Tales of the Endless Empire-Chapter 140: Termitehive (:

Thalion circled roughly two kilometers above the termite hive. He frowned, his flight uneasy. Getting out of the base unseen hadn’t worked nearly as well as he had hoped. In the end, he had activated Mistform from the top of the tower, gambling on the chance that he hadn’t been spotted. The risk wasn’t small, but it was necessary.

Enemies were multiplying in the city—he was certain of it—and the thought of them checking his basement made his stomach churn. Even if he was notified, the time it would take to return would give those scavengers ample time to flee with anything valuable. He couldn’t afford to let that happen.

Now, below him, loomed the massive termite hive—a grotesque fortress of earth and ambition. The structure had expanded, the network of hills bristling with defensive openings. He could almost picture the legions of termites waiting to swarm, their strategy clear: overwhelm invaders with sheer numbers and suffocating speed.

Thalion allowed himself a small grin. The fight ahead thrilled him. It was the perfect arena to hone the combat skills of the Umbral Predator, to test the limits of what this form could do. He began his descent, dispelling the mana barrier below him.

When he reached the treetops—roughly a hundred meters above the hive—his sharp eyes caught movement. Worker termites scanned the sky, vigilant against threats. Either they hadn’t seen him yet, or the soldiers hidden within the hills were biding their time, waiting for him to touch the ground.

"Let’s make this interesting," Thalion murmured, his voice tinged with dark amusement. He raised his hand and unleashed an empowered Bloodthorn at the watchers. The crimson projectile sliced through the air, pulsing with the power of the Sanguine Thorn. The results were instant: five scouts fell, their heads obliterated.

The new strength of his blood-based skills was exhilarating. Not only were they more potent, but they responded to his will with far greater precision. “Efficient,” he noted, firing another volley.

Mistform enveloped him as he landed silently atop one of the hills. With a thought, he shifted into the Umbral Predator. The transition was smooth, instinctive now. Later, he would switch back to his human form to test his new armor, but for now, this was a moment for experimentation.

"Oh yes," Thalion thought, his grin widening. "Termites, science is coming."

The hive stirred. The deaths of the scouts had already alerted the colony, and now, stronger termites surged toward the surface. Thalion didn’t wait. With precise, brutal efficiency, he tore through the warrior termites stationed near the scouts. His claws raked through their carapaces, splitting the once-impenetrable chitin into shards.

“Impressive,” he admitted grudgingly. Many of these warriors had grown to Level 80—a remarkable feat for mere insects. Their strength was undeniable, but their attack patterns remained predictable.

Each skirmish was a lesson. Thalion tested various counters—ducking, sidestepping, even leaping over his enemies to gauge their reactions. The most effective tactic, he discovered, was the simplest: move just enough to evade, then counterattack immediately. The challenge was exhilarating, though the termite armor made every strike feel like chiseling through stone.

Despite the improved difficulty, the experience gains were disappointing. Thalion cursed under his breath, realizing he’d need to slaughter hundreds—perhaps thousands—just to reach Level 51. The gap to E Grade seemed insurmountable at this rate.

He descended deeper into the hive, the tunnels closing in around him. The darkness was absolute, wrapping around him like a living thing. But for Thalion, it was no hindrance—it was home. The shadows obeyed him, rendering him nearly invisible to his enemies. Coupled with his blinding speed, he was an unstoppable force, dismantling termites before they could react.

Oddly, none of the workers were near to empower the warriors. Thalion paused, suspicion creeping into his thoughts. Was this a coincidence, or had the hive adapted to his previous attack? He recalled how his armor’s mental attack had rendered the workers useless during his last raid. If this was a deliberate strategy, it was disturbingly clever for insects.

The queen might even be able to communicate.

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Thalion’s gaze darkened as he considered the hive’s growth. It had expanded far beyond what he’d anticipated—but notably, not in the direction of his base. Was this a calculated move, meant to avoid provoking another assault?

He wondered if the queen would be open to negotiation. "Doubtful," he thought, his lip curling. What did he have to offer? A partnership with a predator was hardly enticing. Still, if the termites had discovered more earth crystals, they could prove useful. Enchanted food for their brood chambers…shrinking the crystals for transport...there was potential.

But not now.

Thalion shook off the thought and focused on the present. Before descending further, he shifted back to human form to harvest the souls of the fallen. Each corpse was a data point, another experiment in his ongoing research.

He tried multiple attack patterns, each strike targeted at different weak points. Hitting the head was the quickest route to a kill, but for drawn-out fights, targeting the midsection or abdomen yielded better control. The hive’s defenses were evolving, but so was Thalion.

“Let’s see how much farther you can push me, Queen,” Thalion thought, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. "The real test begins now."

