Chapter One-Hundred Seventy-Two

Chapter One-Hundred Seventy-Two

As enlightening as the autopsy turned out to be, theres still a lot of questions to be answered, and not just about the weird invader. Well, not directly about it. I still dont know who sent it, why, or from where. It seems like the Southwood doesnt know, either.

I feel like this is a good example of the difference in quality of scouting with a Marshal and without. Im a bit tempted to get Poe up here to organize a few of my own avian expeditions, but I dont think my birbs will enjoy flying in the cold like that. Besides, they dont call it the Green Sea just because it sounds cool. From the air, its just a dense canopy from horizon to horizon, though theres quite a bit of white on it right now, too. The main point is: birds just arent going to cut it to get information on whats happening on the ground.

Thankfully, I have other options for scouts. I upgrade the wolf spawner a bit to up the spawn rate, so Leo should be getting enough wolves to send a few out to explore to the north. If we ever want to get some kind of counter-offensive going, well need to know where to actually go off to and offend.

Much as Id like to let Teemo stick around and try to learn more with the Stag, I probably should get him home. The stopgap with Poe worked well enough, but its definitely a bandaid on something that will require stitches: better than nothing, but not an actual solution.

My own voice speaks up from atop Leos head, preferring to get to look the Stag in the eyes when talking together.

Well, seems like the Boss is ready for me to come home. Honey will get first dibs on whatever seeds and such your expeditions bring back, and in exchange, the Boss will do his best to help deal with whatevers going on with those invaders.

The Stag nods. We have an accord, then. Is there anything else my Lord can offer in return? A few handfuls of seeds seems hardly enough to offer if you can truly fight off this threat.

Oh, that actually reminds me.

Teemo tilts his head as I explain my idea to him, and nods when he realizes where Im going with it. Actually, what rooms do you have access to? The Boss knows of at least one he doesnt have, so hes wondering if theres a way to trade rooms or something.

The Stag looks a bit surprised at that, but listens to his own dungeon before answering. With each passing year, more options will open up for your dungeon. My Lord has access to everything, in theory. While something like a magma forge is available to him, it would take a lot of effort for him to actually utilize it. My Lord has few rooms actually built, as he has little use for them. To gain access to a new building yourself, you will either need to be patient, or utilize a scion.

Im pretty sure bugs dont do well in the cold because of the open nature of their circulation, though their size definitely plays a part, too. Stagnant stuff freezes a lot easier than moving. But I also think thats partially why poison works so well on them, too. It might just be that bugs back home are small, so a lethal dose is small, too, but the various sprays seem to work really quickly, and I think its because of the open layout of their insides.

In a human, a poison has to follow the veins to get where it wants to go. In a bug, it can just diffuse through everything more or less all at once. Im hoping that will mean Queen can whip up some aerosol alchemical things and make fights with these invaders nice and short.

I also should consider maxing out the anthill, too. The Lava Labyrinth is looking like a big tangled mess, which is exactly what I was hoping itd be. I even made sure to put the elevation changes in places that would prevent just being able to follow a wall to get to the prize. Or prizes, theres going to be a lot of things to entice delvers. Im going to be spending a bit of mana to reorganize the nodes in there, so the best stuff is deeper in. Ill leave one or two of the mythril and orichalcum nodes more towards the entrance, but theyre going to be in sections I can easily reroute with the moving walls and other options, so even those wont be simple to get.

Yeah, I should max the anthill and give it the chance to populate the labyrinth with whatever the new ant is. If it follows the pattern of the last two, the planned ant enclave will claim some or all of the ones that exist and theyll start actually making the enclave. Itll take a bit of time to let them build up the numbers for that.

I spend the mana to max it out, and wait with bated breath to see what I get. One of the smaller ant holes gets widened from the inside, and I see my new ant isnt a giant like the tunnelbores, which is a relief. Amazons antazons(?) might have trouble literally fitting in down here.

As it makes its entrance, it looks sleek, almost spindly, despite the glowing grooves of magma I can see at the seams in its carapace. Its rather low-slung, making me think more of a wind scorpion than an ant, though the head looks like a normal ant head. It has two crude graspers on the frontmost set of legs. Its not as ugly as the aranea are, but this magmyrm, as the little window calls it, isnt exactly going to be winning any beauty contests. Or maybe it will. Maybe this is the Fabio of magmyrms, I dunno.

Unlike the ratling or aranea, this one doesnt seem like it has anything in specific in mind as it wanders the labyrinth. I watch it as my mind wanders to the information the Stag shared about getting new rooms. Do any of my scions have the spare time to try to pick up some kind of metalcrafting title in Violets metalworks? Most of my scions I can dismiss pretty easily, as just about everyone is rather busy with their projects, or just wouldnt fit in the small room (sorry Tiny).

In fact, I think I only have two who could even remotely have the time for it, though Im not certain theyll have the inclination. One is Fluffles, who may not have the time for it, after all. Hes been trying to train a lot more recently, and I think hes gotten to a point where he doesnt feel like hes wasting my mana when he uses it anymore. Still, it cant hurt to suggest it to him. Worst he can do is say no.

The other would be Jello. While shes definitely been keeping herself busy with keeping the tunnels clear, they wouldnt suffer if she picked up a hobby. Im not sure she has the temperament for it, but she does like trying new things.

I mentally shrug and ask Violet for permission for my scions to use her metalworks, and she readily accepts. I think shes actually happy to have something to potentially teach me, which is kind of adorable. I tap the bonds with the suggestion to give metalworking a shot, and it seems like both Fluffles and Jello are willing to at least check it out. I expect Ill probably need a new scion before I get a metalworks, or maybe hope the system or whatever it is will give it to me for my birthday.