“I appreciate it, senior.” The general snapped out a quick salute before she moved on with the rest of her patrol.
Grant shook her head. This wasn’t what the colony needed. At a time when not just every soldier, but every member of the colony was required topside to deal with the upcoming battle, committing yet more soldiers to the Dungeon sections of the colony was far from ideal.
But it would have to be done. The queen was down here, along with the eldest. Any risk at all to either of them was unacceptable. She supposed they could remove all members of the colony to the above-ground section of the nest for the duration of the battle, and leave the freshly spawned monsters to battle each other here in the lower tunnels. Abandoning any amount of territory to those filthy creatures angered Grant deep down. Though she couldn’t say exactly why.
As she mulled over her emotions, she made her way into the Dungeon until she came to the chamber the council had made for their use, directly above the queen’s chamber.
“The eldest has begun to evolve,” she announced.
There was a relieved rustle as the few members of the council present shifted their bodies and their antennae twitched. The twenty members of the council were extremely busy. There wasn’t so much of a formal meeting, as a rolling series of consultations with whoever was present at the time. For the time being, Mendant, Victoriant, Florence and Coolant were in the chamber, the others out on business. For many in the council, this chamber had become something of a break room. Shameful as it was to admit it.
“How was it?” Mendant asked, concerned. “Absorbing the core?”
Grant paused as she considered how to describe the scene she observed from the tunnel above the eldest’s chamber. Like a fool, she’d feared for the eldest’s life as his own guardian had engulfed him in tentacles that writhed and squeezed with tremendous strength. Even covered, she could sense the agony that rolled through the air in waves.
“Difficult. But the eldest succeeded, as always.”
“Of course,” Coolant pitched in. “We can only marvel at how powerful a mage the eldest will become once the evolution is complete.”
Grant stabbed her antennae forward in irritation.
“I believe the eldest will seek physical strength in order to lead the soldiers from the front,” she said with certainty.
She could see it in her mind. The colossal strength of the eldest, scattering the foe and harvesting their lives as wheat before the scythe. The soldier caste charging through the wake.
“D-Do you think the eldest will invest in a Healing Magic Gland?” Mendant asked hopefully.
“No,” the others replied, which caused the healer to drop her head in sadness.
“The patrols need to be increased in the lower tunnels,” Grant said.
Victoriant focused on the soldier, surprise clear in her voice. “Again? I hope this trend doesn’t continue.”
“We’ll have to wait and see,” Coolant replied. “There’s no use engaging in idle speculation.”
Grant nodded in agreement. Guessing would get them nowhere in a hurry.
“Has most of the colony been pulled in for the mandatory rest period?” Coolant asked.
“I think so,” Grant confirmed. “I haven’t spoken to Burke or Wills for a few hours, but I think they’ve managed to bring in everyone. The upper nest has been turned over to the Brood Tenders to monitor, since they are non-combatants, whilst the soldiers are patrolling down here.”
“Did Vibrant come in?”
“I heard she had to be dragged in by a team of scouts,” Grant chuckled.
“I was there,” Coolant confirmed. “It took twenty of them to hold her down whilst her team was blocked by thirty soldiers. She wanted to get one last food run in before the battle started.”
Grant sighed. Vibrant’s work ethic was second to none. She had the respect of every ant in the colony for it. But it was by far the better choice for the colony that she and her team were rested and fresh for the battle, than having a little more food stored away.
“She ended up coming peacefully in the end,” Coolant continued. “Once we pointed out the eldest was returning to the nest to evolve, she was happy enough to come back.”
Once again, the eldest did work for the colony without even being present. Truly something special.
“I’m heading down to consult with the queen,” Grant announced. “I think Sloan is down there as well. I want to make sure my soldiers are in position.”
The others nodded.
“Keep working hard,” Coolant said.
“Of course,” Grant replied.
122. The War Queen
Grant exited the small council chamber and returned to the widened main shaft. Gripping onto the walls that glowed with intense, blue light, she made her descent to the lowest chamber in the nest where the queen now rested.
As the shaft opened up, Grant took in the contents of the room at once. It was crawling with ants. Over a hundred had been committed to the defence of this room. The spawns were happening rapidly, shadow beasts and plant monsters erupting from their cocoons at regular intervals. No harm would be allowed to come to the main occupant of this chamber.
She loomed large in Grant’s eyes. She sat in the centre, her protectors revolving around her, as if she emitted a powerful force that kept them close but unwilling to approach. Grant saw a shadow beast erupt out of the floor, right under the giant form. Before she could even shout, the queen shifted her weight and stabbed down with one leg, impaling the shadow beast clean through. The queen brought the leg to her mouth and swallowed the Biomass in one go.
“Have you come to greet me, child?” her warm voice rang out.
Grant started and came back to herself. “Ah, yes, Mother. I’ve been checking on the soldiers and I wanted to speak to Sloan, if she was here.”
“She is.” The queen flicked an antenna toward one corner where Grant could see a small cluster of scouts, generals and soldiers had gathered.
Grant completed her climb down the wall and steadied herself on the floor, looking up at the new form of her only parent. The queen had already been the largest ant in the colony by a wide margin, but her evolution pushed the boundary even further. Grant was one of the largest ants as well, being a Mature Soldier with the benefit of maxed core evolutions. Yet the queen towered over Grant. Her mandibles were almost equal in size to Grant’s own head.
The power contained in the rare core was no joke.
“Tell me, did the troublesome one return?” the queen asked.
“Yes, Mother,” Grant said. “The eldest has begun their evolution in the chambers above.”
The queen tilted her head to more directly face the roof of her chamber, as if she could penetrate the layers of rock and soil that lay between and stare at her wayward offspring.
“That is good then,” she huffed.
“Were you worried that the eldest may not make it back?” Grant enquired.
The queen lowered her head to look Grant compound eye to compound eye. “I am always worried about that one. Do you think I don’t have cause?”
Grant shifted, uncomfortable with the scrutiny. She was unwilling to admit wrongdoing or poor judgement in the eldest. How could she? The eldest had done more for the colony than any other, the queen included. The eldest literally created their species!
“The eldest has been known to push a little too hard at times,” she admitted.
The queen chuckled. The scent of her mirth spread throughout the chamber and tickled the antennae of every ant present, causing them to pause as the warmth of her emotion washed over them.