RinoZ
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Chapter 1188 - Recovery and Analysis
🕑 Added 2023-07-05 02:54:33 +0000 UTCI watched the battle unfold with a keen interest, using all of the senses at my disposal to follow the goings on. As large as I am, it wasn’t really practical for me to shove myself forward and block up the tunnel, I’d destroy the formation I was trying to inspect!
So I fall back on my more esoteric options, such as the Vestibule.
Despite what Solant may think, tracking one ants flow of Will through the glittering organ isn’t nearly the same as mind reading. It’s not even like I'm following the path of their thoughts. More like… I’m getting a stream-of-consciousness flow of their wants and goals. It’s Will after all, not thoughts.
This is why it can be so difficult for me to separate myself from the Will of the Colony at times. When a hundred thousand or more individuals all want the same thing, all willing for it to occur, that becomes a very difficult impulse for me to resist!
At any rate, the battle is travelling extremely smoothly, which pleases me. What Solant needs to grow and develop as a Champion is very different than what the last two needed.
As a general, there’s only one way for her to improve, and that's to be out and about generalling! And she needs to be in charge of her own battles, because putting her under the regular generals will just stifle her creativity!
The troops continue to rotate every four hours, including the little generals broodmates, coming in and out of the front with the rest of the troops, but Solant remains at the coalface, working her little thorax off until the very last minute.
When the full twelve hour shift is done, she comes back along with the last set of troops, exhausted, but clearly pleased with herself.
“You look happy. It all went well then?” I ask.
She considers seriously before replying, as is her habit.
“It went satisfactorily,” she demurs, “there are many areas I can still improve, and with more time to work with the troops I’m sure we can reach a much higher level of performance.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that too much,” I mutter, watching the ants stroll past.
After being exposed to the unique charisma of a Champion, there’s no doubt this lot will be all too happy to join the eventual army that will form around Solant. She’ll have all the time she needs to whip them into shape.
“Regardless, you’ll be back here tomorrow, and every day for the next week for that matter. You’ve got to continue to develop your skills and ideas, and the only way I know to make you do that is to shove you into battles over and over again. Don’t worry though, I’ll be hanging around the whole time, so things can’t go all that wrong! Rest assured!”
This is absolutely not a scheme to get more rest and relaxation for myself. Not at all.
“So you should just go back and get some rest,” I continue, “you must be exhausted after twelve hours of directing the fighting.”
Solant looks at me like I’m crazy.
“I’ve got four hours left before mandatory torpor and an almost unlimited number of things to do before tomorrow. What about the review? Or the brainstorm discussion? Five items of improvement? We need to drill! At least four rounds of drills! I have a hundred formation adjustments I want to make, and a list of things to discuss with the core shapers!”
“Uhhhh.”
But… rest?
“I guess… you go for it. I’ll be over here if you… if you need me I suppose.”
Not needing any further encouragement, Solant speeds off to gather her faithful and loyal twenty broodmates together for an intense session of antennae thwapping and waggling. After thirty minutes of this, they rush off to gather the off duty shifts and soon enough I’m treated to the sight of the little general running the ants through their paces.
It looks… tiring.
When the heck is she going to be done?!
She said she had four hours until her mandatory torpor and she uses every little bit of it to keep training with the troops until her time runs out. Before the shadows can begin to materialise, she sprints back to her resting chamber along with the rest of her sisters and I’m sure they waste no time getting themselves to sleep.
For my part, I stand and stretch. I’ve got an eight hour break from babysitting, so I might as well go and make myself useful.
[Come on you three. Let’s go and fight something. I don’t think I’ll need you tomorrow, so you may as well stay out and get some levels.]
[Are you sure, Master?] Crinis is clearly reluctant.
[Yes I’m sure. If I could, I’d tell you to stay out until you reached max level!]
[Noooo.]
She clings to my carapace and I swear I feel my organs constrict. Better not to think about it.
[Go on, get!] I shoo the blob of endless nightmares away and she reluctantly peels herself off my carapace and vanishes into the shadows.
Tiny is long gone at this point, Invidia drifting along behind him. At their current level of evolution, they’re stronger than any ant out there, with the possible exception of Vibrant, and me, obviously, but when they evolve again, some new powerhouses will be introduced to the family.
I can hardly wait.
Comments
Forrest Ogden
Like you said at the end of the comment there are a toooon of plots to expand on. I 100% agree with you and ESPECIALLY Justin, but rinoz is one person let's trust the process!
Forrest Ogden
Ooooo please tell me we get a companion episode, I love when you expand from the great 3's perspective honestly the best filler if you're needing ideas c:
Desmond Cheong
Maybe a tunnel breach from some monster groundhog and solant need to suddenly defend 2 warfronts instead of the planned 1? Just about anything to make her original plan go “wrong” so that she can immediately swap to plan B and perform and excel. Any way, rinoz moved on and we are unlikely to see it happens.
alt31415
What, precisely, would satisfy those conditions? What in your imagination do you expect?
Desmond Cheong
1st off she hardworking, all ants are. but won’t we want upgraded strategy to see her growth? To add more variables so that she can adapt on the fly? It would be interesting for character development, right? Some unique strategies to separate Solant from the others. Not improvement of current strategy but something special….
Crazy Abe
Really, at the rate things are going- if Crinis was to see an evolution with “parasitic” or “symbiotic” tacked on, she’d take it just so she could permanently attach herself to Anthony.
Anthony Romanov
Can we appreciate how Anthony's teaching is spot on for his students! He is surprisingly good Teacher.
Gopard
Thanks for the chapter!
Runaway_Cactuar
Well, the lore kinda previewed that Solant would be up against a heavy-hitter after the Wave, so we'll be on the Solant ride for a while regardless
alt31415
I don't know about 'easy'. She was working her commercial district off to make it happen.
Desmond Cheong
Tunnel defence seems too easy to Solant. Does commanding a higher tier like Anthony gives more exp? Should give her command of Anthony, tiny, crinis, invidia for fun.( and see how the team will screw up her plan- maybe collapse the tunnel to the 5th? )
TheRaptorOfHermes
love solant and crinis . but how are queen momma and the grubs
alt31415
Might be a loooong while before we can even think of that. Especially with the waves getting worse and faster every time.
justin wade
Revenge on the Stone heads for killing the brood!!!!
alt31415
Nice to see Solant finding her place. Something I'm curious about. Odin. First, is his name Odin or Omen? Second, what does he actually... look like, as an Assassin Demon?
Wensber
Thanks for the chapter!
Khajar
I hope we're done with Solant for now... I like the new champion, but there are more interesting things we need updates on... Like Sarah and Odin, Enid wanting to talk to Anthony, Granin and his revelation, Isaac and his training, what is Beyn up to... So many plots!
