Chapter 78: The Unknown Voice

Ethan felt the ground tremble faintly beneath his feet.

Although the movement was extremely minute and almost impossible for an ordinary human to notice, it was indeed happening.

The faint vibrations slowly became more frequent as countless footsteps moved through the tunnels beneath the Blood Ant nest.

The zombie blood ants that were residing on the fourth floor, fifth floor, sixth floor, and even the seventh floor were all rushing towards Ethan at once.

As for the ones that were present before him, they had already finished clearing up the corpses of the humans, leaving nothing behind except small pools of blood scattered across the dirt floor.

The remains of Owen, Derek, and Liam had already disappeared under the countless mandibles of the zombie Blood Ants. While the scene should’ve looked horrifying to any normal human, Ethan remained standing there silently, waiting for his subordinates to gather.

After finishing up, the Blood Ants came before Ethan once again, lowering their bodies and kneeling respectfully.

It didn’t take long for the other zombie Blood Ants to reach them either. Several breaths later, the entire group of hundreds of ants had gathered before him.

Their bodies filled the tunnel, while their crimson shells reflected the faint light that came from the deeper parts of the nest.

At the very end of the approaching horde were two relatively large figures.

Their bodies were several times bigger than those of normal blood ants, making them stand out immediately amongst the countless other ants.

The smaller ants instinctively gave them way, knowing that their positions were closer to their king than their own.

Both Eris and the zombie Blood Ant soldier came forward. Each of them was holding onto a large bloodstone.

Given that their sizes were comparable to an adult human’s hands, the bloodstones were easily A-rank or even B-rank in nature. Their surfaces contained a deep crimson color that seemed almost alive beneath the dim lighting of the tunnel.

Looking at the bloodstones, Ethan felt a little better than before. These were indeed among the most prized possessions of the Blood Ant nest.

In fact, when he had decided to flee from the nest himself, he was, quite frankly, disappointed.

It hadn’t been long since this nest had been created.

Over the past week, the Blood Ants had relentlessly created many resource points throughout the surrounding forest, hunting animals and gathering everything that could potentially help strengthen their colony.

Moreover, Ethan’s prized possession of dozens of bloodstones had been kept safely inside the secret treasure room on the seventh floor.

Those stones represented a considerable amount of wealth. If Ethan had been given enough time, he could’ve potentially used them for various purposes, whether it was trading them with humans, studying their properties, or perhaps even using them to strengthen himself.

Naturally, he had been too busy worrying about his own survival to even consider taking those with him.

At that time, all he had been thinking about was escaping since he didn’t know when the Envoy might arrive.

He didn’t know whether the Ironfeather Eagle could defeat the humans. And most importantly, he didn’t know whether he would even survive long enough to return to the nest.

But to think Eris, the zombie Blood Ant soldier, and the two selected zombie Blood Ants had actually carried the biggest stones with them.

With this, Ethan didn’t feel as much loss. However, the situation was still just as dire.

Ethan looked towards Eris as she greeted him softly while bowing in respect. "You’re back, my lord."

The zombie Blood Ant soldier, who stood just behind her, did the same. Although it couldn’t talk, it was intelligent enough to carry out formalities, and Ethan could clearly see the respect within its movements.

The two selected zombie Blood Ants had already mixed in with the countless others, quietly lowering their bodies like the rest.

Seeing them all together, Ethan’s expression turned solemn as his eyes swept across the enormous group before finally stopping at Eris.

"We will flee this place." His voice wasn’t particularly loud, yet every Blood Ant heard him clearly.

"Humans far above our strength have noticed our presence."

Even whilst hearing his words, the Blood Ants remained motionless.

"Many ants have already died, and more will inevitably die whilst we escape." Ethan didn’t attempt to hide the truth from them.

He didn’t make an empty promise that he would protect every single one of them. Instead, he simply stated what he believed to be reality.

"I won’t claim as much as to protect everyone when my own strength fails to protect myself, but I’ll say this." His eyes narrowed slightly, and his voice became sharper. "By the end of this, whoever survives this predicament with me, I will protect them."

Ethan turned around and began walking forward. "Let’s go."

The moment his words fell, Eris and all the Blood Ants immediately began following him.

There wasn’t even a moment of hesitation. Ethan’s words carried not a single hint of doubt.

He was sure of his survival.

Even more importantly, he hadn’t tried to hide his own weakness or the fact that the ants could die during their escape.

