Chrysalis

Chapter 1049: The Golden Path

“What’s the plan, Solant?”

Of course, the responsibility for determining the strategy of the team fell to her, and she embraced it. Even under these circumstances, against this level of odds, she welcomed that pressure.

“I’m not sure yet…” she said, “I need some time to think on this. There are many unknowns and we must plan for them all.”

The others nodded. They knew her abilities and trusted in her judgement, just as she trusted in them. Without that harmony, they would never have been as successful.

Trust your leaders, trust your followers.

She nodded to herself. That was wise. She should add it into her growing list of precepts. She didn’t have a name for the manual she was constructing yet, but it formed the basis, the guidelines, of her approach to strategy and battle.

The Depiction of Fighting.

… didn’t seem right.

The Symphony of Battle.

Better… but not quite it.

She shook her head. Useless thoughts, these didn’t matter. The Endless had just been challenged to an unprecedented match, one that threatened to derail their win streak and take the shine from their aura of invincibility.

It couldn’t be allowed to happen! Not even against the Eldest could she bring herself to yield without a fight!

The rest of the team stood around her, confident she would have an answer.

“We must ensure we properly understand our advantages,” the small ant began slowly.

“We outnumber the Eldest,” the scout Scipiant pointed out.

“There’s something to that, though it likely won’t matter much. A broad formation should prove to be more effective. What else?”

“The rules of Tunnel Ball?” the soldier, Attilant, pointed out. “In a direct confrontation, we wouldn’t stand a chance, but in the game, both we, and the Eldest, are constrained by the rules.”

“That’s an excellent point,” Solant agreed. “Tunnel Ball allows for direct confrontation, but that’s not how you win. It’s possible to lose the fight, but win the war, so long as the ball reaches the other end.”

The group continued to huddle, brainstorming ideas.

“The Eldest is likely to underestimate us,” Washingtant, the mage suggested. “We are evolutions behind, and pose no threat of actually harming them. This could give us an opening.”

“True, but dangerous to rely on the possibility,” Solant mused. “Are we aware of any weaknesses of the Eldest?”

The ants shifted, nobody volunteering any information.

“I thought as much. There just isn’t that much which is known about the Eldest. With certainty, I mean. It will be difficult to win if we are unable to know our enemy….”

It had been easy to collect information on their Tunnel Ball opponents. Solant was able to watch them train, watch them play, engage them in discussion about the exercise. In an afternoon, she could dissect an opponent’s strengths and weaknesses with laser-like precision.

This particular opponent, however…

“Leonidant!” she snapped.

“Yes!” a scout stepped forward.

“I need you to try and do some reconnaissance. We need intelligence on the Eldest, whatever we can get. Going into battle blind is the worst possible way to do it.”

The fearless scout nodded grimly and turned to leave.

At that moment, a crushing weight suddenly pressed down on them as they felt an indomitable presence appear somewhere in the nest. The power that emanated from that monster shook their legs and rattled their carapaces.

“What on Pangera is that?” Washingtant snapped, her antennae waving wildly.

Solant brought herself under control.

“I believe our opponent may have just arrived in the nest….”

The others stared at each other incredulously, and then, suddenly, the oppressive weight faded until it was gone, as if it had never been.

Solant’s eyes gleamed.

“This could be our greatest triumph. We must do everything to prepare. Leonidant, go! The rest of us will begin to workshop our tactics and drills. We will not go down without a fight!

__

YEEEOUCH!

And I mean that quite sincerely. Both the YEE, and the OUCH! The moment I arrive in the second stratum, I’m unceremoniously deposited in the nest by Brilliant, who doesn’t even have the good graces to say goodbye, instead just vanishing back into the squiggle dimension or wherever the heck she goes en route to her lab.

Of course, the Call immediately kicks up a fuss and I feel like my soul itself is being yanked out of my business district. The pain… is bad. Really bad. I cannot believe I agreed to come up here just to crush some hatchlings at Diggy Ball or whatever they called it.

I should never have agreed to this!

But then… champions are such an important part of the Colony’s development. Vibrant is the strongest soldier in the family, with her own battalion of speedsters wreaking havoc wherever they go. Brilliant is… a pain in the thorax, but is also the most fearless and unique mana researcher in the Colony! We need them! This Solant will prove to be just as valuable an asset, and if the best way to make contact is to get up here and to the sports, then that’s what I’m going to do.

Except it hurrrrrrrrrrts….

Wait, why the heck is everyone looking so wobbly?

Lousy Brilliant wasn’t accurate enough to drop me in some nice, isolated area, instead I’m in the centre of some major thoroughfare, and when I look down, I realise I’m perched atop a statue of myself! Just how big is this thing?!

Oh, right, the ants are getting rocked by my aura.

Most of the family around here are tier four or five; being exposed to the emanations of my superior grade, tier seven core is too much for them to handle. I quickly restrain myself, pulling it back in so everyone can continue going about their business.

Speaking of which. I need to work out where the heck I’m meant to go. I haven’t been up here in ages.

“Uhhhh. Directions? Anyone?”