It is but a question of time before we conquer this world!

*Insert evil demonic laughter*

Comes another session of training for the new recruits. This one goes even faster than the last since we have many veteran cockroaches.

We keep going until our path forward is blocked, literally. There stands a...fortress?! Okay, this is amazing! It seems these new cockroaches have somehow built a defensive position using tons of rocks. Now, this is impressive considering none of my troops are able to do that at all. The ground is so damn hard that I'm not sure how these ones are doing it.

There is a single narrow pathway leading to the top. Other than that there are always the walls. Yes, cockroaches are able to climb pretty much anything, but this one is so steep that I'm sure it won't end well if I send them to climb and fight.

They'll either lose footing or get killed directly. Yep, not happening. As they notice us some of them quickly go near the pathway and ....wow! They start vomiting acid on it!

Before long it starts melting, losing its shape completely and falling to the ground. Ah, but then a few moments later it becomes solid once more. So that's how they shaped their fortress! This is quite cool. Pretty sure that is still extremely dangerous for living beings, however. Losing one's shape is deadly.

I guess their natural counter would be slimes or something. Can't melt what is already a blob I'm guessing. Now I do know of another counter. I simply climb to the top.

They welcome me warmly with an acid shower. Honestly, the old acid mage would have loved these guys for sure! Should I bring him back a few ones as souvenirs? They could become the guardian beasts of the place or something haha. Also, I'm buck naked once more.

They keep sprinkling me for a while before eventually completely running out of acid. I'm just here:

[You done guys? Not even a little more left? Not even a little bit?]

I see the despair in their eyes. What are acid roaches without acid? Very sad roaches! Then they look at the legion below. The thousands and thousands of cockroaches are eyeing them intently, appearing quite intimidating.

That is the exact moment they decide to surrender. They don't even try to bargain or anything. Seems they have seen that my army is composed of many groups already. There is no shame for them to join. Pretty smart of them.

I really feel like the farther we go the stronger the creatures. The acid roaches are capable of deadly ranged attacks. That is so damn useful. Now, what will come next?

This time it takes a while to reorganize the army. We take a break of a few weeks to practice. The main issue is to be able to incorporate ranged attacks into the mix. The core problem is friendly fire. I want to make sure there never comes a moment where one of ours dies from the acid.

We practice a lot for our snipers and vanguard to coordinate perfectly. Eventually, they are able to perfectly shoot right as the infantry disperses toward safety, before regrouping to annihilate the weakened enemies.

By now we also have the usual battle flow practiced. Before engaging, the acid cockroaches are in charge of blowing their load right in the enemies' faces. Then it's time for the cockroach ball of doom! The main goal is to distract the enemy. Meanwhile, the mage is working its magic against the enemy leaders while being protected by the armored roaches.

We finally decide to keep going. Oh yeah, while moving I'm now singing war songs. I can see them move their legs and antennas to the rhythm of the music. It is kinda cute. Well, from an external observer point of view it must look very scary however haha.

The next enemy we face is....annoying! Instead of the usual ground cockroaches, these ones are flying. All of them! They are fast enough to avoid the acid entirely until they run out of juice. As for all the other roaches, they cannot even come close to harming these things.

The hit and run tactic is something they have mastered completely. Every passage of theirs bringing death...or not. No, I've taught my soldiers well enough. While they can't harm these flying roaches they are able to defend themselves.

Every time one passes by to attack they coordinated perfectly with one another. The enemies are smart enough to realize that should they go for a kill they will die too in the process. Also, there are only a few hundreds of them. Meanwhile, we are thousands. The trade is not in their best interest at all.

That is when I decide to opt for an old and proven tactic. Time to throw rocks. That sounds dumb? In my defense, these rocks are very sturdy. I'm sure getting hit by one doesn't feel good, at all! I start throwing some at the flyers, mostly missing. But it doesn't matter. I'm just doing an example.

Before long I'm an official rock supplier with my companions throwing them to the best of their abilities. At first, their performances are very pathetic, but the more it goes the better they get at it. Before long they are real champs. This has somehow devolved into a contest of who can make the most roaches fall.

Seeing their friends get downed faster and faster the remaining ones simply flee as fast as their wings allow them. We can't really prevent them from leaving so we keep going.

We did convert a few flyers. Then later on when we encounter that same pack again it's even easier. We combine rocks with flying roaches attacks. We are slowly chipping away at their numbers.

But the more it goes the easier it is. Eventually, we straight up outnumber them even in the sky. The remaining flee in fright even at our sigh, but they eventually all get captured.

At first, they are terrified of me. I'm not even mistreating them! I'm just adding them to my glorious horde! They are totally misunderstanding me! I am a pacifist! They seem to be expecting their end, but then I show them the trial formations we've been working on.

Eventually, they start joining too, completely baffled by what is happening. Some are not even brainwashed. Just plain forced to cooperate thanks to peer pressure. The mage roach is insisting all get brainwashed but I refuse it. It doesn't matter that much.

Before long they too are addicted to headapts. How does that happen? Well, they see the original roaches and then.....they want to copy them. Imitation is an important behavioral driver it seems.

So far every roach pack encountered has been stronger than the previous one. The more it goes and the more special abilities they seem to develop too. Ah, the mage seems to be an outlier in this case. I have a theory on what is causing this: mana.

I'm pretty sure the deeper in we go the higher the ambient mana concentration. Of course, I can't see it so it will remain a theory in the end. Still, I'd be ready to bet I'm right.

After acidic roaches and flying roaches, what will appear?