Ant Lord in the Star Realm-Chapter 567 - 546: Encounter with Flash Butterfly Warrior Again
Late autumn.
Xianglan Mountain.
Ink Orchid was tending to its orchid grass in the mountain forest when it suddenly looked up, sensed slightly, kicked off and soared, flipping over the mountain ridges, heading south through the sky.
"Dragon Cypress! How's it going?"
"Everything is according to plan. The third escape tunnel has already been dug out; once the winter white rice hardens it will be fully open. The ant colony has taken initial shape as well. Black Birch is leading a team to reclaim the land, opening up several nursery plots to cultivate a batch of Rain Tree No.1 saplings first."
"Then... Silver Cypress, Black Birch, and Tie Bush will live over there? They're not coming back?"
"There's a lot to do on Swinging Leaf Island, so they won't return for a while."
"And you..."
"Did the spring exchange with the Flame Spider Roving Merchant go smoothly?"
Ink Orchid, full of confidence, "With me around, it can't go wrong!"
Dragon Cypress: "..."
—It's precisely because you're there that I'm worried something will go wrong.
Dragon Cypress paused, then said, "The autumn trade and the search for Divine-Given Seeds can't stop. Tidy up in the mountain, we'll depart at once."
...
Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid quickly circled the Cloud Trace Continent, completed the autumn tasks, departed in haste, and quietly entered Wanglan Continent.
Swinging Leaf Island, West Sub-Nest.
Black Birch was leading the ant colony, turning over soil, repairing the terrain terraces, and reinforcing the ground-level ant tunnels.
Tie Bush was helping as well, bringing down a tree with a single pincer. Its large and small pincer limbs were asymmetrical, unpleasant to the eye, yet there was a certain logic to it—small pincer for little trees, large pincer for big trees…
The land reclamation work was in full swing.
Silver Cypress was lying on the mountaintop keeping watch, bored out of its mind, and was the first to spot Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid flying in from the sky; it sprinted down the mountain.
"Great King!"
"Second King!"
Under the Swinging Leaf Iron Core Tree Divine-Given Seed Tree, Silver Cypress, Black Birch, and Tie Bush greeted the arrivals.
Ink Orchid lightly tapped its tentacle in response, tilted its head slightly, and observed the surroundings.
They'd started reserving fruit the year before last, two thousand each year, so upon the towering tree, roughly six thousand green fruit of varying size hung sparsely.
In another two years, the Swinging Leaf Iron Core Tree Divine-Given Seed fruit would ripen for harvest, and they'd have an annual return of over a hundred thousand.
"Not bad!"
"Black Birch, Tie Bush, you've done well."
Ink Orchid praised them.
Silver Cypress: "Second King, you forgot about me."
Ink Orchid: "Where's the escape tunnel?"
Silver Cypress: "There's a water vein below the West Sub-Nest, but it hasn't been opened up; we'd have to go to the Central King Nest."
Tie Bush chimed in, "If there's danger, we'll run to the Central King Nest!"
Ink Orchid: "Dragon Cypress, Black Birch, Tie Bush, you get back to work. Silver Cypress, take me to have a look."
Dragon Cypress: "..."
"Understood. Second King."
"Second King, come with me."
Silver Cypress, Tie Bush, and Black Birch agreed in unison.
...
Ink Orchid also got a simple understanding and familiarity with the island's mountain terrain, the escape tunnel and ground vein network design, and then spent another two days finishing the search for Divine-Given Seeds in the rainforest on the island.
Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid took off with their wings, heading for the Thousand Reef Archipelago.
They approached at dusk,
Anchored on the sea surface to rest.
The usual routine: late at night, dive underwater, first arrive at the large island of 400 square kilometers.
Dragon Cypress released the Dominating Throne, half-submerged on the sea, waiting.
Ink Orchid landed on the island alone…
Ink Orchid habitually activated its Soul-Setting Ability for perception, suddenly paused, and slowly backed away.
Dragon Cypress instantly grew alert. "Second King?"
Ink Orchid walked on water, returned to the throne, "Above us!"
