Chrysalis

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.

finally.

“You’re sure.”

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

“Go for it.”

the worst case scenario could be avoided, the leader let his mind dwell on the best case

roared to the surrounding mercs. “We get a little deeper and we can set

back as they redoubled their efforts. The fighting was thick along the edge of the shields as the insects continued to press in on them from all sides, but so

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

the more experienced fighters closer to the edge. Hartos

make a fortune?”

he looked.

ready,” he

with a firm

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

he took a deep breath to settle his

to

Hartos roared. “Another ten metres and we’ll start! Listen to your crew leaders and keep your eyes on the prize! Efficient killing and harvesting is what we’re here

the size of a human, the giant soldiers were intimidating beasts, especially when they came in large numbers. They were everywhere, climbing over the roof, on the walls, even walking on the shield itself or lunging up

flung another slash through the shield.

Hartos chuckled.

be smarter than the average, but that doesn’t make them as clever as you and me. Perhaps they’re protecting something and don’t want to leave their posts, or they’re fighting other monsters, or a hundred other reasons. Besides, even if more came, it wouldn’t make a difference, we

the mark!” Artis called from amongst

to work

of gathered mercenaries, but before he said a word, the

the only thing in his mind was

image flashed through his thoughts of mandibles scraping and scratching at the

wildly with his arms, trying to grab

and cries rang out around him as the entire expedition plunged downwards.

had it started than it finished, the mercenaries thudding to the ground heavily. Drake crashed into the stone floor, landing on his side.

was that?” Hartos bellowed from somewhere nearby. “Sound off! Get the shields up! Are you trying to get us

tension that sent a

the light?!”

existence, casting their surroundings into stark relief. Drake almost sagged back to the ground in relief when

Where were they? They’d been everywhere around them only a moment ago, so what had happened,

Something shifted behind him.

no,” he