. After several months of this, economies around the world started to break under the pressure and the government of the capitalist nation I was invading had collapsed.


    With that, my remaining forces took over.


    Now my nation had a total population of over 1 billion people.


    My military grew to over 2 million and we had the strongest economy of the world. It was seriously that easy.


    In over three thousand years, no one even came close to me.


    I established a political system of micro-management where culture groups were divided into provinces. Where a minority was prominent, a province was established. Why was that? Because minorities are noisy people of course, and everyone calls you a tyrant for not making them feel like they matter.


    This system divides the land of conquered nation into culture and population provinces that are in turn under the control of a regional system. These regions held around a dozen provinces. The provinces and region governments are elected, so even those minorities get someone speaking for them in the regional government. Whenever something is necessary, the regional government can step in. Who gives a hell about the education of some peasants in the desert? The same person who doesn¡¯t care that he lost 50,000 lives attacking a nation 100 times larger than his of course. That¡¯s why I have other people around, so they can look like they care for me.


    The regions get divided into national groups, so those nationalists are also quiet. One leader is chosen from the leaders from the regional government that are chosen from the leaders of the provincial governments. That makes it so that it isn¡¯t some guy that everyone hates, he at the very least needs to have the support of a majority of the people under him to take power. That way, even if people complain, the lovely majority can tell them to shut up.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Seeing the effectiveness of this system, nearly half of the world¡¯s governments were overthrown in favor of joining my own. I¡¯ll admit that I was responsible for nearly all of them by the way. Takes less time to manipulate some idiots to shoot at their leaders than sending in the troops and spark that stupid nationalism craze.


    Well, several weeks passed. Nothing really interesting happened after that. I was praised as a great humanitarian and a genius of the lives humanity has never seen before.


    To be honest, all I was doing was just making sense. Trick the minorities into being happy, avoid the nationalists, and conquer resources without triggering any annoying governments. That way, no one calls you tyrant, and you can do what you want.


    One day several cities around the world blew up. Seems that some aliens have started invading. I¡¯ll admit, for the first few days, I got excited.


    I even joined the front lines of my forces to fight the alien forces that were slaughtering my forces.


    But¡­


    The second I stepped onto the field, we started winning like it was nothing.


    It was so simple, blow up buildings to generate fields of major cover, then use artillery to create holes that troops can jump through. The aliens used powerful weapons, but if you advance with constant heavy cover BY destroying the enemy¡¯s cover, it¡¯s easy to route them. With this, it only took a week before our mechanized forces drove them back to their mothership.


    By the way, on day two I lead a force of two hundred men onto the mothership and took out the engine systems.


    Look for the glowing things that a lot of enemies are around and blow it up was the order.


    After only about ten minutes the ship fell out of the sky.


    I jumped into a jet that landed and took off. Well, the rest of the men that were there got killed, but since I managed to get out, I won¡¯t care about it. They are just numbers after all. Since I have millions of men, two hundred don¡¯t matter.


    Well as I said, we managed to push the entire alien force back to their mothership.


    It seems some royal or great member of their race was leading the front lines.


    He came out with some really big bug-like creatures and started slaughtering the guys on the front lines.


    I grinned and charged at them with my fancy new sword and started dancing around them.


    I was SO disappointed, all you had to do was cut that big rope-like thing on the back of their legs, and they fall over. Too easy, i¡¯m so bored¡­


    Then the enemy general himself comes and charges at me with two glowing laser swords.


    I laughed to myself about the hilarity of dual laser swords.


    I dropped my blade and went at him bare handed.


    I jumped up and started spinning in a clockwise rotation with my arms out like helicopter blades.


    Kicking my feet out, my hands hit the ground and allowed me to catch a bolder and toss myself, with my momentum I was creating, at the alien general.


    Both of my feet met his face with a crunching sound and he flew back several feet.


    I picked up his laser swords and cut his arms off, because why not?


    He had this stupid antenna on his head that was twitching like he was listening to something.


    That bastard smirked and said ¡°Blow up this planet¡±


    He looked into the sky and I realized something.


    There was another ship in the sky with a Massive gun on it pointed right at the other alien ship.


    It shot this massive laser into the planet and the sky went black after several seconds.


    It was obvious that the planet¡¯s core had just been destroyed, and the planet¡¯s atmosphere was fading.


    I glared at this pathetic creature in front of my and said with my last lungfull of air, ¡°You cheated¡±


    The last words I heard were ¡°So?¡±


    After that, the air was too thin, I couldn¡¯t breath it and no words could be heard.


    Gravity also got much lighter and I found myself floating slightly.


    Since I couldn¡¯t move, I couldn¡¯t get an air tank or anything that would get me to the other alien ship.


    After two minutes, my head got light.


    Meh, I gave up, there wasn¡¯t anything I could do.


    I took the laser swords in my hand, and cut the head off of the alien general in case he could survive to be rescued. The bastard at least gets to die.


    To note, I threw the laser sword at him, I really couldn¡¯t reach, otherwise I would have formed an X with the swords and done it movie style.


    Go out with a bang right?


    I sighed and everything quickly went black. I guess I died.


    All of a sudden, I was basqued by a white light.


    [This one has finally died]


    [Though the world has been destroyed]


    [Reincarnation of the soul must be sent to another universe]


    [...]


    [ERROR, this soul has memory ties, error in soul transfer]


    [Reset location of reincarnation, secondary death necessary]


    [Change location to species (Ant Larva)]


    [Solution Verified]


    [Reincarnation Confirmed]


    Just like that, I awoke.


    The area around me was quite rocky. Reincarnation was it?


    I then look at my body, it¡¯s white and puffy.


    Looking next to me there were around twenty little larva around me. I suppose this is what I also look like since that being said Ant Larva. Ant huh?


    I could work with that.


    I saw one of the ants walking by. It stopped in front of the larva farthest to the right and seemed to be checking it.


    ¡°Rejected¡±


    Eh?


    The ant just spoke¡­ The hell is this noise?


    Just when I thought that, another ant came in, and using it¡¯s mandibles, cut the larva in half.


    Oh hell, that¡¯s going to be me huh? Second death right?


    So i¡¯m a larva that¡¯s going to be rejected.


    Crap, no fair.


    Respin!


    Reroll!


    Redo!


    I wiggle a little bit, but this body can''t move at all.


    Ah well, I died already, so even if i¡¯m rejected, it¡¯s not like i¡¯m losing anything.


    Of the several larva before me, only one more was rejected.


    Then it came to me at last.


    "Sigh, my turn to die eh"


    I thought this to myself but...


    The ant took one look at me, then backed up.


    ¡°T¡­.th..th...this one¡­.¡±


    I sighed once more in my mind.


    ¡°QUICKLY, take it to the royal chambers, this one is special!¡±


    e.ee¡­ Ehhhhhh?


    ---Well, lucky me, i¡¯m royalty.


    I jokingly said to myself, but in reality it could seriously be possible.


    Wait¡­ Why can I understand them anyway.


    In the corner of my eyes I saw something, I tried to focus it in.


    "Oh¡­ My¡­ God¡­ Yes¡­"


    [Level: 0]


    [HP: 1/1]


    [MP: 0/0]


    [EXP: 0/1]


    "Its a game universe isn¡¯t it. Oh my GOD YES. HELL YES."


    ---Oh I¡¯m going to love this, I don¡¯t even F---ing care that i¡¯m an ant! There has to be some kind of evolution system or something!


    I didn''t care what Life has in store for me after seeing that.


    "I¡¯M A F---ING GAME CHARACTER. HELL YES!"


    [End Prologue]

 AT Chapter 1 (Original)

    [Notice]


    A Reminder that Ant Tensei ''Original'' is currently on indefinite hiatus/ discontinuation in favor of "Ant Tensei Redux" found here: Ant Tensei Redux</a>


    Noting that the Terra Arc of the Prologue is extensively long, it has also been split into 6 parts for easier reading for those that prefer short chapters. Simply return to the title page and search for the pages labeled [Terra: Chapter Title]


    .


    .


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    The ant that been looking over me suddenly ran out of the room.


    Shortly after that, two buff looking ants entered followed by the same little ant.


    They were both dark red with shiny plate-like armor covered with spikes.


    On their six legs there were several¡­ clamps? I really couldn''t tell what they were, the word that came into my head was clamps. There was just several odd curved structures on the backs of their legs. To me it seemed like they were used for picking up objects. I had noticed something similar on the smaller ant earlier, but these were much bigger and let me get a good look at them. Curving up and down in a repeating pattern, if they weren''t used for picking things up, they certainly looked cool.


    You know... For an ant.


    As they approached me, the smaller ant motioned towards me and one of the two big guys moved right in front of me.


    I think to myself,


    "Heh, wonder if he want''s to kiss me with that pretty face of his"


    The ant pauses for a second, then places it''s front two legs on either side of me.


    Sure enough, those structures are clamps, I felt them press down on me as it lifted me onto it''s back.


    The second he set me down, I realized just how small I was... I''d say i''m a fifth or a six of this big boy.


    Eh, fair enough, i''m a fresh out of the egg larva, makes sense if you think about it.


    "Ima get all big and strong Mr. Ant, just like you"


    I thought this with the most ridiculous school girl voice, I laughed seriously hard after that.


    "..."


    Hmm? Did I just hear snickering?


    No, must be my imagination.


    OH HELL, I seriously managed to be distracted from what''s actually important!


    Every fiber of my burns with excitements as I remember that glorious little bar in the corner of my field of vision.


    "Oh glorious whatever the hell sent me here, you have my thanks for this gift. I accept your peace offering with pleasure!"


    The reason I said this was due to this worlds ... God? ya, i''ll call him god, but I wont write it with a capital g, heck no, he ain''t that fancy! He had attempted to kill me off by putting me in this larva, but he may consider himself forgiven now.


    As I prepare myself, an illusion of my former self appears over my shoulder. I look at him, and we both grin as I think that oh so magic of word.


    "Status!"


    Magic, the illusion of the old me has dropped down on his knees looking to the sky with both fists pulled down similar to when you get a touchdown in American Football. He had cartoonish tears of joy running down his face.


    Looking at him, I gave that old fashioned Anime Thumbs up in all of it''s glory.


    I''ve always been able to do this, if something is amazing, YOU BETTER BELIEVE I''M GOING TO EXAGGERATE THE SCENE!


    The old me now crosses his arms and starts nodding with his eyes closed.


    I need a moment, if this body was able to, i''d be crying pools of tears right now.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    After squirming around for probably ten minutes, I finally collected myself enough to look at this screen in front of me properly.


    It was light gray with light blue letters...


    "Close"


    "Options"


    Another screen appears with multiple settings on it.


    After scrolling a bit I a section:


    [Background color: Female Default]


    [Font color: Sky Blue]


    "Oh hell no, war has been re-declared Mother F----r! No one makes my status window SKY BLUE!"


    I quickly change the settings


    [Background color: Epic Hardcore Black]


    [Font Color: Navy Blue]


    "That''s more like it! If you''re gonna use blue, you best be using that navy blue. It''s unethical to use sky blue for a man, that god must seriously be evil to do this to me..."


    Just then the little ant looks back at me, but turns his head back facing forward after a few seconds.


    ---Odd, wonder what he''s thinking.


    "Heh, if he''s thinking that is"


    After fixing that major affront to my dignity, I once again move to open my status window.


    I think


    "Status"


    And this glorious screen that I TOTALLY have never seen before pops up.


    It''s an epic black color with the most noble of blue as the text color.


    [Status]


    [Name: None]


    [Species: Firebreed Ant Larva]


    [HP: 1/1]


    [MP: 0/0]


    [EXP: 0/1]


    [Strength: 0]


    [Constitution: 0]


    [Intelligence: 25]


    [Wisdom: 15]


    [Charisma: 35]


    [Attributes]


    [(Mind of the General): A mind forged in the heat of combat over several decades. Calm and collected, never frightened of impossible odds]


    [(Reincarnation): This being has been reincarnated, their mind remains intact from their previous life)]


    [(Manipulator): This being has spent years learning the art of the mind, and how best to convince others to suit their needs]


    [(Brave: This being charges headlong into battle without concern to their life]


    [(Berserker): Depending on the trigger, this being is capable of entering a battle rage. When in this state, all subconscious limitations are removed at the cost of damaging one¡¯s physical body]


    [(Insane Beyond the Words of a God): This being¡¯s thoughts and decisions escape the grasp of even divine entities. Those few in the history of creation who have achieved this level of madness and are capable of breaking free of the tide of destiny itself. In short, they are capable of resisting the will of divine influence]


    [(Flamboyant): This being is so ridiculous when it comes it''s actions and movements that the only description possible to fit him is that it makes the Ginyu Force look normal. "If you do not get this comparison, ask a random person on the street, you are the only one who doesn''t know"]


    [Abilities]


    [(Minor acid): This ability allows for the user to eat through acid on their flesh, absorbing nutrients]


    [(Firebreed Ant): This creature is a Firebreed Ant, and is able to resist high temperatures]


    Pinch me, am I drooling?


    I¡¯m seriously in a game world.


    Now, what to do now?


    As I think this, my vision glances at my shape and my situation.


    ¡°Well, I suppose go with the flow. It¡¯s not like I can move from here anyway.¡±


    Deciding that, I await my fate.


    [Chapter 1 END]

 AT Chapter 2 (Original)

    [Notice]


    A Final Reminder that Ant Tensei ''Original'' is currently on indefinite hiatus/ discontinuation in favor of "Ant Tensei Redux" found here: Ant Tensei Redux</a>


    Noting that the Terra Arc of the Prologue is extensively long, it has also been split into 6 parts for easier reading for those that prefer short chapters. Simply return to the title page and search for the pages labeled [Terra: Chapter Title]


    .


    .


    .


    "Aristocles log, stardate... Unknown.


    I''ve been carried for nearly 15 minutes on the back of this big ant''s back. Starting to get really bored.


    If only I had my body, i''d start something interesting...


    Along the way, we''ve gone through several large chambers, though quite dark I seem to still be able to ''see'' inside the rooms.


    There have been several groups of over a dozen smaller ants carrying all sorts of things.


    If I have anything interesting to note, it''s that whenever I come to update my log, I get the feeling i''m being watched. Someone must be spying to steal the contents of my log! I must remain on high alert, for the secrets of the log are not for the eyes of men!


    Ah, well, it doesn''t really matter. There doesn''t exist a man alive that can convince me to reveal the contents of my log... but... wait... these aren''t men. OH NO!


    QUICK, PURGE THE LOG BEFORE THEY READ IT..."


    ~Aristoclese thus spent the next fifteen minutes talking to himself about spies and how to cover up the evidence. To what you ask? It''s better that you don''t know.~


    ~***~


    After several more minutes of travel, the group escorting Aristocles entered a large room filled with a warming light.


    "I have to say, i''m pretty impressed."


    In the room, there were several hundred ants. Each cluster were carrying out different missions, scurrying every which way.


    These ants never took a break during their entire lives, something that held the respect of Aristocles. As an existence that looked down on most lifeforms, it was a great compliment.


    Suddenly, something caught Aristocles'' vision. A glowing crystal in the center of the room, but what truly caught Aristocles'' attention, was what was on this crystal.


    "Holy mother of antdom! That is one big ant!"


    Upon the crystal stood the Queen of this hive, the great Ant Queen


    "Hmmm, pretty impressive cavern she has here, wonder what that crystal is though..."


    As Aristocles believed he had been thinking to himself, he found himself the center of attention within the room. All of the worker ants that had been previously moving had all stopped. All eyes were fixed on him.


    "Ehhh!?"


    The first to begin would be the Ant Queen herself.


    "Guard, bring me that child at once!"


    As if by sheer instinct, the large armored ant began moving at full speed towards the Ant Queen. Once there, Aristocles was immediately dropped in front of the Ant Queen, and the large ant backed from her.


    Around this Ant Queen, persisted a thick aura. While not harmful, for mere ants, this energy was like that of divine precedence. For Aristocles to be before the Ant Queen, and not perish, was enough to surprise all within the room.


    The Ant Queen at once began to express a sense of pleasure. While ants lack the ability to express emotions through facial expressions, they instead share their emotions through chemical signals that are felt by one another.


    During this time, Aristocles made the judgement that depending on the wisdom of this Queen ant, she either saw him as a wonderful child worth her affection, or as a tool to use to the full extent of it¡¯s use until it can be safely discarded.


    Aristocles of course assumed the worst in all life, for much of life is the same. He had learned during his previous life that as long as someone held power they had not earned themselves, they would see those without power as below themselves, no matter who that person is.


    This, however, was the first time that Aristocles failed to grasp the true intentions of the individual before him.


    The Ant Queen was old, she had lived for many years and had seen what she had believed all she would ever see. When this oddity appeared, she simply couldn¡¯t help but smile. Though she remained vigilant. Her instincts told her that what ever this creature that was placed before her was, it was dangerous.


    (Ant Queen) ¡°What is your name little one?¡±


    ¡°Why is she speaking to me? I don¡¯t have a mouth, I can¡¯t speak¡­¡±


    Aristocles pondered the questioning Ant Queen. Was there perhaps a way of communicating in this state that he was unaware of. If that were the case, how could he do so.


    Though, as if sensing the confusion from the youth before her, the Ant Queen decided to settle the issue.


    ¡°You seem to be mistaken, I can hear you quite clearly little one¡±


    (Aristocles)¡°EH?¡±


    (Aristocles)¡°What? Are you able to read my mind or something?¡±


    The concept that these seemingly lower life forms had such an advanced method of communication had not yet occurred to Aristocles. Coming from a world where insects were mindless creatures, Aristocles had made the error of letting his preconceptions carry over from his previous world. Though, Aristocles was not a base individual, he quickly threw off the shackles of his old way of thinking and opened himself to the chance that everything he had ever known might no longer be factual. From what the air he is breathing is made of to the concept of gravity, Aristocles instantly prepared himself for any situation upon having his revelation.


    ¡°Hmm, yes and no little one. When we create thought, signals are generated within our heads. These signals can then be picked up by others around us, allowing for easy communication. Now that I¡¯ve answered your question, I shall ask my own once more. What is your name little one?¡±


    ¡°Well, this is quite the surprise, sentient ants¡­ this certainly is a game world. The name I was called in my previous life was Aristocles.¡±


    The Ant Queen pauses for a moment, then continues with a tired tone.


    ¡°You say a previous life hmm? Well¡­ that would bring up many questions, though that can be for a later time. Since you were born not Long ago, your words do, however, carry a greater note of worth. I cannot say that I have prior experience in such matters, so forgive me if I merely treat you as if you are an intelligent subject. Though for the sake of gaining perspective, I will humor this situation by requesting whatever you are willing to share about this previous life of yours, mainly accomplishments and skills.¡±


    Aristocles remained silent for roughly one minute. During this time, his body was constantly moving. To the Ant Queen, this came off as nervousness. In reality, however, Aristocles just found the topic of the question and the bluntness of the Ant Queen to be insanely humorous and was laughing to himself heavily, luckily for him his laughter was physical and not mental, thus his laughter was not conveyed. If it had been, Aristocles would have died on the spot. Even knowing, Aristocles continued laughing for over a minute, then continued laughing after he realized that no one knew he was laughing, to which he laughed at that. Then he went to ¡®speak¡¯ while continuing to laugh. Having his thoughts conveyed into language was quite useful for he could hide his emotions quite easily in this manner.


    ¡°I suppose i¡¯ll tell you, though i¡¯d prefer to not, well, be killed right after you hear my answers. I don¡¯t really care if I am killed right now, but I¡¯m going to be honest here. I love this game world, and want to go join an adventurer¡¯s guild, do you have one of those? Ok, joking aside, I¡¯m actually at your full and utter mercy right now, so please don¡¯t have this worm killed just yet.¡±


    While Aristocles has a severe issue in providing necessary respect for those with power above his current stature due to his previous life, regardless of how he tries to change his outlook, it is not that easy. Though, Aristocles understands his situation, and is attempting to create the optimal situation for his survival, it is the most logical choice to infuse disrespect along with recognition of one¡¯s power in order to create a comprehension of individuality for those used to mindless servants. Aristocles understood this point well.


    ¡°Well young one-¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, and to prevent further ¡®Young Ones¡¯ from being mentioned, my name is Aristocles. My mental age is likely far beyond that of yourself Queen Ant.¡±


    The level of disrespect from the larva was astounding. Many ants in the room were personally taken aback that any being could be able to show such levels of disrespect to their precious Queen. The Queen ant merely sighs and continues.


    ¡°What a distasteful mouth indeed. If you felt so threatened, it might be a better decision to offer more respect and tact into your wordings in the future. As for your life, regardless of your viewpoint on me, I still view you as one of my hundreds of children and have no desire to terminate your life. You represent a unique variable, something about you is quite different than anything that I have ever seen before. You certainly must have potential in some field, and thus I intend to discover and use you to your fullest. With that reasoning, you can rest your unease. Now then, as my first question had been answered, Aristocles yes? As a sign of recognition, I will grant you the honor of applying this name to yourself. With this, might you will yourself to answer your Queen¡¯s questions? Might you tell me of yourself, I do not mind if you tell your stories of what you perceive as a past life if that aids you.¡±


    Hearing Ant Queen¡¯s statement, Aristocles stopped laughing to himself. The air around these two beings started to grow dense as the cavern they resided in grew ever more quiet. Each of these two had their own auras, the Ant Queen gave off a powerful authority earned through the passing of years and is the representation of her wisdom. The other side, Aristocles, gave off an energy that none of the ants could comprehend. He gave off the most dense and powerful sensation you could imagine. To see this creature, you would feel a sense of emptiness, to have all, but nothing at the same time. To be able to walk the path of enlightenment, to only turn away and walk down the path of madness instead. Words fail those who cannot understand that the creature before the Queen ant was a being beyond them.The moment Ant Queen finished her question and this larva stopped moving, it was as if these lesser ants had found themselves in the middle of a conflict between otherworldly powers. It is not something you can easily understand even if it is described to you.


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    But just as this intense situation began to reach it¡¯s peak, one side broke the silence.


    ¡°My Queen hmm? Interesting¡­¡±


    For a moment, it had seemed as if there would be another clash of these two beings would break out. Though, it never happened. The aura from the little larva didn¡¯t pour out a second time. Instead something else happened. The little larva gave off a warmth, rather than his dark and overpowering killing intent, it was as if the entire room was encased in something you cannot describe. These ants were intuned with the emotions of their species, the feeling given off by this larva can only be described with one word.


    Happy


    ¡°Sure, I suppose that is for the best hmm? Very well my Queen, as you wish, I shall obligate myself and satisfy your request. Following others always brings a greater interest than those being at the top. When one stands at the top, the experiences of their lives are lessened due to the weight of the lives of those around them. If one has never tasted the top, one can never understand what is required of that position, how it tampers with the holder¡¯s life. It is the smallest aspects of life that hold the greatest meaning. The further one climbs up in life, as with the air in the sky, the lesser one¡¯s life becomes. To reach the top, you sacrifice all that you are so that you can have power. To carry those scars holds a great weight that will pull you down while you stand at the top, eventually you will fall due to this weight. Those born after these men and women fall into the depths into their power can never understand those beneath them, and will be dragged down, by the very origin and source of their power. That is the existence of power in my world. It is not something I have interest in holding without purpose. Not any more. That is all I have to say about my previous world. It is behind me, for just as it no longer exists, the Aristocles of my past no longer exists. Command me my Queen.¡±


    If you were to listen to Aristocles describe himself, once would obviously come off that he is an arrogant man. He managed to achieve everything easily due to his abilities, often not thinking deeply into the lives of those who died. While he may claim this as a divine fact, the true reason lies in his wisdom. His arrogance is merely his coping mechanism, by expending so much energy into his random actions, he allows his mind to remain focused. Taking into mind the all those around him, as if it was a continual test of character. The tactics that Aristocles used to take power were something that no other could comprehend. His charisma and bravery held the line, while explosions fell across the battlefield, no one doubted that victory was certain. He would not think about those that died because they were satisfied with what they were doing, when you sacrifice yourself for the future of something greater, you should not regret, something that Aristocles understood. He did not offer his heart to those below him because if he were to do so, a greater hatred would fester, it is within the nature of life to do so and as such, he treated all coldly but fairly. There was no hatred because all were managed so as to not inspire hatred. Even during harsh war and crisis there was no hatred. This was because this man saw through the truth that is life, and gave all life what it needed best. Beyond his words, beyond his actions, one look at the figure before you and you would fall to your knees just to listen to him. When he speaks, you listen, when he charges into battle, you follow, when he lies, you understand, when he smiles, you smile, when he thinks, you wait, when he teaches, you learn. There is nothing remarkable about him, but at the same time, there is no one more perfect. A being not bound by hesitation or confusion, he simply does. This man known as Aristocles.


    As if gazing into the abyss itself, the Queen ant¡¯s eyes beamed down upon Aristocles. While the other ants couldn¡¯t judge her reaction, she who was able to judge anything, could not get a read of this single larva. The fact that one of her larva could hold such wisdom from such a young age was impossible. At the same time, she refused to fully believe the tales of reincarnation. A subject she continued to ponder for several minutes.


    Finally the silence was broken by a sigh from the Queen ant.


    ¡°Sigh¡­ you are certainly an interesting child. Whether or not you truly hold potential, this I cannot say. Regardless of what you might have been in your possible past life, you are now a mere larva. That you have decided to understand your place is reasonable, though I am certain that a request may come later, if you will hold off for some time, that would be preferred. As for you renouncing that which was your past, I shall complete this process by giving you a new name. From now on you shall be granted the name Are (Pronounced Air). A point that both you and I agree upon. We both find the other interesting.¡±


    ¡°I do not find the change of name to be that big of a deal. The general concept of a new world is a new name, the fact that I would be using my old one would only generate confusion within my mind later down the line. As my mind continues to adapt to this situation, the conflictions of this world and myself should decline.¡±


    The Queen ant shows a sign of being pleased.


    ¡°Your reasonable nature is greatly appreciated. If you will, to further reinforce my position on this matter, I will only see you as one of my children that was blessed with wisdom. I cannot allow myself to hold you as a being from another space and time, regardless of your proof. As a special case, I shall see to it that you are treated as such.¡±


    As she says that, she changes her tone and yells


    ¡°I SUMMON ONE OF OUR SPIRITUALISTS, COME FORTH TO YOUR QUEEN!¡±


    Within seconds, a small ant scurries over and bows before Ant Queen.


    The Queen ant once more begins to speak, this time with a very serious tone.


    ¡°You will bestow your life force upon this youth so that it might grow and serve great use to the hive. Will you comply to my will my child?¡±


    The little ant immediately responds.


    ¡°Your will is my own, there is no will other than that of the Queens, for you shall will it, it shall be done.¡±


    Once he finishes this statement, he walks over to Aristocles, and binds their bodies together.


    Aristocles is puzzled by the sudden change in tone and asks what is occurring.


    ¡°What exactly¡­ is he doing?¡±


    (Ant Queen) ¡°He binds his life force to yours, you and he will join as one as he falls to the abyss. His destruction is the door to your transcendence.¡±


    (Aristocles) ¡°Well, I can¡¯t say that I fully understand this measure, so i¡¯ll merely go along with it.¡±


    Several minutes passed, and suddenly a warm light begins to emit from the two.


    ~***~


    It¡¯s been several minute since this ant has positioned itself on me. Since this is a custom I am unaware of, I shall simply have to wait.


    ¡­?


    There¡¯s a warm sensation¡­ I¡¯m also thinking, but it doesn¡¯t seem that anyone else can hear me. What is this sensation?


    ..!?


    It feels as if my very soul is burning!


    ---Thirty seconds pass, the burning continues to grow more and more intense


    The burning sensation is so intense my mind is starting to grow dull¡­


    ---Just then, a new panel appears before Are


    Hmm?


    [A being has merged it¡¯s life energy to yours, Experience gained [2]]


    [Experience points has reached limit [2/1] process of the soul¡¯s evolution has begun]


    [The following paths are available to you: |Worker|Warrior|Mindless|Spiritualist|Guard| ]


    [The path you choose will determine how your body will develop, you do not get to change to another path once the decision is made, some abilities from other paths can be gained through great effort though at great cost to functionality]


    I thought for a moment, it was a difficult decision after all¡­ It seems that this is this world¡¯s evolution/ rank-up system. It also seems to be far less forgiving than other systems. Once choice, one body, one path. It is a difficult decision that I must give great thought into...


    NOT!!!


    ---Aristocles, thinking this, instantly selects warrior


    [This one has chosen the path of the Warrior, you now will begin metamorphosis into a random warrior breed. The breed you become will be determined based on your the characteristics of your soul]


    ---In the next instance, the body of the small ant on Are turned into light and fused with Are¡¯s body. After that, a sensation of pain so intense rushed over his entire body. The pain from before was no comparison. Not even Are could withstand something this intense, it was a pain of one¡¯s soul. No training could build resistance should the soul be in pain. Are¡¯s body turned from white to red, his flesh twisted and melded. As this continued, the feeling as as if his very soul had begun to rend.


    ¡°!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!¡±


    ---Several seconds pass, though for Are, each second was like that of several days. Eventually, however, the pain began to subside.


    ¡°!!!!!!!!.............ah¡­¡±


    Just like that, my body stopped burning.


    I was reborn.


    [End Chapter 2]

 AT Chapter 3 (Original)

    I stand here, fully captivated in myself, for I have become something amazing.


    The Queen ant simply stands there silently, staring at me just as all others within this room are doing.


    Their gaze betrays their mind, they all are obviously surprised at what I have become. The power I now feel is miles above that of the previous larva body. While the scale of power of my body is certainly nothing in the scale of this world, I¡¯m certain based on the surprise of these ants that this body is special.


    ¡°It would seem¡­ That my guess was right¡­ To see such a rare breed birthed in front of me, however, does catch this Ant Queen in particular surprise¡­ Good grief, to think that you would become an Ant Prince. A birth of your breed is one seen only once in several trillion children, something that might only appear once in the entire history of several hives. There has only been one other case of a birth of your species in the entire history of the forest. Of course the name of the breed is an Ant Prince, however, the diversity of your blood is such that even new species can be born from your offspring. The existence of the Ant Prince was that of the creation of the Tree ants, though, in our ignorance we failed to understand that it was merely nature, and in seeking to eliminate them, began the current blood feud in our failure. You being what you are, is that of an entire new species."


    When I looked at my body, I had a sleek body with six legs with mandibles as sharp as sabers. I had a pair of wings, though they are quite small and should only aid in maneuverability and not transportation. On top of this, I also had a large stinger with barbs on the end of my ¡­ thorax.


    My body was roughly half of the size of the Queen ant, rather, it was somewhat larger than that of the armored ants that had brought me to this place. I was a dark red, on top of my wings was very thick shell that I could open and close in order to move my wings. My legs had sharp spikes on the outsides and I had similar clamps to that of the regular ants, but only on my front two legs.


    When moving, I felt as light as a feather, my limbs obeying every movement to the fullest degree. The dexterity of this body is certainly not something that I expected given the level of armor plating my shell has. Of course, I don¡¯t mind at all. I love it when the guy who gets reincarnated gets the special gear, just glad that since I wasn¡¯t the scum of the Earth I didn¡¯t have a reverse situation where my body turned into a slug because of my sacrifices for the good of my race in the past life. That¡­ That would have been a kill-joy. I might have even used my one free reroll on it¡­ Wait¡­ Didn¡¯t I use that before to not die¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Oh this could have been a bad situation if I ended up as a slug...


    It¡¯s like a cloud has been lifted. There is no more boredom, I¡¯m free at last! To hell with becoming the leader of a nation again, if I do that, then there¡¯s a good chance i¡¯ll end up ruining all the fun I could have by being a soldier on the front lines. Front lines¡­? Does this species of ant even hunt anything? Do they get larger and stronger? What are my limits? What other species are in this world? How large is this world? What are the nations? Are there humanoids? How big are we compared to humanoids? Are there very strong enemies? How many?


    ¡­


    Then a major question came into my mind, something that would have made me grow quite cold inside.


    ¡°Queen ant... ¡°


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°How long does this species live for exactly¡­¡±


    A major question, normal ants in my previous world didn¡¯t live long at all, if that was the case, then that god or whatever managed to kill me off after all.


    ¡°Hmm, well, the average worker ant only lives for a few years¡­¡±


    I lost a great deal of my will, only a few years is not enough to indulge in a Game World like this¡­


    ¡°Though that¡¯s only really because they work themselves constantly without ever stopping. Their bodies eventually collapse. The warrior class ants live for several decades or so, their bodies are quite sturdy, though when fighting the other insects during wartime, the life expectancy can be quite short. As for the royal breeds such as you and myself, the Queen ant breed lives for roughly one hundred years before another queen becomes necessary. The last child I will have will become my successor as they will emerge while absorbing my life energy and become a new queen. I¡¯m currently close to around 60 years. As for yourself, the Ant Prince of the Tree ants lived for nearly two hundred years before he-¡±


    ---Are cuts off Ant Queen


    ¡°I have several questions Queen ant, first off, this world has the concept of a year right?¡±


    ¡°The concept of a year is what is known to us as the passing of 480 passing days and nights, each season having roughly 120 days. If the fact that us having a year intrigues you, perhaps because of the difference in worlds, it has to do with our form of communication. Words are something created by the humanoids over the course of thousands of years to communicate. It is slow, and inefficient. Many of the insect races communicate through the our method, similar to the meaning of words being conveyed. What I mean is, that any concept that you had in your other world, as long as there is an equivalent in our realm, the meaning behind your thoughts is conveyed to us. For the languages of the humanoids, this will not be so.¡±


    ¡°I see, my next question is about the wartime that you mentioned. I was a soldier in my previous world, though because I never got any real spark from fighting due to my strength, I always found myself bored. In this new body, it feels as if I can finally start living. So if you will, might you go further into these ¡®wars¡¯? ¡°


    ¡°Indeed, though this conversation can only draw on for so long, I grow tired after all of these surprises. Not to mention that the efficiency of the workers since you arrived has dropped substantially.¡±


    ---While the Queen ant says this, the truth of reality is that Are¡¯s aura clashing with her own is beginning to weaken her. If the conversation were to go on for too long, her consciousness would fade. This is only the case with her specifically. The reason lies in the species of these two. One is an ant Matriarch, the other, an ant Patriarch. Both hold the authority and variables required to lead other ants, thus their spirits are instinctively clashing over dominance, though only the Queen ant notices because it is her spirit that is losing slowly. Are is unaware since he is new to the world and is unaware that his mentality and charisma are affecting his surroundings in such a manner.


    ¡°Sorry about that.¡±


    ¡°Not at all, this Ant Queen has seen many things, but something like you is a welcome change of pace. Not many of my workers or soldiers have any real personality, it is rare that someone like you appears with a mind of their own. It¡¯s roughly one for every thousand which is why you were brought to me originally. Those that are able to think for themselves are inexpendable assets to my realm. While it is possible for you to start your own hive, I would prefer to request that you remain here to serve our hive. Similar to what you had already stated earlier.¡±


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    ¡°I do have questions about your realm, but I am seriously interested in the warfare. I have no interest in claiming the highest mantel of leadership, that may belong to you, and you alone. Regardless of my breed, or species rather, I shall offer my assistance so long as our ambitions do not clash to greatly.¡±


    ---The Queen ant sighs. At this point she wouldn¡¯t be able to hold out for more than ten minutes at the most.


    ¡°Quite the youthful spirit you have, youthful indeed. It seems the drive for war is shared among the youths of all species.¡±


    The Queen ant looks upwards for several minutes. I didn¡¯t bother her because it seemed as if she had become lost in thought.


    ¡°To answer your question of our conflicts, we do indeed fight other species in this forest. As far as my knowledge goes, there are seven major insect powers. The Manti, insects that stand on two feet with two arms that could slice the average worker ant in half. They are nearly six times my size. They live in the wooded groves, and are constantly at odds with the Termite kingdom there. I do not have a good idea as to their organization, but from what it seems, most of them fight alone. Being the largest of the insect races, they don¡¯t have much organization, and are not quite intelligent either. The next race are the Termites. They live for their queen, just as our own race does for myself. They inhabit several trees, and hold a vast kingdom. They are roughly twice our size, and spit a horrible acid that can melt even a Ant Warrior¡¯s armor. If it were not for how slow they are, we would find ourselves quite outmatched. The next race are the winged dragons. They have a pair of wings and rule the sky. They are a pretty peaceful race and only ever get into conflicts with the mosquito race. The mosquito race are mindless savages. They attack anything and everything without remorse. While the armor of our warriors can protect you somewhat, eventually their sharp noses will pierce you and drain you of your life force. The next race are perhaps the most difficult to face, the Spiders. While they are not the most intelligent race, they make up for it with their instincts. They manage to get themselves out of almost any situation. Combined with how quickly they can reproduce, they easily manage to hold the spot as the second most powerful race. The sixth and final race besides our own is another ant species. Our blood feud goes back several queens. They are the Tree ants. They are twice our size and have far thicker armor. Our advantage lies in our numbers, for every one of them, there are ten of us. Thus our conflict continues to rage. They had moved into our territory, and slaughtered many of our kind. The Third Queen herself led her ants against them, but was eventually driven underground in our tunnels. From then on, no queen has left, for if a Queen dies without birthing an heir, the hive shall be destroyed. I stand as the current Ant Queen, and will not put my entire species at risk by fighting in endless battles.¡±


    Her words were well thought out and detailed to a certain point. There¡¯s a limit to how much one can learn when you are deep beneath the surface. The fact she had this much information was enough.


    ¡°Since you have stated that you cannot continue this conversation much longer, I shall end it with a single request my... Ant Queen.¡±


    With that I lowered my head. While I don¡¯t much care about hierarchies, the fact remains that her word is law here. She also has much knowledge. Regardless of my past accomplishments, i¡¯m now a single ant. My species could become something interesting, but the time invested in doing such, as well as having no allies is something I plan to avoid. I could become arrogant and resist the natural order of my race, but there isn¡¯t any point. If I can enjoy myself by working under this queen for awhile, so be it. As she hinted before, the Tree ant species was born of this hive, and has managed to grow into the Firebreed¡¯s natural enemy. It should be obvious that Ant Queen would prefer to avoid unnecessary confrontations with a possible powerful ally.


    ¡°Oh, so this youthful soul knows respect and mannerisms after all, to the extent of using my actual name and lowering your head no less. Very well, what is it that such a being such as yourself could desire from me?¡±


    ¡°After I finish looking around, I wish to take several ants with me and explore the surface. I¡¯m curious as to the limits of my powers. Since i¡¯m guessing it is very rare for ants to go any higher than from Larva to their profession, I want to see if I might be able to explore what kind of evolutions I can gain.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm? Evolutions you say? If you mean the metamorphosis, that to my knowledge is a one time occurrence. It might be possible much further down the line, but my knowledge is limited. As you have said, no ant within my lifetime has ever reached the next level to increase their power. Since it requires so many points to reach the next stage, while defeating any of the other insect races only amounts to one experience, it is quite the task. Even the Manti are only worth a single point of experience.¡±


    Hearing that, I was both slightly disappointed. Though, I have to admit, I enjoy discovering new heights. Its a personal thing really.


    While I thought this, the Ant Queen continued.


    ¡°With you, I¡¯m sure there are many things that you can accomplish, though what you desire to achieve is up to you. Very well then, I shall grant you your request.¡±


    ¡°My thanks, Ant Queen.¡±


    ¡°I will have several highly trained Ant Warriors prepared by tomorrow. We still have several Warriors that hold personalities that might suit you quite well. Until then, familiarize yourself with our realm. I shall send for you when preparations have completed.¡±


    ¡°Once again, my thanks. I shall take my leave then.¡±


    As I was about to turn away, Ant Queen spoke to me once more.


    ¡°Ah yes, perhaps a guide is in order. RIDLIS! Present yourself before me!¡±


    Within a few seconds I noticed a smaller ant moving quickly over to Ant Queen.


    ¡°My Queen, what is it that you desire. Speak your will, and it shall be done!¡±


    ¡°Ah, very good. Ridlis, I wish for you to guide this youth through our realm. I wish for him to become acquainted with the others that possess active minds. Are you capable of this task Ridlis?¡±


    Instantly the ant smashes his head into the ground and says,


    ¡°By your command my Queen.¡±


    A bit excessive, but proves the level of loyalty here is steep.


    With that taken care of, I bid farewell to Ant Queen and left with Ridlis down one of the numerous tunnels.


    Just then I thought to check my status.


    ¡°Status¡±


    When the familiar screen appeared, I was shocked at what I saw¡­


    [Ant Tensei - Chapter 3 End]

 AT Chapter 4 (Original)

    [The character in question lacks adequate knowledge to comprehend the following option]


    [Character will be notified upon realization of necessary requirements]


    [Urgent Notification!!!]


    [###########] [############|##########|############]


    [Notification]


    [Character now has access to [Brood Transcendence]]


    [Requirements]


    [Brood Size 0/2500]


    [Further Information not available]


    [Notification]


    [Character now has access to [Transcendence Pathways]


    [Requirements]


    [Further Information not available]


    [Further Information not available]


    [New Attributes Available]


    [Soul Power 10]


    [Armor Value 5]


    [New Abilities Available]


    [Subjugation: Forcibly leech half of the soul of a defeated opponent. At the cost of sentience, the target will become a member of the user¡¯s brood]


    [Heavy Acid: Allows the user to eject a highly acidic liquid capable of heavily damaging carapace. Nullifies lower tier abilities]


    [Minor Flight: Allows the user to fly minor distances and scale minor obstacles]


    [Minor Hover: Allows the user to hover in a space for a short period of time]


    [Status]


    [Name: None]


    [Species: Blood Beatle Patriarch]


    [HP: 11/11]


    [MP: 1/1]


    [EXP: 1/2500]


    [Strength: 4]


    [Constitution: 7]


    [Intelligence: 26]


    [Wisdom: 14]


    [Charisma: 39]


    [Attributes]


    [(Mind of the General): A mind forged in the heat of combat over several decades. Calm and collected, never frightened of impossible odds]


    [(Reincarnation): This being has been reincarnated, their mind remains intact from their previous life)]


    [(Manipulator): This being has spent years learning the art of the mind, and how best to convince others to suit their needs]


    [(Brave: This being charges headlong into battle without concern to their life]


    [(Berserker): Depending on the trigger, this being is capable of entering a battle rage. When in this state, all subconscious limitations are removed at the cost of damaging one¡¯s physical body]


    [(Insane Beyond the Words of a God): This being¡¯s thoughts and decisions escape the grasp of even divine entities. Those few in the history of creation who have achieved this level of madness and are capable of breaking free of the tide of destiny itself. In short, they are capable of resisting the will of divine influence]


    [(Flamboyant): This being is so ridiculous when it comes it''s actions and movements that the only description possible to fit him is that it makes the Ginyu Force look normal. "If you do not get this comparison, ask a random person on the street, you are the only one who doesn''t know"]


    [Abilities]


    [(Minor acid): This ability allows for the user to eat through acid on their flesh, absorbing nutrients]


    [(Blood Beatle): This creature is a Blood Beatle and is able to restore damage through the ingestion of blood, using the nutrients to restore lost cells and armor]


    [(Patriarch): This creature is a Patriarch of it¡¯s species and holds dominion over those within it¡¯s brood and species utterly]


    [(Subjugation): Forcibly leech half of the soul of a defeated opponent. At the cost of sentience, the target will become a member of the user¡¯s brood]


    [(Heavy Acid): Allows the user to eject a highly acidic liquid capable of heavily damaging carapace. Nullifies lower tier abilities]


    [(Minor Flight): Allows the user to fly minor distances and scale minor obstacles]


    [(Minor Hover): Allows the user to hover in a space for a short period of time]


    Hmmm quite interesting.


    It would seem that my body has gained some interesting and useful abilities. Though I will admit, I did not foresee the fact that if I do not have information on a subject, my status window won¡¯t display the information. If I were to take this into account, it would mean that this world is nothing like most that you would normally think of. I suppose i¡¯ll be asking this little ant next to me quite a few questions while I get a good run of the place. Ridlis was it¡­? I never have been great with names, no reason to start now.


    Oh, but there are just so many questions, where should I begin-


    ---At this moment, Are was cut off by Ridlis who had sensed Are¡¯s complicated disposition.


    ¡°Ah, certainly you should have quite a few questions yes? Given that you are quite young in terms of knowledge of our world, shall I share with you all of my knowledge of it? Well, I suppose within the limits that you would prefer is acceptable of course.¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Oh yes. Well, I have several questions to start with, then we can get onto general knowledge. For starters, are you aware of the Status window and the HP and MP meters in the corner of your vision?¡±


    ¡°Oh? Yes, this information is indeed known to me. The Status window you speak of holds a detail of our bodies and personalities. There are several ways for others to view some of this information, but there are just as many ways to resist this. I, however, cannot say that I know much on the topic of resisting since I have not been in a situation that required such nor do I have access to such individuals who have had such experiences. Attributes are key points of one¡¯s personality. If they dramatically affect your behavior with others, objects, animals, or your own body, they will be listed here. Attributes are difficult to gain and or lose, they are earned through work and dramatic shifts in the individual¡¯s environment. One¡¯s skills are natural abilities of one¡¯s body. Generally gaining new abilities is quite rare, but it is possible to improve the quality of the skills you already possess though training and other such methods. does that answer your question on that matter?¡±


    ¡°Mostly, I have a question about a certain ability of mine. I don¡¯t seem to have much information about it, could you possibly fill in some details?¡±


    ¡°If I possess the knowledge of such a skill I should be able to do so.¡±


    ¡°Ok then, the ability is called Subjugation.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Is there an issue?¡±


    ¡°Eh? Oh, my apologies, it¡¯s just that the skill you just mentioned is quite the dark ability to possess. It allows an individual to forcibly steal half of one¡¯s soul and destroy their mind. In the process the offender is able to gain a great share of the victim¡¯s power. It¡¯s a fearsome skill to say the least, if one were to be defeated in battle, you would have no way to resist  against subjugation. You would lose your sentience, and become a prisoner of your own mind for the rest of your existence.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, doesn¡¯t sound like I would want to use the ability for most cases.¡±


    ¡°That statement, is something that relieves me quite a bit.¡±


    ¡°Well, if I may, you mentioned that you would lose your sentience. Can you elaborate on that further? It was brought up several times, but I would prefer to understand this concept in this world¡¯s terms.¡±


    ¡°Right, quite an interesting question you have just raised there. ¡­ Hmmm, where to begin.


    Well, I suppose I will start with our race then. We of the firebreed are one of the eldest races of this forest, though our numbers are down to only a flat one thousand in number now. Of that number, I would say that of the ones that I am aware of, there are between thirty and fifty sentient ants within the warriors, two within the workers, and then there are fifteen of us within the spiritualist group. Our job is to preserve and pass the knowledge of the Queen ant and all of our race onto the heir of the hive, as well as to learn the knowledge of this world. Knowledge is a great power if you know how to best use it. Those who hold sentience are able to work independently from the main hive cluster. What I mean is that we are able to choose our own tasks. While the Queen ant may request anything of us, we are the only ones capable of acting of our own free will. It holds benefit to allow us to exercise this for the sake of our hive. This world is vast and there is still much of even this mere forest that we do not know of. Resources undiscovered, soil fit for colonization and fortification. For this purpose, our warriors that hold sentience commonly set out and explore the forest to gather vital information. It is filled with great risks, and there are times where even entire parties are wiped out. To be short about a conclusion, those who hold sentience within the Firebreed are a vital source of knowledge and security.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure i¡¯m safe to assume that the humanoid races for the most part hold sentience commonly for the most part. That does, however, put things into a better perspective for me. My thanks, that will be it for the moment.¡±


    ***


    Ridlis had walked me through several of the winding tunnels of the hive. To be honest, they all seemed relatively the same to me, though I was informed by Ridlis that each room held a special purpose. I can say that I remember almost nothing of what he told me about these rooms since they don¡¯t hold much importance to me at this moment. I do, however, remember where the store room, the food store room, and the recovery room. These three might end up being useful to me later on, so it¡¯s best to remember these at least.


