I Became an Ant Lord, So I Built a Hive Full of Beauties Chapter 325: Training with Them

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Kai flexed his shoulders once, the faint traces of his apex form still tingling under his skin, then straightened and glanced between Luna and Miryam. "If you both want to see how this strength is used, we’ll train now. But," he added, eyeing Luna seriously, "you’ll follow my pace. No overreaching."

Luna smirked faintly. "I can handle your pace." She ant it both in training and bed.

Miryam clapped excitedly. "Papa’s going to teach Luna! I’m going to watch it! I will learn too."

They moved to one of the mountain’s upper open halls. It was a wide chamber reinforced with resin and stone, originally carved by the ancient volcano. The walls caught the dim amber light from embedded glowstones, and the ground was smooth enough for footwork but firm enough to handle impacts.

Kai positioned Luna in the center. "First, show how you’d deal with soone rushing you head on to kill you."

Without waiting, he lunged forward — not at full speed, but fast enough to test her reflex. Luna sidestepped, pivoting on her heel and using her montum to aim a low strike toward where his ribs had been a heartbeat ago. He blocked with his forearm, pushing her arm upward.

"Good form," he said. "But you left your flank open."

He tapped her side lightly with two fingers. Luna frowned. "I was watching you."

"Your enemy isn’t just what’s in front of you. They’re also where you’ll be next," Kai replied. "Reset."

They repeated the drill, each ti with Kai changing his approach — feints, sudden stops, shifts in direction. Luna adapted, her breathing quickening but her strikes becoming sharper. She caught his wrist once and tried to twist it, but Kai shifted with the movent, breaking her grip without force.

Miryam leaned on the wall, her tail swishing lazily as she shouted encouragent. "Faster, Luna! You almost got papa that ti!"

Luna grinned between breaths. "Almost."

Kai stepped back and motioned for her to hold her stance. "Your speed is good, but it’s wasted if your guard drops in recovery. When you attack, be ready for the counter before you even land your strike."

They went again. This ti, when Kai countered her forward jab, Luna snapped her other arm up to block his follow through move. He smiled faintly. "Better than when we started."

After several more exchanges, he slowed the pace. "That’s enough for now. You’re learning to read — and if you can read , you can read slower opponents."

Luna’s eyes brightened at the praise. "I’ll keep at it."

Miryam sat on a stone and spoke with excitent. "Papa, next! Play attack attack with ."

He crouched so they were eye to eye. "You’re still small, but I can teach you how to move so no one catches you. Try to use your wind control like this and this... move your paws like this and then do that...."

The next minutes turned into playful footwork drills for his daughter. Miryam darting left and right as Kai reached out, trying to tag her shoulder. She giggled each ti she slipped just past his grasp, until he suddenly switched direction and tapped her forehead.

"Ah! You tricked !" she said. "Papa, that’s not fair."

Kai patted her head. "And now you know what to watch for. Enemies will do and use all kinds of tricks. You must be ready for it."

They kept going until both girls were flushed and smiling, the air in the chamber warm from their movent. Kai stood back, crossing his arms. "That’s enough for today. Strength takes ti and the will to train when no one’s watching."

Luna nodded firmly. "Then I’ll train every day. I want to stand beside you forever."

Miryam hop on to his arm. "And I’ll be strong too! Strong enough to help you and stronger than my mama. Then we will roar together."

Kai looked at them both, the faintest smile touching his lips. "Then we’ll make sure no one can ever take anything from us. We will protect our own people."

Miryam tugged lightly at Kai’s arm, her golden eyes wide with the sort of innocence that always weakened him. "Papa... I’m hungry."

Kai brushed a hand over her hair. "Hungry already? You just ran a few circles around ."

She pouted. "That’s why I’m hungry! Training makes my tummy feel empty."

With a quiet exhale, Kai reached into his soul bonded storage cube. The familiar weight of a flask appeared in his hand, its contents shimring faintly even through the sealed lid. When he opened it, the faint glow of essence liquid spilled into the chamber like captive starlight.

Miryam’s eyes lit up. "Yes! The shiny drink! I like it. It makes stronger."

Kai poured carefully into a shallow bowl and handed it to her. She sipped, her lips glowing faintly as she swallowed. A soft hum of contentnt left her throat, her whole body warming with the energy rushing through her small fra.

After a few gulps, she paused and looked up at him. "Papa, you drink too. Let’s share."

Kai shook his head gently, pushing the bowl back toward her. "I’m not hungry."

"But..." Her happy face drooped slightly.

Kai smiled faintly, though his thoughts darkened. "Ninety-five liters left, " he calculated silently. "I can’t waste it. Not yet. Not until I find more. She needs every drop if she’s to grow strong. My Essence Eater skill will sustain but her growth is the future of this mountain and the desert."

Out loud, he said softly, "This is for you, Miryam. You must beco strong. Stronger than and your mother one day."

"Yes, papa. I will be." Her lips curved into a smile again, and she finished the bowl obediently. Her aura glowed faintly brighter, the warmth spilling into the chamber.

Beside him, Luna sat quietly on the sa rock, her head resting against his shoulder. She had watched in silence, but now her hand reached up, brushing against his jaw. When he turned, she tilted her face upward and kissed him.

It was gentle at first, then lingering, her lips carrying all the words she didn’t speak. When she pulled back, her hungry eyes t him with a steady, glowing warmth.

"I love you," she whispered. "More than words can hold. If I could ask for anything, it would be this... that ti could stay just like this. Peaceful. You, , Miryam and maybe two or three of our children. Always."

Kai’s chest tightened. He cupped her cheek, thumb brushing across her skin. "Then we’ll fight to protect this peace. I’ll give everything so that this type of mont never ends."

Miryam leaned against them both, her belly full, her eyes already heavy with sleep. The three of them sat there — father, daughter, wife — with the faint glow of essence liquid like a lantern at their side, as if the mountain itself had decided to keep their secret wish safe.