Chapter 2925 - Chry 132

The ball of mana is incredibly dense, and from this close, I can see the dark green energy twisting and spitting virulently. This venom mana is unlike anything I've seen before. Not quite like acid, not quite like the toxic poison of the fifth, it's almost a blend of the two. I've no doubt that, should it touch me, it would begin to eat through my carapace and body like an acid, and spread throughout my carapace like the fifth's toxic mana.

Nasty stuff.

Of course, I was more than ready for this eventuality! You aren't taking me out by launching a surprise, short-range bomb! You can't quote me the deep lore when I wrote it!

Shields snap into place, as dense and thick as I can make them, but of course they aren't going to accomplish much. As expected, the bomb smashes straight through the shields, losing only a fraction of its momentum, but that's fine, I had the mana ready, so it didn't hurt to use it.

Of course, the best way to fight the spell launched in my face is to match it with another bomb, but from this close, that would be as good as sticking my head into a black hole. Unhealthy.

Alternate methods must be employed and the best method of all is to get the heck out of the way!

There is just enough energy inside the Altar to empower my dash, and I spring to the side with, quite literally, blinding speed. My vision blurs as I move so quickly that I basically teleport, my antennae slapping back onto my carapace almost painfully.

The sizzling ball of venom mana sears past me in my wake, and I laugh heartily within my heart. Did you really think I wasn't ready? Gweheheheh! Now you will experience your doom, slug-snake!

However, I seem to have misjudged the distance when I engaged my dash… by rather a lot.

SMASH!

I plough headfirst into the wall, sending shards of rock flying everywhere and burying myself in stone.

Dammit!

This is hardly dignified! I bring up my six legs and try to yank myself out, but it isn't easy. I really managed to bury myself rather deep. Behind me, I feel the venom bomb detonate, sending globs of mana flying all throughout the area. Stuck as I am, all I can do is throw up more shields and conjure stone, shaping it to cover my business district so it doesn't experience a hostile takeover.

My brains spin, and I quickly realise that manipulating the stone behind me isn't the only option I have… there is stone in front of me as well. I flex my minds along with my mandibles and begin ripping into the rock, plunging myself into a state of ant zen as I chew my way deeper, keen to escape the venom that is melting through everything behind me as well.

This is the risk of the bomb strategy. Great power, poor target selection. Pressed down by the well, the snake-ish slug wouldn't have been able to escape its own bomb and is doubtlessly suffering the effects.

Working my jaws, I throw myself into the task of ripping a path through the rock, bending my way around to connect to the main chamber. It only takes me a minute to break through, and I emerge back into the light to find the scene is much changed from before I left.

Everything is coated in a thin layer of the venom mana and it sits, sizzling away, menacingly, on the surface of the stone. I look at it, a little puzzled, then realisation strikes me. This isn't acid, this is venom. I'm sure it's incredibly potent at eating through biological tissue, but stone? Not so much.

Interesting.

The other thing that strikes me is that the slug-snake somehow has managed to leave. I can sense it now, slithering, faster than I would have expected, disappearing deeper into the stratum with its tail between its metaphorical legs.

Running away? You coward! How in the heck did you even manage to get away?

I check the well above my head, and while it's definitely weakening, it's still very much in effect. This is a potent well with the full force of the Altar behind it. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but it's mighty! There's no way this damn slug should have been able to get out of here.

Then I see it. The venom is still eating away at it, but I can see enough to determine what might have happened here. There's a large amount of slug flesh and slime piled up where the snake was pinned, although it's rapidly vanishing as the venom slips through the slime and gets hold of the flesh.

The lousy monster sloughed off part of its own body to escape the well and slither away while I had my head stuck in the wall!

It never would have been able to do it if I'd been watching the whole time, but I managed to bury my own head in the wall, giving it the opportunity to get out!

This trick can't have gotten the monster far, but it was apparently far enough to escape the area I'd defined to be under the effect of the well, which wasn't much, being honest. I'd kept it narrow in focus to concentrate its power, so even a little bit of distance would have been enough to get some of its body out of the effect.

This is humiliating. More than a little humiliating, in fact. I could chase after it, even though it's moving fast. The monster has to have been significantly weakened, it looks like it left about forty percent of its mass here, but running blindly into the fifth, getting further and further away from the support of my family….

It's not a smart idea.

For now, my best bet is to retreat, regroup with the family and let them know what happened. Hopefully, Solant will be able to figure out what to do next. Maybe, with the monster chased away, that's all we really need? So long as it doesn't come back, we can expand down here and start construction… so I guess that's a win?

-x-X-x-

I'm not used to having to come back to my family with news of failure, though it feels like it's becoming more of a thing lately, and I'm not happy about it. I can't wait until we crush this stratum in its entirety so I can run around smacking the slugs about with my antennae. Without the benefit of their toxic environment, they'll be helpless before me, forced to bow down and bury their sluggy faces into the dirt!

Whoa!

Need to be careful, that felt like the dark one was beginning to rise up. I swear, this place is really bringing out the worst in me. Disgruntled and annoyed, I make my way up the tunnel and back into the safe-zone, welcomed by the large battalion of soldiers the Colony had put in place to defend it. They all pat me on the carapace with their antennae and I exchange jokes and yell at them when they say I'm slacking.

They won't advance without orders from Solant, so there's no need to let them know how the fighting went.

Solant, as usual, is an island of calm within a sea at storm.

"It got away," I announce without fanfare.

Solant turns to look at me for a moment.

"It got away?" she asks.

"Well… there were… complications… but yes. The enemy shed a chunk of its body and escaped."

Stupid snake-slug! This is embarrassing! Next time I see you, I'll bury you under the weight of a black hole so powerful it would have eaten that golgari mountain for breakfast!

"So long as it has cleared out of the area, we can begin capture and decontamination. Construction of the fortress is the only thing that matters. Thank you, Eldest."

Wait… she isn't mad? I'm a little surprised.

"It's fine, then? You predicted that I might fail?"

"In what way did you fail?" the little general asks, turning back to consider her ever-expanding model. "You were tasked with removing the obstacle and it is gone. I fail to see the issue."

Well… that's good, then!

Seriously, though, I don't know how they're expanding this model, but every time I come back, it's grown. As the Colony expands its controlled area and uncovers more tunnels, the model grows to reflect these new discoveries. Even the furthest edges, which haven't been confirmed by our scouts but are guessed at by our dungeon seers and those with the finest tunnel senses, are here, constructed from a different coloured stone.

I've never seen anyone working on it, but I highly doubt the Colony has managed to create an automated construction array that updates the model according to some sort of input. Even Brilliant wouldn't be able to do that! I think…

"Well, if we run into the monster again, make sure to let me know. I have a score to settle with that slug."

"A slug? I thought it was a snake?"

"It's both."

"Do you think it's related to the Krath?" she asks, her scent unusually pointed.

"I… don't think so? Snails and slugs seem to be fairly common monster types down here. This particular beast has some snake-like traits, but definitely has a slug body. Unless it turns out to have been a pet they placed in that location, I don't see how it could be related to the Krath. Why do you ask?"

Solant turns to her precious model, tapping several locations with her antennae.

"Scouts have reported suspicious activity in these locations."

Each is close to the edge of our claimed territory, but nowhere near the Legion, which is interesting.

"Although I believe they are taking great pains to conceal themselves, there is little doubt the Krath are beginning to mass against us. This is about the time we expected them to arrive, but the delays mean our defences are not nearly as complete as we would have hoped."

"You want me to go out there and give them a scare?"

Solant clacks her mandibles thoughtfully.

"It may be worth your time… though you must be careful. I expect they will go to great lengths to try and secure prisoners to gain information or put them into their conversion pits. You are their highest priority target, I have no doubt of that, though they may judge it too difficult to take you alive."

"In which case, they'll just try and put an end to me."

"Indeed."

"I almost wish they'd try. I can only imagine what Crinis would do to them…."

The little general does not answer that, no doubt as frightened by the prospect as I am.

"Alright then," I say, "I'll go out and see if I can poke the hornet's nest. I'm interested to see how many came to say hello."

I turn away, leaving Solant to deal with the million different problems that constantly arise. The second I step away, a swarm of scouts, generals and mages descend on her, each looking for the solution to their own particular problem. Somehow, I'm not even out of the command centre before order has been restored and she is patiently resolving one issue after another.

