Chapter 621 In the mouth of madness (1/2)

He sensed them before they came. The Shapers had been ordered to keep their senses tuned for just such an ambush, but the ants were getting clever. They must have placed dampeners or some other form of mana suppression in the tunnels, which meant he didn't have a whole lot of time once he detected the tell-tale signs through the ground.

”Contact!” Granin hollered, ”beneath! Above! And in the d.a.m.n walls!”

His voice didn't carry far above the din, but enough heard him to make a difference.

s.h.i.+elds went up, exploding with s.h.i.+mmering light that expanded to cover the golgari force on the flanks even as Shapers wove together s.h.i.+elds. Flares of light arrowed from mage's hands into the rock around the tunnel, bringing points of illumination to the oppressive darkness.

What they saw wasn't pretty. From well concealed points on the walls and ceiling came a flood of insects, their antennae twitching furiously, lidless eyes staring as they launched their attack. Acid and magic came at the invaders from all sides, hammering into s.h.i.+elds and coating them with hissing goo.

”Hold the line!” A voice roared, cutting through the noise. ”Nothing here we didn't expect! Push forward! PUSH d.a.m.n you!”

Granin could only shake his head. Low Blade Hironus Balta led this offensive, hoping to cover himself with glory in the eyes of his House and clan. Why the minor n.o.ble felt it necessary to drag an exhausted Shaper into the middle of the fight, he had a few suspicions, none of them good. Not much he could do about it now. Granin had known something like this would happen when he sent his triad away. He hoped those two kids were doing alright. More than that, he hoped Anthony was living up to the promise that the old Shaper had seen in him.

The tunnel was wide, close to two hundred metres at its widest point when the multiple pa.s.sages came together, but the golgari hadn't spread to cover that s.p.a.ce as they pushed toward the walled fort the ants had created. The attacking force was a thousand members strong, but they were outnumbered at least five to one.

He forced his tired mind to work, splitting off his mental constructs and tasking each of them with a role. Pain spiked through his head and he stifled a wince. He was pus.h.i.+ng his limits here. Insanity had erupted in the tunnel and there was too much to take in. Mana swirled wildly through the air as hundreds of mages drew on the energy and cast it back out in a different form. Granin dedicated his own resources to firming up the s.h.i.+elds on the left flank where he stood. Offensive magic was just as likely to hurt as harm in a situation like this. With acid covering the s.h.i.+elds, he wouldn't be able to see what he was aiming at.

The ants weren't committing so far, hanging back and not closing with the deadly blades of the golgari. It made for a slow, grinding battle where neither side wanted to commit. At least, so far. It was only a matter of time until someone declared the charge.

”s.h.i.+ELD WALL!” Came a deafening shout. ”ANCHOR YOURSELVES!”