It's over.

Goddamnit, I'm so relieved.

Getting digested by a titanic worm wasn't high on my list regarding ways to go.

Yet it seemed terrifying likely for a while.

Now worm debris lies scattered everywhere.

The explosion ripped straight through its body and scattered massive amounts of flesh, viscera, and body fluids of this gigantic thing across the cave.

The rest forms a corpse so big that I don't even want to imagine the stench when it eventually starts to rot.

Yet, a more immediate issue arises.

An extraordinarily loud sizzling sound echoes through the cavern, followed by cries of pain, human and Formicea alike.

Gratefully, most of the worm’s fragments scattered into the depths of this cave, causing the ground there to appear to be boiling, but even a small portion of that monstrosity’s blood seems to be dangerous.

And while, in the affected places, the armored guardians attempted to protect the other drones, and any human with a shield put it to use, many still appear to be affected by the spray.

While I hover safely near the cave ceiling, at a loss as to how I could possibly help, Liseti issues new orders.

(L)

The drones that still block the tunnel’s passageway move aside, and the army’s supporting nurses stream through the gap.

All the ones that survived, at least.

Swiftly, they rush to the injured drones and proceed to douse the acid with their produced liquid.

So that stuff even neutralizes acid?

That's quite handy.

Nonetheless, a large number of drones still succumbs, a majority of which were the protective guardians, but the lightly coated ones are no longer in danger.

As for the remaining humans, it would seem they were only lightly affected by the acid.

I wouldn’t be surprised if they had taken cover behind the drones where they were able.

A short time later, the acid quiets, and we glide down to rejoin the army.

Once we landed on the ground of the cave again, it doesn't take long till an impromptu conclave of the present princesses begins, with me, Liseti, and Chera.

(L)

Wow, did it just get cold in here or is that just Liseti's icy pheromones?

(C)

This princess doesn't waste any time taking advantage of the situation.

I don't really know about the properties of the worm flesh.

It is most definitely acidic, the way I saw some hunters melt who dug inside, but maybe it could be harvested in some way.

As for the rest of the… urgh, corpses, I would rather not know what she is going to do with them.

Yet I suspect that she has, at least temporarily, found a solution to the food situation of her hive.

Nobody can hold it against us if we simply clear the battlefield of the dead, right?

After all, they were the ones who attacked us.

(L)

I should say something as well.

(E)

(L)

Yeah, that's Liseti.

(E)

(L)

Uh, this should've hit hard.

As far as I know, Chera simply didn't have more.

Also, she was a bit picky about choosing presentable drones.

(C)

Technically true, but she's very intent on omitting how little choice she had in that matter.

(L)

(C)

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Meaning: Only if she is in a better position to actually be able to decide differently.

She's quite good at this.

Those two quarrel on for a while, but nothing concrete comes from this.

Suddenly, someone else chimes in.

"I'm sorry to interrupt this meeting, ladies, but I fear I need to ask you to surrender!" (G)

Gioras approaches with a small unit of crossbowmen.

He can't be for real!

He has already lost and is still going to pull such a thing in the middle of our army!

"Don't, think so!" (M)

In a blink, Miru lands between me and the humans, and the other members of my royal guard storm from above into the crossbowmen, while some more form a line in front of us.

They have shields!

"Never, again!" (M)

Miru is pissed.

However, before the living wall is fully closed, Gioras runs through and draws his sword while advancing further in my direction.

"Clang"

Miru swings one of her own blades at Gioras', but I can feel that she’s still injured and exhausted and can't directly push him back.

The two engage in a struggle.

Now that is enough!

I’m through with this man!

"Fuck you!!!" (E)

In a single motion, I extend my sword and sear off his weapon.

"Swsh"

"Clank"

Maybe I also got part of his finger, but that doesn't interest me anymore.

Holding his bleeding hand, he looks me straight in the eyes before Miru smashes him into the ground.

(E)

"Ughff. Well, you'll excuse me for trying, right?" (G)

Asshole!

(E)

So I at least don't have to hear anything else from him.

Also, he can't give any further orders to go against us or such.

Speaking of his troops, they don't look great.

With all the losses they incurred, it's truly nothing short of impressive that they maintained any semblance of order.

With the fights in the tunnels, I never saw how many there were in total.

But it's still safe to assume that the few hundred I'm seeing there are, at most, a fraction of the forces Gioras led here.

The fighting has ceased, and what troops remain seem to be rallied around a single commander.

Whose face I recognize as the leader of the troop that nearly recaptured me.

Probably all of them believed that they had to do this in order to save their country.

Which might not even be wrong if what he said about the current state of the war with Koreso is true.

Hell, it can't be good for the Formicea either if the war is lost and Koreso claims control over the territory above our heads.

It's not like we're on good terms with them.

(L)

Does she intend to execute him right on the spot?

Well, I don't like him.

Personally, I wouldn’t care if he died already.

He’s responsible for far too many deaths.

Yet, I’m not going to let his actions or my personal feelings make everything that I’ve tried to do be for naught.

I refuse to let the lives sacrificed be in vain, at least not if there is still a chance for peace.

He should be made to stand trial.

(E)

(L)

Well, if she says it like this, my plan sounds even better.

(E)

(C)

She wants to eat the living people!?!

After they surrendered!?

I can't let that happen!

(E)

(L)

(C)

Shit.

I, I think I can suggest something else.

(E)

(C)

(E)

I try not to be too obvious about what I mean, so Liseti won't catch wind of Chera's predicament.

But we are talking here about soldiers.

Which is exactly what Chera lacks.

If they could take down some of those crabs for her, this might gain Chera much more in comparison to her alternative, and prove to her the usefulness of humans.

Beyond provisions that is.

(C)

(E)

(L)

(C)

Wow, for someone who doesn't want to take any help, she's quite quick at requisitioning the assets of others.

This way she gets a full fresh lot of soldiers to press her agenda further.

(L)

(E)

I was sure she would drag me straight back.

(L)

(C)

If I didn't know better, I'd say Liseti "snarls" at this with her pheromones.

(L)

(C)

I'll say it again, she really has a talent for shifting blame away from her person.

(L)

(C)

(E)

(C)

And so she goes.

I'm kinda concerned about how she's going to treat these prisoners of war.

Yet for now, I'm left here with Liseti and have my own problems to attend to.

(L)

I, I kinda feel like she is upset.

Hopefully just at Chera.

(E)