Chrysalis

The Queen landed with a calamitous thud, several unfortunate monsters were crushed beneath her bulk or stabbed through by her legs as she fell. Her legs strained to the breaking point, but she absorbed the shock and ran forward, bulldozing her way toward the place her wayward child fell.

She reached deep into her healing mana gland and dragged the dense fog of energy out and into her antennae where it was amplified. More and more of her children were pouring off the wall and down into the crowded space. The melee was quickly becoming out of control.

Conflicting emotions battled in the Queen's thorax. She feared for her family, she was terrified that they would suffer due to her actions. At the same time, she exulted. This was what she had been born to do, and her instincts were afire with joy. She turned her body and scythed through a raging bear with a single chomp of her razor sharp mandibles.

System notifications rang within her mind but she paid them no attention. Her focus was on the healing energy building to a peak in her antennae. When she could contain it no more, the energy exploded outwards in a rolling nova of light that washed over the battlefield in an expanding ring.

Only the ants were affected by this mana, and then felt its invigorating properties wash away their fatigue and ease their pain in an instant. Already filled with the burning rage and desperate anxiety that seeing their mother fighting on the frontlines caused, colony members of all castes were driven to a frenzy and threw themselves upon the enemy in groups, tearing their foes apart with their vicious jaws.

After stomping her way another ten metres forward, the Queen stood over the healing body of the soldier who had leapt so energetically from her head. The ant in question was quite wounded, even in the short time she'd been submerged in the churning soup of monsters.

"Did… Did I win the battle?" she croaked.

The Queen stood over the smaller ant and defended her space with savage chomps of her mandibles.

"No child," the Queen responded, puzzled, "you must get up and fight"

"…. Fine."

At that time, hundreds of dark shadow monsters erupted from out of the pitfalls. In a nightmarish scene, the creatures reached out of the holes in the ground with their dark, shadowy arms and dragged struggling monsters down into the pit with them. It didn't take long for the creatures to push their way out of the pits and begin to engage the monsters all around them.

the Garralosh spawn

open mouths, the giant crocodile monsters bounded forward to tear into the shadow pets and smaller battles broke out

arrived next to

Victor scoffed, "it's a battle!

the monsters who were responsible for bringing this battle to

CLACK!

the din. In front of her a

monsters forced to gaze upon her. She had no eyes for any of the smaller creatures that she crushed beneath her feet, she hungered to unleash her strength on those that had caused the

enough Garralosh spawn, then

reared up before her and unleashed their flaming breath. The energy that had accrued in her carapace flared brighter, warding off the damage and the Queen

CHOMP!

them. Her savage, barbed jaws crushed the creature and without pause the Queen swung her body to

slain level

[You have gained experience.]

Queen paid no attention. At last she had the chance to seek

deep!" Sloan worried to Victor, her scent barely able to cut through the chaos of

barely visible to them now. She'd pushed forward beyond what any of the ants who were in position to support her could reach, beyond even the positions of the core shapers and their pets! If it

Did she really have to put up with Sloan's anxiety here and now?! They were in

and retaliated with a careful bite, aimed low to hamstring her hound-like opponent. Her jaws found purchase and she twisted

see them

The rest of us will