I Became an Ant Lord, So I Built a Hive Full of Beauties-Chapter 512: Terms of Teeth part three
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A few nervous laughs sparked among both sets of soldiers and died quickly. ππ«ππ²πππ―ππ¨π§ππ.ππ π¦
Miryamβs head snapped toward him.
Kai felt the surge of her killing intent like a wave.
He put a hand on her shoulder.
"Another day," he repeated, low. "Let me have this one. If I fall and he breaks his word, then you may eat him. Slowly."
Her pupils thinned to slits.
"I will hold you to that," she said.
She stepped closer, close enough that her aura wrapped his like a second skin.
"Do not die," she whispered, echoing last night. "If you do, I will make you regret it."
He smiled faintly.
"I am unclear on how that would work," he said. "But I believe you."
She pressed her forehead to his for one brief, fierce heartbeat, then let him go.
He turned away before he could change his mind.
The ramp down felt longer this time.
Every drone he passed watched him with a kind of terrible devotion. Some touched their chests, palms over plates. Some lifted their spears in silent salute. Yavriβs watchers tracked his descent with wide, dark eyes.
At the base, the stone gave way to sand.
Kai stepped off the ramp and onto the flats.
The circle waited.
Vorak watched him approach, spear grounded, expression sober.
Up close, Kai could see the lines etched into the generalβs plates β old scars, old campaigns. This was not a fresh minted officer burning for glory. This was a man who had counted costs for a long time.
The system, perhaps deciding that now was the appropriate time to be helpful, flashed a series of windows across Kaiβs inner sight.
[Ding! System notification- Target appraisal for the battle.
Scanning... scanning... scanning...
Subject: Vorak.
Race: Scarlet Antkin.
Rank: 8-Star Battlefield General.
Affiliation: Scarlet Ant Kingdom.
Title: Ledger of Blood.
Core stability: exceptional.
Aura reserve: 8800 / 8800.
Primary attributes:
Strength 872.
Speed 861.
Stamina 889.
Defense 858.
Will 904. (Note: A battle will just for the moment)
Advisory: all major combat stats exceed hostβs base values. Host Apex Form may reach parity or slight superiority in select attributes for limited duration.
Warning: subject possesses high order battlefield trait tree. Unknown conditional bonuses likely in duel context.]
Kaiβs own numbers slid into place alongside.
[Host: Kai.
Rank: 7-Star Monarch Devourer Ant.
Core stability: high.
Aura reserve: 7000 / 7000.
Primary attributes (base):
Strength 807.
Speed 807.
Stamina 807.
Will 845. (Note: A battle will just for the moment)
Projected Apex Plus modifiers:
Strength +55 percent.
Speed +40 percent.
Stamina +35 percent.
Defense +40 percent.
Advisory: with Apex Plus active and aura expenditure controlled, probability of duel victory against subject Vorak estimated at 63 percent, assuming no external interference and Crown remaining dormant.]
Sixty three percent.
Better than a coin flip.
Worse than certainty.
"I suppose it would be impolite to ask you to lower your stats," Kai murmured, mostly to himself.
Vorak blinked, then barked a short laugh.
"If you are trying to flatter me before we begin, it is working," the general said.
Kai huffed once. "Just taking stock," he replied.
They stepped into the circle together, sand crunching underfoot. The air inside felt different β not warded, exactly, but expectant.
Behind Kai, the ramp loomed. He could feel seven hundred eyes on his back, and more from the galleries.
Behind Vorak, thousands of Scarlet soldiers watched, shifting their weight, hands tight on their weapons. The princesses, somewhere safe inside the mountain, would be listening too. Ikea, in her tree. Miryam, in her drones among others. The whole crowded universe of his problems.
Vorak planted his spear in the center of the circle and bowed his head slightly.
"I am Vorak," he said, formal now, voice ringing. "Eighth star, general, ledger keeper. I come in the name of the Scarlet Ant Kingdom, under the flag of parley. I will not call on casters, crowns, or old pacts. My spear, my flesh, my aura. That is all."
He lifted his head.
"Who stands against me," he asked.
Kai rolled his shoulders once, feeling plates settle.
"I am Kai," he said. No titles. No list. He let the word carry everything it had come to mean. "Seven star. Lord of this hive. I stand for my mountain. I stand for my people. I will not call on Miryamβs teeth, Lunaβs tricks, or any of the Crownβs hungers. My spear, my flesh, my aura. That is all."
They met each otherβs eyes.
Above, Akayoroiβs command flicked across the Net.
"No one moves," she said softly but with enough steel to cut armor. "This is their ledger now."
On the flats, Scarlet officers echoed similar orders.
No arrows.
No spells.
No interference.
The world shrank.
Vorak lifted his spear smoothly, settling into a ready stance. He spun it once, testing the balance, the motion precise, economical. No wasted flourishes.
"Any last advice from your guardian," he asked, a trace of wry humor under the words.
Kai thought of Ikea on her branch, of Miryam in her coat, of Lunaβs hands still stained with other peopleβs blood, of Akayoroiβs quiet faith.
"Yes," he said. "Do not underestimate how stubborn I am."
Vorak grinned, teeth flashing.
"I would not dream of it white hair of the mountain," he said.
A gust of wind swept across the circle, flattening banners, lifting dust.
For one stretched heartbeat, everything held.
Then both men moved.
Vorakβs spear came up in a blur, point angling for Kaiβs throat with terrifying speed, his aura compressing into a tight, hard knot at the tip.
Kaiβs plates unlocked along his spine as he called Apex Plus.
[Ding! System notification- Apex Form+ is activated. Aura spend: 600 / 7000 and rising.]
His frame lengthened, his joints thickened, his veins flooded with burning power.
He stepped into the strike instead of away, spear coming up to meet spear.
Dong!
Steel kissed steel with a sound like a cracked bell.
The impact shuddered down both shafts, through both men, into the sand.
Around them, the watching armies held their breath as the first clash of Lord and general lit the morning.
