Chrysalis

Chapter 833: Hold the line (944)

Damn termites. What the hell are those ka'armodo doing over there? They seem to pop out reinforcements just as fast as we kill them. I refuse to believe they can spit out tier four and five monsters so quickly without incurring some kind of cost. After all, the Colony has been doing this for months and have honed the process to be as efficient as possible. We have an entire caste of dedicated teachers, an academy with a constantly adjusted curriculum and Queens with the most beneficial mutations for mass producing the highest quality individuals.

It's just not possible that they are better at it than we are!

And in truth, they aren't. Our enemies may be a higher tier than would normally be expected from their numbers, but their cores remain weak. The question is how the lizards managed to maintain the quality of their insect troops, or in fact raise it, whilst creating increased production to such a ludicrous degree. If they'd been able to produce these sorts of numbers from the beginning, I don't think the Mother Tree would have been able to hold out as long as she did, not while withholding the bruan'chii from assisting her.

"Eldest, welcome back."

"Good to see you, Eldest!"

"Work hard!"

"I will. Make sure you take an appropriate break though!"

The ants who called out to me so cheerfully a moment ago hesitate in their stride at my mention of taking a break before they continue on their way. The fear of the torpor enforcers continues to apply even here during this desperate, ongoing battle. Tired soldiers are sloppy soldiers and sloppy soldiers get their own allies killed. Personally I'm thankful that they've continued to maintain a strict standard of rest amongst my siblings, even in these circumstances.

But I'll be the first to admit that those standards have slipped from the traditional eight. It's a war after all.

"Eldest! The meeting is in here!" I see Advant calling me over with a wave of her antennae and follow her into the prepared chamber in the Colony's main staging ground. Inside I find the usual carved table - I really have to find out who makes these damn things, they are spectacular - along with each member of the council who has joined me on this venture.

Vibrant, Advant, Bella, Burke and Wills, Victor, Leeroy, Mendant, Cobalt, Propellant and Coolant are all in attendance. Only the Queens and tenders are not represented. For obvious reasons they have not been brought down to the fourth.

Although, when it comes time to establish our own mountain nest in this stratum, I can't wait to see the mighty Queen's and powerful brood that we create. Perhaps we should even create a central academy here? No, it's far too early to be thinking about that stuff, don't get carried away.

As I take my 'seat' at the table I glance at the others and I'm not surprised to see them looking fatigued. It's been two weeks since my rescue of Vibrant from the ka'armodo trap, and there has been near constant fighting since then. Whatever the big lizards are doing back at that mountain, they've been moving quickly, ramping up the production of their proxy soldiers and making modifications to the templates within the queens to better arm the termites against us, their new foe.

In return the Colony has sent three waves of reinforcements, bringing our total number of deployed Colony members to forty thousand. This is far more than I wanted to commit to defending the Mother Tree, but any less and we run the risk of getting overrun. Fighting for the sake of someone not in the Colony is one thing, having thousands of my siblings wiped out would be completely unacceptable.

"From the reports I have, the lines appear to be holding well, despite some back and forth movement on both sides," Victor leads the conversation as the resident general. "Our biggest issue has been adjusting our defensive strategy to meet with the new reality of the foe. With the Ka'armodo involved, the termites move completely differently to how they did before. Our plan to hole up in fortresses and let the enemy dash themselves against the walls no longer can be considered. Retreating like that will just give our now smarter opponent the time and space to manoeuvre around us. Thus we have engaged in a defence in depth strategy that involves hit and run tactics. How has it fared in the field, Vibrant?"

"Reallywellactuallythehitnandrunissofun-funandwelovemovingreallyfastsowhenthetermitescomewechompthemandrunawaybeforeweruninandchompthemagainit'sfunnyactuallybecausetheycan'tmovefastenoughtokeepupsotheyjustlooksosillydon'tyouthink?!"

"And what do you have to say, Advant?"

"We are exposing ourselves more than we would like, but by choosing the ground we engage on and moving fast we've been able to damage the enemy and then pull back with minimal losses. So far there haven't been any incursions making it past the third defensive line."

"The strategy seems to be succeeding then. What are your thoughts, Eldest?"

Each of the council members turns toward me and I feel the familiar pressure in these moments. It's only made worse because I can feel their attention and high expectations through the Vestibule. Don't turn those shining eyes filled with respect toward me! I made you smart for the express purpose of doing all the thinking so I didn't have to, dammit!

"I'm worried," I just come out and say it.

"Why?" Victor asks, her scent attentive.

I scratch my head with an antenna.

"I'm worried that the lizards are just pinning us down and keeping us occupied while they build up an even larger force. I'm sure you've noticed that no matter how many we seem to kill, the raids continue apace. The termites are doing a better job of preserving their numbers through every engagement and are just probing our defences. I believe a surge will come, and possibly soon. I think they've increased egg production by far more than we've realised and when the new generations are ready they will throw everything at us, not in a massive wave, but in an organised advance that will engage us on as many fronts as possible."

I pause for a moment.

"Which I think will also include the third stratum. There won't be termites, but I think the ka'armodo will engage with allied demons and their own numbers to spread us even more thinly. If we don't have the capacity, the antpower, to cover all of these fronts, we could be in serious trouble."