"Alright, everyone, listen up. Everything is in place for the invasion attempts that will happen today. As we speak, your scouting team is on their way to locate the rival colony. Once they give the signal, everyone will get into position and prepare to defend our colony," said Ari.
"He may not be one of us, but he's pretty cool," said a military ant.
"I still can't believe I'm taking orders from him. If this turns out to be a lie, I'm killing him for sure," said Anastasia as she scanned for the colony while traveling with her squad, covering themselves in nearby bushes. The scouts scaled the tall trees and soon spotted the rival colony, quickly signaling Anastasia.
"So, there really is a colony in this direction. I didn't expect it to be so close to ours," Anastasia muttered.
"What? I hear footsteps. Could it be…"
An army of ants from the rival colony marched past the place where Anastasia and her soldiers were hiding.
"Their army is more than twice the size of ours. There's no way we can win."
"Stay quiet. We don't want to screw this up early" said Anastasia.
"I hate to admit it, but he's right. We might not stand a chance in hell. Still, I'm putting all my faith in Ari's plan—it's the only hope we've got. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't even know we were going to be invaded and raided. What if we hadn't listened? What would have become of us then?" Anastasia wondered.
"General Ivan, at our current pace, we should arrive at the colony in approximately three hours," reported one of the enemy military ants.
"That's good news. Based on the little but useful information Vladimir gave us, it's safe to say their army is like water in the desert compared to ours, which is like the sea," said General Ivan.
"Not to mention he got some of their army to leave the colony, which decreased their strength significantly. And there's the fact that they know nothing about this. It's practically like taking candy from a little baby ant," said another military ant.
"Indeed, it is. Listen up, men. Be sure to take all their belongings and ransack the place. Leave no ant alive," Ivan ordered.
"Yes, sir!" all the ants shouted in unison.
"Their army is huge. There are at least a thousand of them against our few numbers. He was right—they are actually trying to invade us. But how did he figure out the direction they would attack from?" one of the ant scouts wondered.
"Send the signal to the ants near the colony. They need to know the enemy is on their way," said another scout.
The scout used a piece of glass-like material to reflect light toward Ari.
"Looks like they're close, and not only that—there are a lot of them since he flashed it three times," said Ari.
"They're closing in. Get ready, everyone. This will be the toughest battle we've faced," said Ari.
After some time, General Ivan and his army arrived at the outskirts of the colony.
"I'm confused. Shouldn't there be worker ants all over the place at this time of day? This place is too quiet. And what's with that wall? Something's off. Did Vladimir betray our trust?" General Ivan wondered.
"Charge, men!" shouted one of the enemy soldiers.
"Yes! It seems they expected us, but their army is so small it doesn't make a difference if they knew. No matter—we can still take them out. Go ahead and slaughter them all," said General Ivan as his army charged toward the colony.
But as they neared the colony, General Ivan's army was ambushed from both sides.
"Stop, men! Hold your formation!" Ivan commanded.
Three squads burst from cover, their mandibles gleaming under the sun as they slashed into the enemy's unguarded sides. Screeches of pain and the crunch of exoskeletons echoed as they tore through the formation, leaving trails of bodies before swiftly retreating, taking a defensive stance with their mandibles, and regrouping.
"What the hell is this? We lost so many soldiers in the blink of an eye. How is that possible?"
A cold weight sank in Ivan's gut. These weren't mere ants. He had never seen an army fight like this—with such precision, such ferocity.
"There he is. That has to be their commander. I need to let Anastasia know," said Ari as he rushed into the battlefield.
As Queen Celeste's army clashed with General Ivan's, Ari slipped through the chaos, dodging stingers and swinging mandibles, until he reached Ivan and quickly attached two gooey materials to his shoulders.
"What the hell is this? It won't come off!" shouted General Ivan.
As he tried pulling one off, his hand got stuck to his shoulder.
"Damn it, it's stuck. How did that bastard manage to slip through our formation and do this to me?" Ivan thought.
"We just lost a hundred and fifty ants, General Ivan! What should we do?" asked a military ant, his voice trembling in fear.
