Formicea

 

I seldom was as anticipative as right now.
Any moment now it will begin.
From what the crystal tells me there are only over a thousand insects in the direct environment.
In total, there are far more, but they are scattered all around the no man's land.
If things stay like this, the slaves might even be able to do decisive damage if they can group up and take some down together before the rest converge on their position.
They all got a cheap wooden spear with low-quality iron tips.
That should be barely enough to break those shells and is ideal for group attacks.

However, a look at those big ones makes this seem slightly unlikely.
Not impossible, but killing those is more of a task for trained warriors.
Not the ramshackle bunch we sent out there.

Yet they might take some of them down.
I consider every kill a win.

The first outliers of the approaching slaves have almost reached them.
A group of men charges.

But then something weird happens.
They retreat?
The insects fall back from their opponents!
The slaves look just as confused, however, at the same time, this development is a huge boost to their confidence.

I, on the other hand, ask myself what might be the reason.
It's as if they don't want to fight.
Could it be?
As they're working together with Tarsona, maybe they don't want to harm Tarsonian people, which are among the slaves.
But this weakness could be to our great advantage.

 

"This doesn't look good..." (T)

 

That woman?
Why does this girl intrude here?
No matter, I may as well put her knowledge to use.

 

"What's wrong? Our side is driving the enemy back." (D)

"Yep, exactly this. I was told these creatures are smart? Wouldn't be my first monster of that kind, but they're always the worst to deal with." (T)

“I don’t see your point." (D)

"My point? Isn't it obvious?" (T)

"Shit, she's right." (Au)

"Would someone care to inform me?" (D)

"Sigh. If you observe this situation, ignoring the fact that they’re monsters, and look at this from a tactical perspective, what do you see?" (T)

 

I mean, there are the retreating insects, with our slaves chasing them.
Yet on the other side, if those were enemy troops, with our slaves following them...
Oh shit!

 

"Coming from your face, I think you got it now. Yep, those things are baiting them in." (T)

 

Shit!

 

"Then we should quickly call them back again, shouldn't we?" (Au)

 

If this would be so easy.

 

"He can't." (T)

"What do you mean, he can't stop this? Doesn't he have those control units exactly for this reason?" (Au)

"That's the point. He told them to finish the job or die. At this stage, any contradicting order means the people over there risk death if it's a fluke. They're simply too committed to the attack. The most a new order could achieve is to fully confuse them and throw everything into chaos. Given that the insects are up to something, this would not be much better, I'd say." (T)

 

I can only grit my teeth at her explanation.
She's right.

Sending men over the bridge now would cause disarray.
Also, seeing how this plays out was part of the whole idea.

So things proceed.
The slaves advance further towards their opponents and the more I observe this, the more I'm convinced this woman was right.
The insects do a truly terrifyingly excellent job at luring them in.
Some even stop for a moment to hiss at the slaves before retreating further.

At one point the people are so deep into the lands that a return won't be easily possible at this distance.
But what happens next shocks even me.

Suddenly, huge holes break open behind the whole troop we sent in there.
The insects never intended to let them retreat at all.
Out of the holes, the giants of that apparent warrior class emerge.
Yet something is strange about them.

 

"Shit. Are those things wearing armor?!" (T)

 

What did Tarsona do?
The creatures that now emerge are truly wrapped in plate armor.
Poor quality, mass-produced from the looks, but still serving the purpose.
And the stream doesn't seem to stop.
The slaves of course are already in a panic at this point.
They were never very coordinated, but now any semblance of that is lost.

 

"Damn, we need to prepare. Doesn't seem like they're going to put as much as a dent into their ranks." (D)

 

I look at the others for recognition, but find Dominus Aurellio not staring at the crystal, but off at the distance.
Towards the Drega Mountains?
Maybe catching my questioning expression, he silently points at... a cloud?

...

No.

Oh no, this isn't good!

Not a cloud.
Not a cloud!
The sky simply turns dark with all the flying monsters!

 

"Dominus! Snap out of it and get your fucking ranged units ready! I don't want to be unprepared when that decides to go for us!" (T)

 

Right.
I quickly give the order, before proceeding to observe.
Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, the cloud doesn't go for us, but for the slaves.

An easy picking.
Literally.

 

The large warriors advance, easily breaking the spears.
The small ones bite their limbs and the fliers simply grab the now defenseless people.
They don’t stand a chance.
Some still try to fight out of pure desperation, but I can't see any noteworthy results.
Some even try to flee, abandoning their weapon.
An instinct you can’t get out of them with any amount of threats or torture.
Others simply drop down and give up.

With such a big group it won't be possible to give an order to kill individuals.
Therefore, I made assignments to separate those who return somewhat successfully, or at all, and for the rest, a general execution order stands.
However, the fighting isn't quite over yet.
Who knows, some of them might still cause the slightest bit of damage.
As every little bit counts, I wait.
Even though that might not be in the favor of those who are now getting dragged into the holes.
Yet I'm confident the signal will reach them even down there.
So we wait.
Even if it's a most distressing sight.

