IMPERIUM INSECTUM

“That…was…a…lo..of….work”

Apollinaris and I had collapsed onto a pile on the ground. We had spent the last 2 hours delivering 5 new children into the world.

“Yeah… thanks…” I said between breaths.

“No…problem.” I craned my head and looked toward Apollinaris. She was panting like a dog, and sweat was dripping from her head. She wasn’t as bad as Ali, who was much worse than both of us put together. Sweat poured from every part of her, She was covered in blood and other fluids. I'm going to have to give her a wash soon.

“So…is..that…. all…of…them?”

“No, there are 10 more. But they will be coming in around 2 days or so.”

“Oh….great,” She said, letting out a loud groan as she stood up.

“If it's not too much of an issue, I'm going back to sleep.”

I chuckled. “No problem, you’ve been a great hand.”

She smiled and left the room, leaving me alone with Ali. I got up and moved her back up into the bed. Her belly was a lot smaller now, but she still had a pronounced bump. I put the now-soiled sheets on top of her and left the room.

“I'm really gonna have to do some cleaning in this room sometime soon,” I said, shutting the door behind me. Thanks to this robust body Cindi made for me. I didn’t need much sleep to get by. I Left my room and went to check on the children.  I opened the door and peeped through. The children were happily feasting on the food I left.

<My my, how greedy you guys are.>

I opened the door wider and entered the room. My children had grown rapidly in the time I was gone. If I were to guess, they were approaching 3 feet long, a good foot, and a halt wide. Another thing that interested me was their skin. It was changing colour, going from the pale white to a yellowish-green like My armour.

<Keep going. There is plenty of food here. > I lied; there wasn’t enough here. I had just enough for the upcoming 10 children, but after that, it was going to be a struggle. I’ll have to get Apollinaris working on those mushrooms ASAP,  But in the meantime, ill have to find something to bridge the gap.

<Guess there is no other option.>

I turned around, swiftly left the cave, and charged out into the Forrest. The moon hung high in the sky, and the forest was smothered in darkness. The perfect time to hunt. I activated my [insect vision], and suddenly the forest lit up slightly, allowing me to see a lot better. I scanned around me, looking for anything I could kill for food. I silently stalked through the forest, My legs tiptoeing over broken branches and fallen leaves. Stealth is the name of the game. I want to be able to deliver the first strike if possible.  I spent a good hour searching for food, But nothing. Where are they hiding?

<Ahhhhh. This is a waste of time.>

I scanned the forest one more time. There was no sign of any sort of life anywhere. Fine, if I can't find them, ill make them come find me. But first, I need some elevation.  I looked around for a suitable tree, and once I did, I started climbing. My [pincers] and claws made this a trivial task. In no time, I was at the top of the tree. The tree I chose overlooked a small empty area.

<This will do nicely. Now to lay the trap>

My vocal cords started to vibrate, and a low rumble started to build in my chest. The rumble kept building, getting louder and harsher until.

*GRRRRRRRRAHHHHHH*

My loudest ever [bestial call] escaped my body. My body trembled from the aftermath.

<And now we wait.> my mischievous heart was beating at a million miles per hour. What fool would take the bait first/ Luckily, I didn’t need to wait long. A small rustling of leaves could be heard as a small furry showed itself. I activated my [insect vision] to get a better look. The animal looked like a cross of a rabbit and a cat. It also had a horn sticking out of its head. What the hell is that.

The rabbit sniffed the air, searching for the person who called it. Luckily I was too high for them to notice me. My pincers twitched in eagerness. It's been a while since I last since they saw some action. I got ready to attack when suddenly a second rustle came and another and another. All sorts of animals I had never seen before. One animal that was very weird was this snake and deer hybrid. It had a long snake-like body with fur instead of scales and antlers coming out of its head.

<Did they just pick random animals from earth and hit blend?>

more and more animals flooded the empty space. The bestial call was very effective, maybe even too effective.  Suddenly a loud growl came as a set of 5 wolfish creatures entered the space. They were the same ones that attacked Apollinaris earlier. At the same time, another growl came, except this one was lighter in tone. A new animal entered the area, but this one was the weirdest of the lot. It was a mix of an otter and a jaguar. It had the yellow and black spotted fur of a jaguar, yet the teeth, whiskers and body shape of an otter. The wolves and otters eyed each other with malice.

<This is not good. There are too many things down there, and I’m not too fond of a 10 v 1 against those wolves and otters.>

I folded my arms and watched them some more. The wolves clearly did not get along with the otters; maybe I can use this to my advantage. I snapped a piece of tree bark and summoned a small group of my children.

<I want you to drop this piece of bark on the head of that wolf. Try to make it look like it came from the direction of the Otter>

They didn’t question it. In no time, they flew behind one of the otters and, using all their strength, threw the bark towards one of the wolves, hitting it square in the head.