    ---After a while Are decided to ask Ridlis about something that was on his mind


    ¡°Hey Ridlis¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, what is it Are?¡±


    ¡°I have another question about something that appeared in a pair of notification window¡­ and¡­¡±


    ¡°Go ahead Sir Are, I will do my best to inform you to the best of my abilities. Even if you possess another dark ability, I shall not refrain from informing you about it as it was the Queen ant¡¯s very orders that I provide you with all you require.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Well then, when I had activated I had received three notifications, one urgent and two normal ones. All three had information that was unavailable, though the urgent one was totally unavailable, meaning all of the text was in strange symbols.¡±


    ¡°Oh ho? Now that is interesting indeed. Well for starters, notifications and new skills are only shown and made truly available after accessing your Status window. Urgent notifications are quite rare actually. They only appear to people that are able to make a major choice with their future and their soul will be affected by it. Decisions between the paths of light and darkness. Usually these are visible, I must admit that the fact that your urgent notification was fully blotted out is quite odd. There is the chance that because you have received it so early in your life in this world, you simply lack key information that you would normally receive just by living in the world. But¡­ there is something else that is bothering you isn¡¯t there, please do not hold back on my account.¡±


    ---Are had begun walking slower and his head had been lowered, exposing his hesitence to speak.


    ¡°Right then, the other thing that came up was that both of my notifications were on this thing called transcendence. The thing is that Ant Queen also mentioned it when she was changing me out from a larva. What is transcendence Ridlis?¡±


    ---Ridlis stopped walking and was silent for well over a minute.


    ¡°Ridlis¡­?¡±


    ¡°Eh? Oh¡­ Sorry, that¡¯s quite a broad and difficult topic to discuss Are. To explain that is to explain the full workings of our world and the essence of religion and a major cause of war greater than that of resources. It is our soul and existence. I can tell you of this, but are you sure you want to know? More often than not the information I¡¯m about to tell you corrupts the minds of weaker beings. Forgive my hesitation, if you still wish for this information, I will give it to you.¡±


    ---Are only paused for a moment before he continued.


    ¡°I am a part of this world and as such I desire all of the knowledge necessary to live in it. This corrupting knowledge you speak of will most likely not cause me any change of heart. What I do is already a fixed fact, I will not be influenced unless it stands as something that will greatly inhibit my ability to survive in this world. Now, please go on Ridlis.¡±


    ¡°By your desire Sir Are, by your desire. Now then, how should I begin¡­¡±


    ---Ridlis pauses for several minutes, at this time both ants are simply standing side by side looking forward.


    ¡°Transcendence¡­ Is the ability and power of life itself. In life, there are those with more life or even just greater life than others. It is the tides of destiny, the depths of life that you can experience. The more power of your own soul, the less someone else was born with. It is the law of equal exchange, for one to be born greater, one must be lesser. For each born into this world, there is their Soul partner, the person with the second part of their soul. It is to also say, that for the entire duration of one¡¯s life, you will never meet, nor hear about this person. Your destiny, and perhaps even the world, prevents this occurrence from ever happening¡­¡±


    ---Ridlis pauses again, but only for a few seconds to sigh


    ¡°The next part is about the growth of one¡¯s soul¡­ Our world is the ties of exchange, if one were to grow, many must fall, this is one of the few laws of our reality. Once you reach the peak of your own body, of your own soul, transcendence is the ¡®Fact¡¯ of this world. Transcendence is rebirth, it is all and everything. One is limited by their birth, there is a limit to how much of your spirit can be bound to your vessel, and as such, you become a greater being when you reach the pinnacle of your species. Less to more, small to great, weak to strong. The price to pay for this is grave indeed. To transcend your current shell, you must walk the path of a reaper, to scale the mountains of death itself and leave entire nations in ruin. That is the price of transcendence¡­¡±


    ---After saying this, Ridlis hesitates


    ¡°Go on Ridlis¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ To transcend¡­ One requires a great soul affinity. This is gained through the conquest of other life¡¯s very soul. To live is to be, to be is to exist, to exist is to have a soul. One¡¯s soul is energy, it is their fact, their existence, their fate, their power, their fact. To gain soul affinity¡­ One must deny another of their soul¡­ To steal the energy of this world granted to that being and grow past their destined place in this world. To do so goes against the very nature of life. It is a great evil, but it is also part of life. To take, to grow, to kill, to steal, to want, to lust, to desire to be more. It is life itself to have these desires, yet it is to have these desires, that goes against fate. Fate is the want of our world, and to want ourselves, we deny our world it¡¯s only desire. This desire is peace. Something that life can never obtain, no matter what is ever done, no matter who takes power, eventually, life will return to it¡¯s natural state, to reject the desire of the world. Transcendence¡­ Is our world¡¯s acceptance of our very nature, it grants our desire for power, for better lives. The world cares of all life, it is our creator, and our sustainer. While we will forever harm our everything, it will continue to care for us, and sustain our life, our desires. So long as we fulfill ourselves, it will never find us lacking. We will never be forsaken¡­¡±


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    ---Ridlis lets out a ¡°Hmmm¡± and ponders for a moment, it is not hesitation, only wonder


    ¡°There are three principles granted to life from our world. The first, is a blind transcendence, it is to cast your soul to the sake of the world, and to be granted what is desired by our world unto you. You can never know what this fate is, it shall always match your soul¡¯s affinity, but there is no decision as to what you become next. To understand the flow of our world¡¯s desire is to understand the laws of the universe itself, it is something that cannot be done. There is the second path, open to very few who comprehend the laws of transcendence. They can choose their own path by using their bodies affinity as a guide. To use this path of transcendence is to take on enough of the soul energy from a specific species, and to during transcendence, use the majority of the soul there to break from the guidance of the world and to flow into a new path. It is to force your will over the world, and to rebirth your body from that of your own choosing. Now, I suppose I should tell of the cost of transcendence¡­¡±


    ¡°Cost?¡±


    ¡°Indeed, the world may have given us the freedom to change our fate and our beings to something greater than the world¡¯s intention, but to hold such power is to disrupt the flow of the world. It is such that our world established the very law of exchange. To transcend, you use all of the soul affinity that you have accumulated, and set it all ablaze. You cast your soul to oblivion. The second path allows you to point yourself at a specific path, but the result is the same. You are choosing to be reborn, there is no guarantee that you will retain everything of yourself. There is even the chance you are fully lost if you chose the second path. Our world is not a kind existence, it is not just. It seeks balance and peace. When an individual of great evil that seeks to disrupt the flow of the world arises and undergoes their transcendence. If they do not choose the second path, they will be cast out by the world. Their soul split and divided amongst a thousand hosts, dispelling everything you are and destroying you forever. The second path still holds such risks, but by breaking from the guidance of the world, you secure that you are not destroyed¡­¡±


    ---Ridlis suddenly becomes troubled, he looks to be in deep thought


    ¡°Right¡­ There is the third option¡­ But I cannot be sure what it is really. All I know are the basic concepts of the third path. I have been passed this knowledge from my predecessor, who in turn also could not understand anything of it. it goes¡­ ¡®When two become one, and one become two, in times of toil, be made anew¡¯ ¡°


    [Beep]


    Hmm¡­? did I just hear something¡­ Later¡­


    ¡°Well¡­ In any case, the point is that in order to transcend, you cast off a great portion of your soul as ¡®fuel¡¯ for the process. This cost you pay is recast into the guidance of the world and becomes new life. As such the cycle continues without disrupting the flow of power in this world. To become strong, weakness is born. When strong pass, new strong is born. It is the flow of this that maintains the balance of this peaceless world of ours¡­ Oh yes, that¡¯s right. There are special beings that have been born that are able to instantly transcend multiple levels at the beginning of their birth. These are those that the world tried to break apart, but ended up passing through it¡¯s control and being born with far too much affinity for it¡¯s body. These beings either die instantly, or undergo transcendence very early in their life. During this, it is possible for them to skip several levels of transcendence. I believe this knowledge is passed from the existence that was the Primarch of the Tree ant species. Of course, this sequence will burn through the entirety of the excess affinity within the body. It is impossible for whatever the soul had been, to return to the same level of what it once was¡­¡±


    ---A moment passes, then the silence is breached by Ridlis


    ¡°Well Are, if I may take the initiative, I believe you had been quite curious about the state of conflict within this world¡­¡±


    ¡°Eh? Ah¡­ yes, I will admit as much. Whatever information you possess, I will accept it and use it to my utmost Ridlis.¡±


    ¡°Very well then.¡±


    ---Ridlis begins walking again with Are following suit


    ¡°This world, as I have said previously, is always in conflict. There are places of peace, places of prosperity. These places often find themselves under siege from those with less, those at war, those who fight. In the past during our ignorant times, before our realization of transcendence, wars were fought over resources. Territory was used for reproduction and securing the central point for our Queen ant. We do not hold much information about the greater species, such as the humanoids and beyond that point. All we know is that during the second Matriarch¡¯s time, the existence of soul affinity and transcendence was revealed to all life. It was as if we all just suddenly remembered. At least, that is what the information passed to me had detailed, I cannot be sure myself. That was many years in the past, something none of us could hope to live through. Now, now wars are fought over the energy of the soul. Warriors take to the battlefield to defeat opponents, grow stronger, and hope they are one of the few that will reach the point required to transcend their life to something better. When one suffers, they almost always begin to walk the path, their goal for transcendence, to escape their destiny placed upon them by the world. The leaders of each of the species of this forest each hold the soul affinity, or soul energy of hundreds. The difference to many is the fact that they pass the entirety of their soul to a successor when they near their end. This is the ability each of them holds known as [Sacrifice]. The reason it is called this, is because they produce an empty vessel, and instead of it just being flesh, they pass their entire life force into the husk. It is almost like a reincarnation, though they are a different person. They hold many of the past life¡¯s memories, but can only look at it as if it was a story told unto them. They are not who they were. As time goes on, however, the power of these leaders increases. As their servants pass on partials of their power unto the leader, over generations, these leaders can become very wise and very powerful. Though as of yet, not a single leader holds the soul affinity to transcend. When I inquired to Ant Queen about this, she said that she required something ¡®more¡¯ before that process could occur.¡±


    ---Once more, Ridlis stops walking and pauses


    Jeze, how many times is this little¡­ scholar going to pause. I don¡¯t care about sentiments, just tell me the information and cry about it later¡­


    ¡°Can I pass on some information to you Sir Are?¡±


    ¡°... What is it that you want to say.¡±


    ¡°The Firebreed is in danger of extinction. We are of the first races of this forest, our line goes back to when this forest was only a dozen trees and a few plants. It was our home before all others. Over time, the other species began to take root here. At first we allowed them here. Then after a time, they began to take hostility to us, and engage in conflict. While they were stronger species, we had vast numbers over them. This cycle continued for some time. It was around the time of the third matriarch that the Tree ant race was born. The conflict between us and them initiated the decline of our race. They took a majority of our territory, raiding our forces from above. They are dominant against us in all ways other than number. It has been a great deal of time, but over the generations, we, the Firebreed, have been pushed back to our last bastion. We have no further outposts, nothing at all. Our origin, our starting place, the central hive itself, now receives raids. Within the year, we may no longer exist. If there is anything you want to do, there is probably nothing we can do to resist you. You should be able to do just about whatever you wish with the remaining forces. Before, the Tree ant patriarch indoctrinated a few hundred of our central hive and left. He then mated with the several females from the nursery and established his breed. It would only be a day or so before you discovered this, so there is no point in hiding it. The fact you also said you intended to aid the Firebreed also builds my confidence in sharing this information. What are your plans Sir Are?¡±


    ---In this instant, Are froze in place, a thousand things flowed into his head at once due to this question.


    Wha¡­. what¡­? What is this? I¡­ I need to concentrate¡­ My mind is scattering due to all of this information pouring down at once¡­ I¡­ What am I really? What is this world¡­ Ahh, my head. No¡­ No more¡­ What is life¡­ What even is death¡­ It¡¯s¡­ so much different than my own world¡­ Why¡­ why is this happening¡­ why am I in this world¡­ Why can I still think¡­ I DIED¡­ there shouldn¡¯t be a reason that i¡¯m living here at all¡­ WHY AM I AN ANT¡­ this world¡­ fighting.. reality¡­ No, must think¡­ but what is reality¡­ resources¡­ not important¡­ why not¡­ not important¡­ tools¡­ but for what¡­ why are they important¡­ only the soul should be¡­ thats reality¡­ but what is reality¡­ it shouldn¡¯t¡­ be anything at all¡­ but what is it¡­ why¡­ who¡­ WHAT AM I¡­ my head¡­ I can¡¯t even THINK¡­ why¡­ is this happening¡­ these aren¡¯t my thoughts¡­ who else is I¡­ there must be another¡­ who¡­ must concentrate¡­ must¡­ no circle of life¡­ power¡­ through the generations¡­ power is the only factor of certainty¡­ focus on it¡­ must not be lost to the hailstorm¡­ slow the cycle¡­ close the gaps¡­ erase this other existence within my mind¡­ thats¡­ it¡­ slower¡­ slower¡­ this is merely a concept I must accept¡­ this must be what Ridlis mentioned¡­ It is a fact of this reality that one may not comprehend the flow of this world. All I must know is that everything is important. I cannot be side tracked by being led by the nose with this new factor of the soul. Manage the resources, build forces, slowly expand while management of more powerful groups. This is the concept that I developed with my own mind, in my own world. Life is not that different, only the reality of the world is different. I must not get confused here, to lose my concentration is the same as death. I think a partial of what just happened is that my mind unlocked it¡¯s limitations to expand across the gap of the question. What is life¡­ Dangerous topic I guess. I¡¯ll avoid getting too deep into philosophy from now on with this place. I¡¯m just going to keep on carrying on.


    ---In reality, it was in this moment that Are¡¯s mind had attempted to understand the reality of this world, that the world itself lashed out against Are. He is a fact of existence that should not exist, and it is this entity that is known to life as the world, that sought to end Are then and there. If it wasn¡¯t for Are¡¯s control over his mind, meaning if he was not any less than himself, his mind would have been shattered.


    Life will always continue through sacrifice. The fact that all deities desire death and destruction is a fact. I don¡¯t care what this ¡®life¡¯ of this reality believes, the fact that all greater powers desire their ¡®children¡¯ to fight themselves is a given. No person with great power wants others to climb to his perch. Those below you will always climb their way up to you, but if you include those that will pull others down to climb, then no one will ever reach your highest of perches. Even then, those deities can climb higher, but if they do, then other life will follow them. It is for this reason that prevents these ¡®gods¡¯ from becoming more powerful. They are prevented from growing in power because of life, and life is that which they draw their power from. Such a humorous design of existence, i¡¯d love to just throw a hammer into it. To watch everything fall apart and watch what happens after the cycle of rinse repeat is lost.


    Hmph. To conquer is a boring task, that much I have learned from standing at the pinnacle. There is no meaning to life that stands above all else, there is no enjoyment. If you cannot look foward, but only back at those trying to follow, you become blind to your own world. To serve, however, is to look both ways. It is to always look forward, as well as looking back. To keep the distance between both close enough you can reach out your hand, and push those in front, and pull those behind with you. There is nothing in life that holds such satisfaction. Perhaps, this is something that only those deities can understand, now only when they can no longer go back.


    To climb too high, only to realize you can no longer go back down.


    I think i¡¯ll avoid making such a mistake. If i¡¯m going to climb, i¡¯m bringing others with me. No¡­ Let¡¯s bring the whole party with me, that will leave plenty of interesting things for me to experience in this life. I¡¯ve gotten a second life, regardless if it¡¯s real or not, i¡¯m going to enjoy it until this ends.


    If I can live longer, that doesn¡¯t matter. If I can keep this party of mine living for a long time, that¡¯s something worth fighting for. To go alone means to one day find yourself in the void that is life.


    Perhaps one day I will lead these friends and brothers in arms of mine into what life can never achieve¡­


    Peace.


    If one goes alone, perhaps they will one day find themselves as one of these beings that I know as deities. Perhaps if I had been left alone in my own world, that might have been where I ended up. Those with power, those who can think beyond what others can, they often find themselves worshiped by those below them. If I were to go alone again, I doubt I¡¯d have a choice in the matter. Sounds boring, I think i¡¯ll pass on that.


    In the past, my version of humanity was one filled with all manners of corruption and greed. Vices always outweigh virtues in this regard. War is just a thing that life does, it¡¯s not a matter of what species or what world, it¡¯s in the very nature of life. Oh right¡­ I almost forgot¡­


    ¡°Status¡±


    [Blip]


    ---Are looks at what appears and pauses for a moment


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ So that¡¯s it hmm?¡±


    ¡°What was that Sir Are?¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Oh nothing Ridlis. As for your question, well¡­ I suppose i¡¯ll just wing it from here and see what happens!¡±


    ---The two make their way back to the Royal chambers


    [Ant Tensei - Chapter 4 End]

 AT Chapter 5 (Original)

    ---During the same time as Are holding his conversation with Ridlis, Ant Queen had assembled fifteen of her most qualified sentient warrior ants to the Royal Chamber.


    ¡°The speed of your arrival is appreciated, Arol.¡±


    ¡°The pleasure is mine, my Queen.¡±


    ¡°As for the rest of you, Aranox, Bruton, Macremore, Selena, Michino, Elenet, Rechanix, Kilanon, Jarix, Garel, Rellon, Trell, Trix, and Wallore. My thanks to you all for taking great haste in your arrival.¡±


    ---Simultaneous


    ¡°Yes, my Queen!¡±


    ¡°My purpose in calling each of my most loyal warriors here is a simple matter. Another Patriarch has been birthed from the Matriarch of the Firebreed. As of yet, this one seems to be quite passive and has stated that he would prefer to use our forces to explore and provide benefit to the hive. At this point in time, I cannot be sure of his intent. He has made claim that his soul is that of another world or another universe entirely. This assertion cannot be verified at this time and as such should be taken with knowledge that it is groundless. The fact that he had the mental ability to communicate several hours after birth is the only support to this claim. After he proved that he may have use, I provided him with the means to access an early transcendence rather than wait for the total developmental cycle to complete. Since we are expecting another raid from the Tree ants within the week, I had hopes that he would prove benefit. The result was him becoming an entire new species that appears far stronger than that of even the Tree ant species. Surely, if he desired to do so, nearly half our number would be lost in the effort to slay him. I shall make this clear now, he has not made any hostile demands nor has he made any moves to infer that he has hostile intent. You shall not make any first move against this being no matter what he might say. You have been summoned to participate in a scouting mission led by this being named Are, the new Patriarch. You are to investigate his personality while taking loose reference to his manner of orders to see if he is worthy of command. He can either be our savior, or our destruction and as such this matter is serious. Am I at this point of my discussion understood that this being Are is not yet an enemy?¡±


    ---All at once


    ¡°Yes my Queen!¡±


    ---Of course, Ant Queen would naturally believe that Are was born from her. This, however, was not the case. Are''s larva was actually created from two random ants with very low sentience that had been overcome with desire. They simply cast Are within the collection of larva laid by the Queen ant which led to this situation.


    ¡°Very well. Judging by his body¡¯s formation and defense, he will be quite a powerful warrior on the front. Allow him to take a majority of the combat while providing support. I have no desire to lose a single one of you. The loss of one of you is to lose a hundred of my children¡­¡±


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    ---Ant Queen pauses


    ¡°As of now there isn¡¯t any trouble with the being itself, the problem lies within our soul¡¯s affinity. Both of our souls are that of a Matriarch and Patriarch of the decent that of the Firebreed. Our very existences are against the order of our race, there are two leaders possessing the aura to command others in a hive of only one leader. This is causing the very nature of our souls to lash against one another. To that end, it has become apparent¡­ That this other being, Are, possesses a soul far more powerful than my own. When holding a discussion with him earlier, I felt myself slowly losing control over both myself, and the workers within the chamber. Judging by his expression, he hadn¡¯t even noticed nor did he hold any hostile intent towards me. It is to that end that I make my judgement that he holds an incredible potential for leadership, to such that, his very spirit seeks to assert its dominance. It¡¯s almost ridiculous in it¡¯s own way really. The Queen ant of the Firebreed, Matriarch of the first species of the forest, weaker than an ant she gave birth to not several hours before. Goodness, now I understand the situation of that of my ancestor, the third Matriarch, the warrior Queen. To in an instant realize you had just created something that made you totally obsolete¡­ Oh well, as long as we maintain diplomatic relations with this Patriarch, there is a chance that we might come to an agreement¡­¡±


    ---Ant Queen pauses


    ¡°I sense Ridlis is returning, that means that within a few moments the Patriarch will be with us. Remember as I have said unto you, he is not an enemy. I shall be the only one to speak. Your eyes will be to me, and only to me, do not break that gaze and do not let off killing intent no matter what is said. Am I understood?¡±


    ---Unison


    ¡°Yes my Queen!¡±


    ¡°Upon his return, I shall inquire his full intent. I will also inform him of our current situation and request his assistance in the rebirth of our breed. The Firebreed will not go extinct! You each have served me for years now, do not let that loyalty blind you of this truth. Half of you are female, take note that you would be able to become Queen should anything occur to me. Just because I am Queen does not prevent you from focusing on your own survival. Should it seem that I am to die, survive with another of the fifteen of you of the opposite gender. Survival is our first, last, and only option. Now then, I shall think on this matter until they return.¡±


    ---Several minutes pass and Are returns followed by Ridlis


    ¡°Good evening Ant Queen, Are at your service.¡±


    ¡°Oh? And if I may inquire as to what you mean by that. What might you have discovered with the information you gained from Ridlis. Perhaps something of benefit for the both of us?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I suppose so¡­¡±


    [Ant Tensei - Chapter 5 End]

 AT Chapter 6 (Original)

    ¡°Well¡­ I suppose so¡­ the species I am born to is named the Blood Beatle. As for the information, there was plenty.¡±


    ---Are pauses for a few seconds, obviously thinking of what to say


    ¡°Well, at any rate, was the information that Ridlis provided you beneficial for your plans Are?¡±


    ¡°Mmm¡­? Oh, indeed Ant Queen, I found myself filling many gaps in the information I possessed of this world¡­ Unlocking many¡­ unavailable paths to pursue in the future.¡±


    ---The Queen ant grows suspicious of Are and plans to question him but is cut off by Are


    ¡°Might I ask if these ants are the escort that I had requested by chance Ant Queen?¡±


    ¡°Indeed they are. These are my most loyal and experienced warriors. I have chosen each one specifically¡­¡±


    ---Are began to walk up to Ant Queen with a serious air around him


    ¡°What is it Are¡­?¡±


    ¡°I have learned and comprehend the principles of life and of the soul. Of those of great power, those of opposite nature are created, in such a sense they must never meet lest their natures clash. In the case where two of strength are led together outside the tide of destiny, their spirits shall clash. Our spirits are two, our flesh is two, but the hive is one. For these two to exist only will it beget destruction of this hive and thus cannot be allowed to come to pass.¡±


    ---Are¡¯s words instantly put Ant Queen and the other soldiers on guard, his words speak of the conflict of the souls of a Matriarch and Patriarch. Of two spirits born to lead, there is but one hive betwixt two, their spirits destined by the world to clash until one is destroyed.


    They are incompatible in every right, Are¡¯s existence is something that should not exist, he was the very Yin to Ant Queen¡¯s Yang. While it wasn¡¯t apparent to Ant Queen, Are had realized that for some reason, he had broken the normal flow of the world, and had become the opposite of Ant Queen¡¯s spirit.


    They are beings that should never have met based on the tides of destiny, yet, he survived his death as a larva and had come to the point where he now conflicted with Ant Queen. In a normal situation, he would have been killed and reborn far away so that the two would never meet.


    Are was a rare larva not born to Ant Queen, and thus had never been within range of her. It was because Are was who he was, that he had defied the law of nature, and had done something taboo by the fabric of the world¡¯s desire. When he received a pop up with three options, what he saw told him his hunch was correct.


    While this is the situation as Are sees it, the Queen ant, however, sees it as Are¡¯s plan to destroy her and subjugate the entire hive for himself. She had braced herself to resist Are, but what happened next took her by surprise.


    Are, the being who, to her point of view, had just declared that he was about to remove her from the equation, was standing perfectly still. Just as she was about speak, Are began to speak again.


    ¡°Of the three paths of Transcendence passed to those of the Patriarch, The nature of the world [Independence], The path to power [Subjugation], and the path to which defies the laws of the world and defies the tides of destiny [Symbiosis], I place my will upon the path that defies those who would dare to define my existence! SYMBIOSIS!¡±


    ---Upon saying this, a panel appears before Are


    [<<Chosen Path of Transcendence>>]: [Independence] [Subjugation] [Symbiosis]


    When it appears, the title [Symbiosis] glows and the panel disappears.


    A flash of light occurs, followed by a blue light enveloping Are¡¯s body, his eyes glowing a golden hue. Energy pulsates through the entire room as Are begins to speak. His voice echoes a thousand times with every word. The room begins to rumble and the ants throughout the entire hive begin to flood in thinking their Queen is under attack.


    ¡°I stand a messenger of divinity, a guide of reality, a figment of time. I hath chosen to guide this one, who chooses to defy the realm of this world. For this being stands under my influence, for his is the final existence of my domain. While destroyed due to his mistake, he stands my greatest child.


    As such, I spared his soul from oblivion, casting it within the tides of destiny itself to be reborn anew within the domain of my greatest rival. As he has chosen the path I had desired, I shall grant him this sole favor with the remains of my power. Once this is done, my being shall cease to exist, the last of my power lost. He is my final child, and now he stands my heir. I shall break thine ties to the strings of fate!¡±


    *{DON}*


    ---The energy within the cavern begins to pulse even greater, winds from realms unknown begin to swirl within the Royal chamber. Energies of purples and reds tear through the walls of the cavern as the very fabrics of reality seem undone. From Are, the blue energy has formed a sphere of energy around him, his body no longer visible. His voice can be heard, obviously influenced by the divine spirit.


    ¡°For in the tides of destiny, we stand two of one. The tides of light, the tides of darkness. For we who stand at the pinnacle of our two races, so shall the tides be broken. I part mine soul in twain, and in twain anew. Might our spirits become one, one unto two, and upon two shall stand in one of union. A species birthed of the fabric of transcendence, untouched by the influence of divinity, unguided by fate.


    Our minds be doth parted, but in twain anew. Of union doth thou stand in testament to thine agreement, our bodies shall meet to dust, our minds a thousand times parted and bound anew. A species transcended, reforged from the energies of transcendence, the energies of our darkness and light shall stand in union. Two polar energies met in union, to be shattered a thousand times, and bound to one, and of one shall birth unto two. For within the waves of time passed, passing and shall pass, few shall ever walk the walk the path of the greatest transcendence.


    To walk against the flow of the world and gaze into the source of transcendence itself. Light and Darkness shall find union and completion within union, within the principle of Symbiosis. A species born, unbound by the ties of fate, unbound from the limitations of our existence, we shall become more from oblivion. WITH THIS, PART THIS SOUL FROM MINE BODY, I CAST THE CHOICE OF SYMBIOSIS UPON THE SOUL OF LIGHT, THE PATH TO BE WALKED BY IT¡¯S CHOICE, I STAND AT THE GATE AND AWAIT ALONG THIS PATH, THE CHOICE STANDS TO YOU!¡±


    ---With this, the blue energy surrounding Are¡¯s body begins to dispel, the energies of the divine presence fading. As this occurs, a dark miasthma begins to secrete from Are¡¯s body. The blue energy begins to burn of black flames.


    Red beams of energy begin to circle Are as the energy surfacing from him begins to surge forth. The previous distortions of the room begin to grow even more intense, it would seem that the energies of the divine being had been keeping Are¡¯s dark energies in check during his short period of existence within that world. Now that the divine presence had begun to fade, Are¡¯s spirit, unhinged by the actions of that very divine existence had now begun to manifest.


    Within several seconds, a swirling vortex of pure energy pulsed in the center of the room, surrounded by powerful swirls of red energy that seemed to distort the very laws of existence within the room. These red swirls of energy were created by the divine being for the sake of disturbing the tides of destiny and prevent the interference with the ceremony.


    To interfere with one¡¯s creations is that to risking the fabric of their very existence. For a divine being to interfere with a single life per several decades is often the extent a divine being is permitted lest they disrupt the fabric of their very domain. In this situation, the ¡®world¡¯ or the divine being of this reality, had already once attempted to destroy Are previously, but only succeeded in deterring him from pursuing certain knowledge.


    To interfere again is to risk it¡¯s very existence, but this ceremony goes against it¡¯s very laws of the domain, something to which undermines the will of the world¡¯s god. As such this world would have interfered had it not been for Are¡¯s world¡¯s divine being¡¯s final protection.


    The energy stopped flowing from Are¡¯s body and it fell to the floor, the husk cracking and falling to pieces as it landed. There was no sign of life ever being within the husk. The entire source of energy now lies within the vortex of pure dark energy spiraling within the center of the room.


    This entire sequence of events took less than twenty seconds to occur, but it was enough time for Ant Queen to gauge the situation in it¡¯s entirety. She realized what it was that was being offered, as well as the costs.


    *{DON}*


    Suddenly, swirling energies of pure white surround Ant Queen, her eyes burn a shining silvery light as she begins to speak. Her voice echoing throughout the entire Royal Chamber.


    ¡°To this will of transcendence, two stand within harmony of will. Be thine own soul split in twain, and unto me shall be thine fate be shared. Parted a thousand times shall my agreement shall remain, unbounded and bound on once more. For we gaze upon infinity, as it gazes upon oblivion, and unto such we shall anew.


    I cast mine soul in harmony and union, shall now we of the Breed of Fire now forever bind of union to the Beatles of Blood. PART MY SOUL UNTO THUS, FOREVER SHALL THE TWO WALK THE PATH OF TRANSCENDENCE. OUR EXISTENCE DOTH PART OF THE REALM OF DESTINY, FOREVER GUIDED BY THE GUIDANCE OF OUR OWN WILL FOREVER WITHIN THE WAKE OF TIME!¡±


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ---At this time, Ant Queen¡¯s body erupts into a swirling vortex of pure white light. As it appears, it is surrounded by the red energy. The Red energy expands and encompases the entire Royal Chamber. At this time, every single ant of the hive had entered the Royal Chamber.


    As the last of the white energy had left Ant Queen¡¯s body, she too, just as Are, collapsed to the floor. Her body cracking open, an empty husk void of energy. The moment this occurs, all other ants collapse to the floor in an instant, dead.


    Their golden life energies flow from their bodies and are captured by the red circuits of energy pulsing through the chamber.


    As the last of the golden energy is captured, it begins to form a dozen small rings to surround the two pulsing energies within the center of the room. One Black, one while. The entire room continued to pulse with a powerful resonance as the earth within the hive continued to shake and crumble.


    One thousand small golden lights now danced around Darkness and Light. After a moment, the two energies, one of Darkness and the other of Light began to meld together. As this occurred, the red energies pierced into the now joined mass of energy.


    At this moment, the two energies begin to swirl. The pulses from the mass of energy began to double and triple in size. The image of Yin Yang forms for a moment only to split once more into two masses of energy. This time, the Energy of Darkness knows light, and the Energy of Light now knows darkness. For a moment all pulses stop.


    Several minutes pass as the red energy continues to spiral through the room.


    In an instant, both energies are pierced by the red energy. The red energy which stands the representation of Are¡¯s divine protector, begins to unite into a spiraling vortex within the center of the room. The two spheres are forcefully brought together, once more melding the two energies. For hours the two energies are bound by the the swirling vortex of pure energy, only to once more be split in twain. That which was Light and that of Darkness becoming harder and harder to differentiate with each union.


    Minutes turned to hours, hours to days. The clash of Darkness and Light continued to rage, guided by the hands of the divine.


    During the fifth day, it occurred.


    The red energy stopped moving, within it, was a single source of gray energy. It was neither of Darkness, nor of light, it simply was. A soul without ties to justice, or of evil. It simply was. An existence outside the ties of fate, one not guided by the path of Light or Justice.


    The golden energies, to which once belonged to the beings that served the hive, now began to bond to the red energy. It was in this moment that the red energy shattered and vanished. In it¡¯s place, a fire burned upon each of these souls.


    The blaze burned the golden souls blood red, forever breaking their ties to fate, forever casting them from the embrace of the world. At the same time, these spirits now followed the path of Symbiosis, no longer bound, no longer swept within the tide of destiny.


    These red spirits begin to combine with one another. They begin to swirl around the this orb of energy within the center of the room and the pulses begin a new. This time, however, the energy within the center of these rings of red energy begins tremble, pulses of pure energy erupt from the epicenter that is the orb. The energy is so intense that the trees in the surrounding region begin to sway, some of the elder trees begin to collapse under the stress of such energy.


    *{A FLASH OF WHITE LIGHT}*


    (...)


    In the place of the Orb of gray energy now stands the figures of two beings, one kneeling before the other.


    The both stand upon two legs, standing atop the raised glowing stone that was once the Royal throne, emitting a glowing warmth throughout the chamber.


    Surrounding these two beings are the figures of one thousand warriors, kneeling before their masters. Each of these warriors were quite similar to one another, though hidden behind a nearly complete helm of blood red armor, each held a distinct face.


    Of these stood eight hundred male warriors and two hundred female. Their arms, similar to that of a humanoid, had what would seem to be natural gauntlets, their arms protected by shining blood red plates. Upon their hands were several distinct features.


    One was that each of their fingers held a claw-like piece of armor, able to both be used as a weapon, and a tool for excavation. These claws are thick, but not long, only proceeding a mere centimeter from the tips of the fingers, curving slightly to form a hook at the end of each finger. The next was that their hands were also blood red, giving them a natural armor, while still providing a natural dexterity. The final was that their hands held great strength, one able to be able to crush stone in their very hands. Upon their bodies were two different types of plate-like armor.


    It was segmented, very similar to that of a natural armor. Upon their shoulders were a (v) shaped plate that suited as a guard for the segments of their armor between the torso and arms. The (v) shape was a flexible piece that prevented the loss of dexterity within the limbs. The armor itself could be removed at will, and attached without the need of fastening or clamps.


    It simply can be removed by the will of the one who wears it. Their armor is a part of their own bodies, each piece can be remade, or regrown. Each piece can be exchanged with others of their kind, and some of their kind possessed the ability to alter and manipulate their material to develop new armors and forge weapons from the same materials. On their legs were spike-like guards, seemingly allowing for the aid of both climbing when combined with the claws on their hands.


    Each of these mighty warriors knelt, bowing their heads to the two figures within the center.


    Of the two, the kneeling figure was that of a majestic knight, the lower portion of his face covered with a plate, though his eyes were that of a brave, yet kind visage. At his side is a visorless bassinet. His exposed face showed his flesh to be a dull gray with red cheeks showing vitality.


    His armor was sleeker than that of the warriors around him. It was thin, but far stronger than that of the other warriors. To this knight, his armor was his second skin, being able to move just as well with it as without.


    His hands lacked the same claws of the other ants, rather his own flesh was just as dense as the material the claws were made of. His torso was covered with sleek piece of armor that was perfectly smooth without any spikes or the sort. On his shoulders were similar pieces to protect the divide between the arm¡¯s armor and the torso.


    His arms were covered by a thicker piece of armor than the rest of his body. His gauntlets had a deep, deep blood red that burned with the wearer¡¯s spirit. To cover his legs were plated greaves and doned spiked boots.


    Upon his back were two blade-like figures. Each were the same color as his gauntlets and seemed to be fastened to natural hooks near his shoulder blades.


    The other figure, standing above this noble visage of a knight, stood a beautiful figure. With a body and face that would surely intimidate even that of the most attractive of elves. Her figure was one of a tall but thin nature. Her body itself was slender, her bodily features in perfect balance.


    Her eyes were a mixture of a silver and gold with a gaze that would captify almost any lesser being. Upon her head was a red veil that was quite ornamental, while not covering the face. This veil was actually comprised of very small interconnected scales that allowed for it to move as if it were cloth.


    Though if one were to strike at it with a normal weapon, one would find your weapon to fail to pierce and infact losing it¡¯s entire edge in the process. The veil was, however, soft to that of a gentle hand. Beneath this veil showed faint signs of hair. It was the color of a light brown mixed with silver. Her entire being was that of a noble beauty, her kindness radiated from her entire being with an almost indomitable aura.


    The standing figure stood with her hand yet still grasped by the kneeling knight.


    Nearly a minute had passed since the Orb had breached into this captivating scene such that only seen in a mythical book or grand tale.


    The first to speak is the figure standing before the knight.


    (???) ¡°We are one, and we are two. What shall you stand as, and what shall I be?¡±


    (???) ¡°We are one, and we are two. You stand as my Queen, my everything, I shall stand for you, as you stand for me. We are one forever. Give this body a command, and forever shall it be done.¡±


    The kneeling figure then looks up to meet the face of this standing visage of beauty and grace, the other¡¯s eyes looks back at him. A warmth is cast throughout the room as the two each hold a smile upon their faces.


    Then¡­


    Both figures began laughing.


    [Ant Tensei - Chapter 6 End]

 AT Chapter 7 (Original)

    The two mysterious figures continued to laugh for several minutes. They appear as if they have known each other for the longest period of time, and have only just reunited, yet, it was as if they were gazing upon each other for the first time.


    Even as this occurred, not a single soldier shifted their gaze, their heads pointed towards the ground, in total respect towards these two figures. These two individuals before them, after all, held their deepest respect as well as deep loyalty.


    Though, especially since this was the case, these soldiers obviously held back the need to sigh at their behavior.


    After a period of time, the standing figure sniffles and begins to speak.


    (??) ¡°Oh that was lovely, I really needed a laugh after all of that. Goodness, just look at you, you actually look like a majestic knight don¡¯t you¡±


    (???) ¡°It was nothing my Queen, I live to be at your service¡±


    At this, the knight lowers his head again and the both of them let out a


    ¡°Pfffft¡±


    (??) ¡°No, no, please, no more of that, any more and I might start to cry!¡±


    While it would appear that these two were simply messing around, in reality, their minds had yet to become fully accustomed to independence from one another. The process of Symbiosis is that of two becoming one and of one to two. This basically meant that each time their respective souls met with one another, an entire life was lived, their minds binding together and becoming slightly less independent. At the end of the process, the two still held different personalities, but held very similar memories. The need of their idle banter was to establish themselves once more. They are actually quite unstable at this point, the process to which defies reality¡¯s laws is not a simple process.


    But regardless of this state the kneeling figure rises.


    In the next moment, before the standing figure can react, the kneeling figure goes in for a kiss. His right hand slipping behind the standing woman''s head and the left her waist.


    (??) ¡°MMmmmMMmm?!?!?!?! ¡­.mmmm¡­ mm..¡±


    After a brief moment, the two figures parted, then touching their heads together, eyes closed, began to speak to one another again.


    (??) ¡°I am yours.¡±


    (???) ¡°And I, am yours.¡±


    (??) ¡°We are no longer two opponents of clashing powers, but as well, we are no longer simply Ant Queen and Are. We are far closer to one than two, thus we stand far to close to the edge of total union. It should be best to establish some separation, while our souls are now bound in union, would it not be best to become two, instead of one, for life is not about living with yourself, but with others.¡±


    (???) ¡°Hmmm, that is indeed so my lady. Then, shall we not chose names for these two bodies of ours such that we might begin living in this world? As a testament to our union, shall it not be best to choose the name of our other?


    If that stands your will, my precious lady, I shall unto you bestow the name within my heart, Alaine.¡±


    (Alaine) ¡°Then unto you, my gleaming champion, I bestow the name within my own heart, Aren.¡±


    The two stare at each other for a short period of time, simply smiling and enjoying being near one another. The feelings these two share are closer than that of any relationship, they know everything about one another, they share their very souls. Their very feelings are expressed to one another through their bond, no matter the distance.


    Then, as if reading each other¡¯s minds, Alaine nods her head and Aren turns towards the still kneeling soldiers and begins to speak.


    ¡°SOLDIERS OF THE HIVE!¡±


    In response to their leader¡¯s sudden shout, the soldiers all stand in almost perfect unison and offer their response.


    ¡°COMMANDER OF THE HIVE, WE STAND TO SERVE!¡±


    With a stop of the right leg, they stand in attention with their right hand covering the left side of their chest.


    In reality, each and every one of these soldiers is sentient, they all have their own unique mind and hold a stunning level of intelligence.


    That said, this intelligence is only the accumulation of the entire knowledge of the hive¡¯s previous members. Each of the past mindless servants now stand with their own freedom of will.


    The past sentient warriors, including those of Ant Queen¡¯s honor guard, possess an even greater freedom. It was as if each of these warriors now stands totally unchained from their reality. Freed from their roles, they now can do anything they wish, but stand, totally empty, unable to think of what they should do now that they have this will.


    To live without will for their entire live, and then come to hold it themselves is not something you would suddenly be able to just make use of. You would find yourself totally still, without purpose and without any real thought. Confused and without purpose, most would simply remain stationary until a stimulus inspired motion. In this case, it was Aren, the glorious visage of chivalry and glory that provided them with the ability to move. With this simple push, each warrior present was locked in attention to this knight before them standing with their Queen.


    His words carried great strength and his presence was so dominating that not a single soul could consider speaking anything at all. It was the joint response of one thousand warriors, all at once, that allowed them to speak. It was obvious to these mere warriors, that the two figures that stood before them were far greater than they.


    Their very instinct shouting in their minds,


    ¡°These two are whom we are bound to serve, we can never go against their will, it is our law. To break this code would be to sever our very souls.¡±


    Such a deep rooted loyalty was embedded within the warriors. It wasn¡¯t that of mindless devotion, or blind loyalty bred from their birth, It was utter respect built from understanding.


    ¡°SOLDIERS, I SHALL NOW BEGIN THE DISCUSSION OF OUR FUTURE PLANS! GRANT ME YOUR EARS AND HEARTS!¡±


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    With Aren saying this, each of the warriors silenced themselves, all movement stopped, the entire room was perfectly silent.


    ¡°My brethren of the hive, we stand upon new ground, a future that stands to allow us the life none other has ever been granted. We are free of the grasp and ties of this world, truly free. As I¡¯ve said, I will now begin laying out the foundations for our new society.


    We are no longer just mere insects, the boundaries of what we may become and what we might accomplish are limitless. For the start, I shall go over the division of labor. To each of you, open your status window and read off your current stats to me. Do not mind talking over one another, simply read it off in your normal voice.¡±


    The warriors were puzzled, but did as commanded.


    A unified ¡°Status¡± was followed by a loud ruckus that was hardly distinguishable as language. But Aren simply stood there with his eyes closed, listening. The method of communication for his species was two fold, there was the verbal communication, and the old method of communication that transmitted meaning to each individual. To a normal person, it would be registered as gibberish and be impossible to understand, but to Aren, it was as if one thousand status windows were appearing right into his mind. This was no simple feat, however, to distinguish a thousand separate voices to form each Status window was child''s play to Aren.


    After the tumult of each of the warriors speaking at the same time, Aren began to speak again.


    ¡°Status¡±


    After quickly scrolling down his status menu, he continued.


    ¡°As it would seem, our species holds no name. As such, given that the previous Firebreed is extinct, why not simply adopt the title unto ourselves?¡±


    Saying this, Aren looks over to Alaine, who nods approval.


    ¡°Then it is settled, we shall adopt the species identification as the Firebreed.¡±


    In approval, each of the warrior ants stomped their foot down once.


    ¡°Now that this matter is settled, it is time to divide the groups into functional groupings. There will be eleven divisions, each one serving a specific purpose.


    The first division is the construction division, responsible for the development of the main settlement of our species.


    The next, will be the blacksmiths, while there are only 31 of you who hold the ability to infuse a variety of materials with the armor you grow, there will also be 69 of you with higher strength and intelligence assigned to this division for the development of new weaponry and the like. This group will be greatly important. Currently, the only ones with weaponry are myself and Alaine, as far as I can see, each of you only possesses your claws as offensive weapons. This matter must be resolved to reduce any possible casualties¡­¡±


    As Aren was going on, Alaine began speaking some unrecognizable words and a chair is formed from a piece of the stone the two were standing on. She sits down as Aren continues with his speech.


    ¡°There will be five main line units, these will be responsible for engaging in general combat. Those included in this group will be those lacking any outstanding intelligence, strength, or wisdom. Those with higher charisma will be assigned to leadership roles within each of the divisions.


    The blacksmith division will need to outfit the five combat divisions without delay, the sooner we are prepared to resist any attacks, the better.


    Another two divisions will be assigned to be supply divisions. These will be for those specially gifted with strength. Since there are many of you with high strength, other divisions will receive higher preference with selection over the supply unit.


    These roles will be for those who specifically lack a solid constitution while still having a moderate intelligence. The transportation of spare weapons and armor plates during combat is crucial while the provision of food for campaigns is vital for combat strength.


    As for the final two groups, these will be Alaine and my own elite guards. These will be the most exceptional of all of you in all manner of statistics. These, however, will be simply referred to the Guard''s Unit for future reference, making our total unit count at ten units of one hundred strong.


    The reasoning for this is due to each of our respective guard units only comprising of fifty warriors, thus combining the two shall serve as a management tool. Each of them operate individually from each other and will always follow their respective leaders.


    The number of these units are different, standing at only fifty men each.


    The reasoning for this is to create two units specifically able to run all manners or special missions of the highest difficulty. These two units are specifically loyal to only their leader, and not the other. An undying loyalty and respect for the one of us that they serve. The reasoning for this is to not be confused should Alaine and I argue over specific tasks in the future. Should all semblance of order be lost, we could fall into a desperate situation. As for the organization of these divisions, I shall see to dividing you all shortly.


    Aren pauses for a moment and looks around him. The old Royal chamber of the Firebreed is in near ruins with the walls crumbling and many of the tunnels collapsed. Aren takes some time to think about the situation, and then makes his decision.


    ¡°MEN, IT IS TIME. WE SHALL ESTABLISH OUT NEW POSITION, ABOVE GROUND!¡±


    In response each of the warriors continuously stomped and let out a,


    ¡°HURRAAHHH!¡±


    Aren then walks over to Alaine, offering out his hand to aid the lady in standing and says.


    ¡°My dearest lady, shall we begin our new life?¡±


    Alaine makes a (v) shaped smile and says while taking Aren¡¯s hand,


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s going to be an amazing adventure.¡±


    [Ant Tensei - Chapter 7 End]

 AT Chapter 7.5 (Special) (Original)

    [Ant Tensei -  Chapter 7.5]


    My name, is Alaine.


    This name is the symbol of my bond, my existence.


    Granted to me by the person more important to me than life itself, who exists as the center of my universe.


    I am Queen. I am passion. I shall live and die by my choices within this world.


    My life, and that of my partner exist through the actions of one man.


    A man blessed and cursed as one of few of history to be born outside the flow of destiny.


    Upon his death, his world was lost, though through the actions of his universe¡¯s dying deity, he was sent to this world to change it, for better or worse.


    He was a great man, he was kind yet fierce.


    If one were to try to describe him, you would find yourself lacking words.


    That, was the type of man that was sent to this world, reborn as a lowly ant, he began his plan.


    To say that one could understand his thinking would be arrogant to say the least, but he alone would think to surrender his very soul to create a race unbound by fate.


    While I don¡¯t know his reasoning even with a part of his soul within me, I can still feel his warmth. His love of life and a respect for those who chose to live it. If I were to even dare make a guess as to why he would do such a thing, it would be so that he could share his gift with this world.


    In his life he always stood alone. None of those around him were capable of understanding his words, his thoughts and dreams.


    To achieve his vision, he became a king, a dictator in his own right. But even then, the people loved him. He was understanding and kind, he respected all cultures and religions, treating everyone¡¯s desires with such respect allowed for untold stability.


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    But,


    He was always alone. He knew that he was alone, that upon his eventual death, his teachings, his beliefs, everything he created would one day spoil under humanity. He understood humanity, his own race, while they would never understand him.


