The Villain's Story

Chapter 975: The Jade Army.

One of the generals answered, his voice oddly soothing to hear. Alan confirmed he had more than a couple passive skills helping his eloquence, they also seemed to have a strengthening feature.

“We generals are capable of commanding the army to do your bidding, are capable of taking care of the Jade Palace in your absence, responding to any and all threats appropriately, as well as fearsome combatants.”

A hint of surprise appeared on Alan’s face and he asked.

“You are capable of using the domain menu? Capable of using the points?”

“Yes, my lord.”

That was unexpected. He knew they were well equipped for everything else, such as commanding the army, providing them with buffs and also being fearsome fighters, but controlling the domain system in his absence?

That was a nice surprise…

“And what about you?”

He turned towards the champion, who immediately responded.

“I am the Champion of the Jade Palace, my Lord. I am second only to you, capable of everything the generals can do and more.

I am the strongest combatant of the Jade Palace aside from my lord and the two serpents. Unlike them, however, I am capable of freely leaving the vicinity of the Palace to spread your name.”

Alan noted, finding the voice of the champion to be… eerie, to say the least. His voice was similar to Alan’s.

Alan nodded, and explained to them the details of his recent endeavour. Since the troops were capable of thought and more knowledgeable about the Jade Palace, he judged it to be appropriate to let them command the assault.

He wanted to see what the generals and champion could do, the termite nest was perfect for it.

“It shall be done.”

They declared together, and after Alan waved them away, they exited the throne room and began to prepare for the invasion, as Alan rested on his throne.

He leaned back fully, sparing a single glance to the domain system, which hovered beside him. Alan closed his eyes, and fully immersed himself within the Jade Palace, his mana left his body in droves, deepening his connection to the Palace as suddenly.

He could see once more, not through his own eyes or mana sense, but through the eyes of his troops, through the diamonds and other gems and crystal around the Palace.

He took a deep breath, as he simply waited to see how to things would proceed.

—-

The workers are beginning to worry, they begin to complain about a sense of unease, of lethargy, of slowness, a cold unlike any other permeates through the nest. They begin to falter, and turn back from the area it originates from, shying from their work.

Ludicrous.

The queen thought to herself, looking at the mighty Royal guards standing still in her chamber, they numbered in the hundreds, and each a powerful A-rank being, close to the illustrious S-rank.

She turns her head to the entrance of her grand chamber, where another worker appears, carrying with it a heap of pheromones.

Warnings, information, the queen guessed.

It speaks of a wall of black appearing within the nest, cutting off the path to the greater world. Cutting off the path to power. If an insect could frown, the queen would surely do so.

What of this black wall? What of it? It is merely a magical construct given birth by strong mana. They had most likely stumbled upon a special environment related to it. If so, why despair?

It is only special food for the colony, for the next generation. They shall overcome this hurdle just like they did the rest.

The natural treasures of the land would soon run out of power, forcing the hive to finally explore outwarss, into new territory to make it’s own.

It is only a matter of time, before a horse is unleashed on the inhabitants of the strange black area. Regardless, she must not grow complacent.

Form a perimeter around the black wall, create defenses, and wait until this next batch hatches. Then, we march forward, for the colony!

The worker eagerly agreed, and went back to convey the queens message. If possible, she would like to go there herself, maybe throw a few workers or soldiers inside to gain information about the area behind the black wall.

But the eggs need care, they need mana, they need power until they successfully hatch and strengthen the colony,

It is only a matter of time, and then, an endless horde will descend on the strange land, fueling the colony.

Becoming the catalyst for its growth. The queen nodded in satisfaction, tending the eggs surrounding the chamber once. More.

The future generations of the colony must be taken care of, they are the pride of the colony, their greatest joy.

And as she was in the midst of taking care of the eggs, an odd chill spread out the chamber, and the queen shivered.

What?

She questioned, unfamiliar with this new sensation. This shiver did not originate from a sense of danger… Rather, it was something else. The queen was feeling… Cold.

It was preposterous, it was unfamiliar, it was impossible! She had never felt coldness before, not in the literal manner. Her thoughts were many, but we’re broken by a cry.

The eggs cried, some broke apart, and fury engulfed the queen as she cursed the temperature.

You dare?!

She awakened her Royal guards, and roared with fury as another worker stormed the chamber, carrying with a heavy, heavy scent of pheromones.

Under attack! Under attack! It said, and the queen looked at it curiously. She asked.

Who attacks?

Was it the beasts of the city? They did come many times to feed on her weak children, only to be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers and become sustenance instead. Or were the metal men finally attacking? If so, that was good, she had wanted to get rid of them for a long while.

Perhaps it was the worst case scenario, perhaps the cursed giant

had made a move. Perplexing, that was.

The colony could deal with the giant, but only after sacrificing a number she wasn’t comfortable even thinking about.

The queen shifted her massive bos, and the worker responded.

From the Black Wall! Strange humanoid cold creatures!

Glee took over the queen as she realized. The fools had delivered themselves to the colony on a silver platter, they would be fools to not utilize it.

So what if the campaign into the strange lands had come earlier than expected? She welcomed it, the colony would defeat this for, and then it would expand further and further, endlessly growing.

Another chill permeated the surroundings, as the queen ordered her guards to assemble with the soldiers and workers… And crush this threat.

—–

The Jade Army was peculiar, if not downright unique in its own way. One had to remember, that regardless of the rank, all units from the Jade Palace were modelled after one being.

Alan Peccator. He was their base, and all of them inherited his traits and tendencies, his affinities, and many other things.

Most importantly, his fighting style. The soldiers of the army could not feel pain, their cold flesh was resistant to it. They could feel fear, nor hesitation. They were perfect drones that would issue any command that they were given.

An issue in this approach was that although a single troop was strong when compared to the average termite… They couldn’t fight endlessly.

Even if they would continue to fight with their heads torn apart or limbs cut from their bodies, they did not have Alan’s regeneration factor. They didn’t have anything close to it.

In the siege against the labyrinth of the Minotaurs, Alan had simply ordered them to attack, using their ferocity to his advantage to wreak as much havoc as possible.

Granted, he was clueless in military strategy, which was why he let the generals and soldiers command the assault. They quickly organized the army, and with the help of the mages, dug multiple holes into the nest and marched through the barrier of darkness, declaring war.

Although the tunnels underneath were narrow, that was only compared to old standards of earth. They were made to accommodate dozens, if not hundreds of termites. They were spacious, but not enough for the entire army.

Therefore, the generals split the army evenly among themselves, each commanding an entrance to the nest, while the champion chose to go alone.

The soldiers were tightly lined up together, organized, appearing to be in some sort of formation as the order to charge had come.

Knights mounted the Serpent beasts, and rushed towards the nest, the termites finnaly appeared to defend the nest, and their soft bodies and weak mandibles couldn’t hope to stop the charge of the powerful serpent beasts. They tore through the front line, going as deep as they could before finally unleashing their mana for a giant spell.

Their charge had been straight forward, it did not kill most of the termites, but they did not need to.

The army closing in on them would do the job.