Through his predatory instincts, Thalion could feel the energy veins pulsing beneath the surface, each one converging to fuel the hive’s defenses. Tearing them apart weakened the hive significantly, but the effort slowed his progress.

One of the larger termites charged at him, and he retaliated with Abyssal Devourer. The tendrils lashed out hungrily, but the beast’s sheer force shattered most of them before they could connect. A few, however, found their mark, twisting parts of its chitin armor into festering shadows.

For the termite, the process must have been excruciating; its agonized screeches echoed through the cavern. Thalion watched dispassionately as dark smoke coiled from the wounds, the remnants of the tendrils that had been ripped away by the insect's violent thrashing. He could have reinforced and regenerated the tendrils faster than they were destroyed, but that wasn’t the point. He’d gathered what he needed: proof that the tendrils were effective even against an opponent at full strength.

The effect wasn’t overwhelming, but considering this was a Level 80 termite, it wasn’t negligible either. With a swift strike, Thalion ended the wounded creature’s suffering, then turned his attention to the five others charging toward him.

"Stay focused," he muttered under his breath. He couldn’t afford to waste too much time on experiments—letting the termites swarm him would still be dangerous. Their jaws, snapping with eerie precision, were a threat he couldn’t ignore.

He dodged their attacks, weaving through the onslaught with the dexterity he had honed over countless battles. While his high agility allowed him to evade blows with relative ease, he felt the absence of a proper movement skill keenly. "I need something faster," he thought, frustrated, as he sidestepped a lunging strike.

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Thalion attempted to mimic the fluid motions he had mastered during his sword training in the Golden Palace. Carving through the termites with claws rather than a blade felt awkward, but some patterns were universal. A slash here, a pivot there—it wasn’t seamless, but it worked.

Fewer termites seemed to be attacking him this time compared to his last encounter. It made sense. The last time he had fought them, there had been more humans on the surface, drawing the queen’s attention. Why send hundreds of soldiers for a single intruder now? It would be inefficient.

Wait. The thought hit him suddenly. Does the queen even send warriors to the surface directly, or does something else trigger their movements? If he remembered correctly, insects communicated primarily through pheromones. Was that why their response was smaller this time?

He shook the thought away. It didn’t matter. The fewer there were now, the more there would be when he reached the lower chambers. That was what he wanted.

Thalion pressed onward, slaying one termite after another as he descended deeper into the hive. Earth-based attacks pummeled him repeatedly, but they barely slowed him. His wounds healed almost instantly, his regeneration keeping pace with the damage. Still, trading blows wasn’t the goal.

He focused on refining his technique, testing his tendrils for versatility. Could they propel him forward by anchoring to the walls? Could they slow his descent? The results were disappointing. The tendrils, corrosive as acid, disintegrated the stone too quickly to serve any purpose other than attack.

When he did use them offensively, he targeted crucial spots like the eyes or other vulnerabilities. A festering wound of darkness on the head was often enough to distract even the most determined warrior termite.

Eventually, Thalion arrived at the vast cavern he had nearly been overrun in during his last raid. The sight stopped him in his tracks. The space had grown larger, more expansive, with additional tunnels branching off in every direction. But that wasn’t all. The number of termites stationed here was staggering.

These were no ordinary defenders. They seemed to be waiting, their postures tense, their skills prepared. The coordination was unsettling. "Were the earlier warriors just sacrifices to slow me down?" Thalion wondered, narrowing his eyes. This wasn’t even the queen’s chamber, yet the organization was far more advanced than before.

He scanned the gathering. Among the familiar warriors, new breeds of termites stood out. The first type was grotesque—a fusion of insect and humanoid. Its upper body resembled that of a deformed human, complete with four arms, while its lower half remained purely insectoid. "So, the queen dabbles in experiments too," Thalion thought with dark amusement. "We might get along after all."

The second type was equally strange. They resembled oversized wasps, but without abdomens. Four pairs of wings buzzed furiously, keeping them aloft. Their elongated arms ended in razor-sharp claws, clearly unsuited for walking. Even stranger were the stingers jutting from their shoulders—awkward and out of place, as if their design had been rushed.

"Miscreations," Thalion noted, smirking. "Unless they can fire those stingers. Otherwise, what’s the point?"

The first type, however, was far more dangerous. Their bodies were etched with glowing runes, and the mana surrounding them was thick, almost tangible. "Magic users," Thalion realized. Six of them stood in a circle, channeling power into a glowing sigil with a warrior termite at its center.

A surge of energy rippled through the cavern, and Thalion’s instincts screamed a warning. The power being funneled into that circle was no joke. He needed to act fast.

With no ranged attacks in his current form, Thalion shifted back to his human form. As the stealth granted by his predator instincts vanished, every termite in the chamber turned toward him.

