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…."

smellshot pass the message along and within moments all of the ants are flinging scented insults up at the spider

wantsssss death. Not for itssssself, but

mother spider. I brought myself back under control and told the ants to stand down. It wasn't like us to lose control of our emotions. Actually, it was totally like me. It wasn't like my siblings to

be an army of ants marching through here at some point, and if you're still around,

away. The ants are reluctant to leave, unwilling to leave the insult

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

over for the arachnids. Turns out that the spider brood 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

haul in experience and Biomass has been worth it, not really for me, but

one?! Was it big? Was

energetic soldier comes bouncing along the web from a separate corner

on your side?" I ask

It's all been cleared out! We left the spawn points alone though, just like you said. It's so empty

her army and cornered her 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

out into the tunnels. We've got a lot

friends have never been so big before!

Wait a sec…

just say friends?" I ask

her antennae in

so? Is

I mean, do you even know what