When Harry heard this, confusion overca him, but his curiosity was piqued. "Yes please, I've never heard of an insect woman, it would be interesting to et one."'
As the words left his lips, she grabbed his hand firmly, and in an instant, sothing teleported them to the entrance of the Nightmare Ant colony. Harry blinked, taking in their new surroundings.
They stood in a vast clearing, the air heavy with an unsettling stillness that seed to press down on everything. At the center lood a chasm in the earth. As his gaze swept over the expansive landscape, he wondered, 'Is this place a world of its own? It's so big.'
As that thought crossed his mind, a loud chittering noise echoed out, causing his heart to race as sleek Nightmare Ants pounced from the darkness and surrounded the two. These creatures were different compared to the ones that were battling the Chull.
The creatures were humanoid in form, each one wielding a massive, scythe-like blade on one arm, while the other ended in razor-sharp claws. A thick, armored carapace covered their bodies, protecting their vulnerable spots.
Harry swallowed hard, his breath catching as the creatures moved, silently circling the two of them like predatory assassins. He glanced at Mavis, who wore a calm smile as she spoke, "Take us to your queen, she will welco us."'
When the monsters heard this, they stopped moving as the biggest started chittering. He wondered what they were doing until a distinct response reached him, causing them to usher the monsters into the hole.
Mavis giggled softly before revealing, "Mistress Vivienne likes to be dramatic. She knew we were coming from miles away thanks to her scouts."
Harry frowned in confusion but shrugged it off as a colossal ant, its back loaded with chairs, approached to greet them. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself, 'The monsters have an Uber service?'
Following that, Mavis led him onto the Transport Ants back and settled in before it started traveling through the tunnel. While doing that, he turned to the Brownie and questioned, "What is this place?"
"The Nightmare Ant Colony is ho to Vivienne Wyldheart. She and Master are on the verge of becoming lovers," Mavis revealed. "But continue watching the tunnel and see what these creatures can do."
As they traveled, Harry glanced around while the ant's heavy legs clicked against the stone floor. The walls were slick with moisture, and an eerie, suffocating silence pressed in around them.
The air was thick with the scent of blood that made his skin crawl, but he kept his eyes forward, trying to focus on the journey. That's when the tunnel twisted and turned, winding deeper into the heart of the underground lair.
After twenty minutes, the path widened, and the dim glow from mushrooms grew along the walls, which illuminated the entrance to a large chamber. Harry's heart skipped a beat as they entered.
'Oh shit, Arch, what are you trying to create?' he thought in amazent.
The bodies, twisted, mangled, and half-eaten, were stacked high. Monster corpses, so barely recognizable, others more hideous, filled the storage. Piles of limbs, heads, and bodies ford chaotic heaps, their blood still pooling in places.
While looking at all this, a horrid stench hit him like a hamr, making him want to throw up. Harry froze for a mont, trying to process what he was seeing. "What the hell...?" he muttered under his breath, eyes darting over the grim scene.
Following that, the ant moved forward and traveled through chambers with walls lined with eggs and tended to by smaller ants that fed them so jelly-like substance, which intrigued him.
As they got deeper, Harry noticed more warrior-looking ants guarding the tunnel, and there were hundreds of them. An hour later, they arrived in another massive chamber, but this ti there was a house in the middle with massive ants surrounding it.
"Why are they guarding that place?" he asked Mavis, who jumped off the ant's back.
She turned to him with a warm smile and said, "These are the Praetorians, specially bred to protect Vivienne whenever she ventures outside the colony."
Harry nodded in understanding, but a sudden, sharp chittering sound reverberated through the air. The Praetorians shifted, parting to clear a path toward the house. As the group approached, a striking red-haired woman greeted them.
His breath caught in his throat at the sight of the unusual stranger. Her crimson hair, vibrant as fresh blood, was tied up into a high ponytail, and on her head, two antennae twitched as she took in her surroundings.
The woman was the most beautiful he had ever seen. She had the face of a model with perfect cheekbones, a small button nose, and big eyes. Harry shook his head while thinking, 'Seems like my son loves curvy won. He has taste.'
"You shouldn't be looking at your son's wife like that human," the woman finally spoke in an annoyed tone.
He felt bad before apologizing, "I'm sorry daughter, it's just I co from a place where there are only humans, and seeing an ant woman surprised ."'
After Harry finished speaking, the woman bead at the recognition which made her happy, "You're forgiven, so what brings you two here? I'm not complaining, but it's rare for anyone apart from my love to visit ."
Mavis stepped forward and bowed, "Mistress Vivienne, I just want to introduce Master's father to you, but it seems like you already know about him," she spoke in a respectful tone. He watched as Vivienne's smile grew wider as she ushered them inside, "Co in, I will make us so tea. My children brought loads of rare ingredients for food and drink."
Following that, the hot air washed against Harry and Mavis as they were led into the comfortable ho. While walking toward the living room, he noticed the scent of all kinds of flowers hit his nose.
Harry stopped walking as he spotted baskets full of all kinds of flowers which caught Vivienne's attention, causing her to question with a concerned voice, "Is sothing wrong?"
He shook his head before replying, "Sorry, I love flowers and gardening. Archer said I could work in his palace's garden."
The redhead smiled when hearing that. "Take whatever you need. I use them to make the place sll better, but my scavengers always bring them to ," she said before boiling
so water.
As Harry heard this, he nodded with a grateful smile before picking out so flowers that he wanted to plant in Archer's garden. He picked a few that slled lovely and so others that
would look good outside.
Once he had gathered a few good ones, Vivienne placed three cups on the nearby table with a fluid motion. "I don't have much free ti," she said, her tone friendly. "I need to et with the other queens soon, but I can spare a little ti to talk with you both."
"Thank you, Mistress, I was just showing Mr. Harry around the Domain and ran into your battle with the Chulls," Mavis answered the ant queen.
"Oh, you stumbled into one of our gas," Vivienne answered with a smile before drinking so of the hot tea.
Harry followed suit but soon realized what she said, causing him to question in a confused voice, "Gas?"
The redhead nodded before explaining, " and the queen hold Battle Gas where we strengthen our colonies. Once the war has ended, we take each other's dead to feed to the younger generations."
When Harry heard this, he was shocked but thought, 'It's another world. Of course, it would be
different.'
Following that, he shook his head and questioned Vivienne, "So you care for my son?"
The ant queen quickly agreed with a nod, "I care for Master deeply. He was close to claiming , but that will co soon."'
Harry chuckled, "A bit too much information daughter, I don't want to know that," he
replied.
Afterward, the three of them continued talking until Vivienne led them back to the Transport Ant as she spoke, "It was nice eting you, Father-in-law, I will get my children to bring you more flowers, I believe there are beautiful ones deeper in the Domains jungles." "Thank you, Vivienne. I truly appreciate it," he said with a sincere smile. "I hope we get to
see you more often. Archer is incredibly lucky to have soone who cares for him as deeply as
you do."
The ant woman bead before nodding as he and Mavis climbed onto the Transport Ants' back where they got comfortable. Vivienne waved them off before vanishing into a nearby
tunnel.
Once Vivienne had departed, the Transport Ant resud its steady journey toward the surface. As they traveled, Mavis glanced at Harry with a cheerful expression and said, "It's good to see you getting out of the treehouse, Mr. Harry. Just wait until you see the palace. It's
breathtaking."
Hours later, the duo arrived back at the treehouse and Harry rushed off to plant the flowers Vivienne gave him. Mavis laughed before comnting, "Master would be happy to see you so
excited, Mr. Harry."
[Drop so powerstones, comnts, and gifts to help the novel grow; I appreciate all the support you can give]
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