He had openly admitted that he might not be capable of protecting everyone.

But did that matter to the ants?

No.

As long as they could follow Ethan, they didn’t mind following him to the doors of death or even sacrificing themselves for his safety.

This was the extent of the effects of his SSS-rank class skill.

Zombie Sovereignty.

To place their king above everything that meant something special to them—that was the loyalty of these zombies.

Their own survival?

Their own freedom?

Their own lives?

None of those things held greater importance than the existence of their ruler.

If Ethan ordered them to fight, they would fight. If Ethan ordered them to retreat, they would retreat.

If Ethan ordered them to die, then they would willingly throw their lives away without hesitation.

However, even while following Ethan, Eris’s expression seemed to have grown dull.

Unlike the others, she was an intelligent monster with great potential. She could consider the situation far better than anyone else.

The fact that she had carried the bloodstones without receiving any explicit orders was the very proof of that.

She hadn’t been concerned about her own safety, but Ethan’s.

’In this situation, my lord could easily have abandoned us and survived on his own...’ Her deep green eyes quietly stared at Ethan’s back as she followed behind him.

’But he came to save us...’ Her soft fingers tightened around the bloodstone she was carrying.

’I’m afraid we will become burdens to him.’ Even just thinking about it, Eris felt a strange pain surging through her mind.

She understood Ethan’s strength, as she had witnessed him slaughter countless Blood Ants before they became his subordinates.

She had watched him move through the battlefield with terrifying ease. She had even experienced the overwhelming difference between their strengths firsthand.

Yet this time was different since the enemies weren’t ordinary monsters but humans.

Inevitably, doubts about the safety of her king sprouted within her mind.

Although they were nowhere near strong enough to even waver her devotion and loyalty towards Ethan, they had certainly exerted their presence within her thoughts.

’What if my lord gets injured?’

’What if he cannot defeat them?’

’What if...’

Slowly, Eris’s footsteps became heavier.

She didn’t want to think about it, but she couldn’t stop either.

For the first time since becoming Ethan’s subordinate, she had begun considering the possibility of his defeat. And perhaps that was exactly why she was afraid.

However, just when she had begun pondering over these doubts, a familiar, almost overlapping sound suddenly resounded through her mind.

"Do not be afraid."

Eris’s body froze instantly as her feet stopped moving, letting the Blood Ants behind her halt their movements abruptly as well.

A faint gasp escaped her lungs, and her eyes widened. "Huh?"

She remembered this voice... She had heard it before...

It was the same strange voice that had appeared at the time when she was evolving. The voice that had guided her through the terrifying process of transformation.

Eris slowly turned her head; her eyes darted through the surrounding Blood Ants, desperately searching for the source.

Then the voice appeared again. "Follow him fearlessly, even if it results in your death."

"Do not be afraid."

The voice seemed to overlap with itself, almost as though it was coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

"For he cannot be defeated."

The moment those words were spoken, the strange sound completely disappeared.

Eris remained frozen in place for several breaths. Her eyes were wide open as she stared left and right, trying to locate the source of the voice; however, there was nothing.

Her eyes eventually landed on the ants behind her as they were looking at her in confusion.

Just from their expressions, Eris could tell that they hadn’t heard the voice.

Eris lowered her head slightly and asked inwardly. ’Was it an illusion?’

For a moment, she remained uncertain before slowly shaking her head. ’No.’

Her expression gradually became serious. ’It wasn’t.’

She didn’t know what the voice was or who had spoken.

She didn’t know exactly what it meant by those words.

But strangely, the moment she heard them, the doubts that had been slowly growing inside her mind disappeared.

It was as though someone had reached into her heart and forcefully removed them.

Eris raised her head as her gaze once again landed upon Ethan’s back.

The familiar jade-green figure continued walking forward without looking behind him, his footsteps remaining steady.

Her eyes slowly hardened, a newfound determination burning within them. ’My lord cannot be defeated.’

She didn’t know why or how, but she believed it.

She believed the voice. And even more so, she believed in Ethan.

If Ethan was walking forward, then she would follow.

If Ethan were entering danger, then she would enter alongside him.

And if Ethan was heading towards death... Then she would follow him there as well.

Eris resumed walking; the Blood Ants behind her followed immediately.

"What was it...?" She quietly asked herself while staring towards the path ahead.

For a brief moment, curiosity filled her mind. But soon, even that thought was pushed aside.

There was no time to think about it; after all, the battle coming ahead was far more important.