"What the hell is going on? We're cornered. We must retreat. All of you, fall back and regroup!" Ivan commanded as he and his army tried to escape.
But Anastasia and her soldiers were already waiting to ambush them.
"You really thought escaping would be that easy?" Anastasia growled, charging into the battlefield.
"What the hell? They were waiting to ambush us this whole time? I thought this colony would be a pushover, but it seems we're up against a strategist. Who the hell could be in charge of all this?"
"Just as I planned. They're boxed in now. Our victory is set in stone" muttered Ari to himself confidently.
As battle cries, stingers, and clashing mandibles echoed through the night, General Ivan's army was whittled down to a mere hundred soldiers.
"Finally found him. Ari did say he'd stick his hand to his shoulder. I never thought of using these materials in battle before—only as restraints. That ant truly is amazing," said Anastasia as she charged at Ivan, her mandibles slicing fiercely, giving him no room to breathe.
Ivan's free hand struggled to draw his mandibles, the sticky resin binding his movement. Yet even handicapped, he roared, swinging his remaining weapon with brutal precision, forcing Anastasia to block and retreat. He fought like a cornered beast, slashing low, sweeping high—his desperation fueling a ferocity that caught Anastasia off guard.
"Tch. He's still this dangerous, even like this?" Anastasia gritted her teeth, narrowly parrying his next attack. Sparks danced as their blades clashed. Her arms trembled under the sheer weight of his blows.
Ivan's eyes blazed. "You think this is enough to stop me? I'll crush you!"
He lunged, his mandible carving a brutal arc toward Anastasia's neck. She ducked just in time, rolling to the side, sweat dripping down her brow.
"He's pushing me back... No, I can't lose here. The colony depends on it. I can't be the weak link!"
Ivan drove her toward the edge of the battlefield, his swings becoming more erratic but no less deadly. Each impact rattled her bones, each near-miss sent panic jolting through her muscles.
"Damn you! Fall already!" Ivan roared, his voice frayed by exhaustion and rage.
"Not a chance!" Anastasia snarled, slamming her mandibles against his with renewed force, pushing him back.
His breathing turned ragged. His trapped arm sagged under the weight of the resin. He staggered but refused to fall.
"Why... won't you die...?"
Anastasia grinned through the pain. "Because I'm not fighting alone. I've got everyone backing me up. And I'm not about to let you tear that apart."
She feinted left, then pivoted sharply, bringing her mandible down across Ivan's chest. He howled in pain, but before he could recover, Anastasia spun low, sweeping his legs out from under him.
Ivan slammed into the ground, his remaining mandible clattering from his grip.
He struggled, panting.
He looked around. His surviving soldiers were gone. His army was dust.
There was no one left to save him.
He let out a long, shuddering breath. "I... surrender."
Anastasia lowered her weapon but kept her stance firm. "Take him away. Make sure he's well secured."
"Yes, ma'am! Right away!" the military ants responded as they hauled the bound General Ivan away.
Anastasia stood in place, her mandibles still trembling from the intensity of the fight. The soldiers hauled General Ivan away, his surrender echoing like a hollow victory in her ears. As the distance between them grew, she let out a long, shuddering exhale, her shoulders finally slumping.
"I can't believe we did it… I really can't. Against all odds… we pulled it off. I don't even know how many times I doubted him and his plans. But he never wavered. Not once."
Anastasia spotted Ari among the crowd of cheering soldiers and walked over to him.
"It's just as you said. We were going to be invaded, and your counterattack plan worked perfectly—not to mention that stunt you pulled on their general. How did you even manage to reach him unscathed?" asked Anastasia.
"I'm not even sure myself, but it had to be done. I was certain you wouldn't have been able to spot who was in command on your own. And let's be real—you couldn't have beaten him one-on-one if your life depended on it," Ari teased.
"Tch. You sure like running your mouth. Try saying that again, and see if I don't knock you out cold," Anastasia growled as she punched him in the gut.
"I never thought I'd hear a phrase like that come out of your mouth," Ari laughed.