Chrysalis

[These filthy termites have been busy…] I complain.

[I'll say,] Sarah agrees, [they've dug all through this area. I'm not sure ten thousand of us is going to be enough.]

[It'll have to be. The Colony has sent the best and brightest down here, which is going to make us more vulnerable to retaliation from the kaarmodo in the third stratum and slow our expansion there. Sending any more is out of the question.]

[I suppose you're right. Hopefully we can hold with what we have.]

[Hey, we have the mighty Asura bear! Able to squash a million termites on her own, what could go wrong?]

[Shush you.]

She swats me with one paw and I brace to prevent myself from flinching as she rocks my carapace with one swipe. Dammit Sarah! How the heck did you get so strong?! Is this the kind of power that Garralosh would have been capable of had she managed to escape into the second stratum? She might not have even needed to evolve in order to display a far greater power than she did, simply having enough mana to properly fuel her core might have been sufficient. If she'd stayed in the Dungeon rather than rising to the surface then I might never have won that fight.

Bah! Who wants to think about that croc now? We've got termites to slay! I turn to the Grove Keeper who's been leading us around.

[Surely this is all of the sites? We've been to dozens already!]

[Hmmmm. This is the last one. Well done, there aren't any active incursions at this time. Mother is pleased that her roots are not being gnawed on for the first time in weeks.]

The plant life around us rustles in agreement, but this time they lack their usual vigour and spite, as if the Mother Tree was fatigued. Perhaps the constant nibbling of the termites has had more of an effect than I thought. I suppose it only makes sense, she pulled her children back from the front and took on an enemy designed specifically to defeat her usual methods. It was only a matter of time until they wore her down, no wonder she was so desperate for us to get here as quickly as we could.

as possible, [your useless mother can be mothballed in an aged care facility now. We've got some competent

[Anthony!] Sarah gasps.

your own good,] the Grove Keeper warns

streaks down from above, aiming for my head but I zip

old bag!]

Rumble.

walls of the tunnel around me begin to vibrate as if something truly ridiculous were coming. I switch over to my mana sight and clack my mandibles in admiration at what I behold. The stupid tree is shifting her main roots to squash me for my impudence, truly an impressive level of vindictiveness.

too much

The shaking stops.

old bag? You might be the biggest plant

nearby leaf savagely with one leg, watching as

between me and the leaf, forcing me to cease my relentless attack, [my Mother has

for a while. Once we have the strength, I'll personally ensure that the termite nest is wiped from the face of

settles down, though I can tell she still isn't happy about it. I'll have to be careful she doesn’t get back at me once her children are finally safe.

of thousands, possibly even millions of tons of material. We've got a lot of talented mages and carvers here, but it's still going to take a long time, and we have no idea when the termites will detect our presence and begin to launch a counter offensive. I get the impression that they dislike us just as much as we

getting our detection measures in place. We can worry about the rest when we have the

"What?"

your teams are properly rotating through a

in the process of

you think… they…