I hope the next champion born into the Colony proves to be as useful. Brilliant has made great contributions, of course, but has always been erratic, to say the least. Vibrant, the first champion, has done more for the Colony than most will ever know, running from one battlefield to the next at a pace none can match. I dare say she's done more fighting than I have, without having taken on enemies of as high a level. I wouldn't say she's erratic, but she's definitely… odd. Let's leave it at that.

For now, I need to get back out into the tunnels and see what the Krath are up to. I need a quick medical check-in first, and I should say hi to the gang before Crinis starts getting worried. After that, I'll try and lure some slugs out into the open. I still haven't given up on capturing one, but that's gone down a little in priority. I'd hoped to learn from a Krath, take a bit of their fifth stratum expertise, but with the Legion here, we have an alternate source. I hope they're sharing as much as they're meant to be.

-x-X-x-

"I hate the fifth," Morrelia groaned.

"So you've said," Joshen noted, "several times."

"Did you do officer training here, tribune?" she asked, peering at the surroundings with open dislike.

She'd hoped never to come back here after the hellish officer course. Somewhere down here, perhaps thousands of kilometres away, the facility she'd stayed in was still there, a new batch of trainees being put through their paces, suffering just as she had suffered.

"I did," he replied. "I was part of the training group before you, I believe."

She turned to look at him. As usual, Joshen had taken some pains with his appearance, his golden hair and armour gleaming even here. How on Pangera he managed to find the time to bother with it was a mystery to her. Morrelia was busy from the moment she woke up to the moment she went to sleep. Only when on duty in the tunnel did she have time to think. When the monsters weren't charging, there really wasn't much to do except stand about and be ready for when they did.

"How do you feel about this stratum?" she asked.

"I hate it," Joshen replied, his tone flat. "Does anyone like it? There aren't any redeeming qualities to this place."

"And now you're here again in the company of a million monster ants. How do you feel about that?"

"Bad."

"That's it?"

"I think it communicates the necessary information."

"It's a bit lacking in detail."

"What do you want me to say?" her fellow tribune sighed.

The two of them stood side by side in the centre of the line, disciplined ranks of Legionaries lined up on either side. Before them, the slimy, mucus-filled haze of the fifth stratum stretched out across the entire width of the tunnel. For now, nothing stirred. The Colony had already crushed most of the monsters in the area, and they only had to deal with the newly spawned creatures.

They were in the fifth… but…

Morrelia looked around them at the comforting bubble of blue that enveloped them all.

"I never thought it would be so boring here," Morrelia complained.

They were safe from the toxic atmosphere, and there weren't many monsters to fight. This was supposed to be the most inhospitable and dreadful place in the entire Dungeon! What was with this peaceful environment?!

"You'd rather it was more exciting?" Joshen asked, raising a brow.

"No," she replied definitively, "I'm just having trouble reconciling the image in my mind with my experience. I don't feel any sense of danger. I almost wish something would happen to restore my sense of normality."

Joshen turned away from the tunnel before them to look back down the line. The Legion had completed work on their fortified camp the previous day, which had pleased the troops. Mages had to do the bulk of the work, but even the foot soldiers were required to put their backs into preparing the ground.

Then he frowned, appearing to notice something unexpected.

"How about that? Does that relieve you of your boredom?"

Morrelia couldn't imagine something behind them that would relieve her boredom. At least… nothing good came to mind. She could think of several things she most definitely didn't want to see.

Almost afraid to look, Morrelia turned her head, then snapped back to attention a moment later.

"I need to leave my post for a moment."

Joshen frowned at her.

"You can't leave your post. What are you saying? The Commander would throw a fit."

"She doesn't have to know!" Morrelia hissed.

"But she would," Joshen pointed out. "I would tell her. What's gotten into you, are they really something we need to worry about? Are we under attack?"

"You aren't," she muttered.

For a moment, she actually considered making a run for it. If she went and hid amongst the rank and file, surely she would escape notice. Joshen would report her, and Chyron would chew her out, perhaps even put a note on her file, but it was possibly worth it!

In the end, she was unwilling to let her fellow tribune get one over her so easily, not on account of that idiot. Whatever happened, she would deal with it. How bad could it get?

A minute later, a Legionary approached the two officers with the message she'd been dreading.

"Tribunes. Messengers have arrived from the Colony. They wish to speak with you directly. Do they have permission to approach?"

"They do," Joshen affirmed, quick to step into the authoritative role before Morrelia had the chance. "We'll meet them here."

"Very well."

Morrelia didn't bother to turn around and kept her eyes affixed on the tunnel, desperate for a tsunami of slime, an avalanche of mucus, a Krath invasion, something.

The soldiers around her tensed, and she could hear the sound of ant legs crossing the stone as they approached. If only it was just ants, then she wouldn't be worried.

"Nice to meet you, tribunes," a familiar voice said, "my name is Isaac Bird and I serve as captain of the ant cavalry. This is my partner, Cavalant."

Morrelia turned just as the ant in question finished giving them a friendly wave, expecting to see Isaac staring at her, as he usually did, only to be surprised. He wasn't staring at her, he was staring at Joshen. And he didn't look happy.

Oh Dungeon. Please take me now.

"And who might you be?" Isaac asked, sitting tall in his saddle and knuckling his moustache.

"Tribune Joshen Aurelis. You may address me as Tribune, or Tribune Aurelis."

"We don't much stand on ceremony in the Colony, A real man is more than just a title," Isaac said.

"In the Legion, we do. Address me correctly and I will show you the same courtesy, Captain Bird."

"If you insist, Tribune."

The two men continued to exchange level stares, and Morrelia desperately wished she could just slide out of the frame. For his part, Joshen appeared mildly confused and a little affronted, whereas Isaac was bordering on openly hostile.

"Why are you here, Isaac?" she asked, partly to end this conversation as soon as possible, and partly to stop him glaring at a Legionary as if he wanted to punch them.

Isaac turned to face her, and his stern glare melted into an oafish, wide-eyed look that she found particularly disturbing.

"The Colony wanted someone to act as a liaison to your Legion and, of course, I volunteered."

"I bet you did."

"I'll be posted here along with a few of my people for the next while. I'm sure we can have an effective partnership."

"Please direct all correspondence and enquiries to Tribune Joshen."

-x-X-x-

Once I've got the all clear from the healers and assured Crinis that I'm not dead, nor have I been teleported to some distant, horrific part of the Dungeon, I'm free to go on my next errand!

Namely: find some Krath and make them regret showing their slimy faces around the Colony! There's several locations where Solant suspects the Krath might be gathering, each of them toward the deeper end of our spreading influence. Which only makes sense, why would they head closer to the fourth, where our influence is at its strongest?

After my failure with the snake-slug, I'm keen to vent some frustration, but I'm wary that if I go overboard, I'm likely to regret it. The slugs are wily enemies, and I have little doubt they'd jump on any opening I give them, so I need to be cautious.

I move through the tunnels with confidence, marvelling at the incredible work the Colony has done in such a short span of time. The logistics network that Solant painstakingly designed is paying dividends everywhere I look. There's a constant flow of materials moving outward from the hubs that have been constructed along the vertical shafts that cut through the heart of the fortress to be.

Ants, humans, and members of the various other races, recruited from their communities among the independent cities of the Dungeon, all work in harmony, an endless march of materials delivered to the hundreds of build teams swarming all over the occupied territory. I can already see dramatic change in the tunnels I go through.

What was once rough, natural Dungeon has been converted into the smooth and wide tunnel structures that the Colony prefers. Roads, chambers, walls, defences, everything is being constructed at once, some parts way ahead, others lagging behind. Most important of all are the channels and wuffer platforms, each a feat of engineering that I certainly wouldn't want to attempt to build.

After saying hello to everyone I pass, I check in with the general in charge of the tunnel I plan to venture out into.

"Hey there, general. Oh shoot, I didn't expect to see you here, Victor!"

The general waggles her antennae irritably.

"And why would that be?"

"I thought you were managing things up in the fourth."

"Sloan is up there at the moment and things are going fairly smoothly, so I'm here."

"Trade with the brathians is going smoothly? No trouble from the Silver City?"

I almost ask about the Church of the Path, but manage to stop myself. Brilliant is looking into that mess. Which reminds me, I need to check in with her to see how things are going. I'll make that a priority once I get back.

