Ant-run mines from rival spider city-states collide when Great Nest’s prospecting undermines Seven Trees’ galleries, sparking brutal ant battles. Surging metals demand from the Messenger’s designs fractures diplomacy, and Great Nest issues an ultimatum, calling dissenters heretics. Dedicated ant armies seize contested sites; thousands of insects die, though no spiders do.

Portia assesses the escalation and seeks guidance at Temple. The Messenger’s unusually clear reply commands that any and all steps be taken to fulfill Her plan, reinforcing Great Nest’s hard line and broadcasting divine sanction to allies and enemies alike. Suspicion spreads within and between cities as spying and ideology polarize the world.

In Seven Trees, Fabian survives the gutters, builds influence through three fallen matriarchs, and recruits abandoned males skilled in chemical architecture. Bianca becomes a political advisor as Great Nest demands broader resources. Seven Trees’ first counterattack is crushed, and Great Nest warns surrender or subjugation.

Bianca convinces Seven Trees’ leaders to hear Fabian. He requests only a few hundred ants and stages a two-phase plan: trap the invaders’ scouts, capture specimens, and reprogram his force in the field. He disperses single infiltrators into the enemy column using scent-coded instructions from upwind, despite Bianca’s skepticism.

Fabian’s agents blend with Great Nest’s ants, then assassinate the spider overseers, collapsing command. With rapidly updated chemical orders, his infiltrators unravel the column from within, outpacing preset defenses. The Great Nest force disintegrates with minimal losses to Fabian’s side, marking a decisive tactical innovation.

Returning triumphant, Fabian refuses to divulge his method and sets terms: legal protection for males, the right to form a peer house, and a voice in governance. Seven Trees’ leaders, torn between tradition and survival, debate his demands as they prepare their answer.