Chapter 378 The Patient Ones (1/2)

Antionette and Victoriant sat in the secure chamber in which the Eldest was evolving. Soldiers and scouts lined the walls, Brood Tenders, with their soothing growth auras were in attendance and the two guardians watched all with a sharp eye from their positions on either side of their master.

”How long until the Eldest wakes up do you think?” Antionette asked for the fifth time.

”I have no idea,” Victoriant gave the same reply.

The two juvenile Queens fidgeted for a moment, giving their antennae a restless sweep through their knee joints, before they settled once more. The Eldest had undergone many changes over the last hour, a dramatic increase in size being the most obvious, but still they showed no sign of awakening. This deep in the nest, the battle could neither be felt nor heard, but it weighed heavily on their minds.

”I didn't think it would be this frustrating,” Victoriant sighed.

”I'm beginning to understand why the Queen is getting so restless,” her sibling agreed.

”At least mother can actually perform her function. She can lay eggs and create a future for the colony. What about us? We aren't allowed to fight, can't try to gain experience and can't lay eggs. I just feel so useless.”

”Cheer up, Victoriant. We knew we would need to be patient when we chose this path. If you look on the bright side, the two of us are closer to our next evolution than the other members of the council.”

”That's only true because other members of the colony risk themselves and fight in order to bring monsters to us so that we gain the experience.”

Speaking of which, after a short tussle near one of the walls, a soldier came toward the two of them carrying a heavily damaged shadow beast which was promptly deposited at their feet.

”Thank you very much,” Antionette called as the soldier returned to her post.

”I'm level fifteen,” Victoriant told her sibling.

”Me too,” Antionette confirmed.

”Then, who got the experience last time?”

”I believe it was me.”

”Alright then.”

Victoriant leaned down and finished off the heavily wounded monster with a quick snap of her mandibles. In truth, the two juvenile queens were weak fighters. Their large size was less due to a powerful physique and more to create s.p.a.ce for the numerous organs necessary to facilitate the egg laying process. Unlike the Queen, their evolution wasn't designed to battle in order to get the colony off the ground. The Eldest had designed their path with pure egg laying in mind.

One more evolution and they would be able to start producing a small number of eggs per day, and one more after that until they would fully mature as Queens, able to produce hundreds of eggs each day, so long as they were provided the Bioma.s.s to do so.

The two siblings absentmindedly consumed the Bioma.s.s in front of them. In truth, the pair of them had already maxed out their mutations. They only ate to stockpile Bioma.s.s for their impending evolution. Indeed, the colony had been willingly funnelling resources into the pair, hoping to increase the growth rate of the colony as soon as possible. The two of them already boasted maxed out cores and had both been presented with special cores some time ago. Five more levels and they would be ready to evolve on the spot.

The two Queens to be were interrupted in their contemplation by Tungstant storming into the chamber from above and rus.h.i.+ng down the wall.

”How is the Eldest?” the harried looking carver ant asked.