Chapter 391 The Queen Kruthik
Before Archer could enter the colony his Aura Detector pinged as he looked to the right and saw a tiger-like beast lunged at him.
He quickly sidestepped the beast and scanned it.
[Nightmare Jungle Tiger]
[Rank: B]
What he was looking at was a large tiger that was pitch black in color and had bright red eyes that watched him like he was prey.
But the beast wasn't a threat to him, so Archer smiled and stood still as it lunged at him again and swiped.
When its claws touched his chest it just caused sparks on the scales, Archer smiled and punched the cat.
The Jungle Tiger made a yelping sound and dropped to the jungle ground. When he saw this he crouched down next to it and spoke. ''Serve me and I will make you stronger.''
Archer finished speaking as he placed his hand on the beast and cast Aurora Healing on it.
When the beast felt the pain vanish but before anything could happen more Tigers appeared and lunged at him.
He quickly cast Cosmic Shield and all the beasts slammed against it. That's when he got to work and slapped all the beasts until they were like the first.
The beasts were confused and in pain until they heard Archer speaking. ''You will serve me or I will kill you all. Choose now or die.''
Upon hearing these words, the Jungle Tigers sensed an unidentifiable threat looming overhead.
Prompting them to gaze upward and witness a colossal white dragon mirage looming behind the smiling boy.
However, their leader rose from their position and approached the stranger, ultimately kneeling before Archer.
With a smile, he ordered them to return to their homes and wait for his roar. The Jungle Tigers rushed off before he made his way over to the Kruthik colony entrance.
But what he saw was a deep dark hole that seemed endless but Archer shrugged before jumping in the hole.
Archer free-fell while his Aura Detector picked up hundreds of pings appearing from around him but he was falling too quickly.
He saw the bottom and smiled before casting Blink. Archer appeared on the ground but felt something soft and silky under him.
Once he stopped looking at the ground he started walking down a tunnel while only hearing his footsteps.
The oppressive silence was shattered by the faint skittering of claws on stone, a sound that sent a shiver down Archer's spine.
With every step he took, the tension in the air thickened, and then, suddenly, Archer found himself face-to-face with a formidable adversary.
A Kruthik Soldier emerged from the shadows, its chitinous carapace glistening with an otherworldly sheen.
It loomed over him, mandibles clicking menacingly as its six eyes fixated on him. Archer smiled as he locked eyes with the creature, its sharp, serrated limbs poised for action.
He observed that its colors were a mixture of brown and gray, and it towered over him with a significant height advantage.
Nevertheless, he remained unbothered by the threat. Just as the Kruthik poised to strike with its razor-sharp forelimbs, Archer invoked the Blink spell.
In an instant, he reappeared behind the creature and swiftly dispatched it with an Eldritch Blast to its back.
The spell pierced through the body of the monster causing it to drop to the tunnel ground with a loud thud.
Following that encounter, Archer pressed forward, activating his Aura Detector as he walked.
While on the move, the device detected a flurry of pings, indicating a chamber brimming with activity, though it seemed quite a distance away.
Archer continued down the tunnel killing many Kruthik Soldiers and workers that the queen must be sending against him.
But he soon came to a stop when he entered the large underground chamber that was home to the Kruthik Queen.
That's where he saw many different kinds of Kruthiks that surrounded the queen. Archer started scanning them one by one.
[Thorny Kruthik]
[Rank: A+]
In the center of this eerie congregation, Archer's gaze fixed upon the Thorny Kruthiks, their spiky exoskeletons glinting ominously.
These formidable sentinels stood at the forefront of the hive's defense, their sharp spikes designed to deter any intruders.
[Hive Lord Kruthik]
[Rank: SS+]
Next, his attention shifted to the towering figure that loomed behind the Thorny Kruthiks. It was the Hive Lord Kruthik, a nightmarish creature of immense size and power.
Archer could feel the mana emanating from this monstrous being, connecting it to the entire colony like a sinister puppeteer.
