Working with the Lava Mana is too hard for my weary sub-brains right now, I need to switch over to something that’s going to be more effective in close range. Limiting myself to the easier-to-work with base elements, I flip to water and fire. The two opposing elements don’t play all that well together, but I suspect they’ll be more effective at impacting the battle in ways other than direct damage.
Sensing his moment is near, the armoured colossus that is Tiny draws himself up to his full height. Up to this moment, he’s just been parked on his backside behind me waiting impatiently for a chance to get into the action. I didn’t want him to waste a single charge of electricity, so I ordered him to hold back in this initial phase.
Rather than spend all his fuel blasting the shields, I decided he’d be better off swinging his lightning fists in close combat, and that moment has nearly arrived. Even from behind his gnarled and twisted helmet, I can tell the great ape has a massive grin on his face as he clenches his hands in mighty fists and begins to punch the ground and air, eager to begin the fight.
Not much farther to go now, only fifty metres between us.
The flurry of spells and projectiles is now so thick, midair collisions are detonating just as often as Invidia’s explosions. Bright flares of light and bursts of acid fall everywhere between the two armies, and dodging has become all but impossible now.
With my two sub-brains having managed the process of starting to grind out the new Mana forms, I squeeze myself back into formation fully, powerful soldiers on both sides, and then hunker down for the charge. Pelted by arrows and spells, our HP starts to fall, but none falter in their position, not even for a second. Eyes as powerfully mutated as mine aren’t enough to keep track of the sheer volume of firepower being thrown around, and my antennae are overwhelmed with the feedback.
Heat signals flare up and die every instant and the future sense is almost painful at the sheer amount of information it tries to cram into my head. The sound is deafening. Explosions crack and shake the rock, acid sizzles, and arrows fizz through the air before they crunch into stone or carapace or bury themselves in soft earth.
It’s overwhelming, and for a few minutes, it’s all I and my fellow frontline ants know as we sit still and wait for our moment.
I’m holding up better than most, thanks to my higher Level of evolution and carapace, but even so, I’m grateful when I feel a cool healing touch spread over my back and then the rest of my exo-skeleton.
“Thanks for the heal!” I tell the medic hidden in an emergency trench just behind me. “But make sure the rest of the line gets a dose before I do!”
“No can do, eldest,” the little ant tells me as she burrows herself back down to safety. “Everyone gets healed whenever we can get to them. We don’t have the ability to set up a schedule.”
The healers have really changed over the course of the conflict. No longer are they the timid creatures they once were. They know their job and they take no guff, even from me. Mother help any ant who tries to get between them and healing those that need it.
“Right you are,” I say and shift my position slightly to ensure the trench is covered by my body.
That burst of healing works to counteract the damage I’d been taking, and by the time it runs out, I’m almost back to full again. Only thirty metres remain between the two sides. It won’t be long now.
Then something unexpected happens. The ranks of the Legion, normally so uniform and unbreakable, split apart. The soldiers take brisk steps, shields and defensive formations maintained at all times as the column breaks into halves that press themselves against the wall to maximise the space between. It only makes sense if they’re clearing the way for something…
“Something is coming!” I warn the ants around me and brace my legs into the ground.
“HUURAAAAAAA!” an inhuman bellow slices through the cacophony of sound in the tunnel, and through the gap in the Legion lines storm creatures the likes of which I have never seen.
Swollen and misshapen, with no armour or weapons, but donning tough hides and gleaming claws, they look more like monsters than anything else. Something in their faces, their eyes, tells me I’m wrong. Were these… people?
“GRAAAAAAHHH!”
Tiny doesn’t care what they are, he’s ready to fight. Unleashing his own devastating war cry, the giant ape slams his fists into the ground, shaking the stone. Whether it’s my pet’s rage or the collective instincts of the colony, every one of us is up and charging, legs ablur as we pick up speed to clash with those monstrosities.
The humans begin to emerge from their bunkers behind me, taking up positions spread throughout the second line of ants where they’ll be protected from the worst of the fray, but I don’t have much attention for them.
Twin jets erupt from my mouth, one of flame and one of water, the liquid steaming and bubbling in an instant, creating a wave of searing mist in front of me. The front line of creatures screams in rage and pain before the two sides collide with an almighty CRASH.
“FOR THE COLONY!” I bellow.
“FOR THE COLONY!” comes the reply of thousands.
No more time to think. Blows crunch into my body and my mandibles open wide. Time to fight!
141. The Siege, Part 19
Whatever these things are, they’re fast and they hit hard.
The creature in front of me shrieks in rage as it presses through my screen of steaming hot… steam, and brings two massive hands down in a devastating hammer blow on my back. My legs buckle and barely manage to hold my body up as the Diamond Carapace and inner plating do the work absorbing the blow. My mandibles are locked in position, and I unleash them, feeling the coiled energy within unleash all at once in a mighty chomp!
The jagged edges of my jaws slice forward and my opponent screeches with pain. Yeah, you don’t like that, do ya? Ouch! Dammit, this guy is tougher than I gave him credit for. He recovered from the bite quickly and scraped his claws down my back. He was aiming for the antennae, but my reflexes fired in time to push forward into his chest.
There’s no messing around with this guy! I channel my newly minted Fire Mana into my mandibles, and they begin to glow white hot, heat rolling from them in waves as I reset the muscles in my face and lunge again.
CHOMP!
As strong a physical specimen as this weird hybrid is, it lacks the same level of protection the regular Legionaries have, and even without using my Skill, the power of my musculature is enough to bite deep. The sizzling smell of roasting meat that fills the air is disgusting enough on its own, and my opponent falls back.
As much as I want to attempt a finishing blow, I resist the urge and maintain my formation with the ants around me. If I go out too deep, I’ll only get surrounded and end up needing my siblings to bail me out, increasing the risks they have to face. Not worth it. Instead, I’ll stand here and absorb my share of the punishment as we grind out this battle.
This one’s going in for the long haul.
The crush of bodies forces another hulking monstrosity in front of me in short enough order and I greet them with another burst of searing hot steam, which obviously goes down very well with my next customer. I follow up that opening salvo with another roasting-hot chomp and get punched in the head for my trouble.
Bare fists against my carapace turns out to be a bad idea, though, who would have thought. The shock of the impact rattles the enemy long enough that I can bite down once again.