Great Wave (6)
The princess ant shuddered, its antennae trembling. It was trying to redirect the aimless ant legion toward Wayne.
Paeng!Kwajik! But Sabina's Artemis loosed an arrow, severing one of the princess ant's antennae. Startled, the creature tucked its remaining antenna under a leg. As it tried to shake the antenna again, another arrow flew straight for its eyes, disrupting the princess ant once more.
It was a feasible tactic, given the simplistic nature of the ants' attacks and commands.
While the princess ant and its swarm floundered in confusion, Wayne circled around the ant legion and charged toward the queen, drawing an eight-meter spear from his back.
'Hand over the queen ant's neck!'
Wayne barreled toward the queen. Queen Velokina reared up in surprise, extending one of its thirty-meter front legs toward Hermes.
"Kuooo! Orc strong now!"
Orc chieftain Bardetu was a force of nature. With his three-meter frame and massive build granting him power beyond other orcs, wielding an eight-meter steel spear—two meters longer than any other's—he looked invincible.
"Kuok? Too many ants!"
But the signal ants serving as antennae relays numbered more than a handful. He'd scoured the area, slaying five through grueling effort, yet another loomed right before him.
"Kuok?"
"Kuwek!"
The orc warriors, exhausted beyond their limits, began collapsing to the ground one by one. Each signal ant was guarded by twenty soldier ants, making every fight far from easy.
The larger soldier ants were B-rank, the smaller ones C-rank. With five hundred orcs swarming the C-ranks from all sides, they could be taken down without heavy losses—but even one B-rank changed everything, demanding heavy orc sacrifices.
And beside this signal ant stood three B-rank soldier ants. They simply stood guard over their charge, ignoring attacks on other signal ants nearby.
Bardetu, panting and slumped, addressed his fallen warriors.
"Wayne human promised! Kill signal ants, all tribe orcs come!"
But the orc warriors shook their heads, utterly drained. Already a hundred kin lay dead; morale was in the dirt.
"Orc survival at stake. Orcs rise! Orcs charge!"
"Kuooo..."
"Kuok."
Even repeated commands failed to rouse them. Bardetu scowled and hefted his massive spear alone, advancing on the B-rank soldier ants.
"Kuok?"
"Ook?"
The orcs cried out to stop him, but Bardetu didn't look back. He gritted his teeth, gripping his spear tight.
Orcs too soft. Orcs not brave. That's why orcs not strong. Strong ones live. To live, orcs must grow strong. Without bravery, orcs have no future. No—extinction!
Bardetu's mind screamed that this was their last chance. No future remained for the tribe—no, for all orcs. The Sky Mountains' vast basin held giants five to fifteen meters tall who saw orcs as prey. To the west, in the forests, powerful elven rivals lurked. As food grew scarce, giants descended from the north, eroding orc territory. Without human steel giants, they'd all perish—that's why they'd crossed the mountains in desperation.
But orcs couldn't ride steel giants. This was truly their final shot.
"Kuook! Ant one-on-one fight!"
Bardetu lured and engaged the B-rank soldier ants solo.
Kwang! The soldier ant's front leg slammed the ground, cratering it a meter deep. Bardetu dodged and thrust his spear.
Kang! Another front leg blocked it. Then a second B-rank swung from the side.
Buwoong! Kwang!
"Kuok! Kkulk-kkulk!"
Blood surged from Bardetu's mouth. He'd barely blocked with his spear shaft, but flying ten meters left a brutal impact.
Kung-kung-kung-kung! One soldier ant charged, gaping its massive jaws at the fallen Bardetu. He flung himself backward; it clamped onto his spear instead.
"Orc! Can't lose it."
Bardetu clutched the spear with both hands to keep it. The soldier ant yanked, and he endured until blood slicked his palms. Losing his weapon meant death against this beast; he poured every ounce of strength into holding on.
"Kuoo?"
"Ooook!"
The orcs watched in anguish. Some yelled to flee, but Bardetu held firm.
Chwaak!!
"Kuaak!"
The soldier ant raked him with a front leg, carving three long gashes across his back and shoulder. Blood streamed, but he didn't retreat. No—his heart thundered, pounding his chest like a war drum.
Orcs are brave! Never back down!
"Kuoooook!"
