We fall into a rhythm as the battle progresses. Sarah rushes forward, unleashes absolutely abhorrent levels of devastation on the termites before she falls back to gather herself. When that happens, I step in, take the hits, push back against the wall of invaders while Tiny punches their lights out and Crinis instils deep, deep fear in them.

Seriously, any survivors of this battle on the Ka'armodo side are going to need therapy. Even the lizards in control of these poor hapless creatures are pitiable; having to experience such horrors, even vicariously, must be traumatising. I hate the termites, and even then I wince when I see them rendered down into chunks. It's nauseating.

Despite our prodigious level of firepower, the constant flow of attackers doesn't stop, or even slow. I can feel them through the walls, tunnelling towards us urgently, flowing through the distant caves and rushing to engage us. I can practically smell the eagerness of the lizards as they sense the mana rolling off me and my crew of powerful tier six monsters. They know who we are and even if they suspect a trap they have no choice but to come out and try to finish us off.

After all, we've advanced so far outside the area controlled by the Colony. They've already cut off our path of retreat. They might think they're being clever, but for whatever reason I can sense their movements so clearly today. I know they're holding back their numbers. They don't want to overwhelm us and force a retreat, that would just make it all the harder to finish us off and increase the chances of the Colony rushing out to our defence. Instead, they keep the fighting hot, but not boiling, nothing we can't handle if we stretch ourselves, whilst they completely encircle us from behind.

I feel everything. I know that they've almost finished enveloping us in a sphere of termite death, one that is growing thicker and more impenetrable every passing second.

Once they believe that we can't break through, they'll rush in with everything they have, even the Ka'armodo might stick their noses out and try to take a bite of us. With us four, well, five with Sarah here, tier sixes out of the way, it'll be that much easier to complete their assassination of the Mother Tree! Everything is here to play for!

Which is exactly what I'm counting on! The fools are dancing right into my mandibles… heh heh… mu hahaha… MUAHAHAAAAHAHAHAHA!!!

Do you really think you can pull these sorts of numbers down on my head without leaving yourselves vulnerable to the attacks of the Colony?! With the Vestibule, everything is laid bare. I know that the scouts are probing your siege lines even now. Generals are marshalling their troops, reinforcements are flooding through the gate, plans are being laid. The danger I've placed us in is very real, and I feel bad for exposing Sarah without explaining myself properly, but if the bait wasn't this juicy, the lizards might not try and chomp on it!

Sure enough, they've reached out and stuffed us in their mouth, but as long as we take too long to digest, the Colony will slice open the stomach and set us free! It's an all or nothing gamble, the only type of bet I know how to make!

Come and get it termites!

Time to turn it up to eleven. Maintaining my gravity domain I direct my other mental constructs to drop the force magic and begin to operate the Omni-Elemental engine I've held ready for this moment. Ten separate consciousnesses pump the metaphorical bellows and soon a steady stream of various elements begin to flow. Weave a little of this, inject a little of that, compress it all down.

[Sarah! Swap with me!]

[Oh! Okay!]

The giant bear pulls back as I leap forward, unleashing a Void Chomp to clear space in front of me.

[Retract any tentacles Crinis. It's about to get hot!]

[Alright!]

I give a full second for my terrifying pet to withdraw her limbs, compressing the mana further before I unleash it on the world in one glorious burst.

Dragon's Breath!

A combination of gas, air and fire come together to create the ultimate flame thrower. The roar of the flames is deafening, swiftly followed by the pitiful cries of hundreds of termites as they are bathed in the superheated fire. Maintaining a spell this complex is still difficult for me but I push myself to hold it for ten solid seconds as the temperature in the tunnel swiftly rises. The flames roast a full hundred metre long section of tunnel, forcing the swarming bugs that filled it to dive under the soil or cover themselves in rock to save their lives. When I finally release the magic, I'm met with the sight of superheated rock and flame baked termites all the way back to the corner.

My brains ache after an expenditure like that and I greedily suck in more mana from the air around us to replenish my core before letting them rest for a moment. I need to manage my resources carefully. Still, that bought us a little breathing room.

[Get ready,] I warn the others.

[I can see them,] Crinis tells me.

[Give them a warm welcome.]

[Right!]

The tunnel walls around us begin to bulge and collapse as the razor sharp mandibles begin to slice through the rock. They are met instantly by a swarm of tentacles that entangle and cut them, but there are always more coming in behind. The surround is complete and now the real fight begins.

[Get ready Sarah, it doesn't stop from this point on.]

Tiny grins broadly as he cracks his knuckles. He was waiting for this all along. Dirt rains down on us as the ceiling begins to fall in and Tiny unfurls his dark wings of shadow to cover himself before a powerful surge of electricity bursts out from his fur, covering the dozens of termites descending from above in crackling electricity. With one powerful bound he leaps up; concentrating his lightning in his right fist until it becomes blindingly bright, he pulls back and then unleashes an apocalyptic uppercut.

KABOOM!

Thunder booms! Rocks crack!

His giant fist, easily the size of a car engine, detonates against the falling dirt, discharging an outlandish amount of electrical energy. The force is such that the already loose rock and soil above us, filled with freshly dug tunnels, can do nothing except collapse on our heads.

There's a brief rumble as the dirt begins to shift, then an avalanche of stone and termites rains down on us.

Tiny has such a smug grin on his face I almost want to slap him right in the face. Then it's hidden as the dirt hides him from view.

[Tiny you IDIOT!]