<h4>Chapter 862 Colony vs Colony pt 12 (972) </h4>


    The Colony really only had two speeds. Fast and breakneck, as the humans referred to it. Thetter didn''t make much sense to the ants at first, they didn''t have necks after all, not in the traditional sense. What they could understand was the idea of moving so fast you ran a high risk of injuring yourself. The lecture the Eldest had levelled at them was a direct warning against this sort of behaviour.


    The idea of breakneck pace had been rejected on a fundamental level. In its ce came a new speed: slow.


    Cont liked slow. It was much more her sort of pace. Slow didn''t mean taking it easy, slow didn''t mean cking, slow meant being careful, being patient, ensuring that each task was done perfectly before moving onto the next one. It appealed to an ant with a detail oriented focus like herself.


    And in the end, what she found was that slow, wasn''t slow at all. Slow was smooth, slow was controlled, which, as it turned out, was fast. No mistakes, no backtracking, everything progressing in its turn without clogging up the project further down the line. Cont found that by working at a slow and deliberate pace, she got more done, not less.


    It was with this spirit that the Colony reinforced its position in the fourth stratum. Lines were drawn up, tunnels allocated, formations pre-nned before a single w touched the Mother Tree''s bark. When the ants began to stream through, everything was prepared. They were directed by the squad into their allocated ces. Once each formation was filled, the final ant slotted into position, the entire group would march forth along their nned path to engage in the ongoing battles already underway.


    No time was lost. No waste or inefficiency dragged the operation down, despite there being no unseemly haste. To Cont''s calm and unruffled eyes, it was beautiful.


    "Why are we moving so slow?!" Propent raged.


    Cont sighed.


    "You still haven''t embraced the ''go slow to go fast'' philosophy? You''re denying the evidence of your own eyes."


    "It''s nonsense!" the fire mage groused. "You go fast to go fast! The very thought of going slow and steady makes my carapace itch!"


    "It seems like your rotten personality is the issue at fault," Cont observed. "With a little patience you might be able to proceed further with your fire magic."


    "Bah! Patience isn''t required to master fire magic! What''s required is a burning hot spirit and guts!"


    "If you say so…"


    "Don''t you two have your own ces to be?" A new scent intruded on their well-worn argument. "Or do you have time to waste blowing pheromones at each other?"


    "Victor?"


    The general bustled up to the two mages, her antennae twitching with irritation.


    "We''re directing the mage battalions as theye through the gateway," Cont assured the general. "I was mainly discussing how smoothly the deployment is going. The nning and preparation this time has been impable."


    "When we move hundreds of thousands of troops into the area over a single day, we better be organised or everything would go to hell," Victor grumped.


    "You aren''t wrong," Propent replied, "I already know exactly where I''m going once the next wave is through. I can''t wait to put some fire into these termite scum."


    Cont could practically feel the heating off the fire mage as she imagined setting the termite world aze.


    "I''m being deployed on the west side," Cont told the general. "Do we know if water or ice are effective against the insects?"


    "If you can harden it enough to punch through their carapace, ice spears are effective. Other than that, they don''t like the cold much, just like us. Cool them enough and they get sluggish, it might not seem like much at first, but it adds up over time."


    "Be better if you just set them alight," Propent gloated, "fire is super effective against these punks."


    "Some elements work better against some foes than others. That''s nothing to get excited about," Cont responded… coolly.


    "Herees the next wave!" Victor pointed to prevent another argument. "You''d better get down there and direct them."


    A steady flow of mage ants marched into the staging grounds next to the Bruan''chii vige and the two council members rushed down to meet them. Thanks to the detailed nning they were able to direct their fellow caste members with little effort, finally able to tag along behind them towards the front lines.


    "See you when the battle is won," Propent gave a jaunty wave of her antenna, before turning and joining the back of the departing formation.


    "Don''t get overexcited and set our own soldiers on fire," Cont replied.


    "Hey! That happened one time!"


    She ignored her sibling and turned back to the harried looking Victor.


    "I''ll be on my way as well," she said.


    "Good, I need to get back to Sloan once I''m done here. Directing this battle is proving to be extremely easy and absurdly difficult at the same time."


    "How so?" Cont asked, intrigued.


    "We are fighting on so many fronts at once, and managing such immense numbers. This is thergest battle the Colony has ever undertaken. The logistical work is a nightmare."


    "The easy part?"


    The general cked her mandibles in irritation.


    "The Eldest has pulled so many termites down on their head that we''re punching straight through their lines as if they weren''t even there. As a diversion, we couldn''t possibly ask for better."


    "Sounds like the Eldest is doing great work, as usual."


    "I wish I knew if they nned it that way…"


    "You''ll never find an answer to that," Contughed before she patted her sibling on the carapace and turned to catch up to her own battalion.


    The ant troops were in extremely high spirits, their eagerness for the fight brimming over into constant bursts of "FOR THE COLONY!" that quickly rose into a deafening chorus before fading. Into the twisting tunnels they marched, underneath the colossal roots of the Mother Tree and past the myriad defensiveyers that the ants deployed here had constructed.


    All of that work would need to be done again once the termites were expelled from this mountain. The lines of walls and traps would have to be moved forward significantly, but that was an issue for the carvers.


    Eventually, after numerous twists and turns, the column of ten thousand ants could finally hear the din of battle echoing from ahead. Immediately their pace increased as orders began to be ryed down the line. Scouts must havee back tomunicate the exact situation and ry orders from the general managing this theatre.


    Cont and her mages listened intently to their instructions. As soon as they knew their role, they began to make preparations, drawing out mana and shaping it to their needs.


    The moment they burst into the open ground they let their spells fly. A host of dense ice blocks arced through the air over the ants'' heads before they exploded above the termite lines. Shards of hardened ice pelted the bugs, lodging into their joints and melting over their carapace.


    "Freeze them all," Cont directed, her eyes cold.