Chapter 388 Shaping Up (1/2)

The Queen of the colony charged toward her much larger foe, her momentum built with each step. To the ants on the wall, she looked majestic, a s.h.i.+ning beacon of strength that attacked with grace and courage.

But the closer she drew to Garralosh, the more hopeless it looked. Garralosh was a mountain of a monster, easily twice the Queen's length and perhaps as much as ten times the ma.s.s. What could she hope to do?

Unable to contain herself, Grant scrambled to keep up with her mother's courageous charge. What she could do to a.s.sist in this battle, she didn't know, but fear had taken a grip on her heart. She could not sit back and watch her mother die.

The ants on the wall poked their noses out from behind their earthworks and scrambled to a.s.sist their parent in the battle. Scouts and mages launched a ferocious barrage of magic and acid that soared through the air to rain down on the beast. The colony unleashed it's firepower on the ma.s.sive monster and Garralosh ignored it all. Her sunken red eyes were locked on the Queen as she approached and even though her scales steamed from acid burn she did not react.

When the Queen drew within twenty metres she stopped on the spot and unleashed her acid spray for the second time. A deluge of acid in a concentrated jet erupted from her mouth and she blasted the hated monster before her in the face. The barrage continued for a full minute, the ma.s.sive figure of Garralosh almost completely obscured beneath the flames and steam.

The temperature began to rise. The bubbling acid hissed and steam belched into the sky faster and faster as time wore on. The Queen could feel the heat as it buffeted her carapace and dried her eyes. Something was wrong. She backed up a few steps as her acid spray ran dry. She remained watchful, on edge as the ma.s.sive form of Garralosh remained hidden behind the mist.

Thud. Thud.

Like a mountain that had begun to walk, the beast stepped forward, no sign of haste evident in her movements. The Queen was wary. She doubted something as old and successful as Garralosh could possibly be this slow. She kept her legs tensed as she watched her enemy approach.

Garralosh' scales burned a deep orange. Her enormous snout came into view first. The scales atop her jaw were no longer the deep green that they had been before. Instead, they have turned orange, streaked with violent shades of red that pulsed underneath. The air rippled as it heated and the shape of the giant monster became further distorted in the haze.

The temperature was intense. The Queen backed away as Garralosh approached. The heat was so thick she could feel it even through her mana infused carapace. Were she to charge forward, she may take damage just from the air itself.

But, ultimately, she had no choice. If she were not to commit to the battle, there were no others in the colony who could. Thankfully her children were not incapable. The fire mages ceased their activities as they could see it had little effect. Instead, the water mages stepped up and began to collaborate in small teams. In moments, spires of twisting water rose into the sky and speared down toward the hulking beast.

When the water slammed home, an explosion of steam followed, and the Queen sensed her time had come. She a.s.sumed the beast would be blinded, and she dashed to one side, her mandibles opened wide as she closed on what she felt would be where Garralosh's flank would be.

CHOMP!

The Queen regretted, not for the first time, that she hadn't taken more time to raise her skills. Her experience came mostly in the form of almost dead monsters her children brought to her. Most of the time she hadn't even bothered to use a skill when she'd finished them. A waste.

Her mandibles glowed bright with the power of her stamina and lunged forward.