"There haven't been any major issues. The brathians have been busy smoothing everything over to the best of their abilities, and we are starting to receive payment for our efforts, which is gratifying."

"Good number of cores coming in?"

"More than I expected," the general concedes.

I take that to mean it's way more than she expected. A good thing, considering all the effort we went through to get our mandibles on those things.

"Great stuff," I say, pleased. "Well, Solant wants me to check out this tunnel and scope out any Krath activity. She said the scouts had reported some suspicious movements in this area."

The general clacks her mandibles thoughtfully.

"I suppose it could be the Krath out there. The monsters have been moving oddly, different from their previous patterns."

"How so?"

"We get less reckless charges than before, but enough to make it seem like nothing has changed."

"They could be massing newly spawned monsters somewhere nearby? Preparing for a massive wave of weaker creatures?"

"Definitely possible. If you can sniff them out, I'll be grateful, Eldest. Good luck."

"Thanks very much. Say hi to Sloan for me."

I bid farewell to the general and make my way deeper into the tunnel. There's a full battalion of ants on guard at the edge of the safe-zone. Drilled in Solant's formations and tactics, ten thousand of my siblings stand watch to make sure nothing encroaches on the territory claimed by the family.

I wave to them and exchange words as I make my way through the ranks. It bothers me a bit that they still call me lazy as I'm heading out into the toxic area. I mean… really now.

Once I clear the blue mana, the familiar sensation of eye melting and body invading takes place. It's amazing what a person can get used to, given enough time and exposure.

At first glance, this tunnel doesn't appear all that different from the others. There's the usual slime strands, each at least a metre thick, connecting the walls, floor and ceiling like a spider web made of snot, along with the thick carpets of moss and various other examples of stuff I really don't like to see.

I'm immediately on alert, but there doesn't seem to be anything that immediately catches my attention. Of course, I wouldn't expect the slugs to be that unsubtle. They didn't exactly get their nefarious reputation for being obvious.

Acting as though I have no care in the world, I execute my best ant-strut and begin to stride into the open tunnel. I blast the mucus and slime with Dragon's Breath, clearing the way as I go, trying to look as though I'm on nothing but a regular investigation mission.

All the while, my antennae are waggling. No matter how hard they try, there's nothing the slugs can do to eliminate the gravitational waves they emit, and my antennae are sensitive enough to pick up even those tiny vibrations. Surprisingly, it doesn't take that long for me to get my first readings.

They're staying well back, out of sight, hiding their mana signatures so well I don't even get a sniff of them.

Sneaky, sneaky. But not sneaky enough!

-x-X-x-

Hmm. As pleased as I was to find the first signs of the Krath, it soon becomes apparent that something different is going on here. There's too many of them. I haven't even been here that long and I've found dozens of them! That's too many!

They couldn't have known I was going to come here, so they must have been here all along, right? Just what the heck is going on?

I briefly consider turning around and heading straight back to Victor for a report. I doubt she expected to find that there would be such a large number of Krath lurking on the outskirts of the Colony's territory. It's enough that even I'm starting to feel vaguely threatened.

And if there's this many here in this tunnel, there may be an equal number in others. Solant was right, as usual. I don't know if I'd call several hundred Krath an army, but it's more than we've faced up to this point. They've finally gotten themselves organised and decided to come and fight us for real.

It's worrying, but also a little exciting! If I can smack them around hard enough, perhaps they'll turn around and leave the Colony alone for a bit.

Well, I shouldn't get ahead of myself. I need to see what I can see before I make grandiose plans.

As I move deeper into the tunnel, maintaining my confident, six-legged stride, my senses remain on alert. I'm certain they're going to pull something, there's no way they just let me wander through without trying something… is there?

After fifteen minutes of burning, strutting and chomping on the stray monsters who do show up, I'm starting to think they may just prefer to keep themselves hidden.

Which is, of course, the exact moment they decide to spring their trap.

I have no idea how they managed to conceal the slime netting, I can literally see in every direction at once (almost), including directly over my head. I still didn't notice the darn thing until it started to fall on me!

Naturally, I spring into action the moment I notice it. My nervous system is like greased lightning and my legs are firing before my brain has even realised why.

I sprint to the left, and I almost manage to clear the net. The lousy thing spreads out wider as it drops, compelled by some form of slug chicanery, and manages to clip my middle leg on the right side of the body, sticking tight.

Of course, I try to shake it off immediately, but no luck, whatever goop they made it with isn't coming off that easily.

I detect a rumble in the distance and soon spot a horde of monsters turning the corner up ahead. These must be the newly spawned monsters they've corralled over the last few days. Bah! Do they really think a bunch of weak monsters like this will be enough?

My brains spin and I begin to weave together a gravity bomb, then I notice the net is behaving a little oddly.

The lousy thing is alive.

Only a small part of it managed to grab onto my leg, but the rest of the slime is actively gathering up and pulling itself towards me. The section that did manage to get ahold of me is literally crawling up my leg, strengthening its hold.

With no time to think, I spin together more Dragon's Breath and let it rip, roasting my own leg in the process. It's difficult to tell at first, but after I let the flame rip for five seconds, I check, and of course they've made the lousy thing fire resistant. It's fairly roasted, don't get me wrong, but it's still alive, somehow, weakly squirming its way further up my leg.

I can't afford to be caught out here, so I do the only thing I can and bite the end of my leg off with a quick chomp. The moment I shear through the leg, I leap away, lest the lousy thing manage to get ahold of me again.

I've got a weak gravity bomb ready, so I empower it with the Altar and let it rip, flinging it down the tunnel toward the oncoming monsters. It howls to life and I find the screaming wind a little comforting as I start to whip another one together, along with some shields and more fire.

I can still sense the Krath out there, lots of them. They aren't far away, but are keeping well out of sight and beyond my range. Perhaps they learned from their earlier, more aggressive attempts to mess with me? Shame.

The first of the monsters runs headfirst into the approaching bomb, and it expands, consuming the creature immediately. However, the tunnel is wide, and there's no reason for all of them to funnel into the bomb, many of them making it around the zone from which they couldn't escape the pull.

As they get closer, however, they all home in towards me, that same ravenous anger in them that I see in every monster of the fifth. When they get close enough, but not too close, I let the second bomb go and watch as they charge headlong into it.

Which is the moment the Krath strike.

From a dozen different points along the roof, more nets are fired as if they were launched out of a cannon. They cover a wide area, not just covering me, but the area around me for dozens of metres.

It seems they really want to capture me! Well, too bad, suckers!

The shields are already in place and the nets make a wet slap sound as they make contact and wrap themselves around the invisible barriers. Of course, I anticipate they'll melt through those shields in no time, and I'm running before they've even hit the shields.

Trying to catch me in your sentient nets of doom, eh? You'll have to try a little harder, you stupid slugs! Gweheheheheh.

I expect them to try again, to extend themselves and have another crack, but they don't. Seeing that their attempt has been thwarted, all the Krath I sense begin to pull away, sliding through the narrow cracks in the stone between tunnels, growing more distant by the second.

Well… that's disappointing.

-x-X-x-

It seems the Krath are planning on being more cautious this time around. That's honestly more what I expected from them, as opposed to their rather upfront and gung-ho approach we've witnessed till now.

Everything we know about them says that the slug tribes are the wiliest, most frustrating and downright nasty creatures a person can fight in the Dungeon. I didn't think I'd even see a Krath for ages, let alone have them charging at me almost as soon as we arrived.

This feels more like what I expected. They're going to poke and prod, try to work out what I can do, and devise a cunning plan to deal with me once and for all. It's annoying, but I think I've learned enough for the moment to warrant heading back to report.

Also, I'm missing the end of one of my legs.

Having all six legs in operational condition is the bare minimum requirement for extensive investigation. It's painful enough going out there without any open wounds.

As the Krath retreat, so do I, and Victor is a little surprised to see me back so soon.

"They're out there," I confirm, waggling my leg stump. "Tried to catch me with some sort of weird, living net-thing. It seems they're quite keen to capture one of us."

"As if we'd let them," she huffs.

"There's way more out there than I expected," I warn her. "If the other tunnels are similar, then there's a lot of Krath hanging around. I think they're looking to do something major, soon."

