"Come on lads! That sexy general should come out any time soon!" A mercenary riding a giant boar cheered, as he then knocked down another tree, and burned it.
"Boss! The murmeks are approachin'!"
"Bah! Rain fire on them, make 'em pay for keepin' someone as sexy as that lady without our say!"
The mercenaries and monsters then raised their weapons and shouted while they ran towards the ants. As soon as the two masses collided, it was a bloodbath. The worker ants began to swarm the larger targets. Men screamed as they were sprayed by the acid from the ants. The ogres swatted the smaller opponents with ease, but not before being picked up by the super majors and chomped in half. It was a stalemate, but the ants' much greater ability to work as a cohesive unit begins to overwhelm the Black Dogs as they began to push them back.
The general raised his spear, signaling catapult crew to use fire and rain down hell upon the ants. Naturally, the ants began to panic and retreated from the smoke, too weak to even continue. The ants retreated back to the wetter area, closer to the nest. The monsters and mercenaries charged in once more, but a figure emerged from the tunnel and rushed forward, taking down mercenaries and monsters alike with her spear. The figure waves her spear and reveals herself to be Nola. Seeing that their general was there to lead them, the ants formed into defensive positions ready to hold their ground. Nola spotted the mercenary general and shouted.
"Why do you kill these poor innocent creatures!? What do you want!?"
"We want you obviously!" The general replied while licking his lips. "We've heard about the sexy leader of the tunnels. Didn't think you were with those murmeks though, but it doesn't matter! First one to grab the lass gets to fuck her first!"
The monsters and men shouted in unison, both shouts being hard to differentiate from the other.
"Long live the Sex Empire!" They screamed before charging at the ants.
"Form a wall!" Nola commanded, making hand gestures to the soldier ants. "Keep them back with your jaws!"
The soldier ants lined up side by side, their jaws sticking out, ready to bite whoever dared come close. Nola then gestured to the worker ants, who were gathered in thousands, awaiting Nola's command.
"Swarm the opponents! About, two ants per goblin, five ants per human, and eight ants per ogre! Spray acid onto them and aim for the eyes!" Nola pointed towards the charging mass of monsters. "Make sure to keep spraying them with the acid until they are either dead or incapacitated!"
The ants went in waves, swarming the opponents and spraying acid on them. More screams of pain were heard as the ants began to bite and spray acid on the mercenaries. But the contraptions in the back launched more fire as the smoke began to suffocate and kill the ants. Nola grit her teeth as the ant numbers began to thin. She didn't want to waste ant lives so recklessly. She was tempted to sound the retreat, but more catapult shots cause the tunnels to collapse, leaving Nola and her forces backed against a wall.
We need a miracle… Nola thought while seeing the eventual loss of her forces.
Meanwhile, Rene navigated the tunnels frantically, searching for a certain area. His ant companion follows him as he tried to look for a way out. The small ant makes a clicking noise, questioning him. Rene sighed and turned to her.
"I'm trying to escape."
The ant replied with clicks of confusion.
"I have another task to do."
The ant clicked again, but with a more frantic and fearful tone.
"No! That doesn't mean I'll leave her to die! She's perfectly capable of defeating those barbarians."
The ant made more clicks out of skepticism and inquisitiveness, as if it were giving Rene a deadpan.
"What are you talking about? She— I mean how could she—GAH! Okay! If she were to actually lose, I would never let her be at those monsters' mercy."
The ant then questioned Rene with a few more clicks.
"Because…" Rene paused, trying to piece his reply together. "I have my orders, and I have to see them completed! I didn't see THIS coming! I didn't see myself being kidnapped by a swarm of giant insects and an eccentric ant woman!"
The ant dejectedly clicks at that.
"Yes… I admit that I am involved in this now…" Rene said while looking back to the exit. "And I have done nothing but trick her with lies to draw more information from her when she trusted me."
Rene hung his head in contemplation, before saying,
"Fine then, I will finish what I started."
"Excellent choice." a voice said in Rene's head.
Rene then turned to the source of the voice, seeing a very large ant with wings, about the size of a house. It had very large jaws, and was accompanied by other winged ants of the same size and other smaller winged ants. Rene stared in awe at them and asked.
"Who are you?"
"We are the queens of this nest, and we have been awakened by the slaughter of our own kin."
"Why are you here?" Rene questioned, gazing at their size in awe.
"And we have overheard your most wise decision of staying to help, and we would like to extend our support."
Rene then looked at the other ants appear before him as he then asked.
"How?"
Back to Nola, who was cornered against the blocked entrance to the nest, surrounded by thousands of hungry men and monsters. She, together with a handful of worker ants, try their best to stick together as they become surrounded by the enemy. The general rides up and dismounts his boar, drawing his weapon and licking his lips.
"Give it up! You're already outnumbered! Just surrender already!"
"I know what your kind does to women! I'd rather die!"
"Shame." The general said before sending forward his soldiers. "Tie her up lads!"