Roaring instead, he yanked the spear and charged forward. The tugging soldier ant lost balance and toppled onto its rear. Its jaws gaped wide. The spear slipped free—and Bardetu swung with all his might.
Buwoong! Peok!
"Kkieek!"
The spear tore into the soldier ant's eye and face. Bardetu wrenched it free and lunged, stabbing its chest.
Paak!
"Kiaaaa!"
The soldier ant wailed in agony. As Bardetu twisted the spear, it thrashed its head wildly, screeching.
And then—
"Kuok! Kuok!"
Kung! Kung! Kung!
Suddenly, orcs rose one by one, spears aimed, advancing. Soon, one charged the soldier ant.
Dadak! Puk!
"Kkiiiaak!"
It lashed out in torment; the stabbing orc flew meters away, crushed on impact and dead. But the advance didn't halt. No—seeing their brother's death ignited them like raging bulls.
"Kuok!"
Dadak! Puk! Puk! Pu-puk!
In moments, orcs swarmed, spears plunging. The soldier ant couldn't endure and collapsed.
This was Bardetu's devotion and courage overcoming pain that did it. His unyielding bravery tore through the orcs' weak hearts, igniting the Odd dormant in their muscles and cells.
Bardetu yanked his great spear free and bellowed.
"Kuok! Orc brave! Orc strong!"
"Kuooooook!"
The orcs roared in unison, charging full-tilt at the remaining soldier and signal ants. Countless orcs flew and fell dead, limbs and necks severed by ant jaws—but none retreated. They were no longer weak orcs.
Kwang! Kung! A Gigant toppled, unable to hold, and ant monsters swarmed atop it.
[Kraaak!]
Dozens of ants tore in with jaws; the pilot's screams rang out.
"Block the monsters!"
[Kreoeoe! Warrior proves with strength!]
Buwoong! Peok! Peok! A steel golem charged, kicking off the ants blanketing the Gigant. As several were dislodged, another Gigant dragged the fallen one back. Mechanics rushed to pop the hatch—but too late. The pilot convulsed, eyes rolled back, mouth agape: struck by the queen ant's mental assault!
"Danger! All resting Gigants, sortie now!"
At Curtis's command, Bastian—who'd been catching a breather—led his squad back into their Gigants.
The battle line was crumbling; ant monsters had breached in spots, pushing inward.
[Restore the line!]
[Charge forward!]
"Kill the ant monsters!"
"Valhalla!"
Dwarves charged too, but barely had strength to lift weapons.
"Send the signal! Fire the cannons!"
Hwiing! Peng! The signal flare launched—but no cannon fire. They'd overheated from nonstop barrages, on the verge of exploding.
'Kuk! It's over!'
Even with rear Gigants committed, the ant legion surging to within a hundred meters of the defensive line was unstoppable. Too many pilots down from mental attacks, too many wrecked Gigants—their strength had plummeted.
'Damn it, we at least need to retreat!'
That was when Bastian deemed it hopeless.
Kung-kung-kung-kung! Predator surged forward, then began smashing down its mace on the ants.
Kwang! Kwang!
[It's Captain Wayne!]
[We advance too!]
[Push up!]
Gigants beside Predator followed Wayne forward. Squeezing out their last Odd, they advanced to hold the line.
"Die!"
Puk! Puk! Yond and his steel golem pressed on. Dwarves swarmed en masse, slaying breakthrough ants and advancing.
Step by step, they pushed back. And—
Peng! Peo-peng! Peng!
Cannons boomed from the fortress walls.
Kwang! Kwang! Kwang! Shells rained, turning the kilometer ahead to ash.
But a dozen cannons shattered and flipped, killing their crews.
"Uwaaa!"
"Pushed the ants back!"
"Waaaa!"
The line was restored. Cannons fell silent, ushering a brief, fragile peace.
Then Predator lurched violently. Curtis's Gigant caught it from behind. Thankfully, it didn't fall—but Nancy inside had blacked out, unconscious.
Curtis's Gigant supported Predator back, extracting Nancy.
"You reckless idiot! I said just move it!"
Curtis gnashed his teeth at the limp Nancy.
"Monsters! More coming!"
No time to tend her. Jamie approached.
"I'll watch her—go!"
"Thanks!"
Curtis bit his lip, remounting and racing to the front. Meanwhile, monsters cleared corpses, and a fresh black tide surged from below.