However, soon there's nothing more to look at but a bit of squirming from the insects, mostly concentrated around the holes.
Once I don't see any more movement, I send the order to trigger the general execution.
It might take a little before it reaches all the handlers, but the signal itself will cross the distance almost instantly.
Next to me, the others are equally distraught.

 

"This threat has to be reevaluated. Those are not normal monsters. They behave too coordinated, even for intelligent ones. Moreover, whether that armor was crafted by them or received from the Tarsonians, it shows their intelligence or servitude and places them squarely in the most dangerous class. We might have to pull all legions together to face this. I can't believe what kind of shithouse you built here!" (T)

"Mind your rank, Centurion!" (D)

"I'm not the one who just fed our enemy!" (T)

 

Yeah, I certainly hoped for more.
It doesn't bode well that they were so thoroughly annihilated.

 

"I think we should attack now!" (Au)

"Are you serious? Didn't you just see that?!" (T)

"Yes, I did. Which is exactly the reason why. We now know their position and what to expect. Also, I'm not talking about a full-blown assault. We'll only come into range and see how they'll react to a squall of bolts coming their way. If things escalate, we'll return to this position." (Au)

"Wouldn't this pose quite the risk?" (D)

"As I see it, there's not really anything keeping them from coming to this side. Who knows, maybe they're right now building tunnels towards our position. Don't know how it's for you, but I'd like to hit them before that happens. Especially, as these new holes are uncomfortably much closer right now. Also, this might be only a suspicion, but I'd say these things got specific instructions on how to react to approaching hostile forces. Maybe they don't have an attack plan. That's nothing I would bet on, but if we could get in some good shots this would at least be something out of this mess." (Au)

 

I'd like to take him up on that.
Our crossbow units are infamous throughout the world and could at least do some damage.
Not to speak of that this isn't a question of provoking them.
They are already on our very territory and all it would need is for them to have a change of mind and they would burst in our direction.

 

"Alright, we'll depart!" (D)

"Are you sure about this?" (T)

"Yes, I am. But only a defensive formation. If they start charging we'll retreat back over the bridge. Right now they're close enough to our position that we won't have to walk very far." (D)

"Well, suit yourself." (T)

 

And she's gone.
Ugh, if she were one of mine, I’d have her whipped for insolent behavior.
Yet, even among the unruly Aeterians, or perhaps especially so, veterans are well known for their combat prowess.
As well as their…peculiar behavior.
Fighting monsters every day isn’t something a normal person is capable of after all.
So they’re granted some leeway.

As for our offensive, the next steps get a little difficult.
Obviously, the men aren't thrilled about the prospect that they'll be sent right where the slaves got overwhelmed just moments ago.
But nonetheless, they assemble around our standard, a pair of golden crossed swords.
They know they have no other choice, as the consequences of insubordination would be much worse than everything they may face here.

I make use of this chance to give a speech.

 

"I look into your eyes and I see fear. Fear of these creatures, of what they might do to you. But what if they decide to come by themselves? If we don't hold them off here, what will prevent them from sweeping into our lands, pillaging the fields, razing the cities? Would you rather see your families at their mercy than yourself? Well, I have news for you, you won't escape either. That's the loss of those who don't fight. They get crushed with overwhelming force. So I ask you, why don't we do the crushing?! Why don't we show them that we don't bow to pesky abominations?! Let's send them a message from Koreso they won't forget! Let us show them that we are the masters of our fate! In domini servae!" (D)

 

I got them.
Their spirits lift up the slightest bit.
And so they respond.

 

"IN SERVAE DOMINI!!!!"

 

So we may reign in service.

 

Dominus Aurellio seems to be similarly occupied, with his troops gathered around their golden eagle.
Bah, even his standard is gaudy.

 

"We have sworn to fight the enemy wherever they may appear to protect our nation! This there, is land that rightfully belongs to Koreso! Are we seriously letting a bunch of literal insects claim it away from us?!" (Au)

"NO!!!"

"Then let's face them with all we got! Venia ad versarii!" (Au)

"Yaaaaahhhhh!"

 

It's telling how high the morale of his troops was from the start.
Might be the difference between proud and free riders and our legion which exists to subdue foes and get unruly provinces under control.
But nonetheless, we are all still proud legionaries, and we will do our duty.

As we start to cross the bridge, I find this irritating officer again next to me.

 

"I thought you'd go to pass a message?" (D)

"There are messengers for such a thing. We were sent here to fight. I assure you, you wouldn't want to miss us." (T)

 

If she says so.
Hopefully, they can live up to their reputation as the need will arise.
When our joint troops make it to the other side, a great degree of those monsters already vanished below the ground.
However, more than enough of these creatures are still out.