    This was his life¡¯s regret.


    So, perhaps, just this once, he wanted something different. He wanted to share his gift and love with the world, with all life.


    This time it would be different, he would ensure that his heirs would succeed where he failed. Instead of holding the mantel alone, he would create a pair that could shoulder each other¡¯s burdens.


    With love and caring, they would be able to break through the darkness together.


    With this desire, using the remaining energies of the deity of his universe, he severed the ties of destiny within Ant Queen, Matriarch of the Firebreed ants. His body rejected his soul after his energies were exhausted and the decision was left to Ant Queen. Without hesitation she freed all of her children, the firebreed with the energy left to her from many generations of Firebreed Matriarchs. With the shackles freed, the deity was free to fulfill the man¡¯s final desire.


    A race,


    Free from fate.


    We are the Firebreed reborn, free to live, thanks to the sacrifice of one man.


    The gift of selflessness, of a man who lived his life for the sake of others, one we shall never forget.


    Watch over us,


    Aristocles.


    [Ant Tensei - Chapter 7.5 End]

 AT Chapter 8 (Original)

    (Aren) ¡°Well, for starters, we need to figure out how to reach the surface. The main problem is that a majority of our tunnels are far too small for us now. I mean, if we were to attempt to crawl one by one through the tunnels, it might take several days to get to the surface. Supplies simply won¡¯t last if that¡¯s the case.


    No, If we want to get to the surface and begin establishing a proper base, we¡¯ll just have to forge a new tunnel straight up there. Right, I want three teams to get set up to create three new tunnels to the surface. One tunnel goes to the surface, the other two are to connect us to other chambers below. We have to do something with the materials we gather. We¡¯ll have to establish connection to at least one or two other chambers first if we don¡¯t want to fill up the little space we still have here.¡±


    With that, Aren began to organize the former workers. Many of them were quite adapt in the establishment of tunnel networks as well as extensive knowledge of the existing tunnel system.


    Using this knowledge, Aren had to establish a chain of command of sorts. The first task was to gather those that had previously had a sense of sentience before the transcendence. The reasoning lies within Aren¡¯s knowledge of each of the one thousand warrior¡¯s statuses. The stronger the sentience that a firebreed ant once had, the higher their abilities correlated now.


    For the purpose of organization, Aren utilized the assistance of two of the former Ant Queen¡¯s personal elites, Macremore and Trix. These two held some of the highest intelligence of the entire hive. With their talents combined with Aren, the three were able to create plans for the expansion of the tunnel to the nearest chamber.


    This chamber had been a storage chamber, which through several minutes of information gathering, proved to be nearly empty. Given that there was plenty of usable space to create several new tunnels, the newly temporary excavation team began to establish the enhanced tunnel.


    ***


    The process took several hours but the end result was that a tunnel with a width great enough for two warriors side to side could now stand in. The height of the tunnel was also expanded to twice the height of the average warrior. The purpose was to create a tunnel with enough space to allow for any measure of material to be transported without complication.


    The tunnel required quite a significant amount of effort from the excavation team. To ensure the tunnel¡¯s security, it was reinforced through the use of roots. There were many types of roots within the soil, though the majority of roots used were roots found within the walls of the Royal chamber which was closer to the surface. To secure the tunnel, all that was necessary was to reinforce the ceiling by crossing the roots in an (X) formation horizontally in the ceiling of the tunnel. Given that while the tunnels were quite large for the warriors, in actuality, the tunnels weren¡¯t tall enough to put stress requiring braces. The reinforcement was only necessary to prevent soil from crumbling from the ceiling and requiring constant maintenance.


    The resulting earth had nearly forced the remaining warriors within the former Royal Chamber to have to pile upon one another. While the storage chamber was close, the material that had to be moved was still substantial.


    Regardless, with the connection to the large chamber, the population within the Royal Chamber could now be spread out and the excavation team could be expanded.


    The reason for the smaller team was due to a limit of how many individuals could use such a small space at one time.


    Aren then proceeded to divide the task of management between Macremore, Trix, and another of Alaine¡¯s former staff Jarix. Jarix had been brought in due to his excessive strength, making the task of transportation of earth far easier for the rest of the team.


    With sufficient space secured, the team split into three, one would manage the storage and transportation of materials, another would begin work on connecting to another storage chamber that was slightly further than the previous chamber, and the final team led by Aren was tasked with reaching the surface.


    ***


    The process was slow going.


    Even after the excavation team had expanded into the second storage chamber, they still found themselves short on space to move the earth material that Aren¡¯s team was bringing out from their project. The tunnel that Aren was constructing held the sole purpose of reaching the surface and allowing all one thousand warriors along with himself and Alaine to leave.


    The tunnel for this purpose was several times larger than the tunnel created for the sake of reaching the two storage chambers within the hive. Spanning with a width large enough for nearly a dozen warriors, this tunnel would allow the warriors to exit the tunnel in a timely fashion.


    The passageway that Aren¡¯s team of nearly forty diggers and nearly two hundred transporters would allow for access to the old hive even after they had reached the surface. Before departing, Aren had been informed of what appeared to be an iron deposit in the deeper parts of the hive network. Normally when abandoning an underground complex one would simply be aim to leave, but in this case, it was more beneficial to leave a secure path back down once the surface was reached.


    Not only would it provide possible resources, but also shelter and a possible fallback position in case of emergency.


    Aren couldn¡¯t get any definitive information regarding how far the surface was, so all he and his team could do was continue going up.


    As for the rest of the hive, they took turns switching in and out with the excavation team. Since each one of them had a pair of claws that aided in the digging process, as well as enough strength to manage transportation of debris, there was no shortage of work staff.


    In order to more easily deal with the debris and other materials removed from the tunnels, weaves of thinner roots into tarps and other such tools were created. While creating more intricate tools might have taken quite some time, the more simple items such as sheets that allowed for two warriors to transport a larger amount of material was of great help. Though, since the materials to make these sheets, mainly thin roots, were in short supply, many simply carried small loads in their hands.


    The digging process was long and tedious.


    ***


    After approximately nine hours of constant digging, the excavation team took a break. They had made great headway.


    The distance upwards that they had covered was roughly two dozen warrior ants stacked upon each other.


    When the central minds of this operation were gathered together, it was determined that after another several hours the team would make their breakthrough.


    The main reasoning behind this break was to begin deciding what the next manner of business would be once they made it to the surface.


    Of course they would make some manner of settlement once they reached the surface, but only planning that far ahead would be ignorance. To that end Aren gathered Aranox, Wallore, Rellon and Bruton on top of those already gathered. Their mission would be to divide the current resources, the warriors, amongst themselves in order to complete the various tasks required to establish a foothold above ground.


    Once they reach the surface, time will become of the essence. The reason being the raids of the other species. While one could easily forget the current situation after all of what has happened, the fact that the old Firebreed had been expecting several raids within the coming weeks remains unchanged. When they breach the surface, fortifications, living quarters, water, food, supplies, weapons, replacement armor, all of these things and more were necessary. As such, it was decided to prepare for the inevitable conflicts soon approaching while they still had the safety of the underground.


    Never before had the enemy factions attacked very far into the main hive cluster. As such, it was common practice to simply retreat further into the tunnels until the raiders retreated. With this information, Aren felt relieved that he didn¡¯t have to worry about an attack while the sensitive situation of reaching the surface was going on. The Royal Chamber was one of the deepest points of the entire hive cluster. This fact, however, also led to the difficulties they now faced in making a tunnel to the surface.


    Of those gathered, seven of the former Ant Queen¡¯s elite soldiers, Aranox, Bruton, Wallore, Rellon, Macremore, Trix, Gerel, and Jarix had been gathered for this task. The remaining individuals, Arol, Selena, Michino, Elenet, Rechanix, Kilanon, and Trell, had been given other management tasks within the hive cluster. Their tasks were mainly to organize the divisions that Aren had previously announced.


    To organize the ten units without investing time and energy to determine which warrior goes into which unit. These seven were given the task to organize the units with Alaine¡¯s help. Alaine held full authority to determine which warrior goes into which unit, the seven were to act as her assistants and council. While Aren had inherited a majority of Aristocles¡¯ or Are¡¯s military sense, Alaine had gained enough that she was competent with military matters. Having a majority of Ant Queen¡¯s sense allowed her to also have familiarity with each of the warriors and thus have a better handling of them.


    It had not been thirty minutes since the break period began for the final organization that Alaine¡¯s team had already created the two units that would constitute the supply core, the blacksmith core, and two of the five main army units. It had already been determined that of the fifteen elite sentient warriors from the previous hive, Aren would bring the eight most suited to combat into his personal unit while Alaine would take the seven most suited for civil management and development into her personal unit.


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    This created the necessary divide in leadership for the new Firebreed. Aren would handle the military affairs along with diplomacy and other matters while Alaine would handle the homefront along with development, research, trade, and the supply routes. The two could and would of course involve one another should the situation arise, these divides were simply to divide the workload between the two. Aren had a great deal of the mind of an otherworldly individual, of course his knowledge would be beneficial for future development. The fact that the being that made up a majority of his abilities had been a conqueror and a master of domestic affairs meant that Aren could have handled either.


    That said, just because one might be able to take the reins and run an entire settlement alone doesn¡¯t mean you should. In this scenario, Aren had not only Alaine as his equal, but also nearly two dozen highly competent individuals that he could delegate tasks to.


    His very development of the ten units rather than a conglomerate all under himself proved that Aren understood the benefit to delegating his authority amongst those capable of using it.


    Currently, the plans for future excavation will be left to the Blacksmith unit once it was fully formed. They will see to the digging of the tunnels. The construction unit will oversee the process and reinforce any areas that are prone to collapse or would otherwise require constant maintenance. Besides these two, the supply units will oversee the transportation of the materials into the two storage chambers as well as the positioning of the some six hundred warriors that would be otherwise in the way.


    While there are one thousand warriors present in the Royal Chamber, with the tunnel being the size that it is, the number of warriors able to fit within the space is quite limited. Even with only the one hundred of the Blacksmith unit digging, there will only be between ten and fifteen digging at one time. The same to be said about the construction unit. As for the supply unit, the two units will switch places with one another in intervals given that far more of the supply unit will be able to be active during the excavation process.


    Now that the plans had been set for exiting the Royal Chambers for the surface, the plans for what should be done when the surface is reached was required.


    Aren¡¯s council came up with the following plans.


    Upon breakthrough, Aren¡¯s personal guard will leave for the surface first followed by Alaine¡¯s personal guard. The purpose of this is to secure the surrounding area to ensure that a raid is not ongoing. After a signal is sent to those waiting within the Royal Chamber, the construction and blacksmith units will be the first to leave.


    The purpose of this would be to clear the terrain for settlement and fortification. While Aren didn¡¯t initially plan to build a fortress, there would be use in having simple trenches and a palisade for minor defense. Noting that the new Firebreed were probably the only humanoid species in the forest, making it difficult for the several main non-humanoid factions to assail their position would hold merit.


    As such, the blacksmith unit would serve to harvest any useful plant material in order to produce fortifications and basic weaponry. The bark of a tree could be molded into temporary shields and spears until actual weaponry could be forged from their carapace. Given that the carapace claws could easily hack through the thick wooden roots that were used for tunnel reinforcement. The creation of spears and other weapons from the same material would prove far more durable and effective than wooden ones, the same given to wooden shields compared to those made of carapace.


    The process, however, required a substantial amount of time to refine the carapace into weaponry. While making replacement armor pieces could be done with moderate speed, the fashioning of new pieces entirely required a substantial amount of effort and time. Given also that the blacksmith unit held very little experience with creating these weapons, experimentation was still needed. The knowledge of spears, swords, and shields would allow them to create basic tools from wood, however, it was still too early to depend on them to create high quality weapons from a forging technique that most likely only the Firebreed now possess.


    After the terrain has been cleared to a certain extent, the supply units will be signaled to exit in order to aid the construction and blacksmith units in their various tasks.


    The end goal for this entire mission would be to establish a secured region on the surface before fatigue and exhaustion hits too heavily. At this point, not a single warrior has had much time to rest since the Transcendence ceremony. Even Aren¡¯s body at this point had begun to show the minor signs of fatigue. By his estimate, another twelve hours would be their limit. After that point, the combat effectivity of the warriors would be null and a great risk for the security of the entire group would arise.


    Of course while the blacksmith and construction units are working, the rest will have orders to rest and recover. Though it is highly likely that very little rest will be possible with the given situation. To fall asleep during the middle of a pivotal time in the establishment of their new home would be difficult. To do so without any food or water is also asking alot.


    There were food storage chambers, but it was estimated that it would be impossible to reach the surface should they attempt to tunnel down to those chambers. Once the surface had been reached, there would be sufficient room to transport the earth material above ground. Once the surface was reached, water could be secured from a nearby source that had been used by the previous firebreed.


    Grass could be used as a temporary source of food, though it was highly likely that a hunting party would be necessary to engage against one of the nearby races. Eating one another was not that new of a concept after all. The problem lied in with weaponry and the unknown power difference between the species.


    At this point it would be impossible to discern whether or not the new firebreed held much more power compared to before. Only time and battle engaged through heavy caution would tell this to Aren and the rest of the firebreed.


    ***


    Another two hours had passed.


    The group under Alaine had finished organizing the ten units and the excavation had begun anew.


    It was then that some commotion had erupted from within the surface tunnel.


    When Aren and Alaine had gone to investigate, a bright light poured in through opening.


    They had reached the surface.


    It only took another five minutes before the blacksmiths had tossed the rest of the earth material above ground and cleared the exit point. Within fifteen minutes of the first breach, Aren¡¯s personal guard had begun the process of leaving the Royal Chamber through the tunnel.


    Not a single soul spoke during this entire process. While normally one would feel joy and excitement after a long and tedious task. This time, however, the situation only held an extreme tension and stern caution. The reason for this, was the unknown factors.


    It had been nearly a week since the last firebreed ant had seen the surface. Whether or not there was an attack ongoing, whether or not there was a greater predator, whether or not they can truly establish a settlement above ground. These were the current thoughts on every mind within the Royal Chamber. To solve these questions, Aren¡¯s personal unit began to organize on the surface.


    After a brief scouting period, it was decided that there were no hostile forces en-masse around the hive. Once that was discerned, Alaine was called and had her forces assembled on the surface within fifteen minutes of receiving the signal.


    Just as the final few warriors reached the surface, a loud noise began to erupt from the trees.


    Aren and several warriors began to move hastily side to side in desperate dodging motions.


    Several warriors moved in to aid Aren.


    ¡°FOOLS, GET BACK AND DEFEND YOURSELVES!¡±


    But it was too late, within seconds, several of the warriors that had moved in to defend Aren and the five warriors with him had been skewered. Their bodies that began to fall were quickly pierced and hauled away.


    In this instant, the remainder of the near one hundred elite warriors went on high alert. Looking for enemies from the front, back, and both sides.


    It was then that Aren once again shouted,


    ¡°D##N IT YOU IDIOTS, THE ENEMY ABOVE YOU!¡±


    In that instant, several black masses smashed into the bunched up warriors. While there weren¡¯t any casualties due to Alaine, Gerel, and Jarix¡¯s interference, several warriors were injured.


    Before these warriors were large black beasts with a long spear-like tusk and large wings. Their eyes were red and even upon the dozens of attacks from the sharp claws of the warriors, they still continued to attack.


    The creatures responsible for this attack were none other than,


    ¡°MOSQUITOES!¡±


    [Ant Tensei - Chapter 8 End]

 AT Chapter 9 (Original)

    ¡°MOSQUITOES!¡±


    As Aren¡¯s cry reached the remaining forces now mostly surrounding Alaine, their gaze shot towards the sky above them.


    In the sky above, they could distinguish nearly thirty of the black creatures, their buzzing now clearly ringing through the air.


    Quickly regaining their awareness after the sudden assault, the forces began to take note of the current situation.


    ~***~


    My name, is Rellon, my mind is both that of the former elite sentient ant of the Ant Queen, and the warrior currently serving as Sir Aren¡¯s personal staff under the banner of his personal guard.


    It wasn¡¯t more than a minute since Lady Alaine had reached the surface and begun taking in the surrounding territory that we fell under attack. Most of us hadn¡¯t realized that we were under attack until Sir Aren himself had raised the alarm with his shout.


    Now here I stand, to the right of Lady Alaine herself, standing before two of these black monstrosities once again. These terrible monsters known as Mosquitoes.


    In the past, the sacrifice of hundreds of warriors was necessary to repulse even a raid of a dozen of these monstrous barbarians. To fight them, we had to climb upon one another in a stack of nearly a dozen to reach their backs and begin attacking their wings. To even do so would require them to land for more than a few seconds.


    The casualties from their many legs slamming the ground were always great, though the capture of one would secure enough food to sustain a hundred ants for a day.


    To get onto their backs was one thing, to damage their wings was another, especially during flight would require several minutes of constant attacking at a single wing. Once that process had begun, of course the mosquitoes would simply begin flying sporadically and cause those upon them to fall off. Thanks to our size, roughly half of those who would fall could survive to continue the fight.


    When it came to fighting any race, our only tactic was horde tactic, with superior numbers, we would force our way through with sheer force of our jaws.


    Now, due to the Transcendence ceremony that the now Aren and Alaine had performed, our size is several times that of what it once was, allowing us to have a chance against these creatures.


    We now actually stand of even height to these creatures now. Even if we lack the ability of flight, we can defend ourselves now.


    Coming back to present, from a quick glance, I could tell that there were roughly three dozen Mosquitoes present in the general area with six of them taking to the ground in a slam.


    My entire body froze for a moment as the spear of the Mosquito just several seconds previous had frozen right before my face.


    In a split second I realized a soft hand had grasped it, following the arm led me to the face of an angel. It didn¡¯t take me any time to realize that this was none other than Alaine.


    With a light flick of her wrist, the beast was thrown back several feet, to recover in the air several seconds later.


    I didn¡¯t have any time to offer my thanks before two more of the mindless beasts began charging on foot towards us. As I bared my claws against it, Alaine stuck out her arm and began walking towards the monsters.


    Chanting something faintly, her veil, glistening in the sunlight, instantly grew to cover her entire body in an elegant dress of the same material.


    In the next instant, before I could react, the two beats had struck upon the body of Lady Alaine.


    I as well as many of the other warriors around me shouted our various cries of worry, only to hear the soft giggling of Lady Alaine as she grasped the two spears of the Mosquitoes.


    In the split of a second, Alaine severed the spears from both of the Mosquitoes with her small, almost needle-like claws.


    The two beasts roared in anguish and made an attempt to take off. In this moment, a roar from the other warriors erupted as they began jumping on the beasts, hacking at their wings with their claws over and over again. The beasts began to wail louder and louder as the murky fluid of their life¡¯s blood began pouring out of their husks.


    Smiling, Lady Alaine walked over to the two beasts that had tried to run away and had been crippled by the warriors.


    The beats were whimpering in great pain and looked up for mercy from Lady Alaine.


    Seeing this, Lady Alaine smiled. The two beasts began to relax.


    Just as soon as the two beats relaxed, Lady Alaine closed the distance and had inserted her arms into the two beast¡¯s eyes, ripping out their small brains from the stem with a small snapping sound.


    Aside from the chaos from the others every so often as a Mosquito made it¡¯s charge at a cluster of warriors, you could hear a soft joyful humming. I turned to see Lady Alaine, walking slowly to where Sir Aren was currently engaged while defending several wounded warriors cut off from the main unit.


    Sir Aren was fending off nearly a dozen Mosquitoes at once. Those who would look over to his position could only look on in worry and fear. Sir Aren had forbidden us to move to assist, largely due to what had caused that situation.


    The moment the attack had begun, four warriors rushing to aid Sir Aren were instantly crushed by two Mosquitoes, their bodies carried away by the monsters. Sir Aren roared his anger and made his attempt to save as many men as possible.


    Naturally we moved in to assist, but as we did, the entire swarm began to move to intercept us, to which Sir Aren forbid us from moving in to help him. Ordering us to protect Lady Alaine.


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    At the time, there were a dozen warriors as well as that monster of a fighter Bruton. That guy was nearly twice the size of Aren and his strength was ridiculous. Even with the extremely high tunnel ceiling, he still had to crawl out. Of course he¡¯s the only exception, most of us are more or less only slightly taller than Lady Alaine with Sir Aren being roughly the same height as the average warrior.


    Regardless, given Sir Aren¡¯s orders, the remainder of his personal guard moved to assist Lady Alaine. The next time I looked over to their location, Bruton and Sir Aren were the only two left standing. Though from what I could gather, given that the few that were with them were still moving, that would mean that Sir Arena nd Bruton had managed to keep them alive.


    I simply cannot afford to let myself distracted or overconfident. I need to remember that with one or two serious hits, these things could probably down any of us normal warriors. From before, we are all too aware of the fact that if that spear of theirs connects, we¡¯re done for.


    I rounded up several of the warriors in my general area and took off after Lady Alaine. Regardless of however strong the Matriarch and Patriarch are, we are their warriors.


    WE WILL NOT LET THEM COME TO HARM!


    ¡°Let¡¯s go men, we need to support Lady Alaine!¡±


    ---Rellon sets off with 13 warriors following up Alaine


    ~***~


    I, am Bruton.


    I, am the largest of the Firebreed.


    I, am the strongest of the Firebreed¡¯s warriors.


    Yet, here I lay, totally incapacitated.


    It¡¯s only been a few minutes, and i¡¯m already at my limit.


    Just how long will these Mosquitoes refuse to land!


    They just keep dive bombing us with their spears and refuse to land.


    ¡­


    Of course, it¡¯s because he¡¯s right before us. Sir Aren himself. They have a right to be cautious of someone like him.


    I can¡¯t let myself lie here.


    ---Bruton forces his tired body to stand and continues slashing at the legs and spears of oncoming Mosquitoes


    He was the first one to notice the Mosquito¡¯s ambush and alerted the rest of the guards. We lost a few men due to the ambush because they were outside of Sir Aren¡¯s range. There was no saving them, in less than half a second those two Mosquitoes had already picked those poor souls up and were out of sight.


    The next moment the entire swarm of Mosquitoes began moving in response to the rest of Sir Aren¡¯s forces coming to reinforce our position. In response, Sir Aren ordered them to aid Lady Alaine instead.


    I personally thought it unwise to send off our reinforcements, but was quickly informed of the reasoning behind the decision.


    ¡°Bruton, if they were to come to aid us, only you and I would survive this situation. This is to maximise our kill to death ratio for this surprise engagement.¡±


    As Sir Aren told me this, he struck down a Mosquito that had attempted to dive bomb him from behind with his duel blades.


    ¡°In this battle wherein we were neither prepared, supplied, nor able to fight, we must ensure as much battle information and training can come from this as possible while ensuring that no one perishes.


    We are going to lose warriors, that much is certain. The cost of losing members of the Guard who are the most elite of all of the Firebreed is of great consequence, but it must be paid.


    If we are forced back into our hole, we WILL NOT last more than two days before we are too weakened to defend ourselves any further. As such, we need to win here and prepare ourselves.


    I had suspected as much at the very least and had informed Alaine to be on guard and come up with countermeasures. We can only hope that she has something up her sleeve for this situation. These Mosquitoes aren¡¯t too difficult once you get used to their tactics. They aren¡¯t bright, so don¡¯t expect too much change for the next seven minutes or so.


    We are also being probed. Our race is not what they were expecting when they were hiding outside of the old hive. Right now, our race is being tested, so we cannot let them feel that we are weak enough to fight constantly.¡±


    As he says that, Sir Aren lets out a shout.


    ¡°HHHHYYYAAAAAH¡±


    With a single blade, a large Mosquito is parted in two, it¡¯s life¡¯s essence splattering behind Sir Aren.


    But, Sir Aren didn¡¯t stop there, he began charging at me with a serious expression.


    ¡°YOU IDIOT, MOVE!¡±


    I turn to see two Mosquitoes right on top of me.


    ¡°D##M IT! I WAS TOO CARELESS!¡±


    ¡°YOU IDIOOOOOT!¡±


    .*BANG*


    Suddenly a serious impact hits me¡­


    But¡­ It wasn¡¯t from my front¡­ my side?


    I¡¯m flying through the air¡­?


    .*Thud*


    ¡°GAH!


    Uggg.. I hit that blasted tree¡­ what the heck hit me? Well at least I wasn¡¯t hit by the Mosquitoes¡­ ah, Sir Aren must have manag- eh? EH? SIR AREN!¡±


    About a foot in front of me was Sir Aren¡­


    His arms were limp, his blades dangling as he fell to his knees.


    Two Mosquitoes holding their spears, piercing his chest.


    ¡°SIIIIRRR ARREEEENN!¡±


    [Ant Tensei - Chapter 9 End]

 AT Chapter 10 (Original)

    ¡°SIIIIRRR ARREEEENN!¡±


    ---With a unified thud, both of Aren¡¯s blade fall to the ground, his head falling backward. His blank eyes meeting Bruton¡¯s, to Bruton, there is no life remaining. To Bruton, Sir Aren just sacrificed himself to protect him.


    What¡­ What just happened?


    I¡¯m the strongest in terms of strength amongst the entire Firebreed¡­ How¡­ How could I have let this happen? It¡¯s all my fault.


    If I had just kept down, Sir Aren would be able to have protected us.


    No¡­ If I hadn¡¯t been fantasizing during a battle where not only Sir Aren falls at risk, but also Lady Alaine. HOW DARE I LET THIS HAPPEN!


    ¡°YOU MOSQUITO BASTARDS. I¡¯M GOING TO RIP YOU APART!¡±


    ---With a blind charge of rage, Bruton charges at the two Mosquitoes currently piercing Aren¡¯s chest.


    ~***~


    With both arms wide open, Bruton breaks out in a blind charge, completely forsaking any defense against an attack from above.


    Just as half of the distance had been cleared, Bruton, hearing a buzzing sound behind him spins around.


    To his dismay, three Mosquitoes, in his recklessness, had begun their attack at the significantly large warrior.


    ¡°S##T! FINE, COME AND TASTE MY WRATH YOU PARASITES!¡±


    Stopping where he stood, he outstretched his arms and braced himself to take on their charge. In this instant, Bruton closed his eyes and readied himself for the piercing pain.


    But¡­ It never came.


    ¡°Jeze, you are seriously an idiot.


    Hey Bruton, remind me later to include forbidding stupid sacrificial moves in our training regime later alright?¡±


    Bruton opened his eyes in shock, for this voice was greatly familiar.


    ¡°SIR AREN!?¡±


    As bright as day, Aren stood before Bruton at eye level. It only took Bruton a moment to realize that the reason for the equivalence in height was due to the fact that Aren was perched atop of one of the Mosquitoes. One of Aren¡¯s blades firmly planted between the eyes.


    In Aren¡¯s hands were another two Mosquitoes, skewered by what appeared to Bruton to be another pair of the Mosquito¡¯s spears.


    Coming back to reality, Bruton spins around to see what happened only to find that the two Mosquitoes that he could have sworn pierced Aren now lying on the ground. An eye of each seemingly being destroyed as if some sort of blunt force had forced itself within the very socket. Given that they hadn¡¯t moved from that spot in the few seconds that have passed, Bruton is fully aware that those monsters are dead.


    ¡°Honestly Bruton, did I not just warn you to pay attention?¡±


    Saying this, Aren tosses the bodies of the two Mosquitoes to the ground and hops off of the other, removing his other sword from the Mosquito to place it back onto his back.


    ¡°But¡­ Sir Aren, I saw you pierced through the chest by those two Mosquitoes!¡±


    ¡°What is your point Bruton?¡±


    As he says this, Aren deflects another Mosquito¡¯s attack, sending it flying. While it recovered in the air, it¡¯s side was heavily damaged from the blunt end of Aren¡¯s blade.


    ¡°Tsk, these things are growing on my last nerve. Seriously, that last hit I took for you cost me 40 hp. It hurt like hell and I seriously nearly passed out there for a second. Do you even know, what it is like, to have giant spears pushed through your chest?!¡±


    Aren makes a dramatic gesture while he swats at the dead Mosquito corpse next to him with his hand. He starts walking in place and begins a short rant.


    ¡°Jeze, if it wasn¡¯t for my regeneration I would have ended up dying for you Bruton. Straighten up your common sense or next time i¡¯m going to hit you twice as hard as I did to get you out of the way!¡±


    ¡°Regeneration Sir Aren?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Regeneration Lord Bruticus of the careless, it allows me to double the damage to my hp in order to repair the damage to my body. Quite useful if I were to lose an arm, but it really seems to take it¡¯s toll if it¡¯s a mortal wound. Guess it¡¯s good that I know that early on so I wont try anything too stupid in the future¡­¡±


    By this time, roughly half of the Mosquitoes had been defeated. Alaine¡¯s side had managed to strike down nearly a dozen Mosquitoes that had attempted to land. In comparison, Aren¡¯s several cut off warriors had dealt a crushing blow to the Mosquito¡¯s raiding force. Nearly two dozen Mosquitoes littered the surrounding area around Bruton and Aren, more than half of which were felled by Aren personally.


    While Aren was acting like he was, it was obvious that he was at his limit.


    His hands were battered and shaking from the constant impacts from the Mosquitoes. While Aren may be quite strong, the fact remains that slamming the full body of something nearly your size away takes it¡¯s toll.


    His armor was covered in scratches and his two blades were chipped and on the verge of breaking. Aren had long since switched over to using his own two fists with his small claws to deter the Mosquito¡¯s constant assaults.


    Over the course of the fight Aren had also been fighting almost single handedly. While Bruton offered some support, the role of defending the wounded warriors while supporting Bruton was quite taxing. The sheer fatigue that was building on Aren who had to fight at full strength for nearly ten minutes against well over twenty to one odds had long since begun to slow Aren¡¯s movements.


    When Aren had knocked Bruton out of the way, he had severely damaged his arm in the process. Taking the full brunt of two Mosquito spears straight through the chest proved a great strain to Aren who had already hit his limit.


    Aren had thought he was finished when the two Mosquitoes pierced him, but somehow he still had just enough vitality left to crush the two Mosquitoes and regenerate his mortal wound. It would be nearly impossible for Aren to regenerate much more damage after this. His hp was already below half now, his fatigue cutting his movement down by half. A drop that had not been missed by the remaining Mosquitoes whose efforts has seemingly doubled in their ferocity.


    ¡°Tsk, Bruton I need you to do something, even if it costs you your life, do you understand?¡±


    ¡°Of course Sir Aren, what do you require?¡±


    ¡°Hah¡­ I¡¯m going to need you to somehow get Alaine¡¯s attention and get her over here. I¡¯m nearly at my limit and she¡¯s probably the only one that can force the Mosquitoes back long enough to allow us to get these guys back over to the main group. Can you do that?¡±


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    ¡°By your will Sir Aren, however, there is an easier way to get her attention¡­ Though, you may need to suffer a little bit for this plan.¡±


    ¡°... Ah, whatever, just do what you need. I¡¯ll distract the Mosquitoes while you get Alaine.¡±


    ¡°There is no need for that Sir Aren, all you need to do is stand atop one of the Mosquitoes, and i¡¯ll do the rest.¡±


    ¡°What the kind of ridiculous plan are cooking up in that thick head of your¡¯s Bruton?


    ¡­


    Ah what the heck, surprise me!¡±


    Without another word, Aren hops on top of one of the Mosquitoes


    ¡°My apologies for what will happen Sir Aren¡±


    Aren gets a serious face and looks at Bruton


    ¡°What are yo-¡±


    ¡°SIR AREN, LADY ALAINE WOULD NEVER APPROVE OF YOU MATING WITH ONE OF THE MOSQUITOES!¡±


    The shout was muffled out by the cries of the battle to the extent that it was unlikely that even the closest warriors from the main guard army would not have heard, yet...


    ¡°eh¡­ uh¡­ wait.. do you even know what you have done Bruton¡­¡±


    It wasn¡¯t more than two seconds before a dark foreboding poured over the battlefield in the direction of the two standing warriors. In the distance Bruton could see the warriors parting as a sole figure followed by several of the guard following it. A great deal of killing intent


    Aren¡¯s face was in total shock and fear. His shoulders drooping down and he jumps down off of the Mosquito only to have his knees buckle beneath his weight.


    ¡°i...i.i..I swear Bruton¡­ If the Mosquitoes¡­ don¡¯t kill you¡­ I¡¯m going to turn this unto you a thousand fold¡­¡±


    ¡°I accept the responsibility Sir Aren. I will offer my life if necessary, but no matter how I thought of the situation, this path was the only one to secure the safety of the warriors within the shortest period of time.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ you just snapped a nerve Bruton, you don¡¯t even realize what you¡¯ve done!¡±


    As Aren says this, the warriors at the edge of the main group of the guard parts way, revealing a glistening women, draped in a dress of shining scales. This women was none other than Alaine, wearing a smile, her arms linked behind her and her head tilting slightly with every step.


    It was then that a massive surge of killing intent poured over Bruton and Aren as Alaine opens her eyes and stops moving.


    ¡°Hello Aren, I do hope you are alright.¡±


    A chill ran down the two male warriors backs as Alaine gives a warm yet bitter cold smile.


    ¡°Just¡­ just wait Alaine¡­ Bruto-¡±


    The moment Aren speaks, Alaine smashes a foot against the ground and vanishes.


    Startled, Bruton looks around only to notice that Aren was also missing.


    .*CRASH*


    ¡°GAH! Al..aine¡­ you.. have to listen¡­ please¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh? Sooo, what¡¯s this about you mating with a filthy rotten Mosquito that I hear, my precious Aren.¡±


    The Killing intent grows so intense that it is nearly visible. The Mosquito¡¯s attacks cease, their instincts warning them of certain death should they attack at this moment.


    ¡°Oh, dearest Aren, what could you possibly say to earn yourself forgiveness, hmmm?¡±


    Bruton quickly turns to see Alaine holding Aren by the neck against the tree. While there was some distance between Bruton and them, he could clearly see that with the other hand, Alaine was crushing Aren¡¯s arm, causing a faint cracking sound.


    ¡°Lady Alaine! Please! I must offer my life for your forgiveness, for it was I, who in desperation declared such a thing to gain your attention at the expense of Sir Aren. Please, he holds no fault whatsoever!¡±


    ¡°Oh Bruton¡­ you can be quiet now, i¡¯m more than aware of what you have to say. Yet the fact remains that Aren must be punished for harming my delicate emotions.


    Yes, I¡¯m quite displeased with him for thinking that he could allow himself to play the hero to the extent that his body is in ruin.


    I¡¯m quite distraught over this.


    Oh, such is my fate to be paired with such a man, oh my fate!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ being dramatic again Alaine, we¡¯re free from fate¡­ *Caugh*¡±


    To this, Alaine smacks Aren¡¯s face, and then places her own against his, wrapping her arms around him.


    ¡°Never again¡­ Do you hear me!¡±


    Alaine¡¯s body trembles slightly and Aren wraps his functioning arm around her and replies,


    ¡°As you wish my Lady¡­¡±


    .*Rumble*


    .*Rumble*


    .*Rumble*


    ¡°SIR AREN, LADY ALAINE! LOOK OUT! IT¡¯S THE HORSEFLY TRIBE!¡±


    From the nook of one of the trees far in the sky, ten gigantic creatures surged forth, their size nearly four times that of a normal Mosquito. Their spears twice as thick, their bodies covered in spikes.


    They were waiting for the perfect chance to strike at the Matriarch of their prey. While most Mosquitoes lack the intelligence to understand much more than killing and eating, their instincts can easily tell when a Matriarch or Patriarch is present and will focus their full attention against them.


    A feast of royal blood is something that they rarely can enjoy, the benefits from it allowing them to grow far stronger than before. The more blood a Mosquito consumes, the more powerful they become. Blood, after all, is the essence of life, to consume it is to consume life and the Mosquitoes use this life to further increase their own.


    Some Mosquito tribes that thrive on the constant shedding of blood and consumption of it become large creatures. One of these tribes, is known as the Horsefly tribe, one of the most fearsome variants of the Mosquito tribes.


    It was one of these very creatures, that began a headlong reckless charge against the currently distracted Alaine and the heavily wounded Aren.


    ¡°MY LADY, SIR AREN, DEFEND YOURSELVES!¡±


    [Ant Tensei - Chapter 10 End]

 AT Chapter 11 (Original)

    Uggg, that D##n Bruton and his stupid ideas¡­ He actually thought that by pissing Alaine off that he was in some way helping me?


    Hell¡­ To think the women even went as far as to release several of her gate limiters¡­ Those things are kind of in place for a reason.


    Don¡¯t ask me why the hell Alaine and my strength have ten permanent limiters, it just is.


    From what little of Ant Queen¡¯s memories that I managed to inherit, there was some sort of divine entity hovering over Aristocles. Hmph, that bastard probably is responsible for this.


    I mean, WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS PUTTING COLLARS ON ME AND ALAINE?


    Feh, whatever.


    Hey why can¡¯t I feel my everything¡­?


    Oh right¡­ Bruton tricked Alaine into getting mad¡­


    Well, my arms thoroughly thrashed. Oh, i¡¯m going to make him squeal like pig when I get my hands on hi-... wait, Alaine just smashed one of my hands!


    ...That clever bastard! He totally planned this didn¡¯t he! I totally bet he did! Oh, I hope he enjoyed the show because I am gonna¡­ Nah, best not damage the personal, kind of need them.


    Oh hey, some real big bugs are coming at us¡­ Ah, I don¡¯t care, i¡¯m gettin some lovin from my sweet Alaine.


    Aww yea!


    No.. no I should at least let her know, maybe some of her temper can be loosed on those things.


    ... I almost feel bad for those mindless pieces of trash. If it was a race with sentients, I might feel some feels for sicking an emotionally unstable Alaine on them¡­


    I mean, I have some of her thought process still in my head here, I know full well how she¡¯s reacting to all of this. Kind of why i¡¯m able to not want to kill that stupid Bruton right now.


    Ah hell, the Aristocles part of me is acting up again, i¡¯m just rambling on and on and oh hey, those bugs got closer.


    ¡°Alaine, there¡¯s a big bug coming at you from behind you know.¡±


    ¡°What of it Aren¡­ I just need another moment with you and i¡¯ll have calmed down.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m well aware, but you see, I¡¯ll find it much more attractive if you¡­ say¡­ use that anger to lead the troops to destroy the Mosquito nest in that tree?


    Pretty please?


    I¡¯ll throw in a kiss if you do it quickly.¡±


    ¡°Mnunnunu¡­ promise?¡±


    ¡°I promise¡±


    Gah, when Alaine get¡¯s like this, it¡¯s like looking at a little puppy, my heart¡¯s going all mush¡­


    There there¡­


    Go slaughter the Mosquitoes so you can stop CRUSHING ME!


    What was it for my first limiter again? I know Alaine¡¯s first three are based on her temper, so she¡¯s probably got just one¡­ no, the fact my arm is totally numb right now means she¡¯s released the second one too.


    Man, she does not handle jealousy well.


    I wonder if Aristocles would mind me using his mental log¡­ Nah, he¡¯s cool with it I¡¯m sure¡­


    Aren¡¯s log, some world date, unknown, age, about a week old, i¡¯ve just reached the surface and began killing some seriously big Mosquitoes, it¡¯s a good thing old man Aristocles left me with most of his fighting tricks, elsewise i¡¯d have been skewered¡­


    --- An angry image of Aristocles appears in Aren¡¯s mind and takes the mental log away from him.


    But¡­ but, I¡¯m special too! Give me back my log you old man!


    Oh hey, so when did that giant bug get that close¡­?


    ~***~


    The humming grew louder as the Horseflies grew closer and closer to the immobile Aren and Alaine.


    Both Aren and Alaine were fully aware of the coming attack, but simply had no real interest in doing anything. The reason, was because Alaine had gotten angry enough to release two of her limiters.


    The limiters were the result of the interference of both the divine being of Aristocles¡¯ home world, and the divine being of the current world. The level of power that the divine being supporting Aristocles and Ant Queen through the process of Symbiosis had been far too great for the power of the soul that each of them carries and as such defied the set laws of the world.


    To get around that, all that was needed was to put several limiters on it and call it a day. The divine being that supported Aristocles was nearly out of power, so doing anything more than this was far beyond it¡¯s capabilities.


    Aren possessed extremely high physical and mental strength. His ability of the [Regenerator] allows him to recover any physical damage that has been dealt to him, no matter how great the damage, he can restore his flesh and carapace so long as his vitality remains.


    The cost lies in requiring twice the hp that would normally be lost from the injury. The toll it takes on Aren¡¯s mind and body are extreme in drawn out engagements. While you can restore the damage, the fatigue will certainly remain. If the hp were to hit 0, his body would simply have hit it¡¯s limit and cease function.


    This, however, was not the reason for the pair¡¯s calm demeanor.


    Their calm lied within the might of the Matriarch of the Firebreed.


    The first of the Horseflies closed the distance in an instant, it¡¯s massive spear aimed directly at Alaine.


    There were several shouts from various warriors that had come escorting Alaine and thus were not distracted by the Mosquitoes that had continued their assault on the main warrior cluster.


    It was during their frightened shouts that the Horsefly hit it¡¯s mark.


    The impact was frightful, the damage caused was intense with life¡¯s blood and chunks of meat flying everywhere.


    Of course, it was the Horsefly that had suffered such a cruel end. It¡¯s body dangling by it¡¯s spear, held by Alaine herself.


    The moment it closed the distance, Alaine had grasped it¡¯s spear, and as if exploding within, the Horsefly crumbled to pieces.


    Seeing this, the other Horseflies kept their distance as if surveying the situation. After all, these Horseflies had lived many generations of fighting and killing, they have a much better sense for a fight than the mindless Mosquitoes. That said, it only falls down to instinct as the Horsefly does not have that much more mental acuity than the average Mosquito.


    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    The reason for the Horsefly¡¯s death is due to Alaine¡¯s ability. Where Aren has the ability [Regenerator], Alaine was granted the ability [Retributioner] which exchanges all damage that would normally be dealt to the body and hp into one¡¯s mp pool.


    The cost is equal to one half of the hp that would have been lost. To add onto this already terrifying passive defense ability lies it¡¯s offense form wherein all damage is reflected unto the attacker for twice the mp. On top of this the damage can be increased up to a modifier of x10, though increasing the damage dealt from x1 to x2 would cost x10 mp and from x1 to x3 would cost x100 mp and so on.


    Regardless, so long as Alaine has mp, she can never be injured as well as any opponent that dares harm her will find themselves causing great injury to themselves.


    This is the reason for the calm nature of these two powerful beings. The strongest ability of the Firebreed, the divine wrath of the strongest of all the Firebreed, the power of their Queen.


    ~***~


    Yeeep, Alaine destroyed that thing. I wonder what modifier she used on it, I mean really, the thing popped like a zit¡­


    ¡°Goodness Alaine, what modifier did you use on that thing?


    It was totally overkill¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Oh, well since you said you would take care of me if I got rid of them quickly, i¡¯ve turned up my passive Retribution modifier up to the maximum of course.¡±


    -_-¡¯  ¡­


    I forgot that she can be on the extreme side sometimes. She just always looks like the cool beauty type, so I forget how sensitive she is when she feels insecure.


    (<.<) Ah well, it¡¯s my own fault really for not asking what Bruton¡¯s plan wa-


    (<.<) Oh¡­ Ohhh right. That¡¯s right, that bastard needs to learn his less-


    (>.>) No.. Better idea, i¡¯m going to run every single one of the fighting warriors through drills under Bruton¡¯s name.


    (>.>) They won¡¯t be just any drills either, HAHAHA, they will be the most Spartan demonic


    drills I can think of that will rend their souls. With that, they will come to blame Bruton for their suffering and-


    (<.<) No, bad thoughts go away.


    (<.<) Now is not the time to think of ways to make a single warrior suffer.


    (>.>) But it¡¯s FUN!


    (<.<) No, we need to deal with the Mosquitoes first, then, then we make the bastard suffer!


    (>.>) Hell ya brother!


    (<.>) OK YOU IDIOTS, ENOUGH PLAYING AROUND, we need to deal with the real matters at hand.


    ---All of the dozen¡¯s of Aren¡¯s present ¡°Sir yes Sir!¡±


    ¡°Alaine, even with you, I doubt with you burning at your maximum damage modifier that you will be able to eliminate a Mosquito hive cluster at an elevated position with only our Guard unit.¡±


    ¡°Who said I was only going to be using the Guard Unit? I set things in motion such that even if the entire Tree ant army were at our door, we would be able to repulse them.¡±


    ¡°When the heck did you manage that?¡±


    ¡°The second we saw the first Mosquito in the sky of course. I sent Elenet down with orders for the Blacksmith, Construction, and 5 Battle units.


    Speaking of which, given the resources available and the time we¡¯ve bought them¡­ I¡¯d say that they should be arriving¡­


    About¡­


    Now.¡±


    ~***~


    Just as Alaine says this, the marching sound of hundreds of warriors could be heard from the tunnel¡¯s entrance.


    As if on cue, soldier by soldier, file by file, dozens of warrior ants marched from the tunnel into the open field.


    In each of their hands was a thick sharpened spear crafted from the thicker roots found within the entire hive network.


    Since working with the wood with their hard carapace claws was easy work, these makeshift spears could be created rapidly without issue. In their other hand were several thinner wooden polls.


    After only a minute, all five combat units had exited the tunnel network and were establishing a fortified perimeter around the tunnel entrance.


    The bustling movement of supply unit warriors was constant as they delivered dozens of replacement spears and polls for the Battle warriors to make use of.


    While the spears wielded by the warriors were quick to create, they were far from solid or resilient. In fact, after just one use, it was probable that the spear would break and the warrior would require a new one.


    It was beneficial that not only were these spears in good supply due to how quickly they can be created, but also that each warrior has their claws, so they are not totally helpless by any stretch of the imagination.


    By this time, Alaine had already escorted Aren over to the mouth of the tunnel to be looked over. While he could always remove his first limiter and thus release enough power to be able to restore himself right then and there, there is a cost for pushing through the limiter. The strain on their soul energy by pushing through each level of limiter is quite high.


    At this moment, Alaine had already pushed through not one, but two of her limiters, meaning that Aren could not afford to use his strength without it being absolutely necessary. Should both Alaine and Aren be out of commission at the same time, it would prove disastrous should even one other insect faction enter the fray.


    The moment Aren was in a secured location and no longer under any real threat, Alaine finally could get serious.


    Her eyes burned with a burning vitality as she roared to the warriors around her.


    ¡°FIREBREED, LET¡¯S GET RID OF THAT MOSQUITO NEST SO WE CAN ESTABLISH FIREBREED DOMINANCE OVER THE FOREST!¡±


    With a resounding ¡°HURAAAAAAH¡± from the numerous warriors, they all began moving towards the tree.


    Forty first day of Spring, Alaine of the Firebreed sets forth.


    [Ant Tensei - Chapter 11 End]

 AT Chapter 12 (Original)

    ¡°Sigh¡±


    I say go and take out that Mosquito hive, but to actually do so is going to be a serious pain¡­


    First, we need to think of how to get up that tree.


    It would probably take less than a minute if we were going with just our claws. But this situation isn¡¯t that simple, those Mosquitoes will not let us go unchallenged.


    We hold a serious numerical advantage. Aren managed to devastate their numbers without even releasing a limiter.


    ¡°Muuunuu¡­¡±


    That idiot, why did he let himself get so hurt¡­ did he seriously avoid using it in case I was in a situation where I needed it?


    No, I can¡¯t let myself get saddened here, after all, if I do well enough, I get Aren all to myself!


    Hehe!


    Right! Let¡¯s see¡­.