[Whew! Annoying bastards!]
[Squad leader, I got no Odd left to move.]
Even Loren, who'd never complained, said it. If he spoke up, he truly couldn't budge.
Curtis recalled the captain's final order: if the line proved untenable, abandon Gigants, link with dwarves, and flee the fortress.
Gigants were expendable—but comrades who'd shared near-ten days of life-and-death? Brothers in arms, bonds thicker than blood.
Then Bastian's Gigant approached.
[Curtis, looks like it's time.]
[But...]
[Huh? Check that out?]
Sara's Gigant pointed ahead.
[Yeah? Why're they stopping?]
The ant legion, right at their doorstep, halted abruptly, antennae rigid. Signal and princess ants alike.
They awaited the queen's signal. But with Bardetu and the orcs slaying all the signal ants mid-chain, reception was cut.
[Everyone, hold and wait!]
[Don't attack the ants!]
Curtis remembered Wayne's words: leave them be if they froze—especially spare princess ants, and they'd only defend, not advance.
[Loren, tell them no cannon fire till I signal!]
[Got it!]
Loren scrambled up the walls. Chak! Chiiik! Sara popped her Gigant hatch, peering out.
"What the hell's going on?"
"Captain Wayne must've nabbed the queen ant?"
Buwoong! Kwang! Kwang! Hermes leaped, dodging the queen's front leg.
'Kuk! Without Hermes, I couldn't have dodged!'
Wayne poured everything into evading the queen ant's strikes. A direct hit from that thirty-meter leg would pulverize the unarmored Hermes. Even in the lightest, fastest frame, every instant felt like dancing on a knife's edge.
"Kkiiik!"
The princess ant led its legion from behind—but halted just short, not charging.
'My memory was spot on!'
Princess ant memories: queens barred successors from approaching. To ascend, a princess had to kill the queen—only then could she seize the horde and absorb its Odd. Thus, the egg-laying danger zone was off-limits.
Wayne could fight solo.
Sheeek! A leg thrust; Wayne aimed his spear, scattering white Odd around.
He'd used red Odd to detect and preempt her moves, green to optimize Hermes, yellow to shake false antennae from his back and manipulate the ant legion. Now, accelerating white Odd internally for an electric strike.
'Damn! How many Odd types to control?!'
Without this, he couldn't block or dodge.
Jeoeng! Pajijik! At collision, he unleashed 32x white Odd.
"Kkiiik?"
The queen flinched, retracting her leg. Stunned by the shock.
Wayne had trained steady Odd acceleration; he could now hit 64x on white Odd—Mririk-level electricity. But layering other Odds prevented maxing it.
'Ant legion wiped?'
Regrettably, two thousand ants gone. The victorious princess ant now led its legion toward Sabina.
'Eleven still far?'
Wayne urgently sought his pet.
'Krrung! Krreung!'
'Here? Good boy! Start now!'
Kwajik! Kwajik! Circling to the egg chamber, Eleven savagely crunched the clustered eggs. They burst with eerie shrieks.
"Kkiiiiiia!"
The queen ant wailed in torment, instinctively sensing her brood's death.
She shuddered her antennae. Princess ants surged their legions straight for the egg chamber.
The queen's top priority: protect the eggs.
[Sabina, help me now!]
[Yes!]
Sabina joined, arrows flying at the queen's antennae from the perimeter.
Ting! Ting! Arrows ricocheted off her head, scattering her focus. Legs lunged at Wayne—shocked by electricity on clash. Arrows pelted eyes and antennae nonstop; chaos. Especially antennae—soft and sensitive unlike chitin—risked snapping on a hit, so she even lifted a front leg to shield.
'Got it! Opening!'
As the attacking leg rose, Hermes dashed for the queen's underbelly. Wayne gripped his spear, mind blank save accelerating white Odd to 64x for max shock.
'Damn, Odd mixed!'
Rushing the acceleration blended in traces of red, green, yellow. But no second chance—he spewed Odd and thrust.
Sheek! Puk!
"Got you!"
The spear pierced the queen ant's chest.
'But the electricity...?'
Papapap! Sparks erupted around the spear.
Peoeng!
"Kuaaaaa!"
The queen's belly exploded, a small hole torn through.