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Chapter 816 - Rhymes with drops
🕑 Added 2021-07-07 07:46:34 +0000 UTCSometimes Isaac Bird had questions for himself. Such as 'how the heck did he end up preparing to assault the land of demons alongside a massive army of ant monsters', or 'should he grow a full beard or just stick with a moustache?'.
The latter was probably not as difficult to answer as the former, but each was worthy of careful consideration. 'Take each problem, one at a time,' as Ma used to say.
"How long do you think they're going to make us wait here, captain?" Margun asked from beside him.
Isaac resisted the urge to lean over and spit. He wasn't a country boy anymore, he had to set the standards for his men. If Morrelia didn't tolerate spitting in the ranks, then he wasn't going to either!
He turned to his lieutenant with one brow raised.
"You really that keen to be gettin' your hands dirty Margun?" he drawled. "I don't see what the rush is, they put us up pretty damn well right here, all things considered."
It was true, the Colony had been more than generous, as was their wont, with the accommodations for the human contingent of their war machine. Actually, not just humans, he corrected himself. After the volunteers started to flow from Rhylleh there were a few non-humans amongst the ranks now, including a couple of golgari, displaced from their home kingdom.
"You aren't wrong there, Isaac. My feet are just getting antsy I suppose. How are you so relaxed, knowing what's about to happen?"
He laughed.
"I don't understand how you've got the energy to be nervous, Margun. They've had us doing drills and patrols until we drop ever since the wave ended, and it's not like that was a happy fun time! If they weren't busy building all this setup around here we'd still be at I wager. Rather than all your fussin' I suggest you put your feet up while you have a chance."
The other soldier just stared at him.
"We aren't talking about a patrol through the tunnels here, Isaac! We're invading the third stratum! You know, the place full of the crazy strong demons? That doesn't worry you?"
Sometime people couldn't see the woods for the trees. Another one of Ma's favourite sayings and her wisdom was as true today as it was the day she passed it down to him.
With great patience, Isaac straightened himself and clapped one hand onto Margun's shoulder, as he gestured behind the man with the other.
"Take a look over there, my friend. Tell me what you see."
Margun rolled his eyes.
"Oh come on Isaac, I'm not in the mood for another of your 'lessons'."
Isaac frowned.
"You've come over here and bent my ear with your plops so you're going to right well listen to what I have to say. Now, out with it."
"Fine."
With a weary sigh, the other man turned and beheld the very thing they'd been staring at most of the day.
"All right then," Isaac continued with satisfaction, "tell me what you see."
"I see the Colony doing a ton of building and stuff. They've been at it for days now, Isaac."
The former captain of the guard slapped a hand to his forehead. That's it?
"You don't see anything other that?" he asked incredulously. "Bunch of ants building stuff. That's it?"
Margun rolled his shoulders uncomfortably.
"I don't know what you're after here Isaac, you know I've never been the sharpest tool in the shed."
"It 'aint nothin' to do wit' bein smart," Isaac drawled, forgetting to control his accent, "and all to do wit' payin' attention."
He took a moment to master himself.
"You see a bunch of ants of building stuff. Alright, fine. How many do you see."
"I dunno. Couple thousand, I guess."
"Seems like a lot, right? Do you know how many build sites like this one there are?"
"I think there was ten? One for each of the guard companies?"
"Bingo. Ten of these. What does that say to you?"
"That there's… a lot of ants working?"
"Right. And what are they building?"
"Staging grounds for the invasion."
"Correct again. Now, there are ten of these staging grounds being built. Let's ask another question, how many ants do you think would fit into this one?:
Recognition was slowly starting to flicker in Margun's eyes.
"Around ten thousand, more or less, I would say," he said slowly.
"Which means that the big bad demons you're talking about are going to get hit with an invasion of a hundred thousand, give or take, monster ants along with ourselves. I'm not sure if you’re a betting man, Margun, but I know where I'd be putting my money."
