Ison City stood on a lone, gently sloping peak amidst towering mountains. Its ancient architecture evoked medieval castles, with Gothic spires flying blue banners. Centuries of wind and rain had weathered the dark stone walls, imbuing them with historical gravitas. First-time visitors often felt transported back to the Hundred Years' War era, a time of endless legends.
"This place is seriously ancient."
Passing through the four-meter stone archway, Rick couldn't help peering around. Lifelike hero statues and towering Gothic buildings exuded an air of order and antiquity.
"What do you sense?" Shust stroked his beard, eyes fixed on the castle's tallest structure—a landmark with three spires.
"Feels... oppressive. Like everyone here is... well..." Rick fumbled, blushing with a sheepish smile.
"Not exactly the indulgent type, right?"
"Yes! That's exactly it!" Rick nodded eagerly.
"Royal authority permeates this place—something you won't find in the other Two Cities of the Forest Domain. But after two hundred years under the same ruler's shadow, such an atmosphere is only natural."
"Two... two hundred years?!" Rick nearly bit his tongue in shock.
"Indeed. Lord Arthur of Ison City is the only hero from the Hundred Years' War still ruling among the Three Cities. Legend says he's surpassed Insect Master to become Legendary, though no one's proven it—no fool would challenge a figure akin to a mythical hero."
"Is he more powerful than President Nanze of Terry County?" In Rick's mind, Nanze was the mightiest person he'd met.
"Absolutely. That old scoundrel Nanze, for all his years, is but a grandson compared to Arthur's two-plus centuries. Nanze may be at the peak Insect Master realm, but he's far from breaking through to Legendary."
"Incredible... truly incredible..."
Rick gaped, stunned. He'd thought Insect Master was the pinnacle, never imagining a higher realm existed. Learning of Legendary Lord Arthur finally explained Ison City's stark difference from other cities.
If Kester City embodied freedom and Terry County exuded pastoral romance, Ison City impressed with ironclad order and oppressive royal authority—a testament to absolute dominance.
Unused to such stifling formality, the usually brash quartet felt ill at ease. But this was no place for recklessness, so they swallowed their discomfort and set out to sell their goods.
Anna, having sold sand lizard hides in Terry County before, knew Ison City's black market. Leading them like rats scurrying through alleys, she ducked into a sewer.
"Dammit, why the hell is the black market here?" Rick had unpleasant sewer memories, and goosebumps rose on his skin.
"Arthur's an antique who still enforces the Hundred Cities Pact strictly. Opening black market shops within Ison is risky—hence all the illegal vendors outside on the trade road." Anna explained over her shoulder.
"Putting a black market in a sewer is fucking creative!" Rick cursed under his breath, hugging his coat tighter.
After winding through the sewer, the dilapidated insect lamps on the walls gave way to new ones. Rounding a corner, blinding light made them squint—the stark contrast was dizzying.
Rick struggled to describe the scene. The two-meter stone drainage tunnel had become a brightly lit bazaar. Deafening cries of vendors and haggling filled the air, so different from aboveground that even world-weary Shust and Balzac gaped in surprise.
"Actually, this underground market is an open secret—nearly everyone in Ison knows about it." Anna laughed at their expressions.
"But... why—"
"People bow and scrape aboveground, so they let loose down here. Come on, let's find a buyer!"
Anna clearly visited more often than she let on, as evidenced by her familiar sellers and the occasional "Queen of Lizards" greeting.
"You're popular."
Rick was now truly in awe of Anna. Not long ago, Anna had been an eggless commoner, yet while both had been outcasts, Rick had struggled in Kester City, whereas Anna thrived in Terry County's border towns and even here in Ison City's shadow.
"Beauty has its privileges." Anna winked at a balding old man. "Uncle Murphy, found you at last!"
The bespectacled old man pushed up his glasses, studied Anna, then started in surprise. "Anna! It's been ages. Here to sell lizard hides again?"
"No, this is big business." Anna winked playfully. Uncle Murphy immediately turned a brass wall lamp behind him.
Click. As the lamp rotated, a stone door spun open in the wall behind his stall, revealing a cozy nook with a sofa and tea table.
"Amazing—hidden doors too?" Rick and Shust exchanged glances, stunned that this unassuming old man had his own secret chamber.
"First time here, eh?" Though half-blind, Uncle Murphy's ears were sharp.
"Y-Yes, first time." Rick scratched his head sheepishly.
Inside the chamber, Uncle Murphy shut the door. "Make yourselves comfortable. Secret chambers aren't rare here—nearly every black market vendor has one."
"Everyone? Doesn't Lord Arthur care?"
"His Majesty ignores underground affairs. By Ison's unwritten rule, those in the shadow trade can never return to the surface. So a private room down here is only natural."
"Never see the sun? Harsh." Rick now understood the old man's poor vision—constant darkness, even with insect lamps, took its toll.
