"About time they got here," Burke muttered to herself as the horde made its final approach to the outer layer of fortifications the colony had erected.
"Everything ready?" Wills asked for the fourth time in the last five minutes.
"Yes, everything is ready. You really should have rested when you were told to."
"Couldn't," Wills flicked her antennae, "the scouts were still out there."
"That doesn't mean that you had to be."
"We disagree on that point."
"I know," Burke lifted an antenna and brought it down with a gentle thwack on her siblings head. "Now that the battle has arrived, you're useless. Go back with the other late returning scouts and get an hour of rest. This isn't going to be over by then."
Stubborn, Wills shook her head.
"I'll be fine for a while yet," she said, "I've got a full load of acid and I'm not sleeping till these invaders have felt every drop of it."
"Fair enough then. Just make sure you don't push too far forward. Stick to the plan. Deliver the product and then get to safety."
The two scouts fell into a companionable silence as the horde made its final approach. One hundred metres. That's all that separated the enemy from the first defensive line. After a week of solid fighting, it was a relief to have it come to this.
"About time then," Burke announced.
"Seems like it," Wills agreed.
to open fire," Burke told
out
course, Elder. Fire when
passed in rapid pheromone communication. Not a single sound was uttered yet a thousand monstrous ants leapt into motion simultaneously. Not
ants however, the 'noise' was
seconds! Ten seconds! Soldiers and generals
come! Are you ready to
Five seconds! Check your angles! Don't aim for the front line!
real monsters are
"Two! One! FIRE!"
their collective business districts
POW!
volley as the acid cut through the air with incredible power. All together the shrill sound pierced
upon by its fellow horde members in an instant, torn apart and consumed in seconds. Hundreds of monsters were felled in this
POW! POW! POW!
steady barrage, firing in sequence as a
about half empty" Burke observed, "what do you think of the
think it's close. I haven't been tracking the time,"
and generals, FIRE!" the order
POW! POW! POW! POW!
the sky it began to fall on the horde like burning rain. The ants were careful to spread their fire as much as possible. It wasn't as if it were possible to miss in this scenario, but to inflict maximum damage on the
an unstoppable wave of momentum that couldn't be halted. Despite the
so she could look out over the wall once again. "Ten more seconds till they
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