The clear night sky held only a crescent moon…
Dragon Cypress activated the Soul-Setting Ability again, scanning the night sky; again it tensed, followed by suspicion, then secret delight.
In the moonlight, high up in the sky, an unremarkable wisp of cloud.
Inside the cloud, the soul of a butterfly was in a sleeping state.
A very clever hiding method.
Very familiar!
Ink Orchid: "…Butterfly."
Dragon Cypress: "I think I know this butterfly."
Ink Orchid: "???"
Dragon Cypress: "You forgot? The dimwitted, goofy Flash Butterfly Warrior from Fire Wheel Archipelago."
"Oh!"
"Well, what a coincidence!"
Ink Orchid suddenly understood, delighted and puzzled, "Fire Wheel Archipelago is two or three thousand kilometers from Thousand Reef Archipelago. What's it doing all the way out here? Could it be…"
Dragon Cypress: "It's probably out looking for Divine-Given Seeds, or maybe handling business far away and just passing through. Last time, that dragonfly named Green Heart was also traveling from Mighty Spirit Mountain to Fire Wheel Island…"
Ink Orchid: "Right! Mighty Spirit Mountain and Fire Wheel Island trade with each other!"
Ink Orchid: "I heard this butterfly is pretty arrogant? Now that it's run into us…"
Dragon Cypress twitched its tentacle. "This butterfly isn't strong, but it's very good at flying away. Hiding up so high in the sky, it's not easy to catch."
Ink Orchid: "It's asleep! And hasn't noticed us!"
Dragon Cypress gave its tentacle a nod, controlling the Dominating Throne to slowly rise from the water, ascending steadily upward.
Climbing above the cloud layer, silently approaching.
A surge of spiritual power swept from the throne, and that inconspicuous wisp of cloud, floating high above, suddenly contracted tightly into a ball. The Flash Butterfly Warrior snapped awake, controlling its cloud to fly rapidly northward.
"Trying to run!"
Ink Orchid leaped up, spread its wings, accelerated, its figure flickering like a dark shadow, darted after the drifting cloud, and gave a powerful flap.
Corrosive Wind.
With a blast of wind, the cloud broke apart, exposing the Flash Butterfly Warrior hiding within. Panicking, it frantically beat its wings, dodging left and right, barely escaping Ink Orchid's pounce.
Dragon Cypress stowed away the Dominating Throne and activated the Wind Wings ability, dashing forward at top speed. Primordial Energy burst forth as Mottled Remnant Realm activated.
Awakened from its dream in shock and confusion, the fleeing Flash Butterfly Warrior suddenly found itself stranded in a world of ice and snow.
Illusion Realm!
The Flash Butterfly Warrior panicked even more, pausing for a split second, and suddenly felt its carapace pressed down, its body plunging rapidly.
The Illusion Realm vanished,
Ink Orchid pinned the Flash Butterfly Warrior's back, its catching feet clamping shut, locking the butterfly's wings tightly, forcing it downward toward the sea below.
Dragon Cypress followed closely, flicked two balls of clear water which slammed onto the butterfly's head, instantly freezing into ice, sealing its head in a frozen block.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Four more water spheres shot out, freezing the Flash Butterfly Warrior's six legs.
The freezing ability continued to hold.
The Flash Butterfly Warrior completely lost its ability to resist or struggle.
Near the sea surface.
Ink Orchid let go its claw, flashing repeatedly to steady itself in midair.
The Flash Butterfly Warrior also flapped desperately to slow its descent…
With a thunderous crash, it smashed into the sea.
The plume of water splashed up, freezing in midair.
For a hundred meters around, the waves stopped; the sea froze solid.
The fallen Flash Butterfly Warrior was tightly frozen in the water.
It tried to use its own Water System Primordial Energy to thaw itself, only to quickly discover that Dragon Cypress's ability was more than twice as strong.
"Hello there!"
Dragon Cypress came up and greeted, "Purple! We meet again."
"Purple? You're…"
The Flash Butterfly Warrior was confused.
"You don't recognize me?"