The ants and Nola got into fighting position as they prepared their last stand. But the ground began to rumble, as the tunnels suddenly bursted, with the queen ants breaking out of the tunnel entrance and begin flying up with hundreds of drones following them. Nola could see Rene riding on the back on one of the queens, as he then dismounted and pointed his sword towards the opposing army catapult.
"Flyers, disable those catapults and kill the crew!" Rene commanded before pointing to the worker ants who accompanied the queens. "Swarm their archers, don't let them shoot the flyers."
"How shall I and my sisters be of assistance brave warrior?" the queen asked.
"Clear a path to the catapult, as long as those exist, the fire won't stop raining." Rene replied without even blinking.
"Gladly." the queen said before thrashing her head and jaws, clearing a path for the worker ants to pass her.
Nola approached Rene, staring at him with awe. He was their saving grace, coming in when she needed help the most. He looked much more powerful, more awesome than he did back at the nest. Nola could wonder what Rene was going to say next. Rene turned to her, his the light peering into visor and revealing his greenish eyes.
"So I met your queens, a fascinating bunch." Rene commented, fully turning his body to Nola.
"You came for me…" Nola said with disbelief.
"Of course." Rene replied with assurance, as he came closer to Nola. "It would not do for a Knight Hospitalier to leave a maiden in peril."
That word rang in Nola's head. Knight. Like those princess knights? No. It was the real deal. Those knights she would hear in those stories. Stories of chivalry and heroism, committed by great men of great faith. Those stories would always make her eyes shine with hope at the future. When she heard of the establishment of the Sex Empire, she lost hope in man, thinking of knights as nothing but a pipe dream. But now, Nola realized that Rene was no ant person, he was something much greater.
But her thought process is interrupted by a random dog monster attacking Rene, who raises his shield and blocks the attack. Nola then stabbed another monster sneaking up on Rene.
"Let's finish the battle before we finish this conversation."
"Agreed." Nola nodded, while getting into fighting stance.
Rene and Nola charged into the fray, with thousands of ants following them from behind. Rene did a mix of defense and attack as he blocked and struck his enemies with great rhythm. But he was playing it safe, making sure not to go beyond the range of his shield's protection. Nola, on the other hand, was playing it more aggressively. With great agility, she jumped and dodged attacks before quickly dispatching her opponents. Contrasting to Rene's defensive style of combatting, Nola was going full offense relying on her speed and agility to avoid damage. Rene stood with the defensive line, as he slowly advanced with the help of the ants. But he noticed that Nola was too far out of formation and called out.
"Stick with the formation, we can't afford to be picked off one by one!" Rene commanded, before hearing the catapult move, launching a ball of fire that was headed straight for Nola.
Rene's eyes were filled with dread, as he feared for Nola's life. He rushed as fast as he could to Nola, as she was still stuck in place from all the enemies. Nola had only realized too late that the fireball was heading for her, and was too scared to move. Rene ran as fast as his legs could move until Nola was in arm's reach. The catapult shot left a thick smoke that covered the two.
Nola coughed and coughed as she realized that she wasn't dead. She looked up, to see her savior, Rene, holding up his shield. Nola swore that Rene was glowing for a second, as she stared at him. Rene held the position for awhile, before sighing in relief and dropping his stance. He breathed heavily before he extended a hand to help up Nola.
"Watch your surroundings next time." Rene reprimanded.
"H-How did you survive that?" Nola asked in awe.
"What?" Rene asked in confusion. "The catapult just barely missed us, it wasn't a direct hit!"
Nola shakily pointed a finger at Rene's shield. Rene looked at it to see that the paint was ruined, but more importantly, the shield was smoking and it had a very big dent. The shield was in very bad shape, but somehow it survived, together with an unharmed Rene. Rene pondered on how he did survive a 90 kg projectile launched from 300 meters.
"You were glowing for a second, so I thought that it was one of your special knight powers."
"Knight powers? That's it!" Rene said with realization. "It was the Lord who was so generous to provide me protection!"
Rene then got on his knees and screamed to the heavens.
"Gratias ago tibi, Domine! Non sum dignus coram te!" (Thank you, Lord! I'm not worthy of your blessing!)
Nola looked at Rene curiously as he then dusted himself up, before Rene noticed Nola's curious glance.
"What?"
"You're rather strange. I've never met someone who gives so much thanks to an invisible being."
"That's because this was clearly the Lord's work, otherwise I would have died right there."
"You actually never told me about your religion." Nola noted. "I'm not religious myself, but after seeing that, I would like to know more."
"I'll be glad to tell you, but let us finish the battle first." Rene said while turning back to the carnage.
Nola nodded as she went into the fray, but this time sticking closer to Rene. Both stood with their battle lines as they pushed back the Black Dog mercenaries and monsters.
"Where's the catapult support!?" The enemy general barked.
"The flying murmeks killed the crew!" The soldier replied before running away. "The battle is lost! Run for your lives! Save yourselves!"
