AN ENCOUNTER WITH TERMITES; CASUALTIES

"Wow, I already feel like I can't go on much further. I even lost track of the time. I'm so tired; I feel like taking a nap. This is really tough. How will we be able to do this for seven days straight?" said Isla as she struggled to keep running.

"Come on, Isla, you can't give up now. We're already three and a half days in, so don't give up," encouraged Rory.

"Easy for you to say. You were training to be a warden. I have zero combat training at all," said Isla.

"If we stop now, we'll never make it back in time. Remember, we have a limited amount of time," said Rory.

Due to being an ant, it was almost as if my endurance had drastically increased compared to when I was still alive in my world. I sucked at every single physical activity in physical education class.

Now look at me—I don't even feel tired after running for three days and nights. This is the best; I feel so free and as light as a feather," Ari thought to himself excitedly as he sped up his pace.

"Hey, Ari, slow down! Don't forget that we're traveling in a squad. We shouldn't separate from each other," said Rory.

"Wow, he's really fast for an ant with no military training. He might even be faster than Anastasia," said Isla, impressed.

"Yes, he's a special one, that's for sure. And after this training, he'll become a powerful ally that we can depend on in the near future," said Rory with a smile.

In her room inside the colony, Princess Tanya sat alone in a sad mood and thought of the memories she had with Vladimir.

"I'm still at a loss for words. Vladimir was like a father to me. He would always make me smile and laugh and protect me with all his might. I just can't believe he could have really betrayed the Queen and me of all people. I put all my trust and faith in his hands because of the kind, soothing words he used to say to me and comfort me with.

"But he ended up hurting me and kidnapped me for ransom. All these years he spent with me, all the memories we made together, were all lies. If I hadn't given Ari the chance to explain to the Queen by letting him out of his cell and sneaking him past the warden, we would all be dead by now. I said all those horrible things to him when he was only trying to warn us, and he was the one who saved us all. He even became part of our colony and joined the army to strengthen our numbers.

"Speaking of which, training should be starting today for him. Please hurry up and get stronger, and be careful, Ari."

"I can't go on anymore. We've been at this for days... how much time have we used up so far?" asked Isla.

"We're about four days and nights in," said Ari.

"If you knew that you couldn't handle being a military ant, then you should have stayed in the mines or continued reaping food for the colony," said Rory.

"Why you—shut up, Rory! I'm doing the best I can here. I wasn't born as buff and strong as you, yah know?" said Isla, pouting.

"That's no excuse. Ari is not as lean as me, and he's doing just fine—better than everyone else," said Rory.

"Alright, we've finally reached a great distance. Let's head back now," said Ari.

"Who the hell made you leader? Don't you dare boss us around. You're not part of our colony," said an ant in training.

"Yes, you might have gotten the Queen's approval, but we will never accept you as one of us," said another ant.

"Hey, that was really harsh. Did you forget that he was the one who saved us?" asked Isla, immediately silenced by Rory.

"Did you hear that, Ari?" Rory asked with a serious look on his face.

"Yes, I did, but what could it be?" asked Ari nervously.

"Stay on guard, everyone. Form a circle and take out your mandibles," instructed Rory as everyone took out their mandibles.

Each and every ant was scared to death from the anticipation of something dangerous lurking in the forestry. In dead silence, what seemed to be a green liquid substance was squirted into the air, and the ants noticed it but stood still out of curiosity.

As soon as the green liquid touched five of the ants, they started melting rapidly. The ants screamed and howled in pain until there was nothing left of them but their mandibles.

As more green liquid was squirted toward Ari's direction, and was about to hit Isla, who was stunned by what she had witnessed, Ari quickly shouted, "Move out of the way!" as he pushed her to avoid contact with the substance.

"That's acid secreted by some sort of insect! Don't let it touch you or you'll die!" shouted Ari to the remaining ants.

The other ants, who had witnessed the death of their comrades, were shocked. As soon as they came to their senses, they screamed and panicked, running off in various directions. The green acid came flying in once more, taking the lives of ten more ants. Most of the remaining ants fled, leaving only Ari, Isla, and Rory.

"Stay close together and keep your guards up," advised Rory.

Laughter was heard in the distance as the culprits emerged from the shadows.

"Such puny, weak insects dying so pitifully without seeing the face of the one who killed you. It was pathetic," said one of the insects as he laughed.

"What the hell... are those termites? But in our world, their acid can only irritate ants. Now it seems the effect is different," Ari thought to himself, surprised.

"These ones seem to have some sense, at least. I'll make quick work of them with my acid," said another termite.

"Be careful, guys. These are monsters," informed Rory.

"There are only three of them, yet they've killed so many of us so far. They're strong. I have to protect Isla and Rory," thought Ari as he gripped the mandibles in his hand and controlled his breathing.

"Listen, Rory, Isla, you take the one on the left, and I'll handle these two on the right."

"Are you sure you'll be okay, Ari?" asked Isla, shaking with her mandibles in hand.

"Please don't worry about me, Isla. Just focus on survival. Rory, I'm depending on you to protect her," said Ari as he rushed after the termites.

The termites squirted more acid from their hands, and using his speed, Ari dodged them and got close enough to one of the termites. Using the mandibles given to him by Anastasia, he cut one of the termites in half, defeating him in a single strike.

"They're so soft and easy to cut. They lack defense, but their attack is deadly," thought Ari to himself.

Isla served as a decoy for the other termite while Rory slowly made his way to attack it. The termite dodged and squirted liquid at Rory. However, he managed to dodge it in time, then with all his might, he swung at the termite's neck with his mandibles and severed its head.

"Damn you, ants! You took the life of my fellow termite. You'll pay for this!" said the last termite as he squirted acid at Ari.

The termite and Ari were in a serious battle. Acid was squirted repeatedly toward Ari, but he managed to dodge every last one of the attacks.

"What the hell is he? Why is he so swift? It's not possible!" said the termite in rage.

After dodging a large attack, Ari stabbed the termite in the stomach, causing him to howl in pain.

"This is not the end. I will find you and kill every last one of you in your colony!" said the termite as he fled.