Chapter 907 - The Ancient Foe (Patreon)

The word 'termites' rattles around in my head like an out of control, rage inducing pinball. If I had a lip it would be curled! If I could hiss, I would hiss! Which is weird, since I don't really have anything against termites per se, yet I feel an overwhelming need to rend flooding me. Look! My mandibles are actively gnashing the air without me having any input! It's as if my entire ant body is filled with the urge to destroy having merely hear the word of the ancient enemy!

In the interests of science I decide to speak to the ants around me. As the rest of them are going about their business I release a short and sharp burst of pheromones.

"Termites."

Holy smokes!

The reaction is instant! Every ant within range stops on the spot and starts quivering, their mandibles writhing in the air as if yearning to clamp around the necks of they who should not be named. This is bizarre! I know for a fact that the ants of my family have no idea what a termite is! They've never encountered them in their lifetime, never even heard the term. Is the hatred for the termite woven into our cores? Did I accidently drop that in when I modified the Queen's core? I'm pretty sure I'd remember deliberately placing a hatred of wood eating bugs into my siblings…

Regardless of the reason, the hunger for conquest is clearly there. How can the Colony live knowing that a giant monster termite nest exists out there in Pangera? We can't! We must destroy it! They cannot be permitted to exist within the same Dungeon!

[I've heard of termites, yes,] I say hesitantly to the Grove Keeper. [Are you saying the Kaarmodo have customed built themselves a termite queen and are using it in a war against the mother tree and the bruan'chii as a whole? Isn't that a little extreme?]

The giant wooden figure nods solemnly.

[Hmmmmm. It is true. Under normal circumstances such a thing would be considered an evil, perhaps even illegal act. The Legion would censure them for this behaviour and their allies would turn their backs, but these are not normal days. The repeated waves have everyone on edge. The Legion is stretched and cannot react as they wish, nor can they afford to alienate one of the old races who form their base of support at this time. The kaarmodo have leapt on this chance to pressure us. The termites have proven to be a dangerous foe for my kind…]

Well yeah, you're literally made of wood.

[… and mother has decided to ask that you repay the favour you owe her.]

[Hang on, favour we owe her? So she helped defend the Colony before the last wave, now we need to rush down to the fourth stratum in order to save her from getting woodchipped? That's a bit of a stretch their chief.]

[Nonetheless, this is what she has asked. If you are familiar with our foe, then do you believe that you can help us? If not, then I will speak with mother and perhaps she can ask others to come to her aid.]

He doesn't sound too hopeful of that. I suppose the repeated waves are given everyone pressure, not just the Legion. If the Folk are up against it then they aren't likely to stick their necks out for the tree either I suppose.

In terms of knowledge about termites, I know quite a bit really. Given their relationship to ants, I researched them as part of my hobby. It was fascinating stuff! Most people don't realise this, but ants and termites aren't closely related at all. Where ants are descendants of wasps, which is where our body shapes, the wings on Queens and males come from. Some species of ant still have the stingers in the business district as well, which just goes to show how close the wasp relationship is. Termites on the other hand, are related to beetles. They have a different body shape and an entirely different social structure. Whereas ants are almost entirely female, termites are a mix of both male and female. The Queens, who grow into pulsating, immobile egg machines are paired with a male, a king, during their nuptial flight, and remain together until one or the other dies. Unlike a female ant Queen, who usually only mates once in her lifetime, the termite royal couple will mate whenever they need to and can rule over their nest for well over a decade. What's more, when the royal pair do finally die out, another pair will rise up within the colony to take their place, whereas most ant species will simply die out at that point as all of the females are sterile.

How this plays out in the Dungeon, I'm not quite sure. It isn't necessary to mate here in order to produce offspring for one thing, all that is required is Biomass, but I wager that there are still male and female termite workers, not that gender matters. I imagine that the kaarmodo captured and carefully modified the termite queen and now they direct her and her offspring against the tree in every way they can. What would we be up against? The majority of termites are tiny little workers, smaller than most ants, though immense in number, but then there are also the powerful soldier class with their massive jaws that are called upon to defend the nest.

Generally speaking a termite Colony is much larger in numbers than most species of ant. A termite queen can produce an egg every three seconds, which means about thirty thousand per day, or over ten million per year. There aren't many ant species that can even approach those sorts of numbers, certainly not monogynous colonies, those with only one queen. Probably only driver ants could beat them, pumping out millions of eggs per month, which is why clashes between army ants and termite mounds are epic battles without equal in the insect world.

Back on Earth anyway. This battle on Pangera, is going to be legendary. There's not enough room on this planet for two social insect colonies to thrive.

[I'm going to have to report on this to the council,] I tell the Grove Keeper, [and we'll have to discuss what to do with this. I want to help, and I think the Colony will be more than willing to help out, but we have to put a timeline in place. It's not like we can just rush down to the fourth stratum tomorrow and start fighting the good fight. This is going to take time.]

[The matter is more urgent that you realise,] the Keeper presses me. [If you are willing to help, that will be fantastic, and mother has promised to grow a gate here that will take you straight to the frontlines. It won't be ready in a single day, but in a few weeks you can be there. We can't wait much longer than that.]

[Wait, wait, wait. You want me and the Colony to invade the fourth stratum in two weeks? Are you off your nut? ]