CHAPTER 20

- Go Gunhee (Korean Hunters Association) -

The chairman cleared his throat, preparing to announce to the press Mars' identity and the imminent Jeju raid. Korea's top five guilds were all participating, currently assembled on the coast near Jeju Island, ready to support Mars as needed.

China and Taiwan's Navies were on standby, dozens of destroyer warships equipped to deal with any straggler ants. Nearby countries were forced to be on high alert, because of the ant's evolution. After each failed raid by the Koreans, the ants underwent a transformation, becoming much stronger than the previous generation. From giant regular ants, to more humanoid ones. And now, the satellite images confirm the majority of the ants had wings now, a clear third evolution. They needed to be wiped out, he couldn't imagine what a fourth evolution would look like.

What's next... Talking ants?

When Mars revealed the truth to him and Jinchul about the Rulers and the Monarchs, Gunhee's inner power flared up, as if confirming Mars' words. Go Gunhee never understood his own powers, but he always felt like they were borrowed from an alien-like presence. Many things are starting to click in his head now, all thanks to winged hunter who rose up out of nowhere.

He had complete confidence in Mars and his numerous abilities, the young man and his shadows had completely toyed with Korea's top hunters.

Stepping in front of the room full of reporters and cameramen, Go Gunhee put on his trademark smile, he was known for his charisma.

"Good morning, everyone. Thank you all for gathering here so suddenly for this announcement." He spoke clearly in front of the curious press box. "I will be going over a couple of important topics."

Gunhee took a sip from a water bottle, ignoring the flashes and shutters of the cameras. He was no stranger to press conferences.

"Korea's 11th S-rank hunter has given me his blessing to reveal his identity. Known as Seoul's Saint to the general public, his name is Valentino Mars." Go Gunhee announced, as the room became rowdy, multiple reporters already asking questions over each other.

"What guild did he join? Or is Valentino working under the Association?"

"What happened between him and guildmaster Goto Ryuji?"

"He's dating Cha Hae-In, isn't he?"

"Where is Mars right now?!"

"Is he joining the Jeju Island mission?"

He sighed, already feeling annoyed with the press, hungry for any scoop. Mars had been the talk of the town, due to his appearances in multiple high visibility incidents, culminating in the already infamous training exercise with the S-rank hunters yesterday.

"About the Jeju Island operation... Hunter Valentino will be launching a search-and-destroy mission by himself in the next 20 minutes. As many of you might know, he is a hunter specialized in summoning magic, he has hundreds of summons at his disposal." Gunhee informed the room full of interrogating reporters and news members.

The room exploded into a frenzy, everyone was stunned at the declaration, he could only imagine the reactions of the Korean citizens. He couldn't blame them, the country had failed miserably in clearing the S-rank dungeon break 3 years in a row, resulting in the deaths of thousands of civilians and hunters.

"Huh?! Did you misspeak, chairman?"

"One hunter clearing an S-rank gate by himself?"

"Did you already forget about all the hunters that died trying to reclaim the island?!"

"This is going to end up like last time, with another promising S-rank hunter dead!"

"Hunter Valentino Mars is more than equipped to clear the island by himself. In fact, I will say this: Mars is our strongest hunter." Go Gunhee issued his own opinion. "He has already surpassed the rest of Korea's top guilds."

"Stronger than the rest of the other S-ranks?"

"You're saying hunter Valentino is a National rank hunter?!"

"What about the other guilds? Are they still participating in the operation?"

"Chairman, is this wise? This might be the last chance to clear the island..."

"The S-rank hunters and their guilds will be joining the Knights guild for defense. I will be leaving the main offensive plans to Mars." Gunhee concluded, standing up, as the room exploded with more questions and heated debate. "That's all for now. I will accept all responsibility regarding the raid."

Leaving the room, he glanced at his watch. Mars' mission is about to commence at any moment. He felt a little anxious, but more than anything he felt proud of the young man. Gunhee wished he could be there in person to support Seoul's Saint, but he knew he was better suited taking care of Mars from behind the curtain.

"Mars... The rest is in your hands now."

- Park Jongsoo (Knights Guild) -

Near the coast of Jeju Island

"Steel your nerves. If you don't, the ants can most likely sense your fear and will attack you first." The Knights guildmaster reassured his vice-guildmaster who was looking nervous.

