Chrysalis

[Damn spider! Get down here and face me!]

The house-sized arachnid, safe in her hole in the wall ringed with poisonous strands of webbing as thick as a car waggled her fangs at me in derision and pointed one leg at the hundreds of ants standing next to me.

[Oh? You'll come out if they go away? Somehow I doubt that you eight-legged coward!]

The spider clacked her fangs and by waving her front four legs managed to convey the message that I was an invading, leg-deficient fool who couldn't be trusted and I may as well scuttle away with my stupid pets and fellow ants because she wasn't coming out to fight. I think she also insulted my mother.

[COME DOWN HERE AND SAY THAT, BUG!]

I was so mad I was hopping on the coating of stone and dirt we'd covered the webbing in, causing trickles of the material to fall into the cavernous space below.

"Eldest, why are you so upset?" Emilia asks.

"She insulted our mother!" I roar back.

The smaller generals aura turns dangerous as she stares up at the giant spider.

"Oh did she…."

scented insults up at the spider who gleefully waggles her legs back at us. The

Not for itssssself, but

and told the ants to stand down. It wasn't like us to lose control of our emotions. Actually,

going to be an army of ants marching through here at

leave the insult unaddressed, but when I firmly turn and walk away, they follow along as I head back

a long time to traverse the vast web back down to the ground. It's taken a full week of campaigning to get to this point, but the expanse has been basically conquered. Obviously, we did discover the presence of a powerful spider who was laying eggs in here, but it took a long time before we were able to pin down the location of her lair. It was also quite a project to neutralise the blasted webs. Once we worked

wasn't nearly as cooperative as the ants. Such an inferior species! Gweheheheh. With hundreds of cooperative ants working together with our advanced tactics, the hidden super squad and my pets and I, they never had a chance. Even so, there were so many of the darn things in this huge expanse that they took a whole week to wipe

has been worth it, not really for

one?! Was

whom, the hyper energetic soldier comes bouncing along

your side?" I ask

alone though, just like you said.

once, if we come back with more ants, I don't care what sort of traps she has tucked away up that cave of hers, it won't be enough. A monster doesn't get to tier six or seven

and we'll head out into the tunnels. We've got

though! My friends have

Wait a sec…

say friends?"

her antennae in

suppose so? Is that

I think? I mean, do you even know what friends