    ¡°Arol, fetch me Selena, Trell, and Macremore. I need to develop a plan for dealing with the remaining Mosquitoes. Tell the others of the 15 that are still standing, I know Bruton is heavily wounded. Jarix, see to it that the wounded are passed on to the supply units for treatment. It¡¯s easy to treat our damaged flesh, but it¡¯s impossible out here in this mess.¡±


    ---Arol bows and makes his way off without a word


    (Jarix) ¡°Of course my Lady. From the current reports from the warriors, there were four casualties from Aren¡¯s persona guard as well as 11 wounded from those that had been cut off from the rest of the main group. Bruton collapsed shortly after Sir Aren was moved underground for treatment and has since then been taken underground with the other wounded from his division. The first warrior division has succeeded in halting further Mosquito attacks, they received 4 wounded, no further wounded warriors to report thanks to my Lady¡¯s efforts.¡±


    ¡°Wonderful Jarix good work. I didn¡¯t even need to make this request then. It¡¯s a shame about the four casualties from Aren¡¯s party, but we certainly weren¡¯t expecting that we would get attacked after we had fully moved out. It was targeted to when our guard would be at it¡¯s lowest after our initial search.¡±


    (Jarix) ¡°Don¡¯t feel down over this matter, it¡¯s thanks to your efforts that the casualties weren¡¯t much higher after all¡±


    ---Alaine pauses and glares at Jarix for a moment before suppressing her obvious killing intent and smiles


    ¡°Jarix, of course you also intend to praise Aren¡¯s extreme efforts and sacrifice. After all, nearly single handedly without anyone brave enough to risk their lives to help him, fought off more than half of the Mosquito¡¯s number. If it weren¡¯t Aren¡¯s own order to not assist him, I would be most displeased with many of you. It¡¯s because Aren is in the state he is that it¡¯s even possible to consider an attack on the Mosquito hive.¡±


    ---A chill runs down Jarix¡¯s back as he feels almost crushed under Alaine¡¯s aura, her killing intent may be hidden, but the weight of her emotions were suffocating


    (Jarix) ¡°M¡­.*Gasp* m..y¡­ apo..log..ies.. my¡­ la..dy.. fo..r..giv..e.. me *Gasp*¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, now go and do as I had ordered you and oversee the wounded until I return.


    Oh, and one little thin Jarix¡­¡±


    (Jarix) ¡°Yes, Lady Alaine?¡±


    ---Alaine¡¯s killing intent surges forth in a sweeping wave that dominates every warrior within a great distance around her, her eyes colder than the darkest abyss


    ¡°If anything happens to Aren while I¡¯m gone, I will have to punish you severely.¡±


    ---As if his entire body was stolen from him, Jarix merely nods and begins walking away towards the tunnel below the base. After entering the tunnel, Jarix regained his senses and dropped to his knees in total fear.


    ***


    ¡°Right, Selena, Trell, Macremore, you three have a certain tact when it comes to martial tactics. As such, let¡¯s come up with a strategy for defeating this force of Mosquitoes. As it stands, thanks to Aren, there are less than half of their forces remaining while our side has only suffered four casualties. Normally, Aren would be the one to take care of this situation, but simply because he is the one with more of the mind of that man within him than myself, does not mean i¡¯m helpless in matters of war. So, share with me your thoughts as to how we might deliver the final blow to these Mosquitoes given they will not attempt further attacks on the ground until reinforcements arrive.¡±


    (Trell) ¡°My Lady, only should you grant me the permission to speak.¡±


    ¡°There is no need for me to give any of you permission for anything, all of the firebreed are equal when it comes to the future and security of our race. Speak without worry of offense, for no plan you could suggest can cause harm since no one has suffered should it be a poor plan. Better to share all possibilities first rather than waiting until that path can no longer be accessed.¡±


    (Trell) ¡°You have my thanks my Lady.


    Given the current situation, our current attack force numbers a near 600 in number. If we were to go off of rough estimations from what we could gather from the warriors in unison to yours and Sir Aren¡¯s estimations, there should only be 20 to 30 Mosquitoes left within the hive while there would be less than a dozen of the Horsefly variants.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    In comparison of forces, we hold the upper hand, the only problem is the risk of this turning into a siege, or even worse so, the Mosquitoes gaining reinforcements and holding up in their hive above. If that becomes the case, then it will become near impossible to fully expel them from their position. Thus making our attempts to create a settlement in this region nigh impossible.


    My suggestion would be to simply take advantage of the fact there are so few of the Mosquitoes and take advantage of a show of force and climb straight up the tree and destroy the hive. Without that, the Mosquitoes will lose their position and resting place and have to retreat.¡±


    ¡°And what would you estimate the casualties to be for such a bold tactic Trell?¡±


    ¡°Given the time to scale the tree and with their current numbers, i¡¯d put the casualties to be in the rough estimate between forty and sixty warriors in total. There also will probably be close to the same number of wounded.


    While the number is high, there should be no doubt that we would be able to gain victory using this method.¡±


    (Macremore) ¡°Ridiculous, that number of losses are totally unreasonable given our total number. To lose nearly tenth of our total number in an engagement against less than thirty Mosquitoes is horrendous and will certainly lead to our destruction at the hands of the other races.


    Remember that we are alone against all of the other insect races. The firebreed had been demoted to that of prey rather than a competitor, you need to get the ideas of the past where the sacrifice of numbers is acceptable. To me, the four warriors we lost today are far more than I would want to pay for this minor victory.


    The Mosquitoes number in the thousands, if we were to lose a tenth of our species to destroy a single nest, how the hell do you expect us to survive? We don¡¯t even know if we can ever reproduce again with Lady Alaine or any of the male and female warriors of our species.


    Given this, I suggest that we hold off on the attack and wait until Lord Aren recovers.¡±


    (Trell) ¡°That¡¯s impossible, you know full well that Sir Aren would take over an hour to recover his stamina to recover from those wounds. Did you not see how hard he had to fight for so long? He destroyed HALF of the Mosquitoes while we as an entire group could only kill 8! Not even, Lady Alaine put down two of those for us and prevented at least 6 more casualties.


    The fact is that currently we are just not used to our bodies yet. Sir Aren and Lady Alaine are the only two that have any real combat abilities besides us of the sentient 15 of Ant Queen. They inherited the combat abilities of Lord Aristocles himself, of course Sir Aren gained the majority of such knowledge.¡±


    ---Alaine puts her head down and wraps her arms around her knees


    It¡¯s true, if anyone were to be able to come up with a strategy to deal with this situation it would have to be Aren¡­


    I¡¯m mostly a diplomatic type with a good head for stewardship type tasks mixed in with high organizational skills.


    The little martial ability that I got from Aristocles was mostly basic combat techniques and basic tactics using large scale war organization and management. I¡¯m more or less literally designed for the sake of supporting Aren from behind¡­ What should I do¡­


    What should I do¡­


    ¡°mmmmuuuuuu¡­¡±


    ---Alaine makes a dissatisfied pouting face


    (Selena) ¡°Why not just let Lady Alaine take the front? Her ability to deflect all damage would be perfect for scaling the tree and destroying the hive.


    Of course we all know that there should be a limit to the power even Lady Alaine possesses. As such we should prepare a method to ensure that Lady Alaine has some sort of support as well.¡±


    (Alaine) ¡°Before you continue Selena I must say that I will not accept any further notion about risking the lives of my children.


    All of the warriors of the firebreed are my children, and I will not allow them to come in harms way needlessly. I can understand the reasoning behind your plan Trell, however, I will never accept such harm to befall my children.


    If you are not aware¡­¡±


    ---At this moment, Alaine¡¯s veil turns a sapphire blue, her skin growing slightly more red as veins appear on both her arms and neck


    ¡°The requirement for the third inhibitor is defending my children when we are in crisis. I¡¯m certain whatever risks to my being that Selena¡¯s plan may have for me will be acceptable.


    Now then, let¡¯s create a strategy to defeat these Mosquitoes, I want their nest destroyed before the next time Aren leaves the underground!¡±


    (Trell, Macremore, Selena) ¡°Understood my Queen!¡±


    [Ant Tensei - Chapter 12 End]

 AT Chapter 13 (Original)

    The wind was blowing in a faint breeze, the buzzing of the Mosquitoes still yet leaving the air as they patrolled the skies with fierce determination.


    They had just been humiliated in total defeat. To a race prided only on killing and feasting, to only have secured four bodies to feast on for a group of over 30, the Mosquito¡¯s pride was severely injured.


    Regardless, while the Horsefly chiefs were present, they dared not to continue pressing their attack. They all remembered the majestic creature responsible for eliminating their strongest Horsefly with it¡¯s bare hands.


    Beyond that, it looked as if it found pleasure in their deaths. For such a creature to exist is frightening to say the least.


    For the prideful hunters, they found something that enjoyed the thought of hunting them.


    Their leaders aren¡¯t fools. They had encountered a race that is surprisingly strong. Not only that, but they are in the hundreds and came from the location of the firebreed race they were coming to prey upon.


    Since there were so many unknowns, a Horsefly with several Mosquitoes as escort left to secure reinforcements for an all out battle. It would be a great deal of time, but as long as they could hold out in the skies and in the trees, there would be no worry over whether or not they could hold.


    How could they not hold?


    They held all the advantages, they held the sky, they held the speed, and they held the terrain.


    Yet, why was it that they were the ones that suffered such losses?


    It was because of this mystery that the Horsefly chiefs decided to not only call off the attack temporarily, but to also send out for reinforcements.


    For the time being, four or five Mosquitoes are assigned to monitor the host on the ground below. If they try anything, the Mosquitoes would be ready to receive them and send them to their graves.


    Any opportunity to regain their lost pride will be acceptable, even if they have to slay each and every one of them from behind, they don¡¯t care.


    These creatures that appeared from nowhere and shamed their majestic raid with the stain of defeat must be destroyed.


    Must be destroyed.


    Must be destroyed.


    Must Be Destroyed.


    DIE.


    DIE.


    KILL.


    KILL.


    EAT.


    KILL.


    EAT.


    These thoughts continued to resound through the heads of each of the Mosquitoes.


    Their shame had long since shifted to hate and rage, their ability to reason had been greatly reduced.


    It was shortly thereafter,


    IT happened.


    The wind had stopped and the surrounding forest terrain had grown silent.


    The Mosquitoes grew weary, the creatures below had split on two sides, a single creature stood between them.


    It was clothed in a shimmering sapphire gown.


    Each step was as if the world¡¯s heart beat to it¡¯s tune, each of these creatures bowed their heads to this one creature.


    But wait, a similar creature, garbed in a ruby colored dress was the very creature responsible for the death of their greatest Horsefly chieftain.


    That creature gave off a powerful aura in on itself, but this one, there was nothing.


    It was as if the very energies around it were missing. Yet, these creatures, unlike before when only a few that noticed the red one¡¯s presence gave it attention. This one, THIS one, has the entire number in complete attention.


    Was the red one not their Matriarch? Their strongest warrior?


    What is this being that is walking through their ranks?


    This being must be dangerous, no, it IS dangerous.


    Why else would all of these mighty creatures surrender their pride and submit themselves to this thing.


    The other creature must have been the heir or claimant to the title of their race. That must be it.


    This creature must be the true leader of these people.


    That warrior before that clashed with the greatest of the Mosquito warriors must have been this one¡¯s mate. The signs of irritation and anger are obviously present on it¡¯s face.


    That must be it.


    Surely, because the warrior was in trouble, this one sent one of it¡¯s elite warriors to save it¡¯s mate.


    It¡¯s only normal for the relatives of royalty to be sent out, though that warrior was exceptional in fighting. We lost nearly half of our number just trying to defeat it alone.


    To think what might have happened if those two were together at the start.


    No, to think if this creature before us now were to have been fighting since the beginning¡­


    We might have been totally crushed.


    We have been underestimated, they have made the mistake of not defeating us quickly!


    All we have to do is not let this creature reach the top of the tree for the next short while and it¡¯s our win. There is no need to fear, no matter how strong a creature is, they cannot resist the might of our host.


    Not even three Manti could stand in our wake should even half of the host take part in the battle.


    No doubt the tribal chieftains will grant us their support for a great raid.


    We shall remove this invading species before they even begin their movements.


    We won¡¯t let them rest, we¡¯ll show them the mistake of coming into this forest.


    They. Will. All. Die.


    Truly, these creatures are fools. They are strong, but they don¡¯t know anything.


    Look, they even separate into the brush.


    Scouting when the enemy can fly is foolish. But there is no need to worry, once the host arrives for the grand raid, we will hunt down each and every one of them. None will survive, they will regret their decision as we absorb their juices and steal their energy.


    We prey on those that broke off from the main bulk of their forces, but now, THAT creature is coming.


    It¡¯s coming, but¡­ It¡¯s alone?


    Is it not bringing it¡¯s pack with it?


    Why?


    Is it¡­ it¡¯s mocking us?


    Are we not a threat worthy of attacking in full force?


    Does it think that we are so weak that just that one creature is able to destroy our hive and slay all of us?


    It dares mock our pride!


    ---At this, several Mosquitoes disobey the orders given by the Horseflies and charge at the now alone blue creature. The first two hit the creature with great strength, the ground was parted slightly and the creature skidded across the ground.


    Such foolishness.


    This is their greatest warrior?


    Even two of our own are enough to deal with this creatu-...


    ---As these thoughts spread through the pack, the two Mosquitoes that had struck the blue creature exploded into gore. The blue figure disappearing for an instant, then reappearing on the back of one of the Mosquitoes lower to the ground. They had stopped for a moment because of the sudden death of their brethren, the shock had made them forget themselves and led to their current position. By the time they realized it, it was already too late. The blue creature had already slain the three lower level Mosquitoes and was continuing it¡¯s way up.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    No, what is this?


    We can¡¯t follow it¡¯s movements¡­ It¡¯s so fast¡­


    They are dropping like ants¡­


    How is it possible? A single creature on the land is able to reach us? The lords of the sky?


    How can this be?


    ---As this throught rang out, the several Mosquitoes that had charged below had already begun falling to the ground. In their haste, they had actually given this creature a ladder to climb. The skies that they held such pride in were no longer theirs alone. This creature had made it into the main host that was flying in the skies high above the ground.


    IMPOSSIBLE!


    For a land creature to reach it this far¡­


    This is UNACCEPTABLE! We cannot allow it, quickly!


    All Mosquitoes! Destroy it at once before it reaches our hive!


    ---At this, the Mosquitoes all charged in a swarm at the creature before them. Though, try as they might, they couldn¡¯t even manage to hit it. The creature simply danced as if walking in air, slowly but surely making it¡¯s way carelessly towards the hive. Even with two of the Horseflies taking action, they still could not half the creatures advance. In fact, it was their own foolishness that had is causing this. As the swarm buzzes around the creature, it uses their bodies as perches to launch itself from. So long as the swarm remains, it will be able to advance knowing that as it advances the swarm and it¡¯s footing will follow.


    It¡¯s mocking us. In it¡¯s mind it thinks we are worth nothing more than the dirt beneath it¡¯s feat?!


    We¡¯ll show it the true might of the Mosquito tribes!


    Do not let that thing reach the hive!


    ---Try as they might, minute by minute, they could not stop it¡¯s advance. And finally, the creature reached the branch where the Mosquito¡¯s hive was located.


    No¡­ How is it possible? It reached our sacred hive, but¡­ how?


    It shouldn¡¯t be possible for a land creature to walk on the air¡­ no¡­ to even reach our hive, how can this be?


    We are the greatest warriors, the Mosquito tribes, yet these creatures slew us by the dozen. Then this thing walks upon air to reach our hive¡­


    What are these creatures?


    Wait¡­ the number of creatures on the ground have decreased?


    No¡­ wait, they are slowly leaking into the forest surrounding this place! If we are not careful, they might¡­ No¡­ we have to stop them!


    But¡­ We can¡¯t let our hive be destroyed by a single creature!


    Even if it was a Manti, we couldn¡¯t handle the shame of such a defeat. No, we must first deal with this creature, lest we be shamed in the eyes of all existence¡­


    ---Despite their constant attempts, slowly, their numbers dropped. From the remaining 24 Mosquitoes and 9 Horseflies, within only 5 minutes, there remained only 5 Mosquitoes, the Horseflies all slain and fallen to the ground far earlier. Then, the creature did the unthinkable. With a single strike of it¡¯s arm, the branch that the Mosquito¡¯s hive was on fell to the ground with a smash. The creatures on the ground set upon it instantly, and in only seconds the hive was in ruins.


    Our.. Hive¡­ Our¡­ Honor¡­ all gone.


    What purpose do we have to live for¡­ why had we fought?


    What was the reason for this impossible battle¡­ we never stood a chance in the first place¡­ Why did we have to come here to experience such shame¡­


    Not even ten Horseflies could stand before these things¡­


    We must at least warn the host, if they are alerted, they can take the necessary precautions, they MUST know about their plans.


    (??) ¡°I¡¯m afraid that I simply cannot allow that. If your friends were to know our plans, then I might lose some of my precious children and Aren would be so disheartened after all¡­¡±


    ---But, these thoughts of retreat came too late, in an instant, the blue figure had lunged into the air, and within just twenty seconds, the remaining five Mosquitoes began their fall to the earth below with a faint thud. There on the tree, the blue figure looked onward at the sky before it. In the distance a faint buzzing could be heard. After a minute, the buzzing grew to a thunderous roar. The skies appeared as if a dust storm began it¡¯s approach, the very branch the creature stood upon vibrating from the intensity of their number. It was then that the blue creature sunk to it¡¯s knees and clasped it¡¯s hands together.


    (??) ¡°Release limiter, level four.¡±


    .*ZZZZZZPPPP*


    ---Loud crackling sounds erupted from the kneeling figure, it¡¯s cloth flowing rapidly as if it were being pressed from a great gust of wind. The energy on the air grew intense as the Mosquitoes began to realize the situation. The scene of the destroyed hive and the bodies of Mosquitoes below told all that they needed to know. That thing on that branch was able to kill an entire raiding party single handedly.


    Kill.


    Kill.


    Kill.


    Kill.


    Die.


    Die.


    DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE


    KILL AND EAT


    KILL AND EAT


    KILL AND EAT


    ---The horde worked itself into a flurry as it approached. The largest of their great number, at least thirty times that of the previous host of Mosquitoes, took the front. They weren¡¯t careless though given a raid party were destroyed, but their killing instincts dulled their senses as they charged ever faster with the thoughts of ¡®Kill kill kill!¡¯. On the ground near the dead corpses, there weren¡¯t any other creatures, so to them, it must have been only this one creature that was responsible for the current situation. With the tension on the air, it was obvious that many would die if they did not reach that creature soon. If it had a special trick that led to the deaths of so many, they must move quickly.


    Kill it soon, if we aren¡¯t soon, we will suffer humiliation.


    Hurry.


    Hurry.


    Hurry.


    ---The distance was halved in the blink of an eye, their speed was great. They intended to use their full might to crush this creature, this predator that dared believe itself worth of hunting them.


    ---But, just as they were only several body lengths from the creature, it¡¯s arms shot outward as if accepting their attacks. The Mosquito¡¯s instincts rang out in terror as the creature spoke it¡¯s next words.


    ¡°UNLOCK, LIMITER 5!


    NOW, WARRIORS OF THE FIREBREED, BEGIN OUR GLORIOUS HUNT!¡±


    ---From the skies above the host of Mosquitoes, branches began to fall upon them. Upon each branch were dozens of creatures bathed in a blue aura.


    [Ant Tensei - Chapter 13 End]

 AT Chapter 14 (Final Chapter, Being rewritten) (Original)

    (Alaine) ¡°UNLOCK, LIMITER 5!


    NOW, WARRIORS OF THE FIREBREED, BEGIN OUR GLORIOUS HUNT!¡±


    The snapping and crashing of branches erupted from the area above the massive Mosquito host. From the very front to the very back, dozens of large branches began to fall upon them.


    Perched upon each of these branches were a cluster of warriors, bathed in a blue aura very similar to that of what was currently bursting out from Alaine herself. The very energy pulsated through the air and drove the Mosquito horde into a panic.


    This was simply something they had not expected or even considered. In their blindness, they had assumed that the only enemy was the one before them. But they held no caution fully ignoring the fact that their opponent was a total unknown that had eliminated a host of Mosquitoes.


    They did not even halt to consider the fact that the ¡®creature¡¯ before them hadn¡¯t been alone. How could they really, they were moving to reinforce a ¡®certain¡¯ defense to eliminate an enemy horde. But, when they arrived, there was just one person present, and their instincts burned into their brain that it was dangerous. This led to them making this grave mistake. They were made aware that their reports, that there were hundreds of creatures, were true.


    They had just passed it to the backs of their minds since it was also reported that they were running into the forest.


    In reality, they were getting out of sight to climb the trees in the surrounding area.


    This was what the remaining Mosquitoes had realized all too late. They had no reason to run, they were planning in the case of enemy reinforcements. The last few Mosquitoes realized that they were playing along to these creatures tunes the entire time.


    But it was too late, this information died with them and their massive horde who was guaranteed an easy hunt of creatures that were running away ran straight into the trap.


    Now, Alaine stands head first before the horde, with half of her limiters that restrict her full power unlocked.


    The limiters are the result of the interference of this world¡¯s deity. Despite the resistance of the dying deity of Aristocles¡¯ world, the fact remained the power between a dying ¡®god¡¯ and a ¡®god¡¯ with millions of lives under it is distinct. The fact they weren¡¯t destroyed was sheer fortune.


    These limiters can be considered ¡®dams¡¯ in a sense. Each one stands to block a percentage of their power. Not just Alaine and Aren, but each of the firebreed. The power and potential of the firebreed is such that the original source of power is under a lock and key. While they themselves live free, to free themselves of each limiter is to pay a great cost while meeting difficult restrictions. The bodies of each of them is not fully able to handle this power.


    Since the world gave such interference, they were born with very small bodies, only about a foot in height, their abilities that they would have normally started with sealed. Their very memories of these abilities are blurred and difficult to recall, though for Alaine and Aren, through the guidance of the essence of Aristocles within them, they are able to decipher and resist this problem.


    For Aren, he is aware of the resulting abilities and powers of seven of his limiters, while Alaine is only aware of the first five. The rest remain a total mystery to them.


    The only points they are aware of is the fact that when a limiter is released, they will regain certain powers they would have normally had, they would regain knowledge, they would regain various abilities and influence from the influence of Aristocles. With each limiter released, they would revert closer and closer to their original forms they would have taken if everything went to Aristocles¡¯ designs.


    As it was explained, each limiter is a dam for their powers and abilities, with each limiter, the amount of power regained is increased by a great amount more than the last. As an example, each dam cuts down the flow of a river, by the time it reaches the end, the flow is that of a drop of water running down a glass.


    And this,


    This very situation,


    Alaine has released,


    Not one, two, three, or four limiters,


    She¡¯s released her fifth limiter.


    She currently wields the power of five released limiters.


    Though, the strain on her body. will. be. severe.


    As the branches began to fall, the bodies of the firebreed warriors overhead began to change.


    Their bodies began to grown to nearly twice their size, their armor growing along with them, but, far more covering and powerful than before.


    From their arms, grew blades, spears, and various other weapons.


    Their helms became sleek, resembling something similar to that Aren possesses.


    Their armor turns a deep sapphire blue, each warrior sporting a different set, each unique in their own way.


    This was what was sealed behind Alaine¡¯s fifth limiter, a portion of the true strength of her warriors. Not all of Alaine and Aren¡¯s gates were merely for their own benefit, given the situation, certain gates could affect the environment, their opponent, or various other elements.


    For Alaine, the Queen of the firebreed and wielder of the title of their Matriarch, she was blessed with the seals to the firebreed.


    Now, the hunt begins.


    Within an instant, each of the firebreed warriors had departed from their branches, their weapons in hand.


    Given the confusion, the Mosquito host had long since broken off it¡¯s charge, with only several Mosquitoes and two Horseflies continuing towards Alaine. It was in that instant, that Alaine vanished, the branch she was perched upon breaking with a loud cracking sound.


    In an instant, dozens of Mosquitoes began falling to the ground.


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    There Alaine stood, standing upon a Horsefly, glaring down upon the Mosquito horde.


    (Alaine) ¡°You pathetic creatures dare to hunt my children.


    You DARE, to seek my children¡¯s harm.


    YOU DARE TO THREATEN OUR VERY EXISTENCE.


    NOW, IT IS YOU WHO SHALL STAND HUNTED, PERISH BENEATH OUR HEEL AND BECOME OUR NOURISHMENT!


    FIREBREED, DESTROY THEM!¡±


    With a thunderous roar, the warriors began to meet with their targets. Dozens of Mosquitoes began to drop within seconds. The branches making contact as well proceeded to destroy all semblance of unity as the chaos of battle erupted around them in an instant.


    The hunters, had become the hunted.


    A host of thousands of Mosquitoes, was destroyed in less than five minutes, the ground littered with the fallen.


    To someone watching on the sidelines, one would assume that the firebreed¡¯s power far outweighed that of the Mosquito horde. This, however, was not the case. The situation was quite dire should Alaine had not removed the fifth limiter and vastly increased the firebreed¡¯s fighting potential.


    Without weapons, the warriors would have had a difficult time dealing wounds deep enough to cause the Mosquitoes fatal harm, as well as the size and speed gained allowed them to jump target to target.


    Needless to say, this strategy would have been literal suicide had the terrain or abilities available been even the slightest different.


    Even if Aren himself had remained standing, the result of fighting a ground to air battle against a near 6-1 odds would have seen the death of dozens of warriors.


    When Alaine set forth and fought the initial hive alone, it was so that the warriors could use the time and distraction to position themselves within the branches above.


    There was no guarantee that the Mosquitoes would not fly higher or see the warriors above, it was simply a gamble combined with the fact that the Mosquitoes tended to maintain a certain height. Based off of that, Macremore and Selena determined that using falling branches, they would be able to destroy the order of Mosquito¡¯s host.


    It was Alaine who informed them of the fifth limiter and it¡¯s potential. Using this, they determined that Alaine would stand where the hive stood. Given the simple processing power of Mosquitoes, it would be possible that they would assume she was the only present foe and charge at her with their full numbers.


    After they closed the distance, the warriors spread upon the branches would fell the branches the instant Alaine released the fourth limiter, which connects the souls of the warriors to Alaine. This was so that once Alaine made the preparations to release the fifth limiter, they would already be right on top of the Mosquito horde, ready to attack.


    The initial strike from Alaine alone slaughtered nearly 150 Mosquitoes before the warriors had even met their first target.


    Of course, Alaine¡¯s participation in this engagement was rather light. After her first attack, she retreated to a branch and began assisting any warrior that was at any risk of falling. The blue aura bursting out of her provided the warriors with a near endless supply of stamina while providing each of them with a sense of the battlefield¡¯s current state.


    Through the entire engagement, thanks to Alaine¡¯s defense against falling warriors, there wasn¡¯t a single casualty.


    Through the state of panic, a presumable 50 to 100 Mosquitoes had managed to retreat from at least 3,000.


    As the warriors returned to the ground, their armor turned red again and the great suits of armor began to crumble. While they retained their size, their weapons and armor crumbled.


    The reason for this was Alaine.


    As the warriors looked over at her, her condition was frightening.


    Standing before the warriors, Alaine was deteriorating.


    Visage returned to the usual red color for only a moment before that too began to fade. Her dress began to fall to pieces forming a pile of dust around her.


    As she fell to her knees, her body seemed as if it was withering away.


    (Alaine) ¡°Hah¡­ It would seem¡­ that the fifth limiter is simply too¡­ much for me to release¡­ but as long as my children are all safe¡­ I am glad.¡±


    Saying this, Alaine fell to the ground.


    (Random Warriors) ¡°QUICKLY, GET LADY ALAINE TO SIR AREN, HE MUST KNOW OF SOME WAY TO HELP HER! HURRY, SHE¡¯S GOING TO DIE!¡±


    [Ant Tensei - Chapter 14 End] [Series Being Re-Written, final chapter]


    WhiteSamurai afterword:


    "In May, I took a moment to re-read what I had written of Ant Tensei, and was honestly disappointed with what I had written thus far. While it wasn''t bad in many ways, I felt it was lacking, below what I was capable of. Besides that, I was constantly trying to speed up my releases rather than focusing on the development of the story itself. To top it all off, the series was focused to be a comedy that I was just messing around with, when people started to like it, I changed directions mid-way, thus limiting the overall capacity for later-story plot and character development. This thus led me to decide that I would rewrite Ant Tensei. As of a month ago, I finally decided on the plot alignments and began work on the Prologue to ''Ant Tensei Redux''. The story will be generally the same, but far more fleshed out and with a serious focus rather than a light and satiric one.


    To bring closure to those reading since it will be awhile until the rewrite reaches this point, Alaine does not die.


    Thank you all for reading, remember, this is not the end, merely the beginning of the true series. "


    Stay Tuned~


    ~White

 Ant Tensei, (Original) VS (Redux) + Redux Sneak Peek!

    Good evening.


    My name is WhiteSamurai.


    I''m sure that many of you have probably been confused as to what is really happening with Ant Tensei. Why did I say (Final Chapter) on Chapter 14? Well, the simple reason is that I''m rewriting Ant Tensei, starting from the beginning.


    I decided to do this several months back after I had received enough positive feedback about the story that led me to decide to rebuild the story. No, not change it, or the path I wanted to go with the story, but to flesh it out, and develop the characters far better than I did. The reason is because I wasn''t actually trying to make a real story until roughly Chapter 8 and up. Why was that? It was because originally, Ant Tensei was just intended to be a satire based comedy series that I wrote for myself to have some laughs and then drop. The people reading it wanted otherwise, and I tried my best to change directions midway for them. Well... while I did my best, the fact that I wasn''t thinking long term was hurting the development of the story. It became either, keep going and let the story suffer and have far less development than it should, or rewrite it and see if those reading it still like it that way. Of course if after I hit 14 chapters of the Redux people don''t like it as much as the Original, i''ll gladly take the Original backup. I''m trying to cater best to the enjoyability of the readers through my own story. So if I wasn''t giving you the ''Best'' I was capable of, I wouldn''t feel it was ''My'' story.


    Redux aims to be Ant Tensei''s Original, yet more. My plans with it look far into the horizon, hundreds of chapters from now, through many battles and trials that the characters will face, many surprises and twisting paths that they will walk upon. Redux isn''t changing Ant Tensei, it IS Ant Tensei. Removing all of the unnecessary pieces that damage the intended mentalities of my characters while greatly increasing the level of character development in the story. More characters, more scenes, more detail, more lore. In a sense, Redux is merely, more. Instead of just editing the (Original)''s chapters, it was better to start from scratch and follow the same path, seeing just how different my writing of the story becomes when I''m serious, rather than constantly laughing to myself ^^


    Just for those curious as to how Ant Tensei Redux will look, here''s the NEW synopsis for Redux and the first two pages of the Ant Tensei Redux Prologue to whet your appetites.


    (Synopsis):


    Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it, yet for some reason it has always repeated itself. The tides of destiny and the passing of time are unstoppable forces that dictate our lives and paths. Yet, within a single point in time, within a single universe, on a single planet, a single being was born of tragedy and suffering, to break this cycle. This man, was named by those who followed him, as Aristocles. Through sheer willpower and unsurmounted tact and wisdom gained through research and study to become closer to being human himself, he became something more, more than just human. Over time he became hope, a hope in a better tomorrow, a hope in a future. No matter the crisis at hand, this man eventually rose up to defend humanity in their darkest hour, nearly leading them to a great victory. It was then, that they destroyed the world?!


    Join us in the journey of life and death that was forged by this unbelievable life. A journey of pain, a journey of enlightenment, a journey left behind into the chronicles of the universe that one could truly say, no matter how far into the future one goes, truly made a difference.


    (Sneak Peek):


    Life¡­


    It¡¯s so short isn¡¯t it.


    No matter how long you seem to walk in any direction, eventually you find a dead end.


    At the end, I now wonder just what I tried to live for, what my true purpose was. Why did I keep taking another step when the end is inevitable. When in the end of all ends, one cannot see a meaning to walk that next step.


    So, why did I take that next step..?


    I never really felt anything, my heart chilled with the frost of indifference and longing. To gaze as far as I dared, to think as deep as I thought, to do what I have done. Why did I take that next step?


    There¡¯s always that question¡­ whenever I took that next step¡­ why¡­ why did I keep going¡­ why did I take another step¡­ why did I not just give up¡­ why did I keep fighting¡­ why did I struggle¡­ why did I teach¡­ why did I learn¡­ why did I lead¡­ why did I survive¡­ why did I do what I did¡­


    I¡­ I¡­. why¡­


    That word¡­. why¡­


    As I stare at this broken sky, into the endless void of space ever growing closer to this dying body of mine, this word still yet ponders in my mind¡­


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Why did I do¡­ what I did¡­


    At the end¡­ was all I did¡­ all I built¡­ all I taught¡­. really pointless?


    If that was so¡­ why do I feel¡­ so¡­ content?


    Perhaps¡­ there was something in my life¡­ that was worth something?


    But¡­ what did I do that meant anything? If this is the result of all I¡¯ve done¡­ then what was the point? I merely wait here, floating in the vacume of all ends yet no beginnings, waiting for the silence to overcome.


    Was there any reason at all?


    Perhaps¡­ i¡¯m still alive right now¡­ if there¡¯s anything at all, I might as well reflect on my life¡­ if there¡¯s anything I can do for the sake of all i¡¯ve done, it¡¯s pass on while remembering my life with contentment. Whether or not my life was pointless or not will be left to the universe of time to decide, for in my failure, I leave no heir to succeed any memory. As it was planned in the greater extent of reality, humanity has fallen, it stands my great failure for such an event, my shame that shall not be carried by a single soul of the living, yet carried by all of the damned.


    In this supposed life I carried with me, one could say that I was different, perhaps called special by some, yet lived as but a curse.


    I can''t say what really occured at the time of my birth, not many children could if one shared a creation such as my own. In my efforts, I stood to understand several things about my existance. This husk called a body holds a great instability, that is to say my cells hardly could be called orthodox in their development. The cellular divisions casting shadows over a normal organism. Organs missing, organs developing that have never existed in any species, from what little could be found about my creation I could only have a brief picture.


    If I were to be described during my early years, essentially, I was a living tumor.


    My DNA was a complete mess. When I was born, I had multiple sets of every single chromosome, my cells dividing and dying randomly as they mutated further and further.


    For the first year of my life, I was merely kept alive at a research facility in the broken-down country of my birth. Such a small and destitute place with no military power at all. If not for the oil produced there, there would not have even been a nation there at all.


    The scientists played with my body, injecting various liquids and using various devices on my body. I will never know for sure how much of what I am... was, was a result of their work, and what was my intended existance. All I can ever believe... all I could ever believe... is that my existance was something rejected by fate, yet was not eliminated, as all that which goes against the flow of destiny commonly are.


    Such was my life, to go against all that stood, all that was believed, to know what I know and walk on the path yet pathed. It mattered not the destination, yet as I wait here, within this fallen world upon which there shall never be another dawn, perhaps that is the very ''fate'' of those who walk against the tides of destiny.


    My first memories formed in that white box¡­ their tests and trials continuously without end. Arms were severed only to regrow with some several injections and some powder being forced into the wounds. An eye being split would reform after a few days, my body not dying after my throat was cut and continuously bleeding.


    My cells would always generate faster than anything. No matter the test, no matter the damage, that husk would always reform.


    For me, well, you could say that there really wasn¡¯t a ¡®me¡¯ at that point, there was only a continually growing sack of flesh that was constantly being tested and abused. The very depths of human testing and indifference.


    One can''t blame them though. Honestly, that thing was nothing, merely a sack of flesh. Even if it had memory, all that memory held was the various experiments upon it and nothing more.


    Normally in such a tale, there would be some researcher that would show the flesh kindness, teach it to speak and feel, then the creature would rescue the researcher, who was opposite gender of course, when they were caught going against regulations and whisk away to a happily ever after.


    Of course this wasn¡¯t the case.


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    This is but a fragment of how large the Prologue truly will become. Currently it stands at roughly 30 pages, only to probably be double the size by the time of its release. For those who read it without spoiling it for those who haven''t, the Prologue follows the initial main character and ends with the rise of the Firebreed.


    Stay Tuned~


    ~White

 Characters, Story Thus Far, Chapter Status (Redux)

    This page is dedicated to Ant Tensei Redux, the official rewrite of Ant Tensei (Original)


    Here, you can find the Character bios, chapter release dates, as well as background lore about various things that you would not normally find by just reading the chapters!


    These character Bios provide Lore and other information that you may not even find within the main series. These bios update with the completion of each arc or the appearance of a central character. For those who haven''t read Ant Tensei Redux, it is best to do so before reading this section.


    You have been informed.


    Characters:


    Aristocles von Rasok:


    Aristocles is a so called ''Legendary Hero'' of a modern human age. From birth he-


    To be written after ATR Prologue release.


    The Story Thus Far:


    To be written after Prologue release-


    Chapter Status:


    Current Chapter - Prologue Terra Arc


    Next Chapter Release Timer:


    October 15, 2015


    ATR Prologue: Spiritus


    Chapter Percent Complete:


    Prologue Part (2/3): [Spiritus]


    0% Transcribed (Electronical)


    0% Written (Physical)


    Prologue Part (3/3): [Vitae]


    -% Transcribed (Electronical)


    -% Written (Physical)


    Current Arc:


    (The Legend of Aristocles)


    Next Arc:


    (The Rise of Two from One)


    Last Updated: (October 5, 2015)


    I thank you all for reading Ant Tensei Redux.


    Ant Tensei Writing styles:


    In the beginning, Ant Tensei was created as a joke-style series that I came up with to pass the time while watching my Aunt''s Dog as a favor over the course of a few days. I had nothing to study nor homework at the time, so I just started on a whim as I had already been translating works as well as reading others. I released those chapters to a very positive response of several thousand people on the ''Pacem Wikia'', my translation group homepage(Semi-inactive). After releasing just over a dozen chapters over the course of two or three months, I re-read my work and saw that it was seriously lacking and that writing a chapter every few weeks was seriously skewing the story''s flow.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    In the re-write, I took my story seriously. Very, very seriously to the point where I would think over a hundred chapters into the future to just see if the story could hold up given the character developments and path selections. Over the course of May 2015 to August 2015, over 300 different story paths were brainstormed and discarded. The first twenty pages of ATR had been written by June 2015, but the rest were only written in the late of August and early days of September 2015. That''s just how seriously I decided to be with it this time around.


    Without a single doubt, Ant Tensei Redux has cleared my plans for 500+ chapters until it''s ***Spoilers Withheld by Author*** and Ant Tensei Redux reaches the end of its independent run.


    Ant Tensei is a series that releases with a 20+ page per chapter release style. It follows the adventures of Aristocles von Rosok, the ''Savior of Mankind'' and ***Extreme Spoilers Withheld by Author***, as well as Aren and Alaine, two ''Children'' sired from a split cursed fragment of Aristocles'' soul after being attacked during the reincarnation process. The first season follows the two ''Children'' as they explore their existence, purpose, and futures at the bottom of the food chain. Their lives constantly on the line as they serve to further their ''Father''s supposed ''Final Wish'' that they derive from broken memories from the soul fragment to the point where it almost becomes dogma. Beyond this, I won''t say further, it will be explained in the above sections as the story progresses.


    Ant Tensei''s release schedule is FAR, far, far slower than that of any other of the ''WhiteSamurai Originals'' that are released. This is due to the seriousness that I personally have when dealing with the progression of the series as well as the limited time that I have at hand. If I don''t have 4 hours to plan out the story, I won''t work on ATR and will put the limited time on Nameless Hero, another of my works published on Royalroadl. That series has a far higher release schedule, however, has far fewer chapters before it ***Spoilers Withheld by Author*** and the independent series ends.


    A secret point only to be found right here and will not be mentioned anywhere else is the secret novel that has been in development since January 2015. This novel will only be released once both Ant Tensei Redux, Nameless Hero, and Death''s Only Adventure (Release Pending) have run their full courses and are ''Complete''. This novel is planned to progress for 50 seasons, with a story plotline planned for almost 35,000 chapters, requiring an estimated 19 years to complete.


    One could almost say that any novels I release before it are, merely practice for that day.


    Enjoy~


    ~White

 ATR Prologue: Terra Arc (1/3)

    (The official rewrite of Ant Tensei begins!!)


    Life¡­


    It¡¯s so short isn¡¯t it.


    No matter how long you seem to walk in any direction, eventually you find a dead end.


    At the end, I now wonder just what I tried to live for, what my true purpose was. Why did I keep taking another step when the end is inevitable. When in the end of all ends, one cannot see a meaning to walk that next step.


    So, why did I take that next step..?


    I never really felt anything, my heart chilled with the frost of indifference and longing. To gaze as far as I dared, to think as deep as I thought, to do what I have done. Why did I take that next step?


    There¡¯s always that question¡­ whenever I took that next step¡­ why¡­ why did I keep going¡­ why did I take another step¡­ why did I not just give up¡­ why did I keep fighting¡­ why did I struggle¡­ why did I teach¡­ why did I learn¡­ why did I lead¡­ why did I survive¡­ why did I do what I did¡­


    I¡­ I¡­. why¡­


    That word¡­. why¡­


    As I stare at this broken sky, into the endless void of space ever growing closer to this dying body of mine, this word still yet ponders in my mind¡­


    Why did I do¡­ what I did¡­


    At the end¡­ was all I did¡­ all I built¡­ all I taught¡­. really pointless?


    If that was so¡­ why do I feel¡­ so¡­ content?


    Perhaps¡­ there was something in my life¡­ that was worth something?


    But¡­ what did I do that meant anything? If this is the result of all I¡¯ve done¡­ then what was the point? I merely wait here, floating in the vacuum of all ends yet no beginnings, waiting for the silence to overcome.


    Was there any reason at all?


    Perhaps¡­ i¡¯m still alive right now¡­ if there¡¯s anything at all, I might as well reflect on my life¡­ if there¡¯s anything I can do for the sake of all i¡¯ve done, it¡¯s pass on while remembering my life with contentment. Whether or not my life was pointless or not will be left to the universe of time to decide, for in my failure, I leave no heir to succeed any memory. As it was planned in the greater extent of reality, humanity has fallen, it stands my great failure for such an event, my shame that shall not be carried by a single soul of the living, yet carried by all of the damned.


    In this supposed life I carried with me, one could say that I was different, perhaps called special by some, yet lived as but a curse.


    I can''t say what really occurred at the time of my birth, not many children could if one shared a creation such as my own. In my efforts, I stood to understand several things about my existence. This husk called a body holds a great instability, that is to say my cells hardly could be called orthodox in their development. The cellular divisions casting shadows over a normal organism. Organs missing, organs developing that have never existed in any species, from what little could be found about my creation I could only have a brief picture.


    If I were to be described during my early years, essentially, I was a living tumor.


    My DNA was a complete mess. When I was born, I had multiple sets of every single chromosome, my cells dividing and dying randomly as they mutated further and further.


    For the first year of my life, I was merely kept alive at a research facility in the broken-down country of my birth. Such a small and destitute place with no military power at all. If not for the oil produced there, there would not have even been a nation there at all.


    The scientists played with my body, injecting various liquids and using various devices on my body. I will never know for sure how much of what I am... was, was a result of their work, and what was my intended existance. All I can ever believe... all I could ever believe... is that my existence was something rejected by fate, yet was not eliminated, as all that which goes against the flow of destiny commonly are.


    Such was my life, to go against all that stood, all that was believed, to know what I know and walk on the path yet pathed. It mattered not the destination, yet as I wait here, within this fallen world upon which there shall never be another dawn, perhaps that is the very ''fate'' of those who walk against the tides of destiny.


    My first memories formed in that white box¡­ their tests and trials continuously without end. Arms were severed only to regrow with some several injections and some powder being forced into the wounds. An eye being split would reform after a few days, my body not dying after my throat was cut and continuously bleeding.


    My cells would always generate faster than anything. No matter the test, no matter the damage, that husk would always reform.


    For me, well, you could say that there really wasn¡¯t a ¡®me¡¯ at that point, there was only a continually growing sack of flesh that was constantly being tested and abused. The very depths of human testing and indifference.


    One can''t blame them though. Honestly, that thing was nothing, merely a sack of flesh. Even if it had memory, all that memory held was the various experiments upon it and nothing more.


    Normally in such a tale, there would be some researcher that would show the flesh kindness, teach it to speak and feel, then the creature would rescue the researcher, who was opposite gender of course, when they were caught going against regulations and whisk away to a happily ever after.


    Of course this wasn¡¯t the case.


    One day there was an earthquake and something within the lab must have caught fire. The fire was pretty big too. I don¡¯t know if many of the scientists got out or not, but I suppose there must have been one kind one somewhere because the door to my white box opened for the first time. There were no more needles from the walls or machines from the floor, there was a door.


    Of course my mind was hardly developed, but over time with their constant experiments, my body had more or less grown into a normal shape I suppose. If I had to guess, I might have been four or five at the time, but since my body was developing so fast, I¡¯d say I looked like a young teenager and was roughly four feet tall or so.


    There was no way that i¡¯d know what fire was, nor did I ¡®know¡¯ pain actually meant. After all, pain is merely something your brain instinctively creates depending on the stimulus from your nerves. If you don¡¯t have the ¡®instinct¡¯ to create pain, then you don¡¯t actually feel pain, you just feel the damage on your body and nothing more. Since my body was constantly subjected to ¡®painful¡¯ procedures without end since before my body even held a memory, there¡¯s little chance that I would have been able to comprehend what ¡®pain¡¯ was.


    Since that was the case, I merely ¡®moved¡¯ out of that room. Since I was devoid of any interaction or change since my mind began to function, that sack of flesh that was me simply began stretching out it¡¯s arms, moving it¡¯s torso, and pushing with it¡¯s legs.


    Eventually, something like a broken walk on one¡¯s knees while pushing with your legs was born as a form of movement. Looking back at it, that scene was¡­ interesting. Not so much for the movement, but for the fact that as I was moving, the fire caught up to the area I was in.


    As a result my flesh was constantly on fire. If I had been in direct flames for too long, not even with the cells that I had, that body would have turned to ash and bone. Cells can only be created if there¡¯s the nutrients to create them, even then my flesh wouldn¡¯t grow back that fast. When they severed my arm, it took what I think was months, when they flayed my back, it took a week to grow back.


    If not for just sheer stupid luck, I would not have gotten out of that facility.


    When I got out, there was emergency teams already there. With my burns all over, I was picked up and brought to an ambulance wherein they shipped me to a hospital. Thinking back, some of the people that worked at the facility were wide eyed as I exited the building, but not a one said a thing.


    At the hospital, they gave me some treatment for the burns and tested me for injuries. Well, since I couldn¡¯t really even be considered as a human then, I ended up being sent to a mental hospital for children.


    It¡¯s thanks to that place that over the next few years I ended up developing an actual ¡®mind¡¯.


    I¡¯d find out years later that my brain has far more pathways as well as some other things. I didn¡¯t really undergo the tests then because I was interested, more so because ¡®others¡¯ were interested.


    Basically I learned things substantially faster than the other kids. Well¡­ not to compare to children with actual mental challenges, I merely wasn¡¯t raised at all, so my development shouldn¡¯t be compared to those little ones.. I don¡¯t really know why I¡¯m comparing my growth to them¡­


    Well, years passed and I was let out of the mental hospital. Since my nation didn¡¯t really have laws for child care or age limits, I was just let out the front door and told ¡®good luck¡¯.


    From there, I eventually got taken in by a group of kids similar to my condition. Years past and I became the leader of the street children of the entire town. There were hundreds of us, but I made a rule to only steal food and water, never anything more.


    I was very fast, my muscles and nervous system moving far faster than the usual person, I easily could run nearly twenty five miles an hour by the time I was just ten. By that point I already looked like a young adult, but the children who followed me knew otherwise.


