Insect Tamer's Ascension Chapter 544. Ant armour??

And just when Theo was about to speak again, the Ant Queen showed even more images of chambers filled with this ’skin’.

Theo wanted to say that these skins would just rot if not treated well, but the more he looked at them up close, the more he felt like something was wrong.

Until he saw a glimpse of something the Ant Queen was about to reveal later, not right now.

’...What is that ant wearing, Ant Queen?’ Theo asked as he pointed with his imaginary finger toward the image, making the Ant Queen automatically send emotions that were akin to saying, ’I will tell you soon.’

Theo didn’t know what to say to that, so he remained silent and watched further.

Not a single one of the viper skins was getting rotten, and since the amount was just too much, Theo knew they were the efforts gathered over months.

But skins were said to rot when kept untreated.

And it was then that the Ant Queen proudly shifted the perspective toward a certain ant who was doing something near the viper skin.

Theo saw the ant move its head to a ninety-degree angle, making the mandibles look like they were scissors.

And without waiting further, it moved the mandibles together, making the viper skin tear right away. The ant went along in a long line and then came back to do another line from another angle.

Until Theo saw it take out and carefully bring back what looked like a square cutting of cloth.

Theo saw a few more ants do the same thing, and then the perspective went to a certain ant that was making smaller cuttings out of the viper skin square.

But all the angles looked like they were just random cuttings meant to be kept as scraps.

But at that point, the perspective changed to another ant who was way ahead in the process, and Theo had to mentally sit down too.

The ant was using the small weird cuttings to put on an ant’s carapace.

Specifically the bigger round-backed one. It kept the skin on it and, with the help of smaller ants, moved and molded the skin according to the structure of the carapace.

Theo saw the skin being kept as it was by the ants as if they knew that if they were to move their mandibles, the skin would fall off.

And at that moment, Theo felt an overwhelmingly happy and proud emotion from the Ant Queen as if it was looking forward to Theo’s reaction for the next part.

Another few ants came forward with a leaf in tow. Upon a closer look, the leaf had a sticky liquid on it.

Theo tried to make out what it was, and then he saw the ant scrape some of the liquid with not its mandible but one of its legs before moving further. He was surprised by the intelligence.

It went toward one of the ants that was making sure the skin was tightly attached to the big burrower ant.

Until it went and applied that sticky liquid to one spot where the ant was holding onto the skin with its mandible.

The ants didn’t let go, and the ant went on to do it with all the spots that were stretched.

Until it went toward the leaf again and moved toward the next group that was stretching the skin.

Theo waited and waited until one of the ants thought it was time, and they moved their mandibles away one by one.

And surprisingly, the skin didn’t move away but stuck to the carapace.

’...What... the hell....’ Theo couldn’t believe what he had just seen.

And it was not like the Ant Queen was done at that moment.

Another image finally showed what that sticky liquid was, and Theo felt even more dumbfounded.

The Embermaw and the Aquamandible were together on a leaf he had seen being carried before.

First, the Aquamandible poured small drops of water onto the leaf, and then when it became a giant droplet, the Embermaw went and put a small piece of the resin it produced into it.

Theo wanted to scream for them to run away, but the amount was nowhere near enough to burn them when it would combust.

But surprisingly, when the resin got in contact with the water and the Embermaw and the Aquamandible started using their forelegs to mash the resin and mix it with the water,

The more Theo saw, the more he knew what the liquid had the consistency of, and all he could do was look at the Ant Queen’s silhouette in the hive mind at the time.

’Ant Queen.... How did you know you could make this?’ Theo spoke. ’I never gave you any instructions like this, and I never knew something like this could happen... How did you do it?’ Theo asked again in shock.

The Ant Queen stayed silent, but seeing the surprise and shock of its tamer, it was still happy.

With a few emotions, Theo understood what it said and went into even deeper thought.

’So it was instinct...’

Theo had never taken the basic ’instinct’ of the beasts into consideration. It opened a path in his mind that he never knew existed or didn’t know was possible.

But seeing all that, he felt like he had to do something. He was not just a ’simple’ tamer but a person who was leading an army of insects.

He went out of the Ant Queen’s big blob of mind and moved fast toward the far end of the hive before he saw the beautiful and organized blobs and lights of the whole hive.

He felt a slight prick in his head but didn’t mind it. It was not enough pressure to make him go mad again.

’I want every single one of you to know that...’ He said and made sure each one understood, ’That I am proud of what you have done so far. This is the level of development I had never thought would happen so early.’ Theo said out loud to the whole hive.

And by mistake, he said that all out loud in the real world too, making both attendants listen quietly.

’Again, I am very proud of what you have accomplished. Good job.’