The Queen Ant could feel the organ connected to her abdomen where she laid eggs, and she immediately turned to look at the flesh tube linking it to her body.

  She realized that the length of this new organ was only about five centimeters, and her emotions quickly shifted from happiness to disappointment.

  "Don't worry, this flesh tube will slowly grow longer, and your range of movement will expand. In the near future, the abdomen that has separated from you should regrow a complete digestive system. This will reduce the strain on your feeding. Until then, you must ensure that you consume enough nutrients," William, aware of what the Queen Ant was thinking, quickly explained.

  As the only high-intelligence entity in the swarm, William had no concerns about the Queen Ant's ability to understand.

  "Yes, Master. I will make sure to eat well," the Queen Ant said, her mood shifting back to happiness as she felt reassured, and William felt content as well.

  Time passed quickly in the accelerated development of William's divine domain. It was now the end of the third year since the Queen Ant's transformation, and only two more years were left until William would successfully ascend to high school.

  Since the Queen Ant's metamorphosis, the divine domain had been developing for two years. During this time, the number of Jump Insects had reached 2 million.

  This was thanks to the Queen Ant's division of ovaries, which sped up the accumulation of Jump Insects. Now, the Queen Ant had two divided ovaries, and the third one was nearly matured.

  The swarm's growth rate was currently increasing at the pace of one divided ovary per year, which improved the unit output. This was made possible by William halting the Queen Ant's own egg-laying, allowing only the divided ovaries to produce eggs. This ensured the Queen Ant could focus all her nutrients on her abdominal growth, speeding up her maturation. Otherwise, the number of Jump Insects would have already reached the 2 million limit much earlier.

  At present, the surface terrain of the divine domain remained a blend of forest and grassland, continuously expanding outward. From a high-altitude view, the domain appeared peaceful.

  The real changes, however, were underground. Thanks to the earlier construction of surface insect nests, massive underground chambers had been built beneath each nest by logistics spider ants, connecting them with tunnels to form an extensive underground transportation network—a true underground world.

  All the Jump Insects were housed in these chambers, in a state of dormancy, with their food consumption managed by the logistics spider ants.

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  William was cautious not to let them move around freely. If they were to wake from their minimum-consumption dormancy, the food requirements of 2 million Jump Insects would quadruple, a demand the domain could not sustain. As such, the daily work was handled by smaller, lower-consumption units.

  Through two years of accumulation and previous stored divine power, William's divine power points had once again reached over 2,200 points.

  Faced with the domain reaching another development limit, William was now considering his future path.

  He had two choices ahead. One was to keep holding out and exchange the remaining 2,200 divine power points for terrain resource cards to expand the domain by 2,200 square kilometers. However, when the third divided ovary matured, it would produce 6,000 eggs a day. If all were used to breed Jump Insects, the domain would hit its limit in less than two months. Producing smaller, low-consumption insect units would generate more belief power, prolonging the time before reaching the limit, but it still wouldn’t last until the start of high school. Once the limit was reached, the domain would only be able to slowly develop, watching the divine power trickle in.

  This option’s advantage was that it carried little risk, with a guarantee of some stability.

  The other choice was to invest the 2,200 divine power into invasion consumption, purchasing reconnaissance and movement-type divine skill cards to invade other divine domains.

  With his current strength, William was confident that he was among the fastest-developing and most powerful entities in this region, all of them leaving the protection period at the same time.

  The advantage of this path was that it could lead to rapid expansion, allowing the domain to grow at an accelerated pace, quickly raising its limit and ensuring the swarm’s long-term growth.

  However, the risks were higher. The universe was filled with countless civilizations, and it was possible that in this region, he might encounter monsters, demigods, or even gods who could easily destroy him.

  “Forget it. Fortune favors the bold. Even if I reach high school, I’ll need resources to develop. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Risks bring rewards. As long as I don’t meet the worst-case scenario, I can probably escape with my strength,” William analyzed both choices and ultimately decided to invade.

  “I’ve already called myself the Swarm Overlord. If I don’t go out and plunder, I’m not living up to the title. The development model should be about stealing.” With his decision made, William began mentally preparing himself, reassuring himself that this was the right choice.

  His demigod avatar disappeared instantly, and William was teleported to the official human civilization marketplace. He went straight to the counter, greeting the glowing orb behind it.

  “Hey, Hua, I’m here.” William greeted confidently.

  “Yo! Little brother, I was wondering who it was. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you. You’re not someone who comes without a reason. So, what do you need to buy this time?” The glowing orb, Hua, responded familiarly.

  Since the time William had come to him to purchase the Life Spring Water, their relationship had become more casual. Now, every time William needed something, he would go directly to Hua. They’d even shared their names.

  Hua was a very ordinary demigod working in the marketplace, running a god domain focused on logistics. He had his own specialized products, such as custom-made armor and weapons, and he also worked part-time to earn divine power, working toward saving up for 100,000 divine essence.

  William didn’t waste time. “Hehe, Hua, you know me well. Here’s the list of items I need. Take a look.” William transferred the list to Hua without further delay.