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Chapter 669: 669

I can already hear the fighting . The sounds of clashing steel and snapping mandibles tug at my claws and I have to force myself to resist charging blindly into the fray like a shinier, much smarter Leeroy . Keeping myself so still has never been so hard before . Then again, the only member of my family that I know was exposed to danger in my previous life was myself . In Pangera, I have thousands of siblings exposed to terrible danger almost every day . It’s enough to drive a person nuts .

The Vestibule makes my situation even worse, but if I focus then I can filter out their whispers .

We have a plan and I’m going to stick to it . When the fighting gets hot here at the gate, I’m going to be right in the thick of it, which is where I want to be . At the front gate, the lead force of a few thousand is busy putting the Legion through their paces using all of the same tricks and tactics that we spent on them the first time around . River of acid, magic barrage, the works . They’ll have to fight their way through all of it a second time before they even get through the first gate . By the time they reach me here, I’m hoping that they’ll be all tuckered out and want to quit and go home .

More likely they’ll be mad as hell and wanting to carve me into itty bitty pieces but at the very least they’ll have worked to get here . The ants and humans on this side of the picture need every edge we can get .

“How confident are you, Eldest?” Advant asks .

The powerful soldier stands next to me in the dark, her antennae twitching in a rarely seen sign of nerves .

“We’re going to win,” I tell her with certainty, “we’re ants . What can they possibly do against us?”

“They’ve managed to bottle us up in our nest and destroy the outer gate . ”

“Bah . Just a flesh wound . ”

“You nearly got cut in half . ”

“As I said, just a flesh wound . ”

“Getting cut in half is just a flesh wound?”

“I’m perfectly fine now aren’t I?”

A beat .

“So you’re saying the Colony might get cut in half but we’ll heal eventually?”

“No! I’m saying we’ll be fine!”

…

“I think so too . ”

All around us the packed ants of the Colony stir . It’s not like we can keep our scent conversation private from them, not that I felt any need . I truly believe that we will win . My family has been incredible from the moment I found them in this life and I refuse to believe they won’t overcome this challenge just like they have every other .

BOOM!

A thunderous impact roars down the tunnel as the gates buckle on their hinges . A moment later, a flood of ants begins to pour through the gap between the two doors, a gap that rapidly widens as more of my siblings push it open as they retreat . It looks like the line has buckled at the first gate, a bit faster than expected . No matter .

Injured soldiers and scouts supported by their still healthy allies as the retreat occurs in swift silence . When they reach us, the lines part in unison to allow the wounded through, medics already rushing forward to work their magic . The air is tense now as we watch and wait for the enemy to show their faces . It takes longer than I expect, they must be being cautious in the extreme . Understandable, considering this is their big push . If they fail on this assault, they probably won’t be able to muster another before the wave hits .

After ten minutes, I see the gate buckle as armoured figures appear and begin to force them open, teams bracing their shoulders against the metal and pushing with raw physical strength . The gate Titus cut into is in particularly bad shape . That mad man managed to cut through the damn thing from a hundred metres away . I hope the Legion doesn’t have many more like him tucked away somewhere, because just one is more than the entire Colony can handle at the moment .

Another ten minutes pass in tense silence as the legionaries force open gates and reassemble themselves into the disciplined, impenetrable ranks that we have come to know them for . Our side watches it all happen, unwilling to be baited into a fight other than the one we’ve prepared for . These buggers are crafty . They looked all disorganised as they were moving through the gate, but I wager if we’d try to charge over we’d have found them snapped into neat ranks in a matter of moments .

[How are you holding up there Priest?]

In a rare showing of charity toward the crazy, one-armed human I reach out to him with my mind and initiate a conversation . Inwardly, I brace myself for what may come of it . If he doesn’t shout at me, I’ll take it as a win . To my shock, the priest sounds incredibly lucid .

[I am well, Great One . My brethren and I eagerly await the coming contest . We hope that in a few hours, the Colony will be freed from this threat and able to once more pursue its grand destiny . ]

I mean . He sounds calm, but the words are about as batty as I’d expected .

[Any idea what sort of destiny you have in mind?]

I’m sort of curious to learn what he thinks this rapidly swelling pile of monster ants is going to amount to . Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/chrysalis_11236791006300205/the-siege-pt-14_51180247739064963 for visiting .

[I have no idea,] he surprises me instead . [It is not for me to guess or influence you, or the Colony, in any direction in particular . Such a thing would be sacrilege . We will wait and watch as we tread upon the path that you set before our feet . That is our mission . ]

[Fair enough I suppose . I like that you don’t intend to interfere with the Colony . I don’t think that would go down too well . Oh, right! I forgot you can smell our pheromone language now . How’s that going for you?]

[It is wonderful . I cannot wait until I am able to communicate with a scent of my own . ]

That will be… interesting . How will the scent be produced? I’m going to assume ‘magic’ and not some sort of extreme diet leading to eloquent flatulence .

Up ahead, the Legion has begun their advance, marching toward us with measured steps that shake the ground with their uniform tread . It’s time .

[Thanks for the chat Beyn . We are counting on your guys in this battle . Do your best to keep your people alive . ]

[I will, Great One . May you also fight well and survive into the new day . ]

Maybe I was wrong about Beyn being a lunatic . During that conversation he was cool as a cuc . u . mber . Maybe he’s turned over a new leaf and calmed himself down? That’s be a welcome change, to be sure . Let’s see . Interested in this ‘new Beyn’, I lift up my head and survey the massed forces of the Colony, scanning for a sign of the priest . I know which direction he is after the mind connection… just need to . . Ah! There he is .

He’s actually a little hard to miss, standing atop a rock . I didn’t notice him at first because rather than wearing his usual robes, he is almost totally n . a . k . e . d, his bare and pale skin revealed for all to see . In his one good hand he is holding a gnarled staff with an ant head carved on the top, which he is brandishing at the oncoming Legion . From his mouth, an endless stream of both vile curses and foam are directed toward the enemy as his eyes bulge with the fervour of his rage .

You know what? This makes more sense to me . This is fine .