    From becoming the leader of those child thieves, my ¡®reality¡¯ developed quickly. I grew to know what suffering was, what sadness was. What I learned was that there is a darkness. It was then I realized that I was raised by those who were completely dark, truly evil. Though, it really didn¡¯t bother me much, when it came to realizations of life changing things, it bothered me for only a few minutes. I mean, I just learned that I was a test subject for human research¡­ and how is that going to feed the fifth group of children thieves tomorrow? Who cares about how you were raised, doesn¡¯t matter at all if you just move past it. Seriously, the amount of people who gasp whenever I told my story of how I grew up¡­


    Since I grew very fast and my cells divided and developed at such a rate, more often than not, I was skin and bones. Because this was the case, all the children looked up to me, who stood as their leader. They told tales of how I would always starve so long as there was a single child in the city who went hungry, or that I tended to only eat once every few days so that the children who couldn¡¯t help gather food could have something to eat. Eventually my body finished growing at around six feet seven inches or so and I stopped being all skin and bones. Though, since I was still not eating nearly enough for my body¡¯s needs, I was still very thin.


    Years upon years past, the kids began to grow up and get jobs while new kids appeared and came under our wings. As we moved into the workforce, we began to gather influence. Of course we stuck together for the most part, who wouldn¡¯t when you grew up together and ate from the same leg of chicken, and treated every grain of rice as a treasure together.


    Then, as humans often tend to do, there was a dispute. The larger nation that surrounded our own went into a major civil war. The borders of the nation fractured as over a dozen nations claimed independence and true right over the whole region.


    My nation was not exempt and the indulgent monarch sent his soldiers out to conscript men and women for his army.


    Since I had quite a bit of influence in the underground of the nation, I was forcibly ¡®conscripted¡¯. By that, I was put into the main military base near the border of one of the revolting nations. We were intended to be used as cannon fodder and to clear the field of mines and traps for the main army.


    Well, after I entered the workforce, I had finally been able to start sating my nutritional needs. As such, my muscles ripened and my body developed.


    Of course I didn¡¯t want to be used as cattle, so I broke the hell out of that prison day one. After which I decided to take my holy right and unleash pure havoc upon the army personnel by night. By day, I would tamper with the food and water supplies, causing various troubles for the head staff, causing dozens of arrests within the military upper echelons. What..? They intended to use me as cannon fodder, of course i¡¯m going to screw with them.


    There were dozens of people who knew me at that base, so it was easy enough to keep under the radar. Many of them were a part of one group or another that I was associated with, so they all ensured that wherever I was, there weren''t people who would give me up. Of course I made sure to not cause trouble to those who were on my side, such as locations of untampered food resources or non-salted water wells.


    Three weeks in, there was signs of an enemy attack. It was ¡®found¡¯ out a few months later that there were false orders sent to the idiotic military leaders that tricked them into sallying from the military base. All that the military fortress had to offer, the fortifications, bunkers, heavy weaponry, even the artillery, all left behind. The reason behind it was that the so called ''Assault'' was meant to be executed the moment the order came in, thus, there were dozens of soldiers who weren''t even able to get a weapon in time before being ordered to rush out the front gates. Hmph, such is the idiocy of a military lead by nobility, they take things way too literally and ended up playing right into my hands. In the end, that five thousand conscripted citizenry charged straight into the pure hell of the enemy commander, who happened to be the main claimant during this time of war. His military, the entire ''elite'' noble military of forty five thousand, equipped with mechanized tanks and aircraft.


    Needless to say, the fight really only lasted fifteen minutes. It lasted that long because they were torturing the soldiers on the field, basically playing with the captured some-odd three thousand conscripted soldiers as they executed them.


    Now, of course there¡¯s no way I was stupid enough to go with them. Since I was obviously the one who had those orders sent. The idiots actually rounded up all the soldiers and left the military base they were ordered to hold. In the confusion, I managed to convince roughly sixty of my men to remain in the base regardless of their orders. It was a shame I couldn''t get to more of them, but in that level of confusion with several thousand people, just managing to individually contact sixty people is a trick in on itself. There''s no chance I would have any electronic device on my person to contact them, that would be like pointing out where I was to the entire military base.


    During the confusion there were cases where we had to silence officers to make sure that those following me wouldn''t be noticed. Random loyal soldiers trying to capture me also had to meet their ends. This was their own fault for not behaving like blind fools like they were supposed to. Hidden within the base, we went unnoticed as the base was abandoned for the slaughterhouse. That, that was when my plan fully went into action.


    I went about the base, ordering my associates to take control of the various armaments of the base. I had special emphasis placed on the artillery, missile units and mounted auto-gatling guns. From there, each of them were set to the command of a single laptop that was in my possession.


    You know, for a small oil country, we sure had a lot of modern weaponry. Mostly because of the oil we had, but you know, can¡¯t complain, sure proved useful that day.


    About a half hour from there, that big army finished slaughtering the last of the men had begun passing around the female soldiers. This isn¡¯t child¡¯s play, their leadership used the women as a way to keep their elites happy and under control after a battle. Of course the claimant for the seat of the region that led this army was a total idiot. He was completely indulgent and let his emotions dictate his actions. People who let their emotions leak influence important decisions that include others are trash after all. I knew as much at the very least. I already had a few of the group¡¯s members infiltrate that army a week after I had broken out.


    It was a simple matter to have him think that there was a rebel group willing to turn over the base and have the army attack them to be slaughtered.


    If you think about it, there¡¯s no way that we would have been able to win if they attacked the base. This wasn¡¯t the times of swords, it was the time of really big guns and huge explosives that could kill hundreds of people in seconds. When outnumbered like that with soldiers that have no training to use their superior weapons, those weapons are useless and you¡¯re screwed.


    Even with my help, we only barely had enough knowledge between us all to program the various military equipment. That''s only because those who knew me and were associated generally were in trades, and thus with their help, I deciphered the various systems in the nick of time.


    Within that means, I had to have the next part of my plan set into action. I made contact with the enemy Claimant and offered the military base over to him. Normally there would be no way that my offerings wouldn''t result in all of us just being slaughtered, but in this case it was different. I had already made him the offer of sending the troops out to their doom. Feeding him information and ideas that would tickle his extreme sense of self pride and narcissism, so easily was he deceived. The bait was taken and all that remained was for him to walk into my trap.


    The plan was to have our army charge into a trap and slaughtered, then, he and his prideful army of nobles would hold a ceremony of triumph on the walls of the fortress. While it didn''t matter to me, this WAS our nation''s only military fortress, so losing it would normally signify defeat. He would have his military line up outside the walls as he gave a great speech. I''d have a speaker system set up of course. He would airdrop in from helicopters along with his chiefs of staff and military officers to show their bravery and grace.


    In such, they would isolate their military hierarchy behind enemy lines while all of the base''s armaments were pointed at the leaderless troops, tightly packed.


    The idiot not only thought that my idea for glorifying himself was so great, he even planned to reward me by having me stand besides him during the ceremony. When the time came for him to march his forces up, he did just as planned.


    His troops marched in tight formation, shoulder to shoulder in grandiose fashion¡­


    His tanks were left at their camp since they wouldn¡¯t be needed. I had a microphone set up so that he could give a speech to his troops and gloat about how amazing he was.


    I stood beside him while my ¡®5¡¯ conspirators were given various awards for our ¡®actions¡¯.


    In my left hand was a little laptop, my right hand was in my pocket holding a small pistol. Hell, I wasn¡¯t even frisked and was allowed to stand right next to him.


    Ah, I can¡¯t believe he thought the military base was cleared out by just six people.


    Not a one of them were armed, either.


    The moment that fat contender started his ¡®I¡¯m the legitimate heir to the¡¯ blah blah speech, I sat down on a chair and opened up my laptop. When I did that, the guy actually stopped his speech to look at what I was doing and he locked up when he saw there was a pistol in my other hand.


    Well, when a guy to your right suddenly sits down with a gun in one hand and starts acting strange, you don¡¯t continue your speech about how wise and great you are.


    There was a sudden wave of silence, followed by the roar of fire and explosions as the weapons of the base came online. Thousands upon thousands of the soldiers on the field, listening to the speech, died instantly.


    As the attack began, my conspirators sprung out of the fox holes that were set up throughout the base and slaughtered the officers and chain of command. Since the officers weren''t very spread out, it wasn''t hard to do.


    The claimant''s face was priceless. Never have I seen a fat man so pissed off in the entire span of my life from that point on.


    Pulling out a saber from the inner part of his overcoat, he proceeded to shout various threats. The blade was only two-ish feet long, so even a weakling like him would be able to swing it with ''some'' force. Well, he DID swing it down on me, but I just blocked it with my left arm. Well, he was seriously pissed, so he kept swinging away at my arm.


    Surprise, while my skin certainly was broken and my arm was bleeding, it was his blade that was being damaged.


    Naturally, pound for pound bone is actually stronger than steel. Another point from my development was that my bones were completely solid. That basically meant I have no bone marrow. I found out the reason I have blood at all was because my blood cells, white blood cells and alike all divide in my bloodstream. Absorbing nutrients in the blood to do so. Basically, nothing about my body is normal at all, kind of to be expected if you were born as a living tumor and experimented on for several years when I think about it¡­ It¡¯s a wonder I was alive at all¡­


    Well, my bone¡¯s density is something to behold since it¡¯s about three or four times more dense than a normal person¡¯s bone. Couple that with the fact that it¡¯s solid bone, not filled with spaces for bone tissue or marrow and you get a very strong material that won''t break without some serious effort.


    His saber was probably silver anyway, if it was steel or something my arm might have been damage but he wasn¡¯t strong enough to actually use the thing and started panting after only six swings.


    In the course of those six sword swings, just a matter of less than thirty seconds, over half of his entire military force and almost all of his officer personnel were annihilated.


    I smiled to him as I pointed the gun at his face and he fell over on his fat rear as he crawled backwards. Sighing, I put the laptop down, the base defenses were automatic anyways so there wasn¡¯t a need for me to hold onto it. Even if it was smashed, the weapons would keep firing until everything outside the base was slaughtered and then keep going. Pretty advanced stuff honestly, but I think I might have been the only guy in the entire base, including those five thousand conscripts and all the rich officers that had the ability to utilize them. Took me two weeks to figure out most of it, even if it was me and my conspirators. Certainly I didn''t expect to figure out what weapons to use and how to use all of them during the exodus alone.


    I picked the idiotic claimant up and shot him point blank in the face. Yep, totally cold blooded and right between the eyes. Guy was crying and everything. Threw the body over the wall with one hand and surveyed the scene.


    After that, I was hailed as a military hero and such. The elites conscripted even more troops and had me put up as the new general of the army.


    Haah, even when I ADMITTED that I sent the five thousand people to their deaths, I was still hailed as a hero by the public and given awards by the nobility¡­ some people really are blind when it comes to logic. Well, I kept the citizens away from the raping and pillaging of an occupation and I kept the nobles from losing their power¡­ Guess in hindsight I did really save a few hundred thousand people by killing only five thousand¡­ I just thought they were idiots at the time¡­ Huh¡­ go figure.


    Hmmm¡­ after that I lead a newly formed army of four thousand to conquer the lands of that claimant I killed off. It wasn¡¯t too hard, but half his lands were already swallowed up by other contenders.


    About a week passed from that, there were actual people in the recruitment offices and a few thousand people actually volunteered for the military. Their general reasoning for doing so was because ¡®I¡¯ll gladly give up my life if it¡¯s for him¡¯ or ''Well, i''d probably be dead if it wasn''t for him, so...'' or other such phrases.


    I still don''t really understand it, but with hindsight, I won''t say that I truly understand the minds of humanity... but... I thought I did... I wonder why... ah... it was probably ''that''... well, I''ll just keep going, I don''t want to skip anything now... since, it is probably the last time.


    Going back to it, just after a week after my appointment, the nobility tried to remove me from my post because I was ¡°Getting too much influence and becoming a threat¡±.


    Honestly, I didn¡¯t care enough to think about taking the nation over, but after they tried to lock me up. A SECOND TIME MIND YOU! I led the army and slaughtered the nobility. The first being the military ''enlistment''.


    The soldiers didn¡¯t mind anyways, the nobility were all tyrannical and the citizens hated them. Sure I had to kill off a few noble officers here and there that bought their ranks and were totally incompetent, but all in all it was an easy affair. I didn¡¯t think it would be that easy, but the second I announced that I was toppling the government, nearly half the population left their homes and joined with the army to catch and butcher the nobles.


    I set up a democracy type deal and stated I had no interest in leading, that they had to vote for someone else and that only if every single person in the nation voted for me would I even think of taking the reins of the nation.


    ¡­


    Well¡­ guess what ended up happening. I received all nine hundred seventy three thousand, four hundred thirty six votes¡­ The entire censored voting population¡­


    The people brought voting cards to the infirm¡­ the mentally impaired had their cards filled out for them¡­ people on the streets and so on all rallied together in an unbelievable fashion¡­


    Well¡­ certainly didn¡¯t expect to find that out when I woke up six hours later that they had voted me into office by fulfilling my demands¡­ Well¡­ sort of¡­ turns out they decided that if someone voted against me, their vote no longer counted if they were dead¡­ Same went for those too infirm or otherwise unable to vote.


    My fault for not being specific on how to conduct themselves¡­ It turned into a serious witch hunt, though only a few thousand people ended up dying in total. Not even a percent of the population, so at the time I didn¡¯t give it too much thought, though I wonder if the votes were false in hindsight. My only thought was that leading an entire nation was bothersome.


    I decided that if I was going to be leader of the nation, I might as well secure enough territory that I could play with the economy and scientific development.


    So, I set out with an army of ten thousand extremely zealous soldiers armed with the aircraft, tanks, and various weapons of the recently destroyed army of the claimant. Taking over four military bases he had set up was also a bonus.


    Hmmm¡­ I think it took about a month to take over half of the civil war factions. I instituted a policy of slaughtering them all though, no reason to let a few enemies brainwash the unintelligent citizens into rebelling of course¡­ Well, now that I think on it¡­ nah, that was a good call. A cutting the neck of the cow waters the garden rather than letting it eat all the plants. Since it was internationally determined as a ''civil war'' I was able to get away with it.


    I guess my actions turned me into some sort of figure for the people at some point. Setting up a democracy, refusing to take power after I had removed tyrants from it, a man who was voted up by every one of his people, a man who cares and fights against tyranny and hunts down the tyrants that started the bloodshed. I guess I became pretty popular in the region. There were even two of the warring states that broke out into a revolution which overthrew their government to join sides with my ''unification'' movement.


    At that point, most of the other states banded together to try and face my forces. Didn¡¯t amount to much though, by that time our forces already reached sixty thousand compared to their twenty thousand. Hell, I was even getting substantial foreign aid since I had taken control over all of the oil producing territories. They figured I''d give them special treatment if they invested and gave aid before the conflict ended.


    There wasn¡¯t much oil left after centuries of industrialization, so my holding of a third of the world¡¯s supply of the stuff got me plenty of funds and military supplies from the big guys.


    At the end, it only took me five weeks to end the civil war.


    I was then hailed as a living saint by the people and there were some that even called me a god. To say the least that was just a ''bit'' too far, so I thought it best if I took a step in to stop things from going in a bad direction. In a live speech to address the people, I cut my hand and let my blood flow from it. I went conveyed that I was merely a man, no different from any other human on the planet. Regardless of my skin, upbringing or anything else I was merely a man, equal to anyone of them. The speech was only a few minutes long but it seems that a great deal of them were brought to tears by it¡­


    The speech then spread to the rest of the world and influenced many different nation¡¯s policies. Within a few days of the speech I was hailed as a great humanitarian against racism and discrimination, issuing in a new age of equality¡­ Honestly though, I just didn¡¯t want churches to be raised in worship of me. They seemed to have taken it that I, the person they saw as the wisest and kindest person they knew was lowering himself down to their level and that as long as human blood ran in their veins there was nothing that should keep humans separate. Internationally it was even more hectic with various movements to stop religious and racial violence.


    Wars around the world over religion and race that had gone on for years suddenly ended.


    ¡­


    It was boring¡­


    Ya, I didn¡¯t really like that there wasn¡¯t anything to do besides balance a budget. The nation was seriously poor, even if we did have oil, so I decided to get some more land.


    I declared war on more or less the entire region and stated that I was going to unify the entire region into a single state so that I could seek out greater technology and economical growth.


    Somehow I ended up with even more financial backing from the same major powers. They simply saw me as a tool to secure more oil. The lands I was fighting against were heavily against those powers and refused to develop their oil reserves, so me taking them over was a perfect way for them to gain access to more oil. Since the major powers were supporting me anyways, there wasn''t any real international resistance to my movements.


    They were really technologically inferior though, so the casualty reports were something like five thousand to one or something. We blasted them from afar normally, and after they were shattered, I found it interesting to charge into a melee fight. Hell, I often would even join in on it. The region was a sector for colonization in more ancient times, many of the ''nations'' around us barely had a semblance of a government, even with their massive populations.


    I found a certain thrill from running in with a sword in one hand and a gun in another with an army at my back. Since they didn''t have all that many guns, it actually served to reduce the casualties rather than just blasting them away. The international community ate that up too, saying various things like how I wouldn''t put a soldier''s life at risk to reduce casualties if I wouldn''t do it myself and how I was risking it all to prevent the lesser nation''s citizens from perishing needlessly. Honestly though, I was just bored and wanted to see what it felt like to fight hand-to-hand with thousands of men on the battlefield. Not alone... of course...


    I think it was only two weeks before the rest of the nations surrendered. Like I said, there wasn''t much of a government, it was more like a conglomeration of various gangs that held the population together through force.


    After that happened, I was summoned to a security council meeting. The gist of it was for me to tell them how I was going to manage all of the people that were just conquered. It was honestly a pain for me to even head over there since I had to fill out paperwork for hours, then sit through meetings for hours. Then I had to undergo psych evaluations, and physical examinations, and medical examinations. Then I needed shots and background checks, and I tell you, those got messy. There was one zealous scientist that tried to cut me open, that didn''t take well.


    Regardless, they couldn¡¯t just demand that I step down from my seat of control, especially since my public approval rating was nearly 98%.


    Even when they went to do surveys, it came back with a 99.9% approval rating from their survey teams. It hadn''t been that long, so the fervor in support of my leadership was far from over. Can''t really expect the people to turn from that level of support instantly without cause.It became pretty obvious that some of the second-rate powers were trying to cause trouble for me, greed is always present in politics after all, though I always found it to be bothersome.


    While I was dealing with all the mindless drones that kept bothering me with more and more pointless work that is common with bureaucracy, I developed what I called the ¡®Provincial System¡¯.


    By dividing the populations up based on the populational composition, starting small by a district level that comprises of perhaps a single city or two. There, a district leader would be voted into power. Above that would be the provincial territory that comprises of the districts. The reason for the district is because it allows for sufficient voice for even the smallest of minority. At the city level, people know each other and they are able to speak their voice. The provincial level would be a territory comprised of many districts, normally around ten to twenty districts. The leader for this level would be chosen from a vote from the district leaders as a representative of the population below them. The district leaders would convene to discuss matters pertaining to their provence.


    Above that would be the national territory, comprising generally of what used to be a national border. While the intent of the districts and provinces were for minority management and territorial organization, the national territory was intended to eliminate nationalist fervor. It¡¯s really annoying that every single human being wants to be independent¡­ I mean seriously, why the hell does everyone want to say ¡°Look at me, I¡¯m independent, I¡¯m so special!¡±... It¡¯s really stupid¡­ You have less resources at your disposal and there¡¯s all manners of economic troubles for you. It''s literally the regression of human society whenever nations divide. There won''t be as much economical or science development, meaning human stagnation.


    With the national territory, a leader that represents their ¡®people¡¯ is elected from the provincial leaders. This is to ensure that at least roughly half the population of each national territory supports the current leader in power. Well, it also gave me the ability to dictate the investment of the national budget.


    Instead of a small nation, I had a large region of undeveloped territory, so there was plenty to invest in. The more investment, the more money, and repeat. An economy is about how much money is constantly flowing in and out as well as within a country. The moment it stagnates with several people, that''s when an economy will obviously start to fall apart.


    I threw in a extra little function that both the provincial and national territory levels could have the leader remove with a majority vote at any time. The leader would also serve as long as he has the majority support. Though the district leader had to be elected every single year. When a district leader gets voted up to provincial leader or so on, a new leader would need to be voted up.


    It was basically ¡®determined¡¯ by the international security council that I would be instituted as the ¡®legitimate ruler¡¯ of the territory and I was not allowed to step down¡­ So I ended up forming an extra level of continental territory where I would be put at. It''s not exactly like they could pull me down anyway. I hadn''t done a single thing that would warrant my removal, as well as just about every negative thing I ever did in my life was common knowledge.


    At the time, there were¡­ I believe nine national territories, though if they even thought of voting against me, they would have probably ended up risking being voted out of power instantly. I was still pretty popular, not only nationally, but worldwide at this point.


    Ah, as for what happened to the leaders and upper echelons of the various nations that I conquered, well, they lost all their power and a great deal of their wealth. I mostly decided to confiscate a majority of their wealth since several people holding all the wealth will lead to serious economic stagnation, even if they were to invest it, they would just collect more of the economy and cause worse stagnation as they went.


    here were some that tried to resist and take back power through some way or another, so I ended up having them all assassinated. There were plenty that weren¡¯t trying to do so, but I didn¡¯t feel like finding out later that they had escaped my radar. People you remove from power or people you dominate will generally be incapable of forgiving you. Humans are kind of base like that. They would have caused more death and ruined my plans for economical development, so good riddance all in all. No one liked them anyways, so I announced my actions several months later.


    Once again, my seriously tyrannical actions were ignored, something about me taking a stand against terrorism I think it was...


    A few years past after that and my nation¡¯s economy thrived, though half of it was because of the international financial support of my nation¡¯s economic development. Since we had a large percentage of the world''s remaining untapped natural resources, I drew in substantial international investiture for the sake of growing my influence. I didn''t want to be bothered by some superpower wanting to take over, economically or by force.


    Using the funds at hand, I built new school, new hospitals, and heavily invested into medical research and development. I have to admit¡­ I went overboard with the medical investment in all hindsight¡­ Gathering medical minds from around the world... legally gathering the most cutting edge technology... Nearly a third of the entire budget was a bit much¡­ But hey¡­ we managed to figure out the cure for cancer after just two years of research. Turns out you just need to ***************************** and inject ******************* into various **************** in order to ******************** and thus the cancer cells ************************************* after that the *********************** and the cancer just dies out. Wait¡­ what was that? Hmmm¡­ must be the oxygen levels getting low¡­ I probably don¡¯t have much time. I¡¯m just enjoying thinking about my life, so it¡¯s only been a few seconds and all, but I¡¯ll probably be dead in another forty seconds or so¡­ Bah, plenty of time to recap on all of my life.


    Herm, where was I¡­


    Well, after a few years a major superpower that bordered my nation attempted an economical take over to pull us into its sphere of influence and control the near 80% of the international supply of oil. Like I thought, no one could resist just leaving me alone to my own devices forever. Greed is the destroyer of man, the ruination of progress, the reaper of life.


    Can¡¯t say I took kindly to that. I sent out a call to arms amongst the populous and nearly a hundred thousand volunteers flocked in, coupling that with the then military of sixty thousand, I had nearly a hundred and sixty thousand soldiers enlisted. Within a few weeks, the nation was prepared for conflict. Not even that super power was able to prepare itself in time, though that''s just the breaks of a heavily divided ''democratic congress''. They can''t ever make a decision since they are all out for themselves before the people they represent sixty to seventy percent of the time. Oh, look at that, it''s a majority of minorities, thus with the majority''s rule, nothing happens.


    What did I have to lose really, I declared war and ordered the various army divisions to attack. Without any training of course, they did only JUST enlist. I didn''t expect much, I had a different outcome in mind, these soldiers served a far more important purpose than just defeating the enemy. They represented time.


    I led various assaults and had to take command over most of the battles since they DID outnumber our total military force by nearly twenty to one, but what the hell, we were going to win if I said we were going to win. As long as we could manage to hold the enemy assaults back, we''d be able to win. There was no way they could win if they couldn''t advance into our nation. Using the extreme zeal of the citizen army I had raised, I strove to hold the onslaught back as long as possible. So long as I was at the front lines, there wouldn''t be many soldiers running, no matter the situation.


    Within the first week of fighting on the border, we had roughly eighty thousand casualties, the next week it was another fifty thousand.


    Though, during the third week, there was only four thousand casualties. The time had finally come.


    The reason for this was because the big superpower with all the big guns and had all those wonderful planes, aircraft and tanks, had run out of oil reserves decades ago. Meaning the second the oil supply from my nation ran out and the international oil embargo I requested against them kicked in, they burned through their entire reserve quickly. In that sense, if you put it to numbers, with my nation holding 80 percent, and the international community that answered my call for aid cutting off another 19 percent of the international oil reserves, that only left them with a single percent. A percent that you can''t think would be fully available to drain at a moment''s notice.


    No, and whatever national stockpile they had would not last long either. A capitalist nation with no oil reserves and well over a billion civilians. Certainly the government wouldn''t have control over what reserves were left, so most of what they had was burned up by the civilians. Even if the government were to gather support amongst themselves to seize up what was left, it would take far too long to gain said support to do so. They would fight amongst themselves and waste the little time they had to gather the resources.


    The reason for the extreme casualties was mostly due inpart to my orders to not allow them to break through into one of our oil fields. Needless to say, holding off a military that''s near twenty times larger than yours is not an easy venture. Though, I did enjoy the fighting. It certainly is not every day that you''re able to take part in a battle between fifty thousand or a hundred thousand men.


    In the end, things were not so great for our friend, the ''Super Power'' as something began to change.


    Power shortages and military desertion plagued the fourth week as the civil populace began to show great signs of unrest. Within five weeks, market prices on everything from food to water shot up ten fold. The economy was collapsing in on itself as an international oil embargo turned the nation¡¯s remaining fuel into something worth more than the actual currency. Military desertion became commonplace as their mechanized army became totally useless before our invasion.


    As we passed over abandoned military camps, and established supply lines, their equipment became our own.


    By the end of the seventh week, we had already laid siege to the capital city.


    By the tenth week, that big bad global superpower surrendered to my invasion force. At that point, my invasion force only numbered nine thousand out of the initial one hundred and sixty thousand. Though the entire army at this point was mechanized. Three soldiers to a tank, two to an aircraft. That remaining nine thousand soldiers was still a formidable fighting force. Enough so that the superpower, with nearly fifty times the population and thirty times the territory surrendered rather than attempt to resist. They were starving for resources at this point, that''s a weakness to capitalism I suppose.


    Beyond my military¡¯s strength, most of the reasoning for the surrender was because of the civil anarchy currently plaguing the nation. Even if they wanted to resist, their economy that was so focused on international imports was collapsing on itself.


    Ugg¡­ just remembering the nine years it took to calm that territory down and get government restored, the economy rebalanced, the currency changed and the sociology and general populace outlook on individuality converted¡­ What a pain. I swear there had to have been nearly a hundred thousand executions of anarchists and nationalists and revolutionaries against my social order. Of course they were only the ones that killed other civilians and attempted rebellions. Since they were doing so, they were branded terrorists... though there were a serious amount of them... Hah... just thinking about all the paperwork I had to fill out would probably give me a headache if I wasn''t just about to perish...


    One wonders why, when not only they are suffering, but everyone around them is suffering, do they point their fangs at the person offering them help¡­ That had nothing to do with the fact that I totally didn¡¯t cause their economical collapse and their suffering. Not a single chance that it would all be my fault. They started it after all, I just saw it as a chance to gather EVEN MORE resources to play with. Well, by resources, I mean economical resources rather than natural resources. A super power is a super power, plenty of technological advancements were made possible. If I recall... there was some gene project that used my DNA to attempt to replicate my development... weren''t they starting human testing soon... hah.. doesn''t matter now though...


    Well, when you compare a hundred thousand people to the near one billion population, it doesn¡¯t turn out to be that big of a deal does it.


    After the economy had revitalized the nation was back on track, I attempted to step down from my position, only to receive such a major national and international backlash to the extent that I had no choice but to be stuck with it. Haah¡­ I can some what understand what they were thinking though. No matter what I said, no matter how crazy the idea was, whatever I did, everyone benefitted from it.


    My investiture into medical science increased the life expectancy of the human race to almost two hundred years. Cancer and many other diseases were eliminated under the extensive international focus on research and development. Through the study of my body¡¯s physiology and structure, medical science discovered ways to grow new organs and rebuild entire lost limbs.


    Through this research, brain damage and spinal damage now had cures. Through the medical development, the private industry continuously developed the technological field to keep up with the medical demands. The international economy thrived under a golden age of intellectual development.


    Surrounding smaller nations began to either vote to join or started revolutions to join my nation. Just to mention, on almost all occasions I had heavily influenced those situations into causing them to join, rather than it having much to do with their actual free choice.


    Ah, almost up to the present now¡­ good thing too, because i¡¯ve only got another ten seconds or so¡­ maybe twelve if I really feel like it¡­


    With everything that had been built, everything that I headed and forged with the flames of determination, our planet looked as if it would finally, finally enter an era of understanding, an era of learning, of growth, of prosperity, and, the most desired achievement of all, of peace.


    WELL, of course the moment that I actually thought that cursed doom flag called peace, a certain report started circling through the government chains. It would just so happen that I was one of the first to learn about it.


    As it would turn out, our satellite network had detected several ¡®mega¡¯-classed masses suddenly breaking through the thermosphere.


    Well, the general fall back idea most officials ended up having was that they were asteroids. After all, each of them were miles long and were entering at high speeds. Visual contact was impossible due to the intense flames from their entry. Rock and other such debris were being vaporised and cloaking the mass. I, however, knew better than that. How would it have been possible for asteroids to get so close to the planet without us detecting them until they were right on top of us.


    Whereas most nations were preparing doomsday shelters, I had other plans and mobilized the military. The highest security level was activated and troops around the nation were beginning to gather together. All reserves were called in and a mass call to arms was launched. I knew what was coming, I had to be prepared. The human instinct to run and hide was paralysed after I had made a different move compared to other national governments. If it was anyone other than me who made such a demand when it was assumed asteroids were about to crash into the surface, i¡¯m sure they would have been ignored. Well, looking back, if I had been wrong, it wouldn¡¯t have mattered anyway.


    With every second seeming like minutes and every minute became akin to hours before our eyes, we continued to mobilize. A heightened level of military efficiency and discipline forged through years of high devoted loyalty from unbelievable progress and success. In the past, such reforms would be impossible given the standard resistance of conservative individuals, though through consistent success, such voices narrowed to only a few unimportant souls.


    After several hours, the various nations of the world began to take notice. There was no doomsday impact, no blackening of the sky, no explosive earthquake. There was nothing. As humanity began to crawl out of their holes, they finally took notice of what truly breached our atmosphere. Why I had, instead of hiding, forced my national army into mobilization.


    The reports that came in that day answered one of the most ancient questions mankind has ever asked itself.


    What remained in the sky above was, for a lack of better words, cruisers.


    Yep, massive spaceships several miles long with one in particular being far larger than the others. If I remember, we estimated that it was roughly¡­ four or five times larger than the rest. The thing had to have been between eighteen and twenty miles long and nine or ten miles wide. The depth of the darn thing alone was hard to gauge, but it had to have been at least five miles. We never did figure out how those things few in the air, even the smallest one was larger than a mile long.


    I had no real clue as to what the difference between the ships were, but what I DID know was that the standard ¡®We come in peace¡¯ thing was going to be BULL.


    As the ships entered from orbit, they chose a particular Island, or well, an ¡®official¡¯ continent, as their entry location. Now, I say chose, but who the hell really knows how a different form of life processes things and thinks. Hell, who really knew if they even had a concept of thought. All I know is that the human side ended up being the side to shoot first.


    Hah¡­ just thinking about what those idiots over there did still gives me a headache¡­ Those idiots¡­ well, I suppose calling them government officials of two nations would be more accurate¡­ That stupid ¡®Anti-Me¡¯ faction that developed over the few officials that were highly against any form of territorial expansion, or technological growth, or GDP increase, or any such change that was against their platforms. Even in politics, those of of such narrow mindedness that you could describe their entire being on a single piece of paper do exist after all¡­ It¡¯s just a shame that THEY were the ones in charge when this was all going on. When I sent over a warning to not engage first, all I got was:


    ¡°We do not serve your dictatorship!¡±


    ¡°We will not heed the words of a traitor to mankind!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not human, you must be one of their creations!¡±


    And so on. In all honesty, I should have removed them earlier. When such weeds develop in countries, especially democracies, the nation¡¯s going to suffer from their stupidity. Adapting from your original platform for the benefit of the economical and societal development of a nation when the need arises is the job of a politician.


    Even I changed the medical focus after the human lifespan was estimated to be able to start reaching two hundred or more years of age. Humanity isn¡¯t capable of living that long. Surely, the body can be prolonged for however long, so long as technology advances. It is the mind that isn¡¯t meant to continue. The minds of humankind were forged to live short lives, between forty to fifty years. As we progressed, getting to one hundred wouldn¡¯t be so much of a problem. It¡¯s after that, into the two or three hundreds that their capacity for being ¡®human¡¯ errodes. If you live for over a thousand, there¡¯s the risk the human mind will have become nothing more than a shell, a living death. There would be some that would be able to go longer and probably many that would end up losing their minds before then, but in the end, there¡¯s too much to risk by allowing humanity to live for too long. Living just enough is the limit of how much I planned to allow within my life span. I knew i¡¯d live for a great deal of time, perhaps hundreds of years given my body. Just attempting to copy me more than doubled the human lifespan. I¡¯d walk the path to near brain death by the time i¡¯d expire. Who knows, I might have been able to do so much more in that time if that didn¡¯t happen¡­ If only I had known¡­


    At any rate, those officials sure showed me what for¡­ yep¡­ showed me really good¡­


    As their various rockets and the sort neared the cruisers in descent, they were all shot down from the use of some form of laser technology.


    Maaaan¡­ I really wish it didn¡¯t happen¡­ some of those weapons we saw the aliens use would make the si-fi lovers drool¡­ wait¡­ what happened after that¡­ what¡­ happened¡­ errgg¡­ why can¡¯t I...


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ...


    Ah¡­ that¡¯s right¡­


    No¡­ I don¡¯t need to remind myself of that¡­


    The final result of my failure is so great that this weight will burn itself upon my very soul¡­ This sight before me will pull me down, beyond the depths of hell that the gods of old and new had dug, forging a path beyond any form of redemption¡­


    This¡­ this is all my fault¡­


    No¡­


    Let me remember the rush of life just a little more. It¡¯s my path to reaching here that matters more than anything else. In the end, I wish to remember the last of my light before the depths of the darkness that I deserve¡­


    Hmmm¡­ that¡¯s right¡­ what happened next was¡­ ah¡­ after the lasers¡­


    Well, the spaceships weren¡¯t pacifists by a long shot. The very instant after the rockets were shot down, their response also came¡­


    My personal headache for the next few days¡­ those blasted pods¡­


    Now, when they first landed, nothing happened.


    But, I certainly don¡¯t need to go and remind myself of what they did shortly after they landed. Of course they were time delay weapons¡­


    The various gases those weapons released killed millions. From one type, a black mist turned flesh and bone to slag, from others, buildings vanished from sight, and others were unbelievable toxins that contaminated entire areas and turning them into dead zones. All of them, every last one of them, served to end human lives, and the effectiveness was frightening to say the least. If they had the capacity to launch those worldwide, there would have been no chance to resist. Luckily enough, it seemed that they couldn¡¯t launch them, but rather had to drop them. The reason behind it, I suppose i¡¯ll never really know.


    In just two days, the entire continent had turned into a dead zone in on itself. Not a single response was received from the entire continent. While we could track some survivors here or there, the majority were assumed dead after we lost the ability to track anything within that continent...


    ¡­


    ¡­


    As for their government¡¯s various responses, they all were generally calls for help or demands in various ways or forms. For the people, for the sake of mankind, for their sake, for favors, for money, to join my union, to submit to my control, as well as other such excuses were used. All in all, almost every politician adopted a ¡®Every man for themselves¡¯ policy and abandoned their people in a time of extreme crisis.


    Not that I can put any real blame on them, the time of heroic leaders full of charisma on the battlefield has been a thing of the past for hundreds of years. If one were to consider it, I might have been one of the last leaders of a human nation that would take to the field myself for any reason.


    Well, regardless, my adopted policy for the continent was more or less a ¡°You reap what you sow¡±. Don¡¯t get me wrong, this had nothing to do with their hypocrisy after having defaced me and slandered me for over a decade, there was merit in my decision. There would be no grudge when they are the ones that caused this mess. Since it came down to this, I had to come up with a plan, and it just so happened that those people could redeem themselves through their sacrifice.


    Hmm, I wonder if I could have been faster though¡­


    No, there was simply no way to move any faster given the sudden nature of this attack. They had to just resist pointlessly and perish for the sake of the one resource we were in the greatest need of.


    Time.


    What I needed the most was time. Since the situation had become so dire, I had to gather my forces from around the world, I had to rally the people, I had to establish a defense network, I had to prepare for a last ditch total war front, I had to prepare for their better technology, I had to be prepared¡­


    There were so many¡­ so many things I had to do¡­ There was simply no way I could afford to charge into that zone of slaughter without being prepared. If I had¡­ there¡¯s no way we would survive.


    Those two days, built upon the lives of over several hundred million people, was a, no, it was the most vital part of our survival. For our counter attack.


    Upon the second day, the one hundred and seventy four nations of our world now stood under a single banner to face off against the greatest threat of our history.


    My banner.


    One air force.


    One army.


    One nation.


    One people.


    One goal.


    One leader.


    For the sake of our survival, for the sake of the future of our race, the children and those that would follow us, for the sake of each path that we would dare to follow, humanity had cast its final lot under a single gambit.


    Me.


    It was my decision to wait.


    To wait and see what our visitors would do next.


    In just two days, they had nearly eliminated all life on an entire continent through their terror weapons of supreme destruction.


    We had no choice but to wait.


    An entire continent had been abandoned to the depths of hell for the sake of just two days, and a single plan.


    To wait.


    That was all we could do.


    It was upon the third day, the very day that would serve as an answer to our question.


    The day that the silence that would herald the coming of the storm, was broken.


    Even now, I can recall every detail of that moment with vivid clarity. Who could not in all honesty, for such a sight to any man under the heavens would never fail to be the same.


    It was the moment that the alien fleet had departed from the dead zone. Their course, was headed straight towards a certain capital, or rather, towards a certain person.


    Right, to me.


    I can¡¯t really describe how I felt during that moment, but I do remember what my decision was.


    We would meet them at the sea.


    We would challenge this mighty foe with the full force of humanity.


    We would push back death¡¯s greatest advance.


    We would deny ourselves the final dawn.


    That day, humanity resolved itself to make its final stand.


    Upon the dawn of a new year, a new path into the heavens, the forces of man and beast would meet under the judgement of the gods of old and new, their blood boiled by the midday sun.


    Upon nothing other than my own gambit, the naval and air forces of humanity¡¯s greatest and smallest nations alike had gathered.


    Upon the oceans lay the greatest militarial gathering of all time.


    Nine hundred and forty-two battleships.


    Two hundred and ten cataclysm-classed cruiser ships.


    The capital ships of fifty-two naval nations.


    And,


    The key to our entire plan, and the central lynchpin of our entire fighting force.


    Two thousand and ninety-four carrier ships.


    They would serve as the main supply base of our main fighting force.


    Our air force.


    One hundred and ten thousand airships, planes, and dropships had been gathered from the entire planet.


    While we hadn¡¯t been able to gather every ship, it was possible for us to gather nearly every plane, private or government owned, across the planet within those three days.


    A majority of these ships had actually come from my own nation, who had the military focused towards the sky already. Of the naval and aerial capacity of the coalition force, roughly sixty percent came from my nation alone. Eighty percent of the air force¡¯s combat ships came from us as well.


    Upon the land, most ships were based in a general perimeter of fifty miles from the coastline, allowing them to be deployed as need be for the battle that would come.


    We had positioned ourselves right in front of the alien fleet¡¯s current path. They showed no signs of turning back.


    From highways to small streets, planes and airships littered miles of open ground, ready to set off and join the fight.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    On land, nearly a million personnel had been gathered and were on the move. From ammunition to fuel, supply teams and trucks were gathered and continued to gather constantly.


    Replacement pilots in the number capable to replace nearly a third of the pilots of the entire air force had also been gathered. As time would go on, hundreds, perhaps thousands were constantly streaming in from across the many nations of the world.


    These preparations were all accomplished with only two days of time.


    In just two days, we had assembled the fighting power to allow us to fight for a week straight without any supplies delivered to us. It was within my calculations that we might not receive any help once the battle had begun, so enough resources had to be gathered to give us a fighting chance.


    Our planes and ships would be able to continuously fight, being able to land on carriers and switch out with replacement pilots. Of whom could be switched out from land or other carriers.


    The supply network would be able to function no matter where we were attacked so long as an entire group had not been wiped out entirely. Even if everyone on land were destroyed in a terror attack from our invaders, we would still be able to hold out for a week until help could be organized.


    That was the purpose of my formation.


    While large, the number of enemy cruisers thus far only numbered twelve. The variety of formations they could execute, or the number of fronts they could form with their numbers was extremely limited.


    Yet, they had yet to break the very formation they had been in since they arrived to our world. I don¡¯t believe we ever figured out the reason.


    Well, given that our fighting force was never routed, we could near indefinitely reinforce just about any front. A plane destroyed would be replaced with one in the carrier fleet, which would be replaced with one on land.


    A damaged plane or ship could be repaired on land and replaced.


    A lost ship or plane could be replaced with the dozens of new planes, ships, and transports flooding in from various industries across the human front.


    Taking into a hopeful consideration that our enemy wouldn¡¯t be capable of gaining reinforcements for at least one week, we could take them into a battle of pure attrition.


    To drain their manpower and will to fight to such an extent that they would no longer be able to fight against us and be defeated.


    My entire gambit was to assemble such a number as to allow us to forge a grand meat grinder, and in such a way, force thousands of lives to sacrifice themselves to defeat our superior foe.


    In history, if the opponent was technologically superior, with greater weapons, armor, or discipline, one could always overtake them in an extended battle of attrition with superior numbers.


    They would grow tired, hungry, and lose their will to fight over the drawn out days of continuous fighting.


    We couldn¡¯t say that our opponent now would follow the same principles, but then again, we had no choice but to hope that this could be the case. At the very least, if we were able to cause continuous casualties, no matter how small, we would be able to defeat them through sheer manpower.


    A game of several ships against a planet of nearly 10 billion people.


    Well, just as it was planned, predicted, and prayed for.


    The enemy fleet of just twelve ships broke the horizon.


    We would meet just twenty miles off shore. At that period in time, our battle lines had stretched out twenty-three miles across and eight more miles deep. The carrier lines extended the rest of the distance to shore, going as far as just a little under a mile off shore. More than half the fleet could still be visible to those on shore, the massive ships of the invaders even more clearly visible.


    Our greatest stand would be one visible to all those present. A clash between two powers in a final stretch for survival.


    There was nothing left to plan.


    The aliens were coming for us en-masse.


    The air force launched, the battleships opened fire, and the battle for survival began.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Hmmm¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    I suppose the life I was given gave me a bit more excitement than most¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The clash of thousands, the hopes of billions.


    In a single instant, these forces of will shall meet to contest their survival in the eyes of a certain doom. Not for the world, not for themselves, but to face against a single, greater threat to their very existence.


    From a battleship at the front, I had established my headquarters.


    The initial engagement would tell us what the aliens were truly capable of in a fight. Would we be wiped out instantly, would we slowly meet oblivion, could we resist, these are the questions I wanted to answer with all haste.


    For this task, a tenth of our air forces took flight.


    The target, the smallest of the twelve alien cruisers. A one mile long, three hundred meter wide ship. It was less than half the size of the rest of the ships, and the best way to test our capabilities against their technology.


    In a worst case scenario, I¡¯d do everything I could to hold the invaders in a single area, allowing us to plot out an escape to the stars. In reality, we were only a few years out from taking our first steps into interstellar travel, with half of our vessels capable of being upgraded for short-term space flight.


    Hmph¡­ I wonder why I always combine measurement systems¡­ The fools of our past decided to continuously change how an object would be measured, and formed several different methods. I always took a certain pleasure in using multiple forms when giving measurements, it would drive people nuts. It¡¯s a shame there¡¯s no one left to bother with it now. Measurement guidelines are simple anyways, since I learned two, I¡¯ll use two if one measurement fits better.


    I never heard the end of it for that though¡­ oh¡­ wait¡­ hah¡­ ¡­ I did¡­ ¡­


    Hmmm¡­


    At any rate, a pilot force of twenty five thousand, arming ten thousand, one hundred and¡­ hmm.. nine ships were launched from the carrier fleet. Nearly half of their full capacity. We had created far more efficient carriers in our time, allowing each one to carry dozens of ships and planes. Otherwise, how else could we realistically plan to maintain a constant shuffle of our forces on the frontlines.


    The skies were clouded with the flight of the light brigade.


    The result was carnage incarnate.


    The flight of missiles and the roar of the explosions that thundered across the heavens, a reincarnation of the gods of old, joining the fray as the end times had come upon their world. It was no longer a clash of man and beast, it became a battle of the gods, and we, as men of humanity, shall take up arms alongside them. The alien¡¯s retort our heroic charge, their lasers firing upon all directions. Hundreds of planes and ships alike crash upon each other, slipping beneath the watery depths below. Every second became a scene of death. An epic struggle where both sides locked down upon the throats of the other. We would hold them here, we would not fail to meet the next dawn with the steps of our heel and the determination of our hearts.


    Certainly, the battle was a grand one. The alien ships were massive. Even with over ten thousand ships engaging the front of their formation, we only were engaging three of the alien cruisers. As they began to become locked in combat, their advance slowed to a halt, it would appear that they weren¡¯t foolish. If they attempted to get within the range to drop their terror weaponry, they would put themselves in full range of our land based nuclear weaponry. Outdated as they were, just before the continent¡¯s last organized forces were wiped out, they had launched a handful of nuclear weapons at the ships. The attack was a suicidal attack as the ships had advanced nearly right on top of them. The results, however, showed great results that left their fleet with obvious damages.


    To use nuclear weaponry to destroy them completely, however, would be foolish. The level of fallout that would enter the atmosphere and air would be tremendous if we were to estimate how many warheads it would take to destroy them all. As they were several miles into the sky, it would seem that they were taking measures to prevent us from using large warheads. If we were to do so, there would be a chance we could disrupt the atmosphere of our planet, causing any number of natural disasters.


    As such, we were using non-nuclear weaponry on a mass scale. Not nearly as effective, sure, but far less likely to cause a worldwide extinction event.


    In the end, if we were to create a field of attrition, there were but two ways we could realistically pursue.


    The first would be to focus down the enemy one at a time, destroying their fighting force slowly while drawing out the combat time that the enemy is exposed to. This would turn out to be nearly impossible to realistically pursue. The reasoning for this fell upon several factors.


    The first would be that there were no visible engines or power structures. We had no idea how such mechanical structures remained airborne. To further that, those ships were obscenely tough. We were causing damage to it, but since the cruisers were beyond massive, with such dense armor of an unknown alloy, there wasn¡¯t much chance for us to hope for extensive damage quickly. We could only slowly chip away at it, perhaps even blasting away at it for weeks if we wanted to even think about bringing that thing down. The use of hundreds of thousands of missiles and hundreds of tons of jet fuel would be expended. No, if we were to try and follow this method of attrition, it would be obvious that we could not achieve victory from it.


    There simply are limits as to how a rapidly expanding front could be sustained. As it were, the ammunition and fuel resources had been fine, but there would be a limit to how long a massive offensive could be sustained in the long term. To refine, load, transport, and utilize fuel alone would take great efforts. But, to consider producing the number of warheads required to arm the sheer number of ships we were launching would be beyond reason. To begin with, we were only able to sustain a semi-continuous assault if we were to run out of our reserve ammunition. Meaning we could only afford to arm roughly fifteen thousand ships with enough ammunition and fuel to fight at 100% efficiency for a little less than thirty minutes. Such outcomes would lead to us being broken through the moment our constant offensive front were to break down. In that sense, we would end up burning ourselves out and then having the attrition war turned on us.


