“Are you going to make this painful for me, Leeroy?”
“No… Eldest. Just going to charge out and defeat… the enemy?”
“Why does that smell like a question! What else were you hoping to defeat? You know what, don’t answer that. I’ll just make one thing perfectly clear, not a single one of you is going to die on this charge, alright? Not a one! In fact, I’ll make it my personal mission that you all return with fully topped off health, not a single scratch on you.”
She slumps a little, dejected.
“Alright, Eldest,” she mutters. “Have it your way.”
“Why are you giving me this attitude, huh?” I poke her with an antenna. “I’m talking about keeping you alive! Is there some reason you aren’t happy about that, Leeroy? Anything you want to tell me? Hmm? You surely aren’t going against the very first lesson I taught you, are you?! Because that might influence me to get you back into training with me for a little while. I might want to make sure you brush up on the basics…”
“No, Eldest! I treasure my life, and so do all my followers!”
“Wait, we do?” comes a scent from behind Leeroy.
The Council member studiously ignores her follower and stares at me, antennae twitching outside of her control. I sigh.
“Immortals… a fine joke. Alright, this is how we’re going to do this. I’ll go in front, you guys go behind. We mow them down and let Crinis and Tiny deal the bulk of the damage, we just need to use our mass to crush them against the next choke point. Clear? Any questions?”
I direct my question to the lines of armoured soldiers behind their leader, and one enterprising individual raises an antenna.
“Yes, you at the front.”
“Hi, Eldest… doesn’t this plan seem a little safe?”
“You’re at the very back of the formation now. I’ll have shields and Healing Magic on you for the entirety of the mission. Anyone else?”
Predictably, none do. The ant in questions clanks her way dejectedly to the back of the line.
“Alright then, form up behind me, we’ll push through when we get the signal.”
[Tiny, you know what to do?]
He gives me an offended look.
[No, I don’t need to ask Crinis, because she listens, and you have not answered my question.]
He grunts angrily.
[Good. I just have to check, alright?]
Touchy ape. He gets moody when we have a pre-fight briefing sometimes, too eager to get to the smashing. We file forward in two narrow columns as the sound of battle grows louder. Up ahead, the ants are defending the third choke point like a well-oiled machine, striking, dodging, and rotating like the gears in a clock. And who do I spy calling the shots out here, but Sloan herself.
“Ready to open up a gap?” I call to her, waving.
“Be ready for my mark!” she says, intently watching the battle unfold.
I do a final check over myself, making sure everything is in top condition before doing the same for my pets. I keep a sharp eye on Leeroy as well, the closer we get to sallying out, the more intense the energy I’m getting from her becomes. In fact, all of the Immortals are starting to emit some eerie vibes. Beneath the line of their helmets, their compound eyes are filled with a strange light. It’s almost as if they can only truly feel alive the closer they come to danger.
“Mark!” comes the call.
“WE SEEK!” comes an overpowering wave of pheromones from behind.
Holy smokes! I start Dashing, not because it’s the plan, but because if I don’t, I’m worried I’m going to get run over by the morons behind me! I might be far larger than they are, but when put together, they pack a lot of weight.
[Let’s go, guys!]
“HUURRAAAAAAA!” Tiny’s reverberating roar of joy and rage shatters the air and pierces straight through the din of the fighting.
Sloan and her troops pull back from the opening and we lunge through. I go first and a veritable wall of enemies looms in front of me. Ravenous and mad, they claw at each other and anything else they can reach in their desperation. I’ve been slowly Levelling my Charge Skill, and I utilise the information it gives me now, timing my run and bracing my body to absorb the impact as best as possible.
CRUNCH!
With a sickening noise, I slam into the leading monster, my shoulder angled to drive straight into the creature, and I keep going, the weight of the Immortals behind me driving me forward.
CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!
Head down, legs pumping, I push onward without stopping, running right over the top of the monsters as they fall before the combined might of our charge. Then Tiny is there, bounding forward and blasting all before him with concentrated lightning, roaring his challenge and defiance. Crinis rises from her place on my carapace, a nightmarish visage of three bottomless mouths set within an inky form of pure darkness. The two wreak havoc as the charge continues, driving forth all before it.
I can see why the Immortals and Leeroy get so hung up on these assaults. This is exhilarating stuff! Rushing into the enemy, running them down and motoring onward gives such a feeling of power, of strength! This must be why they got addicted to this sort of offensive. I did sort of say to Smithant that I’d get a set of armour when I evolved… I’m very, very reluctant to get anything that’s going to cover up my magnificent carapace, but I could be tempted, if the right materials were found…
My legs do not tire, my muscles do not ache, thanks to the Vestibule, and I keep rushing forward, chomping with my mandibles, and shoulder-ramming every shadow beast and demon that dares to place itself in front of me.
Gwehehehehe! Nothing is going to stop us!
64. Something Stopped Us
Our charge continued unbroken until we reached the second defensive line, the monsters in our way were unable to stand before our might. Once we reached that point, I sent my three pets forward to defend the choke point while the Immortals and I collected ourselves. Unlike me, most of them were exhausted after the mad run and in need of a breather.
“Are you guys going to be alright for the second charge?” I ask Leeroy. “We can do it without you if necessary.”
“We’ll be fine!” she replied, her scent strong and confident despite her drooping antennae and shaking legs. “The Immortals will never give up a chance to fight!”
“Aren’t you just anxious because they haven’t been letting you fight for a while now?” I ask, sceptically. “Doesn’t matter, I suppose; you’ll have some time to rest, so recommend you all take a load off your legs and relax for a little while. We’ll be heading out again in about half an hour.”
Filled with relief at the chance to take a break, Leeroy and her followers collapse to the ground with a loud clank! as their armour rattles against the hard stone. It’s quite the amusing sight, especially when compared to how fired up they were before our charge started.
A few minutes later, a detachment of defenders arrives on the scene, getting to work cleaning up and re-establishing their post here. Some things need repairs, and a team of carvers jump to it, fixing and rehardening damaged stone sections of the choke point . When the soldiers move to relieve my pets of their job holding off the wave, I shake my head at them. Tiny and Crinis are still a little ways away from their evolutions, and this is another good opportunity for them. I’ll have them use it to the fullest.