Records of Rebirth

Chapter 75 - Disorder

I had the option to fly closer to the walls to avoid them or back down to the battle so I chose the former.

I was flying close to the walls when a new tunnel opening appeared ahead and a familiar monster appeared. It was the gross bipedal monster without eyes. It stood right before a dead end where other monsters were fighting and I came to a screeching halt, doubling back immediately.

Somehow it already sensed my presence and began to chase after me like it had excellent vision.  It had to be tracking me by scent, so I flew into a tunnel that looked like it would soon collapse. It moved quickly and came so close to biting my wasp until I increased my speed, pushing my wings with all their strength at the last second to get out of its path. 

The tunnel collapsed just as I flew out, leaving the monster to fall into the path of larger monsters below, and it was swiftly trampled in the stampede.

Now hovering above, I saw a group of wasps surrounding a wolf monster that was wounded and falling to paralysis. I quickly snuck behind them and attacked, confusing the other wasps which would give it enough leeway to flee. 

The other wasps immediately came after me but I managed to shake them loose in one of the tunnels. However on my return, I began to see this occurring more and more.

A hunter wasp would get taken down by a monster only for more to appear in its defence to take it down.

Near me, some hairy yellow spiders were swarming a group of builder wasps when more hunter wasps came to their defence and were able to get it free. 

A scorpion creature was sent spiralling down below after taking a number of stings, and other monsters kept getting taken down by the increasing number of wasps. I had to keep moving because I knew there was no way to save them all, when even I was not safe.

Gradually the wasps had begun to regain their momentum, the escaped monsters were few to begin with and inexperienced at fighting together which made for many casualties. 

The massive centipede was still going strong, however, the number of wasps kept increasing and it was soon surrounded again. 

The tentacled monster was also still attacking, but even its numerous tails couldn't catch all the wasps - and some creatures had started to retreat towards the bottom of the hive, breaking away for the exit. 

The furious ape monster on the other hand was finally drained of its strength after numerous stings and eventually died. 

But before long, there was a loud rumble from above the chasm. I looked up in anticipation and immediately perked up.

It was the arrival of more monsters from the host chambers that were now rushing over, eager to join the fight. 

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Hunting wasps were precise and deadly, and although Carrier wasps were weak, when a number of them gathered, they could do a lot of damage together. 

Builder wasps were not so bright, but they were much harder to take down. 

Yet, despite their varied strengths, every single wasp quaked at the slew of creatures heading in their direction.

Wolf monsters, Furious apes, Spiked scorpions, Flying monsters spewing out noxious venom were wreaking havoc everywhere. The Hunter wasps were struggling to give commands before getting overwhelmed by the frenzy. Hordes of beasts had woken, each threatening to destroy the hive in all-out war. 

I was overwhelmed with happiness as I watched the chaos from the shadows. 

The newly arrived creatures faced formation after formation of wasps in a chaotic battle that left many harmed. Without any pause to consider if they contained larvae or not, they were immediately set upon by the wasps, which I found odd. I would understand if they were breaking out from unexpected places like the others, but they were not.

However, now that the creatures were the ones with a numbers advantage, they saw a chance of success, which encouraged the ones that were previously hurt to return to fight, further boosting the strength of my rebel forces. 

The odds of battle were once again optimistic, so I decided to lend my assistance, not allowing the wasps any chance to make a comeback.

I darted through the air blending in with the other wasps to reach their formation, before breaking away to attack those nearest to me with paralysis stings. As more wasps succumbed to my attacks their formations were no longer effective. 

The creatures immediately swept through them, not missing the opportunity to kill those wasps that were weaker and more confused. 

While observing the battle from above, I was tempted to attack the wasps myself, but coordination was their biggest strength and direct frontal attack wouldn't do me any good. And besides, breaking up their formations was key to ensure they were unable to display their full strength and it was also the safest approach for me to do the most damage to their ranks.

So I watched everything from the background, waiting for the right opportunity to attack, and then disappearing into the chaos. I was having way too much fun as I felt like a mastermind, pulling the strings from the shadows, controlling everything from a distance, unknown to anyone. 

I continued observing the battle for weak points I could probe, throwing off the creatures that came close to attack me by leading them to battle with other wasps. 

There were casualties on both sides, but it leaned more for the wasps - and now, they seem to be lacking a noticeable chunk of their fighting force and were being suppressed from all sides. 

I was preparing to make another sneak attack when I became aware of two presences flying towards me, and from their speed they had to be hunting wasps. 

The heck? Did they suspect me? Did I act too brazenly?

To throw off their suspicion I immediately stung the monster closest to me, causing it to collapse and get swallowed inside the creature horde. Yet, it was not enough to convince the wasps to stay away as they confronted me. 

They were buzzing inquisitive commands which buffered my wasp's antennae with sound waves. I did not understand a word but somehow got the general gist of it. 

Why was I not defending the hive? Was what I understood, but I couldn't reply as it was just buzzing to me.

So, I pretended to be busy fighting the nearest creature until one of the them went away. The other however, continued to hover some distance away, its attention focused on me. 

I could feel its cold gaze on me and I scoffed in my mind. 

'Hmph, do you think I'm afraid of you? I'm the mastermind, I don't need to attack you directly. If I did attack, you won't even know how you died!'

To get clear of it, I plunged down into the midst of battle, and quietly slipped out through a tunnel towards the bottom of the hive. 

I was flying low when I glimpsed something in the periphery and sighed - It seemed I was unable to shake off my follower.

Below the hive was misty and dark, I felt that familiar dampness in the air and knew I was close to the exit. Although I was followed by a hunter wasp, if I could reach the exit and get clear, there was nothing it could do - as a wasp it would not leave the hive to chase another while there was such a crisis, not even to pursue a traitor. 

With that thought, I increased my speed to outdo my pursuer, however when I was close to the exit, I found it was blocked by many ongoing battles.

There were more wasps here, fighting off the host creatures that threatened to escape. It would be a different story if I got pursued by a group of wasps, so I had to be extra cautious. 

The hunting wasp that was following me, however, moved to attack me and I grew annoyed with it so, I rushed into the midst of the battles, evading poison, fangs, and claws to draw nearer to the exit. 

The wasp chasing me also plunged into battle, expertly dodging the fighting creatures to reach me. I stabbed a couple of wasps in my flight path with my stinger, in hopes that their fallen bodies would deter it but with no luck - it just made it more persistent and added another wasp to the chase. 

In the midst of the confusion and the bloody battle of creatures, I evaded several severed limbs, ruthlessly dealt attacks, and protected myself from retaliation all while being pursued, to bring me to the edge of escape. And when I finally got there, I wished I didn't.

Through the cold air and mist of the exit, I saw the landscape of the forest but approaching fast was a dense cloud of buzzing creatures swarming towards the hive with speed.

The hunting squadron had returned - and leading them at the forefront was the terrifying wasp I encountered in the crumbling maze.