"Alright, everyone, listen up. Everything is in place for the invasion attempts that will happen today. As we speak, our scouting team is on their way to find the rival colony. Once they give the signal, everyone will get in their positions and prepare to defend your colony," said Ari.
"He may not be one of us, but he sure is cool," said a military ant.
"I still can't believe that I'm taking orders from him. If it turns out to be a lie, I'm killing him for sure," said Anastasia as she looked for the colony while she and her squad traveled, covering themselves in nearby bushes. As the scouts climbed up tall trees, they spotted the ant colony and signaled Anastasia.
"So there is a colony in this direction. I didn't expect it to be so close to ours," said Anastasia.
"What? I hear footsteps. Could it be..."
An army of ants from the rival colony marched past where Anastasia and her men were hiding.
"Their army is more than twice ours. There is no way we'll win."
"Stay quiet. We don't want to screw this up early."
"I hate to admit it, but he's right. We might not stand a chance in hell. However, I'm putting all my faith into this plan Ari made because it's the only hope we've got. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't even know that we were going to be invaded and raided. What if we hadn't listened? What would have become of us then?" Anastasia asked herself.
"General Ivan, at our pace, we should arrive at the colony in approximately three hours," said an opposing military ant.
"That's good news. Based on what little but useful information Vladimir gave us, it's safe to say that their army is like water in the desert compared to ours, which is like a sea," said General Ivan.
"Not to mention he got some of their army to leave the colony, which decreased their strength exponentially. And there's the fact that they know nothing about this. It's practically like taking candy from a little baby ant," said a military ant.
"Indeed, it is. Listen up, men. Be sure to take all their belongings and ransack the place. Leave no ant alive," said Ivan.
All the ants shouted, "Yes, sir!"
"Their army is huge. There are at least a thousand of them against our few numbers. He was right—they are actually trying to invade us. But how did he figure out the direction they would attack from?" the ant scout asked himself.
"Send the signal to the ants near the colony. They need to know that they're on their way," said another ant scout.
The scout used a piece of glass-like material to reflect light in Ari's direction.
"Looks like they're close, and not only that, there are a lot of them compared to us since he flashed it three times," said Ari.
"They are close. Get ready, everyone. This will be the toughest battle we'll have to face," said Ari.
After some time had passed, General Ivan and his army marched to the outskirts of the colony.
"I'm confused. Shouldn't there be worker ants all about the place at this time of day? This place is too quiet. Something is off. Did Vladimir betray our trust?" General Ivan asked himself.
"Charge, men!" shouted a military ant.
"Yes! It seems like they expected us, at least. However, their army is so small it doesn't make a difference if they knew. No matter—we can still take them out. Go ahead and slaughter them all," said General Ivan as his army charged toward the colony.
As they neared the colony, General Ivan's army was ambushed by ants from both sides.
"Stop, men! Stay in a fixed formation!" shouted Ivan.
"They had a plan all along. We are surrounded. However, we still have numbers on our side."
The three squads attacked General Ivan's army, taking down over fifty ants, and then returned to their formation, sticking together.
"What the hell is this? We lost so many soldiers in the blink of an eye. How is that possible?"
"Found him. That guy is definitely the one in command. I'll make sure that Anastasia knows that. It might be hard for her to beat him by herself, but I believe in her," said Ari as he rushed into the battlefield.
When Queen Celeste's army attacked General Ivan's, Ari slid through the clash, dodging every stinger and mandible, and finally attached two gooey materials to General Ivan's shoulders.
"What the hell is this? It won't come off!" said General Ivan.
As he tried taking one off, his hand got stuck to his shoulder.
"Crap, it's stuck. How did that bastard manage to slip through our formation and do this to me?" Ivan asked himself.
"We just lost a hundred and fifty ants, General Ivan. What should we do?" asked a military ant, scared and horrified at what was taking place.
"What the hell is going on? We are cornered. We must retreat. All of you, fall back and regroup!" said Ivan as he and his army tried to escape.
However, Anastasia and her men took this opportunity to ambush them.
"You really thought that escaping was that easy?" asked Anastasia as she charged into the battlefield.
"What the hell? They were waiting there to ambush us this whole time? I thought this colony would be a pushover, but it seems like we are up against monsters. Who the hell could be in charge of all this?"
"Just as I planned. They are all boxed in. Our victory is set in stone."
As battle cries, stingers, and mandibles clashing were heard in the distance, night had finally come, and General Ivan's army was diminished to a mere one hundred soldiers.
"Finally found him. Ari did say he was going to stick his hand to his shoulder. I've never thought of using these things in battle before—only as restraints. That ant truly is amazing," said Anastasia as she charged at Ivan, slashing at him fiercely, leaving no room to breathe.
"This ant is strong. Could she be their leader? If only my hand wasn't like this," Ivan said to himself.
"Go help the general!" shouted a military ant.
"Are you forgetting something?" said Celeste's army as they charged at the remaining numbers, dwindling them to nothing.
As the battle continued between General Ivan and Lieutenant Anastasia, it was clear who would win the fight. Due to his current situation, General Ivan surrendered, thus ending the battle.
"Take him away. Ensure that he's well secured," said Lieutenant Anastasia.
"Yes, ma'am! Right away!" said the military ants as they took a bound General Ivan away.
Anastasia spotted Ari in the crowd of soldiers cheering for their victory in battle and decided to walk over.
"It is just as you said. We were going to get invaded, and your counterattack plan worked so smoothly—not to mention the stunt you pulled on their general. How did you even manage to get to him unscathed?" asked Anastasia.
"I'm not sure myself, but it had to be done because I was certain that you wouldn't have spotted who was in command on your own. And let's be real—you couldn't beat him one-on-one if your life depended on it," said Ari.
"Don't get cocky! And what's that supposed to mean, you jerk?" said Anastasia as she punched him in the gut.
"I never thought I'd hear a word like that come out of your mouth," said Ari as he laughed.