Ants flooded through the tunnels, called to action stations by urgent pheromone messages distributed by the still under development “automated noiseless announcement system.”

If Sloan had any hair, she would be pulling it out of her carapace right now. Instead, she had to settle for tugging insistently on her antennae with her mandibles as her brain tried to spin the logistics needed for the required movements.

“It’s fine,” she said to the other council members, who stared at her, doubt plain in their eyes. “No, really. All we have to do is mount a campaign to secure this location, protect the Eldest and develop our defences, whilst simultaneously attacking into the teeth of a ravenous horde of demons on the third stratum to rescue the Queen. Simple.”

“How is any part of that simple?” Propellant scoffed. “This problem doesn’t go away or shrink into insignificance just because you pretend it’s easy. We need you in reality, Sloan.”

“Reality isn’t my friend right now.”

“Nobody is disagreeing with that. There has to be a way to turn this around. We need explosive action!”

“We need a calm, measured response,” Coolant rebutted. “If we rush we might make a critical error.”

“If we don’t rush we’re going to be too late! We don’t have time to think.”

“Both of you be quiet,” Advant said with authority, causing the two mages to subside. “Sloan has already described what we need to do, and it is simple. There has to be a defensive force left here to protect the Eldest until they complete their evolution. There also has to be an extensive force assembled and launched into the third stratum to protect the Queen and prepare for a possible demon invasion.”

They fell silent as they began to comprehend the scale of the task, and the limited amount of time at hand. It was an impossible ask.

“It could be even worse than that,” Sloan said. “If something is turning the demons rabid, then we have to consider the possibility that it may also happen to our own allies.”

If the demons within their own cities turned on them….

“I didn’t think of that,” Propellant said, looking shocked. “If that happens, this could escalate even further.”

“Which means we need to move fast. There’s too many council members here to properly manage the crises on the third stratum, so we need to divide ourselves between the two locations. I suggest that the bulk of the fighters be sent to combat the demon threat, while the crafters remain here. Obviously, one general and one soldier will need to remain on this stratum.”

“I nominate Leeroy,” Advant said.

“What?” the armour-clad Immortal burst out. “Why?”

“If an assault occurs on the Eldest while they rest, then it’s likely to be far more dangerous than just demons. We need to keep our best here for the toughest fight.”

“Well… I suppose that’s alright then.”

Advant nodded solemnly while the rest of the council gave her thankful nods. Without the chaos of the Immortals and their antics, the rescue mission could proceed much more smoothly.

“Alright then, let’s get to it. Good luck, everyone,” Sloan said. “I’ll be in the command centre down here if anyone needs me.”

The council quickly sorted themselves, and before long, a huge procession marched through the gate provided by the Mother Tree. Hundreds of thousands of the most battle hardened and highly evolved members of the Colony returned to the blazing heat of the third stratum.

All throughout the Colony, the alarm had been sounded. Reinforcements from the upper layers of the Dungeon rushed to descend in columns kilometres long, covering the vertical roads they had built in orderly rows of determined ants.

The Queen was in danger, and there wasn’t a single one of them who wouldn’t answer the call. Despite their fervour, at all levels, the Colony kept in mind the wisdom of the Eldest. It was ensured that normal operations wouldn’t be compromised, despite the grand muster.

So it was that, as the hours passed, more and more ants flooded into the third stratum. Demons gazing down from the occupied cities were confused at times, wondering if the Colony outnumbered the larvae on the plains. The great pillars on which the plate cities rested were covered in the crawling forms of the family as tens of thousands descended every hour.

At the forefront was Victor, directing traffic in the emergency command post established above the tunnel the Queen had taken down into the deeper layers.

Wills had already descended with an advance team of scouts, rushing to locate the trail of their lost parent, and once she’d found it, the massed might of the Colony would follow quickly behind.

Already, the staging ground covered several square kilometres as more and more ants arrived, were assigned to teams, and found their places. Luckily it was extremely easy to keep such a force fed out here on the demonic plains, demon larvae were… beyond plentiful.

Hunting teams swarmed throughout the lower second and third stratum, delivering an avalanche of Biomass to the army. The queens even refused to take their full quota, determined to do their part to ensure the Queen was returned.

Victor held herself in the centre of a whirlwind. Messages came and went in a blur, numbers, team allocations, supply counts, all were handled by her team as she paced back and forth waiting for the only message that truly mattered: the counting report from Wills.

It would be pointless to lead this enormous force into the tunnels without knowing where the Queen had gone, and so they waited. What they would be fighting, and where, were complete unknowns, but the general didn’t worry. With so many of her siblings gathered, and with such fervour, she would back them against any force in the Dungeon.

“Come on, Wills,” she muttered as she skittered back and forth impatiently.

She felt like a dam wall holding back a flood. The moment she gave the word, the Colony would pour into the lower levels of the third stratum like a tidal wave.

They hadn’t planned to make such a move this early, but current events demanded they act. The demons would learn to fear the Colony, or they would vanish from the Dungeon. It was as simple as that.