"But if you can't go aboveground, what's the point of money?" Balzac interjected.
"The underground world has its own wonders. We have everything the surface does—I've never regretted this life." Murphy poured himself tea, then smiled. "Now, what are you selling today?"
"Insect eggs—combat eggs." Rick unslung his pack, dumping wooden cases onto the table.
Murphy opened a case, his expression turning grave. "Black Tiger Ant soldier eggs!"
"Twelve soldier eggs, twenty-six worker eggs." Rick confirmed. He'd split shares with Rant and Moya: seven soldier eggs and thirteen worker eggs each.
Even so, the haul stunned Murphy. In fifty years of black market dealing, this might be his biggest deal ever. After carefully inspecting each case, he mused: "Excellent quality—Tanzan Desert stock, yes?"
"Three weeks ago, exactly."
"My little Anna, you've found impressive partners." Murphy eyed Anna, then turned to Rick. "This is too large for me alone. I need partners. Please wait."
"Take your time." Rick nodded as Murphy shuffled out.
Alone, Shust sipped his tea. "Think the old codger plans to double-cross us?"
"No! Uncle Murphy has a good reputation." Anna hurried to defend him, seeing Shust's murderous glint.
"Heh, good. Hope he doesn't do anything stupid."
Shust downed his tea in one gulp. The secret door opened again, and Murphy entered with a tall, gaunt man.
Seating themselves across from Rick, Murphy introduced, "This is my partner Lausanne—after me, the most honest merchant in Ison's underground."
At Murphy's words, Lausanne's withered face twitched into an awkward smile, but he soon began inspecting the eggs, just as Murphy had—though far more thoroughly.
Lausanne seemed more professional, taking twice as long. Finally, he retracted the extra pair of eyes on his forehead and nodded. "Excellent quality. Now, let's discuss price."
"500,000 gold coins per soldier egg, 10,000 per worker," Rick said. This was their prearranged price—slightly high for the black market, but within merchants' limits.
Lausanne tapped the table with his claw-like fingers. "These are unmodified wild combat eggs. Ison lacks Black Tiger Ant egg improvement tech. Buying at this price is too risky for us."
"Name your price, then."
"5 million Golden Beetle Coins." Lausanne met Rick's gaze firmly.
" Impossible! " Rick snapped. "Twelve soldier eggs alone are worth 6 million. This price is non-negotiable."
Murphy panicked at Rick's resolve. This was his biggest deal ever. "We can negotiate! Meet in the middle?"
Anna, silent till now, suddenly laughed, lifting an egg case. "Black Tiger Ants are rare combat insects. If Ison pioneers improvement tech before other cities, how much will these eggs be worth?"
Lausanne fell silent, fingers interlaced. But as Anna replaced the case, he glimpsed a necklace pendant slipping from her collar—and his expression tightened.
"Pardon an unreasonable request," he said nervously.
"Depends on the request."
"May I see Miss Anna's necklace?"
"My necklace?" Anna blinked, puzzled, but pulled it out. "You want to see this?"
The moment the necklace appeared, Lausanne couldn't look away. A simple silver chain with a lifelike mayfly pendant—yet at the sight, he exhaled as if making a decision.
"Your price is acceptable. I'll pay 6.5 million Golden Beetle Coins for the eggs."
"6.5 million?" Rick gaped. Their asking price was 6.26 million. "The extra 240,000 is—"
"I hope it buys the honor of meeting Miss Anna again. No ulterior motives, I assure you." Lausanne sounded sincere.
"240,000 gold for a meeting?" Rick finally grasped Anna's "beauty has privileges" comment. Money seemed too easily earned, but even Anna looked confused.
The trio trailed the two meteorite sand-carrying Black Tiger Ants out of the Royal Academy of Sciences. With the ants' keen sense of smell, Rick dared not follow too closely, keeping a safe distance.
Admittedly, the thrill of courting death was surprisingly exciting. Even Anna, initially reluctant, grew giddy with adrenaline, slipping into the role of adventurer.
Heading north, they noticed the buildings grew increasingly ruined. Near the northernmost district, structures lay flattened, reduced to rubble littered with countless ant trails.
"This must be their nest entrance. Now I know why Tanzan City sank," Rick whispered from behind a collapsed wall. "An escaped Black Tiger Ant from the lab settled underground. With ant-like reproductive power, it built a castle and an evolving army in under six months. They hollowed out the foundation, sinking Tanzan City overnight—then feasted on the inhabitants."
Rick's reasoning held water. Lav shivered at the thought of millions being devoured, but no other explanation fit the mass disappearance.
"Should we... go in?"
"Need the eggs. Wait here, I'll scout."
Rick took a deep breath, but two hands seized him. "You're ditching us?"
"Want to come with me?" he teased. Their simultaneous headshakes made him grin.
"Fine, wait here. Don't do anything stupid!" Lav said.
