Chapter 24

500 gems = bonus chapter

Advanced chapters at:

www.patreon.com/posts/reborn-as-sung-124287235

***

The smiling face of the cameraman was a little unnerving. Especially the fact that he was looking at me. It was just that there was a camera embedded in his helmet that was broadcasting what was happening so that everyone could see the progress of this raid. After all, this was an important event for all of Korea. A new attempt to reclaim their land from the monsters.

We were now in a transport helicopter preparing to land on Jeju-do.

The Japanese were on their transport, we were on ours. And while the raid itself only involves S-rank hunters, not counting the operator. There are already many warships around the island with A- and B-rank hunters ready to intercept monsters that try to escape from the island during the raid itself. And also in Korea itself, a lot of hunters were called in for defence. I'm guessing it's the same with the Japanese. And the Chinese, even though they're not involved in the raid, they also have to prepare for an insect infestation. After all, we were preparing to stir up this anthill.

- Ben Gu, have you decided to join us after all? - Yunho turned to the healer.

This guy looked very tense. He didn't want to be a part of this, but the hunter was driven forward by a sense of duty.

- Ha, you'll be the first to die without me. You'll be the first one to get shot in the head.

- What? Why is that? - The head of the White Tiger was indignant.

At this time, the swordswoman was furtively glancing in my direction. And her attention was becoming more and more obvious.

- Hmm? Did you want something, Chae Hae In?

- Huh? N-no... nothing... - The girl looked away embarrassed.

She squirmed in her seat, but didn't even think about moving away.

- Hee... - The operator squinted at us.

And, just at that moment, the island gave off a powerful aura. The pulse of power emitted by the Japanese hunters was impossible not to feel.

- Here we go. - Immediately, Jong Ying concentrated.

A whole swarm of flying giant ants swarmed from the mountain that had become the monsters' haven. Feeling threatened in their territory, the entire colony moved.

- Get ready!

Soon the helicopter doors opened. But we were in no hurry to leave the transport yet. The first thing the magician had to do was clear the way. The familiar fire arrow spell was used to attack several monsters. And, here, I couldn't help but notice that Jong Ying was simply masterful at using this magic. It wasn't as powerful as mine, but it was more skilful in its execution. But, even so, I could sense in this sorcery a lack of understanding of magic itself as such. The hunter was simply using the 'skills' he had learnt from either awakening, or from the rune stone.

- Impressive... - The healer stretched out, watching the fiery explosions blossom in the sky.

- No..." The mage frowned. - It's not enough.

A few surviving ants burst out of the smoke.

- They wouldn't have been able to survive this before.

The mage was about to use a more powerful spell, but here I myself came to the edge of the hatch.

- Allow me.

Pointing my palm at the monsters...

And dozens of spears of black flame covered the insects with a fierce pop. The force of the shot made the helicopter shake. But, the insects didn't survive it at all.

- Not bad. - The mage grinned. - But don't waste mana. Trust me to do the magic attack, and save your strength for your summoning.

- Don't worry about my mana, it was a drop in the ocean.

- Ahem... - The warlock hesitated.

The helicopter flew over the monsters' lair.

- Let's jump! - Yun Ho commanded.

This is the moment.

While the Japanese distract the main forces of monsters, our team penetrates into their lair. Although, I have to say, the plan wasn't very good from the beginning. The point is that the Japanese distract the monsters, and the Korean team destroys the queen. After that, we all have to evacuate. The worker ants and warriors, on the other hand, don't live more than two years and will simply die out without the queen.

Except.

There is no guarantee that in the absence of the queen any other ant will not be able to take her place or independently lay a few eggs, among which a new queen may appear. Far not always in nature, the death of the queen means the death of the entire colony of ants. Much also depends on the particular species. And these monsters are constantly evolving. When the gates first opened, the ants were different, but over time they had to change and become stronger.

Still, some plan is better than no plan at all.

And this tactic may well work.

- The jamming generator is up and running.

So the regular ants won't hear their queen calling for help.

That's when we parachuted out of the helicopter and into the ant cave.

No one used parachutes. Hunters of our level simply did not need such means. Everyone had their own way to safely make a jump from a great height.

And here we were immediately confronted by a small group of ants.

The magician had created a fire net to block the exit through the volcanic lake.

- Shit, where to now? - Yun Ho looked around confusedly.

The many dark tunnels made it hard to figure out how to get to the queen. And there were no signposts provided here. Perhaps the warlock had some thoughts on the matter, but I immediately used my shadows to scout.

- This way.