    Even now, if I had just been able to have an extra week more, something might have been done about that and we might have been able to do something more. If only that were possible¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    In reality, I suppose only the second method is one that we could sustain.


    A war of manpower.


    However large these massive cruisers were, there will always be a limit to just how many personnel will be in there. In essence, we would be taking up a raid-like style of assault while maintaining our previous tactic of prolonging the engagement. More or less, this method entailed that we would be attacking them with infantry to decrease their numbers while holding them in place.


    The front of those ships were far more densely armored than the backs¡­ well, I say that, but the difference between 100% and 60% density is only so different.


    The other reason why we can hold them is because they never broke formation. Always in a synchronized formation. The reasons behind this was never discovered, but we took heavy abuse of this fact by using our warheads to manipulate the movement of the front ship. As long as we balanced that ship to a certain degree, the rest of the fleet wouldn¡¯t move. After only about twenty minutes or so, their fleet stopped moving altogether, probably because they were decided against continuing to try and turn. In hindsight, they probably couldn¡¯t back up either. Their flight system truly is a mystery I suppose.


    Though, if they had just kept going and tried to bypass our lines and used their terror weapons regardless of us using nuclear weaponry, I wonder what would have happened. Our entire air force of one hundred thousand some-odd ships would have gained the capability to take flight and engage all at once.


    Well, in the end, war is war. The decision and tactics are decided by their commanders, and their will is absolute with a little discipline.


    Like so, another hour had passed. It seemed as if I was finally pegged or something as my capital ship and headquarters was overtaken and destroyed with long-range targeted fire out of the blue.


    Since my body was and still is beyond sturdy, I survived just fine. I lost some skin, a bit of blood, a few dislocations, a few chipped bones and a split eye. The longer I continued my life, the more my vitality seemed to climb. When I was picked up by a nearby capital ship, I suppose I probably spooked the crew of the ship as I boarded. Though, they calmed down after they noticed I started healing from those injuries, not to mention that I wasn¡¯t phased by the fact one of my eyes had been nearly destroyed. I knew it would fix itself over time, so I didn¡¯t bother passing it concern.


    I was out of it for roughly twenty minutes or so, mostly because I had a hard time moving with damaged muscles. Well, that, and the fact that I weigh what I do. My bones, are HEAVY¡­


    Well¡­ were¡­. hah¡­. So lucky this vitality of mine grows with age¡­ it does me good right now¡­


    Hem¡­


    Well, once I boarded the ship, I redirected my command to it and resumed control of the situation. Well, my new command, there weren¡¯t many survivors from my old cabinet.


    As it were, the fighting was rather rough and we had already lost a few thousand ships. There were also roughly three dozen battleships that were destroyed as well.


    With a full view of the current flow of the battle, the current losses weren¡¯t that bad for the amount of time that had passed, roughly two percent, if that.


    Since I had expected the worst my mind could think of, when one of the best case scenarios occurs, you savor it with full gusto.


    Plans were written up and we began to shift over from a full offensive tactic to a delayment tactic.


    We needed to prepare for an invasion after all.


    I was going to turn the air battle, into a land invasion. The invaders, would now become the target of my conquest.


    Honestly, preparing for a suitable invasion tactic that took into account the millions of soldiers we had at our disposal. In the end, the only tactic really available for such numbers would be to just land troops right on top of the enemy cruisers and then use the sheer number of our personnel to force our way into their ship to destroy it from within.


    The only real thing that had to be changed to allow this tactic was to reassign supply ships into troop transport craft.


    After that was taken care of, humanity would once more engage in blood contest within a grinder of both wills, and of lives.


    This time, it would not be over something as shallow as swaths of land, not as ignorant as over cultures or religious difference.


    We would willingly enter a contest of death against an unknown foe of far greater technological power that, in normal circumstances, humanity should have no right to resist.


    The roar of battle continued to echo across the skies through the day, ships and planes falling beneath the waves as a hailstorm of lasers and missiles traded places to strike at the senders. Both fully intending to destroy the other.


    Certainly, we could not win this way.


    I can remember vaguely¡­ a sense of¡­ hesitation?


    ... No¡­ perhaps¡­ it is more fitting to call it anticipation¡­ anticipation¡­ for the next move.


    It would be six hours after the initial confrontation had begun that the next phase of battle would commence. A much more gruesome, and violent phase that would bring about the beginning of the end¡­


    Of the some one hundred and two thousand remaining ships, planes, and various other aircraft, roughly only six thousand were troop transport capable. In general, the idea of moving an entire army of that level all at once wouldn¡¯t be the tactic any normal nation would think to utilize. On top of that, during those two days, I hadn¡¯t even landing troops on those cruisers, thus the number of troop transports I had gathered weren¡¯t that many in comparison to how many I would have if I had planned for it in advance.


    In that sense, we could also only feasibly launch a third of them at any given time. Regardless, we¡¯d still be able to transport between twenty and thirty thousand men per wave, but since transports are bulky and slow, we can¡¯t afford having too many in the skies at once, not if we¡¯re going to have a single combat craft in the air at the same time. I had to split the transports into three waves. Though, in honesty, for the first phase of the invasion, this actually was favorable compared to sending all of the transports at once.


    In a continuous wave between the three groups, we had estimated we could move roughly a hundred thousand men in the course of an hour. Given the size of the top was an uneven area with a total surface of only a one mile by several hundred meters, there wouldn¡¯t be much room to have troops taking cover if we didn¡¯t get inside after the second or third reinforcement wave. That¡¯s even taking into consideration the unquestionably high casualty rates of the initial groups.


    The key would be the first landing force. Roughly only a single percent of the entire fighting force within this battlefield of ours would be able to take part in the initial landing. They would have to fight and secure the landing point for future reinforcements, their role was beyond vital, it was a linchpin for our entire invasion. Beyond just securing the site, they had to reduce the number of laser turrets on the surface of the ship to decrease the number of lost transports for each given wave of reinforcements as well as reduce the number of casualties to the ground forces. The more turrets we eliminate early on, the fewer lives we¡¯ll lose during this first attack.


    The air fighter ships had already been focusing on making several large breaches into the hull for our infiltration teams to move in. Now that we¡¯d have to start launching transports in the middle of the fighter class ships, there would be holes in our defensive wall, but it would be our only way forward, to have a chance at victory, to survive.


    A gambit with a few million lives with the representation of billions.


    Since it was of such import, I had no other intention other than to join the first landing force myself. I would personally see that a landing point would be secured and allow us to cleanly overwhelm the alien vessel.


    I would be the first many to land on that ship, and I would be the last to get off before it sank beneath the waves.


    There could be no ¡®what if¡¯ only ¡®have to¡¯, with so many lives riding on that attack, we had to succeed.


    As I boarded one of the landing craft, the signal went out. The second phase of our assault, The Great Invasion, had begun.


    The engines¡¯ roar could be heard throughout the fleet as  two thousand, one hundred and eight transport-class ships took flight. Like the jericho of old, I would see their walls and fortifications crumble before me, becoming their ruination, their final truth.


    ¡­ Well¡­ that story actually turned out to be false like many before history religious stories¡­ but it fits well¡­


    As we made our approach, the sounds of explosions continued to intensify, the very shell of our ship rattled under the intense hail of doomed ships vanishing into fireballs all around us. It was almost as if the ship itself knew what was to come, and shook with fear. If I had known then what would happen next, perhaps I might have shook as well.


    Suddenly, the explosions had grown closer, and far more violent, the rattling far louder. When I went to check, the ship suddenly went into evasive maneuvers, slamming me head first into a steel pole. Luckily it was the pole that was damaged.


    To say it fairly, my ship was being targeted, no, I shouldn¡¯t say just our ship, it was the center of our formation that was being targeted. The enemy¡¯s weapons had a three mile range, allowing two other cruisers besides our intended destination to fire upon us. They were after the transports.


    We hadn¡¯t even landed yet, revealing the card these ships held, they had simply decided that it was our next plan and started focusing down the transport ships.


    Given who we were up against, i¡¯d say they certainly lived up to what I had expected them to be, fierce and on my level in both strategy and execution. When two sides use evenly matched tactics, the only remaining factor of the battle is the valor and strength of the military force.


    With their superior weaponry, i¡¯d say we just had to make up for everything with millions of men and unwavering valor.


    I was there, and I had long since proven my capacity for war, no matter the form nor odds. An undefeated warrior king had taken the field with his subjects, ready to share their fates. Upon looking upon their leader standing before them, planning to break into the very gates of hell with them, what warrior would not feel a great sense of inspiration or admiration. If it were not that very same king who had given such an order, never would one consider doing such a thing such as invading an alien¡¯s ship, armed with hundreds if not thousands of laser weapons.


    It was only because of me, who projected confidence and pure moral as if it were physically manifested that the troops were capable of such insanity.


    The rattling grew more intense as we closed the gap.


    One hundred seconds before landing, the pilot begins to slow and prepare for landing maneuvers.


    Eighty seconds, the rumblings of the ships erupting in flames stop, all is silent before the roar of the engines.


    Thirty seconds, the laser cannons of the alien ships open a concentrated volley of fire, casualties instantly shoot up to nearly sixty percent of the remaining numbers.


    Ten meters away from targeted landing point, preparations to land complete. Ropes are dropped and I jump from the ship to make first landfall. Our position is instantly racked with heavy fire as debris shoot up from the alien¡¯s own lasers damaging the hull.


    Total casualties before first landfall were finally reported in, almost seventy two percent of the first wave had perished before even making it to the objective. Only a count of a little less than eight thousand would make up the first wave¡¯s landing force.


    There would be no tie for regret, they were all volunteers who wished to join me during the first landing. They wanted to join me in hell, and they got their wish.


    As my fire team began to make it down, I knew full well we had to move quickly. The alien¡¯s lasers could still very well target us. No sooner had just a mere fifteen of the fifty men on board my ship made it down had the ship erupted into flames, laser bolts in the dozens wrecked havoc upon the ship as it veered off, the screams of burning souls silenced as a crash sounded out behind a laser cannon mound.


    There was no time to wait for other ships to land, I went on the move. The mission for these first hell droppers would be to eliminate as many laser turrets as possible. If they were able, disabling two or three of the main laser cannons would provide a great boon, but the numerous laser turrets were priority.


    Thanks to the sacrifice of one of our best pilots we had managed to discover how to disable the turrets. He had crash landed purposefully onto the surface of the ship after a wing had been shot off and using a pack of explosives he had stolen, discovered a weak point on the laser turrets. Unfortunately, his discovery led to him being targeted by the other dozen turrets surrounding his position, leading to his death.


    Since there were thousands of those things, and adding to the fact that almost all of our explosives were lost since we had yet to clear out from our ship, I decided to embark on a different mission.


    I decided that the sixteen of us would go inside, to be the first ones to scout out the interior and search for weaknesses.


    As for our entry point, we just had to jump down one of the dozens of damaged points or holes that our main offensive had left for us thus far. While we couldn¡¯t deal major damage easily, we could certainly punch a hole or two with enough firepower pointed at one place.


    I wanted to know just what we were facing. We knew the lasers, the terror gas bombs, and their massive ships. We also knew that they were fully capable of wiping out an entire continent in just under two days, slaughtering several hundred million people.


    No, since we weren¡¯t equipped to disable the lasers, we¡¯d just have to settle for information gathering.


    About twenty meters from where our ship had gone down, there was a five meter caused by one what seemed to be an experimental artillery ship, armed with a railgun cannon. It was still experimental and had already long since been shot down, but not before doing more damage than twenty ships armed with missiles could do in a single run. The damage went in several dozen meters, a surprising level of damage from just two shots.


    Several minutes after entry¡­.


    guh¡­.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    It¡¯s¡­ gone¡­


    I can¡¯t think of anything after that¡­ ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    What¡­ was it¡­


    There was an incident that had occurred later on that had caused me to lose a small portion of my memory as well as apparent other things¡­ That incident¡­ I still don¡¯t remember what caused the damage¡­ but that wasn¡¯t from this infiltration¡­


    Ah¡­ that¡¯s right, I had researched after regaining my mental structure and capability to think. I needed to catch up to speed, so I listened in to several audio logs that I had left as well as the reports.


    It¡¯s still not the same as being able to remember it directly though¡­ hah¡­ now where did I leave off¡­


    Entering the structure¡­ ah¡­ For roughly ten minutes, there was no contact of any sort, nor resistance. Then, coms went wild as half of my squad had apparently dropped. Reports from the remaining members began shouting about giant humanoids that towered nearly two and a half meters in height with various other features.


    The squad then began a full retreat to the top of the ship with my orders. Though, it would appear that during the exodus, the remainder of the squad dropped off and I was left alone to fight through dozens of the alien soldiers before returning to the surface. Perhaps, it was a trap to lure me far enough in to eliminate me.


    Regardless, after that, coms from all over began to ring out as the alien forces began to surge out from the underbelly of the ship through every hole we had opened. The clash between our two forces continued on for quite some time. Thousands of our men perished in a devastating melee against the far stronger alien brutes.


    If you really consider it, we were up against beasts that towered above our heads, that were stronger than us physically, and were armed with far superior weaponry. If it ever came to a melee, it would often take between three to eight soldiers just to pin and defeat just one of those things, the vitality difference was obvious.


    But, this is where my plan began to come in strong. While we were losing ships, we could replace them as time went on by calling in military transports that hadn¡¯t been summoned until now. As for soldiers, there were over a million of them on standby on the land alone, if needed, over a hundred million soldiers could be called in during the period of a single day.


    With each wave of reinforcements, the number of soldiers fighting on the top of the ship swelled. Each time, the survivors would teach the incoming troops how to handle themselves in the new combat experience, slowly increasing the effectiveness of the remaining forces. Not to mention each of the reinforcement groups would grow in numbers with each wave. The longer we fought on, the more turrets we were able to destroy, preventing more and more transports from being destroyed. With only a rough thirty percent, my wave had brought in just under eight thousand. By the time we had secured the surface again and began to bring the fighting inside, there were already nearly eighteen thousand on the surface, with each wave now averaging fifteen thousand men being dropped off per wave.


    That was when the logs stated a change in the alien¡¯s strict flight formation was observed. This was just when reports came in that a team had encountered a power-like facility within the ship and were preparing to destroy it. The moment that report came in, the very same ship we were on began to charge forward at extreme speeds, nearly breaking fifty miles an hour.


    Hundreds, if not thousands of ships, surprised at the massive hulk moving at them perished by colliding into the ship.


    At that time, I had apparently sent out a message stating that the ship was going critical. My team was located at the very center of the ship at the time. My final words were to use any means necessary to destroy the enemy fleet, no matter the cost, no matter the weapon before the coms went static from interference.


    Three minutes after my message, signs of hundreds of soldiers jumping off the top of the ship for the water were reported. Rescue operations were launched.


    Eight minutes after last contact, the small ship had reached the center of our naval fleet and came under extreme fire from all sides and fronts as the fleet frantically attempted to stop its advance.


    Nine minutes after last contact, a single alien craft, small in size, launched from the alien cruiser. A signal went out that was quickly identified as me. Just after, a message went out to clear all personnel away from the area around the cruiser.


    Ten minutes after last contact, the small alien craft that was believed to have me on board came under a harreld of enemy fire. Reports claim that the ship avoided enemy fire for almost five minutes as it made its way towards the main enemy hulk-like cruiser at the center before taking a hit and crashing into the main ship.


    Fifteen minutes after second contact, I was presumed killed in action, much to the grief of the entire military forces. Clamor for revenge was commonplace as the remaining military chiefs of staff began to clear the necessary procedures to utilize nuclear weaponry. After my last demand to use all means necessary, it was assumed I had discovered something extremely important, why else would I have charged alone at the main ship without first returning to explain the situation.


    Sixteen minutes after second contact, the small alien cruiser explodes, destroying at least ten thousand launched fighter-class ships and almost a third of our battleships. Many of the lost battleships had actually fallen victim to the large surge of water caused from the large hulk crashing beneath the waves. Using targeted missile fire, the damage was limited to only a third, if it wasn¡¯t for the quick thinking of several captains, the losses might have been well over half of the entire fleet. Just after the ship crashed beneath the waves, the remaining enemy cruisers begin to engage our forces.


    Twenty five minutes after last contact, the majority of our air forces had retreated and a rear guard of battleships had been volunteered into service. The remainder of my military command under the pretense of following my last order began a full nuclear strike upon the remaining enemy cruisers.


    Records account to twenty six nuclear warheads being launched at the same time, more than twice the number of warheads launched for military purposes in the entire history of mankind. Two of the alien cruisers were confirmed destroyed while another three appeared to be disabled and slowly fell to the water. Thus marking the defeat of roughly half of the enemy¡¯s fleet, the total war potential that was destroyed was uncertain. The remaining ships all showed signs of serious damage, but appeared to not be in danger of falling.


    Fifty minutes after second contact, reports from scout ships specifically used to ensure the safety of the pilots came in stating that explosions were occasionally coming from the main enemy capital ship/ hulk-cruiser. There were few who made wild mention that I had perhaps remained alive, but it was marked as mere speculation and highly unlikely. Plans were underway to resume air warfare against the enemy fleet before they recovered from the damage. Personnel on land had already been organized to pull back several dozen miles away until the extent of the fallout could be determined. Without doubt, the incident would cause a future environmental catastrophe, but the destruction of half the alien fleet was deemed worth the sacrifice.


    One hour after second contact, the main cruiser is reported to have opened fire upon two of the remaining cruisers as well as suddenly charging forward, crashing into another of the remaining cruisers. One of the two cruisers under fire explodes, taking out the other ship that had been under fire. Both had already appeared to be in critical condition as fires and various energy fluctuations could be detected. The rammed ship appeared to have lost flight stability as it began to roll mid air and crash violently beneath the waves, causing a tsunami-like wave that would lead to over thirty thousand civilian casualties within the course of the next few hours. Surprise at this sudden development shot through the entire military, as well as the world who were standing by and watching the conflict from afar. At this time, outcries came from various sources to proclaim my survival and continued resistance on board the capital ship. Reports state that a mid-class officer of the air force had overridden military command and moved to set off with the remaining sixty thousand airships and fighters on a rescue mission. The transports were loaded with volunteer soldiers as they knew they would likely suffer from various forms of radiation poisoning after participating in a battle on the capital ship without protection. Without the support of the lower troops, the upper echelons yielded and gave validity to this operation. It would set off between ten and thirty minutes later. With hierarchical support, the troops prepared for the operation.


    Seventy-five minutes after second contact, operation ¡®Savior of Mankind¡¯ is announced to the world and launched. The purpose was to infiltrate the alien capital ship for the sole purpose of pulling me out from enemy territory. Alive and well of course. The operation saw the entire air and naval force launch with a blitz-style reckless offensive with all transports launching at once. The plan was to bypass the remaining cruisers that had taken up a defensive formation around the capital ship and land troops to recover me. They had recklessly taken advantage of the sudden surge of warfervor to get the troops to zealously agree to a basic, and reckless attack.


    Eighty minutes after second contact, all hostile fire coming from the capital ship shuts down. The remaining three alien cruisers stop moving and take up a defensive formation to protect the capital ship.


    Eighty-seven minutes after second contact, several major explosions occur from deep within the alien¡¯s capital ship, causing very noticeable damage. The three ships now turn in full retreat.


    Ninety minutes after second contact, the two escorting ships release a roughly estimated ten-thousand fighters. The human forces that had set out after the capital ship then engaged. The battle continued for only twenty minutes before the alien¡¯s side had been depleted due to a combined air and naval offensive. On the human¡¯s side, however, the casualties numbered nearly forty-thousand in total, nearly a full two thirds of our entire air potential. This was due to various reasons such as running out of fuel to crashing into alien ships in the chaotic engagement. The battle scaled from just above the water¡¯s surface to nearly two miles into the sky. Skirmishes to mass engagements were scattered across nearly twenty miles. Regardless of orders, the surviving military forces break through the enemy formation to land onto the alien capital ship.


    One hundred and twenty minutes after second contact, the first landing teams arrive on the capital ship under moderate fire from the remaining two cruisers. Heavy damage had already disabled a significant number of their weapon capacity. The capital ship¡¯s weapons remained inactive. A squad of one thousand, two hundred and seven men and women organized and entered into the capital ship¡¯s interior. Reports came in constantly about the infiltration team finding scenes of what appeared to be battles scattered throughout the interior of the ship. The massive hallways were lined with hundreds, to thousands of mutilated corpses of various disfigurement. From stab wounds, bite wounds, puncture wounds, missing limbs, caved-in skulls, opened stomachs, laser burns, and just about every other form of damage could be reported from the slain alien footsoldiers. A debate had begun over the possibility of a civil war breaking out within the alien ship, though this idea was mostly ignored due to the blind warfervor that had overtaken the minds of the soldiers. After crushing a majority of the alien fleet in less than three hours, the confidence of the military officers and soldiers alike had long since reached new levels of dangerous zealotry. No living encounters were reported by this time, only further increasing numbers of dead.


    One hundred and fifty minutes after second contact, infiltration teams report the sounds of an active battle and receive full permission to investigate the situation.


    One hundred and sixty-five minutes after second contact, scouts come across a scene of battle between the alien soldiers and a ¡®Beast¡¯ of some form. The beast was reported to be fighting alone against the several hundred alien soldiers surrounding it from all angles. The beast was reported to be humanoid in nature, though was determined to not be human due to the missing portions of the skull, missing arm, and various other injuries while still inflicting dozens of casualties upon the alien brutes. These were the same ones that required between three and eight soldiers to just barely take down one, and they were being taken down in droves from a single individual, thus why the scouts called it a beast. Steam was constantly seeping out from it¡¯s body as blood gushed from it¡¯s dozens of wounds. It fought tooth and nail as if every portion of its body had a mind of its own. As it bit down on one alien, it used the protruding bones on its arm to kill another while kicking two more in the head with a swiveling kick, causing blood to gush from both as they fell to the floor. Such was the scene of the beast fighting the alien soldiers, a near one sided slaughter against beasts that had proven to be so difficult to fight against. The speed the beast moved was reported to be at least three times faster than a human as its limbs moved almost too fast for them to perceive whenever it attacked. After a short deliberation between the officers on the scene, they decided to reinforce the beast in battle against the aliens.


    Of course, that beast was me.


    After a quick surprise assault from the infiltration team, the alien soldiers were routed. After securing the surrounding area, a single soldier was volunteered to investigate the beast from close up as the beast had since then stopped moving completely. The steam surging from its body still continuing as the significant amount of blood flowing out continued, the muscles moving slightly as if slowly attempting to stop the bleeding. The soldier then went on to report that he ID the beast¡¯s face as my own, mistaking my current state as a coma due to the injuries I had sustained.


    In reality, I had entered a shallow consciousness that I consider to be a recovery mode of sorts. I can¡¯t say for sure if that was the case, but given the amount of steam they said was coming out of my body, that was probably the case. When I was in the water with my various injuries from taking a ship¡¯s explosion head on, I had used that very same recovery mode to repair my body to the extent I could move again. The version I was probably using in the alien ship was probably far less effective though as the amount of heat generated from the process is almost to the extent that my body would be damaged seriously as cells would die from the heat. Various toxins would also grow to dangerous levels as both aerobic and anaerobic processes would operate at levels tens to almost a hundred times faster than the average human body. As my body is far different in comparison to the average human, my body was tempered to handle this burden to a certain extent, though as I am a hodgepodge of science experiments from birth on, it isn¡¯t as if every part of my body functions properly. I have assumed though that over time, my body was increasing the efficiency and evolving to properly function. The normal human body does this as well over a long period of time as well as over the generations, though i¡¯m sure the extent of my own is far faster.


    Basically, the energy is used to facilitate an extreme burst of cellular replication, reproduction, and recovery. Special organs release large quantities of nutrients from two other organs that highly condense fats and other nutrients. Similar to kidneys, they filter the my entire blood system, working in symbiosis with other organs to balance my blood system. My blood is not normal blood cells, but rather a hemoglobin protein mass that, if receiving a chemical signal from the kidney-like organs that signal that blood levels are too low, will begin to take in amino acids and replicate several dozens of times per second as they break up into several dozen branches and rebuild themselves. Similar to how a worm can regrow itself if it is split in half I suppose. I would have to be losing several liters of blood per second to risk running low on blood. The amount of calories within my body are undeterminable, though I do not excrete waste, and many of the chemical processes within my body were never determined. The matter of how much water was or is within my system, or even where it was stored was never really determined. I had greatly limited the number of experiments performed on my body for various reasons.


    Though, the main source of my recovery falls to the responsibility of several organs that researchers called stem membranes. These organs basically release thousands of stem cells into my bloodstream, allowing them to reach any and all damaged sites to aid in recovery. Even though bone doesn¡¯t help with my bones as they are not the same as normal bones, if they come into range of bone damage, they can repair the special tissue that forms up the outer layer of the bone. When the outer layer is damaged, the tissue detects the damage to itself and takes in nutrients and stem cells to repair itself. As it repairs, a byproduct of the process is that the dead or older cells from this membrane form into my new bone. Scientists were unable to determine what the process behind this is because as they took samples, the samples would dissolve the moment they attempted to remove some. The process of bone repair is thus one of the most rapid within my body, the time it takes various, but even if a limb were to be lost, the first thing to regrow would be the bone, as tested by removing my hand in one of the early experiments after a test with a finger led to it growing back. The membrane would hold joints and loose bones in place until the tissue recovered and grew back over them, at which point the muscle tissue would push the membranes out of the way and took control of the joints.


    In the end, my vitality is quite substantial, though the amount of energy required is probably just as significant. The more voracious my healing process becomes, the more heat is generated. Based on rough estimates, the researchers determined that the amount of calories being used for the process could vary from tens to hundreds of thousands of calories per second. Needless to say, but my body is substantially heavy¡­ Very¡­ very heavy¡­ Though since normal scales weren¡¯t able to determine my weight, I never felt like actually finding out, not something one would really care about that much.


    After an incident where a researcher attempted to remove one of my organs for her own personal gain, I stopped the experiments altogether, too risky if people started looking at my body as a tool for scientific research after all.


    Shame though, now that it has become like this, I find myself growing more curious as to how my body works and who I am. There¡¯s some philosophic joke in there somewhere I¡¯m sure¡­ Bah, there¡¯s only so many regrets you can allow yourself in life. Not learning how every one of my cells work shall not be one of them.


    Well, when the infiltration squad got in close to examine their so called ¡®Beast¡¯ i¡¯m certain their faces warped with surprise¡­ actually¡­ I can almost¡­ imagine it.. no, perhaps I do to a certain extent¡­ mmmm¡­ surprise¡­ joy¡­ sorrow¡­ anger¡­ retreat¡­ must retreat¡­ emergency¡­ interference¡­ beyond¡­ damage¡­ stop it¡­ all will be lost¡­ almost too late¡­ must prevent¡­ must go back¡­ stop them¡­ stop them¡­ almost too late¡­ must move¡­ hurry¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­


    It¡¯s gone again¡­


    Whatever I had learned is probably lost to me forever, or for however long I have left. If there was more time, perhaps I could have recovered those memories.


    Well¡­ I suppose¡­ maybe after this, my questions will unravel themselves¡­ who can truly know what that next step entails besides those who have walked upon it and moved on from here¡­ so many have already gone before me¡­ perhaps it¡¯s time¡­ ¡­ No¡­ not yet¡­ I owe them that much¡­ to at least remember the rest of our last story¡­


    ¡­


    Going on the reports, the team had initially thought that I was dead. This was mostly due to half of my neck being gone, a half missing arm, and the main reason being that roughly 40% of my head missing from various injuries. This was ignoring the fact that blood was constantly pouring out of my body from every wound. They did their best to stop the bleeding at least until they got me back to land.


    I always wondered, after the fact, just what the hell went on after I got onto that small ship, hell, I want to know just about everything that happened. The reports are just not enough depth to make up for one¡¯s memories. It feels off to read about what happened to you in vague terms when you lose your memory.


    Bah, why do I keep coming back to this, enough of this already, I don¡¯t have time for it anymore.


    Hmm¡­. reports¡­


    ¡­


    When one of the soldiers touched my head, the reports state that my eyes opened, showing consciousness. After that, I ordered the soldiers to retreat. Because I had just suddenly started talking after they had been working on stopping my bleeding without me saying a word, most of the soldiers were frozen in place. Of course, reports state that after cracking one of the soldiers on the side of the head and shouting the order again, they got their rears in gear. After two minutes, a retreat order surged through the remaining forces on board.


    The delay turned to be costly as just two minutes after the retreat call sounded, the turrets within the cruiser and outside all went online, or perhaps they had only just come back online, who knows. Regardless, the unaware soldiers were dropped in droves as laser fire wreaked havoc on soldiers lacking any form of cover. Since they had plenty of experience with the laser weapons, there were still plenty that were able to react after the initial casualties and push on to retreat. By the time I had personally gotten out with the remaining forces, only two hundred and eleven soldiers got out. Given that they all had to clear their way through dozens to nearly a hundred passages and lift wells filled with continuous laser fire after being caught off guard, the number was actually extremely good.


    Retreating from the ship, I was taken to a special medical facility specifically intended for me that was located roughly sixty miles away from the combat site. There, a special tank had been prepared in case I had received critical wounds and needed to return to battle quickly. This tank was called a Stem Tank, basically filled with a stem cell gel-like substance. Basically it was a tank with tens or hundreds of millions of stem cells, if not billions. The whole idea was rather simplistic in nature, and in terms of a normal person using it, their recovery would probably not be helped at all, or rather, it might seriously cause them harm if a person was just thrown into it.


    On top of all that, the cost of producing and preserving such a large quantity of stem cells would be ridiculous in normal instances. The only reason there are so many is due to my stem membranes being siphoned to build a reserve for it. The only reason that such a crude method was used is due to my body¡¯s adaptations, or perhaps mutations, to use stem cells allowed it to control the functions and usage of stem cells. Instead of relying solely on the membrane production of stem cells, the cells could pass through my skin as well as enter my wounds for rapid utilization. If my normal recovery were to be marked at a 100% recovery rate, the rate inside the tank would be between 250 and 375 percent.


    It was after about two hours that my current consciousness recovered. Even though there were still several injuries that had yet to fully recover, my head had fully regenerated. My hand wasn¡¯t fully functional yet either, but it was good enough. Though, from what I gathered from those that were there, there was something different. Or, rather, they felt as if something was missing, but it was impossible for them to finger what it was. Since there was nothing they could come up with, I moved on.


    From there, I discovered that the alien¡¯s capital ship had fallen back to the continent and had crash landed.


    The cruisers that had crashed into the water had been heavily assaulted and overrun. When they had fallen into the water, it would seem their power sources or whatever powered their laser weaponry was lost, thus they were almost defenseless. If you count a two and a half foot tall brute with a laser rifle and great strength defenseless of course.


    After overrunning their positions, we had managed to recover some of their technology and it was already under serious study.


    After returning to a command center, I gave the order to invade the continent. Without giving our invaders time to make a single move, I wanted to wipe them out. If reinforcements were called, we were a year, perhaps two years away from offering another serious resistance.


    It had to be now. Destroy the main ship before it¡¯s too late. That was the one feeling that surged through my entire being. At the time, I thought of only alien reinforcements, but now, now I know why¡­


    With a majority of the air force destroyed, the sole method of we could truly rely on for large scale invasions would be a naval invasion, with helicopter infusions. While most of our airship-type transports were lost, with this invasion, we could now utilize helicopters. If we used them previously, they were far too slow to use in our formation, and would be sitting targets for the laser weaponry.


    The remaining air force still had its uses, but since we were not in a land invasion as well as their depleted number, they would only be able to move roughly eleven thousand men in total. While there were still plenty of fighters, there were less than a thousand undamaged transports that we could actively call on currently.


    Instead, they would be mostly turned over to support purposes.


    We still had two cruisers to destroy, then, then we would finally come to face our final target.


    Thirty two hours after the first shots rang out, our forces had made land fall upon the barren wastelands that used to be a thriving continent of humankind.


    Modern naval technology had allowed us to clear the distance of a hundred miles relatively quickly.


    The sum of the liberation invasion forces numbered just 85,000 in total, but reinforcements would be coming in the tens of thousands every hour or so.


    The fighting was fierce, but after several hours of constant fighting, hiding from terror gas bombs, and the sort, we finally shot down the remaining two cruisers, and routed their ground forces.


    It was then that we had finally surrounded the entire wrecked hulk of a capital ship.


    With almost two hundred thousand soldiers at my back, the world itself went silent, not a breath, not a whisper.


    With a single roar, the call rang out, and the final assault had begun, humanity would be victorious this day. Of this, I was certain¡­ I¡­ was so certain¡­


    The alien fighting capacity was a shadow of its former self. At best there were perhaps twenty or thirty thousand of them left, taking up what little fortifications they could or hiding within the wreck of the capital ship. That day, they would be granted their final stand.


    I left no room for error, I wanted to wipe them out, to leave no trace. Hundreds of teams scoured the continent to clear out any remnants. Tanks and air support were heavily established within the area around the capital ship, artillery was on stand by and suitable numbers of reinforcements were called for to ensure success¡­


    I will never forgive myself for this blunder. I knew in my heart that time was in direly short supply, yet, I took my time in being thorough¡­ took my time in my approach¡­ I waited for more troops¡­ I waited for support¡­ I waited¡­ and by the time I gave that order to attack¡­ It was far¡­ far too late¡­


    In the midst of the fight, I encountered what seemed to be the enemy¡¯s leader, a three meter monster with three sets of arms that each carried a laser blade. In just five minutes, he had already fallen beneath my heel.


    In my confidence, I had exclaimed to the beast, taking up one of his blades to point at his neck, that they had lost.


    But, in his eyes, he had a humored expression. It was in that moment, our minds had synced, and I heard just four words¡­


    ¡°You¡¯re already too late.¡±


    *ZERRRANGERRUMBLEGRANNNGRUMBLEZOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUN*


    The capital ship evaporated into a grand pillar of light, a massive hole was left in its place. The earth beneath my feet began to shake violently and the bright blue sky above ran black as night.


    It was then that the alien leader grabbed my arm, and a single thought burst into my mind,


    ¡°You will die with us! It is you who has lost!¡±


    In my reply,


    ¡°Yet you have won nothing, you have cheated yourselves.¡±


    In reality, it was all I could muster¡­


    As if his last reason for living had been accomplished, the beast threw himself upon the blade in my hand, dying there without a sound.


    Afterwards, the earth began to rupture and split, the air ran thin, and life began to burn out slowly around the world.


    Until now¡­ here I am¡­ a single hour later¡­ the last one left¡­


    My comrades in arms screaming in suffering and their cries for help, all have gone silent. Our world¡­ has gone dark..


    Women¡­ children¡­ mothers¡­ husbands¡­ life¡­ everyone¡­ and everything now is as silent as the universe around us¡­ in the void of our dead world¡­


    I had killed them all.


    If I had just destroyed that ship earlier¡­.


    Focused everything into its destruction¡­.


    Then¡­


    Perhaps¡­


    It would not have¡­ then we would not be¡­


    A scenario where¡­


    There is no longer a we...


    No one to judge me, I now stand alone, the final memory of my race.


    All I had done, the lives I saved, built from the depths and touched, all ended by the very same hands.


    I watched as almost two hundred thousand men and women die right before my very eyes. Crying, sobbing, laughing or yelling, each one of them had cast their gazes upon me for guidance. For surely, I would figure out some way for them to survive, I had never failed before, there was no way that this was the end.


    But¡­ there was nothing I could do¡­ No matter how hard I thought¡­ A mind capable of planning years into the future¡­ could not find a single path within our very reality that would allow for our survival¡­


    Within just twenty minutes after the initial explosion¡­ or whatever the hell it was¡­ the air had already grown thin and there were short periods where gravity itself seemed to lessen or stop. Earthquakes rumbled almost constantly as the ground under heel buckled with every shake.


    There wasn¡¯t enough time to build a bunker, and even if we could, it would only prolong the inevitable as we wouldn¡¯t have any way to secure air, food or water in suitable amounts. Even if I took only a few, there would be no real survival that way.


    There wasn¡¯t enough time to build a spaceship, and the reports from the studies on the small alien crafts showed they weren¡¯t space capable, so we couldn¡¯t even try to secure some of them.


    There was no way to prevent the end with the short amount of time we had left¡­


    Even with a whole world with the sole project of making an ¡®arc¡¯ to save the human race, even a limited number, would take almost two weeks to put together. One that was self-sustaining to maintain just two lives.


    To build one capable of keeping any number more alive would take so much longer to do, there was just no way we could do it with the world slowly dying as it was.


    In reality, there just was no way to do anything in just a single hour, normal life began to die rapidly just after thirty minutes, the atmosphere got hostile after forty minutes, and all life was gone after fifty. Even I, don¡¯t think i¡¯ll survive much longer¡­


    As time went, those eyes of hope turned into despair and regret.


    Then, one by one, each one of them began to collapse from the lack of air. either dying, or killing each other off rather than waiting for the end. Each one of them met their fates.


    It was when only I, and a single little girl on an air tank, a survivor we had rescued from some ruins, were left. She was perhaps fourteen, maybe fifteen years old¡­


    With her last breaths, she spoke words that I will never¡­ no¡­ can never¡­ forget¡­.


    ¡°It¡¯s your fault, my family¡­ everyone¡­ You killed them all¡­. But¡­ I can¡¯t help but keep forgiving you¡­ Mother and father would have both left me already without you¡­ First mom, then father got sick¡­ then your medicine and programs helped them¡­ I wasn¡¯t alone anymore¡­ They could only praise you, and look up to you with such happy expressions¡­ you were the one who kept our family together¡­ they would always say how pure and kind you were¡­ no matter what¡­ they would always look up to you¡­ so¡­. no matter how hard I try¡­ I just¡­¡­¡­. I just can¡¯t hate you¡­.. it¡¯s not fair¡­. you helped us so much¡­ So¡­ ¡­ I¡­ ¡­ just want¡­ ¡­ ¡­ to ¡­ ¡­ say¡­


    Thank you¡­


    Thank you for giving my life happiness¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±


    With that, the young girl, no more than fifteen years old, died in my arms¡­ For the first time in my entire life¡­ I looked up to the sky¡­ and tears continued to flow from my eyes, the pain in my chest can never be described¡­ It was all my fault¡­. I¡¯m so sorry¡­.


    She was crying the whole time, but in the end, she died with such a bright smile¡­


    A little girl, who I took everything from, thanked me for the difference in her life¡­


    for the rest of the time until now, I could but ponder my life¡¯s worth after I buried her. Our world would serve as her headstone¡­


    Even now, I don¡¯t know if my life¡¯s sum is worth more than the cost it demanded. What would have been the fate of humankind without me. Beneath the heels of the aliens perhaps, or even a similar fate of extinction. Were the aliens even truly bad, could we have negotiated if I hadn¡¯t led humanity to defend ourselves. So many questions¡­ When pondering a life, many questions you will ask yourself¡­ Most begin with a ¡®what if¡¯...


    I don¡¯t know what might have been, just what had been. My life was spent in service to life, only to end in death.


    Perhaps¡­ a final irony to the annals of my life.


    Was I right, was I to blame for everything, I shall never know.


    I will leave my final judgement to the universe and oblivion.


    My name, was, is, and always will be,


    Aristocles Von Rasok,


    A man who cherished life more than any other.


    I go now to join my brothers and sisters in that next step of life, with no more regrets.


    Hah¡­.


    Life¡­ it really is so short isn¡¯t it¡­


    ¡°...¡±


    -


    Looking up at the stars above his world, Aristocles Von Rasok, once heralded as the savior of mankind, passes away in the shadows of a dead world.


    [Ant Tensei Redux Prologue: Terra Arc - END]


    <hr />


    Please do comment and rate the story thus far.


    It has been a long way coming to this point with the release of the first part of Ant Tensei''s prologue trilogy, Terra, Spiritus and Vitae. The other two parts probably won''t be as long, though they certainly won''t be short either.


    As for the reason for why this first piece is so long (22,010 words) is because of the need for the backstory, as well as to show the level of detail my writing capacity can generate. Our friend Aristocles is a central figure in the Annals of Ant Tensei and beyond, there''s no way i''d disrespect such a character by giving him a short prologue.


    Read on and stay tuned!


    ~White

 Volunteer ---[Open]

    Good Evening... Morning... no Afternoon!.... Night?


    ...


    Hem...


    Good....


    Right, I am in need of some help.


    What help could I possibly need you may ask?


    Well, as the story goes on, I will slowly find myself in need of someone to consult regarding my own lore.


    This person would actually get to read and review chapters before the are release, with the only requirement being that they help me with a second pair of eyes looking for plot holes and other such issues. I can''t catch everything, sometimes this older keyboard of mine doesn''t hit a key, and autocorrect makes a mistake, or I just flat out make an error I don''t catch.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    It''s not a major task and more than one person can volunteer for it. As long as you''re able to be on call at some point once a week once I begin on an active schedule.


    Leave a comment if interested.


    ~White

 Terra: The Champion Rises (1/6)

    Ant Tensei Redux Prologue Terra Arc in segmented format for easier reading and viewer enjoyability.


    ============================================================================


    Terra Arc, Part 1 - The Champion Rises:


    Life¡­


    It¡¯s so short isn¡¯t it.


    No matter how long you seem to walk in any direction, eventually you find a dead end.


    At the end, I now wonder just what I tried to live for, what my true purpose was. Why did I keep taking another step when the end is inevitable. When in the end of all ends, one cannot see a meaning to walk that next step.


    So, why did I take that next step..?


    I never really felt anything, my heart chilled with the frost of indifference and longing. To gaze as far as I dared, to think as deep as I thought, to do what I have done. Why did I take that next step?


    There¡¯s always that question¡­ whenever I took that next step¡­ why¡­ why did I keep going¡­ why did I take another step¡­ why did I not just give up¡­ why did I keep fighting¡­ why did I struggle¡­ why did I teach¡­ why did I learn¡­ why did I lead¡­ why did I survive¡­ why did I do what I did¡­


    I¡­ I¡­. why¡­


    That word¡­. why¡­


    As I stare at this broken sky, into the endless void of space ever growing closer to this dying body of mine, this word still yet ponders in my mind¡­


    Why did I do¡­ what I did¡­


    At the end¡­ was all I did¡­ all I built¡­ all I taught¡­. really pointless?


    If that was so¡­ why do I feel¡­ so¡­ content?


    Perhaps¡­ there was something in my life¡­ that was worth something?


    But¡­ what did I do that meant anything? If this is the result of all I¡¯ve done¡­ then what was the point? I merely wait here, floating in the vacuum of all ends yet no beginnings, waiting for the silence to overcome.


    Was there any reason at all?


    Perhaps¡­ i¡¯m still alive right now¡­ if there¡¯s anything at all, I might as well reflect on my life¡­ if there¡¯s anything I can do for the sake of all i¡¯ve done, it¡¯s pass on while remembering my life with contentment. Whether or not my life was pointless or not will be left to the universe of time to decide, for in my failure, I leave no heir to succeed any memory. As it was planned in the greater extent of reality, humanity has fallen, it stands my great failure for such an event, my shame that shall not be carried by a single soul of the living, yet carried by all of the damned.


    In this supposed life I carried with me, one could say that I was different, perhaps called special by some, yet lived as but a curse.


    I can''t say what really occurred at the time of my birth, not many children could if one shared a creation such as my own. In my efforts, I stood to understand several things about my existence. This husk called a body holds a great instability, that is to say my cells hardly could be called orthodox in their development. The cellular divisions casting shadows over a normal organism. Organs missing, organs developing that have never existed in any species, from what little could be found about my creation I could only have a brief picture.


    If I were to be described during my early years, essentially, I was a living tumor.


    My DNA was a complete mess. When I was born, I had multiple sets of every single chromosome, my cells dividing and dying randomly as they mutated further and further.


    For the first year of my life, I was merely kept alive at a research facility in the broken-down country of my birth. Such a small and destitute place with no military power at all. If not for the oil produced there, there would not have even been a nation there at all.


    The scientists played with my body, injecting various liquids and using various devices on my body. I will never know for sure how much of what I am... was, was a result of their work, and what was my intended existance. All I can ever believe... all I could ever believe... is that my existence was something rejected by fate, yet was not eliminated, as all that which goes against the flow of destiny commonly are.


    Such was my life, to go against all that stood, all that was believed, to know what I know and walk on the path yet pathed. It mattered not the destination, yet as I wait here, within this fallen world upon which there shall never be another dawn, perhaps that is the very ''fate'' of those who walk against the tides of destiny.


    My first memories formed in that white box¡­ their tests and trials continuously without end. Arms were severed only to regrow with some several injections and some powder being forced into the wounds. An eye being split would reform after a few days, my body not dying after my throat was cut and continuously bleeding.


    My cells would always generate faster than anything. No matter the test, no matter the damage, that husk would always reform.


    For me, well, you could say that there really wasn¡¯t a ¡®me¡¯ at that point, there was only a continually growing sack of flesh that was constantly being tested and abused. The very depths of human testing and indifference.


    One can''t blame them though. Honestly, that thing was nothing, merely a sack of flesh. Even if it had memory, all that memory held was the various experiments upon it and nothing more.


    Normally in such a tale, there would be some researcher that would show the flesh kindness, teach it to speak and feel, then the creature would rescue the researcher, who was opposite gender of course, when they were caught going against regulations and whisk away to a happily ever after.


    Of course this wasn¡¯t the case.


    One day there was an earthquake and something within the lab must have caught fire. The fire was pretty big too. I don¡¯t know if many of the scientists got out or not, but I suppose there must have been one kind one somewhere because the door to my white box opened for the first time. There were no more needles from the walls or machines from the floor, there was a door.


    Of course my mind was hardly developed, but over time with their constant experiments, my body had more or less grown into a normal shape I suppose. If I had to guess, I might have been four or five at the time, but since my body was developing so fast, I¡¯d say I looked like a young teenager and was roughly four feet tall or so.


    There was no way that i¡¯d know what fire was, nor did I ¡®know¡¯ pain actually meant. After all, pain is merely something your brain instinctively creates depending on the stimulus from your nerves. If you don¡¯t have the ¡®instinct¡¯ to create pain, then you don¡¯t actually feel pain, you just feel the damage on your body and nothing more. Since my body was constantly subjected to ¡®painful¡¯ procedures without end since before my body even held a memory, there¡¯s little chance that I would have been able to comprehend what ¡®pain¡¯ was.


    Since that was the case, I merely ¡®moved¡¯ out of that room. Since I was devoid of any interaction or change since my mind began to function, that sack of flesh that was me simply began stretching out it¡¯s arms, moving it¡¯s torso, and pushing with it¡¯s legs.


    Eventually, something like a broken walk on one¡¯s knees while pushing with your legs was born as a form of movement. Looking back at it, that scene was¡­ interesting. Not so much for the movement, but for the fact that as I was moving, the fire caught up to the area I was in.


    As a result my flesh was constantly on fire. If I had been in direct flames for too long, not even with the cells that I had, that body would have turned to ash and bone. Cells can only be created if there¡¯s the nutrients to create them, even then my flesh wouldn¡¯t grow back that fast. When they severed my arm, it took what I think was months, when they flayed my back, it took a week to grow back.


    If not for just sheer stupid luck, I would not have gotten out of that facility.


    When I got out, there was emergency teams already there. With my burns all over, I was picked up and brought to an ambulance wherein they shipped me to a hospital. Thinking back, some of the people that worked at the facility were wide eyed as I exited the building, but not a one said a thing.


    At the hospital, they gave me some treatment for the burns and tested me for injuries. Well, since I couldn¡¯t really even be considered as a human then, I ended up being sent to a mental hospital for children.


    It¡¯s thanks to that place that over the next few years I ended up developing an actual ¡®mind¡¯.


    I¡¯d find out years later that my brain has far more pathways as well as some other things. I didn¡¯t really undergo the tests then because I was interested, more so because ¡®others¡¯ were interested.