"Hyung-nim will this even apply to us?" Jung Yoontae responded with a raised eyebrow.

"You never know. Besides, it's our style to always be prepared for any given situation. We'll make sure to mercilessly kill any ants that fly towards us." He said, looking out to the island.

"A-as expected of our Hyung-nim! I, Jung Yoontae, shall follow wherever you go!"

"What are you guys on about..?" Choi Jong-In sighed to himself, looking at the two in ridicule. "Mars still hasn't arrived yet?"

The top guildmasters were all on the fleet, awaiting Mars' arrival. On the other warships behind them were the nation's top guilds, on standby to aid Seoul's Saint if necessary. The chairman's news was announced to the hunters right before the media, the S-rankers were still abuzz just like the rest of the country. If they didn't see Mars fight with his shadows in person the other day, they wouldn't have agreed to the sudden revised plan.

"I still can't believe one hunter will be taking on the ants by himself..." Lim Tae-Gyu mentioned to Ma Dongwook.

"But if one man could do it, it's Valentino Mars." The burly S-rank tanker said with complete confidence, clutching his back, remembering the one-sided spar the day before. "Those summons of his are no joke."

"He's coming." Baek Yoonho looked high into the air, his beastly eyes glowing.

Jongsoo looked up, feeling a strong presence rapidly approaching the lead ship. A gold and red figure with 6 black wings could be seen landing gracefully in front of the assembled hunters.

Mars finally landed, intimidating in his royal looking armor. Like the day before, he wasn't wearing his helmet, showing his face to the small crowd of elite hunters.

"Hey everyone." Mars greeted the top hunters in the country, who were all watching the powerful man carefully. "Have the ants moved yet?"

"Not yet. Just like the previous raids, the ants won't do anything until hunters step foot on the land." Yoonho answered, keeping a close eye on the infested island.

"Mars, just where did you get that armor?" Jong-In asked, appraising the expensive armor he was wearing.

"It was a gift." Mars responded easily.

"I'm the cameraman from the official hunter's reporting center." The hunter with a camera strapped to his helmet joined the small group, a friendly smile on his face. "Just like the name implies, I'm someone who specializes in filming hunters. The raid will be broadcasted live on television. Don't worry too much about making any mistakes, the broadcast will have a 10 minute delay."

He shook Mars' hand, not a single hint of fear on his face.

"I can't believe a cameraman is deployed to a dangerous place like this. What is chairman Go Gunhee thinking?" Yoonho shared with the group.

"Well, it's our duty to protect people as hunters. But you know Mr. Cameraman, in a S-rank dungeon, you need to understand that your life is in your own hands." Ma Dongwook voiced to the cameraman.

"Yep, don't worry about it. I may look like this, but I am an A-rank hunter." He spoke up. "Being a hunter is my side job. This won't be the first time I'm filming something from dangerous circumstances. I've gotten into many sticky situations when I was filming in dungeons..."

"I wouldn't be too scared, we have hunter Min Byung-Gyu here with us!" Mars called out the healer who came out of retirement for this raid.

"Heh. Thanks Mars." The S-rank healer smiled, looking more confident.

"Exactly. This will most likely be the first and last time normal people will be able to watch an S-rank raid. On top of that, after the third failure, people have been wanting vengeance on Jeju Island too." Ma Dongwook stated, nodding to Mars with respect. "Be sure to clear the island of the ants, hunter Valentino."

"You can count on me." Mars smiled to the gathered hunters. "How will you film the raid?"

"Once you start your offensive, the battleship will slowly approach the island, so that the rest of the country can watch the raid. We have also set up multiple drones, to watch different angles of the island. We're expecting record levels of viewership, so we don't want to miss a thing!" The cameraman answered easily. "Plus, moving the boat closer to the island will make it easier for the S-ranks to join the fight, in case it goes sideways."

"Let's get started then. I thank you all for your support in advance." The winged hunter looked eager, his whole aura began to shift, Mars' eyes began to glow purple. "I'll try to finish quickly."

- Mars -

I glance at the powerful hunters, all of them dressed for battle. Looking towards the island, I can sense thousands of monsters. The mountain further in stands out, flooded with magical energy. That must be the queen ant's nest, the ant king must be nearby.

