Chrysalis

Ants flooded through the tunnels, called to action stations by urgent pheromone messages distributed by the still under development “automated noiseless announcement system.”

If Sloan had any hair, she would be pulling it out of her carapace right now. Instead, she had to settle for tugging insistently on her antennae with her mandibles as her brain tried to spin the logistics needed for the required movements.

“It’s fine,” she said to the other council members, who stared at her, doubt plain in their eyes. “No, really. All we have to do is mount a campaign to secure this location, protect the Eldest and develop our defences, whilst simultaneously attacking into the teeth of a ravenous horde of demons on the third stratum to rescue the Queen. Simple.”

“How is any part of that simple?” Propellant scoffed. “This problem doesn’t go away or shrink into insignificance just because you pretend it’s easy. We need you in reality, Sloan.”

“Reality isn’t my friend right now.”

“Nobody is disagreeing with that. There has to be a way to turn this around. We need explosive action!”

“We need a calm, measured response,” Coolant rebutted. “If we rush we might make a critical error.”

“If we don’t rush we’re going to be too late! We don’t have time to think.”

“Both of you be quiet,” Advant said with authority, causing the two mages to subside. “Sloan has already described what we need to do, and it is simple. There has to be a defensive force left here to protect the Eldest until they complete their evolution. There also has to be an extensive force assembled and launched into the third stratum to protect the Queen and prepare for a possible demon invasion.”

the scale of the task, and

that,” Sloan said. “If something is turning the demons rabid, then we have to consider the possibility that

within their own

looking shocked. “If that happens, this could escalate even

the third stratum, so we need to divide ourselves between the two locations. I suggest that the bulk of the fighters be sent to combat the demon threat, while the crafters remain here. Obviously, one general

nominate Leeroy,” Advant

Immortal

to be far more dangerous than just demons. We

I suppose

rest of the council gave her thankful nods. Without the chaos of the Immortals and their antics, the rescue mission could proceed

then, let’s get to it. Good luck, everyone,” Sloan said. “I’ll be in the command centre down here if anyone needs

sorted themselves, and before long, a huge procession marched through the gate provided by the Mother Tree. Hundreds of thousands of the most

the Colony, the alarm had been sounded. Reinforcements from the upper layers of the Dungeon rushed to descend in columns kilometres long, covering

was in danger, and there wasn’t a single one of them who wouldn’t answer the call. Despite their fervour, at all levels, the Colony kept

it was that, as the hours passed, more and more ants flooded into the third stratum. Demons gazing down from the occupied cities were confused at times, wondering if the Colony outnumbered the larvae on the plains. The great

established above the tunnel the Queen had taken down into the deeper