Antelligent Design

88. The Third Ambush, Part 1

We lay in wait, ready to spring the third ambush. It’s been six hours since the second battle, which had been another success. Something that made Victor very irritated. A feeling I was also beginning to share.

The horde is massive. Tens of thousands of monsters make up the rolling carpet that trundles its way toward my home. Even after two successful fights, we are only making a dent. The possibility exists that Garralosh and the Wizard Lizard just don’t care that we’re killing their zombie monsters. At this pace, more than half of them will still make it to the colony. More than enough to seriously endanger our existence.

I just can’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t going to go down that way. Why would they let us attack them, make ourselves stronger and them weaker, without any sort of retaliation? It doesn’t make sense for them to do that. Especially when they could most likely reach out and easily damage us.

With no concept of exactly what the Ka’armodo can do, we’re left fumbling in the dark as to what its intentions might be. All in all, I’m starting to sympathise with Victor; having an enemy you have no information on refuse to do anything, thus denying you information, is so frustrating.

The second ambush went smoothly. That’s a win, focus on that. We launched another Gravity Bomb, followed by an acid attack before retreating into the tunnels. So far, so groovy. This time, we’ve prepared larger underground spaces in which to do battle.

I personally had been a little shocked that the monsters weren’t restrained from following us into the tunnels. It was the collapsing tunnels that did half of the damage in the first ambush, but nope. When the enemy charged down after me, I’d been so shocked, a Wolf Dragon Cub had run up and bit me on the nose before I even realised it!

The fighting was fierce. Face to face, mandible-chomping action. More soldiers had fallen than in the first fight. It pains my heart, but the survivors were able to gain valuable experience and Levels in their Skills which could make all the difference in the future. Not to mention the colony produced more soldiers on that day than it lost by four times.

Still… Those are my siblings. I can’t and won’t be that callous about it.

My anger and rage towards the invaders has built with every death they inflict on my family in a way that no amount of devastation in Liria could have achieved. Garralosh is going to pay for the losses we’ve suffered, and it isn’t going to be cheap.

I look to my left and right. It’s dark in the forest at night, but I can still make out the long lines of ants, waiting for the signal to launch the assault. They are so still, they might even be sleeping, if not for the pheromone chatter I was picking up through my antennae.

“Not long now.”

“Remember the plan, soldiers.”

“Look sharp!”

A brief pause rippled out at that one.

“…How?”

“…What?”

“…How do I look sharp? Do I have to angle my carapace to look pointy or something?”

“No, it’s an expression I heard in the last ambush. It means to be focused.”

“Ah…”

“Look sharp, soldiers!”

Gawd.

I really need to keep my Pheromone Gland shut… I keep throwing out statements or phrases I learned in my previous life to the confusion of the ants around me. I frequently find myself having to explain things to a puzzled ant, only to have my words repeated back to me by several hundred other colony members later in the day.

News travels fast through a colony of ants.

I’m a little nervous. The battle is going to be slightly different in nature this time. No tunnels will be deployed. Victor has been increasingly cautious and doesn’t want our attack patterns to become predictable, which I agree with. We only know a fraction of what is possible with magic, and I already know they could flood us, use Earth Magic to crush us to death under the ground, and a host of other things. Just because they haven’t doesn’t mean we should arrogantly assume they can’t.

I run over my status since the last fight one more time, double checking what I’ve gained. It’s unusually important for me to be on top of my status right now, since the colony is kind of depending on me to evolve and somehow battle a dinosaur to death.

Name: Anthony

Level: 36 (Special core)

Might: 41

Toughness: 29

Cunning: 44

Will: 35

HP: 58/58

MP: 187/240

Skills: Expert Excavation Level 5 (III); Deadly Acid Shot Level 3 (III); Enhanced Grip Level 5 (II); Advanced Shattering Bite Level 15 (IV); Advanced Stealth Level 6 (II); Splintering Chomp Level 16 (III); Tunnel Map Level 7 (II); Mana Transformation Level 11 (III); Advanced Condensed Mana Level 3 (III); Finer External Mana Manipulation Level 2 (III); Empowered Mana Sensing Level 1 (II); Core Surgery Level 6 (III); Expert Exo-Skeleton Defence Level 7 (III); Distant Pet Communication Level 2 (II); Rapid Dash Level 6 (II); Expert Water Magic Affinity Level 2 (III); Advanced Stamina Level 9 (II); Pet Growth Speed Level 1 (I); Mana Scrooge Level 6 (II); Expert Cerebral Endurance Level 12 (III); Profound Meditation Level 5 (III); Advanced Precise Shooting Level 5 (II); Severing Bite Level 9 (III); Advanced Mind Magic Affinity Level 5 (II)

Mutations: Heightened Perimeter Eyes +20; Future Sight Infrared Antennae +15; Mana Binding Acid +15; Rapid Osmotic Legs +15; Bright Empowered Mandibles +20; Hardened True Diamond Carapace +20; Regrowth Regeneration Gland +15; Loquacious Pheromone Gland +15; Expansive Gravity Magic Gland +15; Networked Coordination Cortex +15; Supportive Inner Carapace Plating +15; Selective Gluttonous Stomach +20

Species: Dispersed Mind Ant (Formica Sapiens)

Skill Points: 14

Biomass: 146

I’ve gained quite a few Levels during the fighting, especially across my Bite Skills. My sub-brains are working overtime, constantly feeding Mana into my core. The upgrade to External Mana Manipulation gave me, much as the name suggests, greater control over the movement of Mana outside of my body. I’m beginning to catch glimpses of exactly how the Skill can be deployed in more useful ways than just dragging Mana into my hungry core. Such as defending from hostile magic. I think one more rank in the Skill will unlock some juicy knowledge, so I intend to keep grinding it.

I managed to power vacuum in a pile of Biomass after the last battle, all in the hopes of mutating as far as I can before I evolve. Perhaps once this battle is done, I’ll have the chance to do that and secure my first ever, fully upgraded evolution, though I’m starting to doubt it.

I’m also closing in on the Bite Skill fusion I’ve been aiming for. According to Beyn, when all three of my Bite Skills reach the fourth rank, I’ll have the option to fuse them into a more potent Skill. Which is another thing I’ll have to focus on during the upcoming ambush.

As the ants around me continue to pep each other up, I take a deep, slow breath and run over the plan in my head, one more time.