My plan is to send some of my shadows in first, to provoke the ants out of their tunnels. I need to kill as many ants in the beginning, so I can turn the numbers advantage against the monsters. Since the island has been completely lost to the ants, my shadows can go all out, not needing to worry about innocent casualties. I'm not sure how many ants there are, but I'm guessing at least 6 000 ants are in the tunnels right now.

Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath. I shouldn't be too nervous as my shadows and I are considerably stronger than Jinwoo was when he dealt with the ants. But for some reason, I can't help but feel a bit of trepidation, as if a surprise is waiting for me once I begin.

Oh well, no matter what happens, I will clear the island today.

"Shadows, in position." I call out my shadows in groups, having already decided on a strategy.

Igris, Kang, Iron and my original shadows come out first, they will be one of the main forces in the attack.

"Igris... I'm counting on you." I place a hand on his shoulder, while also giving Iron and Kang head pats.

"I will bring you victory, my King." Igris declared, bowing with the first group of shadows, before they all dove into the water, towards the island. Iron cannonballed into the ocean, splashing some of the hunters waiting behind me.

Thankfully my shadows can swim.

Tusk came out next, my numerous high orc warriors immediately began swimming out from multiple directions.

"Tusk, as soon as the shadows are ready and in place, start the attack." I order my shadow shaman, who gives me a crooked smile before he joined the rest of the orcs in the water.

Baruka and the Hyakki were next to leave my shadow, their job will be to surprise the ants, once the chaos of battle has already begun. The shadow elves all bowed to me before they left in complete silence, going invisible towards the island.

My last shadow for the first wave frightened many of the hunters present, as my giant summon Cyclops began to march to the island, rocking the boats with each of his mighty steps. The rest of my soldiers will stay with me, to join the fight as the second wave.

"Wh-what the fuck?!" Baek Yoonho yelled out in shock, not expecting a giant to come out of my shadow.

"So what's your plan, Mars?" Jong-In ignored his wide-eyed rival guildmaster, he already witnessed me resurrect the shadow Cyclops in the Hunter's guild gate.

"My shadow soldiers will be launching an attack from multiple directions. I'll join the fight with the rest of my summons after the initial invasion." I explain to the hunters present.

"The rest of your summons? How many can you control in total?" Yoonho asked me, as he watched hundreds of my shadows creeping closer to the island, his eyes focused on Cyclops shaking the earth with each step.

"A lot." I utter out, as we all look further inland, where Tusk is in position, amplifying in size, the orb of avarice doubling his magic power.

Tusk prepared his ultimate ability, casting himself with hymns of rage, strengthening and combustion. His hood began to morph into the massive maws of a fire dragon, the beam of fire forming with terrible intent. After a few seconds, the charged up attack struck the mountain. The volcano had the vast majority of the mana inside, the queen and king ant must be further inside.

The enormous spell was seen by all spectators, the whirling flame ray creating a huge hole on the side of the mountain. Smoke and debris shot up from the top of the dormant volcano.

"T-that was the high orc summon I sparred with yesterday..? He was no mere summoned warrior..." Ma Dongwook froze up, witnessing Tusk's true power. "He's more like the advent of a Demon King fallen to Earth!"

Tusk's surprise attack officially started the raid, I could feel the hostile magical energy on the island explode in response. Thousands of ants could be seen crawling out of the hole my shadow shaman created, with thousands more flying out from the top of the mountain.

My high orc warriors furiously rushed forward, as Tusk began to shoot waves of fireballs at the insects crawling out of the hole, while he aimed his lightning at the ants flying in the sky. Igris, Iron and Kang assaulted the mutated ants from the opposite direction, my medieval summons fearlessly following behind them. My infantrymen clashed with ant soldiers, allowing my archers, mages and assassins to take them down.

Baruka and my Hyakki shadows revealed themselves, shooting lightning arrows aimed at the ants flying out of the summit. Each arrow took down a dozen ants, the volatile holy lightning spreading easily with the monsters so close together.

"This is ridiculous..." The cameraman tried his best to showcase each part of the battle across the abandoned island.

"When are you starting the second wave?" Cha Hae-In asked me, she was rather quiet until the battle exploded.

"I'm waiting for the signal." I disclose, feeling my mana slowly drop as countless shadows are being regenerated. "I'll leave any ants who get past my shadows to you guys."

