Formicea

 

Did I ever mention that Liseti can be kinda terrifying at times?
Shouldn't be that surprising of news, but I can't help but feel slightly intimidated by her casually mentioning that she had to prepare invasion forces for the surface.
Not like it wouldn't work out for me now, but it's problematic nonetheless.

 

<But I see you made progress as well. The structures have already expanded considerably.> (L)

<Yes, it helps that we created a lot of the preparatory work in advance. Also, we could build those in the far north without notice.  This way we got most of it done before things became serious.> (E)

 

It was kinda tense when we started our coordinated attack on this camp.
We made sure to focus with our attacks on suppression with heavily armored knights and opened our tunnels in a manner that the enemy always had a way to retreat on the other side.
The moment they crossed, we directly started building our fortifications.
The knights were all a little taken aback at how quickly we erected our first walls.
Since the Garanas is quite wide here, a counterattack wouldn't be all that easy to perform and we could quickly establish a secure position with our building efforts.
All that remains now is to wait and see if this will work out.

 

<Do you think this is going to be enough?> (E)

<No. At least not if you intend to discourage an attack. What I could see from these humans makes me believe they will go to the greatest length solely to make a point. If this happens, this kind of obstruction won't be enough to prevent fighting.> (L)

 

Yeah, I feared as much.
Even if it would be desirable.

 

<We should look for the human commander. I'd like to know what his opinion of all this is.> (E)

<You mistrust my assessment?> (L)

<No, it's not that. But this man has a lot more direct experience in fights on the surface. There might be something we aren't aware of. We would be foolish to ignore this and not to ask at least.> (E)

<I see. While I don't usually appreciate your lack of confidence, it also links to your trait of being willing enough to gather information from more knowledgeable entities. Often a princess loses this with age.> (L)

 

So we're walking through the channels of piled-up earth.
While this already provides decent protection, my guards are all the more wary.
Twenty in front of us, thirty behind, and all the others taking position around on top of the earth walls.

This doesn't even account for Liseti's escort, which is basically a small army behind us, as well as several hundreds of interceptors up in the air.
They make especially sure that nobody remains in my path, so not a single human is even going to get close to me.
While this act of forcing my way makes me feel rather awkward, on the plus side they also act as scouts and manage rather efficiently to guide me to "the target".
Sigh.
I'm just glad they didn't abduct him.

 

"What is the meaning of this? My archers are in complete disarray because you and your troop insisted to go right through them and drive everyone who's only a bit in the way from their position!" (St)

<Know your place, human! You are talking to swarm princesses!> (L)

"Tsk. I just can't get used to this speech." (St)

 

Well, since the great council of the broodmothers, all the important figures at least got the pheromone receival treatment.
I even heard that recently Honiu is working on a version that she can have be produced by drones.
This could actually become a really big thing as before the effort apparently replaced one egg, which means one less life for the swarm.
A steep price.

Even if I'm not sure how good it would be to have everyone understand some of the princesses' more problematic thoughts.
In this case, the boss of the army may not directly shrink away, but noticing that our escort is unlikely to take his side, he doesn't seem to intend on continuing this fight.

 

"Ehk, can't we at least try to accommodate each other? It's true that we disrupted order, Liseti." (E)

<Those humans should learn to adapt.> (L)

"While leading a war?" (E)

<Fine, I'll admit that I might've expected too much from mere humans.> (L)

 

This isn't even an attempt at an apology!

 

"Ahem, may I ask you what you're doing here?" (St)

 

I suppose this is my part.
After all, I'm still something like the link between Formiea and humans.
So I do communication.

 

"Ehk, we just wanted to know if you, Sir, with your expertise in the field, would be able to deliver further insight by providing your opinion on the current situation." (E)

 

Yeah, there does the etiquette training kick in.

 

"My opinion you say?" (St)

"Yes, please." (E)

"Well, mostly that this position won't be easy to hold once the Koresoan legions show up here. Once this happens, I doubt we can hold this place all by ourselves." (St)

"Oh, is there an issue? We tried to build the wall in a way that your people would be able to man them." (E)

"This isn't the point. Yes, our archers can rather well shoot from above, while the earth provides somewhat decent protection. Yet the problem is that dirt is not as great against heavier fire. The sheer size of the wall is impressive though, so it might survive the onslaught. But nonetheless, I wouldn't rely on them holding the line once the enemy brings the heavy weaponry. I'm rather sure we'll have to rely on your troops. However, the underground shelters should provide decent protection." (St)

"Heavy weaponry?" (E)

"You are aware that Koreso is the leading country in regards to machinery, right? This includes the most advanced artillery to support the soldiers in the field." (St)

<Artillery? I'm not sure if I understand this human word right.> (L)

"It describes having a big machine and using it to chuck all kinds of objects at the enemy." (St)

<So humans do this? Interesting. Then Erys' assessment was right that we should inform ourselves in this manner.> (L)

"Right... I doubt we'll have to wait long for the first scorpions to be set up. You apparently got lucky they didn't use them during your operation in the south. But well, the losses should've been limited as is their frequency of fire." (St)

<Scorpions? What are these?> (L)

"You know crossbows? Basically a larger version of those. Okay, the mechanism is slightly different, but you can believe me, if one of those things hits you, you're getting skewered." (St)

 

At this, my royal guard stirs quite considerably.

 

"You're saying we would have a problem if that happens?" (E)

"This shouldn't be that much of a surprise. Just imagine. Those things can easily shoot two leagues farther than our longbows. I suppose we don't need to worry about the kind of damage the ballistae will do to this loose dirt, but even if the number of projectiles they can let loose is limited, we would be in a precarious position. I deem this problematic to our efforts to permanently maintain this position, in the way you intended to when you suggested this strategy. " (St)

 

I can see this.
While I planned our current position to be further fortified in time, I suppose doing the necessary work at such a large scale should be difficult while the enemy can aim for everything on the wall at any time.
Not impossible though.

 

"It might not be easy, but as we already came this far, it should be possible to further fortify this position in time. Shouldn't it?" (E)

"Not impossible, but I'm not trusting the foundation very much." (St)

<Then you're wrong. With our applicant, the space below became more than able to carry the weight above.> (L)

"Your applicant... Right, this could work. If we'd also mix it in the mortar... Hm, you're getting me ideas. I suppose it's right that this truly isn't impossible. Difficult under the given circumstances, but not impossible. However, we probably still have to worry about at least one big attack before there's even a chance to get so far." (St)

"So you as well believe that Koreso is going to attempt to storm our position?" (E)

"The legion works under the decree of the Koresoan senate. You can be sure, they won't just call it quits and go home. They can't. We'll have to deliver a decisive blow to make them stop or expect a long siege here." (St)

 

Wouldn't be ideal, but still manageable.
After all, we can deliver the food once the rest of the territory is fully safe.
However, I have hope.

 

"Thank you for your insight, Lord Stormheart. We'll try to include your insight into our further strategies." (E)

<I also deem this to have had a positive effect. I may return for further exchange. > (L)

"I, I will look forward to it. Now if you may, I need to reestablish some order into our unsettled ranks." (St)

<I understand. Farewell.> (L)

 

With this, we separate and go back to the lower bases.

 

<You were correct. There were several factors to consider I wasn't fully planning for. I see one shouldn't underestimate the human ingenuity.> (L)

<It's quite a lot at once. Sometimes I worry that this project might be a bit too big to solve by myself.> (E)

<Erys, you aren't solving this by yourself. This is a joint effort. But you're right, there's much to prepare. So come. We shouldn't idle any longer.> (L)