Building the Strongest Undead Empire from Scratch

Chapter 248: Man-eating ant kingdom

Upon entering the Dark Forest, the group decided to proceed on foot, guided by a specter, as they ventured deeper into the forest.

Along the way, they encountered numerous creatures, such as giant spiders and black worms with sharp fangs—creatures that made Xiao Hui scream in fright.

Most of these creatures were only Commanding level, living in the Dark Forest without any race civilization. The passing Monarch level undead easily dispatched them, turning them into undead that silently followed the group.

Intelligent creatures, sensing Alex and her party's presence, fled in all directions.

"These creatures are so disgusting," Xiao Hui muttered, stepping cautiously on the fallen leaves, wary of any large bugs that might suddenly appear. Despite her strength, she didn't act like a Monarch at all.

As they ventured deeper into the Dark Forest, the number of creatures gradually decreased.

Alex signaled for the group to stop.

In the distance, Alex had just seen a crow fly into an area and disappear, causing her expression to change slightly. If her guess was correct, that was the entrance to the Dark Forest's depths.

If not for the crow's sudden disappearance, she wouldn't have realized they were so close to the core area of the Dark Forest. From here, it looked no different from the rest of the forest.

There was an invisible barrier; creatures passing through it would vanish, like entering a different realm.

No wonder she had accidentally wandered into it before.

Alex suspected that once inside, getting out wouldn't be easy. This might be why the Dark Forest was considered a forbidden area.

Countless people had entered, only to disappear into its depths, never to return. The forest seemed like a giant abyssal beast, devouring all who approached.

Xiao Mu and Xiao Hui were puzzled, but Alex didn't offer an explanation.

Fortunately, they had reached their destination.

"Miss Alex, are we there?" Xiao Hui looked around, seeing nothing that resembled a kingdom.

Alex noticed their confusion and pointed downward.

"We're here. They're right beneath us."

Alex approached a spot where a specter stood. Though it looked no different from the surrounding area, lifting the fallen leaves revealed freshly turned soil.

Alex conjured a massive ice spike with her right hand and pierced the ground, revealing a circular hole large enough for a person to enter.

"Such a big hole—what kind of creature lives here? Rabbits? Mice? Or snakes?" Xiao Hui shuddered at the thought of snakes, her greatest fear.

"No, it's man-eating ants," Alex said calmly.

"Huh?"

The two were shocked. They had never heard of such large ants.

These ants, known as man-eating ants, were the size of an average human when fully grown. Their hard exoskeletons and sharp mandibles gave them formidable combat and adaptability.

With the queen's terrifying reproductive speed, no race on the Dark Forest's outskirts dared provoke them. Everything here could be their food.

They weren't very intelligent and couldn't communicate with other creatures, but they were known for their social behavior.

Even without high intelligence, they gathered to form a massive man-eating ant kingdom, creating vast underground caves.

This was just one entrance, discovered by a specter by chance. They usually sealed their entrances with acid, making them hard to detect even for undead.

This was a complete man-eating ant kingdom, with an unknown number of ants. They needed food and hunted outside, yet had remained undetected by the undead.

Alex found this puzzling.

The information about the man-eating ant kingdom came from other creatures.

These mindless creatures wouldn't call themselves a kingdom; it was a term used by other races.

Soon, everything would be revealed once they entered.

Alex hadn't brought the undead army for two reasons: the man-eating ant kingdom was underground with limited space, and the ants' numbers were likely sufficient, so there was no need to worry about a lack of undead troops.

Xiao Hui and Xiao Mu joined Alex, peering into the deep, dark hole.

It was pitch black inside, seemingly endless. The entrance was surrounded by a mix of green acid and mud, both disgusting and foul-smelling.

But Alex had already frozen it with ice.

"Let's go."

Alex's words made Xiao Hui nervous, but she didn't show fear and was about to jump in when Alex grabbed her.

"What's the rush? Let the undead go first."

"Hehe."

Xiao Hui scratched her head, embarrassed.

The undead, unaffected by darkness, jumped into the hole.

Xiao Mu and Xiao Hui followed, with Alex bringing up the rear. The three Lords and forty undead entered the hole.

The entrance was a winding, downward tunnel, like a slide.

At the bottom was a slightly larger platform where the undead gathered. Xiao Mu could have landed steadily, but Xiao Hui fell on top of him, knocking him down.

"Ouch!"

Xiao Hui rubbed her head and stood up.

"Hey? Xiao Mu, why are you underneath?"

Xiao Mu stood up, brushing off the dirt, his face dark. He conjured a light ball to illuminate the area.

Alex floated down from the tunnel entrance.

The circular platform had dozens of tunnels leading in different directions, like a maze.

Alex had anticipated this. The man-eating ants' caves were complex, and only they could navigate them by following their companions' scents.

The tunnels were small, requiring them to stoop to enter, which was inconvenient. But Alex wasn't here to play a maze game.

Each tunnel would have enemies, so Alex didn't need to explore. She just needed to attack.

"Advance. Death Spirit, lead the way."

At Alex's command, the undead began to move.

With eleven tunnels, they split into ten groups, each with four Monarch undead, more than enough.

The Death Spirit created eleven clones, turning into shadows that entered the tunnels.

Alex, with the siblings, took the remaining tunnel.

The Death Spirit led the way, followed by Xiao Mu holding the light ball, then Xiao Hui and Alex.

"This tunnel is too small. It's hard to even turn around," Xiao Hui complained as they walked.

Alex, at the rear, suddenly sensed something. She conjured a barrier in front of Xiao Mu, just as a ripple spread out.

A terrifying icy force surged forward, freezing the tunnel walls.

A giant man-eating ant ice sculpture appeared in front of Xiao Mu.

"Damn, they can turn invisible!"