Chrysalis

Chapter 1059

Hartos looked around and was satisfied with what he saw. The mercenaries had managed to penetrate the mountain in good order, and despite the intensifying attacks from the ants, they had maintained their formation.

He couldn’t help but sneer. Those fools who’d refused to join him would be crying bloody tears when they saw the haul he returned with. Thousands and thousands of ants surrounded them already, and soon enough they’d be dead, just waiting for their cores to be extracted.

But it didn’t hurt to be careful.

“Artis!” he barked.

“What?” his long-time crewmember replied, sounding harried.

“I need you for a second.”

“Make it quick,” she snapped, “this shield doesn’t maintain itself.”

He frowned, both at her tone and the implication of her words.

“Are we really being pressured that hard?”

The mage glared at him.

“Of course we are! Look around you, the bugs are endless! No matter how much firepower we pump out, they keep coming.”

“But you can hold?”

“Yes, we can hold. It’s just very difficult work!”

He nodded.

“Good. I want you to check and make sure the mythic is still asleep. We don’t want to be in here when the damn thing wakes up.”

“That’s the truth,” the mage muttered.

She fumbled about in her robes and removed the array from one of her dozens of pockets. She stared at it intensely for a few moments.

“Well?” Hartos demanded.

“There’s tens of thousands of monsters in this mountain, wait a damned second.”

He turned his eyes back to the struggle along the perimeter as the mage continued to study the device.

said finally. “It’s still

“You’re sure.”

mythic and us, but a signal that strong is hard to miss. I’m sure. Now can I get back

“Go for it.”

his mind dwell on the best case scenario. If they managed to dig in deep enough and

surrounding mercs. “We get a little deeper and we

continued to press in on them

the full weight of their numbers, it didn’t matter where they fought them, on the surface or in the heart of

what he could to support the more experienced fighters closer to the edge. Hartos walked

to make a

tense he looked.

ready,” he

him with a firm grip on

insects just fine. We’ll start pulling them into the shield and harvesting cores. You’ll be drowning in them

a deep

to it,”

metres and we’ll start! Listen to your crew leaders and keep your eyes on the prize!

They were everywhere, climbing over the roof, on the walls, even walking on the shield itself or lunging up from beneath. Along with the rising heat the deeper they went, it was an

they coming with more?” Drake asked as he flung another slash through

Hartos chuckled.

doesn’t make them as clever as you and me. Perhaps they’re protecting something and don’t want to leave

called from amongst

to get to work then,”

to bellow his orders to the hundreds of gathered mercenaries, but before

trick. He didn’t have time to be afraid, the only thing in his mind was confusion as the ground beneath his feet simply disappeared and he began to fall

of mandibles scraping and

as he flailed wildly with his arms, trying to grab hold of

out around him as the entire expedition plunged

landing on his side. He managed

the Path was that?” Hartos bellowed from somewhere nearby. “Sound off! Get the shields up!

rang out, harsh and authoritative, but with an undercurrent of tension that sent a chill through the young mercenary.

the

stark relief. Drake almost sagged back to the ground in relief when he didn’t see any ants nearby. His mind

strange that was. Where were they? They’d been everywhere around them only a moment ago,

Something shifted behind him.

no,” he heard

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