Chapter 1462 – Treachery of Slime

It was difficult for the Colony and the Krath to understand each other. In fact, our nature and theirs were truly incompatible. They could not understand our unity, could not imagine living with our unconditional trust. Likewise, their suspicion and competitive instinct were incomprehensible to us. Bickering, infighting, betrayal and backstabbing, it was baffling to us that they managed to get anything done at all.

It’s difficult to know for certain, but I can say with confidence that the Colony developed a level of respect for the Krath. Not for what they did, how they did it, or why, but for how effective they were at doing it. The Colony cares about getting things done, and the Krath were ruthless to a level we had never seen before, willing to sacrifice almost anything to achieve their aims.

It was a lesson we learned well.

– From the personal notes of Historiant.

Zluth was dismissed for a time, then recalled several hours later. He found a bloated, angry Chozth, sliding back and forth while her inside council watched fearfully.

It wasn’t hard to determine what had occurred, and Zluth was quite pleased. Someone was always going to pay the price for failure, even a slight one, and it hadn’t been him. A victory.

“It appears your assessment of the hunters was accurate,” Chozth burbled without preamble. “Even to the end, they blamed your cowardice for failing to capture the monster.”

Zluth’s eye almost jumped from their stalks. His cowardice? The acid within his flesh began to hiss in response to his anger.

“Why does anyone doubt the severity of what we face?” he hissed.

They faced a force of unified species, an almost unheard of union of their greatest enemies, along with this species of… ants, who seemed so well engineered to tackle the climate of the fifth and take on the challenges of adapting the environment to suit the needs of the invaders. Along with the hideous, wobbly abominations who produced the blue mana, it was clear that the threat was severe.

“I have to agree,” Chozth said, chewing furiously. “I have ordered that any who underestimate our foes are to report to the nearest blubbeast for immediate consumption.”

“Do you believe anyone will do that?”

“Of course not, but it makes them aware of the consequences,” Chozth growled. Then she eyed Zluth sideways.

“We had another scouting team report, shortly after yours, from the other side of the invasion.”

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“Did they find something interesting?” he asked, interested.

“A full Legion has taken up residence in some of the tunnels.”

Zluth sucked in air as his flesh began to visibly writhe with the strength of his anger.

“The Legion?” he hissed furiously. “Here in strength?!”