    Basically I learned things substantially faster than the other kids. Well¡­ not to compare to children with actual mental challenges, I merely wasn¡¯t raised at all, so my development shouldn¡¯t be compared to those little ones.. I don¡¯t really know why I¡¯m comparing my growth to them¡­


    Well, years passed and I was let out of the mental hospital. Since my nation didn¡¯t really have laws for child care or age limits, I was just let out the front door and told ¡®good luck¡¯.


    From there, I eventually got taken in by a group of kids similar to my condition. Years past and I became the leader of the street children of the entire town. There were hundreds of us, but I made a rule to only steal food and water, never anything more.


    I was very fast, my muscles and nervous system moving far faster than the usual person, I easily could run nearly twenty five miles an hour by the time I was just ten. By that point I already looked like a young adult, but the children who followed me knew otherwise.


    From becoming the leader of those child thieves, my ¡®reality¡¯ developed quickly. I grew to know what suffering was, what sadness was. What I learned was that there is a darkness. It was then I realized that I was raised by those who were completely dark, truly evil. Though, it really didn¡¯t bother me much, when it came to realizations of life changing things, it bothered me for only a few minutes. I mean, I just learned that I was a test subject for human research¡­ and how is that going to feed the fifth group of children thieves tomorrow? Who cares about how you were raised, doesn¡¯t matter at all if you just move past it. Seriously, the amount of people who gasp whenever I told my story of how I grew up¡­


    Since I grew very fast and my cells divided and developed at such a rate, more often than not, I was skin and bones. Because this was the case, all the children looked up to me, who stood as their leader. They told tales of how I would always starve so long as there was a single child in the city who went hungry, or that I tended to only eat once every few days so that the children who couldn¡¯t help gather food could have something to eat. Eventually my body finished growing at around six feet seven inches or so and I stopped being all skin and bones. Though, since I was still not eating nearly enough for my body¡¯s needs, I was still very thin.


    Years upon years past, the kids began to grow up and get jobs while new kids appeared and came under our wings. As we moved into the workforce, we began to gather influence. Of course we stuck together for the most part, who wouldn¡¯t when you grew up together and ate from the same leg of chicken, and treated every grain of rice as a treasure together.


    Then, as humans often tend to do, there was a dispute. The larger nation that surrounded our own went into a major civil war. The borders of the nation fractured as over a dozen nations claimed independence and true right over the whole region.


    My nation was not exempt and the indulgent monarch sent his soldiers out to conscript men and women for his army.


    Since I had quite a bit of influence in the underground of the nation, I was forcibly ¡®conscripted¡¯. By that, I was put into the main military base near the border of one of the revolting nations. We were intended to be used as cannon fodder and to clear the field of mines and traps for the main army.


    Well, after I entered the workforce, I had finally been able to start sating my nutritional needs. As such, my muscles ripened and my body developed.


    Of course I didn¡¯t want to be used as cattle, so I broke the hell out of that prison day one. After which I decided to take my holy right and unleash pure havoc upon the army personnel by night. By day, I would tamper with the food and water supplies, causing various troubles for the head staff, causing dozens of arrests within the military upper echelons. What..? They intended to use me as cannon fodder, of course i¡¯m going to screw with them.


    There were dozens of people who knew me at that base, so it was easy enough to keep under the radar. Many of them were a part of one group or another that I was associated with, so they all ensured that wherever I was, there weren''t people who would give me up. Of course I made sure to not cause trouble to those who were on my side, such as locations of untampered food resources or non-salted water wells.


    Three weeks in, there was signs of an enemy attack. It was ¡®found¡¯ out a few months later that there were false orders sent to the idiotic military leaders that tricked them into sallying from the military base. All that the military fortress had to offer, the fortifications, bunkers, heavy weaponry, even the artillery, all left behind. The reason behind it was that the so called ''Assault'' was meant to be executed the moment the order came in, thus, there were dozens of soldiers who weren''t even able to get a weapon in time before being ordered to rush out the front gates. Hmph, such is the idiocy of a military lead by nobility, they take things way too literally and ended up playing right into my hands. In the end, that five thousand conscripted citizenry charged straight into the pure hell of the enemy commander, who happened to be the main claimant during this time of war. His military, the entire ''elite'' noble military of forty five thousand, equipped with mechanized tanks and aircraft.


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    Needless to say, the fight really only lasted fifteen minutes. It lasted that long because they were torturing the soldiers on the field, basically playing with the captured some-odd three thousand conscripted soldiers as they executed them.


    Now, of course there¡¯s no way I was stupid enough to go with them. Since I was obviously the one who had those orders sent. The idiots actually rounded up all the soldiers and left the military base they were ordered to hold. In the confusion, I managed to convince roughly sixty of my men to remain in the base regardless of their orders. It was a shame I couldn''t get to more of them, but in that level of confusion with several thousand people, just managing to individually contact sixty people is a trick in on itself. There''s no chance I would have any electronic device on my person to contact them, that would be like pointing out where I was to the entire military base.


    During the confusion there were cases where we had to silence officers to make sure that those following me wouldn''t be noticed. Random loyal soldiers trying to capture me also had to meet their ends. This was their own fault for not behaving like blind fools like they were supposed to. Hidden within the base, we went unnoticed as the base was abandoned for the slaughterhouse. That, that was when my plan fully went into action.


    I went about the base, ordering my associates to take control of the various armaments of the base. I had special emphasis placed on the artillery, missile units and mounted auto-gatling guns. From there, each of them were set to the command of a single laptop that was in my possession.


    You know, for a small oil country, we sure had a lot of modern weaponry. Mostly because of the oil we had, but you know, can¡¯t complain, sure proved useful that day.


    About a half hour from there, that big army finished slaughtering the last of the men had begun passing around the female soldiers. This isn¡¯t child¡¯s play, their leadership used the women as a way to keep their elites happy and under control after a battle. Of course the claimant for the seat of the region that led this army was a total idiot. He was completely indulgent and let his emotions dictate his actions. People who let their emotions leak influence important decisions that include others are trash after all. I knew as much at the very least. I already had a few of the group¡¯s members infiltrate that army a week after I had broken out.


    It was a simple matter to have him think that there was a rebel group willing to turn over the base and have the army attack them to be slaughtered.


    If you think about it, there¡¯s no way that we would have been able to win if they attacked the base. This wasn¡¯t the times of swords, it was the time of really big guns and huge explosives that could kill hundreds of people in seconds. When outnumbered like that with soldiers that have no training to use their superior weapons, those weapons are useless and you¡¯re screwed.


    Even with my help, we only barely had enough knowledge between us all to program the various military equipment. That''s only because those who knew me and were associated generally were in trades, and thus with their help, I deciphered the various systems in the nick of time.


    Within that means, I had to have the next part of my plan set into action. I made contact with the enemy Claimant and offered the military base over to him. Normally there would be no way that my offerings wouldn''t result in all of us just being slaughtered, but in this case it was different. I had already made him the offer of sending the troops out to their doom. Feeding him information and ideas that would tickle his extreme sense of self pride and narcissism, so easily was he deceived. The bait was taken and all that remained was for him to walk into my trap.


    The plan was to have our army charge into a trap and slaughtered, then, he and his prideful army of nobles would hold a ceremony of triumph on the walls of the fortress. While it didn''t matter to me, this WAS our nation''s only military fortress, so losing it would normally signify defeat. He would have his military line up outside the walls as he gave a great speech. I''d have a speaker system set up of course. He would airdrop in from helicopters along with his chiefs of staff and military officers to show their bravery and grace.


    In such, they would isolate their military hierarchy behind enemy lines while all of the base''s armaments were pointed at the leaderless troops, tightly packed.


    The idiot not only thought that my idea for glorifying himself was so great, he even planned to reward me by having me stand besides him during the ceremony. When the time came for him to march his forces up, he did just as planned.


    His troops marched in tight formation, shoulder to shoulder in grandiose fashion¡­


    His tanks were left at their camp since they wouldn¡¯t be needed. I had a microphone set up so that he could give a speech to his troops and gloat about how amazing he was.


    I stood beside him while my ¡®5¡¯ conspirators were given various awards for our ¡®actions¡¯.


    In my left hand was a little laptop, my right hand was in my pocket holding a small pistol. Hell, I wasn¡¯t even frisked and was allowed to stand right next to him.


    Ah, I can¡¯t believe he thought the military base was cleared out by just six people.


    Not a one of them were armed, either.


    The moment that fat contender started his ¡®I¡¯m the legitimate heir to the¡¯ blah blah speech, I sat down on a chair and opened up my laptop. When I did that, the guy actually stopped his speech to look at what I was doing and he locked up when he saw there was a pistol in my other hand.


    Well, when a guy to your right suddenly sits down with a gun in one hand and starts acting strange, you don¡¯t continue your speech about how wise and great you are.


    There was a sudden wave of silence, followed by the roar of fire and explosions as the weapons of the base came online. Thousands upon thousands of the soldiers on the field, listening to the speech, died instantly.


    As the attack began, my conspirators sprung out of the fox holes that were set up throughout the base and slaughtered the officers and chain of command. Since the officers weren''t very spread out, it wasn''t hard to do.


    The claimant''s face was priceless. Never have I seen a fat man so pissed off in the entire span of my life from that point on.


    Pulling out a saber from the inner part of his overcoat, he proceeded to shout various threats. The blade was only two-ish feet long, so even a weakling like him would be able to swing it with ''some'' force. Well, he DID swing it down on me, but I just blocked it with my left arm. Well, he was seriously pissed, so he kept swinging away at my arm.


    Surprise, while my skin certainly was broken and my arm was bleeding, it was his blade that was being damaged.


    Naturally, pound for pound bone is actually stronger than steel. Another point from my development was that my bones were completely solid. That basically meant I have no bone marrow. I found out the reason I have blood at all was because my blood cells, white blood cells and alike all divide in my bloodstream. Absorbing nutrients in the blood to do so. Basically, nothing about my body is normal at all, kind of to be expected if you were born as a living tumor and experimented on for several years when I think about it¡­ It¡¯s a wonder I was alive at all¡­


    Well, my bone¡¯s density is something to behold since it¡¯s about three or four times more dense than a normal person¡¯s bone. Couple that with the fact that it¡¯s solid bone, not filled with spaces for bone tissue or marrow and you get a very strong material that won''t break without some serious effort.


    His saber was probably silver anyway, if it was steel or something my arm might have been damage but he wasn¡¯t strong enough to actually use the thing and started panting after only six swings.


    In the course of those six sword swings, just a matter of less than thirty seconds, over half of his entire military force and almost all of his officer personnel were annihilated.


    I smiled to him as I pointed the gun at his face and he fell over on his fat rear as he crawled backwards. Sighing, I put the laptop down, the base defenses were automatic anyways so there wasn¡¯t a need for me to hold onto it. Even if it was smashed, the weapons would keep firing until everything outside the base was slaughtered and then keep going. Pretty advanced stuff honestly, but I think I might have been the only guy in the entire base, including those five thousand conscripts and all the rich officers that had the ability to utilize them. Took me two weeks to figure out most of it, even if it was me and my conspirators. Certainly I didn''t expect to figure out what weapons to use and how to use all of them during the exodus alone.


    I picked the idiotic claimant up and shot him point blank in the face. Yep, totally cold blooded and right between the eyes. Guy was crying and everything. Threw the body over the wall with one hand and surveyed the scene.


    After that, I was hailed as a military hero and such. The elites conscripted even more troops and had me put up as the new general of the army.


    Haah, even when I ADMITTED that I sent the five thousand people to their deaths, I was still hailed as a hero by the public and given awards by the nobility¡­ some people really are blind when it comes to logic. Well, I kept the citizens away from the raping and pillaging of an occupation and I kept the nobles from losing their power¡­ Guess in hindsight I did really save a few hundred thousand people by killing only five thousand¡­ I just thought they were idiots at the time¡­ Huh¡­ go figure.


    Hmmm¡­ after that I lead a newly formed army of four thousand to conquer the lands of that claimant I killed off. It wasn¡¯t too hard, but half his lands were already swallowed up by other contenders.


    About a week passed from that, there were actual people in the recruitment offices and a few thousand people actually volunteered for the military. Their general reasoning for doing so was because ¡®I¡¯ll gladly give up my life if it¡¯s for him¡¯ or ''Well, i''d probably be dead if it wasn''t for him, so...'' or other such phrases.


    I still don''t really understand it, but with hindsight, I won''t say that I truly understand the minds of humanity... but... I thought I did... I wonder why... ah... it was probably ''that''... well, I''ll just keep going, I don''t want to skip anything now... since, it is probably the last time.


    Going back to it, just after a week after my appointment, the nobility tried to remove me from my post because I was ¡°Getting too much influence and becoming a threat¡±.


    Honestly, I didn¡¯t care enough to think about taking the nation over, but after they tried to lock me up. A SECOND TIME MIND YOU! I led the army and slaughtered the nobility. The first being the military ''enlistment''.


    The soldiers didn¡¯t mind anyways, the nobility were all tyrannical and the citizens hated them. Sure I had to kill off a few noble officers here and there that bought their ranks and were totally incompetent, but all in all it was an easy affair. I didn¡¯t think it would be that easy, but the second I announced that I was toppling the government, nearly half the population left their homes and joined with the army to catch and butcher the nobles.


    I set up a democracy type deal and stated I had no interest in leading, that they had to vote for someone else and that only if every single person in the nation voted for me would I even think of taking the reins of the nation.


    ¡­


    Well¡­ guess what ended up happening. I received all nine hundred seventy three thousand, four hundred thirty six votes¡­ The entire censored voting population¡­


    The people brought voting cards to the infirm¡­ the mentally impaired had their cards filled out for them¡­ people on the streets and so on all rallied together in an unbelievable fashion¡­


    Well¡­ certainly didn¡¯t expect to find that out when I woke up six hours later that they had voted me into office by fulfilling my demands¡­ Well¡­ sort of¡­ turns out they decided that if someone voted against me, their vote no longer counted if they were dead¡­ Same went for those too infirm or otherwise unable to vote.


    My fault for not being specific on how to conduct themselves¡­ It turned into a serious witch hunt, though only a few thousand people ended up dying in total. Not even a percent of the population, so at the time I didn¡¯t give it too much thought, though I wonder if the votes were false in hindsight. My only thought was that leading an entire nation was bothersome.


    [Part 1: The Champion Rises - END]

 Terra: The Union of Man (2/6)

    Ant Tensei Redux Prologue Terra Arc in segmented format for easier reading and viewer enjoyability.


    ============================================================================


    Terra Arc, Part 2 - The Union of Man


    I decided that if I was going to be leader of the nation, I might as well secure enough territory that I could play with the economy and scientific development.


    So, I set out with an army of ten thousand extremely zealous soldiers armed with the aircraft, tanks, and various weapons of the recently destroyed army of the claimant. Taking over four military bases he had set up was also a bonus.


    Hmmm¡­ I think it took about a month to take over half of the civil war factions. I instituted a policy of slaughtering them all though, no reason to let a few enemies brainwash the unintelligent citizens into rebelling of course¡­ Well, now that I think on it¡­ nah, that was a good call. A cutting the neck of the cow waters the garden rather than letting it eat all the plants. Since it was internationally determined as a ''civil war'' I was able to get away with it.


    I guess my actions turned me into some sort of figure for the people at some point. Setting up a democracy, refusing to take power after I had removed tyrants from it, a man who was voted up by every one of his people, a man who cares and fights against tyranny and hunts down the tyrants that started the bloodshed. I guess I became pretty popular in the region. There were even two of the warring states that broke out into a revolution which overthrew their government to join sides with my ''unification'' movement.


    At that point, most of the other states banded together to try and face my forces. Didn¡¯t amount to much though, by that time our forces already reached sixty thousand compared to their twenty thousand. Hell, I was even getting substantial foreign aid since I had taken control over all of the oil producing territories. They figured I''d give them special treatment if they invested and gave aid before the conflict ended.


    There wasn¡¯t much oil left after centuries of industrialization, so my holding of a third of the world¡¯s supply of the stuff got me plenty of funds and military supplies from the big guys.


    At the end, it only took me five weeks to end the civil war.


    I was then hailed as a living saint by the people and there were some that even called me a god. To say the least that was just a ''bit'' too far, so I thought it best if I took a step in to stop things from going in a bad direction. In a live speech to address the people, I cut my hand and let my blood flow from it. I went conveyed that I was merely a man, no different from any other human on the planet. Regardless of my skin, upbringing or anything else I was merely a man, equal to anyone of them. The speech was only a few minutes long but it seems that a great deal of them were brought to tears by it¡­


    The speech then spread to the rest of the world and influenced many different nation¡¯s policies. Within a few days of the speech I was hailed as a great humanitarian against racism and discrimination, issuing in a new age of equality¡­ Honestly though, I just didn¡¯t want churches to be raised in worship of me. They seemed to have taken it that I, the person they saw as the wisest and kindest person they knew was lowering himself down to their level and that as long as human blood ran in their veins there was nothing that should keep humans separate. Internationally it was even more hectic with various movements to stop religious and racial violence.


    Wars around the world over religion and race that had gone on for years suddenly ended.


    ¡­


    It was boring¡­


    Ya, I didn¡¯t really like that there wasn¡¯t anything to do besides balance a budget. The nation was seriously poor, even if we did have oil, so I decided to get some more land.


    I declared war on more or less the entire region and stated that I was going to unify the entire region into a single state so that I could seek out greater technology and economical growth.


    Somehow I ended up with even more financial backing from the same major powers. They simply saw me as a tool to secure more oil. The lands I was fighting against were heavily against those powers and refused to develop their oil reserves, so me taking them over was a perfect way for them to gain access to more oil. Since the major powers were supporting me anyways, there wasn''t any real international resistance to my movements.


    They were really technologically inferior though, so the casualty reports were something like five thousand to one or something. We blasted them from afar normally, and after they were shattered, I found it interesting to charge into a melee fight. Hell, I often would even join in on it. The region was a sector for colonization in more ancient times, many of the ''nations'' around us barely had a semblance of a government, even with their massive populations.


    I found a certain thrill from running in with a sword in one hand and a gun in another with an army at my back. Since they didn''t have all that many guns, it actually served to reduce the casualties rather than just blasting them away. The international community ate that up too, saying various things like how I wouldn''t put a soldier''s life at risk to reduce casualties if I wouldn''t do it myself and how I was risking it all to prevent the lesser nation''s citizens from perishing needlessly. Honestly though, I was just bored and wanted to see what it felt like to fight hand-to-hand with thousands of men on the battlefield. Not alone... of course...


    I think it was only two weeks before the rest of the nations surrendered. Like I said, there wasn''t much of a government, it was more like a conglomeration of various gangs that held the population together through force.


    After that happened, I was summoned to a security council meeting. The gist of it was for me to tell them how I was going to manage all of the people that were just conquered. It was honestly a pain for me to even head over there since I had to fill out paperwork for hours, then sit through meetings for hours. Then I had to undergo psych evaluations, and physical examinations, and medical examinations. Then I needed shots and background checks, and I tell you, those got messy. There was one zealous scientist that tried to cut me open, that didn''t take well.


    Regardless, they couldn¡¯t just demand that I step down from my seat of control, especially since my public approval rating was nearly 98%.


    Even when they went to do surveys, it came back with a 99.9% approval rating from their survey teams. It hadn''t been that long, so the fervor in support of my leadership was far from over. Can''t really expect the people to turn from that level of support instantly without cause.It became pretty obvious that some of the second-rate powers were trying to cause trouble for me, greed is always present in politics after all, though I always found it to be bothersome.


    While I was dealing with all the mindless drones that kept bothering me with more and more pointless work that is common with bureaucracy, I developed what I called the ¡®Provincial System¡¯.


    By dividing the populations up based on the populational composition, starting small by a district level that comprises of perhaps a single city or two. There, a district leader would be voted into power. Above that would be the provincial territory that comprises of the districts. The reason for the district is because it allows for sufficient voice for even the smallest of minority. At the city level, people know each other and they are able to speak their voice. The provincial level would be a territory comprised of many districts, normally around ten to twenty districts. The leader for this level would be chosen from a vote from the district leaders as a representative of the population below them. The district leaders would convene to discuss matters pertaining to their provence.


    Above that would be the national territory, comprising generally of what used to be a national border. While the intent of the districts and provinces were for minority management and territorial organization, the national territory was intended to eliminate nationalist fervor. It¡¯s really annoying that every single human being wants to be independent¡­ I mean seriously, why the hell does everyone want to say ¡°Look at me, I¡¯m independent, I¡¯m so special!¡±... It¡¯s really stupid¡­ You have less resources at your disposal and there¡¯s all manners of economic troubles for you. It''s literally the regression of human society whenever nations divide. There won''t be as much economical or science development, meaning human stagnation.


    With the national territory, a leader that represents their ¡®people¡¯ is elected from the provincial leaders. This is to ensure that at least roughly half the population of each national territory supports the current leader in power. Well, it also gave me the ability to dictate the investment of the national budget.


    Instead of a small nation, I had a large region of undeveloped territory, so there was plenty to invest in. The more investment, the more money, and repeat. An economy is about how much money is constantly flowing in and out as well as within a country. The moment it stagnates with several people, that''s when an economy will obviously start to fall apart.


    I threw in a extra little function that both the provincial and national territory levels could have the leader remove with a majority vote at any time. The leader would also serve as long as he has the majority support. Though the district leader had to be elected every single year. When a district leader gets voted up to provincial leader or so on, a new leader would need to be voted up.


    It was basically ¡®determined¡¯ by the international security council that I would be instituted as the ¡®legitimate ruler¡¯ of the territory and I was not allowed to step down¡­ So I ended up forming an extra level of continental territory where I would be put at. It''s not exactly like they could pull me down anyway. I hadn''t done a single thing that would warrant my removal, as well as just about every negative thing I ever did in my life was common knowledge.


    At the time, there were¡­ I believe nine national territories, though if they even thought of voting against me, they would have probably ended up risking being voted out of power instantly. I was still pretty popular, not only nationally, but worldwide at this point.


    Ah, as for what happened to the leaders and upper echelons of the various nations that I conquered, well, they lost all their power and a great deal of their wealth. I mostly decided to confiscate a majority of their wealth since several people holding all the wealth will lead to serious economic stagnation, even if they were to invest it, they would just collect more of the economy and cause worse stagnation as they went.


    here were some that tried to resist and take back power through some way or another, so I ended up having them all assassinated. There were plenty that weren¡¯t trying to do so, but I didn¡¯t feel like finding out later that they had escaped my radar. People you remove from power or people you dominate will generally be incapable of forgiving you. Humans are kind of base like that. They would have caused more death and ruined my plans for economical development, so good riddance all in all. No one liked them anyways, so I announced my actions several months later.


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    Once again, my seriously tyrannical actions were ignored, something about me taking a stand against terrorism I think it was...


    A few years past after that and my nation¡¯s economy thrived, though half of it was because of the international financial support of my nation¡¯s economic development. Since we had a large percentage of the world''s remaining untapped natural resources, I drew in substantial international investiture for the sake of growing my influence. I didn''t want to be bothered by some superpower wanting to take over, economically or by force.


    Using the funds at hand, I built new school, new hospitals, and heavily invested into medical research and development. I have to admit¡­ I went overboard with the medical investment in all hindsight¡­ Gathering medical minds from around the world... legally gathering the most cutting edge technology... Nearly a third of the entire budget was a bit much¡­ But hey¡­ we managed to figure out the cure for cancer after just two years of research. Turns out you just need to ***************************** and inject ******************* into various **************** in order to ******************** and thus the cancer cells ************************************* after that the *********************** and the cancer just dies out. Wait¡­ what was that? Hmmm¡­ must be the oxygen levels getting low¡­ I probably don¡¯t have much time. I¡¯m just enjoying thinking about my life, so it¡¯s only been a few seconds and all, but I¡¯ll probably be dead in another forty seconds or so¡­ Bah, plenty of time to recap on all of my life.


    Herm, where was I¡­


    Well, after a few years a major superpower that bordered my nation attempted an economical take over to pull us into its sphere of influence and control the near 80% of the international supply of oil. Like I thought, no one could resist just leaving me alone to my own devices forever. Greed is the destroyer of man, the ruination of progress, the reaper of life.


    Can¡¯t say I took kindly to that. I sent out a call to arms amongst the populous and nearly a hundred thousand volunteers flocked in, coupling that with the then military of sixty thousand, I had nearly a hundred and sixty thousand soldiers enlisted. Within a few weeks, the nation was prepared for conflict. Not even that super power was able to prepare itself in time, though that''s just the breaks of a heavily divided ''democratic congress''. They can''t ever make a decision since they are all out for themselves before the people they represent sixty to seventy percent of the time. Oh, look at that, it''s a majority of minorities, thus with the majority''s rule, nothing happens.


    What did I have to lose really, I declared war and ordered the various army divisions to attack. Without any training of course, they did only JUST enlist. I didn''t expect much, I had a different outcome in mind, these soldiers served a far more important purpose than just defeating the enemy. They represented time.


    I led various assaults and had to take command over most of the battles since they DID outnumber our total military force by nearly twenty to one, but what the hell, we were going to win if I said we were going to win. As long as we could manage to hold the enemy assaults back, we''d be able to win. There was no way they could win if they couldn''t advance into our nation. Using the extreme zeal of the citizen army I had raised, I strove to hold the onslaught back as long as possible. So long as I was at the front lines, there wouldn''t be many soldiers running, no matter the situation.


    Within the first week of fighting on the border, we had roughly eighty thousand casualties, the next week it was another fifty thousand.


    Though, during the third week, there was only four thousand casualties. The time had finally come.


    The reason for this was because the big superpower with all the big guns and had all those wonderful planes, aircraft and tanks, had run out of oil reserves decades ago. Meaning the second the oil supply from my nation ran out and the international oil embargo I requested against them kicked in, they burned through their entire reserve quickly. In that sense, if you put it to numbers, with my nation holding 80 percent, and the international community that answered my call for aid cutting off another 19 percent of the international oil reserves, that only left them with a single percent. A percent that you can''t think would be fully available to drain at a moment''s notice.


    No, and whatever national stockpile they had would not last long either. A capitalist nation with no oil reserves and well over a billion civilians. Certainly the government wouldn''t have control over what reserves were left, so most of what they had was burned up by the civilians. Even if the government were to gather support amongst themselves to seize up what was left, it would take far too long to gain said support to do so. They would fight amongst themselves and waste the little time they had to gather the resources.


    The reason for the extreme casualties was mostly due inpart to my orders to not allow them to break through into one of our oil fields. Needless to say, holding off a military that''s near twenty times larger than yours is not an easy venture. Though, I did enjoy the fighting. It certainly is not every day that you''re able to take part in a battle between fifty thousand or a hundred thousand men.


    In the end, things were not so great for our friend, the ''Super Power'' as something began to change.


    Power shortages and military desertion plagued the fourth week as the civil populace began to show great signs of unrest. Within five weeks, market prices on everything from food to water shot up ten fold. The economy was collapsing in on itself as an international oil embargo turned the nation¡¯s remaining fuel into something worth more than the actual currency. Military desertion became commonplace as their mechanized army became totally useless before our invasion.


    As we passed over abandoned military camps, and established supply lines, their equipment became our own.


    By the end of the seventh week, we had already laid siege to the capital city.


    By the tenth week, that big bad global superpower surrendered to my invasion force. At that point, my invasion force only numbered nine thousand out of the initial one hundred and sixty thousand. Though the entire army at this point was mechanized. Three soldiers to a tank, two to an aircraft. That remaining nine thousand soldiers was still a formidable fighting force. Enough so that the superpower, with nearly fifty times the population and thirty times the territory surrendered rather than attempt to resist. They were starving for resources at this point, that''s a weakness to capitalism I suppose.


    Beyond my military¡¯s strength, most of the reasoning for the surrender was because of the civil anarchy currently plaguing the nation. Even if they wanted to resist, their economy that was so focused on international imports was collapsing on itself.


    Ugg¡­ just remembering the nine years it took to calm that territory down and get government restored, the economy rebalanced, the currency changed and the sociology and general populace outlook on individuality converted¡­ What a pain. I swear there had to have been nearly a hundred thousand executions of anarchists and nationalists and revolutionaries against my social order. Of course they were only the ones that killed other civilians and attempted rebellions. Since they were doing so, they were branded terrorists... though there were a serious amount of them... Hah... just thinking about all the paperwork I had to fill out would probably give me a headache if I wasn''t just about to perish...


    One wonders why, when not only they are suffering, but everyone around them is suffering, do they point their fangs at the person offering them help¡­ That had nothing to do with the fact that I totally didn¡¯t cause their economical collapse and their suffering. Not a single chance that it would all be my fault. They started it after all, I just saw it as a chance to gather EVEN MORE resources to play with. Well, by resources, I mean economical resources rather than natural resources. A super power is a super power, plenty of technological advancements were made possible. If I recall... there was some gene project that used my DNA to attempt to replicate my development... weren''t they starting human testing soon... hah.. doesn''t matter now though...


    Well, when you compare a hundred thousand people to the near one billion population, it doesn¡¯t turn out to be that big of a deal does it.


    After the economy had revitalized the nation was back on track, I attempted to step down from my position, only to receive such a major national and international backlash to the extent that I had no choice but to be stuck with it. Haah¡­ I can somewhat understand what they were thinking though. No matter what I said, no matter how crazy the idea was, whatever I did, everyone benefitted from it.


    My investiture into medical science increased the life expectancy of the human race to almost two hundred years. Cancer and many other diseases were eliminated under the extensive international focus on research and development. Through the study of my body¡¯s physiology and structure, medical science discovered ways to grow new organs and rebuild entire lost limbs.


    Through this research, brain damage and spinal damage now had cures. Through the medical development, the private industry continuously developed the technological field to keep up with the medical demands. The international economy thrived under a golden age of intellectual development.


    Surrounding smaller nations began to either vote to join or started revolutions to join my nation. Just to mention, on almost all occasions I had heavily influenced those situations into causing them to join, rather than it having much to do with their actual free choice.


    Ah, almost up to the present now¡­ good thing too, because i¡¯ve only got another ten seconds or so¡­ maybe twelve if I really feel like it¡­


    With everything that had been built, everything that I headed and forged with the flames of determination, our planet looked as if it would finally, finally enter an era of understanding, an era of learning, of growth, of prosperity, and, the most desired achievement of all, of peace.


    WELL, of course the moment that I actually thought that cursed doom flag called peace, a certain report started circling through the government chains. It would just so happen that I was one of the first to learn about it.


    [Part 2: The Unity of Man - END]

 Terra: The Savior of Mankind Stands (3/6)

    Ant Tensei Redux Prologue Terra Arc in segmented format for easier reading and viewer enjoyability.


    ============================================================================


    Terra Arc, Part 3 - The Savior of Mankind Stands


    As it would turn out, our satellite network had detected several ¡®mega¡¯-classed masses suddenly breaking through the thermosphere.


    Well, the general fall back idea most officials ended up having was that they were asteroids. After all, each of them were miles long and were entering at high speeds. Visual contact was impossible due to the intense flames from their entry. Rock and other such debris were being vaporised and cloaking the mass. I, however, knew better than that. How would it have been possible for asteroids to get so close to the planet without us detecting them until they were right on top of us.


    Whereas most nations were preparing doomsday shelters, I had other plans and mobilized the military. The highest security level was activated and troops around the nation were beginning to gather together. All reserves were called in and a mass call to arms was launched. I knew what was coming, I had to be prepared. The human instinct to run and hide was paralysed after I had made a different move compared to other national governments. If it was anyone other than me who made such a demand when it was assumed asteroids were about to crash into the surface, i¡¯m sure they would have been ignored. Well, looking back, if I had been wrong, it wouldn¡¯t have mattered anyway.


    With every second seeming like minutes and every minute became akin to hours before our eyes, we continued to mobilize. A heightened level of military efficiency and discipline forged through years of high devoted loyalty from unbelievable progress and success. In the past, such reforms would be impossible given the standard resistance of conservative individuals, though through consistent success, such voices narrowed to only a few unimportant souls.


    After several hours, the various nations of the world began to take notice. There was no doomsday impact, no blackening of the sky, no explosive earthquake. There was nothing. As humanity began to crawl out of their holes, they finally took notice of what truly breached our atmosphere. Why I had, instead of hiding, forced my national army into mobilization.


    The reports that came in that day answered one of the most ancient questions mankind has ever asked itself.


    What remained in the sky above was, for a lack of better words, cruisers.


    Yep, massive spaceships several miles long with one in particular being far larger than the others. If I remember, we estimated that it was roughly¡­ four or five times larger than the rest. The thing had to have been between eighteen and twenty miles long and nine or ten miles wide. The depth of the darn thing alone was hard to gauge, but it had to have been at least five miles. We never did figure out how those things few in the air, even the smallest one was larger than a mile long.


    I had no real clue as to what the difference between the ships were, but what I DID know was that the standard ¡®We come in peace¡¯ thing was going to be BULL.


    As the ships entered from orbit, they chose a particular Island, or well, an ¡®official¡¯ continent, as their entry location. Now, I say chose, but who the hell really knows how a different form of life processes things and thinks. Hell, who really knew if they even had a concept of thought. All I know is that the human side ended up being the side to shoot first.


    Hah¡­ just thinking about what those idiots over there did still gives me a headache¡­ Those idiots¡­ well, I suppose calling them government officials of two nations would be more accurate¡­ That stupid ¡®Anti-Me¡¯ faction that developed over the few officials that were highly against any form of territorial expansion, or technological growth, or GDP increase, or any such change that was against their platforms. Even in politics, those of of such narrow mindedness that you could describe their entire being on a single piece of paper do exist after all¡­ It¡¯s just a shame that THEY were the ones in charge when this was all going on. When I sent over a warning to not engage first, all I got was:


    ¡°We do not serve your dictatorship!¡±


    ¡°We will not heed the words of a traitor to mankind!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not human, you must be one of their creations!¡±


    And so on. In all honesty, I should have removed them earlier. When such weeds develop in countries, especially democracies, the nation¡¯s going to suffer from their stupidity. Adapting from your original platform for the benefit of the economical and societal development of a nation when the need arises is the job of a politician.


    Even I changed the medical focus after the human lifespan was estimated to be able to start reaching two hundred or more years of age. Humanity isn¡¯t capable of living that long. Surely, the body can be prolonged for however long, so long as technology advances. It is the mind that isn¡¯t meant to continue. The minds of humankind were forged to live short lives, between forty to fifty years. As we progressed, getting to one hundred wouldn¡¯t be so much of a problem. It¡¯s after that, into the two or three hundreds that their capacity for being ¡®human¡¯ errodes. If you live for over a thousand, there¡¯s the risk the human mind will have become nothing more than a shell, a living death. There would be some that would be able to go longer and probably many that would end up losing their minds before then, but in the end, there¡¯s too much to risk by allowing humanity to live for too long. Living just enough is the limit of how much I planned to allow within my life span. I knew i¡¯d live for a great deal of time, perhaps hundreds of years given my body. Just attempting to copy me more than doubled the human lifespan. I¡¯d walk the path to near brain death by the time i¡¯d expire. Who knows, I might have been able to do so much more in that time if that didn¡¯t happen¡­ If only I had known¡­


    At any rate, those officials sure showed me what for¡­ yep¡­ showed me really good¡­


    As their various rockets and the sort neared the cruisers in descent, they were all shot down from the use of some form of laser technology.


    Maaaan¡­ I really wish it didn¡¯t happen¡­ some of those weapons we saw the aliens use would make the si-fi lovers drool¡­ wait¡­ what happened after that¡­ what¡­ happened¡­ errgg¡­ why can¡¯t I...


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ...


    Ah¡­ that¡¯s right¡­


    No¡­ I don¡¯t need to remind myself of that¡­


    The final result of my failure is so great that this weight will burn itself upon my very soul¡­ This sight before me will pull me down, beyond the depths of hell that the gods of old and new had dug, forging a path beyond any form of redemption¡­


    This¡­ this is all my fault¡­


    No¡­


    Let me remember the rush of life just a little more. It¡¯s my path to reaching here that matters more than anything else. In the end, I wish to remember the last of my light before the depths of the darkness that I deserve¡­


    Hmmm¡­ that¡¯s right¡­ what happened next was¡­ ah¡­ after the lasers¡­


    Well, the spaceships weren¡¯t pacifists by a long shot. The very instant after the rockets were shot down, their response also came¡­


    My personal headache for the next few days¡­ those blasted pods¡­


    Now, when they first landed, nothing happened.


    But, I certainly don¡¯t need to go and remind myself of what they did shortly after they landed. Of course they were time delay weapons¡­


    The various gases those weapons released killed millions. From one type, a black mist turned flesh and bone to slag, from others, buildings vanished from sight, and others were unbelievable toxins that contaminated entire areas and turning them into dead zones. All of them, every last one of them, served to end human lives, and the effectiveness was frightening to say the least. If they had the capacity to launch those worldwide, there would have been no chance to resist. Luckily enough, it seemed that they couldn¡¯t launch them, but rather had to drop them. The reason behind it, I suppose i¡¯ll never really know.


    In just two days, the entire continent had turned into a dead zone in on itself. Not a single response was received from the entire continent. While we could track some survivors here or there, the majority were assumed dead after we lost the ability to track anything within that continent...


    ¡­


    ¡­


    As for their government¡¯s various responses, they all were generally calls for help or demands in various ways or forms. For the people, for the sake of mankind, for their sake, for favors, for money, to join my union, to submit to my control, as well as other such excuses were used. All in all, almost every politician adopted a ¡®Every man for themselves¡¯ policy and abandoned their people in a time of extreme crisis.


    Not that I can put any real blame on them, the time of heroic leaders full of charisma on the battlefield has been a thing of the past for hundreds of years. If one were to consider it, I might have been one of the last leaders of a human nation that would take to the field myself for any reason.


    Well, regardless, my adopted policy for the continent was more or less a ¡°You reap what you sow¡±. Don¡¯t get me wrong, this had nothing to do with their hypocrisy after having defaced me and slandered me for over a decade, there was merit in my decision. There would be no grudge when they are the ones that caused this mess. Since it came down to this, I had to come up with a plan, and it just so happened that those people could redeem themselves through their sacrifice.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Hmm, I wonder if I could have been faster though¡­


    No, there was simply no way to move any faster given the sudden nature of this attack. They had to just resist pointlessly and perish for the sake of the one resource we were in the greatest need of.


    Time.


    What I needed the most was time. Since the situation had become so dire, I had to gather my forces from around the world, I had to rally the people, I had to establish a defense network, I had to prepare for a last ditch total war front, I had to prepare for their better technology, I had to be prepared¡­


    There were so many¡­ so many things I had to do¡­ There was simply no way I could afford to charge into that zone of slaughter without being prepared. If I had¡­ there¡¯s no way we would survive.


    Those two days, built upon the lives of over several hundred million people, was a, no, it was the most vital part of our survival. For our counter attack.


    Upon the second day, the one hundred and seventy four nations of our world now stood under a single banner to face off against the greatest threat of our history.


    My banner.


    One air force.


    One army.


    One nation.


    One people.


    One goal.


    One leader.


    For the sake of our survival, for the sake of the future of our race, the children and those that would follow us, for the sake of each path that we would dare to follow, humanity had cast its final lot under a single gambit.


    Me.


    It was my decision to wait.


    To wait and see what our visitors would do next.


    In just two days, they had nearly eliminated all life on an entire continent through their terror weapons of supreme destruction.


    We had no choice but to wait.


    An entire continent had been abandoned to the depths of hell for the sake of just two days, and a single plan.


    To wait.


    That was all we could do.


    It was upon the third day, the very day that would serve as an answer to our question.


    The day that the silence that would herald the coming of the storm, was broken.


    Even now, I can recall every detail of that moment with vivid clarity. Who could not in all honesty, for such a sight to any man under the heavens would never fail to be the same.


    It was the moment that the alien fleet had departed from the dead zone. Their course, was headed straight towards a certain capital, or rather, towards a certain person.


    Right, to me.


    I can¡¯t really describe how I felt during that moment, but I do remember what my decision was.


    We would meet them at the sea.


    We would challenge this mighty foe with the full force of humanity.


    We would push back death¡¯s greatest advance.


    We would deny ourselves the final dawn.


    That day, humanity resolved itself to make its final stand.


    Upon the dawn of a new year, a new path into the heavens, the forces of man and beast would meet under the judgement of the gods of old and new, their blood boiled by the midday sun.


    Upon nothing other than my own gambit, the naval and air forces of humanity¡¯s greatest and smallest nations alike had gathered.


    Upon the oceans lay the greatest militarial gathering of all time.


    Nine hundred and forty-two battleships.


    Two hundred and ten cataclysm-classed cruiser ships.


    The capital ships of fifty-two naval nations.


    And,


    The key to our entire plan, and the central lynchpin of our entire fighting force.


    Two thousand and ninety-four carrier ships.


    They would serve as the main supply base of our main fighting force.


    Our air force.


    One hundred and ten thousand airships, planes, and dropships had been gathered from the entire planet.


    While we hadn¡¯t been able to gather every ship, it was possible for us to gather nearly every plane, private or government owned, across the planet within those three days.


    A majority of these ships had actually come from my own nation, who had the military focused towards the sky already. Of the naval and aerial capacity of the coalition force, roughly sixty percent came from my nation alone. Eighty percent of the air force¡¯s combat ships came from us as well.


    Upon the land, most ships were based in a general perimeter of fifty miles from the coastline, allowing them to be deployed as need be for the battle that would come.


    We had positioned ourselves right in front of the alien fleet¡¯s current path. They showed no signs of turning back.


    From highways to small streets, planes and airships littered miles of open ground, ready to set off and join the fight.


    On land, nearly a million personnel had been gathered and were on the move. From ammunition to fuel, supply teams and trucks were gathered and continued to gather constantly.


    Replacement pilots in the number capable to replace nearly a third of the pilots of the entire air force had also been gathered. As time would go on, hundreds, perhaps thousands were constantly streaming in from across the many nations of the world.


    These preparations were all accomplished with only two days of time.


    In just two days, we had assembled the fighting power to allow us to fight for a week straight without any supplies delivered to us. It was within my calculations that we might not receive any help once the battle had begun, so enough resources had to be gathered to give us a fighting chance.


    Our planes and ships would be able to continuously fight, being able to land on carriers and switch out with replacement pilots. Of whom could be switched out from land or other carriers.


    The supply network would be able to function no matter where we were attacked so long as an entire group had not been wiped out entirely. Even if everyone on land were destroyed in a terror attack from our invaders, we would still be able to hold out for a week until help could be organized.


    That was the purpose of my formation.


    While large, the number of enemy cruisers thus far only numbered twelve. The variety of formations they could execute, or the number of fronts they could form with their numbers was extremely limited.


    Yet, they had yet to break the very formation they had been in since they arrived to our world. I don¡¯t believe we ever figured out the reason.


    Well, given that our fighting force was never routed, we could near indefinitely reinforce just about any front. A plane destroyed would be replaced with one in the carrier fleet, which would be replaced with one on land.


    A damaged plane or ship could be repaired on land and replaced.


    A lost ship or plane could be replaced with the dozens of new planes, ships, and transports flooding in from various industries across the human front.


    Taking into a hopeful consideration that our enemy wouldn¡¯t be capable of gaining reinforcements for at least one week, we could take them into a battle of pure attrition.


    To drain their manpower and will to fight to such an extent that they would no longer be able to fight against us and be defeated.


    My entire gambit was to assemble such a number as to allow us to forge a grand meat grinder, and in such a way, force thousands of lives to sacrifice themselves to defeat our superior foe.


    In history, if the opponent was technologically superior, with greater weapons, armor, or discipline, one could always overtake them in an extended battle of attrition with superior numbers.


    They would grow tired, hungry, and lose their will to fight over the drawn out days of continuous fighting.


    We couldn¡¯t say that our opponent now would follow the same principles, but then again, we had no choice but to hope that this could be the case. At the very least, if we were able to cause continuous casualties, no matter how small, we would be able to defeat them through sheer manpower.


    A game of several ships against a planet of nearly 10 billion people.


    Well, just as it was planned, predicted, and prayed for.


    The enemy fleet of just twelve ships broke the horizon.


    We would meet just twenty miles off shore. At that period in time, our battle lines had stretched out twenty-three miles across and eight more miles deep. The carrier lines extended the rest of the distance to shore, going as far as just a little under a mile off shore. More than half the fleet could still be visible to those on shore, the massive ships of the invaders even more clearly visible.


    Our greatest stand would be one visible to all those present. A clash between two powers in a final stretch for survival.


    There was nothing left to plan.


    The aliens were coming for us en-masse.


    The air force launched, the battleships opened fire, and the battle for survival began.


    [Part 3:  The Savior of Mankind Stands - END]

 Terra: The Gods of Old Awaken (4/6)

    Ant Tensei Redux Prologue Terra Arc in segmented format for easier reading and viewer enjoyability.


    ============================================================================


    Terra Arc, Part 4 -The Gods of Old Awaken


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Hmmm¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    I suppose the life I was given gave me a bit more excitement than most¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The clash of thousands, the hopes of billions.


    In a single instant, these forces of will shall meet to contest their survival in the eyes of a certain doom. Not for the world, not for themselves, but to face against a single, greater threat to their very existence.


    From a battleship at the front, I had established my headquarters.


    The initial engagement would tell us what the aliens were truly capable of in a fight. Would we be wiped out instantly, would we slowly meet oblivion, could we resist, these are the questions I wanted to answer with all haste.


    For this task, a tenth of our air forces took flight.


    The target, the smallest of the twelve alien cruisers. A one mile long, three hundred meter wide ship. It was less than half the size of the rest of the ships, and the best way to test our capabilities against their technology.


    In a worst case scenario, I¡¯d do everything I could to hold the invaders in a single area, allowing us to plot out an escape to the stars. In reality, we were only a few years out from taking our first steps into interstellar travel, with half of our vessels capable of being upgraded for short-term space flight.


    Hmph¡­ I wonder why I always combine measurement systems¡­ The fools of our past decided to continuously change how an object would be measured, and formed several different methods. I always took a certain pleasure in using multiple forms when giving measurements, it would drive people nuts. It¡¯s a shame there¡¯s no one left to bother with it now. Measurement guidelines are simple anyways, since I learned two, I¡¯ll use two if one measurement fits better.


    I never heard the end of it for that though¡­ oh¡­ wait¡­ hah¡­ ¡­ I did¡­ ¡­


    Hmmm¡­


    At any rate, a pilot force of twenty five thousand, arming ten thousand, one hundred and¡­ hmm.. nine ships were launched from the carrier fleet. Nearly half of their full capacity. We had created far more efficient carriers in our time, allowing each one to carry dozens of ships and planes. Otherwise, how else could we realistically plan to maintain a constant shuffle of our forces on the frontlines.


    The skies were clouded with the flight of the light brigade.


    The result was carnage incarnate.


    The flight of missiles and the roar of the explosions that thundered across the heavens, a reincarnation of the gods of old, joining the fray as the end times had come upon their world. It was no longer a clash of man and beast, it became a battle of the gods, and we, as men of humanity, shall take up arms alongside them. The alien¡¯s retort our heroic charge, their lasers firing upon all directions. Hundreds of planes and ships alike crash upon each other, slipping beneath the watery depths below. Every second became a scene of death. An epic struggle where both sides locked down upon the throats of the other. We would hold them here, we would not fail to meet the next dawn with the steps of our heel and the determination of our hearts.


    Certainly, the battle was a grand one. The alien ships were massive. Even with over ten thousand ships engaging the front of their formation, we only were engaging three of the alien cruisers. As they began to become locked in combat, their advance slowed to a halt, it would appear that they weren¡¯t foolish. If they attempted to get within the range to drop their terror weaponry, they would put themselves in full range of our land based nuclear weaponry. Outdated as they were, just before the continent¡¯s last organized forces were wiped out, they had launched a handful of nuclear weapons at the ships. The attack was a suicidal attack as the ships had advanced nearly right on top of them. The results, however, showed great results that left their fleet with obvious damages.


