"So… you refuse to hand over your food supplies?" Zippy's face darkened.
Below, the soldiers planted their feet firmly, mandible blades held at the ready. Lancelot's jaw tightened, his arms flexing as he braced. Sweat dripped from his chin.
Behind the wheeled containers, the workers huddled with pale faces, their eyes wide and trembling. Evelyn, pressed tightly among them, watched the front line with parted lips.
Please… be safe, Ari, she thought, her heart thudding.
Zippy flared his wings sharply. "Have it your way." He raised one of his four muscular arms. "Kill them all."
The swarm dove.
"Get ready, here they come," Beatrice said.
The battlefield erupted into noise. Wings beat the air rapidly, creating a strong vibration against the ground just before the first flies crashed into the soldiers.
One fly lunged at a private. The soldier swung his mandibles, but the fly twisted its body instantly, dodging the strike.
No way... I missed...
Its four muscular arms lashed out without pause. Each strike slammed into the soldier's torso with bone-jarring force. The impacts drove the air from his lungs, forcing ragged cries from his throat.
Blood sprayed from his mouth as his body jerked under the relentless barrage. The soldier stumbled backward, struggling to stay upright. His breathing turned uneven as more blood dripped down his chin and splattered across his exoskeleton. His legs trembled.
After the final blow landed, all strength left his body; he crumpled to the ground with a heavy thud and lay motionless.
The fly threw its head back and laughed, the sound sharp and cruel. "You should've taken Zippy's offer," it said, its grin widening as it looked down at the fallen soldier. "Now all of you are going to die slow, painful deaths!"
The fly drew its upper arm back. Beatrice moved without hesitation.
She pushed off the side of a wheeled container and launched herself forward. The impact rattled the fly as she landed squarely on its back. Her hands shot to the hafts of her mandible blades. In one swift motion, she drove both weapons deep into the creature's back.
The fly shrieked. Its body lurched violently as its wings beat in a frantic blur. Dust and loose debris scattered across the ground as it jerked upward and took to the air.
"Why, you little—!"
One of its arms reached behind its back, blindly searching for her. Beatrice held on tightly. The muscles in her arms tensed as she ripped one blade free. Blood sprayed from the wound. Without slowing down, she drove the blade back into its carapace. Again. And again.
The fly coughed up blood. Its movements grew erratic as its limbs lost coordination. The furious buzzing of its wings weakened with each passing second. Then its body went slack. The fly dropped from the air and slammed into the ground with a heavy thud.
Beatrice hit the ground hard, pain shooting through her side on impact. A strained groan escaped her lips as she pushed herself up. Every movement sent another pulse of pain through her body, but she ignored it.
Grabbing the injured private beneath the arms, she dragged him across the ground and behind the formation, pressing him down against the wheeled containers.
"Stand your ground. We cannot allow them to break through!" Beatrice said.
"Yes, Corporal!" the soldiers answered in unison.
Captain Nyra advanced into the swarm. Her movements were swift and precise. Multiple flies lunged at her at once, their fists shooting forward in rapid succession.
The air filled with the sound of buzzing wings and rushing footsteps as they closed in from every direction. Nyra tilted her head aside, letting an uppercut pass harmlessly by her face. She pivoted on her heel and slipped between a barrage of punches from another fly. The attacks came one after another, leaving barely a moment to breathe.
More flies rushed her. Her eyes sharpened. Without a hint of panic, she adjusted her footing and weaved through the incoming strikes. Fists sliced through empty air where she had stood a moment earlier.
One fly's arm shot toward her shoulder. Nyra's blade swept through the air and sliced it clean off. The severed limb hit the ground with a heavy thud. The fly opened its mouth to scream. Nyra swung again. Its head separated from its neck and tumbled.
Another fly rushed in and brought its arm down in a high strike. Nyra ducked beneath the attack, spun on her heel, and drove her mandibles through its torso.
The creature jerked violently. Blood sprayed across her face. Nyra didn't react. Her expression remained unreadable. Her eyes stayed fixed on the swarm ahead, her lips set in a flat line as she pulled her blades free.
She pivoted, swinging both mandibles in a controlled arc, cutting down one attacker after another. Each strike was deliberate: arms severed, torsos split, bodies collapsing behind her, forming a path through the swarm.
For a moment, the surrounding flies fell silent. Several of them stared at the bodies lying around her.
"W-What the hell was that?"
"Did you even see her move?"
"She killed them both in seconds..."
Another took an unconscious step backward. A ripple of unease spread through the swarm as they looked at the blood dripping from Nyra's mandibles.
Nyra met their gaze without a word. The flies exchanged nervous glances.
"She's just one ant!" one of them shouted, though his voice lacked conviction.
Ari's eyes widened as he watched her.
No way...She's so strong.
The image of her cutting through the enemy ranks replayed in his mind.
She cut through them like they were nothing.
So this is what a Captain is capable of.
He drew in a slow breath and tightened his grip on his mandible blades. Then he forced his attention away from Nyra and back to the battle.