 

"Crossbowmen! First line! Fire once you're in range! Be ready to fall back at a moment's notice!" (D)

 

That's a classic.
While shooting crossbows over a formation is possible, it helps their aim if they have a clear sight.
But more importantly, the bolts lose a great degree of their impact force if they don't fly in a direct line.
Yet then I hear that woman say something to a guy in her troop.

 

"Jadan. Make that shot." (T)

 

What!?
It's impossible for any archer to even make the projectile cross the distance, much less hit a target!

But he still takes a stance, completely silently nocks the arrow, and lets go.
The projectile flies in a high curve, further, and further, and further, till it suddenly collides with a flier I didn't even notice there.

 

"I prefer not being scouted by monsters. Causes a bad feeling." (T)

 

Sure...

But then something changes in the flight pattern of those things.
At first, I believe that I'm only overly nervous, but it becomes distinct.
They scatter around the whole field and land among their kind.
This is when it gets weird.

As if hearing a silent signal, all of those insects suddenly begin to move.
They all rush directly toward the holes.
It's also so uncannily coordinated.
They barely hold each other off while entering.
I just remember to give the command to fire, but most already left and aside from a few lucky hits there's barely any effect to speak of.

In less than a minute, the whole plain is free.

 

"You know, this. This is distressing." (T)

"What are we supposed to do now?" (D)

"Certainly not go in there. That whole field is one big death trap!" (Au)

 

But can we really leave it be?

 

"Give me four troops to guard the area. We'll scout ahead." (T)

 

Is she for real!?

 

"Into those holes?! That is suicide!" (Au)

"We can fend off some of those things. I only need a bit of backup in case we succeed in luring them out and to maintain a signal chain to tell me in case they try to come from the other side." (T)

 

I don't know if she's brave or foolish, but it's better than to keep on standing here, gawking at an empty field.

 

"Fine. But you're out at the first sign. I'm not going to take the blame for foolishly losing Aeterian veterans." (D)

"Yeah, sure. Whatever." (T)

 

She truly pulls this off!
Seriously, what kind of lunatic would jump in there?
Well, apparently those crazies from the Aeterians, but still.

With a bit of force, I manage to convince four troops to join in on this endeavor.
All the while, our crossbow units are ready to release their salvo at whatever might emerge from the ground.

Once she enters with her comrades, my heart skips a beat.
The veterans of the Aeterian legion are viewed by many as heroes.
So while they are of lower rank, if I were responsible for losing their troop... that wouldn't look good.

With bated breath, I wait for any signal.
Then something seems to be going on at the hole where that woman entered.
She just climbs out again, not even looking hurried.
Yet for some reason, she shakes her head at me.
I can only receive her report once she's close.

 

"What's wrong? What did you find?" (D)

"Nothing." (T)

"Nothing?" (D)

"Yeah, nothing! The tunnel just ended in an earth wall. No idea how they did this so fast, but it's completely caved in. I would make any bet the other holes are no different." (T)

 

What the heck am I supposed to do with this?
I can't have these combined legions just sit down on a field, hoping the enemy will reemerge.
Though, I'm not sure if I would even want to.
Not to forget, they're still there, so we should head back for a better position.

After this, the days are only filled with pointless discussions about things we couldn't change in the first place.
Till once again a messenger bursts into my tent.

 

"What is it now?!" (D)

 

I could live one day without bad news.

 

"Dominus! The... The..." (messenger)

"Speak clearly!" (D)

 

And do your fucking job!

 

"The northern army camp was attacked, Dominus." (messenger)

 

This doesn't come unexpectedly.
We were open, they claimed the chance.

 

"How bad is it?" (D)

"Uh, we were able to retreat over the river before incurring greater losses. For some reason they didn't even attempt to chase us. Even though their forces were stronger." (messenger)

"So we lost the western coast to them." (D)

 

Could be worse.

 

"But this isn't the point!" (messenger)

"Then please, finally tell me what is the point!" (D)

"The enemy is doing something on their side of the river." (messenger)

"What?" (D)

"I, I don't know. It seems like they're building something." (messenger)

"So they're probably fortifying their side. This mustn't be an issue." (D)

 

We can get enough firepower to reclaim it in Neria.

 

"N-no. The enemy isn't just building in our camp." (messenger)

"Please, just tell me clearly." (D)

 

Did they seriously have no one else for this task?

 

"They're not just active in our former camp. They're everywhere, along the whole river!" (messenger)

 

The whole Garanas?
What could be the reason?

My next actions are clear.
I request from the Aquilean legion enough horses for me and a larger troop and head back north.

Of course, as soon as we pass the Drega Mountains, I make a slight detour to take a look at the river.
The sight I witness there leaves me with a single thought.

What the hell is this?