Having upgraded myself to peak condition, and with my friends and allies having done the same, it's time to descend below and inflict true despair upon the termite foe!

MUAHAHAHAAA!

With my newfound abilities and near-perfect mutations, the termites won't know what hit them. As we march down the extended root system of the Mother Tree, heading towards the village of Bruan'chii in which the Colony has established its forward headquarters, I get to playing.

My mind constructs are almost always in place. By mutating my sub-brains to specialise in mind mana, they are able to handle the constructs for extended periods without rest, despite running hot from the constant activity. When I'm around the Colony, the regenerative energy I get from the Vestibule is enough to soothe the mental fatigue as it happens, meaning I never have to shut my hive mind down.

It basically is a hive mind at this point. I've got over a dozen mind constructs operating right now, each one capable of independent action. With further mutation and another evolution, that may well push to over thirty, or even fifty! Hive mind indeed.

But with my new improvements, I'm especially eager to put them to work. As we walk I spin up each of the constructs and get them working on mana, different varieties, moulding and shaping, compressing, using the omni-elemental construct to create lava, and gas, and stone. I marvel at the ease of it, the relative freedom I have to direct it and shape it as I want.

Compared to how hard it was when I started, this is a joke! Improving my fundamental mana skills is a big deal at this point. I wonder what rank seven will be like? I need to keep pushing forward, grinding and training as much as possible throughout this conflict, to proceed as fast as I can! I should prioritise my force mana also, as it’s the candidate I've chosen to work toward the next tier. I won't shift to another mana type until I've gotten to rank five at least!

Except that all of my most devastating and awesome spells are still elemental, so I'll have to rely heavily on that to do most of my damage.

The village is bursting with activity, as per usual. There’s thousands of ants crawling over each other in their rush to complete their tasks, a constant flow coming and going as they return from the front or head out. It doesn't take long to find the general in charge; Victor is in the middle of the action, poring over a three dimensional model of the conflict, directing messengers and generals on the path to victory.

"Victor!" I greet her with a hearty slap on the back. "How's things? War going well?"

The much smaller ant rounds on me with a huff.

"Terrible! What did you think was going to happen when you went up top?"

"What? It can't be that bad… things were pretty much on lock down when I left."

"I suppose it's not that bad, but our position is deteriorating every day. The termites, or the Ka'armodo, I should say, are cunning. They've been pushing us non-stop whilst retaining their numbers as best they can. We haven't had time to rest and our defences are constantly being pressed. There must be millions of termites out there by now. The more time passes, the worse the numbers get for us."

"Any reinforcements coming from above?"

"We've been getting a steady flow, despite the fighting above. There's a hundred thousand troops down here at the moment. Enough to hold the line, but the situation is becoming fraught. If the termites mount an all-out assault on one side of the conflict, then we might not hold."

I take a closer look at the model as the endless buzz of activity that had surrounded the general a moment ago has stilled. In my presence, my siblings are polite enough to wait patiently until I'm done barging in and wasting all their time until they go back to their no doubt urgent business. Very nice of them! Such a supportive family, this really is a first for me.

The model that the generals have created is both large and highly detailed, as is their wont. The roots of the mother tree and the various gardens that she cultivates in the area are sculpted to perfection, along with every tunnel, wall and trap that we've created. Markers indicate sightings and the likely position of termite troops, and things are looking grim. We are basically defending half of a sphere as the enemy builds up beyond our walls. It looks like the tree has stepped in to help. At the very least, she's covering some of her roots herself, freeing Colony resources for other areas. Unless something happens soon, we'll be locked into a very drawn-out defensive war.

"Well, I want this conflict done with," I declare to the shock of all around me. "We've got too many things to deal with right now and we can't have the lizards dragging this out. I'm going to make some moves and try to kill as many termites as I can. Depending on how successful I am, you can take advantage of any gaps that appear and kick them where it hurts."

Victor absorbs this information, slowly tapping on her own carapace with a single antenna as she thinks.

"Aren't you worried that this is what they want?" she asks. "If you go out there, it's almost a guarantee that they are going to collapse on you. They've tried it before. Do you really think you can fight your way out of a million termites?"

"Fight my way out? Why would I want to do something like that? The real question is… will a million termites be enough to take me down?"

"I suppose we're going to find out."

"Yes we are."

All the ants around me stare intently as I make my declaration. I can tell what they're thinking, and to be honest, it's kind of heartwarming. Each and every one of them is thinking that they won't let me die. Not to worry, everyone. I won’t be the one turning into Biomass.

By the end of the week, the termite queens will have fallen to my wrath! This is my declaration!

[Crinis, Tiny, Invidia. We'll go and find Sarah, then we'll head to the front. Time to get to it.]