The Antventure Begins

56. Anthony’s Colony Growth Strategy

More and more reinforcements appear, plunging into battle without fanfare or hesitation.

The sheer coordination and eerily silent aggression of the ants strikes me.

If a wave of soldiers were to appear, their gallant charge would normally be accompanied by battle cries, faces adorned with noble expressions of sacrifice, determination, and a thirst for victory.

This scene would stir the hearts of all who beheld it. It would bring tears to the eyes of elf maidens as they hastily composed epic poetry and songs about the dashing heroes who’d gone so boldly, so heroically into battle that day. Songs that would live on forever.

This moving scene would never occur where the colony is concerned.

The workers made no sound, no shout or roar in their advancement on the enemy. As soon as the ants were close enough to see the battle, they simply run to engage the foe. Their cold eyes show not a flicker of fear, hesitation, joy or triumph.

To me, this behaviour is heroic in another way. The ants are truly selfless. No consideration is given to preserving their own Health, willing to sacrifice their life at a moment’s notice to further the growth of the colony. They needed no high ideals to do this. They were not seeking reward or riches. In the minds of the workers this was their task, their job, their purpose in life.

I appreciate you, workers! Even if nobody else cares, I, Anthony, am deeply moved by your single-minded dedication.

Viva the workers!

Viva the colony!

It is for the sake of these workers and their growth that I’ve launched this anti-ape crusade. From the moment I approached the tree and cut it down, to all the time spent charging through the horde of monsters and knocking them around, I’ve been careful to injure the apes but never deal the finishing blow.

No, I’ve been saving all this delicious XP and Biomass for the workforce. After evolving and Levelling up, I doubt I’d be able to benefit much from these apes anyway. Instead of taking all of the resources for myself, I’ll help the colony by creating opportunities for my siblings to develop their strength, absorbing Biomass and gaining Levels, as well as providing food for the colony to grow the next generation.

More and more workers flood into the battle. As many as fifty of the monstrous ants have engaged in bitter combat, gradually overwhelming the apes with their vicious mandibles and acid bombardment.

The scene has become increasingly chaotic with acid raining from the sky upon ants and apes locked in deadly combat. Everywhere I turn there are groups of monsters battling to the death, workers darting here and there, using their mandibles to savagely bite down on enemies, even as the apes scratch, punch and discharge their electricity.

What a vicious melee!

I continue to run interference through the enemy ranks, scattering them whenever it seems like a worker will become surrounded or threatened. With all of these factors working together, it isn’t long before the entire horde of spark chimps has been defeated, becoming fuel for the powerful engine of the colony.

Feeling tired and satisfied, I survey the battlefield. Workers are picking through the remains of the apes, some of them already eating, others picking up the food and beginning to transport it back to the colony.

The workers are smarter than they appear in many areas. They know how much food the colony needs. Since we’ve successfully secured more food than the colony realistically needs to keep all of the members going, the workers will take it all for themselves rather than let any excess be wasted. Considering the first creature to eat a food source is the one to gain the Biomass from it, passing on food stored in the social stomach will cause the worker to miss out on nutrition but not Biomass.

Perhaps this is why the workers transport so much back to the nest. This way the queen and the workers who are full-time helping the brood are also able to amass Biomass Points.

In this way my goals have been met.

I’m sure lots of workers were able to gain Levels during this melee, not to mention the huge amount of Biomass consumed will allow many of the ants to mutate and improve the performance of their bodies. This will make the workforce more effective in fighting and growing the colony, which will in turn allow the workers to amass more experience and Biomass as they battle. This all creates a positive feedback loop that I have no intention of slowing down.

Oh no, get ready workers, there are no breaks on this train.

Hehehehe.

With all of this food lying about I make sure to take my own ‘tax,’ as well as letting Tiny get his fill. My little ape friend is getting larger at an increasingly rapid pace, almost visibly growing with every passing meal. It won’t be long before he doesn’t comfortably fit on back and will have to get around on his own two feet.

About time, you slacker!

After filling up on the spark chimps I only manage to gain three Biomass, a long way from the wealth I accrued from the Berserkers. Those points immediately go into Regeneration +2 and Pheromones +1. The Regenerative Gland has proven to be incredibly useful and I’ll stick to my commitment to prioritise its growth. If I’m going to be conducting more battles with the workers like this, there is great value in improving my pheromones, allowing me to direct the flow of the ants faster and with less effort.

Since the colony has been provided with ample food for the time being, I’ll wait until my next campaign and spend some time working on my magic skills.

I really have too much to do at the moment! In addition to fuelling the growth of the colony, there’s finding more monster cores to reinforce myself to the limit before evolution, as well as mutating all my body parts to +5 and get to Level ten. Then I have to find the time to improve all three of my foundation magic skills.

Anthony, you are one busy ant!

Before leaving the area, I notice a few workers who are being left behind by the others, struggling with injury. Despite my best efforts I couldn’t be everywhere at once, some of the ants being injured was inevitable. I’m pleased enough that there were no casualties on our side, but it still gets my heart down to see these workers struggling with their wounds. One hatchling in particular has suffered three injured legs and cannot walk effectively, feebly dragging itself along the ground towards the colony.

Even with half of its legs broken, this little worker is still carrying an ape in its mouth as it pulls itself through the dirt.

Now that is some dedication.

Making my way over to the tiny hatchling, I gently pick them up in my mandibles. No worries little chap, this trip is on me.

Tiny, completely stuffed by this point, painfully hauls himself onto my back where he flops listlessly. Is this a food coma? Perhaps he went too far this time.

With my small passenger in my mandibles, who is in turn carrying food in their own mandibles, I make my way safely back to the nest.

Upon arrival, I head straight down to the queen’s chamber where I find Mother already busy healing a few of the injured workers, tapping them on the head with an antenna to pass on the healing energy.

Good on you, queen, keeping the family going full strength!

I deposit my fellow worker before the queen and look up to her gazing down at me with approval twinkling in her large eyes. Before I leave, she gives me a quick pat on the head with one foreleg and moves to heal the hatchling I delivered.

She really is smarter than the workers by quite a bit.

Time to go practice some magic!