"Still, even if we all join the fight… what could a mere one hundred seventy-five people possibly do against so many monsters?" one of them asked.
"While it is true that we are no match in a direct confrontation, there are several things that we can exploit to our advantage," Finn said with his usual confident smile.
The members waited for him to elaborate.
"First, Ants are slaves to their instincts. They are not intelligent like me." Finn smugly tapped his temple.
Deon rolled his eyes. He could never get used to Finn's narcissism.
"Also, I have developed this!" Finn brought out a black ball the size of a ping pong. "This, my friends, is called a pheromone bomb!"
"Pheromone…bomb?" the members cocked their heads in confusion.
"Tsk! You're such an unimaginative lot." Finn clicked his tongue after failing to get his desired response, "Anyway, this pheromone bomb contains super concentrated ant pheromone. All you have to do is to light this up…" he flicked a wick that jutted out of one side of the bomb, "and throw it far away and… BAAAAM! An explosion of pheromones will make all the ants go crazy! This can be used both as an escape and an attack tool."
Sir Finn, arms akimbo, stood smiling in satisfaction, obviously waiting for praise.
Although not fully understanding what was so great about the bomb, the people showered Finn with compliments.
Mikael chuckled.
It was evident from Finn's dark eye circles that he spent all night developing the bomb and Mikael figured that he deserved indulging in praises once in a while.
Finn grouped the people according to class: Melee fighters and Combat Almagi.
Out of the one hundred and seventy-five members, thirty-six of them were novice Tier-1 Combat Almagi. Each of whom specialized in either wind, fire, water, ground, or electric type spells.
Although these Combat Almagi are supposed to be as strong as ten men, they couldn't do anything by themselves when confronted with agile monsters.
They needed someone to protect them while casting so in an individual participation event like the hunting competition, even these special people could fall prey to monsters.
Finn distributed makeshift armors and shields made of ant exoskeleton. Those who do not have their own weapons used the sharp ant mandibles like inverse-scimitars**.
"Okay. I think we're set so, here's the plan…" he beaconed everyone to look at the illustration on the ground.
"See this?" he pointed to a large circle at the middle of the colony map, "This is the queen's chamber and these…" he drew a cross to the squiggly lines connected to the circle, "these are the tunnels branching out of the chamber."
He looked at the member's faces to see if they were paying attention.
"As you can see, the tunnels are interconnected with each other. So, fighting at the tunnels is extremely unwise. Based on the previous battles, we can all agree that tunnels are advantageous to the ants since they can come sneaking at us from the back."
The members nodded their heads.
For the past week, they had come close to death's doors countless times whenever ants appeared behind them while they fought the monsters in front. It would be easy for the ants to kill them if they weren't alert to their surroundings.
"What we need to do is to take that advantage from them and make it ours." Finn grinned before continuing, "We will decide where we fight, and we will use their instincts against them."
Finn discussed the tactic that they will employ, ensuring that everyone understood the plan.
"Remember: He, who controls the battlefield, controls the war." Finn concluded, his handsome face brimming with confidence and excitement, "Trust me and we shall take over this colony."
Finn's proud statements assured the members.
Loud cries echoed across the Midden as they screamed for blood.
"YEAHHH!!"
"I'M GONNA F*CK THOSE MONSTERS INTO A F*CKING MEAT PIE!"
"FINN! FINN! FINN!!"
The people cheered and Finn laughed like a madman. From the outside perspective, it looked like Finn had formed a cult.
Mikael and Deon watched the boisterous scene from the sidelines.
"Hey kid, you should take notes." Mikael whispered, "THAT is how you control people."
Indeed, Finn was everything that Deon wished he could be—Strong, charismatic, intelligent, confident, and handsome. He was like the protagonist of a hero's story and from Mikael's tone, Deon was pretty sure that his ghost partner wanted Finn to replace him.
After all, who wouldn't?
The only advantage that Deon had over Finn was his lineage. As always.
Deon hated it.
He envied Finn.
Sir Finn, who was stubborn and selfish yet manages to grab the hearts of people.
Sir Finn, who marched at his own pace, never looking back, and only doing what he wanted without regard for other people's opinions.
To Deon, Finn looked free.
Free from all the shackles that bound him.
'There really are so many amazing people in this world…' Deon depressingly thought, and he was, once again, consumed by inferiority.
Deon clenched his fists,
'Why?'
'Why are we so different?'
'What am I doing wrong?'
'I did my best… how come no one acknowledges it?'
'I risked my life to get that information. Why isn't anyone thanking me for it?'
His nails dug deep into his palms, his lower lip bled as he bit down on it, and his eyebrows deeply furrowed.
Deon's body shook with envy.
Unknowingly, his Karmic aura had taken a darker shade.
Tap…
Deon turned to his side, surprised to see Dame Nora tap his shoulder with a gentle smile.
"Your highness, you did great."
Dame Nora's quiet voice struck Deon's fragile heart.
All the resentment and envy that he felt just a second ago, vanished with that simple sentence.
Deon's face crumpled into a crying mess.
Tears and snot fell from his royal mug as he stuttered, "D-Dame… Thank you…"
Her kind words were salvation that lifted Deon up from the quagmire of negativity that threatened to swallow his whole being.
"There, there…" The dame gave Deon a one-armed hug.
The warmth of her embrace melted the dark karmic aura that shrouded the young prince.
--Chapter end--
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**Scimitars are backward-curved, single-edged swords with a thickened, unsharpened back edge. For reference, please see the chapter comments. I also put a picture of the ant mandibles to make it easier to visualize.
(Sorry, I can't put source references 'cause web novel deletes it. Anyway, credits to the owners of the photos.)