But sothing felt missing.
He frowned, adjusting the glasses slightly on his nose.
"Rodion, you know what?" he whispered, careful not to disturb the sleeping Elowen beside him.
"Maybe… maybe I should get another soldier ant out there, just in case. You know, in case we co across so trouble."
Mikhailis’s eyes widened slightly, his lips curling into a grin.
"Yes! Exactly! Is there anything wrong with that? If my wifey wasn’t sleeping in my arms, I’d be jumping up and down right now because of these ants!" He kept his voice low, the excitent obvious.
Mikhailis kept his eyes on the display, the thrill of anticipation bubbling inside him as he watched the first ant sneak into the kitchen area. The view shifted slightly as the ant crawled along the floor, hugging the wall to stay out of sight.
And that’s when Mikhailis saw them—two figures, barely illuminated by the dim light of the kitchen’s candle.
A cook, dressed in a white tunic, was standing there, his back against the kitchen table, his arms wrapped around soone else—a guard, her armor partially unbuckled, her helt placed carelessly on the counter beside them. They were kissing, their faces flushed, completely unaware of their tiny observer.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" Mikhailis whispered, a grin spreading across his face.
"Getting a little cozy, aren’t we?"
The ant stayed still, watching the couple as they kissed, the cook’s hand moving to the back of the guard’s head, pulling her closer. Mikhailis chuckled, shaking his head.
"How dirty. I guess between a woman and a man, there’s always bound to be so sort of chemistry." He smirked.
Rodion’s voice cut through his thoughts, a hint of disapproval in the AI’s tone.
Mikhailis sighed dramatically, though the grin remained on his face.
"Fine, fine. We’ll continue. You really know how to spoil my fun, Rodion."
Mikhailis adjusted his glasses, watching as a second screen appeared beside the first. The second ant approached the kitchen area from the opposite side, its view showing the flickering glow of the candle and the couple still caught up in each other.
"Alright, let’s get moving," Mikhailis muttered. He focused on the display, directing both ants to leave the kitchen behind. He had barely managed to calm himself, keeping his focus away from the couple’s intimate mont. As the ants moved forward, they passed by a wooden table, and Mikhailis’s eyes widened slightly.
"Rodion, look at that," he whispered, pointing at the two loafs of bread sitting on the table, along with a few leftovers—a half-eaten piece of cheese, so dried at.
"Exactly. This is perfect for the colony." Mikhailis grinned.
"Send the ssage to the workers, would you? Let’s get them to pick up the bread and bring it back to the nest. Silently, of course."
Mikhailis watched as the ants continued their adventure, moving through the castle. They crept through hallways, under furniture, through open doors. The castle was massive, and Mikhailis found himself fascinated by how much there was to explore. He watched as the ants entered a large dining hall, the chairs lined up neatly, the long table set with silverware and goblets.
The view shifted as the ants moved, one of them crawling up the side of a cabinet, the other staying low to the ground. They continued mapping the castle, and Mikhailis felt a sense of satisfaction as the map filled in on his display—room by room, corridor by corridor.
Mikhailis nodded, his eyes glued to the display as the ants made their way outside. The garden was lush, the morning sun casting long shadows over the flower beds. The ants moved through the grass, and Mikhailis watched as they passed a gardener, who was busy trimming a bush, completely oblivious to the tiny intruders.
"Almost there…" Mikhailis whispered, his eyes wide with excitent.
Mikhailis let out a breath, leaning back into the pillows, a grin spreading across his face.
"Rodion, we did it. We mapped the entire place. This is amazing."
"Hey, whatever works, right?" Mikhailis smirked.
Suddenly, the display flickered, and a new alert appeared on his screen. Mikhailis frowned, leaning forward.
"What’s this?" he muttered.
Mikhailis’s eyes widened, his heart skipping a beat.
"A hole? In the nest?"
The display shifted, showing a live feed of Chamber Three. Mikhailis squinted, and then he saw it—a small hole in the wall of the chamber, the earth crumbling around it. And then, sothing moved—a small, dark shape, barely visible.
A mouse.
Mikhailis felt a grin spread across his face, his eyes lighting up with excitent.
"Oh, this is perfect."
Rodion’s voice carried a note of exasperation.
Mikhailis chuckled, nodding.
"You know too well, Rodion. I want to watch the fight live. Co on, let’s see what these soldier ants can do."
The display shifted again, showing the two soldier ants approaching the hole, their antennae twitching. The mouse was sniffing around, its whiskers twitching, its small eyes darting back and forth.
A list of skills appeared on the screen, and Mikhailis’s eyes widened with excitent.
"Whoa, look at that…" he whispered.
The skills were simple—basic physical attacks like Bite, Pincer Strike, Defensive Coil. But it was enough to make Mikhailis feel like he was playing a monster ga, the kind he used to love back in Ruslania.
"Rodion, this is incredible. I feel like I’m playing a monster taming ga!"
Mikhailis grinned, his excitent growing.
"Alright, let’s do this. I’ll handle the commands. Let’s start with Pincer Strike—both ants, simultaneously. We’ll go for its hind legs first."
The soldier ants moved in unison, their pincers raised as they approached the mouse. The mouse’s ears twitched, and it turned, its small eyes widening as it spotted the approaching ants. It let out a squeak, its body tensing, but the ants were already in position.
"Now!" Mikhailis commanded, his eyes glued to the display.
The soldier ants lunged forward, their pincers clamping down on the mouse’s hind legs. The mouse squealed, trying to pull away, but the ants held firm, their bodies bracing against the mouse’s frantic movents.
"Good, good… Now, Defensive Coil! Wrap around its legs, keep it from moving."
One of the ants moved quickly, circling around the mouse’s legs, its body coiling tightly around them. The mouse struggled, its small body writhing, but it couldn’t break free. The other ant moved in, its pincers clamping down on the mouse’s tail, holding it in place.
Mikhailis felt his heart pounding, his eyes wide with excitent.
"This is it… Finish it off with Bite! Go for the neck!"
The soldier ants moved in unison, their mandibles snapping open as they lunged forward. The mouse let out one last squeal before the ants’ jaws closed around its neck, the sound echoing through the chamber.
Mikhailis watched, his breath caught in his throat, as the mouse went still, its body slumping to the ground. The ants held their position for a mont, then slowly released their grip, their antennae twitching as they confird the kill.
Mikhailis let out a breath, leaning back into the pillows, a grin spreading across his face.
"We did it, Rodion. We actually did it."
Mikhailis sighed, glancing over at Elowen, who was still sleeping peacefully beside him. He reached over, brushing a strand of hair away from her face, his expression softening.
"Yeah, you’re right. It’s been a long day." He leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to Elowen’s forehead, his voice barely above a whisper.
"We can continue playing ant empire tomorrow, I guess."
He settled back into the bed, his eyes closing as he let out a tired sigh. The excitent of the day still lingered, but the exhaustion was finally catching up to him. As he drifted off to sleep, he could still feel the connection to his ants, the sense of control and power that ca with it.
And he couldn’t wait to see what tomorrow would bring.
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