Evolution begins with an ant colony

Chapter 162: The Ant Monarch VS The Dryad Elders

The sudden implosion caught the other elders off guard. It was an strange sight as elder Thalanor seemed to disintegrate into a swirling cloud of fine sand, falling to the floor.

The other elders stood there frozen, their expressions a mix of shock and confusion. Nyressa, distinguishable by her flowing green hair, regal white robes adorned with root like golden embroidery, and strikingly green eyes, was the first to break the silence. Her voice quivered as she exclaimed, "H.. he instantly, destroyed it?!"

Meanwhile, Akun observed the sudden change. The after falling to the floor, the sand started swirling around, trying to form a weird pattern mid-air, resembling a fragile sculpture as it was clear to him that the dryad had cleverly created a decoy to confound him.

Musing inwardly, he thought, "Yup, it was a dummy, alright. These dryads are proving to be quite the interesting opponents."

Upon witnessing Akun’s actions with the decoy of elder Thalanor, elder Aelorin found herself deep in thought. Her contemplation led her to wonder, "Thalanor’s plan to use a clone to get a basic idea of how strong this man might be was a good one, after he creates the clone it would have half of his strength, but it was instantly destroyed. How did this man destroy the clone in an instant?

He didn’t seem to cast any spells. What was it then? The more I see, the grimmer our reality seems to become."

Akun retracted his hand used to eliminate the clone with aspect power. His thoughts raced as he pondered, "If that’s a dummy, then where is the main body?" He began scanning the area, searching for the true form of elder Thalanor.

Suddenly, a voice shattered the silence. "Looking for me?" The voice echoed from a distance, and as the sound carried closer, a figure came into view. It was a man with long flowing green hair, short pointy ears, brown earrings, and attire consisting of green and white flowing garments with intricate golden-embroidered flower patterns.

He wore multiple polished wooden bracelets adorned with small green runes and possessed a tall, slender frame. His distinctive green eyes emitted a unique glow. It’s was elder Thalanor.

Upon seeing the man in the distance, Akun’s thoughts raced as he mused inwardly, "how did he suddenly reappear there? Which status window did I read just now... No, I believe I did read his status window, but he somehow switched places with that clone at some point. But how did he do it while I was looking at him?"

Walking up to join the other dryad elders, Thalanor spoke up, his tone cold as he addressed them, saying, "We have to get rid of him with all we have." Suddenly, one of the four bracelets he wore on his wrists shone brightly, enlarged, flew off his hand, and turned into a sword.

He grabbed it as he added, "The fact that he can instantly destroy my clone with a single attack means he could do the same to the rest of us at any given moment. We should hurry up and finish him off," he pointed out, as the earth started to tremble as chunks erupted from the ground and attached themselves to his body, taking on the shape of armor.

Enjoy new tales from empire

The stone seemed to compress and polish itself until all surfaces became smooth. Suddenly, the remaining three bracelets on his wrist flew out of his hand and also turned into swords, as the earth beneath their feet rose up and took on an appearance similar to Elder Thalanor, and they all grabbed the swords.

Elder Aelorin, feeling that rushing things could be fatal for them, spoke up, "Thalanor, you must wait. We can’t charge headlong without a plan." Her voice tinged with worry. But her words fell on deaf ears as Thalanor proceeded to instantaneously propel himself forward with a huge burst of speed that left a massive crater where he once stood, and a huge dust cloud billowed into the air.

While he propelled himself forward, Thalanor replied with a cold tone as he reassured Aelorin, "Don’t worry, Aelorin. How old is this child? The oldest he could be would be a few decades at best. His combat experience is nowhere close to mine.

I survived the great dragonic war thousands of years ago." He said as his green eyes shone brightly from beneath the visors of his stone armor as he charged at Akun. His armor gleaming in the moonlight, the edge of his sword seemed to gleam with deadly intent.

Upon hearing his proclamation, Akun couldn’t help but smile beneath his dark silver helmet.

His eyes shone brightly as he said, "It’s who’s the strongest that wins the battle, gramps; survival skills ain’t got anything to do with it." He said as dark silver swords materialized all around him as he enhanced them with aspect power, then he sent them flying through the air as they approached Thalanor with astonishing speed.

While Aelorin’s face was etched with worry, Nyressa spoke up as she placed her hand softly on Aelorin’s shoulder and spoke with a calm tone, "We knew what the risks were before coming here, Aelorin.

We don’t have time for a plan; if there even is one, it would be to hit hard and hit fast." Suddenly, Nyressa’s body began to twist and morph; her limbs elongated, hair started to grow all over her body, she grew a tail, and she shape-shifted into a wolf beastman. With silver fur that shimmered under the moonlight and yellow eyes that seemed like they could pierce through one’s soul.

She then charged forward from behind Thalanor.

Upon hearing Nyressa’s words, Aelorin realized she had nearly forgotten that the lives of her people were on the line. She then resolved herself, saying, "How foolish of me. I forgot that this man has already spilled the blood of innocent dryad tribesmen.

It doesn’t matter if he was a god; such an act is unforgivable." Her green eyes shone brightly as roots started to sprout all around her, clustering together to form some sort of tree giant.