"What signal?" Lim Tae-Gyu took the bait, sweating at the power I'm displaying.

I turn my eyes to my shadow giant, who finally made it on shore. Cyclops destroyed everything in its path, as it stomped towards the mountain. Hundreds of the winged ants began to swarm it to the point it was completely covered. Through the layer of ants, I could see the purple energy pulsing, the sign it was charging its devastating smash.

"You guys might want to hold on to something..." Hae-In warned the other hunters, who are about to witness one of my trump cards.

Hundreds of ants on it were electrocuted, falling off the shadow giant. The purple lightning was crackling all across its body, concentrating on its massive fists.

"Huh? What's happening?" The cameraman nervously asked, zooming in on Cyclops slowly raising its arms up.

The sudden static energy was felt by all, as the hairs on our bodies stood up. There was even a slight metallic taste in the air.

Tusk used his gravity magic, forcing as many of the flying ants down to the ground, leaving many monsters paralyzed under the giant.

Cyclops then smashed near the entrance of the mountain with all his force, completely annihilating over a thousand ants and any buildings near the impact zone. The resulting shockwave caused the destroyer boats to rock dangerously, the tremors surely being felt from far away.

"That's the signal." I shrug, before starting the next phase of my plan. "Kaisel."

The newest addition to my shadow army flexed its impressive wings, before the beast violently bellowed. Its roar shook the boat, ripping across the air like thunder.

"Holy fuck... Mars you're stronger than all of our guilds put together..." Jong-In's glasses flashed, the amazing battle proving to be quite the spectacle.

"Is that a dragon summon?!" Yoonho admired my S-rank steed.

"Wyvern, actually." I correct the guildmaster. "Time for me to go."

"Be careful Mars!" Hae-In shouted out, as I mounted Kaisel.

"I will." I give her and the rest of the hunters a confident smile, before putting my helmet on. "I'll see you guys soon!"

- The Ant King -

The strongest ant trembled in anticipation, sensing the large scale battle outside the nest. As soon as the blazing inferno struck the side of the fortified nest, thousands of the ants were sent to deal with the invading force.

"Keek! It's finally starting!" He said to himself, slowly walking through the tunnels as hordes of ants flew past him.

His antennae vibrated, the signal meaning hundreds of ants are dying by the second. Every ant had a shared connection, many ants were falling to the Shadow Monarch's army. His new Queen warned him of the arriving Monarch, able to control countless shadow soldiers.

Flying out of the mountain peak, the powerful ant observed the gigantic shadow, about to smash the side of the nest. It was too late to stop it, he flew up high to avoid the giant's attack.

Watching over a thousand of his ants die in a single attack, he screeched out loud, barreling towards the giant, aiming for its purple eye. Hardening his shell, he flew through its eye like a bullet, laughing to himself as the shadow evaporated.

"Where is the King..." It scanned the battlefield, focusing on the ugly red orc that was shooting his brothers with endless fireballs and lightning strikes.

He flew at the great mage with insane speed, taking out any shadow soldiers in his way as he blitzed through the battlefield. The enlarged orc soon noticed him, now aiming the fireballs and lightning bolts at him.

"KEEEEEEK! Too slow!" He laughed, slicing the orc's head off with his razor sharp claws.

The ant suddenly felt danger incoming, catching an arrow right before it hit him. He snapped the arrow into pieces, ignoring the electric shock it gave him. Turning to the direction it was shot from, he spotted the elf shadow with bloodthirsty eyes. The elf shadow clicked his tongue in annoyance, pulling out two daggers before he leapt at the ant.

He blocked the nimble elf's daggers with his claws, the two weapons dropping to the ground. The ant increased his speed further, grabbing the elf by the throat, squeezing until it snapped. While the shadow vanished, he noticed the elf's smile only got bigger.

A loud provoking shout from behind caused the ant to brace himself, a large black shield struck him, forcing him back a couple feet. Looking up at the shadow soldier with a goofy smile, he felt irritated such a dumb brute landed an attack on him. The beefy shadow charged forward, raising his battle axe at the ant.

He rushed forward as well, completely stopping the attack with his claw, before he tore off the shadow's arm. Not wasting a second, he brutally ripped off the broad soldier's other arm, laughing in delight. He clapped his claws together, crushing the disabled shadow's head in his hands.