Having made his point, Isaac turned back and sat down on the porch that had been constructed around the outside of the barracks. The Colony had gone above and beyond with the facilities, as they always did, and the comfortable beds, spacious rooms and constant supply of tea, with sugar, was a luxury that he'd seldom been able to afford working as a guard in Liria.
"In my opinion," he sighed as he leaned back until his head was resting on the wall, "the demons are in for a world of pain. They might be powerful monsters, but I don't think they've seen anything like what's comin' for them. From what I hear, the Great One is already down there kicking up a ruckus. Chances are there won't be anything left but smoking ruins by the time we turn up."
"The Great One?" Margun raised a brow. "You a believer now Isaac? I didn't take you for the type."
"Aren't you from Rhylleh? You didn't see the big guy go to work?"
"I didn't see for myself, no."
"If you had, you might be a little more respectful. If they want me to call him 'Holy ant of king mountain', I'll doff my cap and play along, and you'd best do the same. Don't go stickin' your foot in the plops if you don't need to."
Having passed on his final wisdom, Isaac Bird closed his eyes and let his mind drift until sleep claimed him. The Colony would work him to the bone soon enough, he was sure of it, so in the meantime he'd get all the rest he physically could. He floated away into dreamland with the image of a particular Legionary in his mind and a soft smile on his lips.
Comments
Lord EinTopf
I like the fact that they have sugar now
Thomasjp96
Wait, is Isaac's accent Scottish or Southern?😳 I've always read it as Scottish but some of the wording is throwing me off this time 😅 it could go either way tbh
Charles Mayet
Plops.
Imspinnennetz
I still think that they should divide and conquer on the third strata. It is clear that the demons are constantly fighting each other in factions and using this division is the Colony's best chance to win a complete victory. I am afraid that if the colony just attacks all the city states, the general fear of insect hordes will make everyone unite against them and create severe problems for the ants.
Edgar maya
Lord cringy… 😂😂😂
Nathan Quitugua
Like I'm super excited for this war because up until this point the Colony has been on the defensive. Well there was rylleh but i dont really consider that a proper invasion because they bowled right over them with blitz tactics. We will now get to see how they do full on invasions with a full roster of ant mages, soldiers, shapers, generals, antmancers. On top of just straight up numbers and the industrious ants literally ferreting out every secret they can out of thier skills, mutations, and evolutions. I want to see the full might of the colony on display against an equally formidable foe.
Nathan Quitugua
If i assume that they are trying not to waste needless ants dying, they'll bombard the city from above and use that moment to sneak in assassins into the city to cut the heads off key figures. I'll also be theres plenty of contingency plans to get said assassins out of there in the event of a failure. The demons really only have one avenue of attack and im pretty sure the ant mages are well equipped for any fliers. If i was an ant general id also have a contingent of ant mages on standby just to counter any spells thrown thier way as well as another contingent to shield anything that can get through.
Edgar maya
I hope the spear dude gets his groove on with Morelia
Chase Stone
Plops.
Gonvas
Not at least, maximum of few thousands. Btw, before Anthony left, the city was in an all-out conflict. Several demons should have died 😂
ZaneofBane
So, are they going to open up by dropping debris from above and bombarding the city?
Sarah Stillman
I think he and Morellia would make a cute couple. I'm happy, for the sake of their potential relationship, that they can have some time apart for Isaac to grow into someone Morellia would give the time of day to.
NinjaChicken
I'm not sure this invasion will go as well as they think. The demon city likely has at least a population of a few thousand. All of whom are tier 6 demons, not humans or Golgari, but demons. A monster that is considered a superior being to the ants, and whose entire population are at least a full tier higher than nearly all of the ants.
Paul S.
I do hope he and Morellia end up together. That would be a story to tell
Anthony Romanov
Isaac is a bird brain but even he can recognize who will have a bigger plop
Rahsheem Reid
This story is going too go down as one of the best all time.
