Shepherding Humanity

Xu Zhi never thought something like this would happen.

The Mother Hive asked him emotionlessly:

"Shall I exterminate them?"

Xu Zhi had absolute control over all the species that he had evolved from Tyranis spores. The tiny Bugapes before him were no exception.

He considered his options for a moment, then quietly asked: "Gilgamesh has assimilated the termite gene and is now much more powerful than his peers, with a lifespan that’s several times greater. Does this count as ascending?"

"No, he has only taken the first step towards opening his genetic lock. True ascension means the complete departure from passive evolution and gaining perfect control over your own genetic sequence. Gilgamesh can't even adjust his own genes to create a blank sequence that would allow him to assimilate a third set of genes."

Xu Zhi sighed, it really wasn't that easy.

Even when you fill an entire planet with Tyranis spores, only a handful of ascended Tyranis heroes would appear, so how could there be three here?

These three people could assimilate a second set of genes thanks to their great talent and willpower, but that was not all. They also had enough blank spaces in their genetic sequence.

But a second set of genes was already the limit. Without ascension, it would be difficult to assimilate a third set of genes.

Although he could not do this yet, Gilgamesh undoubtedly had some potential. But this did not give him the right to be so arrogant, tyrannical, and destructive. Xu Zhi could not allow him to continue destroying the sandbox’s ecosystem and bring about a barbaric civilization.

"Hive Mind, stay your hand."

Xu Zhi spoke calmly. "I want to see how strong Gilgamesh has grown to have dared to challenge me."

Xu Zhi has been strengthened by two extinction events. Not only had he recovered from the side effects of chemotherapy but his body has also grown much stronger, and was roughly at the same level as someone who exercises regularly.

Gilgamesh's special power was nothing more than having the proportionate strength of a termite. While ants and termites could lift many times their own body weight, they were still hardly a threat to human beings.

At the end of the day, Gilgamesh only had the strength and size of an ant. Xu Zhi wanted to see how far he could go.

…….

The earth rumbled. Countless archers fired their arrows in unison. Unfortunately, before the Great Beast of Wisdom, Sumer's most elite army was nothing more than a large swarm of ants.

Their arrows may be sharp, but they were simply too weak. They may be the size of an ant, but they did not have the strength of an ant. Their swords and spears stabbed futilely at Xu Zhi's pant legs but were unable to pierce his thick blue jeans.

This was like going through an overgrown pathway, and emerging with a bunch of tiny thorns stuck on your jeans. Their attacks were similarly meaningless.

"Even our most elite soldiers couldn't pierce his clothing?"

Gilgamesh looked slightly shocked, but he soon recovered his composure and strode forward. "It’s just as I’ve suspected. Numbers are meaningless before the Great Beast of Wisdom’s colossal size. My all conquering army is powerless before him."

He stomped hard on the ground and leaped high up into the air, leaving behind a snow-white afterimage. He jumped onto Xu Zhi's boot, then went up Xu Zhi's blue jeans, holding his sword in both hands. He continuously jumped upwards, and in the blink of an eye, he had reached Xu Zhi's knees.

"So fast! This kind of speed is comparable to that of a flea’s."

Xu Zhi was a little surprised.

An ant with the explosive jumping power of a flea was rather impressive.

Xu Zhi tried to swat him off.

"You wish!" The Hero King gripped his sword. He dropped down into a crouching stance and leaped forward with the speed of a cheetah, easily avoiding him.

Xu Zhi tried again.

It was useless.

Gilgamesh continued his rapid ascent, deftly zig-zagging up the folds of Xu Zhi's jeans. "So this is the Great Beast of Wisdom. The air pressure caused by his movements alone could have blown me away."

He felt as if he was climbing up the Pillar of Heaven.

From a human’s point of view, jeans have a relatively smooth surface, but for ant-sized creatures, its woven fabric was rough terrain with ample foothold for climbing.

"Your Majesty, Ishtar has come to support you!"

At this moment, the King of the Steppes, Ishtar, arrived on the battlefield. She was an attractive woman with a voluptuous body lined with sleek muscles. Gripping her giant warhammer firmly in hand, she leaped up high and landed on Xu Zhi's pant leg.

"Here comes another one."

Xu Zhi waved his hand and struck at Ishtar.

Facing a hand the size of a mountain, Ishtar lightly jumped and dodged. She ascended Xu Zhi's huge body with giant leaps.

She was a skilled warrior who had fought for many years against the great beasts. The victor of countless battles, her lithe and powerful body was covered in scars. She did not bring shame to her title of King of the Steppes.

"She's also very fast, but I’m about done with my test."

As he thought this, Xu Zhi swung his hand with greater speed and struck Ishtar.

BOOM!

Ishtar’s face contorted in shock. She couldn’t react in time and got swatted like a mosquito, She flew backwards while coughing up blood.

In the next second, Xu Zhi raised his hand again. With mighty gales trailing in its wake, his palm descended like a mountain upon Gilgamesh.

"No! How can this be–" Gilgamesh exclaimed in shock. Though he only had a split second to react, Gilgamesh wielded his sword with magnificent skill and brought up his sword in time to shield his body.

Xu Zhi’s palm struck the sword’s blade.

Gilgamesh’s world spun.

Like Ishtar, he flew backwards, and fell like a stone down to earth.

The two of them had climbed up to Xu Zhi's waist, about a meter or so above the ground. For them, this was equivalent to a several thousand meters drop.

While ants could fall from a height of a meter or two and be fine, this was because they had a different body structure with no skeleton. The Bugapes who had a human’s skeletal structure were basically dead after falling from that height.

However, even though their bones were shattered by the fall and they were coughing up blood, they did not die instantly and stubbornly held on to life.

Xu Zhi looked down. He was surprised to see that Gilgamesh had managed to leave a wound on his hand, which slowly started to bleed. "He actually cut me! What superb sword technique! They possess such terrifying strength relative to their size. If they were human-sized, then they’d be superhumans who could leap over walls, dodge bullets, and fall from a helicopter thousands of meters in the air without dying. This is already at the level of the Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man!"

They've begun to gain super-powers!

Xu Zhi had not been wrong, the smaller the body size, the easier it was to accumulate energy and cause a qualitative change.

Even so, an ant-sized Hulk or Spider-Man could not pose a fatal threat to Xu Zhi.

"I can't believe I lost in one move. I could only leave a cut on his skin…"

Gilgamesh laughed miserably. His bones had been shattered. He lay on the ground in a pool of blood as he gazed upwards.

The Great Beast of Wisdom looked down at Gilgamesh from above the clouds. His mighty form was cloaked in white light and a radiant halo rested upon his brow.