The Heavenly Martial Empress Returns Chapter 316: Ice Beast Hunt

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“Here to hunt Ice Beasts, I assume?” the old red ant asked. “You’ve got a big party… Okay, you have to pay a fee of ten thousand Credits per Player to be given a Hunter Center License. There, you can register how many Ice Beasts you hunt, and you can earn yourself… some rewards.” 

“I see…” I nodded. “Sure thing, I’d like to register everyone,” I said, handing him a bag containing a million Credit points. “Please keep the change.” 

“H-Huh?” He looked confused, noticing the enormous amount. “W-Wait, this is too much…” 

“It’s fine,” I said. “I don’t really need it.” 

“W-What do you mean you don’t really need it…” He looked perplexed. “I… I can’t… take it, sorry. If they find out I have so much money… they’ll simply take it away from me.” 

“I see…” I nodded, taking the money back and paying only what was required. 

We were indeed a big group: me, Urbosa, Merkite, Mursha, Bloodclaw, Fiery Hair, Peperina, Merneith, Hekita, Orion, Athena, Kalana, Rainbow Eyes, my sister, and her boyfriend. 

“Fifteen hundred thousand, then…” I said. “And you can keep a little extra, right? Here’s ten thousand for your work.” 

“T-Thank you…” he muttered, visibly moved as he quickly pocketed the money. 

Ding!

[You and your Party have successfully registered in Floor 3’s {Hunting Center}!]

[You can now begin to officially hunt Ice Beasts that roam the Eternally Frozen Lands to earn Rewards unique to this Floor.]

[To complete the task, each member of your Party must slay 30 Ice Beasts each. Kill sharing is not permitted, and only the one who deals the most damage to an Ice Beast will be considered the killer.] 

“As you can read,” he said, pointing at the system message, “there are several Ranks of Ice Beasts, so please be careful when handling them, ma’am.” 

“Which Ranks?” I asked, slipping him a few more Credit Coins. 

“Ahem…” He pocketed them and continued. “Ever since the Eternal Winter began, they’ve been roaming our world nonstop. They’re our primary threat and come in four different ranks. Snowflake-Rank Ice Beasts are the smallest and weakest of the bunch; even your kids shouldn’t have problems hunting a few. Then there are the Icicle-Rank Ice Beasts—much larger, taller, and faster, but still manageable in groups. Next, there are the Frost-Rank Ice Beasts, large and powerful. They govern areas on their own, and I wouldn’t recommend taking them on unless you’re very confident and have a large group—or, well, a death wish. Lastly, the strongest of them all are the Winter-Rank Ice Beasts, said to be Divine Beasts that directly serve our Queen. I’d recommend never facing them, and if you ever see one, run.” 

“I see…” I nodded. “Interesting… Could you tell me more about what has happened to this world? I’m quite curious. You said the Eternal Winter began? So this hasn’t always been the case?” 

“Of course not,” he said, accepting a few more coins from me. “It started around… the time of my grandfather. When he was young, he lived in a completely different world, one with greenery, forests, jungles. He always told me stories of the surface being warm and that there were more species of Insects like us… It was a paradise where we could roam freely as we pleased.” 

“I see… and what happened?” I asked, noticing how everyone behind me was paying attention, even the children, whose innocent expressions seemed to make the old ant smile lightly. 

“Well…” he muttered, glancing at my kids. “This is already well known. Our current queen appeared, cursing the world with an Eternal Winter… She was known as a powerful Ice Witch before this happened, someone the Ancient Insectoid Kingdoms had tried to take down but failed to defeat. Ultimately, while most of those on the surface were wiped out, she found our ancestors and enslaved them. Through forced worship and sacrifices, she rapidly rose to become a Goddess of this World, and this Floor became her Domain…” 

“That’s really bad!” Orion exclaimed. “We have to do something, Mom!” 

“I know, calm down,” I said. “Forgive him; he’s just a child.” 

“I understand. It’s rare to see little larvae like him walking around as Players. I must say, you have an adorable little swarm with you,” he giggled with the warmth of a grandfather. 

“I’m not a larva!” Orion huffed, growing angrier. 

“That’s just how they refer to children, Orion. Don’t get mad,” I said. “He had no ill intentions… Oh, right, do you know who those Frost Ants are?” 

“They are… our kin,” he said. 

“Wait, they’re Red Ants?!” Urbosa asked. 

“Yes…” he nodded. “The Queen rewards those who have served her most loyally. She curses their bodies and imbues the Element of Frost into their very beings, helping them evolve into Frost Ants—stronger, tougher, and capable of using Ice Magic. We’re left completely powerless against them… We can only obey whatever they say.” 

“How strong are they compared to Ice Beasts?” I asked. 

“It depends. The weakest are at least Peak Icicle-Rank, but they can get stronger… Captains can rise to become as strong as Frost-Ranks, and… it is said that the Queen’s Ten Winter Generals are all Winter-Rank!” the old man said. “It’s… simply impossible to even imagine going against them. They’re too strong. Our fate was sealed long ago.” 

“You really think so?” I sighed. 

“I… appreciate your kindness, ma’am… It’s rare to see a Player so interested in our world or who actually cares about us, but… this is not your business nor your problem. You’re a Player; you’re allowed to be as free as you can. Don’t worry, and simply move on when your task is done,” the old man sighed. 

“So that’s what you think…” I nodded, patting his shoulder. “Don’t worry, sir. I won’t leave you or your people behind. We might be very different, but you and I share the same hopes and dreams for the future. I won’t let you or your people down. And I will end this.” 

“W-What? What do you mean?” he asked. 

“Do you know where your Queen resides?” I asked. 

“T-That’s…” He glanced around, noticing the Frost Ant guards near the entrance. “I think we could speak about that more privately… Could you accompany me to the second floor?” 

“Oh, alright then,” I nodded. “Everyone, you’re free to order any food and stay here while I take care of some business. I’ll be back quickly.” 

“Ah, alright then…” Urbosa nodded. “Okay, kids, come here. Do you want to eat something from this place?” 

“I want to try the green goo!” Kalana said. 

“Mom said that bugs are juicy and delicious, especially big ones,” Rainbow Eyes said. “I want those bug skewers!” 

“I’d like to try their mushroom salad… It does look quite interesting,” Mursha smiled. 

“Ugh, you guys do you… I’ll pass,” my sister muttered. 

“Hahaha, yeah…” Juan nodded. 

As I heard them talking, I followed the old ant to the second floor, flying by his side as he climbed through the walls, leading to a hole that served as the second floor.

There, we walked through several corridors until we reached his office. He closed it by waving his hand, and a wall of dirt appeared to seal the entrance. 

“I think we’re safe here… to speak about that,” he muttered. “Ma’am… you… you’re not a normal Player, are you?” 

“Ah, quite sharp, indeed,” I nodded. “I might be the very reason why your Queen is slumbering to begin with.” 

“Y-You mean…?!” 

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