The Ant Queen remained reluctant to let Theo enter the Hive Link. And as much as he wanted to know what was making it act this way, he chose not to push it and kept himself out.
Instead, he decided to train right at the spot where the crawler was evolving, not wanting to waste any ti.
As ti passed, the camp stayed calm. Clara and Elias were focused on trying their best to get the rocky monarch out of the ground, while Theo continued training his body.
Eventually, the crawler erged from the ground, and Theo imdiately realized how much it had changed.
Crimson-red lines ran across its body, and it had grown in length too. But other than that, its base structure remained the sa.
For the next day or so, Theo focused on physical training while letting the ants recover their strengths.
The most important part was that the brood was safe. And fortunately, this brood was far larger than the previous ones. The Ant Queen had been able to feast on huge chunks of the basilisk as it began to rot, along with the other gigantic crawlers.
That sa day, the Baron returned to the camp, and everyone rejoiced at his safe return.
The mantis had grown so attached to him that the mont the Baron stepped into the camp, it beca a blur and perched itself on his shoulder.
That night, they celebrated being alive, since both sides had faced threats.
The baron was surprised to learn that such a massive creature had surfaced after he left.
"This doesn’t make sense; a beast like that should have attacked the mont it sensed my aura. To wait this long before attacking... I suppose it prefers preying on the weak." After coming to this conclusion, the Baron finally explained why that beast had even attacked them in the first place.
Everyone listened intently. That was also when Theo revealed that he had already partially tad the crawler and helped it evolve.
Calling it down from the branch above, Theo left the Baron surprised. According to him, the crawler was clearly a variant they had never seen before.
"That large monarch attacked us because one of its livestock beasts fled and sided with the humans. At least that’s what the little one explained to ," Theo inford.
"So these worms are nothing more than food for these bigger ones, huh... That makes a lot more sense now," the Baron could only mutter, staring at the new crawler as he observed the crimson stripes on its body.
"So we can assu that more of these ’Monarchs’ will attack the camp now that this little worm is here, right, my son?" the baron asked with a smile, as if he was looking forward to it.
"That’s possible. It already told that there are many more deep underground," Theo muttered. "There is also the fact that these crawlers are born from a much larger one deep underground; it’s similar to the Ant Queen’s colony."
"Considering their numbers, that beast must be giving a lot of births too," Elias chid in, prompting Theo to nod.
"Hmm." The baron fell into deep thought. Theo waited patiently for him to speak again. It seed rather important to do so, as the Baron had trouble concentrating when many spoke.
"Would you all like to get rid of this bigger crawler?" the Baron finally asked. "That way, there would be far fewer crawlers erging from the ground."
The Baron’s suggestion surprised Theo. He hadn’t expected his father to suggest sothing like that.
"Wouldn’t that hinder the leveling of our beasts, Father?" Theo asked. "My Ant Queen is still not at level 10 yet, and all the other ants are barely level 8, with most still stuck below that."
The baron remained silent, considering his words. Both Elias and Clara also remained silent, seeing how this decision was definitely beyond what they could advise on.
"Hmm, so you still want a constant supply of experience for your ants. I suppose we leave killing the bigger one for later."
"Let’s move on to the bigger question now," the baron said, making Theo nod.
"What do you plan on doing next? You ntioned that one of the requirents is already complete, and the other two will take so ti. Do you want to leave the gate now?" the baron asked, leaving Theo at a loss for words.
"Go back?" Theo murmured, lost in thought. He didn’t know for sure if he was ready to move out of the gate yet, but it had been a long ti since they arrived. Nearly two months.
"In my eyes, you still haven’t reached the level of strength I expect from you, Theo," the baron spoke again, making Theo take a deep breath.
"That is true... I haven’t reached anywhere with my sword training." Theo could understand where the baron was coming from.
"You’re right," the baron nodded, his words striking straight in Theo’s heart.
"Your sword skill is still lackluster at best. And do you realise what the annoying part is?" the baron continued with a grumpy expression.
"You’re not even bad with the sword; it’s just that you devote a aningless amount of ti to training."
The disappointnt on the baron’s face was unmistakable.
Theo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
"I have already thought about this, Father," he said, yet there was no worry on his face, just a confident smile.
"Hm?"
"I don’t plan to break through level 10 right now, nor in the near future. The remaining requirents... I can complete them far more easily than the one that I was focusing on," Theo explained, drawing the baron’s complete attention.
"So I would like you to train day and night with the goal of manifesting my aura, Father. Can you help with that?" Theo asked.
The baron didn’t even hesitate for a second. A wild grin spread across his face as if he was waiting for this very mont.
"Of course."
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