Her Majesty's Swarm

The Battle of the Aryl River

I stood at the top of a hill with Sérignan at my side, overlooking our surroundings. Before us was a large river. I had already known it would be here, but seeing it filled me with anxiety.
In the game, rivers were considered nigh-impassable terrain. There was no direct way of crossing one under normal circumstances. Most factions,
including the Arachnea, had very few units capable of swimming. Some aquatic factions could cross rivers, yes, and the Gregoria faction could produce Sea Serpents capable of swimming, but they were in the minority.
Whatever the case, though, the Swarm couldn’t swim across. The fastest way to the opposite side would be over a bridge, but the Swarms I had sent ahead on recon had reported that all the bridges in the area were tightly guarded.
I could try to muster an attack and push through, but our enemy was adapting to us and had employed a number of mages and ballistas. Mages in particular were a real nuisance.
The Arachnea didn’t have a unit that matched up well against spellcasters,
so I couldn’t think of a good way to get past them. They were weak to melee combat, which meant the enemy would likely send loads of footmen our way to keep us from reaching them.
If I could just unlock more units, I could use Swarms capable of ranged attacks, but I had nothing of the sort at the moment. There was no point in bemoaning what I lacked, but the fact remained that having more ranged units would have made everything go smoother.
Without them, I’d have to push through a heavily defended bridge with sheer numbers. It was the strategy that required the least amount of thought,
and it was also the least refined. Naturally, it would cause our side a great number of casualties, and I didn’t want to subject my cute little babies to that.
It was time to put on my thinking cap and come up with another tactic.
“Worker Swarm.” “What is it, Your Majesty?” One of the Worker Swarms turned toward me and tilted its head.
“We need a way to cross the river. Can you make it happen?” “With enough time, it can be done.” “I’ll make sure you have plenty of time. I want you to prepare us a path to cross the river a little ways upstream from here. Understood?” “By your will, Your Majesty.” Immediately, it began walking upstream with its fellow Worker Swarms in tow.
The more of them working together, the faster the construction process would go. For the time being, twenty Worker Swarms could handle the job.
“All remaining Worker Swarms, begin building siege weapons. I need four Bone Trebuchets.” Siege weapons required gold to unlock, so I could only make the most basic ones. A Bone Trebuchet was, as its name implied, a contraption that launched the bones of the dead. It was capable of firing long distances but dealt little damage. However, it would be more than enough to harass the enemy.
“Ripper Swarms, begin your charge.” Once the Bone Trebuchets were complete and had begun firing bones at the enemy, I ordered the Ripper Swarms to advance. They would flood the bridge and crash into the soldiers like a mighty tidal wave.
During the conquest of the loess mountain range, we’d caught the enemy off guard and managed to power our way through. But this time the enemy was cautious and well-prepared, and the river prevented me from using Digger Swarms. It was a difficult position, and thus I needed my Ripper Swarms to work extra hard. Even if it meant rushing to their deaths.
I had mourned the death of a single unit, and now I would be responsible for many, many more. This world must truly hate us... and me especially so.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t have forced me to make such cold, pragmatic choices.
“Ballistas, fire!” cried out the enemy commander.
Thick bolts were fired in quick succession and ran through a number of Ripper Swarms. Their brethren merely stepped over their corpses, rushing to meet the enemy. Since they were all linked by the collective consciousness,
they didn’t fear death. They strode forward, leaving a mountain of corpses behind them, like living, breathing meat grinders.
I couldn’t help but feel bad for the ones that’d fallen, but it was a necessary sacrifice.
“Prepare your spell attacks!” Those despicable mages again. As they chanted their spells, fireballs rained down on the bridge, setting it aflame and burning the Ripper Swarms alive. But even so, their rush didn’t stop. My lovelies were earnest. Ripper Swarms would chase their foes to the depths of hell, not stopping until their fangs reached flesh. They were endlessly faithful and believed in me with all they had.
My precious, adorable insects.
The enemy had 50,000 men, while we numbered 150,000. If this battle lasted much longer, they would be the first to fall, but I didn’t want to win if it meant reducing my Swarms to lifeless husks. My current strategy was an absolutely brain-dead one, and I was far too concerned for my Swarms’ wellbeing.
As that thought crossed my mind, the sixth formation of Ripper Swarms reached the other side of the bridge. They swung their scythes, lopping off the heads of the heavy infantry, severing their limbs, and bisecting them at the torsos.
“Heavy infantry! Fight back!” The enemy had about a thousand heavy infantry, and the rest were just pikemen. If the Ripper Swarms could just break through the heavies, the rest would be easy pickings.
“Rrngh!” But the heavy infantry were tough nuts to crack. Maluk had apparently learned from its previous failures and had equipped their men with heavy weapons, like claymores and halberds, that were effective against the Swarms. The Ripper Swarms weren’t exactly losing, but whenever they missed, they had their fangs chipped off, their scythes broken, or their heads crushed in.
“Pesky humans,” I muttered to myself as I watched the battle unfold.
“Your Majesty, the enemy is trying to sink the bridge,” said Sérignan.
I’d already noticed that before she said it, though, thanks to the collective.
The enemy was firing explosive spells and catapulting rocks at the stone bridge. They had drawn more than enough Swarms in, so they intended to topple the bridge and cut off our aisle of retreat, then finish them off. It was a simple, predictable maneuver. Apparently, they still thought we were nothing but a group of unintelligent monsters.
“Let them sink it, if they wish. The others have already finished.” You see, our own bridge had just been completed.
Without anyone noticing, the Worker Swarms had built a bridge upstream. It was made from stones and bonded together with the Swarms’ sticky saliva. All Ripper Swarms not engaged in battle were already using that bridge to cross over to the other bank.
This way of building a bridge was actually possible even in the game.
“The enemy has landed on our side!” “What the hell?! They made a bridge?!” This reckless attack on their bridge was simply a diversion. I wanted to fool them into thinking we couldn’t produce a bridge of our own so they would focus their efforts on holding back this assault. I felt bad for the Ripper Swarms that had lost their lives in the endeavor, but it had all worked out.
When getting past an obstacle, you should always do so as far away from your enemy as possible. Inspired by that tried-and-true strategy, I took a gamble and ordered my Swarms to form a bridge over the Aryl River. Now,
tens of thousands of Ripper Swarms had crossed the river untouched by the enemy and were closing in on them.
The Kingdom’s soldiers could only flinch in the face of our attack. It was all too apparent how panicked the enemy was, which was awfully amusing to watch. Now we just had to stomp them out.
But the real party was just getting started.