That's when he turned to the biggest Kruthik in the chamber and scanned her.
[Queen Kruthik]
[Rank: SSS+]
She was a colossal creature, her immense form sprawled upon a monstrous mound of organic matter.
Her chitinous exoskeleton glistened in the dim torchlight, and her multifaceted eyes regarded Archer with an eerie, otherworldly intelligence.
He observed that the queen stood apart from the rest of her kind.
Her body was visibly enlarged, bulging with eggs, and the chamber around her was filled with revolting, throbbing sacs that cradled the yet-to-hatch Kruthik larvae.
It was evident that she served as the hive's life force, the exclusive wellspring of new Kruthiks.
When he saw her he smiled but before he could speak a Thorny Kruthik lunged forward Archer summoned his wings to block the legs of the beast with a clang.
After doing that he drew a deep breath, feeling the energy coursing through him. In an instant, he exhaled a torrent of searing flames as he unleashed his violet flames.
The fiery blast engulfed the Thorny Kruthik, turning it into a writhing, screeching inferno that soon crumbled to a charred crisp.
However, Archer's instincts remained on high alert. He detected a lurking presence, a subtle attempt to approach him unnoticed.
In a swift motion, he spun to confront the Hive Lord, its massive silhouette concealed within the shadows.
Unbeknownst to the monstrous creature, his Aura Detector had identified its stealthy approach.
With a smile on his face, Archer cast Soul Eater. The ethereal tendrils of energy surged toward the Hive Lord Kruthik, enveloping it in an inky, consuming darkness.
The Hive Lord thrashed and screeched in agony as its life force was drained away. Archer stood triumphant, having dispatched both the Thorny Kruthik and the Hive Lord.
After finishing with that business he turned to the queen and spoke. ''Queen of the Kruthiks. Can you understand me?''
All the beasts around him stopped moving and all stared at him, but before anything could happen the voice of an older woman could be heard. ''How do you speak our tongue creature?''
''I can understand all languages. Now we can talk, how about you join my Monster Army and I will make sure you have a place to live and food to eat? You will grow stronger.''
The queen moved before everything went silent before she spoke. ''Why? We are fine here. Prey is plentiful.''
Archer sighed before he explained that the Nether Realm was dying and would become a lifeless rock.
He told her that he recruited the Nightmare Ants, Cave Spiders, and The Chull Kingdom to his army and they were happy.
The queen didn't believe him until he used Mana Manipulation to show their thriving colonies and how well the other queens were doing.
When the Kruthik Queen heard this she started to think before speaking to him. ''What do we need to do?''
Archer's smile widened as he clarified, "You'll need to take an oath, promising unwavering loyalty and never betraying me. Once you've done that, you can join my army."
The queen nodded her large head and started her oath. By the time she was done, Archer felt a connection grow between the two.
When that was done he cast Gate to the outside before summoning Stone Men and sending them to collect all the Netherbeasts they can capture.
Archer found a seat to get comfortable as the Stone Men reappeared but he opened a portal to the Monster Army part of the domain.
He stepped through and increased its size while adding more landscapes but built another wall around a large area just for them.
When he was done he returned to the Kruthik's colony he kept the portal open and spoke.
''Send some workers through and find a spot for your hive. But make sure you don't fight with the other Netherbeasts.''
The queen nodded her head and let out a weird chittering noise. After doing that three dozen Kruthik Workers rushed through the portal.
Archer sat back down as a stream of Stone Men were throwing Netherbeasts into the domain portal.
They did this for an hour before he decided to check on Hecate. Archer told the queen he would be right back.
He cast Gate to the area he left her and stepped through, that's when he heard roars and sounds of a battle coming from a mile away.
Archer took off in that direction and came across the Girallons fighting with some wild-looking humanoid creatures who were leaping around.
There were some Chull Warriors involved but they managed to keep Hecate safe. Archer saw her collecting herbs in the distance while four Tarrasque were around her.
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