"Stop stop you don't need to do this please!" Hao Xuan pleaded while ducking towards the left, avoiding another piercing attack from the ant.
Meanwhile, the ant's body wobbled to and fro in the air. One of its four wings was already damaged and it would have a hard time staying afloat even if it had all its senses back, not to mention now.
A light yellowish-green liquid was starting to ooze out of its mouth and trickle down to the Mind Palace's floor.
Hao Xuan's heart lurched seeing that. It was bleeding internally already. A couple more such attempts would be enough to kill it.
He quickly bent down and minimized his frame as much possible to seem as small of a threat as he possibly could. There was no way it would be able to attack him anyway so he didn't need to be cautious.
"Look, I don't want to harm you, you can still do whatever you want, okay? Just relax, okay?"
The ant that was lunge in for another attack faltered seeing him unguarded like that.
"Yeah, that's good. I know you can understand me a little bit. No more attacking please, okay? We will both be hurt if you do that," he implored desperately.
For a few seconds, the ant genuinely seemed to have considered that option but as soon as Hao Xuan moved just a little bit, it was thrown back into attack mode and put up its claw-like arms threateningly.
*Krkrkr*
An ear-piercingly sharp sound came from its mouth as it positioned itself to attack once again.
Hao Xuan could do nothing at this point.
With gritted teeth he punched the ground, "God damnit, why won't you listen! I'm not going to hurt you okay, I promise!" he shouted indignantly as a last resort.
And he really meant it as well. That wasn't him trying to lie just to calm the ant down.
*Peeeeeeeeeee~*
Suddenly, another high pitched sound came from the ant.
Startled, Hao Xuan looked up abruptly. This sound wasn't originating from the ant's mouth, but its stomach. There was a gleaming green spot of light illuminated inside its chest cavity.
Hao Xuan listened to the sound with furrowed brows.
It wasn't a physical sound and was being directed into his mind almost like a spiritual sense, yet still a little different.
The pitch slowly went up and down. It almost sounded like a strange kind of flute, only with a lot more variation.
Hao Xuan closed his eyes and listened closely.
Some distance away from them, all his other severs were sitting in their usual spots and none of them even made a move. It seemed like they couldn't hear it all.
For five minutes straight Hao Xuan sat and listened to it. A series of pictures formed in his mind.
"What...are you?" he spoke out loud.
The sound's tone changed slightly as another series of moving pictures without sound formed inside his head.
Back in the outer world, blood started to ooze out of his nostrils.
This whole interaction lasted for a little over 10 minutes.
Hao Xuan opened his eyes back in the outer world and wiped the blood streaming down his face.
His brow was locked in a tight furrow.
"Baracus, how strong are hive queens?" Hao Xuan asked after a little hesitation.
Baracus who was actively working to heal Hao Xuan's injuries replied instantly.
"Not enough data. Further research is required."
"Give me a rough idea. What should I expect?"
"Little is known about Hive Queens. Most of the available information is either theorized based on their movements or taken from unsubstantiated sources," Baracus warned again.
"Yeah yeah I get it, just tell me."
"All Abyss creatures are classified into different danger levels based on a number of factors ranging from future growth potential, offensive, and defensive abilities, to reproduction capability. Everything is taken into account."
"This classification system starts with Class F which is the lowest grade, all the way to SSS which is the highest."
Hao Xuan recalled that the Hive Prince itself was a Class S abyss creature at most.
"So the Queens are Class SSS then?" he asked, cutting to the chase.
"Negative," Baracus replied swiftly. It almost sounded like he scoffed at Hao Xuan's query.
"Hive Queens do not have a classification. There is no information of their birth, their lifespans, their overall capabilities. The only aspect accepted by the majority of the sentient races uncontested is that they are in a category of their own along with 11 other Abyss races. If there is more to know, then that information has been extremely well regulated by the powers that be."
"Each Hive Queen is unique, powerful, and has an intelligence beyond the realm of our understanding. We do not where they e from, how many of them there are, or what they want."
"Once a Hive Queen enters a planetary system, it is deemed lost. All forces are pulled from every nearby system with no hope of ever recovering them."
"To date, there have been no 'documented' survivors of a Hive Queen encounter. They are ancient, formidable beyond words, and one of the deadliest threats to the existence of every other being."
"Thirteen Million years ago a Hive fleet Codenamed "Leviathan" lead by one of the oldest Hive Queens was responsible for the attack on one of the Ten High Heavens. Since then, no contact has been made; their fate is unknown."
"Does that answer your question?"
Hao Xuan was sitting there with his head in his hands. An indefinite time later, a helpless, faint murmur escaped his lips.
"Then.....what do I do with the Hive Queen in my Mind Palace?"
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