Thalion was already prepared for the chaos to come as he made his first move. Seven blood thorns burst from his outstretched hand, streaking toward the termites channeling the circle’s energy. He had no intention of finding out how much power the hulking creature in the middle could gain if they succeeded. One blood thorn for each humanoid termite, except the one on the far left, which received two—it was slightly bulkier than the others, a detail Thalion didn’t trust to ignore.

What followed was chaos. Two termites were struck as intended, their chitin cracking under the force of the blood thorns, but the others moved with startling speed, dodging out of harm's way. Even the bulkier termite evaded both thorns with ease as the ground beneath it shifted, propelling it backward like an unseen force had tugged it away.

Meanwhile, the humanoid termites exhaled a strange brown mist. It spewed from their tiny, fanged mouths and seeped out of their skin, spreading quickly through the cavern. Above, the dragonfly-winged snipers sprang into action, launching volleys of needle-like stingers at Thalion from a distance.

Then, the massive termite in the center of the circle turned its burning gaze on him, raw hatred emanating from its every movement. The hive’s response was far more coordinated than Thalion had anticipated.

Thalion reacted instantly, propelling himself ten meters into the air to avoid the incoming stingers. As he ascended, he unleashed smaller, faster blood thorns aimed at the flying snipers. This strategy worked: the snipers couldn’t dodge while maintaining their assault, and four of the dozen plummeted to the ground, their fragile bodies pierced through.

Below, the massive termite let out a screech so loud it reverberated through the cavern walls. The sound was more than just noise—it carried an unmistakable warning, summoning reinforcements from every corner of the hive.

Thalion’s chest tightened as his title, Guardian's Remnant, sent a pulse of foreboding through his mind. The sense of imminent doom sharpened his focus. "This is getting dangerous," he muttered under his breath. One mistake, one misstep, and even his extraordinary recovery abilities wouldn’t save him if he was pinned down.

His hand moved instinctively to the hilt of the Blade of the Blooded Templar. The weapon felt alive in his grip, eager for the fight. But before he could strike, the empowered termite vanished, reappearing in front of him in a blink. Was it teleportation? No... just overwhelming speed.

Up close, Thalion noticed new features on the termite’s carapace—stone-like spikes protruded from its chitin armor, jagged and unnatural. "When did those appear?" he wondered, the realization hitting him just as the spikes shot outward like shrapnel. At the same moment, the termite lunged, its massive pincers snapping shut, narrowly missing him.

"Ah, I see now," Thalion thought with grim amusement as he twisted away. "It’s a living grenade. A fun little skill—if you’re not on the receiving end."

Distracted by this revelation, Thalion was slower than usual. The creature’s spikes grazed his armor, sending a jarring wave of pain through him, though the armor resisted breaking. It was enough to jolt him out of his thoughts.

Something was wrong. Why was he so unfocused? Normally, he’d have processed the termite’s abilities much faster. Then he spotted them—the trio of humanoid termites standing together, their hands raised as streams of energy flowed toward him.

"So, they’re sacrificing their souls to weaken me," Thalion realized, his lips curling into a humorless smile. "Clever, but not clever enough."

Before he could act, the empowered termite struck again, flinging him against the cavern wall with an explosion of force. Pain flared through his body, but Thalion responded instinctively, launching a blood spear at the distant casters. The projectile tore through the air, aimed at disrupting their channeling.

The spear hit its mark, impaling one caster and disrupting their concentration. As the other two fell, Thalion felt his mind clear instantly. The oppressive haze that had slowed his reactions lifted, leaving him sharp and focused once more.

The empowered termite was relentless, charging again. This time, Thalion was ready. He spun aside with practiced precision, dodging a spike launched from its leg and slashing upward with a mana-charged blade. The attack struck true, cleaving through the termite’s neck. Its head toppled to the ground with a sickening thud.

"One problem down," Thalion thought grimly, turning his attention back to the cavern, where more termites swarmed in.

The snipers were proving to be the most troublesome. Their speed was overwhelming, and they dodged each of his attacks with ease. Meanwhile, the brown mist crept closer, a malevolent presence he had no desire to test.

Desperation demanded action. Thalion activated the armor’s fear-inducing effect, unleashing an unseen wave of dread across the battlefield. The results were immediate. The snipers froze mid-air, their willpower shattered. Even sixty meters away, they succumbed to terror, their agility useless against this assault on their souls.

The mages faltered but held their ground, continuing to spread the brown mist. The empowered termite remained unaffected entirely, which was very impressive.

Thalion seized the opportunity to act. With a burst of speed, he dodged another attack from the empowered termite, spinning gracefully to its blind side. His blade, charged with mana, slashed upward in a brilliant arc. This time, the blow landed cleanly, severing the creature’s head in one decisive strike.

As the massive body collapsed, Thalion turned toward the tunnels where reinforcements were pouring in. "Let’s see what else the hive has in store," he muttered, a fierce grin spreading across his face.