Chrysalis

The frustrating thing about a battle such as this, where the numbers on both sides were relatively high and the fight was spread over a wider front, was just how hard it was to keep track of what was taking place.

My senses were overwhelmed on every front. Heat was thick in air from the exertion of thousands of bodies, my eyes were filled with the blur of rapid movement in every direction and my antennae were drowned in the pheromones of my fellow workers. Not to mention the vague impressions of the very near future I received, confusing, shifting images that fluttered against my mind like ghosts. It was a sensory overload and if I hadn’t quite as powerful a mental rig as I did then perhaps I wouldn’t have been able to process half of it.

Thankfully, I could.

I could parse all of it.

It was a strange feeling, to say the least. My brain was able to accept and sort all of this information in a fraction of a second. I could see everything around me, track every enemy, see the subtle shifts of their future selves, observe their body heat and react. Claws fell from all around me and I shifted my body at high speeds. A little to the left, slant my carapace a touch on the right, and blows slid off me, or scratched harmlessly against my diamond shell.

Muahahahaha!

I am all that is ant! Behold me!

Phew. Need to cool off. Even in the midst of battle, it’s a heady rush. In the back of my mind I can hear the announcements of Gandalf, letting me know that my skills are improving, but that is the one thing I don’t have the attention to spare for, I can go over that later.

Right now, I need to kill! As fast as possible!

If I had the time I could try and form a Gravity Bomb, but with the humans, Tiny, Crinis and now the colony involved, the risk of collateral damage is too damn high. This battle is simply one that we have to grind out, unfortunately.

Luckily the workers are perfect for this. As soon as they arrive, they get stuck in, and they don’t stop. I move as fast as I can, ripping into beasts with all of my strength, more often than not just debilitating a monster before moving on. I can leave the remains to the workers but if I can disable as many foes as possible then I will, the survival of my siblings comes first.

My sub brains are ripping out Gravity Bolts as fast as they can. Every five seconds they blast out a pair of the spells, rooting some unfortunate monsters to the ground, easy fodder for the follow up wave of workers as I wind my way up and down the front between the horde and the ants.

[Work your way back towards me guys. Be careful you don’t catch any of the workers in your strikes.]

Tiny and Crinis acknowledge me silently and I can feel them begin to shift slowly towards me. The two of them are still buried deep in the melee, surrounded by foes but for now they are still holding on. I make sure to warn them not to injure the colony since the last thing I want is to lose family members to Tiny’s lightning or Crinis’ maw.

The two of them will need to act more cautiously, slowing their killing speed but I want them on this side to support the ants. The more help we have, the fewer colony members will fall.

their side but I quickly push it out my mind. They have to look after themselves. Morrelia and her crew are over there and the villagers gained some levels and weapon skills when Beyn had them fighting

family will come first.

Holy moly, I’m tired.

damage but comes with a hefty cost to boot. I can maintain constant use in an extended fight like this, my face already feels like it wants to fall

everyone. Apparently it’s possible to do the math and calculate how much stamina you have, how quickly it regenerates and how much your skills cost but I rejected Beyn when he (very eagerly) offered to run the numbers. I didn’t want to be a lab rat for the priest, and the look in his

Ripping Bite!

as they appear before me. Evolved centipedes and Hounds are swarming around now, apparently

I grit my mandibles.

this

And we do.

the colony and the human warriors meet each other in the centre of the field. All around is a carpet of ruined monsters, covering the ground with their ichor. The humans are covered in wounds, filth and

moment. Since I was moving just ahead of the ants in the fray, I’d managed to run into the humans first. Cue me, desperately running backwards and forwards spraying ’Don’t fight! Food!’ pheromones all over the

I suspect it might be a cost imposed by activating her berserk state. Still, she stands tall, shoulders square, like a spartan, watching as the ants pick over the Biomass and begin to work, dragging it back to the colony for

special larvae

fumble my way into forming a mind bridge

time before one of the workers bumps into a human and attacks. If your people leave then they will focus on

as she is, she still watches

asks, nodding towards the workers.

don’t know] I lie, [look, there have been casualties for both my family and the village today. Let’s not complicate things. Ask

Her jaw clenches stubbornly.

of these monsters have useful parts. The people

flares hot, but I try to tamp

sort out a sharing arrangement right here and right now. Ask your people to step aside and I can ensure your village will get a chance to harvest from the Dungeon, but if you don’t do it right now then people will

a monster but I’m right and

the grizzled axe guy and the swordsman. They are battered and

are just happily staring at the workers as they go about their business, so drained and shell shocked from the

Eyes widen with understanding and they begin to step backwards cautiously, trying not to make any sudden moves to antagonise the workforce. I can even see the priest moving amongst