Then he pointed to one of the passages.

Actually, I found out that there are several passages to the queen's chambers, but in the end they all come down to one tunnel. Although, it would be easier to take a different path through the ovipositor. But then Jong In would burn the entire brood. And it would be more profitable for me to let them hatch, get stronger, and only then let them go under the knife.

As I went through this raid, a strange thought occurred to me.

Given that the canon Ant King was one of Jin Wu's strongest warriors, would it make sense to keep the queen alive to create new ones?

And, actually, as for the King....

While our group was going through one of the ant passages, the strongest monster of this region, along with the aspen colony forces, came to the surface to face the Japanese hunters. But, if with our team also went a hunter-operator who filmed everything on video, but the operation of the Japanese team was not so closely watched. Of course, the hunters had means of direct communication with the cordon forces, but that was all.

Using my shadow senses, I could see the Japanese healer suddenly lose her head. I couldn't even track the enemy's movements. The shadow connection somewhat dulled my own senses to the level of the shadow warrior's own perception. It wasn't until the Ant King stopped that I was able to see him.

A humanoid figure, slightly hunched over, and covered in black chitinous armour. This guy looked more human than any other ant in this colony. He walked on two legs and actively used his two upper limbs as hands with long, sharp fingers. But he also had another pair of short legs that could well be called rudimentary, though they still retained some functionality.

- What?

- Shimizu!

The two guys hadn't even had time to orient themselves yet. By killing relatively weak monsters, they had relaxed. And now, just a moment later, the second S-rank hunter lost his head.

- Damn you!

And the final blow.

The Ant King seemed to vaporise into thin air, and the next moment I found him already in the sky, with a human head in his claws.

And a little later, the strongest hunter in Japan.....

Someone who was considered strong enough to claim the status of a national-level hunter. Ryujin Goto was confident, and even after the death of his subordinates, he believed he could easily handle the monsters.

- Are you... the king? - With an ominous gnashing sound, the words came out of the monster's mouth.

The swordsman frowned. A monster speaking a human language was quite rare. But not so rare that an experienced hunter would fall into a stupor.

- Yes... I am the king. - Goto grinned.

In a way, he was flattered that the monster had mistaken him for a ruler.

He was already ready for a fight and was watching the ant's every move carefully. Here, the monster moved its predatory chewing.....

And in the next moment, Ryujin suddenly realised that he was looking at his decapitated body. The insect's lightning strike had blown his head off, throwing it upwards.

- Not a king... - The ant flicked its chewing jaws dismissively.

Meanwhile, our Korean group came to the heart of the swarm.

And immediately, as we made our way into the spacious cave, we encountered a large group of ants. These were not even ordinary warriors, but guards, the guards of the queen who does not leave the lair.

- To me! - Tank briefly threw out a tank, displaying a growth shield.

After which several of my shadows stood beside him. Titan, who was himself a powerful elite knight and fulfilled the function of a tank. On the other side, a demon knight who also specialised in defence and wielded a shield and mace came forward.

- Hey... it's about time for support. - I remarked.

- Yeah, right. - The healer nodded.

He used his artefact in the form of a magic book to strengthen a series of spells. And, I could actually feel the magic enveloping me, filling my body with power. While the other hunters had a visible aura under the support magic, my veins under my skin darkened.

- Sung Jin Woo? What's wrong with you? - The healer was worried.

- It's fine... - I grinned.

The Black Heart beat faster and my power emission became more intense.

- Ha! I feel like I can tear up a swarm of them! - Yun Ho said cheerfully.

From the direction of the Queen's quarters, the guardsmen advanced with a threatening snap.

- Well... not the whole swarm, but ten of them for sure... - The hunter hesitated.

- Fight!

The tanks pushed back the onslaught of Guardsmen, after which our mage attacked with several fireballs, and after that the melee fighters entered the battle. Here I also sent a few more demonic knights specialised in attacking. I didn't enter the battle myself, just kept an eye on the swordswoman.

The blonde-haired huntress fought beautifully. Her movements were graceful in their deadly beauty. Behind each of her strikes, one could sense not only monstrous strength, but also considerable skill. While the other fighters seemed to be just strong self-taught fighters who dominate the battlefield through strength and experience alone, this girl had a honed skill as well. That said, I wouldn't say that in pure strength she was inferior to anyone in the group, well, not counting me.

- Haa... that's..." the dumbfounded operator exhaled.

He saw the main boss behind the backs of the guardsmen.

