INFILTRATION OF HOPPER'S FORTRESS

The walls of Hopper's fortress loomed high like jagged stone teeth, casting long shadows over the cracked earth. Inside, the imprisoned ants—once proud members of a colony—labored endlessly beneath the cold gazes of their captors. Their bodies bore bruises and dust, their faces etched with exhaustion. The heavy clanking of stone, and the barked orders of grasshoppers blended into a dull, oppressive atmosphere.

Among the broken, a young female ant collapsed, her knees giving out beneath her as she slumped to the ground. Her breaths came in short gasps, chest rising and falling weakly as dust clung to her limbs.

"Hey, get up! We're not going to feed you for work you didn't do, scum," snarled a grasshopper towering over her. His eyes narrowed with disdain as the ant slowly pushed herself up, her legs trembling. Her eyes were wide, but lifeless—void of resistance or will.

"Good. Now get back to work. And don't make me have to kill you. Anyone who isn't fit to work is useless to Hopper."

He turned away, laughing cruelly. Another grasshopper joined him, clicking his tongue as he watched the slaves with disinterest. "Well, would you look at that? I almost feel sorry for them."

"It's their own fault for not complying with Hopper's order," the other replied with a chuckle. "They were stupid to even challenge someone as strong as him. Hopper's the most powerful amongst us. He alone wiped out their entire colony… military ants and all."

"They should've just laid down and died. These survivors? Just pitiful worker ants who surrendered and a princess who decided to join her people in suffering. They don't even deserve that pitiful fate."

"Nonsense. The world wasn't made equal. They're just too weak to change their inevitable fate."

The two grasshoppers snorted and turned, preparing to leave. But just as they began to step away, one of them froze.

A chill shot down one of their spine. His Hand twitched. Slowly, he turned around, his voice a low whisper.

"…Did you feel that?"

Nothing. The space behind him was empty, the shadows unmoving. But the air was heavy with something sinister—thick and suffocating, like death itself was watching.

"What's the matter, Courtois?" asked his companion, pausing just ahead.

"It's nothing… I'm coming," Courtois muttered, trying to shake the feeling as he hurried after him.

From the darkness, Ari emerged.

Silent. Blank-faced. His eyes were calm, yet beneath them flickered a restrained fury. His presence vanished as swiftly as it appeared, vanishing once more into shadow.

Outside, the rescue team had finally arrived at the fortress's rear entrance. Tall grass bent beneath their feet, and the crumbling stone walls towered above. Two grasshoppers stood guard, lazily tapping their feet and muttering to each other, unaware of what was coming.

Anastasia didn't waste a second.

She shoved Isla who was startled against the wall and pressed a finger to her lips. Her hand snapped up in a silent signal. Ruth nodded, eyes sharp, and both ants drew their mandibles like twin blades in the dark. In a blur of motion, they dashed forward. Before the grasshoppers even registered the attack, both fell—silent, clean kills.

Rory and Isla stood frozen, stunned at how easily the enemies had been taken down.

"Wow… they took down those grasshoppers like they were nothing," Isla whispered in awe.

"What did you expect? That's our Commander Anastasia for you," Lily said with a proud smile.

"Alright, let's move out," barked General Ivan, his voice carrying authority. The group of ten surged forward.

They slipped through a cracked passageway, ducking under beams and stepping over debris—until they emerged into a wide corridor… and froze.

Before them, a swarm of grasshoppers filled the space. Over a hundred stood, mandibles gleaming, eyes already locked on them.

"Crap!!" Beatrice cursed, whipping out her mandibles.

The grasshoppers turned at once, bristling with menace.

"Who the hell are you guys? Answer us now!" shouted one.

"How dare you trespass into our territory—you'll all pay for this with your lives. Prepare to die!!" another bellowed.

"Oh no… we've been discovered," Isla gasped, stepping back in fear.

"Don't worry. We'll take over from here," Commander Ruth said calmly, stepping forward.

General Ivan, Lieutenant Amelia, and Leon followed, mandibles drawn and gleaming in the fortress light.

"What?! We can't possibly leave you guys to fight all these grasshoppers alone—that's suicide!" Beatrice objected, glancing between them.

"Rest assured. We know what we're doing," Amelia said firmly. "Just make sure you all complete the mission we've set out for said Leon."

"We'll create an opening and draw more attention to ourselves," Ruth added. "Ensure that you save the princess that's your goal. That's what matters."

"And this works out well for us," Ivan grinned, his massive cleaver-shaped mandibles catching the light. "It's not our colony that's at risk. We'll crush as many of these small fries as we can."

The grasshoppers let out a unified screech and charged.

Commander Ruth met them head-on, weaving through attacks with a dancer's grace. A grasshopper swung at her wildly—but she sidestepped and crossed her arms in an X-slash, tearing open the attacker's chest in a single fluid strike. He dropped instantly.

Leon and Amelia joined her, engaging two more grasshoppers each, trading precise blows in bursts of rapid motion.

Leon dodge and moved quickly between two attackers, jabbing and parrying their attacks with mechanical precision. Amelia kept pace, her mandibles whirling in silver arcs, catching legs and joints.

General Ivan didn't rush. He stepped forward calmly, his heavy mandibles dragging slightly behind him. A grasshopper lunged—but Ivan sidestepped, almost leisurely.

"What the hell? How did he—" the grasshopper began, but he didn't get to finish.

Ivan brought his mandibles down in a brutal arc. The grasshopper raised all four arms, crossing the spikes on each limb into a makeshift shield. It didn't matter.

Ivan's blades sliced through them like wet paper, carving into the enemy's chest and dropping him where he stood.

"Whoa… he's so strong. Taking out a grasshopper so effortlessly…" Rory whispered, stunned.

"That's the power of a General for you," Lieutenant Brooks said from beside him. "They're on par with captains, but they serve directly under the queen. The strongest military ants in the colony."

"They've created the distraction. Let's go—quickly!" Anastasia called.

Without hesitation, the remaining group bolted—Anastasia, Rory, Isla, Lily, Beatrice, and Brooks—darting through the opening the vanguard had bought with skills and steel.

Behind them, the clash of mandibles and screams of dying grasshoppers echoed through the stone halls. But ahead? Their goal awaited. Tanya. Freedom.

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