The local cultivators of the Twin Soul Sect seemed to be both annoyed by but also inured to the presence of typical black ants. This made the Son of the Queen’s task more achievable, as they appeared to have many layers of formations about. And relevantly, some of those barriers would take note of small disturbances.

He was no expert on formations and the ravages of time, but the Son of the Queen thought that the formations looked to predate the current war. It was not unreasonable, as the extermination of void ants in the past was a known event- though the only details that had made it out were through the Great Queen, whose knowledge was limited by what her mother told her, and so on.

But according to information from Everheart- so dubious in some respects- there had been concerted efforts by the upper realms to wipe them out. And the void ants couldn’t deny that it made sense. They were a threat.

Since they very much preferred to continue existing, seeking friends and allies among the humans was the best choice. It would have been a good idea regardless, as humans could do many things void ants couldn’t do, like reaching high shelves without walking all the way up a wall. And pretty much anything involving energy that wasn’t eating it. That included growing big fancy crops that were very tasty.

Ultimately, the fact that there was forewarning both from the void ants presence in the war and from previous times meant that there could be plans to take out intruders like them… and sacrificing normal black ants was much more palatable than his own people. They probably couldn’t even comprehend pain. Though optimally, the regular ants would also get out alive and healthy.

Simple poison traps didn’t work on void ants- they knew better than to eat random things. And they knew better than to eat random things charged with energy somewhere humans wouldn’t normally leave them, no matter how tempting the energy.

So far, there weren’t any signs the humans actually anticipated void ants at this particular place and time. Specifically, they hadn’t updated or maintained some of their defenses. The infiltration group had spotted a few simple traps that may have been meant to take them out. Simple disruptions in a certain barrier resulted in boiling water being poured over the floor, which then flowed to a certain drain in the middle of the room.

A lethal trap… if it worked perfectly. But there were small ridges and bumps at the edges of the room, and the water didn’t spray everywhere. Human cultivators would not be harmed by even the hottest water without natural energy boosting its power, however they would not like their fancy carpets and papers to be damaged. So the distribution systems were inefficient.

It was still horrifying to watch something that looked similar to his own people be burned and drowned, but they were simple insects. That was what the Son of the Queen reminded himself. The traps seemed to trigger after a few moments- giving time for unsuspecting victims to properly enter the room. If traps hadn’t been anticipated, it could have been a disaster.

-----

Humans entered the room as they watched from a crack.

“Ugh, the floor is wet again,” one female complained to another. The Son of the Queen tensed up. Would they figure out their ploy?

“Think it’s bookworms again?” the other asked.

“Or the formations getting old. Seriously, why do we even have water conjuration systems?”

The second one shrugged. “I’ve been places where the formations were lax and there were things skittering around, consuming centuries old scrolls. This isn’t so bad. And you can learn a technique to dry out the floor if you care so much.”

“And what, become a janitor? No thanks, menial labor isn’t for me.”

Listening to humans provided useful information… mixed in with large amounts of useless information. Why did it matter if they were uncomfortable? It didn’t make walking any slower. There wasn’t even enough water for them to slip, and it would dry up momentarily.

The Son of the Queen and his whole squad continued to watch and listen for hours, as the disciples perused the shelves of the small library. Or perhaps it was a room for document storage, as humans tended to keep those things for larger exchanges of money instead of simply sharing resources with each other as needed. Though that was sensible, with humans not all working towards common purposes.

A rattling on the door. Then some human curses. One of the disciples walked over to the door and opened it. “Did you forget your token?”

The disciple outside sighed, a deeper voice. “No, it’s just finicky. The formations are damaged, so it only works up close. I have to practically brush my hips against the door.”

“Or you could pull it out of your pocket.”

“Too much work.”

Finally. Another practical piece of information. It had already been noted that the significantly larger disruptions of humans did not trigger the formation to react. These tokens might be valuable. But how to get one… and from who?

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Following humans was impractical, as they moved too quickly. But directly latching onto them was also a risk, as they might notice a sufficiently sized group following them. And even if a token was secured, it might not be sufficient for their purposes. And if they noticed it was lost- which might be fairly quickly- that could quickly lead to trouble.

As for keeping it concealed as they moved about… that was also an issue. Even a small object for humans would required dozens or hundreds of void ants working in concert to transport it, and it would be a beacon of energy contrasted next to nothingness.