His eyes swept across the battlefield. Fly soldiers were still pushing forward from multiple directions.
Thirty kills, huh...
His jaw set.
Guess I'd better get started.
On the left flank of the formation a fly descended from the sky. His body slammed into the earth with tremendous force.
BOOM!
The ground cracked beneath his feet. Chunks of dirt and stone burst upward as a shockwave rippled across the battlefield. Dust swirled violently through the air, forcing nearby soldiers to shield their eyes.
"What was that?" one private shouted.
The dust cloud continued to churn. Slowly, a large silhouette emerged from within the haze. Heavy footsteps echoed through the settling debris.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
The figure stepped forward towering over the soldiers. He slowly rolled his shoulders before flexing all four arms. The muscles along them tightened and swelled visibly.
A cruel grin spread across his face. "Oh great, a bunch of weaklings." He clenched his fists. "I'll crush all of you."
"Wait, isn't he Buzzkill... the berserker?" a private said in fear as he dropped his mandibles and stepped back.
"He's Zippy's right hand," another said in fear.
A Lance Corporal stepped in front of them, blade angled. "Don't be intimidated," he said. "We have to eliminate him no matter what."
He rushed at Buzzkill, slashing his mandibles upwards.
"It's futile..."
Buzzkill just sighed and dodged effortlessly. "Who do you think you are, weakling?"
As the Lance Corporal turned, his eyes widened. A fist landed squarely in his face. He was launched back, hitting the ground hard a few times before coming to a stop in a pool of blood.
"Oh no! Lance Corporal Lin!" a private shouted as he rushed toward him.
Buzzkill gave a menacing smirk. "If this is all you're capable of...you might as well just give your lives up without resisting."
Lieutenant Brooks walked toward Zippy at a steady pace.
Above the battlefield, Zippy hovered in the air with all four arms folded across his chest. A smug grin tugged at the corners of his mouth as he watched the fighting below.
The distance between them steadily disappeared. Then Brooks exploded forward.
The ground cracked beneath his feet as he burst into a sprint. In the next instant, he leaped into the air, both mandible blades raised for a powerful downward slash.
Zippy reacted immediately. His wings buzzed sharply as he twisted his body to the side. Brooks's blades cut through empty air where the fly had been a fraction of a second earlier.
Before Brooks could recover, Zippy counterattacked. All four arms lashed out in rapid succession.
The first punch slammed into Brooks's side. The second struck his chest. The third and fourth crashed into his torso.
Brooks was knocked from the air and slammed into the ground. Dirt and loose debris scattered as he skidded backward several paces, his armored feet scraped across the floor before finally bringing him to a stop.
For a moment, neither moved. Brooks coughed. The sharp taste of blood filled his mouth. He spat to the side and wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.
Then a slow grin spread across his face. "It's been a while since I've had a real challenge."
His eyes glinted. "But if you think that's enough to take me down...That's another story."
Zippy's smile widened, his fingers flexing . "I like you, old soldier," he said. "You're tough."
"Let's see how long you last."
"I suppose I can entertain that idea," Brooks said.
Behind the defensive line, Evelyn pressed herself against the wheeled containers, frozen in place. Her breathing came shallow and quick.
No...
Memories of her colony's destruction flooded her mind. She remembered soldiers being torn apart. Workers fleeing in panic. The screams that echoed through the tunnels as the grasshoppers swept through.
Faces flashed through her thoughts;friends, neighbors, and comrades she had watched die. Then one memory rose above the rest. The face of a grasshopper she had seen that day.
I'm scared... I don't know what to do. Where do I run?
I just have to survive...
A fly suddenly broke through the soldiers' formation and drove its fist into a private's chest. The soldier cried out as he was knocked off his feet and crashed into the ground. He tried to push himself up, but his arms gave out, and he slumped unconscious.
Evelyn's breath hitched. The fly turned toward her. For a brief moment, its eyes locked onto hers. Then it shot forward. The distance between them vanished in an instant.
"Ari, save me!" she screamed, squeezing her eyes shut and throwing her hands up in front of her face.
A blur shot between Evelyn and the charging fly. Ari's mandibles slashed downward. A split second later, its body separated in two.
Blood spattered across Evelyn's face, warm and sticky. She gasped and peeked through her fingers.
Ari was already moving. He pivoted sharply, scanning the battlefield. Shouts echoed around him as soldiers clashed with flies on all sides.
Another fly lunged at him, fists swinging wildly. Ari twisted aside on instinct. The attack swept past his shoulder, missing by inches.
His mandibles flashed. The fly's body split apart and collapsed into the dirt.
Ari didn't stop. A pair of flies dived from above. He sprang upward to meet them.
One clean swing carved through the first fly's torso. Before the second could react, Ari drove both feet into its chest.
The impact sent the insect hurtling backward. Its body slammed into the ground and skidded across the dirt.
Evelyn's eyes stayed locked on him, her eyes widening with every movement.
How can one ant move like that? He's just a lance corporal...
So how is he this strong?