The Queen herself had decided to join the battle, feeling that her children were failing. And she was smart enough to attack not a tank, but a more vulnerable target in the form of a ranger. The healer and the mage were simply impossible for her to break through. We were in the rearguard and were separated from the queen by a powerful group.

- Not so fast! - The tank orientated itself in time and intercepted the queen.

Although she was a top class monster, she was only slightly superior to the guardsmen in terms of strength. This seemed strange since an extremely powerful aura was emanating from her. But it seemed that most of her magic power was directed towards reproduction rather than combat ability. Nevertheless, it was because of this that she was able to create a King that was more powerful than both her and all the practically hunters in this raid combined.

- Get back! - I commanded sharply.

- What?

- Aesil.

Several dozen demons under the command of my marshal stepped out of the shadows, pushing the queen back with their spears. The insect had a self-preservation instinct that kept her from tearing straight into the spears.

- What are you up to? - Jong In frowned.

- Leave it to me to figure it out. - I grinned. - Annatar.

The archdemon rose from behind me and took off, weaving powerful magic in his hands. Our mage-hunter caught his breath and simply fixed his gaze on my servant.

And the next moment...

A stream of dark flames poured down on the queen, devouring the remaining guardsmen. The queen, engulfed by the flames, let out a shrill scream. But, suddenly, that scream was simply cut short. The stream of flames died down and in the black smoke, the hunters could only see ashes settling on the floor of the cave.

- W-what? You just... incinerated her? - Jong In was stunned.

Even his magic couldn't turn ants into piles of ashes. His fire burned out the insides of the ants, causing them to naturally explode. Well, in my case... it was more or less the same. I just didn't actually incinerate the queen. Annatar's fire spell blocked the view of the camera and the other hunters. And, then I opened my gate, through which the queen was transported to the space between worlds.

Still, I figured I could still use her.

- The queen is destroyed. It's time to leave. - I'm making a statement.

- ''Yes... that's right.'' - Yunho nodded.

And actually, it was at that moment that we were contacted by the ship.

- Quickly retreat! The ants are coming back!

- What? They're coming back, damn it!

- Let's go, quickly!

The jamming generator has been disabled.

I guess that was the Japanese side's plan from the beginning. Let our group destroy the Queen, and then let the ants kill the strongest hunters in Korea. That way they eliminate the insect threat and weaken a political opponent. The two countries have quite a long history of enmity. But, it's also worth considering that North Korea could very well take advantage of a moment of weakness on the southern side.

And while the ordinary ants didn't even realise anything, they just didn't hear their queen, the King seemed to have a deeper connection with his mother. He immediately realised that something was wrong, and it was he who urged the other ants to follow him into the den.

- I can't hear... Queen... - His voice rasped painfully.

A torrent of wind pelted our group as an ominous figure appeared in the passageway. In the dark yawn of the tunnel, the King's black armour merged with the gloom around him. Only the glare of light walking across his chitin and the blazing red eyes stood out.

- Where....

The tank stepped forward.

But, the next moment the insectoid dashed towards our healer. It immediately identified the most favourable target. Naturally, as long as the healer is alive, the whole group becomes almost twice as dangerous. And I could probably let an ant kill this guy. I could use a strong healer in my army.

But...

Ben Gu was a good guy, actually. He had already retired and finished his career as a hunter. But, for the sake of this raid, he had put on his armour and picked up a gun again. Back in the helicopter, he'd tried to keep the shivers at bay, and so far, he'd fought fear the entire time to do his duty. That commanded respect.

And after all, I had already obtained one S-rank healer.

Here, however, I had a deal with my conscience that I wasn't willing to make.

And so...

The ant king stared at me dumbfounded as I just intercepted his hand a moment before it would have pierced the healer's body.

- You're... strong. - Squinted the ant.

Actually, it was rather strange to see how he could cover his head with segments of chitin. It looked like he was squinting. Although, in principle, these segments could very well be compared to eyelids. He clearly uses them to protect his eyes, but it may impair his vision.

- G-speaking... - Hae Ying exhaled dumbfoundedly.

The ant didn't even pay attention to her.

- You, the king? - He asked me directly.

And in the next moment, the momentum of the force simply brought him to his knees.

Not just him.

The hunters also retreated, feeling suffocated as my aura enveloped the entire surrounding space. But, the humans were only briefly touched by this power. Whereas, the King had all the pressure directed at him. His entire will to fight was suppressed. And yet, even though this monster couldn't even move right now, it was still the best acquisition in this campaign.

- Where did you come from? - I asked.

- We...