-----

Another week of testing and investigating, and they learned some important details. They needed the maximum possible clearance to go everywhere, and those were only with elders. Disappointingly, elders were not always those with the greatest energy- a slight break from the norms of cultivators. However, it wasn’t that far off. All elders were strong, but not necessarily the strongest. Instead, it seemed to also include some manner of seniority. Limited positions meant those who came first would fill them.

What a waste. Void ants who could fulfill a role would be placed in a proper position, and they could always produce more underlings or leaders. Those with the quality of royal guards took more resources, but food and natural energy were practically unlimited with the help of human allies. The only way they would run out was if they grew greedy and expanded beyond reasonable limits. That was why colonies grew to a specified number and then maintained it. Rather than growing more populous, they could always establish new colonies.

The void ants tracked down information about these elders while gradually decreasing the visibility of black ants, the void ants guiding them towards gardens and natural fields rather than warehouses and kitchens. The humans were getting too annoyed, and they might go to some sort of harsh extreme. If they fully exterminated the black ants, any presence would be seen with greater suspicion.

Even though the infiltration squad knew their potential targets, retrieving a token was not an easy task. They would have to put an elder out of commission… which was problematic when regarding the Twin Soul Sect. They might have to accept that their chosen elder would reincarnate with memories of their death. The void ants presence in the lower realms had already been revealed. And a reincarnation plus a return message should take much longer than their mission. People were more likely to notice a missing elder.

There was the issue of the body, of course. If they were found to be killed by ants, a diligent search would be carried out to eradicate their group. Avoiding prepared humans would be much worse.

But eventually, they found a perfect situation. One elder liked to ride his giant lizard through the forest out to some sort of secluded cultivation spot. Hitching a ride on a lizard with scales that wouldn’t feel them would be much easier, and they could choose their moment for an ambush. Furthermore, such a large beast actually would have a more difficult time acting against them than humans, with their hands. At most it could roll over and try to crush them- but that was only relevant if the beast recognized where the threat was coming from.

And if all went well, the body would be somewhere it could be devoured by other beasts. That was the hope. If not, at least they would not search for a few days.

As for the issue of how to return to the sect… they would have to risk a mobilization formation. Void ants could move quickly by combining their bodies into a large shape, either spherical or cylindrical being preferred methods. The rotational power they could achieve was more than individual feet walking swiftly. It could even go faster than a human walking or running without energy… the downside being it was visibly obvious. And that they would have to carry the token with them.

-----

If the mission went wrong, all of them would probably die. The Son of the Queen didn’t want that, because he personally liked being alive. The others with him probably felt the same. Beyond that, of course, failing a mission for the Great Queen was worse than death. If they were going to die, they had to at least do it achieving their objective- like the incident that had marked the Son of the Queen. His body still hadn’t recovered, his chitin misshapen even as he continued to grow uncomfortably. There, the deaths of void ants had come along with their victory.

Optimally, they would achieve their goals and not die, which was why he spent so long on reconnaissance without even reaching any secret information just yet. And the time had come.

They climbed up onto the big lizard. Perhaps they could free it from its restraints when they were done. Better than being owned by humans who did not care for their own kind, let alone any creatures they could deem as lesser.

The void ants hung on the creature’s belly, away from where the saddle would rub. There was plenty of room for their numbers in a shape the size of a human palm. Their mass was also a negligible addition.

The natural energy of the lizard was tempting to nibble on, but they would not compromise their mission with something so mundane. They waited, knowing that this day the elder would be coming.

His natural energy stood out from the surroundings, a mixture of the Twin Soul Sect’s energy… and a layer of false Shimmering Spears energy beneath that. Most likely, he thought it impossible to sense. Just like they thought that their other energy was impossible to sense when displaying as another cultivation style. But to void ants, it was hardly better than putting a thin layer of paint on a wall. The truth shone through.

This was information that would be valuable to the war. The Shimmering Spears were already disgruntled by the larger Trigold Cluster, and knowing that their own allies were prepared to infiltrate them and many others? Valuable. But not sufficient. The Son of the Queen wanted locations of dangerous devices. Troop movements. Secret communications. Though of course, being too greedy might mean they couldn’t transmit any of the information.

The elder, Telman, rode out into the forest. His energy, so prominently displayed, might be missed when it disappeared. Which was why they waited until he started to conceal himself after half a day or so, presumably to keep his cultivation location secret.

That was when they moved, crawling outside his clothes towards various positions where they could snip at veins and arteries. It would be better if he fell all at once. And of course, they confirmed the presence of his sect token before acting- otherwise their actions would be less valuable. Not that killing an elder of the Twin Soul Sect was ever lacking in value.