"I'll send word to Solant. We'll be on the lookout."

Soon the scouts run off to deliver messages, and I watch as the attitude of the surrounding soldiers grows even more grave, if that were possible. Knowing that there's a horde of maniacal slugs out there is one thing, knowing that they're right on your doorstep is another. I have no doubt the Colony will be ready when the Krath finally decide to take on the safe-zone.

Even though I was only out for a short period of time, the healers subject me to another vigorous examination and purification process. I swear they enjoy forcing me to sit and wait while they poke and prod at me. Eventually they give me the all clear after inspecting my leg for what I would consider to be way too long.

When that's all out of the way, I decide it's time to call on Brilliant and see if she's made any progress regarding our 'friends' over at the Church of the Path. Reaching out to her via the Nave, I prod her to see what she's doing.

[Hey, Brilliant. Got a second?]

[What? No,] she grumbles. [I've got a hundred different research projects on the go.]

[Is that really an issue?]

[No, because I'm BRILLIANT!]

[That's what I assumed. Can you pop down to the fifth for a chat?]

[Aren't we talking now? Why do I have to go down there?]

[It's better to hold conversations in person.]

[You want me to hop through dimensions for your convenience?]

[Yes.]

[... Fine.]

It takes a surprisingly short amount of time for the little mage to appear. She pops into existence so quickly that I assume she was on the way from the moment I first reached out to her.

I'm lying on the ground, getting some leg-regeneration time, and all of a sudden I have an ant on my back.

"Working hard, I see," Brilliant quips.

"I had to bite my own leg off to escape a Krath trap. Give me a break."

"Sounds like things are going much as Solant expected then."

"Wait, she consulted you? I didn't realise you'd spoken at all."

"Of course. I chat to Solant and Vibrant semi-regularly. Share perspectives, discuss differences of opinion and upcoming projects."

A champion chat club? I had no idea that existed. I suppose it's a good thing; they have unique ways of looking at the Colony, and it certainly doesn't hurt for them to cooperate with each other.

"Putting that aside, I wanted to speak to you about the Church of the Path."

"I assumed as much."

"What have you learned?"

She falls silent for a moment, unusual for Brilliant. Hesitance is the last thing I would ever expect from this braggadocious individual.

"Do you really want to know, Senior?" she says, finally. "It's… not good."

I don't even know what to say about that.

"They took one of our family, Brilliant. There is no way I'm ever going to let it go."

"I suppose that's true," she sighs. "I've been investigating this as you asked, and I believe I've learned what they want with us, and the process through which they achieve their goal."

"There's a process? What the heck are they doing over there?"

"The Church has some… interesting beliefs. I think you know some of it?"

"The Dungeon and monsters were created to give the sapient races a way to ascend… or something."

"Right. However, the Church takes this view to the extreme. In their eyes, the Dungeon, and the monsters created within, are resources that only exist to empower the worthy."

"There are plenty of groups who try to exploit the Dungeon," I shrug. "Just about everyone does it to some extent, even us."

If I'm being honest, the Colony has worked to exploit the Dungeon on an almost industrial scale.

"It's more than just the extreme nature of the attitude, it's the methods they choose to apply. This is where the Nectar comes into play."

"Nectar?"

"It's a highly prized liquid only available through the Church, as they alone know the method of its creation. Remarkable stuff, apparently. Just by drinking it, one can gain experience and levels."

"From a drink?!"

That sounds outrageous, but even more than shock, I feel a sinking feeling develop deep in my core. I'm starting to see why Brilliant might have been reluctant to tell me about this.

"Just spit it out. How do they make it, Brilliant? You know, don't you?"

"Of course, Eldest. I'm Brilliant."

-x-X-x-

It was never possible for there to be peace between the Colony and the Church of the Path. How could there be? The Church was almost as virulently anti-monster as the Abyssal Legion, though for very different reasons.

The Legion has always feared the Dungeon, believing that if it were left unchecked, the end result would be a repeat of the Rending, if not worse. For that reason they have sought to combat monsters, find new and better ways to destroy them.

The Church looks upon monsters not as a threat, but as a gift. A sacred offering made for the betterment of the civilised races of Pangera. To them, it was nothing less than their sacred mission to destroy monsters and reap the XP provided. Any means that allowed them to reap a greater harvest was justified, and any obstacle to this purpose was unholy.

Their wanton pillaging of the Dungeon, and unwillingness to engage with monsters as the severe threat that they are, was the primary reason the Church and the Legion were always at odds.

- From the writings of Alberton, Liria branch Legion Loremaster

Well… I don't know what I expected the Church to be doing with the monsters they captured, but this wasn't it. I mean… I've seen and experienced some pretty nasty stuff since I was born into this world, but this is the first thing I've come across that I would describe as actually evil.

Like… cartoon bad-guy sort of stuff.

I almost can't comprehend it. The thought of something so terrible happening to one of my sisters just doesn't seem real. It's not possible. My brains refuse to accept that I live in a world where that occurred.

The idea that they are still out there, hoping to do this to more of us, is unacceptable. One is too many. It would be an unforgivable, irredeemable sin were it only to occur once. Any more than that, a single instance, and I will do something drastic, something severe, to ensure that it never happens again.

Before I even realise it, a new resolve has taken shape within me. Once the Colony is done with the fifth, we will need to revisit this problem. A permanent solution must be found, and recompense must be extracted.

But for now, there's nothing that can be done. I'm sure the Church is going out trying to recruit others to their cause. If enough become interested, then I'm sure there would be a large-scale attack on the Colony. Were enough to join in, it's possible they would be able to bring an end to us altogether, but we've already put a dint in those plans. My initiative to bring trade to the Colony was a massive success, and it's unlikely the Silver City will be willing to launch a war of extinction against someone they do business with.

Hopefully it's enough for now. Later, we can look for something a little more permanent.

With a great effort, I push all thoughts of the horrifying reality out of my mind. I don't have any space to think about it right now; my mandibles are full dealing with our current problems, namely the army of Krath gathering right outside our territory.

Not to mention the rest of the difficulties we face in conquering this stratum. There's a lot to do!

If I went to report to Solant now, I don't doubt I'd be sent back out to scout more tunnels and get a better sense of how many slugs are out there. Which is fine, I'm happy to do that, once my leg grows back, of course, but first I want to go and check in with the best non-insect monsters in the entire Dungeon.

I find Tiny, Crinis and Invidia all hanging out together, and I run up to greet them with a friendly wave of the antenna.

[Hey, gang! How are you–]

Ghost fist.

[Hey! That's just rude! What did I do to deserve the ghost fist treatment, huh? Why don't you form the intent to punch yourself, you hands-happy ape?!]

Far from put off by my tirade, the suggestion seems to spark interest from Tiny, and he begins to consider the possibilities carefully. He looks down at his fist, then brings it up to his own nose. Then he frowns, lowers his hand and tilts his head to the side, puzzled.

Oh, has he finally found something he isn't willing to punch?!

[Master, your leg!] Crinis screeches before glomping onto my side and pouring into my shadow. [Who did this? WHO DID THIS?!]

There is so much rage contained in her tone that even I'm taken aback.

[Crinis, relax a second. I did it to myself, alright? You aren't going to attack me, are you?]

Please say no. Please say no!

[O-of course not!]

There was a moment of hesitation there, I swear it!

[I was sent out to investigate some tunnels, and there were Krath out there. I wanted to talk to you about it before I get sent back out. There's a lot of Krath gathering around the place, way more than we've seen before. The Colony is going to ask you to be on the frontline, I'm pretty sure, so be careful. The slugs are keen to capture anyone they can, and that includes you guys.]

[If that filth try to touch you again, I–]

[Crinis, I'm sure they will. In fact, it's pretty much a guarantee. You have my full permission to do nasty things to them if you get the chance.]

[Oh, I will.]

[I believe it. Tiny…]

The big ape is still looking at his fist, puzzled. I turn to Invidia.

[Invidia, be a good friend to Tiny and try to help him not be abducted and turned into evil-Tiny. I really don't want to have to deal with that if I don't have to.]

[I willsssss,] he says, eyes gleaming. He seems really happy for some reason, floating there gleefully, his little wings fluttering as he bobs about in the air.

What the hey, I'm glad he's happy.

