Chrysalis

We move through the nest with Burke running alongside and once again I'm stunned at the sheer level of industry that the Colony has grown to. The farming territories swarm with ants, culling the ever-spawning monsters and ferrying a constant stream of Biomass back to the nest. From there the food will be transported around the territories, to the Queens, to the satellite nests, to the academy. Biomass is the lifeblood of our growth and for the moment, an endless river of it is flooding into the Colony such that we have never seen before. For however long the wave will last, provided we can fend off the never-ending foes from below, we are going to experience incredible wealth in terms of food.

The future is bright!

Though it's past time I got back to doing my bit. Past the farms and deeper into the tunnels we come across the emergency medical facilities, packed with wounded soldiers and other castes with heavy injuries. Medics fuss and fidget over them, using their medical skills to heal as best they can, feeding Biomass to the injured in order to speed up the healing process. Beyond them we come across the inner walls, each manned with a full complement of ants despite the wave not having penetrated this deep. As we progress deeper and further from the nest, we pass more layers of fortifications, walls, traps, pits, barriers, and spiked ramparts still being worked on by perfectionist carvers.

"They're preparing for another round of satellite nests?" I exclaim as Wills reveals the council's plans. "Is this really the time for that?!"

The scout shrugs.

"It was Victoriant and Antionette who pushed hard for it. I can't say I disagree with them either. It takes a significant amount of time to raise a Queen and lay the groundwork for a new satellite nest. The territory needs to be mapped out, the construction and preparation of the tunnels takes time, forging the gates, gathering the resources for enchanting. The egg-laying chambers will need to have the Dungeon veins removed. There's a ton that goes into it."

"I get that, but how exactly is any of that supposed to take place during a wave?!" It seems like madness to me.

She shrugs.

"The preliminary work can get done. Tungstant and Cobalt are already working on designs and pouring over the maps we were able to build before the siege started. For now, I think they're hoping to build four."

"FOUR?!"

you take my meaning. Since they'll be so far from the main nest and we

hundred eggs per day… that's another sixteen hundred hatchlings PER DAY?! Holy moly! And two hundred is a lower bound… When they evolve further that can jump to as high as five hundred, each, which would

Oi.

aren't they? What the heck is the Vestibule going to be like when there are literally millions of us? Do I even want to think about that? I know ant colonies on Earth could grow into the millions, that's not surprising, but thinking about my Colony, with giant, thinking ants, it paints a different sort of picture. How are we going to feed that many grubs?! All of a sudden, the vast farms the Colony has

Four more satellite nests already in planning… The expansion of the Colony really

we arrive at the frontline, the din of battle rising to near deafening levels as a blast of pheromones hits me right in the antennae. As expected, the fighting is fierce, ants swarming in numbers behind their choke points, pouncing on every monster who sticks so much as a foot through, dragging them back and piling onto them before they can fight back. Even with all of our advantages, ants still get injured, or worse,

nearby, directing traffic

duty," I snap out a quick salute with an antenna,

here. "By all means, it'll be nice

tell my pets, [we're going

to the ceiling as well, letting my guard detail know that I expect them to be

coming through with us?" I

she replies,

"Suit yourself," I shrug.

way. I burst straight through the choke point and drive

DOOM CHOMP!

but I pay them no heed. With a little space created, Tiny bursts into the gap, his roar of fury and joy ringing from the stone walls as fists of light

remind her, [we aren't here for