Chapter 353 Go Time
With the Wizard Lizard and its collection of friendly mage slaves occupied with drenching the gigantic croc in their midst with mana, now seems like the perfect time to rip into the horde. Claws crossed they won't be able to divert their attention towards us whilst engaged in this sort of activity.
[Let's hit 'em hard!] I roared at my pets and opened up the condensed water cannon I'd been working on.
The super dense beam of water blasted out and drilled into the back of a particularly annoying looking giant centipede before I turned the spell to the side and begin scything through the ranks of monsters before me. With an excited grin on his face, Tiny climbed to his feet and thrust his hands forward, unleashing his lightning to the limit.
At the same time, Crinis unleashed her tentacles, allowing the curled limbs to emerge from the very shadows of the monsters before us, grasping them tightly and beginning to rend them apart before they even realised they were under attack.
Gweheheheh!
Yesssssss. Feel our power! Behold our might! Surprise attack right in the commercial district! How you like them apples? Huh!? Bet you don't like it much! You'll regret attacking my colony!
Cackling to myself I continued to play the concentrated beam of water on the monsters before me, sweeping it back and forth in slow arcs that scythe down the monsters in front of us. Spray fountained into the air, covering monsters as far as fifty metres away in droplets of water that left them vulnerable to the oncoming lightning onslaught.
There was something cathartic about unleashing this level of mayhem against an enemy so much larger and more powerful than myself. I couldn't say it was, but a part of me rejoiced in this risk taking behaviour. Exposing myself to danger was becoming habit forming.
At least Tiny was happy...
And he was. As much as the giant bat-faced ape loved to get his fists on the enemy, he also enjoyed a good roasting from time to time. It wasn't quite as satisfying for him, but nevertheless he gained a great deal of joy from it. For her part, Crinis was eerily silent, almost quivering with barely concealed rage as she unleashed her dark arts upon the hapless foes. So numerous were her tentacles that I was forced to try and avoid severing them with my water cannon and direct the spray away.
Our onslaught was so rapid and overwhelming the monsters didn't know how to respond at first, milling about in confusion, turning this way and that, seemingly devoid of direction. And perhaps they were! If the big croc and the Kaarmodo are busy doing the mana thing, then regardless which of them is responsible for voodoo'ing these monsters into line, they aren't getting directions from either of them right now!
This is the time to strike!
[Let's go loud! Tiny, once you're out of electricity, get your fists in there. Try to cover us Crinis, I'm going in!]
Tiny's grin grew so wide every one of his fangs was revealed as he doubled his efforts to output his lightning mana as fast as possible. We might be able to harvest some serious xp if the response is going to be this slow!
I started to step forward whilst maintaining my concentration on the spell. The effective range on the water cannon wasn't as much as I'd like and if I wanted to keep cutting through the monsters then I needed to close the distance. The first targets of our assault were already beyond saving, we need to press forward, deeper into the belly of the beast in order to find more victims.
And that's exactly what we did, with Crinis staying slightly behind to position for our escape, we stepped into the mass of monsters until a wide semi-circle of carnage had been created before us. The notifications of the bushy bearded one rang constantly in my mind and I pushed them to one side. No need to get distracted by that miscellaneous noise, I'll check my status after we get out.
At this point the monsters began to turn and push back into us. The lethargy was gradually falling away from them and being replaced with the more customary aggression and rage as the light returned to their eyes. Growls and roars began to fill the air along with the clicking of mandibles and stomping of feet.
I noticed the change immediately and snapped my mana sense back on. It still seems as if the Kaarmodo is still performing its grand working, the mana continues to flood toward the centre of the horde. The area around here is going to be dead mana-wise after this is done.
I took a moment to consider my options. The monsters are beginning to fight back, which is bad, but the Kaarmodo is still distracted, which is good, the further we push forward the more vulnerable we'll be, which is bad, but the more we push in the more damage we can inflict, which is good.
Gah!