-x-X-x-

Zluth made his way through the cracks along with the rest of the scouts. He'd not expected to catch the giant ant, not truly, but even so, the dreadful creature had once again proven its might in evading capture.

The others hadn't believed him, not really. How it had grated on him, a Krath'lath of his own tribe, to be looked down on by the slugs of the Bulg and Lirz tribes, as if he couldn't identify a deadly monster when he saw one. At least it had been satisfying to see the smug looks on their faces melt away as the giant insect had escaped their traps with ease.

The pores along the tunnel walls were beginning to grow. Soon, they would help propel the slugs at much higher speeds through the cracks. Even now, Zluth and the other Krath were able to move quickly, compressed down to only a few inches high, accelerating faster and faster as they raced to rejoin the main force.

Deep within the stone walls between the tunnels, where the heartbeat was faint and the mana a little less virulent, the Krath had hollowed out a temporary home. On the outskirts, Zluth encountered the guards, who watched him carefully as he began to expand back to his full size, their claws at the ready, acid ready to unleash.

"Zluth, Krath'rath of the Slee, returning with the scouting party."

The largest leered at him, acid pooling between their needle-pointed teeth.

"Little Slee," he burbled, "you return alive? I'm surprised."

"I always return alive," Zluth hissed, stalks extending to their greatest height, "but the same may not be said for you. I can see the ants consuming your flesh for Biomass now, guzzling your pathetic acid like water."

The larger Krath was incensed, popping and sizzling with the strength of the fury burning within.

"You dare speak to the Thuuz like this?" he spat.

"I speak to all fools this way, regardless of their tribe. Now get out of my way, dry-flesh."

Confident and unafraid, Zluth pushed forward, pressing the guards back. The insulted one warred with himself, eager to consume the upstart, but knowing he would be severely punished, perhaps eaten, if he did.

Inside, the narrow tunnel opened up into a cavern that abounded with activity. If he were not aware of the truth, Zluth would have thought this was a booming slimeground, a thriving tribe of many Krath. Instead he saw it for what it truly was: a war camp, filled with politics and backbiting. As he slid past the newly planted moss fields, and heard the distant rumble of the blubbeasts being fed, it was easy to make out the divisions that ran through the gathered slugs.

Tribe against tribe, there was little trust, little willingness to get along. The only reason these Krath were willing to remain in such close proximity at all was because of their common enemy. It was almost enough to make Zluth shake his head in despair. To think that he had been naive enough to think they would be a little more united in the face of such an affront.

Every one of the Krath in the camp boiled with anger at the thought of the invaders, but that wasn't enough to overcome their innate suspicion of each other.

Truly, the most dangerous thing in the Dungeon for a Krath was their own kind. Chozth held court with the fiercest of her warriors in their own section of the cavern. They were wild, crazed slugs, deadly as any Zluth had ever seen. The Krath'lath of the Thuuz lived up to her reputation as a deadly fighter and aggressive warleader. Yet, she was more cautious than Zluth had believed she would be. In that, she showed the cunning of a true Krath.

As Zluth approached their inner circle, Chozth looked up from the council of her closest allies, baring her teeth in a wicked smile.

"Our scouts return, and I am most interested in what they have to say. Slaves were taken? Victims? What do you have for me, Krath'lath of the Slee?"

She almost said it in a way that didn't sound demeaning, but she was unable to suppress it entirely. Zluth looked at her, trying to read her motivations, see her inner thoughts. Chozth wasn't that large for a Krath, smaller even than the Krath'lath of the Slee that Zluth had overthrown. Yet there was something about her. She was sleek, powerful, and exuded an air of danger about her, as if she were coiled to pounce at any moment with truly violent consequences.

"We have surveyed the tunnels you requested and encountered many things, including the powerful ant monster who has crushed so many."

"Interesting. And it is dead or captured, I assume?"

Her claws writhed with a deep hunger for news of conquest, and her eyes tilted into gleeful moons.

Despite the danger, Zluth took a deep pleasure in reporting the opposite.

"The monster proved more capable than the hunters expected. I'm afraid it evaded their attempts to capture it with ease."

Chozth moved faster than any Krath Zluth had ever seen. One moment she was distant, the next she was right in front of him, her claws poking and prodding at him as her eyes stared deep into his.

"You were responsible for the hunt, Krath'lath Zluth. The failure of the expedition is yours to bear."

"Of course, I bear full responsibility for our successful reconnaissance," Zluth said smoothly, outwardly unafraid. "Though I query who is responsible when your hunters do not listen to my advice and alert their prey needlessly."

He could sense the acid burning within Chozth when she was this close to him, and it was potent. If he ate her, her flesh would melt a hole straight through him, he was sure of it.

His mouth watered all the same.

Silence hung heavy in the air, and Zluth, at one point, was convinced he would be devoured, but the moment passed, and he was not.

"You criticise the hunters I provided you?"

"Why don't you talk to them yourself, and ask about their success?" Zluth suggested. "I warned them not to underestimate the foe, but they wouldn't listen."

She considered him for a moment.

"Then I will," she burbled, and turned away from him.

-x-X-x-

It was difficult for the Colony and the Krath to understand each other. In fact, our nature and theirs were truly incompatible. They could not understand our unity, could not imagine living with our unconditional trust. Likewise, their suspicion and competitive instinct were incomprehensible to us. Bickering, infighting, betrayal and backstabbing, it was baffling to us that they managed to get anything done at all.

It's difficult to know for certain, but I can say with confidence that the Colony developed a level of respect for the Krath. Not for what they did, how they did it, or why, but for how effective they were at doing it. The Colony cares about getting things done, and the Krath were ruthless to a level we had never seen before, willing to sacrifice almost anything to achieve their aims.

It was a lesson we learned well.

- From the personal notes of Historiant.

Zluth was dismissed for a time, then recalled several hours later. He found a bloated, angry Chozth, sliding back and forth while her inside council watched fearfully.

It wasn't hard to determine what had occurred, and Zluth was quite pleased. Someone was always going to pay the price for failure, even a slight one, and it hadn't been him. A victory.

"It appears your assessment of the hunters was accurate," Chozth burbled without preamble. "Even to the end, they blamed your cowardice for failing to capture the monster."

Zluth's eye almost jumped from their stalks. His cowardice? The acid within his flesh began to hiss in response to his anger.

"Why does anyone doubt the severity of what we face?" he hissed.

They faced a force of unified species, an almost unheard of union of their greatest enemies, along with this species of… ants, who seemed so well engineered to tackle the climate of the fifth and take on the challenges of adapting the environment to suit the needs of the invaders. Along with the hideous, wobbly abominations who produced the blue mana, it was clear that the threat was severe.

"I have to agree," Chozth said, chewing furiously. "I have ordered that any who underestimate our foes are to report to the nearest blubbeast for immediate consumption."

"Do you believe anyone will do that?"

"Of course not, but it makes them aware of the consequences," Chozth growled. Then she eyed Zluth sideways.

"We had another scouting team report, shortly after yours, from the other side of the invasion."

"Did they find something interesting?" he asked, interested.

"A full Legion has taken up residence in some of the tunnels."

Zluth sucked in air as his flesh began to visibly writhe with the strength of his anger.

"The Legion?" he hissed furiously. "Here in strength?!"

"Yes, they are. Along with everyone else. This is something we've never seen before. There are no legends among the Thuuz that speak of anything like this incursion, and we have recorded many."

This was interesting, infuriating, but more than anything else: dangerous. Why was the renowned warleader Chozth confiding in him like this? He doubted she had overcome her innate distrust of outsiders to her tribe, or was suddenly convinced of his competence because he'd managed to have his underlings suffer the consequences of their mistakes.

So why?

His mind spun. What did she want? What was she going to ask him to do?

"You want to elevate my role, don't you?" he asked, turning to face the powerful Krath'lath head on.

It was the only thing that made sense.

She nodded, pleased. "I need more Krath who are willing to face up to the reality of our enemy. Half the Krath here think their anger and fury is enough, but that's never been enough for us to win. We have to be cunning, ruthless, savage and merciless. That is how the Krath win. I want to take these invaders apart, piece by piece. I want it all to crumble as we hound them to their breaking point."

Zluth bared his fangs in an evil grin.

"I am the Krath'lath you seek."

"Not just a Krath'lath any longer. You are a Krath'sizz, a war leader, under my direct command."