"Ahem." A deep voice nearby rattled his exoskeleton.

The Ant King took a second, carefully observing the tall knight, with a bloody red ribbon on his helmet. This deathly knight was noticeably different, a cut above the rest of the shadows he faced. The knight slowly marched forward, his gauntlet on the sheathed sword.

"Kekeke... Are you the King?" He asked the only invading presence on the island that made him feel anything.

"Am I the King?" The knight in jet-black armor pulled out his crackling purple sword. "No, I am not... You are not worthy to fight my King."

The two powerful warriors stood face to face, a red energy surrounding the ant as a dreadful purple aura enveloped the knight.

"You have a dangerous aura, knight." The ant noted, as he extended his claws.

He screeched as viciously as he could, the sheer bloodlust alone would usually bring his foes to their knees. But the knight stood tall, steadfast in his face. He swung with his claws, aiming to punch the knight's head off in one go. The knight absorbed the thundering blow, looking unimpressed at the ant's fatal strike. He barely dodged the resulting counter attack, but he knew the shadow had enough strength to hurt him with that swing.

The ant flew back, getting a chance to look at the knight again. He just stood there, so the ant used the brief time to bulk up considerably, morphing his exoskeleton. His gallant opponent foolishy let him retreat, surprising the ant even more when the knight dropped the sword on the ground.

The knight leapt at him within a second, gauntlets shining with electricity. The ant dodged as many attacks as he could, but in his bulked up form he gained durability at the cost of his agility. The knight only seemed to throw punches even faster, so he resorted to absorbing the blows, giving him a chance to counter attack.

He scratched and clawed at the knight, slowing him down, trading powerful blows. Even still, his opponent showed no exploitable weakness.

A contest of strength will only waste time. If his specialty is physical power, then there's no need to match him. The ant's real advantage lies in speed.

He shot up into the air, staring down at the knight. He drastically compressed his body, the hulking ant lost most of his bulk, feeling his limbs grow longer, his talons even deadlier. He was about to launch at the knight when he suddenly realized an even more threatening presence was descending down on him with increasing speed.

Looking up into the sky he flinched when he saw a shadow wyvern accelerating at him. He didn't notice the golden shield materialize out of thin air, smacking him into the ground.

He was slow getting up, there was a crack in his shell. He was forced to use every ounce of speed left to dodge the bright spear aimed for his head, scrambling to create distance from the new hostile. The ant saw the winged man riding the wyvern, and he knew instantly that was the Shadow Monarch he was warned about.

"Come on, bug, fight me!" The Monarch in gold armor flew down, while the wyvern continued to slice up the ants in the sky. Dozens of ant corpses fell onto the island, courtesy of the unstoppable shadow.

"You're the Shadow Monarch..." He spat out to the winged man, studying his threatening aura.

The Monarch approached the knight that gave him trouble, sending the soldier back into the rest of the battle, where his ants were dying at a rapid rate.

The Ant King shot out his venomous tongue at the winged man, aiming to inflict the Monarch with his paralysis poison. But to his horror, the Monarch caught his tongue, forcefully pulling the ant forward into a shell shattering punch. The Monarch didn't let go, keeping a stranglehold on his tongue, yanking the ant even harder right into another power packed punch.

"Is that it?!" His opponent mocked him, slowly dragging him forward with his strained tongue.

Painful electric shocks spread across his body, as blood leaked from his wounds.

Knowing he couldn't take this beating for much longer, the ant sliced his own tongue off, needing to escape at any cost. He just needs to escape, get stronger and return. A deafening screech rang out from him, calling every single ant nearby for assistance. Hundreds of ants appeared by his side in an instant, all charging at the lone Monarch.

The Monarch only smiled in response, his shade flickered as countless shadow bears, yetis and golems came forth, stopping the ant reinforcements dead in their tracks. He recognized the shadow soldiers he wiped out before meeting the knight, each returned shadow shooting him an enraged expression.

"Arise."

He shivered in fear when thousands of shadow ants crawled out of their dead bodies, surrounding him and his ants. The ant used a new ability he received from consuming the hunters sent to the island, healing his injuries so he could flee. An overwhelming energy crushed him into the ground, leaving him breathless as the armored Monarch slowly came closer.

