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 on my back in a devastating hammer blow. My legs buckle under the impact but barely manage to hold my body up as the diamond carapace and inner-plating does 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 the opponent in front of me 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 and I pushed forward into his chest. I don't have time to mess 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 forward again.

CHOMP!

As strong a physical specimen as this weird hybrid is, it lacks the same level of protection that 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 before me. As much as I want to lunge forward for the 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 rush forward and 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 lunge forward and bite down once again.

"GRUAAAAAAA!"

BOOM!

Tiny's here. Clad in his armour he looks like an unstoppable juggernaut, the sheer mass of him is intimidating enough, but then he starts to throw hands and things get really scary. Just not for us. Standing just behind the frontline of soldiers, Tiny's fists blaze with light and electricity and he uses his potent ape boxing skills to send fists of pure energy smashing into the faces of the oncoming tide of creatures. Relying on their natural toughness, they try to withstand his strength but quickly find it impossible to tank it head on. With a devastating uppercut that starts from his toes and ends with his knuckles nearly scraping the ceiling of the tunnel, Tiny sends a number of enemies flying as if a bomb had detonated beneath their feet.

But they don't stop coming, and not all of the defensive line is holding as well as this section with myself and Tiny in it.

[Invidia, I need you to support the rest of the line, don't let them buckle under the pressure. Crinis, get ready to intervene if you need to.]

[I hearssss you.]

[Yes, Master.]

Ironically, this is exactly the sort of drawn out fight that Leeroy and her group are perfectly suited to fight. Vibrant is a powerful soldier and her group are all highly evolved, but they're built for speed, not this sort of face to face slug fest. It's going to be tough going for the speedy ant so long as the battle lines remain static, she simply has no room in which to run. As the pressure increases and the packed armies smash into each other again and again it becomes harder to have the spare room for thoughts of the rest of the battle. In my face is a constant stream of these disfigured part monsters, each one quick and strong, smashing at my carapace and trying to claw my eyes before I can finish them off or drive them back. At my back, the ants hold the line and push up behind me, occasionally climbing onto my back to dart forward and provide support, shrinking my vision even further.

The heat and noise are intense to the point I'm forced to sink my mind deep into the meditation Skill just to maintain my focus. It's something that I've become reluctant to do at times. Being able to think free from distracting emotions is nice and all, but emotions can be a source of great energy and drive, pushing me past the point when my mind under the influence of the meditation skill would pull the pin. The distractions are overwhelming to the point that I don't have any choice in the end.

CHOMP! CHOMP! CHOMP!

My mandibles reset and snap, reset and snap as fast as I can manage it until my face starts to ache. The extra penetrating power of the bites is more than welcome, allowing me to preserve stamina by holding off on using my Doom Chomp but still inflict severe damage on the foe. In the back of my mind, I'm conscious that this is merely the opening stanza of the battle. Whoever and whatever these creatures are, they are the prelude for the true fight to come. Waiting in the wings for us to tire, the Legion is still out there and they'll join in the fight the moment they feel the time is right.

[Master, I'm stepping in.]

Dammit! Surely they aren't breaking through already?!

DOOM CHOMP!

To gain space, I activate my most powerful physical Skill. The black mandibles of dark energy manifest and crunch closed on everything ten feet in front of my face, the momentum and power of my new muscular mutation translating into the Skill. Whatever is left standing after the strike I blast with steam and rear back, lowering my back legs and extending the front to lift my head high enough to see. Crinis is right, a section of the line to my right is starting to struggle. The freaks, sensing weakness, hold and scream with savage glee as they pile on the pressure, activating their Skills and slashing into the lines with wild abandon, heedless for their own safety. Crinis steps into the breach, announcing her presence in her usual insidious way as a forest of barbed limbs rise from the tunnel floor. The moment they are long enough, they begin to wind themselves around the unsuspecting forms of the attackers, binding them tight as the barbs dig into their flesh and begin to perform their dark work.

I lower myself back down, unwilling to see the rest. Hopefully she manages to trigger her fear skills and these guys back off a little. If the ant battle line is already starting to break, it's a worrying sign to say the least. Will we need to bring the humans forward and activate their buff already? I hope not, we need to hold off as long as possible before we bring the antmancers into the fray. Their buff is powerful, boosting the stats of our combatants, but the humans simply aren't trained for extended, intense fighting such as this and we don't have enough people to rotate them during the battle. No matter what, we can't bring them forward until the Legionaries themselves stand before us.

It only took a second, but the space in front of me is once again filled with opponents to fight and I feel my reflexes trigger just in time to help me avoid another strike directed toward my eyes.

Dammit! Do I need diamond eyes now?!

CHOMP!

This is going to be a long fight…