Chrysalis Chapter 1749 - Unwanted Developments

Previously on Chrysalis...

After evading the unsettling Priest and Beyn, Anthony ventures from the nest into the depths with Tiny, Invidia, and Crinis, intent on aiding Solant in the Colony's grueling invasion of the fifth stratum. The Colony's resources are stretched thin, fueling massive fortifications and endless military production, and Anthony hopes his intervention will alleviate the strain. Crinis sulks after being barred from hiding within him due to the toxic mana, and upon reaching the vastly expanded staging area—a dizzying hub of warehouses, barracks, and ceaseless activity funneling toward the fifth—Anthony is intercepted by the stern Legionaries led by Chyron. She confronts him about his eagerness to descend, driven partly by the agonizing Call pulling at his soul, and probes his ambitions beyond the fifth.

Morrelia realized that Commander Chyron along with the rest of the legionaries would never confess it aloud, yet the Colony's accomplishments in the fifth stratum stood out as truly astonishing. Despite countless efforts by kingdoms, empires, and alliances throughout history to achieve the same feat, every single one had ended in defeat. The challenge proved overwhelming, and the expenses were far too steep to uphold for any real headway.

Anthony and his kin might just be the sole group with the outrageous dedication needed to pull it off, and pull it off they certainly were.

Despite all their might and hidden knowledge, even the Abyssal Legion hadn't managed to fully claim the fifth. They had devised methods to survive there, set up their bases, and even punched through its barriers—feats no other force had ever pulled off—but now the ants vastly outnumbered them in that layer.

“This ant is spiraling out of control,” Chyron remarked, yanking Morrelia’s focus back to the moment.

“Anthony?” she asked for confirmation. “I mean, the target? We’d been told he–it would prove tough to monitor.”

“I honestly can’t decide if this thing is just a scatterbrained fool who stumbles around, or a sly trickster aiming to mislead us,” Tribune Aurelis grumbled. “Does it seriously think we’ll buy that it just forgot to mention heading off to assault another stratum?”

Morrelia felt quietly sure that’s precisely what occurred. From what she’d seen, Anthony tended to brush off anything that irritated him, and she was certain he viewed his Legion watchers as a nuisance. For starters, Solant had saddled him with them against his wishes. He probably saw the bargain as worthwhile for his Colony, or else he’d have ditched them entirely.

Still, all she replied was: “It won’t change anything, will it? Our mission stays the same.”

“Exactly,” Chyron agreed, her gaze steely. “The way things are going, we can bet that ant will push into the sixth stratum. It falls to us to make sure the Legion’s prepared for whenever and wherever that happens. The real issue is, how mighty will this ant become by then?”

Chyron eyed the massive ant striding ahead of them with a chilly, appraising stare, allowing Morrelia and her fellow tribune a beat to mull over her words.

What Anthony had inflicted on the Judgement Battalion was downright staggering, no doubt about it. He’d withstood an outrageous barrage of damage, let nine thousand battle-toughened Dungeon soldiers pummel him, and emerged almost unscathed. Such resilience, such recovery power, was downright ridiculous, even for a tier eight mythic.

Fortune smiled in that Anthony himself didn’t seem to grasp just how remarkable his evolution had turned out.

“Should he hit tier nine, the Legion might struggle to handle him,” Chyron whispered low, swiveling to lock eyes with her two Tribunes. “Praetorian Armour packs a punch, strong enough to clash even in the deeps, but we can’t let that ant double its strength. I’m sure it’ll shine in battling the Krath—it did so before evolving—but we must devise means to curb its XP and Level gains. I expect the pair of you to craft a plan and bring it to me the moment it’s ready.”

Morrelia and Aurelis exchanged a quick sidelong glance. They weren’t fond of one another, not by a long shot, and true teamwork between them was still scarce.

After all, they were rivals of sorts, vying for a spot on the Officer’s accelerated path, and Aurelis had made it plain he’d fight tooth and nail for it.

“Absolutely, Commander,” Aurelis declared, firing off a crisp salute before Morrelia could speak. “You’ll have our strategy on your desk by day’s end.”

Morrelia blinked in surprise. They would? Just how were they supposed to stop Anthony from charging ahead with whatever wild scheme struck his fancy? He’d spelled it out loud and clear: no one was boxing him in on his travels or actions. The only voices he’d heed were his family’s, and they sure wouldn’t urge him to hold back in the fifth.

If anything, they’d push him harder.

Morrelia knew full well that Solant had spent days coaxing Anthony to return to the fifth, eager for him to shore up the Colony’s weakening defenses.

“We’ll give it our all, Commander,” she stated resolutely, delivering her own sharp salute.

Chyron gave a nod of approval, demanding no less from them, then faced forward again to march on, the trio still shadowing the beast they’d been dispatched to slay.

If that mission had seemed a slim chance earlier, it bordered on hopeless now, and Morrelia couldn’t deny the relief washing over her at the thought. Anthony had driven home the point that five thousand Legion soldiers wouldn’t cut it to take him out. To fell him, they’d need far more firepower.

And if he evolved once more? What force could even dream of stopping him then?

Morrelia fought down a chill. Tier nine monsters were the stuff of legends for anyone versed in the Dungeon. Stuck below the fourth themselves, humans barely whispered of such entities—unattainable titans of raw might that no mortal could rival. In the lower depths, the Legion’s elite grappled with horrors like those.

Before long, Anthony might join their ranks down there.