<I didn’t expect them to throw it. My children are very capable> A smile crept up my face. My children stealthily flew away.

<Good job.>

the wolf growled viciously and went towards the otter hybrid.  The otter Thing looked towards the wolf and growled back.

<Too easy. And now we wait. It’s a shame I won't earn xp from this. But it’s a safer method of securing food, and that’s why I'm out here.>

Soon the growling turned into vicious snarls. The other wolves and otters joined in, snapping and snarling at each other. Sensing the danger, the other smaller creatures left the scene. The snarling got more vicious the animals started taking fake swings at each other to scare each other off.

<Any second now.>

*SNAP*

A twig snapped as one of the wolves lunged towards one of the otters. He was going for the neck, But the Otter was quick. He managed to dodge the attack and jump back. Without a further word, they all charged each other colliding into a large mass in the middle. It was difficult to tell who was attacking who in the large mass of bodies, but one thing o was sure of was At the rate they were going now, it wouldn’t take long for the first few casualties to appear.

One of the otters lunged at a wolf and bit its tail, causing it to roar in pain. The wolf snapped its head back and growled. Suddenly, the wolf’s tail turned red and ignited a bright red blaze. The Otter screamed and pulled away as the fire engulfed his head. With the Otter’s guard down, The wolf did a quick 180 and dragged its claws through the Otter's throat. Glowing green blood gushed out of the wound, spraying all over the wolf. The wolf screamed again as the blood started to boil and bubbles as it started to melt through his skin.

<Acidic blood, interesting; I'll keep a mental note of that.>

The blood kept boiling and bubbling through the wolf's skin. The pained wails kept on going until finally the wolf fell onto the ground dead

< I wonder if they will still be edible once they are done?>

I turned my attention back to the other fights. The wolves had claimed 2 of the 5 otters, and the wolf’s had lost 3 in turn, leaving 2  wolves. If I was a betting woman, I would put all my money on the otters. The otters pulled back and regrouped. They all took a brief moment to look at each other and nodded. Suddenly the otters split into two groups. 2 went to deal with one wolf, and the largest Otter of the 3 went to deal with the other.

<Smarter than they look.>

The 2 otters suddenly lunged at the wolf and started biting and clawing at him. The wolf struggled to keep up with the onslaught of attacks. Very quickly, deep cuts and scratches started to appear on his body, and dark red blood soaked into his fur. He’s going to have to do something quickly to win this fight. My pincers twitched. Man, this is exciting. I want to get in on this. But fighting for fun is not why I'm here.  

One of the two otters bit the wolf’s neck, causing it to roar in pain. The other Otter charged and took a big bite into his stomach. Suddenly, all  The fur all over the wolf started glowing bright yellow. The Otter panicked and immediately let go, but it was too late. A large explosion of yellow electricity erupted from the wolf. Frying everyone in the area. The two Otters who were closest to him had it worst. Their flesh had been completely burned and turned charcoal black. Small jolts of electricity could be seen discharging from their dead bodies. The wolf responsible didn’t fair much better either. His body was covered in the same burn marks and he was bleeding rapidly from the wounds he got from the otters. The wolf took a few steps towards his comrade before collapsing in a heap on the ground.

The other 2 beasts slowly got up from the ground. They also had electrical burns from the explosion but not as severe. The wolf had burns all over his legs and the Otter on the side of its body.  The 2 of them limped towards each other. Rage plastered all over their faces.

<They still want to fight? Really?>

They slowly circled each other. Judging from those injuries, this fight isn't going to last much longer. The wolf took a swing at the Otter, but it missed and fell over. The Otter sees the opportunity and takes a swing at the collapsed wolf. In a flash, I jumped from the tree and slammed straight into the Otter's back, digging my pincers into him.

“Sorry, my bet was on the wolf, and besides, this has gone on long enough.”

The Otter died instantly. I pulled my pincers out of the Otter and turned to face the wolf. Without a further word, I shoved my pincers into the wolf finishing it off for good.

<Well, that was more eventful than I thought it would be.>

I went over to inspect the bodies. ten large animal corpses. This is good for the first night of hunting. Maybe if I Go

*AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO*

My hands slammed around my ears as a deafening ear-piercing Howl blew past me. Then, suddenly, another wolf burst through the tree line. But this one was different. It had gold and silver eyes, scars all over its face and body and was about the same size as an adult Polar bear

The wolf glared at me And then looked at the wolves on the ground around me. My pincers were still deep inside the wolf.

“I take it your their boss?”

He let out a deep malicious growl before letting out a loud, deep howl towards me. The howl sent gale-force winds towards me and nearly knocked me over.

My eyes met the wolf. There was nothing but anger in them.

“Shit”