CHAPTER 786: THE BUG EMPRESS - CRIMSON WOMB MOTHER

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Let’s go back in time for a bit...

While Cedric was busy curing Travis from the backlash of his divination ritual, the councillors raised their alertness to the maximum.

Nicholas wasn’t the only one who heard Travis’ warning; all of them did. And their expressions turned gloomy.

Nicholas didn’t even know why his nephew performed another ritual, but he wasn’t about to doubt what he saw now, especially not after seeing what Travis went through just to get this message across to them.

Just as they were torn on what to do, they felt a movement and were alarmed. It’s a false alarm, though, since it turned out to be Cedric who sensed what’s happening and came to rescue Travis.

At first, they didn’t think they’d be of much help. Nicholas himself was about to interfere, but Cedric pulled through. The method he used wasn’t the most optimal one, but it’s the best one they could use at this very moment.

He saved Travis and didn’t leave him right away; he stayed behind to continue healing him. It wasn’t his responsibility to do so, but he did it anyway.

For this alone, Nicholas owed him greatly.

Nicholas had lived for a very long time. The people he could call family had been reduced to single digits, and Travis was one of them. He made a promise to his deceased brother and sister-in-law that he’d look after Travis, and he would’ve been devastated if he died here.

Therefore, Cedric’s act was of great favor to Nicholas and Travis, one that they’d remember and honor for the rest of their lives.

But that could be discussed later. Right now, there were far more pressing matters they had to attend to, mainly preventing the Crimson Womb Mother from getting into their territory.

"Patricia, for the love of god, tell me you found it," Gibson gritted out as he pushed his own machines to scan their surroundings.

"I’m trying, goddamn it!" She spat back; her tone was frantic too.

The other councillors did their own part too. Although they couldn’t be compared to Gibson and Patricia’s efficiency, they’re no pushovers either.

"There!" Patricia yelled as she pinged everybody.

She didn’t even wait for them. After she pinged the location, she immediately shuttled through space and appeared near the cloaked drone hiding the tiny creature inside.

The others followed suit, and once they arrived, they didn’t hold back at all. They purged the area where the drone was with extreme prejudice. We’re talking about total annihilation. Their combined might was enough to cause a complete void out, wiping that area to nihility in record time.

But surprisingly, the only thing they destroyed was the drone where the creature hid and the immediate area where it was. They couldn’t kill the tiny bug itself, which in itself was perplexing.

How could they, honored councillors of the Human Council and life evolvers who are a step away from becoming Primal Origin Lifeforms, not be able to deal with such a small and inconsequential bug that managed to worm its way to their territory?

"God damn it! We’re too late!" Urek snarled, clenching his fist in fury, glaring at the tiny bug like it killed his entire family.

They were, in fact, too late.

The tiny creature, somehow attuned to danger, sensed the hostility from realms away. In a split second, it sensed their presence and confirmed their identities as the Human Sovereigns, real ones this time.

There was so much it wanted to confirm first, but that’s no longer possible. If it doesn’t do anything now, it’ll die before it completes its mission.

Therefore, instead of waiting for its death to arrive, it preemptively used the last resort its creator left for it.

With a sharp screech, it reached out to its connection with the hive mind, opening its mind for transmission. It immediately connected to its creator, who immediately used their power to establish a more solid connection with the tiny bug.

This connection was more difficult and more complicated to form and use, especially since it ignores time and space. It’s not something that could be used very lightly, only in special occasions, such as this one.

The tiny bug was protected while this happened. It’s invincible and anchored to its location. It will stay like this until its creator establishes a path leading to its location, using the coordinates and the body of the tiny creature as a pin to open a passage.

This is why the efforts of the councillors were rendered useless. The tiny bug became invincible and anchored. It doesn’t matter what they did; unless they could kill its creator before the passage was made, what they want to happen will happen.

It cannot be stopped.

And just like that, the tiny bug’s creator—the Crimson Womb Mother—straight up waltzed into the human territory, bypassing all security measures they’ve ever used and created to prevent this very event from happening.

Her emergence didn’t kill the tiny creature despite the absolute gap between their strength. Hell, it’s already a miracle that this bug managed to do this much. And its continued existence might be its reward for all of its hard work.

"Well done, child. I knew I wasn’t wrong about you."

The tiny bug cheered and preened at its mother’s praise. It coiled and slithered to her arm affectionately, behaving like a good child.

Shifting her attention from this lovely and hardworking child of hers to the councillors, she greeted:

"It has certainly been a while, hasn’t it, fellow Sovereigns?"

She was gloating. Everybody could tell that much. This was no different from mocking their efforts to keep her away only for her to simply walk in anyway.

"You’re not welcome here," Nicholas coldly stated. The ice in his voice was surprising since it could rarely be heard from him.

He never uses this tone with anybody aside from The Horde, and the Crimson Womb Mother—their sovereign—was no different.

"Hello to you too, Nick. You have certainly aged like fine wine. Do you really not want to be my husband? I swear, I’ll be so good to you. Just say yes, and you’d be the Emperor of the Horde."

"Oh, and sorry about your nephew, by the way. To be fair, I warned him, but he didn’t listen. He kept peeking without permission, so I had to discipline him. As an adult, surely you must understand, right? Growing boys must learn how to treat women right, and forcing his way on women is certainly not the right way."

Nick’s eyes darkened as she brought this up, but he reined in his temper, refusing to bite her bait.

The Bug Empress’ words dripped with honey and seduction. Her wine-red eyes roamed Nick’s body greedily as if hungry and also appreciative of his aesthetics.

"Disgusting hag. Still at it with this agenda? It’s never going to happen, bitch! You have given birth to creatures whose mouths could stretch wide enough to swallow planets whole. You’re so fucking loose that we could probably fit entire chaos realms in you, and there will still be plenty of room left!"

Patricia wasn’t holding back with her insults. She held no kindness or sense of decency for the Bug Empress.

"Oh, Pat, darling. If you’re sexually frustrated and envious, just say that. No need for so much projection. You’re also old, but unlike me, when was the last time you actually got laid? Your pussy and womb must be as dry as a desert for you to act this way. Do the men around you not satisfy your requirements?"

"Well, perhaps it’s time for a change? I’ve got a lot of fine creatures to choose from; they all came straight from me. Say the word and I’d call them for you. Don’t be shy; you can have as many of my children to breed you as much as you want."

The Bug Empress’ eyes twinkled as she shot back at Patricia. She dished out as much as she received, which was quite contradictory to her elegant and classy exterior.

Veins protruded out of Patricia’s head. Oh, she was incensed. The men behind her stayed silent, which was the wisest thing for them to do right now. Patricia’s temper is like a powder keg; anything could turn into a spark that lights that up and causes everything to explode.

Well, here’s to hoping that she aims it at the Bug Empress, instead.

After leaving Patricia speechless from her rebuttal, the Bug Empress shifted her gaze once more.

And as if bypassing distance, the location where the doors of the Unstable Heavenly Domain were starting to manifest was reflected in her eyes, causing them to twinkle in excitement and anticipation.

The efforts of the councillors to seed the area to confuse others didn’t work on her. They can’t hide this place from her. They might’ve been able to if they had more time to work with, alas...

Sensing her gaze passing through them, the councillors knew she discovered what’s behind them. This was bad news, because it’s clear from the look in her eyes that she already claimed that spot as hers.