Zluth felt his flesh sizzle as a sense of triumph surged through him. This was what he'd wanted, a chance to lead, a chance to prove his worth. He wouldn't be a minor player as the story of this invasion played out, but a pivotal piece. It would be Zluth who brought the enemies of the Krath tribes to heel and made them beg for mercy.

Chozth waited, aware of the emotions surging through the young slug in front of her. He was promising, this one, but overly ambitious. It was yet to be seen whether that ambition was matched to real ability. There were signs, but if he failed, she could point to him as an example of the weakness infesting the smaller tribes and appoint more of her own slugs. If he succeeded, she would have a new, powerful tool at her disposal, one who owed her a favour.

"I want you to pick out twenty Krath to act as your war party," she instructed him. "Return to the tunnels, along with a scout group I will place under your command. I want you to pressure these interlopers. I want you to start to squeeze. We have to find weaknesses, we have to find holes, and we need to find them soon.

"Look for patterns, look for anything predictable, look for anything we can exploit. Most of all, get me a prisoner. If we can preserve one, and put them in the slime, we will have everything we need to break them."

"I will get results," he promised, still flushed with triumph. Then a sly thought occurred to him. "What are the expected casualty rates of these missions?"

"I need every capable Krath ready and available to fight," she growled. Then she laughed wickedly. "Gug gug gug! Incapable Krath are much more… dispensable."

"In that case, I have a few I would like as part of my war party," Zluth grinned, thinking of the guard he had run into.

He would be a successful leader, but vengeance was required of him, otherwise, he wouldn't be Krath.

-x-X-x-

Bella and Ellie looked at each other, then back to their creation, antennae waggling with concern.

"Were we successful?" Bella said.

"I'm… not sure," Ellie replied.

In front of them, the wuffer continued to wobble, and wiffle, happily, chuffing away as it consumed the toxic mana being pumped directly below it.

"The core has fused correctly?"

"It appears so…."

"Did you check the core yet?"

"I thought you were going to do it?"

"Gah!"

They both rushed forward, antennae extended to touch the large monster, but before they could get there, the creature became suffused with soft, blue light.

"It's going to blow, run for it!' Bella cried, prompting her and her sister to scramble around and dive for cover.

"What went wrong?" Ellie wailed. "I thought it went perfectly!"

"Don't look at me, I thought it was flawless," Bella gasped as they crouched together behind some rocks.

Yet, the detonation they were expecting didn't arrive. After a few long moments of awkward waiting, they climbed out from behind their cover, just a little, to see what was happening. What they saw left them shocked and amazed.

The wuffer had swollen up to twice its previous size, the light spreading to encompass its entire body and filling the chamber in which they were working. At the same time, the creature seemed to be pulling in the ambient mana around them, along with drawing in a huge volume of toxin through the pipes.

"Wait a second…" Ellie whispered. "I think…"

All at once, the wuffer gave a cheerful 'wuffwuffuwuff!' and split, straight down the middle, creating two equally sized wuffers, each puffing happily away on the platform.

The two core shapers stared at it for a moment, then at each other.

"Success!" Ellie cried.

"It actually worked!" Bella cheered.

Excited, the two ants rushed out of their cover and up to the two wuffers, checking both with their antennae and core inspection Skills.

They had indeed succeeded. The test subject had changed to become the first of the wuffer queens, able to collect mana within itself and then split to create a new wuffer. The 'copy' or 'offspring' of the queen wasn't the same as it was, a queen, but rather a regular wuffer, albeit at tier five.

To reproduce in this manner required an absurd amount of mana, but since wuffers were soaking up an endless ocean of potent mana anyway, they had energy to burn. There were a few drawbacks to the process. Mana that went into creating a new wuffer wasn't spent making safe, cleansed blue mana, and it wasn't possible to do it very often. Despite these shortcomings, the process would allow them to accelerate the creation of new wuffers considerably and save the Colony a lot of resources in the process.

Content with her place in life, the newly formed wuffer queen looked down at the two celebrating ants with equanimity. Through the openings beneath her in the platform, a steady stream of mana was provided, and she gladly absorbed it, taking the toxic energy into herself and cycling it throughout her body. It passed through the network of complex, jelly-like organs that filtered and purified the poison from the energy and allowed it to emerge as clean, pure mana.

The process brought quiet joy to the queen, who wiggled on the platform and chuffed to herself cheerfully as she continued to absorb and refine.

Oblivious to the quiet happiness of their creation, Ellie and Bella were already in deep discussion about their next steps.

"How many Queens do we need to make?" Ellie wondered.

"It all depends on the rate of expansion. We know the number Solant requested to maintain the fortress, but we should definitely aim to overshoot that mark."

"Having more wuffers than we need won't hurt at all," Ellie agreed. "It might be less efficient, but I'm sure Solant would rather have too many than too little."

"Not enough would be absolutely disastrous," Bella shuddered. "We should report our success to Solant and make sure the resources we need to produce the next queens are going to be provided quickly."

"Good idea."

The two core shapers were under no illusions as to how important their work was to the overall invasion. To describe the wuffers as critical to the process was a severe understatement. None of what they aimed to achieve, or had achieved so far, would have been possible without the blobby pets doing their work, and as such, the core shapers had been afforded generous allotments of resources.

But for them to reach the required totals, that flow would have to continue.

Solant, of course, didn't show much of a reaction one way or the other when told the good news.

"A success on the first attempt? Good, that will save us some time. Leonidant, can you bring me the master timetable?"

The little general began to fuss over the inscribed document with her antenna, crossing out lines here and there, marking new ones in places.

"Well, we intend to create another three queens in order to meet demand," Ellie said, wondering if the general was still paying attention. "When can we expect the necessary cores to be delivered?"

"They're already on the way," Solant confirmed. "I had budgeted for three attempts to produce the first queen. Not that I doubted your skills, of course, but it would have been foolish to assume things would go well. That means enough cores to produce the second and third queen should arrive any moment. I will send an order up to the logistics stations to release enough for the fourth, and they should arrive in your work chambers within a day at the most."

"There's no guarantee we succeed with the next few attempts," Bella pointed out quickly. "Just because we were able to form a queen the first time doesn't make us perfect. It may be wise to budget for another six attempts to produce the required three queens."

Solant eyed the two core shapers while Ellie nodded vigorously.

"We'll dig that tunnel when we come to it," the general said smoothly, placing down the timetable next to the enormous model of the fifth stratum's tunnels. "For now, make do with what you have and return if there is a need for further allotments."

"Dang," Ellie cursed.

-x-X-x-

Morrelia looked out into the tunnel, her highly trained senses taking in every subtle shift, every tiny sound. Something was off, that much was obvious, but determining what and then acting accordingly was her responsibility as a leader.

She already knew what the problem was, the issue was finding the evidence to prove it. Chyron would not move the Legion based on a hunch, even if she shared it, not unless they had to. Finding evidence of a Krath presence was notoriously difficult; the slugs were careful and cunning opponents, unlikely to leave any sign of their passage.

They were here, though, she was sure of it.

Morrelia moved up and down the line, talking to the soldiers, encouraging them with a word, a gesture, or merely her presence. It was easy for the troops to become distracted during long stints on watch as these were, but so far Chyron's Legion had proven their professionalism. Everyone she saw was alert, their eyes sharp, weapons ready and armour polished to a shine.

It helped, being in the fifth. With the reputation that this place had, the troops were on edge merely being stationed here. Perhaps, given more time, that discipline would start to weaken, but so far it was holding strong.

As she strode down the line, Morrelia kept her senses tuned to the tunnel. She had to be patient, wait and watch. It wasn't possible to go out and try to chase down the slugs, so her only hope was to have one of them make a mistake. When they did, she would be there to see it.

So engrossed in this activity was Morrelia that when she received a tap on the shoulder plate, she hadn't realised anyone was even approaching. For a moment, the moustached and punchable face of Isaac popped into her head, and she turned slowly, hoping against hope it was someone else.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Commander Chyron snapped. "Is my face displeasing to you all of a sudden?"

"Not at all, Commander!" Morrelia said, snapping out a quick salute, her fist crashing into her chest as she straightened, embarrassed. "I was just focused on the tunnel…."

"Trying to spot our guests?" Chyron sneered. "The slithering scum wouldn't dare show their faces to the Legion."

