The Heavenly Martial Empress Returns Chapter 315: A World Of Eternal Winter

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“I might be the one who inflicted such slumber upon her,” I said shamelessly. “I’ve come here to finish the job.”

“…”

“…”

The Frost Ant men glanced at me in disbelief, their big eyes wide open.

And then, they burst into laughter.

“Hahahaha!”

“What sort of joke is that?!”

They didn’t really believe me and… yeah, perhaps that was for the best.

“Haha! Just a little good old joke,” I said with a giggle. “Anyway, may we come in?”

“Go ahead, we need more work hands anyway.”

“Though don’t joke about stuff like that again, especially in front of the Church of the Frost Queen, or you’re gonna get killed, ma’am…!”

“Sure, sure, sorry about that. Let’s go, everyone.”

My kids and some of my wives looked at me with weird expressions, as if they didn’t understand why I said that when I could have simply shown them my power.

As we made our way through the tunnels, I explained to them why I didn’t do anything.

“They’re innocent people; they’re only working for a tyrant,” I explained. “If I had released my power and proved what I did, they would have been forced to attack me, and I didn’t want to kill them. If possible, I’d like to do this without drawing too much attention.”

“So that’s why…” Mursha nodded. “Well, they didn’t seem like bad people to me either, but you never really know.”

“So what are we doing, then?” Merkite asked. “Are we going to do the quest as usual and just climb up, or will you actually finish the job, dear?”

“Both,” I said with a nod. “But first, let’s explore this place a little. It’s a whole new world, right?”

As we walked down, we saw more insect people. They resembled humanoid red ants with big insect heads and eyes, carrying glowing blue crystals—Ice Spirit Crystals—and strange magical fruits called Frost Dew Peaches.

These were all being brought to another tunnel as the Red Ant people marched through them, while the taller Frost Ant people glared at them, making sure they kept working.

“Move faster! Our Queen requires more sustenance! Hurry!”

“She’s still slumbering, but her hunger never ceases…”

“I’m worried too, but what else can we do but continue offering her food?”

“Hmph…”

They seemed to have enslaved the Red Ant people and were constantly forcing them to farm for food for their Queen, whom I assume is the {Insect Queen of the Frozen Lands}.

They didn’t seem to mind us, however. As Players from another world, they didn’t bother us that much. It seemed that the people of this world had been enslaved by that Queen long ago and were quite used to these lives.

The Red Ants didn’t even look at us, only at the floor, with tired, hopeless eyes… I could step up and probably stop this, but it would bring no true solution.

I must first find the root of this, their goddess, and kill her to end this Eternal Winter.

“Mommy, why are the Red Ants carrying stuff?” Orion asked.

“They’re being forced to,” I said.

“What? Why? Can’t we help?” Athena asked.

“Not for now,” I said. “We’re infiltrating their society first to watch and see what happens inside. Acting impulsively is not good, children. But don’t worry, we’ll help them.”

“Okay…” Orion nodded. “Ooh?”

“What’s that?!” Kalana asked.

“Looks like some underground city? So cool!” Hekita said, running forward, dragging Merneith along.

“W-Wait, Hekita, slow down!” Merneith complained. She had been quite silent this entire time; visiting a new world like this must have left her speechless.

“Hey, wait! Hold on!” Rainbow Eyes chased after them, and then Kalana, Orion, and Athena followed.

“Ah, and there they go…” I laughed. “Children, right?”

“Yeah, I suppose even Hekita hasn’t matured completely yet. That girl is doing as she pleases,” Urbosa sighed, crossing her arms.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. She’s still a kid, after all!” Merkite giggled. “Little Athena is happy to have a big sister who plays with her too.”

“Hmm…” Urbosa nodded, smiling. “I guess so…”

As the girls chatted, I glanced at the underground city in silence. Houses were made out of hard stone and clay, and light was produced using giant glowing mushrooms they planted on the houses’ rooftops, which they also seemed to harvest.

There were also many glowing crystals everywhere, further illuminating this damp and slightly warm place, which was actually warmer than the surface. Red Ant People walked everywhere, alongside a few dozen Frost Ant People here and there.

Humans and other species from other worlds were very rare, but I did spot a beast man, an orc, and I think I saw a young human woman over there. They probably just came to slay the Ice Beasts and quickly left without really trying to do anything for these people.

And I can’t really blame them either. They don’t have the power to help, nor the desire to. Everyone has their own dreams and goals.

And it just so happens that my dreams and goals align with helping these people.

“So, where do we go?” Peperina wondered. “It sure is an interesting place to be, but I’d prefer not to stay for too long, all things considered.”

“I think they have some sort of area to register ourselves. We could also find more information about what has happened here…” I said, looking around. “Hm, that place looks interesting.”

We walked toward the city. The Red Ants sometimes looked at us, while the Frost Ants completely ignored us.

There was a large building made of hard stone and clay, covered with glowing mushrooms and crystals, with a sign saying, “Hunting Center.”

They had no Adventurer Guild or anything; it was just called a Hunting Center. Interesting. We walked there without further ado. There were no doors, so we just walked inside.

The Red Ants, which were usually as tall as a normal human, glared at us with surprise. We were pretty tall ourselves, as tall as their superiors, the Frost Ants.

Once inside the building, we noticed that the interior looked just like any other cave. The ants were sitting around the walls and even the ceiling. There were small tables and seats made out of the same clay and stone; they could easily climb walls and such, after all.

What they ate resembled small mushrooms, mold-covered fruits, and usually smaller bugs. What they drank seemed to be green, slimy goo. I didn’t know what it was, but it smelled very sweet, like syrup or nectar.

“Wow, so many ants everywhere…” Athena said, looking at the ceiling. “They can walk on the ceiling and walls?”

“Yes, sweetie, don’t walk too far off,” I said as I grabbed Athena’s hand so she wouldn’t run too far and annoy the people.

Seeing how hard they worked, this was perhaps the only time they had to eat and relax before going back to their terrible lives. It was better not to bother them.

“Hello!”

I greeted one of the Red Ants at the front, probably some kind of receptionist. He looked old, with his antennae hanging low and his eyes seemingly tired. His exoskeleton wasn’t a radiant red but a reddish-brown, with a few cracks here and there.

“Hm? Players, huh? Been a while since someone new arrived…” the old Red Ant said, suddenly smoking from his pipe. 

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