Myrrin continued to push hard alongside her brothers and sisters of steel. The grim men and women of the Legion battled hard with little rest against endless waves of insects. She pulled her helmet off for a moment and sat, leaning her back against the rough tunnel wall. Without the aid of her helmet, the oppressive darkness of the second strata swept over her once more. She'd had her helmet on for so long she'd almost forgotten how dark it was, she could barely see her own hand in front of her face.
"Myrrin, got any space on that wall for a weary mage?" came the tired voice of Donnelan.
The young Legionary snorted in derision.
"A tired mage? How would it be possible to see such a thing? Standing at the back and waving your hands around can't be that tiring can it?"
"Leave off," came the grumbled reply as Donnelan leaned back into the wall and slid down to a seated position. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to contest the minds of these stupid ants? There's no end to them."
She felt her curiosity piqued.
"I can't really. What's it like?"
Her friend shuddered.
"I imagine it's similar to what it feels like on the front. You push forward and immediately get jumped by a dozen opponents that swarm over you in seconds. After that it's just a desperate wrestle until they give up or someone else comes along and saves you."
She nodded.
"Sounds about right," she said quietly.
She fell silent for a moment before she barked out a humourless laugh.
"What's so funny?" Donnelan asked.
She smiled in the dark.
"You remember during the wave, under Liria, when we fought for days on end against the monsters? We swore we'd never see anything that bad ever again."
He couldn't help but chuckle at how naïve they'd been.
"I suppose this is kind of similar. Endless waves of monsters to fight. Days without sleep. The commander pushing us forward like a slave driver."
"It's not the same," Myrrin refuted, "not the same at all."
"How do you figure?"
"During the wave we fought so many monsters, but they were mindless, in a frenzy. The moment they saw us, they charged forward and didn't stop until they were cut to bits. These ants… "
She trailed away and Donnelan sighed.
"Are too cunning," he finished the thought for her and she nodded.
The traps, the secret tunnels, the ambush attempts, the constant probing on the flanks, sneak attacks trying to cut off their supplies, attempted tunnel collapses, mental assaults, barrages of spells, reinforced stone walls bristling with spikes. It was brutal, draining and constant. At any moment there could be four or five tunneling attempts going on in different locations throughout the area of Dungeon they'd captured. Not a single one had ever succeeded, but the ants didn't stop trying. At first Myrrin had thought they were just being stupid, but she'd seen how draining it had been for the mages and auxiliaries to haul their detecting equipment around, setting it up all over again every time the front moved. They even had to staff the thing in rotating shifts, not for a single moment allowing the array to be unattended.
If their vigilance ever slipped, even for a period of minutes, the ants would be behind them, filling the tunnels in an instant and crawling over every wall and ceiling as they sought to inflict any damage they could.
"You're right," Donnelan said, "this is so much worse. I'd much rather throw fireballs until I passed out than engage in these mental battles. They just feel so alien."
"You should see them from the front," Myrrin said softly, "they're so desperate to bite us they crawl on top of each other to reach us. It's like watching a living wall of monsters come rushing towards us rather than a charge. I swear I can feel their rage, even though their eyes are so cold."
The mage shrugged.
"We came here to kill them all," he yawned, "I'm not surprised they're a little cheesed off. How much longer until the next push?"
"Only a few minutes," she sighed and pulled on her helmet. "I'm getting a break after this one. You?"
"No," he said, "unlike some people, I have a solemn duty to perform and I won't be caught shirking."
"Except you would if you could," she smiled.
"Hells yes."
The two friends lapsed into a comfortable silence as they drank in this rare opportunity for a break. It didn't last long. With her helmet back on, Myrrin could see her fellow Legionaries hurrying forward as they prepared for the next push. The centurions huddled together not far away, pouring over scout reports and discussing the overall strategy. Things had changed since the incident a few days ago when one of the attack groups had their shield line broken. The defensive line had been reinforced further for every push. It only mattered when that huge ant and its disgusting pets showed up to the battlefield, but it couldn't be predicted where it would show.
Myrrin herself had seen it in the field a few days ago. The magic it had cast was horrifying. For a moment it had almost looked as if the layered shield in front of her would break and she would be consumed by that void. It had held, of course, and the rest of the fight had gone according to expectations, but when she saw that creature across the field from her, she couldn't help but worry. The giant ape pet that had reportedly been a key factor in the retreat hadn't been seen since that battle. She could only hope it had been killed. The last thing she wanted was to face up to something like that.
"FALL IN!" came the call and Donnelan sighed.
"Back at it," he said as he hauled himself to his feet. "I hear we expect to reach their nest before too long, so hopefully we've reached the tail end of this campaign."
Myrrin barked a humourless laugh.
"You really think fighting in the nest is going to be the easy part of this? It'll take longer to break through there than it's taken to get to this point, mark my words."
"We have auxiliaries and more Legionaries coming," the mage pointed out, "that's going to help take the pressure off."
"I hope so…"
The two parted ways as they made their way back to their respective squads. The actions required before every attack had become so routine that the scout could complete them without thinking, but she had been warned against the temptation to mindlessly perform her maintenance. She made sure that she focused on every minute detail as she completed her equipment check alongside her comrades as their centurion watched on like a hawk. She checked every strap and buckle, tested each enchantment and examined all of her weapons before turning and doing the same to the Legionary on her left as they performed the same inspection on her. When all was confirmed ready, they reported to their centurion, a grizzled veteran from the wars on the third strata, who nodded and led them in a brisk march through the lines.
The sentries nodded to them and gave short words of encouragement as they scanned the darkness for ants and before long they had arrived at the staging ground. Row upon row of disciplined Legionaries formed up and Myrrin was proud to take her place amongst them. They weren't in the front for this assault, something she was secretly grateful for, but rather toward the middle. She cast her eyes forward but it was hard to make out what was ahead of her through the darkness.
After a few minutes of nervous waiting, the order came to advance. Eyes up, she marched forward in time with her comrades, her hand gripped around her bow. The shape of the ant defence gradually took shape in the gloom, the walls already bristling with innumerable insects that clicked and clacked softly in the darkness. Just when she had begun to relax, she saw it.
In the centre of the wall, surrounded by the thickest number of insects, that huge hulking figure loomed. Even in the dim light, its carapace glittered and sparkled, at least around its eyes. Myrrin suppressed a shudder. She swore she could feel the malice and rage emanating from it across the tunnel. Just above it flittered the small shape of the demon pet that appeared alongside it, the green light of its eye a tiny point of light in the dark. Looks like she was going to experience another battle in the presence of that creature, the most powerful ant in the Colony. She drew a deep breath. At least it didn't have that….
"ROOOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRR!!!!"
A mindless scream of rage and bloodlust boomed out from behind the ant wall, so powerful it shook the air and rattled the stone. Trickles of soil shaken loose from the ceiling fell on the heads of the Legion as they advanced.
What the hell was that?
From behind the wall a giant hand appeared on the lip, followed by another. Over the next few seconds an enormous, hulking brute lifted itself up over the edge, its eyes glowing red with fury. As she drew closer, Myrrin felt a ripple of anger from the silent Legionaries around them, a few curse words were shoved passed gritted teeth and soon she saw why.
The ape was covered in the armour of the fallen soldiers. The ants had desecrated their Abyssal armour and turned it to their own purposes. Behind the thick visor over the ape's head, she swore she saw the beast recognise their anger… and grin.