Just as she'd suspected, Chyron was already well aware of what was happening in the tunnels.

"I was hoping to get evidence of their presence, as I believed you would be reluctant to act without it," Morrelia said, not judging, but stating her thoughts directly.

"Normally, you'd be right," Chyron snorted, striding through the ranks and staring out into the tunnel, grey hair swaying around her shoulders. "In this case, we will need to act without it. Though, there isn't much we can do. They won't attack us if they can help it. I expect every tunnel other than the ones we guard to get hit. All the Krath will do is watch us."

Morrelia strode forward to stand alongside her Commander, frowning.

"Then what is the point of us being here? I mean, I know our primary objective is to observe the target," she hastily corrected herself, "but if there is to be conflict with the Krath, I would rather participate than stand nearby and watch it play out."

"I understand what you're saying," Chyron replied dryly. "There is no such thing as a Legionary with a soft spot for the Krath, particularly among the officers."

The experienced and weathered veteran grimaced as she looked out at the toxic mana and slime-filled environment of the fifth.

"In this instance, there's no going around it. The only way to ensure our troops would see action would be to fully integrate them with the ants' forces, which I will not allow, no matter the situation."

Morrelia went to protest, but Chyron held up a hand to forestall her.

"In any case, I don't think the ants would allow it either. They do not trust us, we do not trust them, that's the end of it."

"We expressly made it our mission to destroy their most beloved member," Morrelia pointed out. "It's hard for them to trust us after that."

"They're monsters," Chyron stated simply. "They will turn on all of their allies, succumbing to the control of a more fearsome and hungrier beast in the end. There was never a chance we would trust them, I don't care if the reverse is also true."

No matter how much progress the Colony made, Morrelia continued to run into the same wall: the Legion would never ally themselves with monsters. It was a fundamental truth baked into their essence, and had been from their founding. It was deeply frustrating, because she could see just how much the Colony could accomplish, how much Anthony could do to help the people of Pangera if given the chance. She sighed and let it go for the moment; there were more immediate problems to focus on.

"What are the Krath going to do?" she asked.

"What do you think they'll do?" Chyron shot back, one brow raised.

Always tests, always questions. The assessment of an officer was never over, not really. Morrelia dipped her head as she considered the question.

"Whatever they think will cause the most difficulty, the most pain. Fluctuations in the mana flow. Diverting rivers of slime. Unleashing waves of monster assaults. Varying the time and strength and direction of their strikes to prevent the Colony from recovering. I expect there will be many abduction attempts."

Chyron waited for a moment.

"Is that all?" she wondered.

Morrelia thought longer, then gave up.

"I'm not sure what else they will do, though I'm sure there's going to be more."

"There will be," Chyron assured her. "The slugs are bound to be riled up after all this, to say the least. They're going to pull out all the stops. I'm not sure who I feel more sorry for, though."

"What do you mean?"

"The ants or the slugs," Chyron said with a savage grin. "I'm sure they're going to be absolutely horrible to each other."

-x-X-x-

Solant stood, as always, in the command centre. She was, as always, calm, centred and focused.

Around her flowed the organised chaos of the HQ, a constant stream of pheromone conversations, scouts coming in and out, generals discussing, theorising and carvers planning, plotting, working through construction issues and tracking logistics. It was a confusing, chaotic and neverending barrage of information that would have completely flattened most ants, or even most individuals around Pangera, but she wasn't just anyone, she was Solant.

She was, quite literally, built for this.

Her brain, or brains, to be more accurate, filtered and allocated information through a precise network of channels, her Logistics Matrix able to funnel the right information to the right processing centres, which then synthesised the information, weaving together the relevant pieces to create a coordinated whole out of the chaos.

Solant had designed herself very carefully, ensuring every drop of evolutionary energy was wisely spent to turn her into the best general she could possibly be. Her mastery over the battlefield had increased dramatically, but the need for her to be on the frontlines managing the fighting herself had gone down just as much.

It was a shame. She missed it, but to operate at the level her Senior had demanded required sacrifices, and she had adjusted her evolutionary priorities accordingly. There would still be chances for her to put her true speciality to use, of that she was sure, but for now, she was responsible for so much more than a single battle: an entire campaign, with millions of ants, thousands of generals and hundreds of different battlefields. She had changed herself to become a vessel, a receptacle that could receive the necessary information, process it, and apply it to her tactical and strategic framework.

What seemed like chaos, what appeared to be a messy cacophony of pheromones, was, to her, a symphony, one that only she could understand.

And now, there were discordant notes slipping in here and there, burrs in the data that threw the balance of the whole composition out of order. Of course, she knew who was responsible, the Krath weren't even being secretive about it, they wanted her to know they were out there, playing games. They'd been poking and prodding for days now, ceaselessly.

The mana levels in different tunnels were beginning to fluctuate wildly as the Krath utilised techniques outside the Colony's sphere of influence to manipulate the flow of energy. Thankfully, they couldn't control the mana completely, as that would allow them to starve the wuffers by cutting off the supply, then bringing it back all at once, crushing the Colony's weakened safe-zone.

Well, they hadn't done it yet. Solant had, of course, planned for such an eventuality, but those countermeasures weren't in place yet.

Unique and challenging monsters were beginning to appear, driving deep into the blue mana and disgorging bile, mucus and parasites, heedless of their own lives. They weren't intended to succeed, Solant knew that much; the Krath were merely testing what they could get away with, how long it took the blue mana to cleanse the corruption.

And of course, the more mundane efforts. There was never a time when they weren't under attack. This had always been true in the past, random monster spawnings would rush headlong at the Colony whenever they appeared, but this was different. The Krath were coordinating the spawns, gathering and directing them somehow. Different sides of the fortress were hit at the same time, then the same tunnel four times in a row, then six points simultaneously. Then there was a break, nothing at all for two hours, only for the peace to be broken by ten different tunnels being attacked at once. Alongside those strikes had been a small, hidden attempt to create a hidden tunnel behind the ant lines and flood the area with toxic spores and slime. Naturally, the mages on site had detected the intrusion and countermeasures were enacted, preventing the catastrophe, but she knew the enemy was only testing the waters.

Relentlessly, viciously, probing for a weakness.

In all of these attacks and intrusions, the Krath themselves had never been seen. They remained out of view, hidden, watching and waiting for an opportunity to reveal itself. The slugs probably imagined that the ants would begin to stumble under the pressure, to falter as the danger escalated higher and higher.

Most would, or at least, she believed they would. Solant imagined that humans, or ka'armodo, or even the Krath themselves perhaps, would be susceptible to such emotions.

To her soldiers, this was merely work, and work would get done.

With every minute that ticked by, the living model in front of her continued to grow and expand. Sections of wall were being finished, channels for mana, wuffer platforms, roads, chambers, storehouses, powered transport shafts, elevators and distribution networks, all being reported as done, allowing the mages to shape the living stone to include the completed work in the model. There were over a thousand construction crews working at any given moment, and progress toward the completed fortress was rapid.

If the Krath took too long to find a weakness, then the work would be complete, and Solant would happily slam the door in their faces. The family would then wait out the wave, growing stronger and developing the strategy for the second phase of the invasion.

Until then, it would be the Krath versus the systems, discipline and tactics she had instilled in the army that guarded the tunnels.

Solant didn't like to gamble, but she was very confident on which side was going to win.

Which was a good thing, since she hated to lose.

-x-X-x-

Zluth was frustrated.

At first, everything had been going well. His promotion to Krath'sizz hadn't gone without controversy, as he'd been promoted ahead of many worthy Krath from the larger tribes, but with the blessing of Chozth herself, who was going to argue? Certainly nobody who wanted to go on living, which turned out to be everyone.

Assembling his war party had gone well, even his assassination of the ignorant guard had been carried out flawlessly, so what was it that vexed him?

The ants. It was always the ants.

Especially the big one. Zluth was beginning to think the enormous ant was taunting him. Every time he tried to get more aggressive, to push his war party forward and launch a more decisive strike, the cursed creature would appear, without fail. Fathomless purple carapace gleaming, it would rush out into the toxic mana of the fifth without fear, using its unique magic to flatten everything it could see into the ground, or into the roof, crushing all of his meticulous preparations with effortless ease.