- Mars -

Staring down the terrified ant king, I violently increase the force of [Ruler's Authority], completely paralyzing him.

Name: The Ant King

Level: 99

Race: Insect

Thoughts about you: He must flee from you if he wants to live. His Queen warned him about you

Reputation: - 80

He's as strong as Baran was, probably even quicker than him. Unfortunately for him, I've gotten a lot stronger since facing off against Baran, leveling up after defeating the S-ranks in a spar. And I've already leveled up multiple times thanks to my shadow army killing so many ants.

Something bothered me, however, the queen ant warned him of me? How would the mother ant know about me?

Whatever, time to put this ant out of his misery. I coat my fists with holy lightning, ready to finish him off.

"KRRRK!" The ant spat out purple blood as I pulverized him with a barrage of fists until he went limp.

[You have defeated the Ant King]

Enjoying the satisfying feeling of leveling up again, I check the rest of the battle, my new ant shadows are now eating the soldier ants. Kaisel is unstoppable up in the sky, my wyvern is cleaning up the remaining ants up high. All that's left is to kill the queen ant and her royal guard ants, my shadow army can take care of the rest of the A-rank ant monsters outside.

Inspecting the dead ant, the fearsome aura radiating is impressive. The corpse is viscerally interacting with the mana around it, creating a rather vile scent. Most shadow candidates have a small black sphere of mana I can manipulate, but this ant's was more like a dynamic shadow orb, thick smoke leaking from it.

"Arise, Beru." I shout out with a grin on my face, ready to add a heavy hitter to my legion.

- Thomas Andre (Scavenger Guild) -

"How is it?" Laura asked the Scavenger guildmaster, who was glued to the television, watching Mars defeat the immensely powerful ant monster.

"Laura... Make contact with Mars as soon as the raid is completed." He ordered his beloved secretary. "I must have him!"

He crushed the remote in his hands, feeling inspired after watching Mars in action.

"Yes, sir." She diligently replied, getting ready to setup a meeting with the newest National rank hunter.

"Ah one more thing. Where is Dongsoo?" He remembered his ace hunter has business in Korea.

"He is still looking for his brother's murderer, Kang Taeshik." Laura answered, always keeping tabs on the volatile hunter. "Our guild's investigation team can't even find a trace of Inspector Taeshik. It's much more likely he either fled the country, or is dead."

"Shit... They seriously can't find a measly B-ranker? Tell the team they're all fired if they don't find him in the next 48 hours, dead or alive." He ruthlessly ordered, knowing how unpredictable his Hwang Dongsoo could be. "Keep a close eye on Dongsoo, make sure he doesn't piss off the old chairman or Mars."

- Baek Yoonho (White Tiger Guild) -

The Korean hunters on the boat were speechless, witnessing a single hunter and his unbelievable army of shadow soldiers clear out the island that gave so many Koreans grief. The hunters who weren't watching with their mouths agape at Mars' army in battle with the ants were instead watching the live feed on their phones, where the cameraman zoomed in on and switched between the battles happening simultaneously across the island.

He was amazed after Mars' giant summon unleashed a destructive lightning earthquake, he could still feel the way his bones rattled from the impact. Peering into the sky, his beastly eyes let him watch Mars' wyvern shadow, killing dozens of ants by the second, countless ant corpses were raining down upon them.

"Would we have been able to clear the island without Mars?" He asked, finally breaking the quiet tension on the destroyer.

"I don't know..." Choi Jong-In answered him.

"Especially that bloodthirsty ant..." Hae-In commented, a handkerchief was covering her nose. "I can still smell it from here..."

The S-rankers had gathered around Choi Jong-In's tablet, watching Igris and Mars confront the repulsive boss ant.

- Mars -

Resurrecting Beru was different than any previous shadow. As soon as [Shadow Extraction] activated, I blacked out for a second. But now, I can't help but smile. My most highly anticipated shadow has finally joined, a huge black ant with four purple wings, towering over me.

[Beru - General]

He dropped down to a knee, my grin widening even more as I feel his increased power as a shadow soldier. I wonder if Igris is still stronger than him now?

"Beru...You were originally born to be the ultimate killing machine. As one of my Shadow Generals, you will be one of my most fearsome weapons." I place a hand on his sturdy shoulder, feeling his unbreakable shadow shell. "You will lead the rest of the relentless shadow ants, where you will show our enemies no mercy."

