Insect Tamer's Ascension-Chapter 351. Foundation human, here I come!

They all began moving north, leaving behind the well-built camp with heavy hearts.

Theo had only lived there for a few months, but those months were filled with memories he could never forget. The training sessions, the sitting by the camp and waiting for the food to cook, and talking their hearts out late into the night.

Those were all the things the barony could never replicate. Life was simply way too busy there.

The group crossed the plain, mossy terrain and soon entered a rugged stretch of land. It looked as if something had destroyed the landscape, and there were signs of battle scattered across the ground.

The ape and the boar instinctively turned toward the baron. They could sense his scent all over the place. It turned out this had been one of the morning hunting grounds the baron went to.

They passed through the area without a single Crawler attacking them, thanks to the baron’s activated aura.

They had already had more than enough of crawlers now, both as enemies and as meals.

The only exception was the one permitted to travel with them, a Crawler with a red collar around its neck, following closely behind Theo and the Ant Queen.

The spider was perched atop his head, while the mantis claimed its usual spot on his shoulder, standing over the ants.

It refused to lose its territory, even if there were beings around it that it couldn’t harm.

After hours of peaceful travel, Theo began feeling a bit hot. The ants coating him were completely still, as if he was wearing living armour.

Only, this armour was quite delicate. If someone were to strike a sword at him right now, quite a few ants would die even if the blade never reached Theo.

Beneath the layer of ants lay his lesser dragon armour, adding another layer of protection.

Along the way, they encountered several interesting plants. The baron expertly harvested most of them and stored them in his storage.

But with some, the group watched him practically yank them from the ground, sometimes even getting only half the plant or flower in the process.

It was the only entertainment they had as they walked peacefully toward the unknown.

The journey seemed to have no end at all. More than half a day had passed in the repeating cycles of brief rest and long walks.

Theo has to make the ants shift from one spot to another repeatedly because of the heat building up around his body with all of them coating him.

Eventually, it came to the point that the massive hole in the ceiling grew too distant to provide them light. Now the only illumination they could rely on came from the things attached to the trees around, which shone brightly.

They had already collected hundreds to take back, yet there seemed to be an endless supply of them scattered across the whole world.

It was then decided that they would use a long torch to continue travelling through the night, which made things a lot easier.

Not a single beast attacked them all day, making the journey quite boring. The terrain was also the same everywhere and barely changed the whole time, making the journey monotonous after just a few hours.

Just like that, an entire day passed. By now, Theo’s and both the attendant’s feet had started aching from the constant walk.

Yet the baron was different. Every now and then, a faint smile would form on his face while he stared ahead.

When asked why, he would only give the same answer.

"I can already sense it."

Another half a day later, even Theo had started to see the faint silhouette of something shining in the distant air.

The closer they got, the brighter the light became, but they soon realized it was much farther away than they had thought.

The light had simply traveled far, and they still had hours of walking ahead, though now at a brisk pace.

They could have hyperjumped the entire way too. Except for the beasts, every human present knew how to do it.

But since Theo couldn’t store the worker ants, the crawler or the spider inside his beast space, they had no choice but to walk.

It was one of the major downsides of having such a large army. Travel felt difficult as armies needed a constant supply of food and also needed space.

Soon, they finally got close enough for Theo and the others to see clearly.

And when they saw the scene before their eyes, bright smiles spread across their faces.

_____

"We have travelled a lot... but doesn’t this feel very close to us, Father?" Theo asked, staring at the massive gate before them.

The baron only chuckled. "This gate wasn’t here before. But once the emperor’s people entered the gate too, another gate opened. And coincidentally, it appeared a lot closer to us."

The baron’s explanation made Theo nod.

"The one that opened for us seems to be a lot farther away," the baron added, and a grin slowly spread across his face.

Theo could recognize that smile from any angle.

"Father..." Theo called out, but it seemed he was a bit late.

The baron had already closed his eyes.

And when he opened them again, a chilling pressure spread outward.

Everyone felt it as a chill went down their spine. It felt like even breathing had become difficult. The mantis shifted into its fighting stance right away, as if reacting on pure instinct.

Only a minute later, Theo began hitting the baron’s arm aggressively, trying to pull his attention from the ground.

When the baron looked at him, he withdrew all his pressure at once.

"I burst my aura at half strength, and still, nothing is coming toward us..." he said with a sigh.

"This place really is a dead gate. Not fun at all."

He spoke right away but then noticed his son standing beside him and laughed.

"Except for the fact that you gained so much from it, son. I am proud of you. Very proud of you!"

Theo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but he stepped forward anyway.

"Before we leave, I need to meditate beside the gate and trigger my evolution, Father."