No sneaky angle, no feint, no aggressive lunge seemed to matter in the face of that overwhelming power.

And whenever he tried to play it slow, keep the ants on their toes, try to bait a reaction, it was nowhere to be seen. A maddening state of affairs.

"Was it really necessary to make me a part of this?" Goszi spat. "I'm not exactly what you would describe as the strongest warrior amongst the tribes."

"You have wisdom and experience on your side," Zluth lied easily, "you'll be invaluable to the war party."

"Shouldn't you only include slugs you trust in your war party, you ungrateful Krath'sizz?"

Despite his sour attitude, the old Krath couldn't help but express a note of admiration when he used Zluth's new title. He'd known the canny scout was a cut above the rest, but he didn't think he'd manage to slide into Chozth's good graces so quickly.

Naturally, Zluth picked up on it, but didn't react.

"You're here precisely because I don't trust you. If I leave you to work your charm on the Slee, I'll be out of my leadership position before I can flatten myself and dive in a hole."

Goszi burbled acerbically.

"We've been over this. They don't want a new leader. In fact, you've become a trusted war leader for Chozth. The tribe wouldn't tolerate overthrowing you now."

"Nice try, old slug," Zluth said wryly, "but I know you're smarter than that. In fact, I know you've been dropping hints already. Saying I'm too busy to lead the Slee now, hoping to find someone a little more amenable to your… retirement plans."

The word tasted strange between Zluth's fangs. This was quite a unique scenario Goszi had imagined for himself. It almost wasn't… Krath. When a slug became old and useless, they were put to the filthiest and most dangerous jobs in the Slimeground, tending to the beasts, collecting the meat, and when they couldn't do even that, then they were meat.

Goszi slumped a little, as if feeling defeated at being caught out, but Zluth knew better. This old slug would never quit, that was how he'd lived this long.

"You are exactly in the right place," Zluth grinned maliciously. "Now do your work and speak some wisdom. How are we going to overcome this cursed enemy?"

The old slug grimaced and spat, his acid bubbling and hissing on the tunnel floor. Still potent, for his age. He'd cultivated himself well over the years.

"Your sneaky tricks not working well enough?" Goszi asked, knowing the answer. "If you're coming to this pale shadow of a slug, then you must be getting desperate."

"Speak, Goszi, and say something of value," Zluth warned him, baring his fangs. "I can lose two more of my party without incident."

Goszi's eyes swivelled on their stalks, checking the tunnel around them. They were alone, for the moment, forward from the rest of the war party and hidden amongst the mosses, close to the ant base.

Close being relative; Zluth remembered all too well how they were able to surge that cursed blue mana hundreds of metres down the tunnel.

"So far, we're relying on the wisdom of the tribes who dealt with invaders before. Harry and harass, make them tired, jumpy, probe for weakness. No matter how strong, or how disciplined they are, eventually they'll break," Goszi said. "But I'm not convinced it's going to work this time."

"Why not?" Zluth demanded. "Chozth is leading this war effort, and she says this is the best way."

"That's how we've done it before, she's using tried and true Krath cunning. It's just… this time, things might be… different."

"Different how?" Zluth growled, grinding his fangs together.

"The ants," Goszi replied quickly, "they aren't getting tired."

"We haven't been at this for long enough yet."

"Maybe, but I'm not convinced," Gozsi said. "Have you been counting how often they change out their guards?"

"Guards? You mean their armies?" Zluth spat. It wasn't just a hundred or two hundred ant monsters protecting any single tunnel, but thousands and thousands. Ten thousand in this single tunnel alone, to be exact. "Every eight hours."

"And that schedule hasn't changed. They aren't getting faster, or slower, but sticking to the schedule. All the while, whatever they're building back there is getting more and more complete. I'm just an old slug, but I don't think they're feeling the pinch just yet. We need to apply more pressure."

This wasn't what Zluth wanted to hear. It was possible for them to push harder, but they'd need to range farther, wrangle more and more dangerous beasts from further away, move their scouting line forward to the edge of danger.

The war party wouldn't like it, but if they managed to be successful where the others had failed to show results, then there would be glory for all. It was worth a try.

"You might have just persuaded me to make life much more dangerous for you, Goszi," Zluth said.

"Why don't I feel any better, then?" the old Krath groaned.

-x-X-x-

If there is a type of warfare that suits the Colony's talents better than a defensive siege, I don't know what it is. Our capacity to build, fortify and repair is exceptional, and we can pack far more numbers into far smaller areas than most species.

I've often considered what the best way to attack a stronghold defended by my army would be, and I always come to the same conclusion: fight somewhere else.

Dislodging the Colony from a fortified position is never worth the cost.

- Excerpt from the notes of Solant.

I have to say, probably not for the first time, just how much I dislike the Krath. It's not that they're the schoolyard bully, but they're the annoying kid who always knew how to point the bully in your direction, somehow always on the one day of the week mother had provided lunch.

How the heck did you do it, Derrick? Could you smell the margarine sandwich?! It's not possible! Even if you did smell it, you would have thought it was a butter sandwich!

Gah. These damn slugs have got me so worked up that I've got weird memories from my last life popping up. The good old days when I was in primary school and still got lunches from home. It was only when I got to high-school the real foraging started.

Who even cares about that?! I've got stupid slugs to try and hunt.

And my family brings me all the food I could possibly want these days. In fact, I kind of feel like they bring me too much. There's only so much I can eat, and I don't need to consume Biomass to heal that much, since I trigger my healing gland over and over again.

It's nice and all, but there's other ants who need the food more than I do. Yeesh, I'm starting to sound like my mother. My real mother. She still complains about the Colony trying to overfeed her, even though she hunts for most of her own food. I never thought I'd sympathise.

I settle down amongst the reserve troops further back in the fortress to wait. If I go straight to the front, the slugs will call off whatever they've cooked up until I leave. It's been way more efficient just to sit here and wait for them to make a move; at least I get to see some action that way.

The thousands of soldiers, mages, generals and scouts in the waiting grounds make space for me in the middle and generally go about their business as if I wasn't there.

At least, that's how it seems on the surface. Through the Vestibule, I can feel the Will of the Colony flooding through me, which means I know exactly what they want. What they want right now is for me to crush the Krath. The ants are diligent and dutiful soldiers who've remained calm in the face of the hit-and-run tactics, ambushes, feints and assaults, but even they can be irritated.

The Krath are such a pain in the thorax that even my siblings have had enough. I have to do my best to make sure I don't let them affect my mental state. If I get impatient and make a mistake, then I'm handing the Krath exactly what they want.

"This really is an annoying opponent to face," Advant sighs as she settles in next to me.

"I can handle annoying a lot better than I can terrifying. If they can't do better than this, then we've as good as won already," I reply.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," the massive soldier warns me. "Attacks are getting more intense all around the fortress. The hospitals are filling up with toxin and poison cases. The slugs are looking for ways to harm us through the blue mana, and it's working."

"It's not fast enough," I reply. Of course I'm aware of what's going on around the fortress. "Every day, the construction becomes more complete. At the rate things are going, the outer defences will be finished before they make any real progress."

"That's true," Advant says, cleaning her antennae in a fussy manner. "But only if they don't continue to escalate."

At that moment, a wave of pheromones floods through the waiting area, rolling over the reserves like a wave.

"Seems like tunnel twenty two is being hit again. Things have been quiet for a while over there."

I lever myself to my feet and Advant flicks me with an antennae.

"You're heading out?"

"That's one of my favourite tunnels. I've been having fun crushing the hopes and dreams of the Krath in there."

"Well, be careful, they might be aiming for you in particular with this attack."

"Geez, I hope so."

At least that would mean I'd have something to go up against. Every time the Krath in this particular tunnel wind up for something, they end up running for the hills as soon as I show my face. The moment that became clear, it became my mission to make them run every time. ɽ

You cowards get nothing!

Once I'm up, I immediately start running, following the trails through the increasingly developed sections of the fortress-to-be. When I reach the tunnel in question, I'm delighted to see that the attack is well under way. Raging monsters right at the barrier, Krath lurking relatively close. This is finally a chance to give them the business!

Let me at 'em!

I charge forward, pushing straight past the disciplined ranks of the Colony and out into the toxic mana beyond the safe-zone. I'm immediately surrounded by a swarm of slime-coated beasts and sludge-shooting goopy things.