No fighting, no training-at long last, a chance to rest.
After the Sunfall Expedition, all the clan chiefs jointly decided to mark the occasion by giving the Flame Capital a rare holiday.
Every chief wore a perfectly proper smile as they made the decision. On the surface, at least, they were all perfectly cordial.
Even after the meeting ended, they kept trading compliments about one another's achievements and wishing each other a good rest.
As for who was genuinely resting and who was secretly plotting to pull ahead, no one could say.
Fungal Wastes
Lower level
With its thickets, caves, and branching river channels, this bottommost level housed more beast colonies than anywhere else in the Fungal Wastes.
Originally, hunters had been forbidden from hunting excessively to ensure a lasting food supply.
But that changed after the Expedition Army arrived. Once they became part of this nation, food and supplies were no longer a problem.
And so, with a sweeping gesture from Mortas, the lower level was converted into a breeding ground for insect beasts and a nursery for rare plants.
Some mantises who lacked a talent for combat, or could no longer fight because of old battle injuries, finally had something else to do.
They put down their weapons, picked up farming tools, and began working as breeders and growers.
They were responsible for raising the insect beasts and cultivating the rare plants needed throughout the Flame Capital's territories.
As one of the scarcest resources in the entire Flame Capital, the Centipede Beasts needed by Centipede Station remained in constant short supply.
Once the tunnels had been excavated, these convenient mounts, which greatly shortened bugs' travel times, were snapped up as fast as they could be raised.
Quite a few bugs who had already accumulated their initial capital had