[Keep swinging Tiny! We'll hit 'em for two more minutes and then skedaddle!] I hollered to my pets.
Tiny roared and started throwing his fists around with wild abandon, fresh out of electricity with which to aim at his opponents. Bellowing with anger, the monsters around him turned to engage, trying to bite, claw and beat the giant ape into submission. Reluctantly I let my spell fade in order to relieve the pressure on my sub-brains. After maintaining the water water mana construct and pumping out condensed mana for so long they were reaching their limits.
I did get them to keep the water mana construct formed, just in case.
With the jet of piercing water no longer holding them back, the monsters before us started to collapse towards me, baring their fangs at Crinis and I. Settle down monsters, you're about to catch these (face) hands.
Receive the Severing Bite of my Justice!
CHOMP!
We were in deep now, and getting deeper. More and more monsters were responding to our aggression and piling into the melee that had developed. Crinis did her best to keep us from being surrounded, but as time went on she was forced to dedicate more tentacles to defending herself as foes swarmed around her.
Things were getting dicey. As an evolved rabbit attempted to kick my head in, sending shockwaves through my carapace that were absorbed by my inner plating, I thought that perhaps we were in a little too deep. I twisted my body to avoid the claws of Dragon Wolf hound and severed the rabbit's legs, I decided it was time to enact our exit strategy.
[Tiny! Scream!] I shouted.
Immediately the giant ape through his head back and unleashed his sonic scream. The mind numbing blast of sound exploded outwards, stunning everything within earshot and making my head ring.
[Break free! Time to get out of here!]
Following my own advice, I stumbled only a little due to the stun before I managed to shake off both the effects and the monsters hanging onto me. Satisfied with the havoc caused and the damage inflicted, Tiny and I began to run for the hills.
That's when the magic fence popped up.
-x-X-x-
I'm not a fan of magic fences at the best of times, but when I'm trying to break out of an encircling horde of thousands of monsters I really don't want to see one. So my first thought when I saw a wall of golden light appear in front of me was 'oh plops'.
Because it didn't take a genius to realise who was responsible for this sudden and inconvenient impediment. Sure enough, to either side of me, two Setsulah mage servants had appeared, seemingly from thin air.
Aren't you guys supposed to be somewhere else right now?! Why the heck are you here?!
My feet scrambled to halt my momentum as I tumbled forwards but ultimately I failed to stop in time.
BAM!
I slammed into the barrier of flowing light, the shock of the impact reverberating throughout my exo-skeleton. That frickin' hurt! But they stuffed up this time, the two mages are much closer than they were last time. I brushed off the impact and focused my eyes on the two of them. Robed and hooded as always, there was very little I could make out of their bodies, but they were close. Each not even ten metres from me.
I don't know if this is a trap or if they're just taking advantage of the situation, but I'll happily take another one of these guys down, even if it means having to ride the lightning again.
Dash!
Activating my dash skill I streak forward at high speed, my mandibles open wide, ready to rend and tear at the mage to my right. Before I chomp down a tingle from my antennae warns me something is coming. I slam on the brakes, my legs scrabbling to halt my momentum just as another barrier sprung into existence, shielding my target behind a protective wall of golden light.
Dammit!
What the heck is going on?!
Out the corner of my eyes I can see that two more of the mage slaves have appeared, their barriers joining together with the first just in front of the first two mages, protecting them from my wrath. I don't like this. Not one bit!
Indecision and uneasiness struck me in that moment. What should I do? Dig under? Run back? What if more of them are coming, or are already there? Will my acid break through?
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Once again the air around me rumbled at the power of that voice and, in the back of my mind, I noted that the suffocating aura that rolled off Momma Croc grew stronger, ever so slightly. And then again.
She's coming!
Oh nonononononoNONONONO.
I'm NOT going down here like this!
I refuse to end my second life as Croca plops. Refuse! I'd rather be fed to a nest of claw-centipedes. I'd rather be melted down and eaten by an acid slug. Heck, I'd prefer to be chewed up by a stupid thorn lizard than get eaten by Garralosh!