"Yeah! If you run off, you're dead!" Anna added.
"Relax—I hate dying."
Chuckling, Rick patted their cheeks, then vaulted into the ruins, moving like a ghost toward the pitch-black expanse.
On the surface, the Black Tiger Ants' nest gaped in a western Tanzan Desert basin—normally a death zone. Today, however, hundreds of sand lizards stampeded toward the funnel-shaped sinkhole.
"Here they come!"
From a rocky outcrop, a pair of eyes watched the lizard horde through a crevice.
"Hope this feast suffices." Another voice came from the shadows, belonging to a man with distinctive muttonchops.
"Gathered all nearby lizards. If it's not enough, tough luck. Has Boss Rant returned?"
Shust smiled as his ears twitched. "He's here."
Just then, Rant burst through a crack, sweating profusely. Gulping water, he panted, "These lizards are vicious! Nearly lost an arm if not for my exoskeleton. Moya, status report?"
"Still no sign... Wait! Something's wrong!" Moya's voice tensed. "They're coming out!"
His shout jolted even the composed Shust to his feet, both men peering through the rock crevice. Dozens of black heads swarmed from the honeycombed basin. After their radar-like antennae twitched, a 7-meter-long Black Tiger Ant charged out, mandibles raised, leading a torrent of ants toward the panic-stricken sand lizards.
"Soldier ants—fuck, so many!" Rant spat, eyes glued to the nest entrance spewing ants.
"Time to go!"
"Wait, sure about this?"
"Shut up and run!"
Moya kicked the rock wall, triggering a collapse. Gritting his teeth, Rant charged into the man-high tunnel, shield and halberd ready, with Moya and Shust on his heels.
This tunnel was Moya's prepped route. Three days ago, the sandstorm had surprisingly carried them hundreds of miles, dropping them near the nest. Lost as they were, they'd devised this "food delivery" plan within a week.
Dashing through the tunnel, Rant led the way into the nest. With soldier ants distracted by the lizard attack and the tunnel undiscovered by worker ants, they encountered no resistance.
"Lucky break. Which way now?"
"Down. Black Tiger Ant nests go deep—we need the nursery."
Moya caught up, looking grotesque with white fuzz covering his body, compound eyes, and feathery antennae on his forehead.
"What the hell is that? You look like moldy cheese," Shust cursed.
"Like I want to be! Blame that old bastard for this egg." Moya's antennae twitched. "Lav says it's an Ice Fly, a new breed to make support insects combat-capable."
"An ice fly can fight?" Shust scoffed.
"Better than a regular fly! It has Ice Cicada genes—those are Mystic-class!" Moya protested.
"Enough—lead the way!" Rant knocked Moya's head, impatient.
Moya instinctively feared Rant. He bantered with Rick, Lav, even Shust, but never dared contradict Rant. "Follow me!"
Moya caught the scent of insect eggs and led Rant and Shust through a labyrinthine tunnel twisting in all directions. The Black Tiger Ant nest was indeed a massive maze. Moya's detection revealed it extended a staggering 50 meters underground, divided into four layers. Countless cavities—passages, food storages, air vents, and dead-ends—dazzled the eye. Without Moya's ability to track scents and air currents, they'd starve from getting lost even without ants.
Descending further, Moya halted, pointing tensely at a hole. "Hide in there—now!" As their guide, his word was law. They ducked inside, only to find it a dead-end. "Fuck, what are you playing at?!" Shust snapped.
"Shh!～～" Moya shot him a glare, gesturing for silence. They masked their breaths, vanishing into the dark. Even if someone passed, they'd never spot the trio meters from the entrance.
Soon, 沙沙 (rustling) sounds approached. Giant black shadows filed past, each carrying bloody chunks—presumably from the sand lizards. "Impressive—all those lizards gone so fast."
"Black Tiger Ants are Demonic-class, but their swarm tactics let them hunt Phantom-class insects. Even Mystic-class won't tangle with them lightly." Rant and Shust nodded—imagine a Phantom-class Rhinoceros Beetle against an endless ant horde; even iron armor would crumble under relentless biting.
After the ant patrol vanished, Moya emerged, stepping onto blood-soaked ground that made them shudder. "Dammit, we're risking our lives here while Rick probably lounges somewhere," Rant wiped blood from his boots.
"Who knows if he's even alive." Shust inhaled the scent of blood with relish, the aroma exciting him.
Rant fell silent, worrying about Rick. Moya smiled reassuringly, gazing into the tunnel's depths. "He's alive. I feel it—he's nearby, maybe even below us."
"Below us? You think he snuck in? We've been here three days—I'd notice someone passing." Shust dismissed Moya's intuition.
"Remember, this nest has multiple entrances—even rabbits have three burrows." Moya exhaled softly. "Just wait—we'll meet. I know you'll show up, Rick—some time, some place."