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?!"

quite a ways away, but together in a cluster, if you take my meaning. Since they'll be so far from the main nest and we can't support them at

day… that's another sixteen hundred hatchlings PER DAY?! Holy moly! And two hundred is a

Oi.

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,

they? Four more satellite nests already in planning… The expansion of the Colony really is speeding up to

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.

a general nearby, directing traffic and providing

salute with an antenna, "mind if we jump in

she seems surprised to see us here. "By all means, it'll be nice to have

heard the lady,] I tell my

a significant look to the ceiling as well, letting my guard detail know that I expect them to

through with us?"

support," she replies, "I'm not exactly built for the

"Suit yourself," I shrug.

out of the way. I burst straight through the choke point and drive into the horde of scratching, biting and clawing monsters on the other side,

DOOM CHOMP!

created, Tiny bursts into the gap, his roar of fury and joy ringing from the stone walls as fists of light manifest and snap out with

I remind her, [we