I spun in place, expertly presenting my business district towards the first barrier.
POW! POW! POW! POW!
As I spun I unleashed my acid of perpetual prosperity which splashed into the barrier and adhered to it, sizzling as it began to eat away at the mana.
[Tiny! Get over here buddy!]
Unfortunately Tiny had been caught inside the barrier with me, so I called him to join me.
[Crinis! Any chance you can tenderise any of these mage slaves?!]
Since she'd been hanging back, Crinis hadn't been trapped with us, but she still had plenty of monsters to deal with, even if they were temporarily stunned for a moment.
[I'm trying, Master!] she cried. [There is something blocking me!]
I cursed. They must have planned ahead after seeing how Crinis operated in order to prevent her getting a tentacle on these mages. Makes sense, I don't think the big lizard wants to risk any more of them and wouldn't send them out if he thought they'd be separated into bite size chunks.
My acid is still bubbling away at the barrier but it's taking its sweet time. Were they able to counter the effects of the acid in some way?
I'm not a fan of this, not a fan at all.
With a flash another barrier was formed behind me, completing the encirclement. Most frustrating of all, every one of the six Setsulah used to create the cage of light walls was on the outside of it. Cowards! How dare they entrap me like this?! What did I ever do to them?! Other than kill one of them that time...
What's happening now?
To my shock and surprise, the combined barriers began to slowly extend upwards. Looks like they are intent on creating a complete cage! I checked on the progress of my acid, but it wasn't working fast enough for my taste. They must have done something to resist its effects, the crafty sods.
However, they didn't count on one thing.
[Tiny! Grab me and jump out of here!]
[Raaaaah!]
Not needing to be told twice, Tiny grabbed me up in his arms and threw me onto his back where I clung with all the strength my claws could manage. As the barrier continued to close overhead and the oppressive aura of Garralosh pressed down on us, Tiny took two running steps and exploded forth.
He pushed every fibre of his bunched leg muscles to the limit and burst into the air.
Holy smokes!
The air whistled over my carapace, pushing my antennae back against my head and driving the micro hairs on my face nuts.
I knew Tiny had some jumping power, I'd seen him leap high often enough, but being carried by him was a very different experience!
We soared through the air and out of the still forming cage, the light barrier melding shut beneath Tiny's feet.
THUD!
We slammed into the ground and only my grip skill kept me from falling flat on my face. Haha! Stupid mages! You think you can trap us that easy?
Oh snap!
No sooner did we soar out of the barrier and land heavily than fire began erupting around us! The Setsulah Mage servants had dropped the light barrier the moment we'd escaped and now attempted to BBQ what they had failed to contain.
BOOM!
Yeeouch! That was close! Fireballs began flying through the air accompanied by jets of flame and arcing balls of flaming death that rained down from above.
Isn't this a little excessive?!
I clung onto Tiny for dear life as he began to shift and sway, displaying the full extent of his fancy feet. With a grace that belied his size, he shimmied here, spun there and navigated the maze of destruction by the thinnest of margins. But by gosh it was close!
The sharp sound of arrows whistling through the air pierced through the roar of flames, lifting my heart. Isaac had turned up! Right on time!
-x-X-x-
On a nearby rise to the side of the road, Isaac and his archers had appeared, each one bending their bows and taking aim at the mage slaves. As the arrows sped through the air, the mages were forced to split their attention, raising barriers to defend themselves from the barrage whilst maintaining their own offensive.
Some of the mages turned their attention to disrupting Isaac and his hunting party, flinging spells at them that seared the air. But at this range, it was hard for them to be accurate and deadly enough. The archers were able to scramble out of the danger zone in time that they were able to avoid injury, but the mages succeeded in scattering the archers which was their aim.
All this time, Tiny continued to weave his way through danger. He was doing remarkably well, enough that I was convinced we were going to get into the clear.
Then the lightning started falling...