"I don't."
"You don't?"
"Not at all."
"Not at all?"
"I really don't know you two. What are you trying to do? Is there some misunderstanding?"
"A misunderstanding?"
Dragon Cypress said languidly, "Bodily appearances can be changed and disguised, but the aura of the soul is eternal. Spiritual strength and the mind can lie, but soul fluctuations can't fool an insect."
Purple: "..."
Ink Orchid also crowded up excitedly, greeting warmly, "Purple, hello! My name is Bayonet."
Purple: "..."
Bayonet?
Purple couldn't hold back and blurted out, "What an arrogant mantis!"
Ink Orchid cocked its head at Dragon Cypress. "This butterfly really is dumb. I just made up a fake name and it believed me."
Purple: "..."
Purple's aura stalled, and it asked again, "We don't have any grudge against each other, why are you catching me?"
Dragon Cypress: "No grudge? I said it before—if I ran into you again, I'd tear off your wings and hang them up in the King Nest as decorations."
Dragon Cypress waved its claw.
Ink Orchid stepped forward, then turned around to ask, "Yellow Stem, do we just rip off the wings by force?"
Dragon Cypress: "Of course."
Ink Orchid: "Isn't that a bit too cruel? It must really hurt, right? I suggest we twist its head off first, that way it won't feel any pain."
Dragon Cypress: "Tear the wings first, then twist off the head."
Ink Orchid: "…Alright then."
"No, please~"
Purple suddenly screamed in terror and begged at top speed: "Please, spare me! I'll never offend the Blue Island Ant King again. You can tie me up and bring me back, then get the Volcano Ant King to pay ransom! The Volcano Ant King values me highly and will definitely pay you a hefty… compensation!"
Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid both froze.
Dragon Cypress raised a claw, signaling Ink Orchid not to speak, kept calm, and asked, "The Volcano Ant King values you highly?"
Purple: "The Volcano Ant King trusts me greatly—treats me better than his Assistant Kings."
Dragon Cypress: "You're passing by here because…"
Purple: "Volcano Ant King sent me south to handle some business…"
Dragon Cypress: "What business?"
Purple: "Nothing much…"
Dragon Cypress: "Bayonet."
Ink Orchid raised its claw.
"Mercy, please!"
Purple wailed, then babbled at lightning speed: "The Volcano Ant King sent me to Mighty Spirit Mountain to ask if there'd be any changes to the Divine-Grade Fruit trade. If not, we continue as usual."
Dragon Cypress: "So are you going, or returning?"
Purple: "Returning."
Purple: "No changes, business as usual. Next autumn, the Divine-Grade Dew Pocket Fruit will arrive punctually at Fire Wheel Island."
Purple explained: "Both Fire Wheel Island and Mighty Spirit Mountain produce Divine-Grade Fruit, with a long-standing mutual exchange."
Dragon Cypress: "Oh—"
Dragon Cypress didn't press further, but shifted the topic: "Then you know who we are?"
Purple: "Last time we met, you had Strength and Water System Talents, possibly Wood Element Talent. Now you suddenly have Wind System Talent too—it has to be Blue Island. I thought it over, and this is the only explanation: the noble Mutant Stone Hunt Blue Ant King from the Stone Hunt Blue Ant Tribe!"
Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid were both stunned again, clarity dawning in their minds.
So, the large outer-sea archipelago on the west side of the mainland is called 'Blue Island,' and the mutant Stone Hunt Red Ants there are formally called 'Stone Hunt Blue Ants.'
And, as guessed previously, there really is a Divine God-Given Seed on Blue Island that bestows Wind System Talent.
Purple looked innocent and helpless, pitifully pleading: "I was so stupid—I never expected the noble Blue Island Ant King would travel the seas for fun. How foolish I was; I should have recognized you at our first meeting. If I had, I would surely have invited you to Fire Wheel Island for a grand reception…"
"What a clever butterfly, able to figure out my origin!" Dragon Cypress exclaimed, signaling to Ink Orchid with a twitch of its tentacle, "Kill it."
