Seeking Revenge

After several days of recuperation, not only had all the lost insects been replaced, but their numbers had increased as well.

As the Mother Nest grew, its daily egg production increased too. At present, depending on the complexity of the insects being bred, it could lay anywhere from a few to dozens of eggs a day without affecting itself.

Eggs capable of hatching into Soldier Ants were produced in the smallest quantities. These creatures had complex genes and consumed enormous resources. Though their combat strength was astonishing once they matured, even the Insect Nest as it stood now couldn't afford to raise many of them.

Rowan now had fewer than a hundred Soldier Ants under his command, and even that number had only been raised with the support of four Ant Nests. He could never have sustained so many on his own.

Today, he needed to take them to do something big. The matter had been stuck in his craw for a long time, and whenever he thought of it, he felt uneasy. He wasn't one to hold a grudge, but he couldn't let the loss of his arm go unanswered.

He brought thirty Soldier Ants, a hundred Worker Ants, and all the Scout Ants, then set off with his mighty force.

Back then, that creature had been five or six meters up the cliff wall. The pheromones Rowan had left behind had long since dissipated, but he could still make out the general direction. He also compared the terrain with the images stored in his exceptionally high-resolution eyes.

Before long, after crawling along the base of the cliff for a while, he spotted terrain that matched the image in his mind: the crevice where the spider had hidden.

Having confirmed the location, the group began their slow climb. As they neared the crevice, they spread out and surrounded it.

Though he had confirmed the location, he couldn't be sure whether the spider was still lurking there. There weren't many insects that climbed cliff walls for no reason, and a spider of that size would probably have starved to death long ago if it had simply waited here for prey.

Rowan cautiously peeked out. His enormous eyes, each nearly half the size of his head, proved immensely useful once again. Even with only a tiny portion exposed, he could see clearly inside the crevice.

There really was a spider inside, hiding in the corner and pretending to be a rock. Its coloring blended in extremely well with the surroundings. If he hadn't known something was amiss, it would have been hard to spot.

This spider looked like the same species as the one that had attacked him, but it didn't look quite the same. It was somewhat leaner, with a large bulge on its back that was slowly writhing.

Rowan stared closely and realized the bulge was made up entirely of tiny spiders. They were crawling all over the larger spider's back, packed so tightly together that anyone with a fear of clusters would have been horrified by the sight.

Beside this spider was another one, though all that remained of it was its shed exoskeleton. It had been dead for quite some time.

Rowan immediately guessed what had happened. The female spider had eaten the male!

He had always known that male insects generally met a bad end, but seeing it happen for real still sent a shiver through him.

Rowan wasn't sure whether the one that had attacked him was this female spider or the male whose exoskeleton lay on the ground. But did it matter?

He, Rowan, wasn't one to hold a grudge. Revenge was just an excuse to make his actions seem justified; what he really wanted were the gene fragments inside them. This female spider had just given birth, making now the perfect time to strike.

Still, the thought of the spiders' venomous fangs made him uneasy. He might be the main force in this battle, but he couldn't just charge in and draw the first wave of fire.

He needed to come up with a strategy.

He'd start by tossing a stone to test the waters. Unfortunately, there were stones around, but with his physique, throwing one was a difficult feat.

That was when the Worker Ants he had brought along came in handy. He touched the antennae of a few Worker Ants behind him, passing along instructions through pheromones.

The insects chattered among themselves, touching antennae, and soon the entire encirclement knew Rowan's plan.

Once the message had been passed on, the Worker Ants didn't hesitate. They crawled into the crevice and charged ahead.

The Soldier Ants followed close behind, while Rowan stayed at the rear to provide cover.

The spider reacted swiftly, springing to its feet. It was an old hand at lying in wait to ambush its prey. It simply hadn't expected so many prey animals to appear at once, leaving it momentarily unsure which to choose.

The Worker Ants were fast. Every one of the workers brought along this time had been equipped with the Catapult Start system. In the moment the spider hesitated, they were already beside it, their powerful jaws snapping without hesitation at its walking legs.

Unfortunately, the difference in size was too great. The spider's legs were far too thick for them to get a proper bite.

The spider finally reacted. Being taunted by a swarm of tiny insects sent it into a fury. Its legs flicked back and forth like lightning, and more than half of the Worker Ants surrounding it went flying.

The lucky ones struck the walls nearby and could keep fighting. The unlucky ones were flung right out of the crevice and plunged five or six meters to the ground below.

Falling from that height wouldn't kill them, but with their poor eyesight, they had almost no chance of finding their way back.

Rowan had anticipated this, though. That was why he had brought the Big-Eye Scout Ants.

They hadn't followed the group up the cliff wall. Instead, they stayed below, searching for the insects that fell and gathering them up.

The Worker Ants hadn't inflicted any significant damage on the spider, but they had drawn the first wave of fire and perfectly completed their task of testing the waters.

Every Soldier Ant was equipped with the Catapult Start system. As the Worker Ants went flying, the Soldier Ants had already reached the spider.

These creatures, who did no productive labor and existed solely for combat, were equipped with weapons far superior to those of the Worker Ants.

The Giant-Mandible Soldier Ants and Big-Tooth Soldier Ants surged forward and clamped onto all eight of the spider's walking legs. Several Soldier Ants grabbed each leg, then they all pulled backward together.

The spider was dragged partly off the ground. Its legs thrashed and kicked as it tried to break free of the Soldier Ants' grip. But these weren't Worker Ants; they were immensely strong, and their hooked claws dug firmly into the ground. Like turtles, they clamped down and refused to let go. No matter how hard the spider struggled, it couldn't fling a single one of them off.

Just then, the Hook-Tooth Soldier Ants arrived. They leaped onto the spider's back, scattering the tiny spiders in fright. Then they hooked their large, hook-shaped jaws around the spider's head. Their sharp tips easily pierced its eyes and drove deeper.

The spider let out a piercing shriek of pain, yanked back its front legs, and bit down on one of the Giant-Mandible Soldier Ants clamped onto it.

The Soldier Ant had no fear. It paid no attention to the venomous fangs coming at it and focused solely on carrying out its assigned task.

Meanwhile, the Worker Ants climbed up the Soldier Ants' bodies and onto the spider's legs, then continued up to its back. The Hook-Tooth Soldier Ants pulled their weapons free, and the Worker Ants swarmed in, tearing at the wounds.

They couldn't pierce the spider's armor, but they could easily keep damaging an existing wound.

Gradually, the Worker Ants began crawling into the spider's body through the wounds.

All the while, the spider shrieked incessantly. Though it was huge, its own strength couldn't break the combined hold of more than twenty Soldier Ants.

As the wounds on its body multiplied and Worker Ants on its back gnawed their way inside, the spider's struggles grew weaker and weaker. Slowly, its shrieks died away.