Chapter 123: Worker Drones
Currently, the Brood Queen’s eggs have produced five specimens. These will require a lengthy development period before they can fulfill their designated roles.
The primary reason for this prolonged development traces back to Luo Wen himself.
Whether it was the previous Queen Ants or the current Brood Queens, they all originated from the Brood Nest, the sole source capable of producing these specialized units with hatching capabilities.
Although the Brood Nest was separate from Luo Wen, it maintained a connection with him. This link meant that the Brood Nest’s growth was limited by Luo Wen’s sixty-centimeter frame. Once the Brood Nest reached just under seventy centimeters, it hit its growth ceiling.
As a result, the newly formed Brood Queen eggs were only about ten centimeters in size. Growing such small eggs into massive organisms over ten meters long would naturally take significant time.
Luo Wen found this situation frustrating. Was he supposed to abandon his highly refined “assassin” combat style? If he were to “start over,” it would certainly involve selecting a larger biological template. However, the pool of large creatures the Swarm had encountered so far was limited, and Luo Wen couldn’t just settle for something aesthetically unappealing.
The Diplodocus, with its disproportionate head-to-tail ratio and sluggish movements, was certainly out of the question. The Tyrannosaurus Rex, while majestic and imposing at first glance, was hindered by its comically tiny forearms, a poor selling point.
The black-ringed red dragon that had once battled the T. Rex was a more viable option, but it was strictly a terrestrial unit. Luo Wen’s current body, refined through multiple adaptations, could operate in air, land, water, and underground—a true “quadri-terrain” combatant with unparalleled versatility and survival capabilities.
Sacrificing most of his combat capabilities just to enlarge the Brood Nest felt far too costly.