"Do you know who I am?"
Deng Ru transmitted his thoughts to the swarm of ants on the ground through his divine power.
The ants, who had been dancing, came to a halt and stared up at Deng Ru in awe.
After a moment of silence, the ant colony began to buzz with excitement, and the formation they had been maintaining dispersed in an instant.
Various pheromones filled the air as the ants communicated with each other.
Knowing how ants communicated, Deng Ru used his divine power to interpret these pheromones.
And then he heard a chorus of voices:
"Oh gods, the great Deng Ru has answered us!"
"Great Deng Ru, may you bless our colony with good weather and bountiful harvests!"
"Oh god, protect my friend in the soldier ant army as he battles the evil rat monsters!"
"Great god, we praise you! You are our mighty lord, the origin of all things, the end of all things!"
Although the words might vary slightly, they were generally expressions of shock, prayer, and praise filling the airspace above the ant colony.
Deng Ru's head began to ache from listening to the ants' praises.
It was too noisy.
He picked up a small ant and placed it on his hand, conveying a message through his divine power.
"My devout follower, I have witnessed your devotion. I shall bless your colony with prosperity. Now, take me to meet your king."
After receiving the message, the ant on his hand was momentarily stunned before shaking its antennae vigorously, releasing a new set of pheromones.
"Great Deng Ru, your devout follower is honored to serve you!"
Deng Ru couldn't help but feel a little pleased with himself as he listened to these words.
This was the kind of praise a proper deity should hear every day.
Despite feeling elated inside, he maintained an aloof exterior, pretending to be unaffected by the flattery.
This was how a proper deity should behave.
Although these ants were not his devout followers in the traditional sense, their flattery and the faith they provided were genuine.
And with millions, or even billions, of ants in a colony, the potential for faith was immense.
If he could provide them with ample food, their numbers could easily reach billions or even trillions.
Based on the calculation that one ant was equivalent to a tenth of a person, with a billion ants, he could rival the deity in charge of H City.
H City had a population of 90 million last year, making it one of the top-tier cities in terms of population on the planet Blue Star.
Due to the existence of deities, the population of the world had exploded, and deities had transformed any available land into habitable environments, erecting various skyscrapers.
Humans in this world lived a carefree life, with food at their mouths and clothes on their backs, thanks to the deities.
As long as they satisfied the unique whims of these deities, they could live a peaceful life.
These whims varied depending on the deity. For instance, the deity of H City derived pleasure from tormenting beautiful young girls.
His torment had nothing to do with sexual desires. He simply enjoyed watching the agony and screams of these girls, considered precious by men, as he toyed with them.
After his torment, the girls were discarded like rags.
Unfortunately, the girls who survived his torment were often left in such a state that even their corpses could not be pieced together.
Soon, the ant Deng Ru had picked up led out another ant, as big as a rat.
The first ant's antennae trembled slightly, conveying a message to Deng Ru.
"Great god, we are honored to introduce our queen to you. You created her, you created all living things. You are the benevolent father of all, the great god!"
The praise continued without repetition, and Deng Ru stopped listening after a while.
He looked at the ant queen, who was as big as a rat, with shock on his face.
This ant queen was completely different from the maggot-like ant queens he had imagined.
She was as strong and robust as a soldier ant, with a pair of powerful pincers. This ant queen was no ordinary ant queen!
Deng Ru couldn't help but feel astonished. Who would have thought that an ant could grow as big as a rat and hide in his home, breeding soldiers without his knowledge?
Even in his weakened state, he was still a deity. How could ants, such creatures, hide from his perception?
It was incredible.
The ant queen's antennae trembled slightly, sending a message to Deng Ru.
"Benevolent father, allow me to offer you my sincerest praise. You are the greatest being in the heavens and the earth."
Deng Ru was already tired of hearing such praise and used his divine power to interrupt the ant queen, conveying a message to her.
"How many lives exist in your colony?"
Deng Ru wanted to conduct a census, or rather an "ant-census," to determine the potential number of his future followers and see if he could reach a billion within a month.
If he could, he planned to invade H City and seize its faith resources, which he had coveted for some time.
The ant queen's antennae trembled in response, answering Deng Ru's question.
"Benevolent father, due to the oppression of other species, our colony has been reduced to only 50 million members."
Fifty million. That was the current number of Deng Ru's loyal followers.
With only these ants, Deng Ru knew he couldn't defeat the deity of H City.
"Which species is oppressing you? What are they?" Deng Ru frowned, wondering which creatures dared to harm his beloved ants.
Upon hearing Deng Ru's inquiry, the ant queen became visibly excited, sensing that Deng Ru intended to help them deal with their oppressors.
Her antennae moved rapidly, creating numerous afterimages.
"Benevolent father, they are the rat tribe that lives in the dark corners. They are too big and prey on us daily. Even I, as strong as I am, am no match for them. We can only rely on our numbers to maintain a balance with the rat tribe."
"I see. I have one more question. I want your colony to reach a billion members within thirty days. Is that possible?"
The ant queen became even more excited upon hearing Deng Ru's words.
They had always worshipped Deng Ru as the strongest and fairest being in the world, considering him the patron deity of their race.
Now, it seemed that Deng Ru, who had always maintained equality, was fully siding with their mighty ant race.
"Benevolent father, if there is no interference from the evil rat tribe and sufficient food, our colony can easily grow to a size of two billion!"
"!!!"
Deng Ru was shocked to his core upon hearing this.
Two billion! With such a vast number of followers, even if the H City deity was more powerful, he would surely drown in the ocean of Deng Ru's divine power.
Looking at the ant queen, who was as big as a rat, he felt even more resentment towards the pesky rats in his home.
If it weren't for those pesky rats, he would have discovered these ants by now and likely invaded the H City deity's stronghold.
"Worship me, erect a statue of me in your colony, and teach your future generations to worship me as well. I shall ensure the prosperity of your colony forever. If you agree to these terms, seal our pact by shaking my hand."
Deng Ru, barely containing his excitement, made his request to the ant queen and extended a finger.
If the ant queen agreed to his terms, she would touch her antennae to his finger, sealing their pact.