As we flee from the scene of the battle with all haste, I take a moment to let the System messages from the battle roll over me.

[You have slain Level 54 Legionem Shieldbearer (Human)]

[You have slain Level 44 Legionem Armoured Scout (Human)]

[You have slain Level 45 Legionem Shieldbearer (Human)]

[You have slain Level 58 Legionem Swordsman (Human)]

[You have slain Level 42 Legionem Armoured Scout (Human)]

[You have gained experience]

[You have reached level 58]

A lot of experience was gained there. Also, the next evolution is getting a lot closer. Another twenty two levels and I'll reach that mythical level 80 that seemed so far away after I'd evolved. It's a shame to leave their armour and technology behind, but I don't want any delays. I believe it's likely they'll have a way to know when their people go down. All in all, this ambush was highly successful, but still, I can't shake the feeling that my mandibles are unclean.

[They have come to kill you, Master. Don't worry over them when they wouldn't do the same for you,] Crinis' voice echoes in my mind.

I twitch, startled by her sudden words. How well is she able to read my mood? I still have meditation active! I hardly even have a mood!

[What do you mean?] I ask her, [why would I be feeling anything other than triumph right now?]

A pause as Crinis considers her reply.

[I have been your servant for a long time now, Master. I have watched carefully and I see more than you think. I know that you do not want to hurt the humans. You didn't really want to hurt the golgari either. Even though they are filth that treated Master so poorly! They should be burned… burned! They should be flung into a pit of ten thousand mouths and ---]

[Crinis!]

[---ah. I'm sorry. I just felt that defeating this enemy would make you sad, so I spoke. I hope I have not disturbed you for no reason.]

I sigh.

[No, Crinis. You're totally right, as you usually are. I felt as though… I felt like we could be a bit better than this, with monsters for everyone to fight against, why would they go out of their way to fight us? I thought if the Colony was peaceful and didn't attack anyone, then we'd be left alone. At least, that's what I'd hoped. It appears as though I was just being foolish from the beginning.]

I can feel Crinis bristle on my carapace.

[Master isn't wrong! Everyone else is wrong! What reason do they have to attack your family? None! These trash have no excuse for their behaviour!]

She's riled up. I can feel the teeth of her tentacles grinding against my perfect diamond shell. I wince. Please don't scratch me! It heals up pretty fast, but it hurts my heart.

[I guess it doesn't matter who's wrong or right now,] I try to soothe her, [this is the situation that we're in and we're going to have to deal with it. I can't be half-assed anymore, it's them or us, and we weren't the ones to push it to that point.]

[Master?]

[Yes?]

[What's an ass?]

[…]

How could I even explain it… monsters don't have butts!

I deflect as best I can as we wind our way through the narrow tunnels until we come to the point I'd been looking for. That weird root had appeared in this location and I want to take another gander at it before it becomes too hard for us to make it into this area. It doesn't take long for us to arrive at the location, although I don't recognise it at first.

Where first there had been a regular, second strata tunnel, filled with darkness and the scent of death, grasping plants and shadow beasts, is a now a totally different scene. Green vegetation has exploded along the walls, thick and vibrant. The four of us pull up out of reach of the vines and strangely grasping branches in surprise.

"What the heck is this?" I ask nobody in particular.

"A-are you talking to us?" Protectant asks from over my head. "We have no idea."

"No, I wasn't ---. Doesn't matter I suppose. Should we try and push into this?"

We're still some distance from the root itself and I can't even see it, but I can't imagine anything else is responsible for this explosion of greenery. Seeing this amount of bright plant life, is just so weird for this part of the Dungeon, it's almost surreal looking at it. Why the heck would it be green anyway? I don't think photosynthesis is happening down here!

[I'm not going to lie,] I announce to my pets, [but I've got a bad feeling about this place. I'm not sure that I want to meet whatever it was that caused this to happen.]

Whatever did this might be a scary thing, which is fine with me, since that would mean that those stupid soldiers will have to deal with it, not me. Still, I can't say I'm not curious about it, just not enough to take any risks right now.

[Let's get the heck out of here,] I say as I turn around and make my way back.

We'll loop around and regroup with the Colony, ready to defend the next fort. When those metal encased chumps come back, I hope they're prepared to accept a gravity bomb to the face! To be honest, it wouldn't shock me if they had some sort of countermeasure for hyper-condensed spells. Come to think of it, I hope we do too. Surely someone has thought of that, no way I'm the first.

We make good time looping back to the Colony and manage to arrive before another major offensive, what's more, we find some timely reinforcements have returned from their training trip.

"Eldest, nice to see you again!" Bella calls, hopping with excitement.

"Ellie, Bella! Good to see you too! How did the training trip go?"

The Core shapers were sent on a long range expedition to soak up experience and farm cores away from the Colony. With the number of graduates coming out of the Academy and the demands of the soldiers, scouts and generals for experience, the call was made that there just wasn't enough to go around.

"Sorry we're late," Bella said, "when we got out there, we found a whole lot more than we expected and were reluctant to leave without taking everything we could."

I shrug.

"It's fine. You did what was asked of you and there's still a long way to go in this war. I hope the results are enough. Are your pets going to give a good show of themselves?"

Bella chomps her mandibles aggressively,

"They are ready to go! Our Skills have improved a lot, and so have theirs! We also have a few new types we've developed in the mix. They'll make the Colony proud."

"Good. It won't be long before they'll be put to the test. Make sure your people get enough rest and then slot into the defence. It's going to get wild around here."