The sun sank behind the mountains, and dusk began to settle. Storm clouds gathered over the city; rain was imminent. We were the first to advance.
Kurone kept in touch with us, guiding our way. "Krito, you're approaching the mythril vein; you'll get too close soon," her telepathic commands, as always, came right on time; not even the magic of this place could divert her from her purpose.
"Be careful. I sense movement ahead," Grain interjected.
"Grain?! Since when can you sense enemies?" I asked.
"I thought simply observing the ground was too basic, so I learned to feel footsteps through the earth's vibrations."
"Well done. Ragni, can you sense them?"
"The ants' scent is quite faint, overshadowed by the hive. But it seems like a patrol of five guards is heading our way."
We found ourselves in a straight corridor, a natural cave with no hiding spots.
"Hurry and find cover; they're getting close!"
"Damn, nothing comes to mind," I muttered.
Behind the group, Rizel stood, bored. Kurone hadn't yet fine-tuned her connection with Rizel's mind, so she only heard fragments of our conversation. But the essence was clear; we needed to find somewhere to hide. The room was large, about five meters tall, with smooth walls and metallic veins.
Metallic veins!
Holding a silver staff in her hand, the necromancer infused it with mana and threw it at the ceiling. The staff embedded itself firmly into the surface. Seating herself on it and directing mana to her feet, Rizel jumped to the ceiling and clung to the staff, which, despite her weight, didn't budge. The mana-infused staff magnetically adhered to the ceiling, and now the necromancer sat calmly upon it, resting her feet on a skull.
Meanwhile, down on the ground...
"We have nowhere to hide; we'll have to fight," someone suggested.
"Don't be foolish, Ragni. The whole hive will swarm us. If we can't remain unnoticed, the trap won't work."
"Let's kill them quickly before they can alert others," Algo said, gripping the hilt of his sword.
"Alright, if you're ready," I looked around at everyone. "Where's Rizel?"
"Ahem," came a wave from the necromancer, seated on the ceiling with her staff.
"Wow! Necromancers can walk on ceilings!" Ragni was filled with admiration.
"Huh? No, it's just that there's so much metal here, I thought a mana-infused staff could stick to the ceiling."
"Excellent idea. Algo, throw our blades at the ceiling. Leira, hold onto my smaller knife, and I think Ragni can hang on with his claws."
With swift coordination, we hung from the ceiling. Five monsters emerged to meet us; they were blind, which made things a bit easier. However, Leira had a bit of bad luck; the small blade lodged into a crack and began slipping under her weight.
"Lady Leira," Algo reacted quickly, catching the falling noblewoman, while I barely managed to catch the falling sword before it hit the ground.
However, a couple of small stones dislodged from the ceiling. The ants slowed down a bit and started looking around, unable to see us, but the situation was precarious.
"Grain, we have no more time. If we don't trigger the trap now, there might not be another chance," I urged.
"Are you sure? You still have about fifteen minutes to reach your destination."
"There's no other way."
"Alright, I'm initiating the trap," Grain said just as a rumbling growl echoed through the cave.
Meanwhile, on the surface, the people were preparing for defense. A steep wall had been erected around the battlefield, making it impossible even for ants to climb over. All the people gathered in a narrow passageway on one side of the city; archers hid in a trench behind the swordsmen. Guards with shields stood in the front rows, with militia behind them. Grain stood in the center in front of the warriors, and the princesses stood behind the guards, protected by Kurone.
The rain poured down with full force; a real storm gathered due to yesterday's revelry. Enduring such weather was challenging for the people, but they were ready to die for their beloved city.
The signal for the attack was given, and Grain opened a massive hole in the ground. At first, only a couple of dark silhouettes were visible at the bottom, but as the cave was illuminated with flames, the creatures rushed out. There were nearly three hundred of them against 150 militia. However, thanks to the trap, they could only attack the humans in groups of fifteen. Nevertheless, the odds were far from equal.
Warriors launched into the attack and struggled to fend off the enemy's assaults. The princesses, unable to bear their helplessness, attempted to cast a couple of spells at the monsters, but the spells only bounced off the creatures' heads, causing no harm. At the same time, Katrina's lightning inadvertently shocked a few people. She couldn't do much except occasionally distract the monsters with small lightning strikes, providing support to the warriors.
"Krito, the battle is not going in our favor. They outnumber us two to one, and they are obviously stronger," Grain remarked.
"How many are left in the hive?" I asked.
"Almost all of them have come to the surface. About ten are still below."
"Then collapse the entrance!"
"But you'll be trapped inside!" Katrina and Kurone both shouted at me in unison.
"Leave only the main entrance to the mine open. If they return through it, it will take them too much time."
Another rumbling growl shook the cave.
"I've done it. Don't die in there, and I'll do my best to survive," Grain assured me.
"Fool! Now the most interesting part begins. Seleria, it's time to put your staff to the test. Blast the clouds as hard as you can!" Kurone said.
"What? Why now!?"
"You'll see for yourself! Just shoot!"
A bright flame erupted from Seleria's staff, illuminating the night sky. It pierced through the storm clouds, scattering them from the heat. The moon appeared in the sky.
Inhuman screeches echoed over the valley as hundreds of creatures, exposed to the moonlight, began to emit a pearlescent glow.
"Krito, they're glowing! The ants are glowing!!"
"I suspected as much. It wasn't just the mana in the ore that made them so formidable. All these five years, they've been consuming mythril within the mountain. Their exoskeletons are made of mythril, like Ragni's scales from a meteorite. That's why only mythril blades can pierce them, and why they don't come out in the moonlight. The glow of mythril dulls their senses, leaving them clueless."
"So, we can defeat them!!" Grain's joyous cry was cut short by Seleria's words.
"No. The clouds are gathering over the valley again," her voice was labored. "That burst of power drained me too much, and I doubt I can repeat it more than twice."
"Give me those disgusting sacks of metal," Katrina finally regained her spirit. "Grain, create some indentations in the ground so they fall into groups."
"What are you planning?"
"Do as I say," Princess Katrina commanded as she ascended a dirt rampart.
Before her lay the battlefield. Nearly two hundred creatures remained unscathed, and the pits made by Grain began to fill with water.
"That's perfect!" Gathering mana around her, Katrina leaped into the heart of the battle.
An electric wave surged through the ground as she landed, enveloping all the creatures caught in the waterlogged area.
"But this is not all!!"
Holding a lightning bolt in her hands, different in color and shape from the previous one, she hurled it at those who hadn't been affected by her first strike. Something unexpected happened: the monsters hit by the initial lightning were drawn towards the ones from the second strike. They collided, stuck together, and couldn't separate for quite some time.
"What have you done?" Seleria couldn't comprehend what she witnessed.
"They are walking pieces of metal. I sent lightning bolts of opposing charges into them and magnetized them. Now they'll cling to each other like magnets!"
"Well, if they are just pieces of metal, then I can do something about it too!"
Seleria jumped ahead of the warrior crowd and gathered a bright crimson flame in her hands.
"Princess, you better run! Now I'll show you the power of a true fire mage!"
Katrina barely managed to leap back as a circular field engulfed the crimson flames. Previously, the fire didn't affect the monsters, but now they thrashed in agony; it seemed the mythril was beginning to melt from the heat.
"Did you get a taste of that, you vermin?!" Seleria rejoiced.
The fiery princess's attack worked wonders: the majority of the creatures had their limb armor melted, immobilizing them. Those who survived the double princess attack were left in confusion. Archers picked off the fleeing creatures, while swordsmen finished off the ones still trapped. The ground battle was won, but there, in the depths of the cave, an even more terrifying threat still lurked.