"My Liege..." Beru answered my call, still on one knee. "I will execute every one of your orders... Without fail."

"I'm expecting big things from you, Beru." I smile, pulling my newest shadow up. "Tell me, how does it feel to be a shadow soldier?"

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious what a new shadow feels, immediately after being revived.

"I... am not dead, but reborn by your boundless power..." The shadow ant placed his right arm over his heart, as if pledging to me. "I have happiness overflowing inside me... I will always follow you, my Liege..."

"Interesting." I pat him on the back. "I'm excited to have you as one of my shadow Generals."

I order my other shadow soldiers to take care of the rest of the ants, while I go and finish off the queen ant in the nest.

"Beru, with me." I order the former ant king to follow me. He and I should be more than enough to take care of the mother ant and her royal protectors.

As I approach the entrance of the mountain, a foreboding feeling goes off in my gut. The closer I get, the strange sensation grows louder, my wings throb in caution, as alarm bells go off in my head.

A Monarch is nearby.

Thanks Ashborn, I've got a skin-crawling idea of which one it is. Which Monarch could possibly be on the insect-infested island?

The insane magical energy inside the cave makes a lot more sense now. I initially thought it was Beru and the queen ant's combined aura, but I can feel it now clearly, there is an ancient cosmic-like quality to it.

"Metus, Esil." I call forth some of the demons hidden in my shadow. Since I'm alone here in the nest, I don't need to worry about the demons being exposed to the public.

"Mars!" My demon fiancée instantly greeted me with a hug.

"It's good to be out of your shadow, Lord Mars." Metus cracked his bones, looking around the cavernous tunnels.

The two demons were accompanied by ten demon knights, who were all ready to die for me at a moments notice.

"It's good to see you both." I look fondly to both of them. "I hope it wasn't too horrible in my shadow..."

"No it was quite comfortable! We all have plenty of space, and we can interact with your shadow soldiers whenever they're not summoned by you." Esil reassured me.

"I'm glad." I turn to Beru who was waiting patiently. "Beru. This is my betrothed: Queen Esil of the Radiru demon clan, and my demon lich General Metus."

"Ah! My Queen!" Beru dropped down to one knee once again, giving her puppy dog eyes.

"Er... Nice to meet you, Beru." Esil awkwardly greeted the peculiar ant. "You must be quite strong, to take out some of Mars' strongest shadows so easily."

The demons have a front row seat to whatever I'm doing while they're in my shadow, just like any regular shadow soldiers.

"Beru, I look forward to slaughtering our enemies together, in the name of Mars." Metus welcomed him.

I suddenly feel a chill go down my spine, these two devoted servants of mine might give others the wrong impression about me.

"Let's go." I order the small group to continue, Beru leading us through the maze-like tunnel system the ants have created.

- Later -

After a surprisingly long walk, I finally arrive in the queen ant's chambers. There is no giant mother ant to be found, only a busty woman seated on a glowing green throne. Dozens of giant red ants surround her. Each of the royal guards are at S-rank strength. The Monarch of Plagues' red eyes shine at me with mysterious intent.

"Welcome, Shadow Monarch." The Queen of Insects greeted me with a sharp smile, her insectile hands open wide. "I've been expecting you."

- BONUS -

Liu Zhigang (Chinese Hunters Association)

Sea of China

"A small colony of ants is coming towards us!" A Chinese captain screamed out. "Commander, should I shoot?!"

His hands were shaking, ready to shoot magically infused ballistic missiles at the ants descending on them.

"No, wait a moment. Since the Hero wants to take care of them on his own." The commander put his hands up, in full faith of their own National-ranked hunter.

Standing alone on the warship, a broad man stood, two swords behind his back.

"There sure are a lot." Liu Zhigang, The Hero of China, tried to count how many flying ants were in the horde. "Rest in peace in the ocean."

A red energy erupted in him, as he grabbed his weapons. In the blink of an eye, two massive energy-based attacks were generated from his sword, killing all of the ants instantly. Their sliced up bodies fell into the ocean unceremoniously.

"Instead of these small fries, if the one that fought Valentino Mars was still alive... Then it would have been more exciting." He placed his swords back into their sheaths. "Such a shame."