Unfortunately for them, the army had heard the cry and they began to break. More men and monsters broke from the battle line, running from the onslaught of worker ants. Men and monster screamed alike while they sought to save their own skins. The ants took this chance to bite the heels of the escapees, making sure that some of them would not escape. The general grit his teeth as he grabbed one of the spare bows and ran off. The army of ants chased the Black Dogs until they crossed the raging river in retreat. The panicking soldiers were swept away as the routing army was vanquished.
Rene and Nola cheered while the ants made audible clicking noises. The ants then stopped to lick their wounds. Nola sighed in relief before she gazed at Rene and smiled at him, with Rene taking off his helmet and looking at her with an expression of relief. Nola then embraced Rene, catching him slightly off-guard.
"Thank you." Nola whispered with utmost gratitude, tears flowing.
"For what?" Rene asked, confused at her immense gratitude.
"For choosing to fight." Nola replied while releasing her embrace and averting her gaze.
Both walked closer to the river, with Rene sheathing his sword and reattaching his shield to his back, with his helmet in his arm. They stood by the cliff edging over the raging water as Nola then commented.
"So… you're not really an ant person?"
Rene hung his head at the mention of that.
"Yes... I apologize for misleading you." Rene replied in shame.
"Oh no! That's okay! It's my fault for assuming that you were an ant person because of your name!" Nola said reassuringly. "Besides, you're something much better anyway. You're a knight! Like the hero in those stories!"
"Stories?" Rene asked.
"Oh, I've gathered a great amount of books in my spare time and they would always talk about the true knights. Men of great faith who did great acts of righteousness, like slaying the dragon and saving the princess!"
"I'm not so sure about slaying the dragon." Rene said doubtfully. "But it wouldn't have been knightly of me to leave you to those bastards' mercy."
"Speaking of which, why did you come back?"
"Hmm? Did I not tell you earlier?" Rene questioned while tilting his head.
"That's not the whole truth and you know it." Nola said while crossing her arms. "There's something deeper to it."
"How would you know that?" Rene asked skeptically.
"Just a hunch." Nola shrugged.
Rene stared at Nola for awhile, before sighing and scratching his head.
"Well, it's just that when I saw you being so serious about the nest logistics, and the invasion, you reminded me of someone. Someone I admired so much." Rene said while walking forward while looking up in contemplation.
"I reminded you of someone you admired?" Nola asked with her cheeks reddening a bit, and her hand clutching her chest a bit tighter. "Who was this person?"
"He's actually my commander, I'm not sure if the man's name is well-known yet, but his name is Duke Haru of Whirlingpool."
"Him!? You mean the general who saved Thore from the clutches of the Black Dogs!?" Nola asked with her eyes as wide as dinner plates.
"So he has become famous…" Rene muttered to himself, before turning to Nola. "Yes, since I was a page, I would hear of his great exploits. Haru was a man who wasn't afraid to face impossible odds and face down his opponents personally. When I saw you giving commands and being so brave in confronting the Black Dogs, I saw a little bit of him inside you. The willingness to confront adversity in the face of uncertainty. Because of that, I wanted to help you succeed to the best of my ability."
Was that what Rene really thought of her when he saw her work? Did he really see something so great in what she considered so ordinary. She saw Rene turn around to her.
"You are undoubtedly the most astounding woman I've met." Rene said with a smile.
That statement left Nola's heart pumping as she struggled to find a response. Her face flushed red, as she felt her chest tighten and her legs quiver at those words. But the tender moment is cut short by an arrow suddenly appearing and piercing Rene's neck. Nola had little time to react as Rene slowly collapsed and fell over the side, into the raging river. Nola looked over the side and tried to reach her hand over, but to no success as Rene was nowhere to be seen.
"Rene…" Nola said softly, tears welling up in her eyes as she stared into the deep abyss where the raging river was. "Rene!"
Nola then sobbed deeply. He was gone. The man who saved her, and gave his companionship. Nola smashed the ground in frustration, before looking around to find the source of the shot. It was the general, at the other side of the river, with his bow out. The enemy general wore a proud sneer at shooting down Rene, even taunting out.
"So! Are ya finally dead!?" The general shouted into the abyss, before being promptly impaled by Nola's throwing spear.
Nola had used all her rage into that single throw, to nail the bastard who dared hurt Rene. The general cowered and shivered in feared as Nola then coldly commanded.
"Drones. Take this man back to the nest. Pick him apart one by one, and make it as slow and painful as possible."
The drones flew to the general and carried him screaming back into the confines of the nest. Nola simply stood their, emptily staring at the raging river, seeing one of her newest yet most precious companions get washed away by the strong current.
But some aren't ready to give up. The small ant from before resurfaces from the shrubbery and follows the path of the river. It walks along the cliff walls as it followed wherever the current would take him. Though it was hard to see, Rene was visibly floating in the current, his shield keeping him afloat. The ant squeaked in joy as it tried to chase its new master through the current.