    To use nuclear weaponry to destroy them completely, however, would be foolish. The level of fallout that would enter the atmosphere and air would be tremendous if we were to estimate how many warheads it would take to destroy them all. As they were several miles into the sky, it would seem that they were taking measures to prevent us from using large warheads. If we were to do so, there would be a chance we could disrupt the atmosphere of our planet, causing any number of natural disasters.


    As such, we were using non-nuclear weaponry on a mass scale. Not nearly as effective, sure, but far less likely to cause a worldwide extinction event.


    In the end, if we were to create a field of attrition, there were but two ways we could realistically pursue.


    The first would be to focus down the enemy one at a time, destroying their fighting force slowly while drawing out the combat time that the enemy is exposed to. This would turn out to be nearly impossible to realistically pursue. The reasoning for this fell upon several factors.


    The first would be that there were no visible engines or power structures. We had no idea how such mechanical structures remained airborne. To further that, those ships were obscenely tough. We were causing damage to it, but since the cruisers were beyond massive, with such dense armor of an unknown alloy, there wasn¡¯t much chance for us to hope for extensive damage quickly. We could only slowly chip away at it, perhaps even blasting away at it for weeks if we wanted to even think about bringing that thing down. The use of hundreds of thousands of missiles and hundreds of tons of jet fuel would be expended. No, if we were to try and follow this method of attrition, it would be obvious that we could not achieve victory from it.


    There simply are limits as to how a rapidly expanding front could be sustained. As it were, the ammunition and fuel resources had been fine, but there would be a limit to how long a massive offensive could be sustained in the long term. To refine, load, transport, and utilize fuel alone would take great efforts. But, to consider producing the number of warheads required to arm the sheer number of ships we were launching would be beyond reason. To begin with, we were only able to sustain a semi-continuous assault if we were to run out of our reserve ammunition. Meaning we could only afford to arm roughly fifteen thousand ships with enough ammunition and fuel to fight at 100% efficiency for a little less than thirty minutes. Such outcomes would lead to us being broken through the moment our constant offensive front were to break down. In that sense, we would end up burning ourselves out and then having the attrition war turned on us.


    Even now, if I had just been able to have an extra week more, something might have been done about that and we might have been able to do something more. If only that were possible¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    In reality, I suppose only the second method is one that we could sustain.


    A war of manpower.


    However large these massive cruisers were, there will always be a limit to just how many personnel will be in there. In essence, we would be taking up a raid-like style of assault while maintaining our previous tactic of prolonging the engagement. More or less, this method entailed that we would be attacking them with infantry to decrease their numbers while holding them in place.


    The front of those ships were far more densely armored than the backs¡­ well, I say that, but the difference between 100% and 60% density is only so different.


    The other reason why we can hold them is because they never broke formation. Always in a synchronized formation. The reasons behind this was never discovered, but we took heavy abuse of this fact by using our warheads to manipulate the movement of the front ship. As long as we balanced that ship to a certain degree, the rest of the fleet wouldn¡¯t move. After only about twenty minutes or so, their fleet stopped moving altogether, probably because they were decided against continuing to try and turn. In hindsight, they probably couldn¡¯t back up either. Their flight system truly is a mystery I suppose.


    Though, if they had just kept going and tried to bypass our lines and used their terror weapons regardless of us using nuclear weaponry, I wonder what would have happened. Our entire air force of one hundred thousand some-odd ships would have gained the capability to take flight and engage all at once.


    Well, in the end, war is war. The decision and tactics are decided by their commanders, and their will is absolute with a little discipline.


    Like so, another hour had passed. It seemed as if I was finally pegged or something as my capital ship and headquarters was overtaken and destroyed with long-range targeted fire out of the blue.


    Since my body was and still is beyond sturdy, I survived just fine. I lost some skin, a bit of blood, a few dislocations, a few chipped bones and a split eye. The longer I continued my life, the more my vitality seemed to climb. When I was picked up by a nearby capital ship, I suppose I probably spooked the crew of the ship as I boarded. Though, they calmed down after they noticed I started healing from those injuries, not to mention that I wasn¡¯t phased by the fact one of my eyes had been nearly destroyed. I knew it would fix itself over time, so I didn¡¯t bother passing it concern.


    I was out of it for roughly twenty minutes or so, mostly because I had a hard time moving with damaged muscles. Well, that, and the fact that I weigh what I do. My bones, are HEAVY¡­


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Well¡­ were¡­. hah¡­. So lucky this vitality of mine grows with age¡­ it does me good right now¡­


    Hem¡­


    Well, once I boarded the ship, I redirected my command to it and resumed control of the situation. Well, my new command, there weren¡¯t many survivors from my old cabinet.


    As it were, the fighting was rather rough and we had already lost a few thousand ships. There were also roughly three dozen battleships that were destroyed as well.


    With a full view of the current flow of the battle, the current losses weren¡¯t that bad for the amount of time that had passed, roughly two percent, if that.


    Since I had expected the worst my mind could think of, when one of the best case scenarios occurs, you savor it with full gusto.


    Plans were written up and we began to shift over from a full offensive tactic to a delayment tactic.


    We needed to prepare for an invasion after all.


    I was going to turn the air battle, into a land invasion. The invaders, would now become the target of my conquest.


    Honestly, preparing for a suitable invasion tactic that took into account the millions of soldiers we had at our disposal. In the end, the only tactic really available for such numbers would be to just land troops right on top of the enemy cruisers and then use the sheer number of our personnel to force our way into their ship to destroy it from within.


    The only real thing that had to be changed to allow this tactic was to reassign supply ships into troop transport craft.


    After that was taken care of, humanity would once more engage in blood contest within a grinder of both wills, and of lives.


    This time, it would not be over something as shallow as swaths of land, not as ignorant as over cultures or religious difference.


    We would willingly enter a contest of death against an unknown foe of far greater technological power that, in normal circumstances, humanity should have no right to resist.


    The roar of battle continued to echo across the skies through the day, ships and planes falling beneath the waves as a hailstorm of lasers and missiles traded places to strike at the senders. Both fully intending to destroy the other.


    Certainly, we could not win this way.


    I can remember vaguely¡­ a sense of¡­ hesitation?


    ... No¡­ perhaps¡­ it is more fitting to call it anticipation¡­ anticipation¡­ for the next move.


    It would be six hours after the initial confrontation had begun that the next phase of battle would commence. A much more gruesome, and violent phase that would bring about the beginning of the end¡­


    Of the some one hundred and two thousand remaining ships, planes, and various other aircraft, roughly only six thousand were troop transport capable. In general, the idea of moving an entire army of that level all at once wouldn¡¯t be the tactic any normal nation would think to utilize. On top of that, during those two days, I hadn¡¯t even landing troops on those cruisers, thus the number of troop transports I had gathered weren¡¯t that many in comparison to how many I would have if I had planned for it in advance.


    In that sense, we could also only feasibly launch a third of them at any given time. Regardless, we¡¯d still be able to transport between twenty and thirty thousand men per wave, but since transports are bulky and slow, we can¡¯t afford having too many in the skies at once, not if we¡¯re going to have a single combat craft in the air at the same time. I had to split the transports into three waves. Though, in honesty, for the first phase of the invasion, this actually was favorable compared to sending all of the transports at once.


    In a continuous wave between the three groups, we had estimated we could move roughly a hundred thousand men in the course of an hour. Given the size of the top was an uneven area with a total surface of only a one mile by several hundred meters, there wouldn¡¯t be much room to have troops taking cover if we didn¡¯t get inside after the second or third reinforcement wave. That¡¯s even taking into consideration the unquestionably high casualty rates of the initial groups.


    The key would be the first landing force. Roughly only a single percent of the entire fighting force within this battlefield of ours would be able to take part in the initial landing. They would have to fight and secure the landing point for future reinforcements, their role was beyond vital, it was a linchpin for our entire invasion. Beyond just securing the site, they had to reduce the number of laser turrets on the surface of the ship to decrease the number of lost transports for each given wave of reinforcements as well as reduce the number of casualties to the ground forces. The more turrets we eliminate early on, the fewer lives we¡¯ll lose during this first attack.


    The air fighter ships had already been focusing on making several large breaches into the hull for our infiltration teams to move in. Now that we¡¯d have to start launching transports in the middle of the fighter class ships, there would be holes in our defensive wall, but it would be our only way forward, to have a chance at victory, to survive.


    A gambit with a few million lives with the representation of billions.


    Since it was of such import, I had no other intention other than to join the first landing force myself. I would personally see that a landing point would be secured and allow us to cleanly overwhelm the alien vessel.


    I would be the first many to land on that ship, and I would be the last to get off before it sank beneath the waves.


    There could be no ¡®what if¡¯ only ¡®have to¡¯, with so many lives riding on that attack, we had to succeed.


    As I boarded one of the landing craft, the signal went out. The second phase of our assault, The Great Invasion, had begun.


    The engines¡¯ roar could be heard throughout the fleet as  two thousand, one hundred and eight transport-class ships took flight. Like the jericho of old, I would see their walls and fortifications crumble before me, becoming their ruination, their final truth.


    ¡­ Well¡­ that story actually turned out to be false like many before history religious stories¡­ but it fits well¡­


    As we made our approach, the sounds of explosions continued to intensify, the very shell of our ship rattled under the intense hail of doomed ships vanishing into fireballs all around us. It was almost as if the ship itself knew what was to come, and shook with fear. If I had known then what would happen next, perhaps I might have shook as well.


    Suddenly, the explosions had grown closer, and far more violent, the rattling far louder. When I went to check, the ship suddenly went into evasive maneuvers, slamming me head first into a steel pole. Luckily it was the pole that was damaged.


    To say it fairly, my ship was being targeted, no, I shouldn¡¯t say just our ship, it was the center of our formation that was being targeted. The enemy¡¯s weapons had a three mile range, allowing two other cruisers besides our intended destination to fire upon us. They were after the transports.


    We hadn¡¯t even landed yet, revealing the card these ships held, they had simply decided that it was our next plan and started focusing down the transport ships.


    Given who we were up against, i¡¯d say they certainly lived up to what I had expected them to be, fierce and on my level in both strategy and execution. When two sides use evenly matched tactics, the only remaining factor of the battle is the valor and strength of the military force.


    With their superior weaponry, i¡¯d say we just had to make up for everything with millions of men and unwavering valor.


    I was there, and I had long since proven my capacity for war, no matter the form nor odds. An undefeated warrior king had taken the field with his subjects, ready to share their fates. Upon looking upon their leader standing before them, planning to break into the very gates of hell with them, what warrior would not feel a great sense of inspiration or admiration. If it were not that very same king who had given such an order, never would one consider doing such a thing such as invading an alien¡¯s ship, armed with hundreds if not thousands of laser weapons.


    It was only because of me, who projected confidence and pure moral as if it were physically manifested that the troops were capable of such insanity.


    The rattling grew more intense as we closed the gap.


    One hundred seconds before landing, the pilot begins to slow and prepare for landing maneuvers.


    Eighty seconds, the rumblings of the ships erupting in flames stop, all is silent before the roar of the engines.


    Thirty seconds, the laser cannons of the alien ships open a concentrated volley of fire, casualties instantly shoot up to nearly sixty percent of the remaining numbers.


    Ten meters away from targeted landing point, preparations to land complete. Ropes are dropped and I jump from the ship to make first landfall. Our position is instantly racked with heavy fire as debris shoot up from the alien¡¯s own lasers damaging the hull.


    Total casualties before first landfall were finally reported in, almost seventy two percent of the first wave had perished before even making it to the objective. Only a count of a little less than eight thousand would make up the first wave¡¯s landing force.


    There would be no tie for regret, they were all volunteers who wished to join me during the first landing. They wanted to join me in hell, and they got their wish.


    [Part 4: The Gods of Old Awaken- END]

 Terra: The Final Battle (5/6)

    Ant Tensei Redux Prologue Terra Arc in segmented format for easier reading and viewer enjoyability.


    ============================================================================


    Terra Arc, Part 5 - The Final Battle


    As my fire team began to make it down, I knew full well we had to move quickly. The alien¡¯s lasers could still very well target us. No sooner had just a mere fifteen of the fifty men on board my ship made it down had the ship erupted into flames, laser bolts in the dozens wrecked havoc upon the ship as it veered off, the screams of burning souls silenced as a crash sounded out behind a laser cannon mound.


    There was no time to wait for other ships to land, I went on the move. The mission for these first hell droppers would be to eliminate as many laser turrets as possible. If they were able, disabling two or three of the main laser cannons would provide a great boon, but the numerous laser turrets were priority.


    Thanks to the sacrifice of one of our best pilots we had managed to discover how to disable the turrets. He had crash landed purposefully onto the surface of the ship after a wing had been shot off and using a pack of explosives he had stolen, discovered a weak point on the laser turrets. Unfortunately, his discovery led to him being targeted by the other dozen turrets surrounding his position, leading to his death.


    Since there were thousands of those things, and adding to the fact that almost all of our explosives were lost since we had yet to clear out from our ship, I decided to embark on a different mission.


    I decided that the sixteen of us would go inside, to be the first ones to scout out the interior and search for weaknesses.


    As for our entry point, we just had to jump down one of the dozens of damaged points or holes that our main offensive had left for us thus far. While we couldn¡¯t deal major damage easily, we could certainly punch a hole or two with enough firepower pointed at one place.


    I wanted to know just what we were facing. We knew the lasers, the terror gas bombs, and their massive ships. We also knew that they were fully capable of wiping out an entire continent in just under two days, slaughtering several hundred million people.


    No, since we weren¡¯t equipped to disable the lasers, we¡¯d just have to settle for information gathering.


    About twenty meters from where our ship had gone down, there was a five meter caused by one what seemed to be an experimental artillery ship, armed with a railgun cannon. It was still experimental and had already long since been shot down, but not before doing more damage than twenty ships armed with missiles could do in a single run. The damage went in several dozen meters, a surprising level of damage from just two shots.


    Several minutes after entry¡­.


    guh¡­.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    It¡¯s¡­ gone¡­


    I can¡¯t think of anything after that¡­ ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    What¡­ was it¡­


    There was an incident that had occurred later on that had caused me to lose a small portion of my memory as well as apparent other things¡­ That incident¡­ I still don¡¯t remember what caused the damage¡­ but that wasn¡¯t from this infiltration¡­


    Ah¡­ that¡¯s right, I had researched after regaining my mental structure and capability to think. I needed to catch up to speed, so I listened in to several audio logs that I had left as well as the reports.


    It¡¯s still not the same as being able to remember it directly though¡­ hah¡­ now where did I leave off¡­


    Entering the structure¡­ ah¡­ For roughly ten minutes, there was no contact of any sort, nor resistance. Then, coms went wild as half of my squad had apparently dropped. Reports from the remaining members began shouting about giant humanoids that towered nearly two and a half meters in height with various other features.


    The squad then began a full retreat to the top of the ship with my orders. Though, it would appear that during the exodus, the remainder of the squad dropped off and I was left alone to fight through dozens of the alien soldiers before returning to the surface. Perhaps, it was a trap to lure me far enough in to eliminate me.


    Regardless, after that, coms from all over began to ring out as the alien forces began to surge out from the underbelly of the ship through every hole we had opened. The clash between our two forces continued on for quite some time. Thousands of our men perished in a devastating melee against the far stronger alien brutes.


    If you really consider it, we were up against beasts that towered above our heads, that were stronger than us physically, and were armed with far superior weaponry. If it ever came to a melee, it would often take between three to eight soldiers just to pin and defeat just one of those things, the vitality difference was obvious.


    But, this is where my plan began to come in strong. While we were losing ships, we could replace them as time went on by calling in military transports that hadn¡¯t been summoned until now. As for soldiers, there were over a million of them on standby on the land alone, if needed, over a hundred million soldiers could be called in during the period of a single day.


    With each wave of reinforcements, the number of soldiers fighting on the top of the ship swelled. Each time, the survivors would teach the incoming troops how to handle themselves in the new combat experience, slowly increasing the effectiveness of the remaining forces. Not to mention each of the reinforcement groups would grow in numbers with each wave. The longer we fought on, the more turrets we were able to destroy, preventing more and more transports from being destroyed. With only a rough thirty percent, my wave had brought in just under eight thousand. By the time we had secured the surface again and began to bring the fighting inside, there were already nearly eighteen thousand on the surface, with each wave now averaging fifteen thousand men being dropped off per wave.


    That was when the logs stated a change in the alien¡¯s strict flight formation was observed. This was just when reports came in that a team had encountered a power-like facility within the ship and were preparing to destroy it. The moment that report came in, the very same ship we were on began to charge forward at extreme speeds, nearly breaking fifty miles an hour.


    Hundreds, if not thousands of ships, surprised at the massive hulk moving at them perished by colliding into the ship.


    At that time, I had apparently sent out a message stating that the ship was going critical. My team was located at the very center of the ship at the time. My final words were to use any means necessary to destroy the enemy fleet, no matter the cost, no matter the weapon before the coms went static from interference.


    Three minutes after my message, signs of hundreds of soldiers jumping off the top of the ship for the water were reported. Rescue operations were launched.


    Eight minutes after last contact, the small ship had reached the center of our naval fleet and came under extreme fire from all sides and fronts as the fleet frantically attempted to stop its advance.


    Nine minutes after last contact, a single alien craft, small in size, launched from the alien cruiser. A signal went out that was quickly identified as me. Just after, a message went out to clear all personnel away from the area around the cruiser.


    Ten minutes after last contact, the small alien craft that was believed to have me on board came under a harreld of enemy fire. Reports claim that the ship avoided enemy fire for almost five minutes as it made its way towards the main enemy hulk-like cruiser at the center before taking a hit and crashing into the main ship.


    Fifteen minutes after second contact, I was presumed killed in action, much to the grief of the entire military forces. Clamor for revenge was commonplace as the remaining military chiefs of staff began to clear the necessary procedures to utilize nuclear weaponry. After my last demand to use all means necessary, it was assumed I had discovered something extremely important, why else would I have charged alone at the main ship without first returning to explain the situation.


    Sixteen minutes after second contact, the small alien cruiser explodes, destroying at least ten thousand launched fighter-class ships and almost a third of our battleships. Many of the lost battleships had actually fallen victim to the large surge of water caused from the large hulk crashing beneath the waves. Using targeted missile fire, the damage was limited to only a third, if it wasn¡¯t for the quick thinking of several captains, the losses might have been well over half of the entire fleet. Just after the ship crashed beneath the waves, the remaining enemy cruisers begin to engage our forces.


    Twenty five minutes after last contact, the majority of our air forces had retreated and a rear guard of battleships had been volunteered into service. The remainder of my military command under the pretense of following my last order began a full nuclear strike upon the remaining enemy cruisers.


    Records account to twenty six nuclear warheads being launched at the same time, more than twice the number of warheads launched for military purposes in the entire history of mankind. Two of the alien cruisers were confirmed destroyed while another three appeared to be disabled and slowly fell to the water. Thus marking the defeat of roughly half of the enemy¡¯s fleet, the total war potential that was destroyed was uncertain. The remaining ships all showed signs of serious damage, but appeared to not be in danger of falling.


    Fifty minutes after second contact, reports from scout ships specifically used to ensure the safety of the pilots came in stating that explosions were occasionally coming from the main enemy capital ship/ hulk-cruiser. There were few who made wild mention that I had perhaps remained alive, but it was marked as mere speculation and highly unlikely. Plans were underway to resume air warfare against the enemy fleet before they recovered from the damage. Personnel on land had already been organized to pull back several dozen miles away until the extent of the fallout could be determined. Without doubt, the incident would cause a future environmental catastrophe, but the destruction of half the alien fleet was deemed worth the sacrifice.


    One hour after second contact, the main cruiser is reported to have opened fire upon two of the remaining cruisers as well as suddenly charging forward, crashing into another of the remaining cruisers. One of the two cruisers under fire explodes, taking out the other ship that had been under fire. Both had already appeared to be in critical condition as fires and various energy fluctuations could be detected. The rammed ship appeared to have lost flight stability as it began to roll mid air and crash violently beneath the waves, causing a tsunami-like wave that would lead to over thirty thousand civilian casualties within the course of the next few hours. Surprise at this sudden development shot through the entire military, as well as the world who were standing by and watching the conflict from afar. At this time, outcries came from various sources to proclaim my survival and continued resistance on board the capital ship. Reports state that a mid-class officer of the air force had overridden military command and moved to set off with the remaining sixty thousand airships and fighters on a rescue mission. The transports were loaded with volunteer soldiers as they knew they would likely suffer from various forms of radiation poisoning after participating in a battle on the capital ship without protection. Without the support of the lower troops, the upper echelons yielded and gave validity to this operation. It would set off between ten and thirty minutes later. With hierarchical support, the troops prepared for the operation.


    Seventy-five minutes after second contact, operation ¡®Savior of Mankind¡¯ is announced to the world and launched. The purpose was to infiltrate the alien capital ship for the sole purpose of pulling me out from enemy territory. Alive and well of course. The operation saw the entire air and naval force launch with a blitz-style reckless offensive with all transports launching at once. The plan was to bypass the remaining cruisers that had taken up a defensive formation around the capital ship and land troops to recover me. They had recklessly taken advantage of the sudden surge of warfervor to get the troops to zealously agree to a basic, and reckless attack.


    Eighty minutes after second contact, all hostile fire coming from the capital ship shuts down. The remaining three alien cruisers stop moving and take up a defensive formation to protect the capital ship.


    Eighty-seven minutes after second contact, several major explosions occur from deep within the alien¡¯s capital ship, causing very noticeable damage. The three ships now turn in full retreat.


    Ninety minutes after second contact, the two escorting ships release a roughly estimated ten-thousand fighters. The human forces that had set out after the capital ship then engaged. The battle continued for only twenty minutes before the alien¡¯s side had been depleted due to a combined air and naval offensive. On the human¡¯s side, however, the casualties numbered nearly forty-thousand in total, nearly a full two thirds of our entire air potential. This was due to various reasons such as running out of fuel to crashing into alien ships in the chaotic engagement. The battle scaled from just above the water¡¯s surface to nearly two miles into the sky. Skirmishes to mass engagements were scattered across nearly twenty miles. Regardless of orders, the surviving military forces break through the enemy formation to land onto the alien capital ship.


    One hundred and twenty minutes after second contact, the first landing teams arrive on the capital ship under moderate fire from the remaining two cruisers. Heavy damage had already disabled a significant number of their weapon capacity. The capital ship¡¯s weapons remained inactive. A squad of one thousand, two hundred and seven men and women organized and entered into the capital ship¡¯s interior. Reports came in constantly about the infiltration team finding scenes of what appeared to be battles scattered throughout the interior of the ship. The massive hallways were lined with hundreds, to thousands of mutilated corpses of various disfigurement. From stab wounds, bite wounds, puncture wounds, missing limbs, caved-in skulls, opened stomachs, laser burns, and just about every other form of damage could be reported from the slain alien footsoldiers. A debate had begun over the possibility of a civil war breaking out within the alien ship, though this idea was mostly ignored due to the blind warfervor that had overtaken the minds of the soldiers. After crushing a majority of the alien fleet in less than three hours, the confidence of the military officers and soldiers alike had long since reached new levels of dangerous zealotry. No living encounters were reported by this time, only further increasing numbers of dead.


    One hundred and fifty minutes after second contact, infiltration teams report the sounds of an active battle and receive full permission to investigate the situation.


    One hundred and sixty-five minutes after second contact, scouts come across a scene of battle between the alien soldiers and a ¡®Beast¡¯ of some form. The beast was reported to be fighting alone against the several hundred alien soldiers surrounding it from all angles. The beast was reported to be humanoid in nature, though was determined to not be human due to the missing portions of the skull, missing arm, and various other injuries while still inflicting dozens of casualties upon the alien brutes. These were the same ones that required between three and eight soldiers to just barely take down one, and they were being taken down in droves from a single individual, thus why the scouts called it a beast. Steam was constantly seeping out from it¡¯s body as blood gushed from it¡¯s dozens of wounds. It fought tooth and nail as if every portion of its body had a mind of its own. As it bit down on one alien, it used the protruding bones on its arm to kill another while kicking two more in the head with a swiveling kick, causing blood to gush from both as they fell to the floor. Such was the scene of the beast fighting the alien soldiers, a near one sided slaughter against beasts that had proven to be so difficult to fight against. The speed the beast moved was reported to be at least three times faster than a human as its limbs moved almost too fast for them to perceive whenever it attacked. After a short deliberation between the officers on the scene, they decided to reinforce the beast in battle against the aliens.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Of course, that beast was me.


    After a quick surprise assault from the infiltration team, the alien soldiers were routed. After securing the surrounding area, a single soldier was volunteered to investigate the beast from close up as the beast had since then stopped moving completely. The steam surging from its body still continuing as the significant amount of blood flowing out continued, the muscles moving slightly as if slowly attempting to stop the bleeding. The soldier then went on to report that he ID the beast¡¯s face as my own, mistaking my current state as a coma due to the injuries I had sustained.


    In reality, I had entered a shallow consciousness that I consider to be a recovery mode of sorts. I can¡¯t say for sure if that was the case, but given the amount of steam they said was coming out of my body, that was probably the case. When I was in the water with my various injuries from taking a ship¡¯s explosion head on, I had used that very same recovery mode to repair my body to the extent I could move again. The version I was probably using in the alien ship was probably far less effective though as the amount of heat generated from the process is almost to the extent that my body would be damaged seriously as cells would die from the heat. Various toxins would also grow to dangerous levels as both aerobic and anaerobic processes would operate at levels tens to almost a hundred times faster than the average human body. As my body is far different in comparison to the average human, my body was tempered to handle this burden to a certain extent, though as I am a hodgepodge of science experiments from birth on, it isn¡¯t as if every part of my body functions properly. I have assumed though that over time, my body was increasing the efficiency and evolving to properly function. The normal human body does this as well over a long period of time as well as over the generations, though i¡¯m sure the extent of my own is far faster.


    Basically, the energy is used to facilitate an extreme burst of cellular replication, reproduction, and recovery. Special organs release large quantities of nutrients from two other organs that highly condense fats and other nutrients. Similar to kidneys, they filter the my entire blood system, working in symbiosis with other organs to balance my blood system. My blood is not normal blood cells, but rather a hemoglobin protein mass that, if receiving a chemical signal from the kidney-like organs that signal that blood levels are too low, will begin to take in amino acids and replicate several dozens of times per second as they break up into several dozen branches and rebuild themselves. Similar to how a worm can regrow itself if it is split in half I suppose. I would have to be losing several liters of blood per second to risk running low on blood. The amount of calories within my body are undeterminable, though I do not excrete waste, and many of the chemical processes within my body were never determined. The matter of how much water was or is within my system, or even where it was stored was never really determined. I had greatly limited the number of experiments performed on my body for various reasons.


    Though, the main source of my recovery falls to the responsibility of several organs that researchers called stem membranes. These organs basically release thousands of stem cells into my bloodstream, allowing them to reach any and all damaged sites to aid in recovery. Even though bone doesn¡¯t help with my bones as they are not the same as normal bones, if they come into range of bone damage, they can repair the special tissue that forms up the outer layer of the bone. When the outer layer is damaged, the tissue detects the damage to itself and takes in nutrients and stem cells to repair itself. As it repairs, a byproduct of the process is that the dead or older cells from this membrane form into my new bone. Scientists were unable to determine what the process behind this is because as they took samples, the samples would dissolve the moment they attempted to remove some. The process of bone repair is thus one of the most rapid within my body, the time it takes various, but even if a limb were to be lost, the first thing to regrow would be the bone, as tested by removing my hand in one of the early experiments after a test with a finger led to it growing back. The membrane would hold joints and loose bones in place until the tissue recovered and grew back over them, at which point the muscle tissue would push the membranes out of the way and took control of the joints.


    In the end, my vitality is quite substantial, though the amount of energy required is probably just as significant. The more voracious my healing process becomes, the more heat is generated. Based on rough estimates, the researchers determined that the amount of calories being used for the process could vary from tens to hundreds of thousands of calories per second. Needless to say, but my body is substantially heavy¡­ Very¡­ very heavy¡­ Though since normal scales weren¡¯t able to determine my weight, I never felt like actually finding out, not something one would really care about that much.


    After an incident where a researcher attempted to remove one of my organs for her own personal gain, I stopped the experiments altogether, too risky if people started looking at my body as a tool for scientific research after all.


    Shame though, now that it has become like this, I find myself growing more curious as to how my body works and who I am. There¡¯s some philosophic joke in there somewhere I¡¯m sure¡­ Bah, there¡¯s only so many regrets you can allow yourself in life. Not learning how every one of my cells work shall not be one of them.


    Well, when the infiltration squad got in close to examine their so called ¡®Beast¡¯ i¡¯m certain their faces warped with surprise¡­ actually¡­ I can almost¡­ imagine it.. no, perhaps I do to a certain extent¡­ mmmm¡­ surprise¡­ joy¡­ sorrow¡­ anger¡­ retreat¡­ must retreat¡­ emergency¡­ interference¡­ beyond¡­ damage¡­ stop it¡­ all will be lost¡­ almost too late¡­ must prevent¡­ must go back¡­ stop them¡­ stop them¡­ almost too late¡­ must move¡­ hurry¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­


    It¡¯s gone again¡­


    Whatever I had learned is probably lost to me forever, or for however long I have left. If there was more time, perhaps I could have recovered those memories.


    Well¡­ I suppose¡­ maybe after this, my questions will unravel themselves¡­ who can truly know what that next step entails besides those who have walked upon it and moved on from here¡­ so many have already gone before me¡­ perhaps it¡¯s time¡­ ¡­ No¡­ not yet¡­ I owe them that much¡­ to at least remember the rest of our last story¡­


    ¡­


    Going on the reports, the team had initially thought that I was dead. This was mostly due to half of my neck being gone, a half missing arm, and the main reason being that roughly 40% of my head missing from various injuries. This was ignoring the fact that blood was constantly pouring out of my body from every wound. They did their best to stop the bleeding at least until they got me back to land.


    I always wondered, after the fact, just what the hell went on after I got onto that small ship, hell, I want to know just about everything that happened. The reports are just not enough depth to make up for one¡¯s memories. It feels off to read about what happened to you in vague terms when you lose your memory.


    Bah, why do I keep coming back to this, enough of this already, I don¡¯t have time for it anymore.


    Hmm¡­. reports¡­


    ¡­


    When one of the soldiers touched my head, the reports state that my eyes opened, showing consciousness. After that, I ordered the soldiers to retreat. Because I had just suddenly started talking after they had been working on stopping my bleeding without me saying a word, most of the soldiers were frozen in place. Of course, reports state that after cracking one of the soldiers on the side of the head and shouting the order again, they got their rears in gear. After two minutes, a retreat order surged through the remaining forces on board.


    The delay turned to be costly as just two minutes after the retreat call sounded, the turrets within the cruiser and outside all went online, or perhaps they had only just come back online, who knows. Regardless, the unaware soldiers were dropped in droves as laser fire wreaked havoc on soldiers lacking any form of cover. Since they had plenty of experience with the laser weapons, there were still plenty that were able to react after the initial casualties and push on to retreat. By the time I had personally gotten out with the remaining forces, only two hundred and eleven soldiers got out. Given that they all had to clear their way through dozens to nearly a hundred passages and lift wells filled with continuous laser fire after being caught off guard, the number was actually extremely good.


    Retreating from the ship, I was taken to a special medical facility specifically intended for me that was located roughly sixty miles away from the combat site. There, a special tank had been prepared in case I had received critical wounds and needed to return to battle quickly. This tank was called a Stem Tank, basically filled with a stem cell gel-like substance. Basically it was a tank with tens or hundreds of millions of stem cells, if not billions. The whole idea was rather simplistic in nature, and in terms of a normal person using it, their recovery would probably not be helped at all, or rather, it might seriously cause them harm if a person was just thrown into it.


    On top of all that, the cost of producing and preserving such a large quantity of stem cells would be ridiculous in normal instances. The only reason there are so many is due to my stem membranes being siphoned to build a reserve for it. The only reason that such a crude method was used is due to my body¡¯s adaptations, or perhaps mutations, to use stem cells allowed it to control the functions and usage of stem cells. Instead of relying solely on the membrane production of stem cells, the cells could pass through my skin as well as enter my wounds for rapid utilization. If my normal recovery were to be marked at a 100% recovery rate, the rate inside the tank would be between 250 and 375 percent.


    It was after about two hours that my current consciousness recovered. Even though there were still several injuries that had yet to fully recover, my head had fully regenerated. My hand wasn¡¯t fully functional yet either, but it was good enough. Though, from what I gathered from those that were there, there was something different. Or, rather, they felt as if something was missing, but it was impossible for them to finger what it was. Since there was nothing they could come up with, I moved on.


    From there, I discovered that the alien¡¯s capital ship had fallen back to the continent and had crash landed.


    The cruisers that had crashed into the water had been heavily assaulted and overrun. When they had fallen into the water, it would seem their power sources or whatever powered their laser weaponry was lost, thus they were almost defenseless. If you count a two and a half foot tall brute with a laser rifle and great strength defenseless of course.


    After overrunning their positions, we had managed to recover some of their technology and it was already under serious study.


    After returning to a command center, I gave the order to invade the continent. Without giving our invaders time to make a single move, I wanted to wipe them out. If reinforcements were called, we were a year, perhaps two years away from offering another serious resistance.


    It had to be now. Destroy the main ship before it¡¯s too late. That was the one feeling that surged through my entire being. At the time, I thought of only alien reinforcements, but now, now I know why¡­


    With a majority of the air force destroyed, the sole method of we could truly rely on for large scale invasions would be a naval invasion, with helicopter infusions. While most of our airship-type transports were lost, with this invasion, we could now utilize helicopters. If we used them previously, they were far too slow to use in our formation, and would be sitting targets for the laser weaponry.


    The remaining air force still had its uses, but since we were not in a land invasion as well as their depleted number, they would only be able to move roughly eleven thousand men in total. While there were still plenty of fighters, there were less than a thousand undamaged transports that we could actively call on currently.


    Instead, they would be mostly turned over to support purposes.


    We still had two cruisers to destroy, then, then we would finally come to face our final target.


    Thirty two hours after the first shots rang out, our forces had made land fall upon the barren wastelands that used to be a thriving continent of humankind.


    Modern naval technology had allowed us to clear the distance of a hundred miles relatively quickly.


    The sum of the liberation invasion forces numbered just 85,000 in total, but reinforcements would be coming in the tens of thousands every hour or so.


    The fighting was fierce, but after several hours of constant fighting, hiding from terror gas bombs, and the sort, we finally shot down the remaining two cruisers, and routed their ground forces.


    It was then that we had finally surrounded the entire wrecked hulk of a capital ship.


    With almost two hundred thousand soldiers at my back, the world itself went silent, not a breath, not a whisper.


    With a single roar, the call rang out, and the final assault had begun, humanity would be victorious this day. Of this, I was certain¡­ I¡­ was so certain¡­


    The alien fighting capacity was a shadow of its former self. At best there were perhaps twenty or thirty thousand of them left, taking up what little fortifications they could or hiding within the wreck of the capital ship. That day, they would be granted their final stand.


    I left no room for error, I wanted to wipe them out, to leave no trace. Hundreds of teams scoured the continent to clear out any remnants. Tanks and air support were heavily established within the area around the capital ship, artillery was on stand by and suitable numbers of reinforcements were called for to ensure success¡­


    I will never forgive myself for this blunder. I knew in my heart that time was in direly short supply, yet, I took my time in being thorough¡­ took my time in my approach¡­ I waited for more troops¡­ I waited for support¡­ I waited¡­ and by the time I gave that order to attack¡­ It was far¡­ far too late¡­


    In the midst of the fight, I encountered what seemed to be the enemy¡¯s leader, a three meter monster with three sets of arms that each carried a laser blade. In just five minutes, he had already fallen beneath my heel.


    In my confidence, I had exclaimed to the beast, taking up one of his blades to point at his neck, that they had lost.


    But, in his eyes, he had a humored expression. It was in that moment, our minds had synced, and I heard just four words¡­


    ¡°You¡¯re already too late.¡±


    [Part 5: The Final Battle - END]

 Terra: An Unforgivable Regret (6/6)

    Ant Tensei Redux Prologue Terra Arc in segmented format for easier reading and viewer enjoyability.


    ============================================================================


    [Terra Arc, Final Act - An Unforgivable Regret


    *ZERRRANGERRUMBLEGRANNNGRUMBLEZOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUN*


    The capital ship evaporated into a grand pillar of light, a massive hole was left in its place. The earth beneath my feet began to shake violently and the bright blue sky above ran black as night.


    It was then that the alien leader grabbed my arm, and a single thought burst into my mind,


    ¡°You will die with us! It is you who has lost!¡±


    In my reply,


    ¡°Yet you have won nothing, you have cheated yourselves.¡±


    In reality, it was all I could muster¡­


    As if his last reason for living had been accomplished, the beast threw himself upon the blade in my hand, dying there without a sound.


    Afterwards, the earth began to rupture and split, the air ran thin, and life began to burn out slowly around the world.


    Until now¡­ here I am¡­ a single hour later¡­ the last one left¡­


    My comrades in arms screaming in suffering and their cries for help, all have gone silent. Our world¡­ has gone dark..


    Women¡­ children¡­ mothers¡­ husbands¡­ life¡­ everyone¡­ and everything now is as silent as the universe around us¡­ in the void of our dead world¡­


    I had killed them all.


    If I had just destroyed that ship earlier¡­.


    Focused everything into its destruction¡­.


    Then¡­


    Perhaps¡­


    It would not have¡­ then we would not be¡­


    A scenario where¡­


    There is no longer a we...


    No one to judge me, I now stand alone, the final memory of my race.


    All I had done, the lives I saved, built from the depths and touched, all ended by the very same hands.


    I watched as almost two hundred thousand men and women die right before my very eyes. Crying, sobbing, laughing or yelling, each one of them had cast their gazes upon me for guidance. For surely, I would figure out some way for them to survive, I had never failed before, there was no way that this was the end.


    But¡­ there was nothing I could do¡­ No matter how hard I thought¡­ A mind capable of planning years into the future¡­ could not find a single path within our very reality that would allow for our survival¡­


    Within just twenty minutes after the initial explosion¡­ or whatever the hell it was¡­ the air had already grown thin and there were short periods where gravity itself seemed to lessen or stop. Earthquakes rumbled almost constantly as the ground under heel buckled with every shake.


    There wasn¡¯t enough time to build a bunker, and even if we could, it would only prolong the inevitable as we wouldn¡¯t have any way to secure air, food or water in suitable amounts. Even if I took only a few, there would be no real survival that way.


    There wasn¡¯t enough time to build a spaceship, and the reports from the studies on the small alien crafts showed they weren¡¯t space capable, so we couldn¡¯t even try to secure some of them.


    There was no way to prevent the end with the short amount of time we had left¡­


    Even with a whole world with the sole project of making an ¡®arc¡¯ to save the human race, even a limited number, would take almost two weeks to put together. One that was self-sustaining to maintain just two lives.


    To build one capable of keeping any number more alive would take so much longer to do, there was just no way we could do it with the world slowly dying as it was.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    In reality, there just was no way to do anything in just a single hour, normal life began to die rapidly just after thirty minutes, the atmosphere got hostile after forty minutes, and all life was gone after fifty. Even I, don¡¯t think i¡¯ll survive much longer¡­


    As time went, those eyes of hope turned into despair and regret.


    Then, one by one, each one of them began to collapse from the lack of air. either dying, or killing each other off rather than waiting for the end. Each one of them met their fates.


    It was when only I, and a single little girl on an air tank, a survivor we had rescued from some ruins, were left. She was perhaps fourteen, maybe fifteen years old¡­


    With her last breaths, she spoke words that I will never¡­ no¡­ can never¡­ forget¡­.


    ¡°It¡¯s your fault, my family¡­ everyone¡­ You killed them all¡­. But¡­ I can¡¯t help but keep forgiving you¡­ Mother and father would have both left me already without you¡­ First mom, then father got sick¡­ then your medicine and programs helped them¡­ I wasn¡¯t alone anymore¡­ They could only praise you, and look up to you with such happy expressions¡­ you were the one who kept our family together¡­ they would always say how pure and kind you were¡­ no matter what¡­ they would always look up to you¡­ so¡­. no matter how hard I try¡­ I just¡­¡­¡­. I just can¡¯t hate you¡­.. it¡¯s not fair¡­. you helped us so much¡­ So¡­ ¡­ I¡­ ¡­ just want¡­ ¡­ ¡­ to ¡­ ¡­ say¡­


    Thank you¡­


    Thank you for giving my life happiness¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±


    With that, the young girl, no more than fifteen years old, died in my arms¡­ For the first time in my entire life¡­ I looked up to the sky¡­ and tears continued to flow from my eyes, the pain in my chest can never be described¡­ It was all my fault¡­. I¡¯m so sorry¡­.


    She was crying the whole time, but in the end, she died with such a bright smile¡­


    A little girl, who I took everything from, thanked me for the difference in her life¡­


    for the rest of the time until now, I could but ponder my life¡¯s worth after I buried her. Our world would serve as her headstone¡­


    Even now, I don¡¯t know if my life¡¯s sum is worth more than the cost it demanded. What would have been the fate of humankind without me. Beneath the heels of the aliens perhaps, or even a similar fate of extinction. Were the aliens even truly bad, could we have negotiated if I hadn¡¯t led humanity to defend ourselves. So many questions¡­ When pondering a life, many questions you will ask yourself¡­ Most begin with a ¡®what if¡¯...


    I don¡¯t know what might have been, just what had been. My life was spent in service to life, only to end in death.


    Perhaps¡­ a final irony to the annals of my life.


    Was I right, was I to blame for everything, I shall never know.


    I will leave my final judgement to the universe and oblivion.


    My name, was, is, and always will be,


    Aristocles Von Rasok,


    A man who cherished life more than any other.


    I go now to join my brothers and sisters in that next step of life, with no more regrets.


    Hah¡­.


    Life¡­ it really is so short isn¡¯t it¡­


    ¡°...¡±


    -


    Looking up at the stars above his world, Aristocles Von Rasok, once heralded as the savior of mankind, passes away in the shadows of a dead world.


    [Final Part:  An Unforgivable Regret - END]

 Official Release Schedule [Suspended]

    WhiteSamurai''s official novel release schedule


    I''ll start with the hard release schedule. As to why it isn''t daily anymore, that''s after the schedule. Most people will be here for when a chapter''s releasing anyways!


    This is a release schedule for all WhiteSamurai original novels, not just ATR.


    Sundays:


    NH chapter release day [Between 1 - 2 chapters]


    Mondays:


    NH writing day [Hand writing, no online releases]


    Tuesdays:


    NH chapter release day [1 chapter maximum]


    Wednesdays:


    No releases or writing [Schedule limitations during academic semester]


    Thursdays:


    Ant Tensei Redux writing day [Hand writing, no online release]


    Fridays:


    NH Full chapter work day, both handwriting and online release [Between 1 - 2 releases]


    Saturdays:


    Ant Tensei Redux release date [1 Chapter maximum (In some cases, a chapter will NOT release due to the extreme priority on quality]


    Now for the technical stuff for those curious as to why the schedule is how it is.


    Well, I did announce that I would be having Nameless Hero go daily and Ant Tensei Redux going weekly, but due to my extremely intense schedule this semester, that simply is not going to fly. In the future semesters, i''m sure i''ll be able to release more, but when i''m on campus from 8:00am to 8:35pm T-Th and 8:00am to 3:15pm M & F, there simply is not enough time during the week to spend writing these chapters.


    Let me give you an average as to just how long each phase of the writing for each novel entails.


    Let''s start with the hand writing phase. This entails me taking a pencil, and writing out the entire chapter by hand into a notebook. Now there are two reasons for me doing this, the first being time and the fact that I can''t always have my computer out. If there''s a lax period during a lecture, I can whip out the notebook for 20 minutes and write. The second reason is that I 100% have to re-read the material word for word because i''ll have to type it out onto the computer to release it. This allows me to remove and improve a great deal of the material that I grind out during the week into an actual chapter. If there''s repetitive or dull material, I can fix it because i''m also reading it. If I don''t do this, the quality WILL drop by several notches. I''ve already tested this and the reactions to that chapter were clearly showed that the quality drop was obvious, thus I will be continuing the handwriting policy.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    To handwrite a chapter generally requires between 2.5 to 4 hours to write the standard ~3,250 to 4,000 word chapters for Nameless Hero. For Ant Tensei redux, the time required to write a chapter shoots up exponentially up to between 12 to even 20 hours of hand writing to make the standard 10,000 to 35,000 word chapter releases. That is if a chapter doesn''t get scrapped, and if that is the case, then the process takes twice as long. This is all for the sake of the quality of the release and will not be changed for faster releases no matter what.


    This is a major time draw for why ATR is released on a weekly-biweekly basis and why there aren''t daily releases of NH given my current schedule you saw above. That schedule of course not mentioning actual homework, but how much time I am ON campus alone as you can do the math yourselves.


    Onto the typing process.


    The typing process is where the handwritten material is converted into the release that you all will read. When i''m doing this, I have no choice other than to read the material myself word for word. This allows me to spot any flow errors or redundancies within the material and correct them. This basically is an extensive method for editing my material and is paramount for ensuring that the flow and character patterns are going according to their profile. No one likes repetitive paragraphs either.


    In general, this process will normally take another 1.5 to 2.5 hours for NH and at times, between 4 to 6 hours for ATR.


    Don''t be mistaken by the fact that just because the releases are few that i''m not working on making them. In general, a Nameless Hero chapter may take up to 6 hours to produce and an ATR chapter could take 25-30 hours to produce. With my schedule included, please do bare with the limited chapter releases as there is only so much time I can afford to maintaining these two series while ensuring there is no quality drop on them.


    I appreciate your continued support of my Web Novel releases,


    Please continue to enjoy them as much as I enjoy writing and watching everyone enjoy them.


    ~WhiteSamurai

 The Pacem Wikia [Whites Backup]

    As some of you may know, RoyalRoadl was not the first place either Ant Tensei (Original), Ant Tensei Redux, or Nameless Hero had first been published.


    The original location I had been publishing was a Wikia of mine called the Pacem Wikia, where I had planned with my group, almost a full year ago, to translate Japanese, Korean, and Chinese web novels that we wanted to read. Well, they all vanished on me, all 13 of them, though one had only been deployed, but off topic is my nature, so i''ll focus again.


    Since RoyalRoadl seems to be having instability issues, especially for me when trying to post Nameless Hero chapters, i''ve decided to inform everyone of this backup location.


    In the case that I am not able to release the chapters on RoyalRoadl due to their servers remaining unstable, I will still release them there.


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    So, if you are interested in reading Ant Tensei Redux and you don''t see the chapters going live at the designated times, you can follow this little button right down there,


    Ant Tensei Redux</a>


    It would be good to bookmark the site just in case, because who knows when good old RoyalRoadl might block good old White from releasing a chapter.


    Enjoy your holidays everyone, and believe in Aristocles~


    ~White

 Official Hiatus

    Nearly two years ago I had made this decision, but I only now realized I never fully addressed said decision with the Readership who invested themselves into ATR.


    ATR is confirmed to be on an indefinate hiatus.


    I have had issues properly scripting the story in the way that I want it to, and as I continued to expand the universe of my works, the more I realized that Ant Tensei Redux and her story were simply out of place. The more the world became fleshed out, with an entire history being scripted within the last near four years of development both in RRl and without.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    I am aiming with my full effort to one day monetize my works in one form or another and pursue a career in writing, and until then I need to continue to gather and place the right cards to ensure success.


    Legend of the Nameless Hero is also on Hiatus, though not a perminant one as I have a plan to begin the official Re-write in professional sense, with intent to publish, within the next two years. Whilst it could be less, I am not rushing as I will only truly have one shot at this before I need to abandon the dream to live in the modern world.


    This is my thanks to the readers who pushed me forth to uncover what I desire to do in life, and my vow to prove to said readers just what sort of tale I can put together when my mind is 100% behind it.


    Until then my old friends


    Stay Tuned~


    ~White