Leeroy's heart was afire.
"Onward, sisters!" she roared, her pheromones rolling across the battlefield like a wave. "Surely today, we will find that which we seek!"
"We seek!"
Her own call was obliterated by the reply of the ma.s.sed Immortals. They numbered five thousand now, and for Leeroy, charging at the head of their ranks was like being locked to the peak of a collapsing mountain.
The reliquary of the fallen Immortal covered all of them in its blessed light, and Leeroy felt her soul singing as the ma.s.sed enemies loomed ever larger in her eyes.
As the wave had gone on, the number of powerful monsters who descended from the sky, or rose from below the ground, or emerged from the depths of the lakes, never ceased to swell. The defences of the mountain had been as well constructed as the Colony could manage in the time they'd been given, but even with all their preparations, it proved impossible to clear the monsters from their mountain fortress fast enough.
So the number of rampaging monsters grew. And grew. And grew.
They fought each other, mostly, but the Colony strove desperately to push them away from the mountain-nest to prevent damaging it. Now that they had secured a safe haven on the fourth stratum, they would do anything to keep it.
Including letting the Immortals loose on the battlefield.
"We Seek!"
The tidal wave of pheromones released by the armoured column was so thick it hung like a fog over their heads. As they charged, that fog was caught by their legs and frames, swirling around their feet until it appeared as though they ran atop a cloud.
In the field ahead, Leeroy could see an immense pack of monsters thrashing and fighting before the gates of the nest. To many, it would have appeared like a nightmare brought to life, a whirlpool of death and destruction. Powerful monsters battled there. Sinuous lizards that swam through the air like eels, emerald scales glittering in the light; spirits of wind, water and earth towered a dozen metres into the air, manipulating the elements to their will. Horrific, bloated creatures of the deep, thrumming with a powerful aura and overwhelming life, forced themselves onto the land, fanged maws a bottomless pit of hunger.
To Leeroy and her followers, it was like a glimpse of heaven.
These monsters weren't tier one riffraff, freshly sp.a.w.ned, not knowing up from down. These were powerful, tier six and seven beasts, fat from feasting on the abundant weak prey the wave produced and desperate for something more satisfying. Some of them looked as if they could squash Leeroy with one stomp.
Please, she begged within her mind, please squash me!
Down the mountain they charged, gaining speed until she felt sure her legs, even as reinforced and mutated as they were, would snap from the strain. They held, but only just. As her spirit screamed for release, Leeroy braced herself, angled her carapace, and crashed into the first rank of the pack.
From a distance, it looked like an explosion. As the tip of the wedge slammed into the ma.s.sed beasts fighting outside the gate, the first enemies simply vanished… popped like balloons as thousands of tons of ma.s.sed ants smashed into them like an Ancient's fist. To Leeroy, this was the moment she lived for. Ahead, monster after monster stood, so closely packed together they may as well have been a solid ma.s.s. Behind, thousands and thousands of her sisters, each carrying ten tons of the Colony's finest steel, pushed her forward with the unstoppable momentum of a mountain collapsing.
She heard the metal of her armour scream as it warped under the pressure, felt her carapace buckle and crack as she was compressed between an unstoppable object and an immovable obstacle. This time, she hoped, it would be enough. This time, the enemy would stand firm and she, at the head of the formation, would be broken. No chance for the Phoenix Fire to build up and activate, no last second healing, only the ultimate sacrifice.
As ever, she was disappointed.
The first monsters gave way to the charge, pierced through by the metal-clad spear of the Colony, as did the second, as did the third. The Immortals trampled over the battlefield, running wild through and over their opponents until they finally ran out of steam, more than half of the horde flattened in their wake.
Then the fighting began.
Under the pulsing aegis of the reliquary, the Immortals fought with a frenzy that even the mana crazed monsters could not hope to match. They battled recklessly, leaving themselves wide open, throwing themselves on their opponents' fangs and claws, intercepting projectiles with their bodies, paying no heed to their personal safety.
Yet… it didn't matter. Their carapaces were so thick, further protected by the finest layered and enchanted metal the forges of the Colony could produce, that it simply didn't matter if they protected themselves or not.
Leeroy fought alongside her sisters, trying to ignore the sour feeling building in her gut. A long serpent raised itself high, jaws open, a burning light flickering within, and she leapt, flinging herself into the open maw! Bright green fire licked her armour, burning her antennae, but she crashed into the monster's teeth and shattered them, sending it reeling back.
Not enough!
Nearby, one of her sisters had pinned down a writhing elemental of earth. The creature raised up a portion of itself, hardening the shifting stone into a shining spear that plunged down toward the Immortal's back.
Leeroy calculated the point at which the strike would reach its peak momentum and rushed forward, taking the blow at the perfect moment. The stone shattered, showering her with rubble, and she cursed.
NOT ENOUGH!
As the fight raged on, and small injuries acc.u.mulated, she knew that the Phoenix Fire organ was growing hotter within her, preparing to unleash its cleansing fire. If she wasn't struck down before it was ready, then she would have to hope enough monsters remained after her revival to finish her off again.
That didn't seem likely.
There has to be something…. Anything!
She turned again and saw a leviathan hauling itself out of the water. Surely, a tier seven beast, its open maw was the size of a human house, and its writhing tentacles were as thick as trees.
This was perfect!
"FOR THE COLONY!" she screamed, and rushed forward, her heart igniting with precious hope once more.
How could she fight something this strong? Impossible, not even the Eldest could fault her for making a flawless sacrifice play! Deep down, she knew the Eldest would tell her to simply retreat, but she squashed that voice. This was her moment!
The leviathan lunged forward, and Leeroy was there. Without hesitation, she flung herself into the creature's mouth, kicking with her legs to shove herself deeper into its gullet.
"Choke on me, you filth!" she cried, almost weeping with joy as she felt the powerful muscles of the beast begin to force her into its stomach. Everything around her went dark as she slid into its belly, and Leeroy rejoiced. Surely, in digesting her, the beast would be defeated. A glorious triumph!
Something else b.u.mped into her in the dark of the monster's gut.
"For the Colony!" another Immortal cried.
"A brave sacrifice, sister!" she welcomed her comrade, and the two hugged amidst the sloshing acid.
Another b.u.mp.
"My life for the Colony!" the third Immortal cried.
"We-" before Leeroy could finish greeting the newcomer, another b.u.mp rang out in the dark.
"I sacrifice myself for the glory of the Colony!" the fourth Immortal declared.
She wasn't even finished with her cry before the fifth arrived, then the sixth.
"Wait…." Leeroy said, a sinking feeling in her abdomen.
Watching from the fortress wall, Advant could only pity the sea monster which had dared to reach land in front of the Immortals.
Armoured ant after armoured ant had forced themselves into its mouth until the beast had collapsed, writhing in pain as hundreds of those morons continued to try and pry open its mouth, which the leviathan resolutely kept shut. It was too late. Eventually, the acid in its belly triggered the Immortals' unique regeneration, and the tier seven monster was burned from the inside out.
Advant shook her head. Such a horrible way to go.