The King's chitin crackled. But he couldn't answer. Or didn't want to.

- Shit, we don't have time, there's more ants!

Sighing, I summoned the Greatest Shard and simply blew King's head off.

- Then let's go.

Next, on the way out, we had to face the monsters again.

Like an endless avalanche, the worker ants rushed through this tunnel, blocking it. The hunters wanted to block the tunnel and retreat, but I informed them that there was a horde of monsters coming at us from the other side.

However, the ants themselves did not feel very comfortable in these dungeons.

These tunnels were created by the first generation, who were more like ordinary ants. But right now, the colony consisted mainly of winged insect fighters. They felt constrained here. In addition, the lack of orders from the queen was confusing them.

But at the same time, ants by nature tend to systematise their activities. Even without a queen, they will continue to live as a single colony. And right now, they are set on destroying the outsiders.

- Shit.

- We're breaking through!

- Wait. I held the tank back.

He was about to dash through the tunnel with his shield.

But instead, I stepped forward and reached forward and unleashed a powerful spell. Weaving together, the wind and water rushed forward. And then a wave of cold turned the drops of moisture into icy needles, and the wind stream turned into a deadly blizzard.

If I had used fire magic, I would have just burnt up all the oxygen here. This move was too tight for the free use of such spells.

- How much mana do you even have? - Jong In was puzzled.

- Enough. Aesil, hold back the enemy on that side.

Giving the command, I told my demoness to destroy the ants on one side of the tunnel so we wouldn't have to worry about monsters that might chase us.

- Great, now we can go.

All in all...

It wasn't too difficult to get out. Although I must say, without my help, everyone here would have died. They might have killed the Queen, but then the King would have killed them all. And then he'd fly off to terrorise the whole of Korea, where there isn't even anyone who can stand up to him. Of course, national level hunters from the US could have intervened later, most likely. But until then, the King could bring real devastation to an entire country. And then... even dealing with the crisis, Korea would be left without its strongest hunters. But the appearance of a new gate has never been cancelled.

Only.

Japan has already lost its strongest warriors.

They still had some S-class hunters left, but they would clearly have a harder time now.

- Huh... finally! - Hae Ying exhaled happily after seeing the light ahead.

However, it didn't end there.

Even our group was not given a rest. We were recalled to reinforce the blockade against the scattering forces of the ant colony. But...

It was even interesting.

- Let me... - Stepping forward, I stood on Kaisel's back that was rising from my shadow. - I will destroy as many monsters as I can.

Those who had not yet seen my wyvern were now watching the scene with their mouths hanging open.

And I calmly climbed upwards. So high that it was no longer easy to follow me. After that, Annatar stayed on the wyvern, tasked with destroying insects, and I returned to Jeju Island.

And here, in the queen's chambers, the servants were already waiting for me. The shadows of the demon knights brought the bodies of men and monsters here.

- Rise up.

A triumphant shriek rang through the caverns as the shadow of the Ant King rose up.

Covered in mystical fire, he came towards me and got down on one knee.

- My King..." he breathed out. - I bow before you...

He was strong enough to be reborn as a general at once.

And, of course, I could only give him one name. No other name would simply not suit him.

- From now on, your name is... Ber.

The pulse of power elevated the monster, but not enough for him to advance to the next rank. He had yet to gain experience.

In the meantime, I turned my gaze to the other rebels.

A huge number of winged ants. And, separately, standing off to the side were the shadows of the Japanese hunters. They bowed respectfully, but, none of them could speak. They still needed to grow in strength to reach the rank of general. Although, perhaps that could be decided right now.

- You two.

The shadow girls stepped forward.

- Your name is Akari Shimizu. - Pointing to the healer.

The huntress with the huge axe sighed enthusiastically. Her skin, glowing with mystical flames, flared brighter and her hair flowed with ghostly fire.

- Lord..." she breathed out.

The naming allowed her to break through to the general.

- And now you. Kanae Tawata. - I looked at the swordswoman.

The power breakthrough repeated and, so I had another general.

The two girls stood together as I turned my attention to the next one.

Goto Ryujin similarly got his human name back and became my new general.

And the same pattern repeated with the other hunters. However, only the first three were able to become generals, unfortunately. After that, I put them all under the command of Igris.

Ber was appointed as the commander of my air force, leading all the winged insects, and afterwards went under Esil's command.

- Well... now let's see what the queen can do.

I stretched my neck and opened the gate.

Time to deal with this acquisition as well.

*** 

Don't forget to gift stones

And subscribe at:

patreon.com/FanFictionPremium