Damn Wizard Lizard! This may be a bit unreasonable, but I wish you'd let me kill off your servants without exacting vengeance!
With my mana sense flipped on, I could tell that the great working was finished now. Garralosh had topped off her core and was heading this way, and the Kaarmodo had enough free attention to weave together another lightning storm. Which is something we did not need!
[I'm jumping off, Tiny!] I shouted and leapt clear of the big ape the moment I saw a chance.
Crinis was frantically waddling through the grass to the side of the road, her basketball sized body supported on her small, stubby permanent tentacles. It would have been adorable in a situation that less fraught with mortal peril.
[Crinis, reach out to me!] I bellowed.
As she wiggled and wobbled her way forward, Crinis extended a long limb from her main body out towards me.
DASH!
I activated the skill and my stamina infused my body, sending me hurtling forward with vital energy. Bursts of flame erupted around me, singeing my carapace as lightning began to rain down from above.
I focused my sub-brains to their limits, using them to analyse the information from my antennae, the heat I sensed from the fire and the blurred lines of the future that were whispered to me through my antennae. By juking left and right I did everything I could to throw off the aim of my tormentors as I made my way to Crinis.
[Grab hold!] I yelled.
My charge took me close enough that Crinis was able to latch hold of my carapace and begin to haul herself toward me.
[Don't let go, Crinis!]
[I never will, Master!]
That ... didn't sound right. Never mind it now, we need to get the hell out of here! Once again, time to dash!
BOOM! BOOM!
The rolling thunder sounded more like an explosion to me as the strikes landed just metres away. Tiny leapt close and was struck multiple times, shrugging it off as best he could as he tanked the lightning magic for me.
I could see Isaac on the hill, hopping from one foot to the other and shouting at me. I can't understand, you moron! I'm not about to create a mind bridge in the middle of this fiasco! His fellow archers are still dodging the odd fireball and unleashing arrows when they can. It'd be nice if their leader would bother to help out.
With every second that passed we put another metre between the horde, the mages and us and it began to tell, becoming easier to dodge and avoid the spells coming our way, with the obvious exception of the lightning strikes from above.
With my mana sense on, I kept tabs on the roiling mana overhead. It really is impressive how much mana there is packed into that spell. All of that energy just for little old me? The Kaarmodo must be more than slightly attached to the slave attendants. I'd feel bad for the Lizard Wizard if they weren't marching a giant monster along with a giant army towards my home.
No mercy for invaders!
But for now, run to the hills!
Run for your lives!
*CRACKLE!*
The dark cloud that hung low overhead began to spark and ripple with electricity. The lightning bolts ceased for a beat and I could see in my mana sense that the power in the spell was condensing towards a central point.
Deep within the cloud a light began to glow. It grew brighter by the second until it became a near blinding radiance that pierced my eyes. Something big is coming! I'm not a big fan of this!
DAAAAAAAAASH!
With a plop, Crinis hauled herself onto my back after reeling herself in using the tentacle she'd stuck to me and now she clung on for dear life as I sprinted, my legs a blur to my eyes as I covered the ground at high speed.
[Watch out above Tiny! Get clear of me!]
The bat-faced ape shook his head and growled angrily but was forced to obey my direct command and leapt to one side, putting some distance between us. Overhead, the cloud shrank in on itself as the remaining mana within concentrated down to a single point.
Isaac had collected himself, I could see him now with a spear in hand. As a javelin thrower might, he ran forward and with a mighty roar launched the spear into a high arc that seemed to be heading right towards me.
Wait a sec, it IS heading right toward me! What the heck!
HAH!
At the last second I threw myself to one side, my legs tripping over each other and I fell towards the ground as several things happened at once.
The spear punched into the ground right where I'd been running with a reverberating thud, the metal hafted weapon pushed deep into the ground as the momentum pushed the butt forward until the weapon stood vertically.
Then the lightning came.
BOOOOOOOOM!
Like a lance from the heavens, it fell. My sight became filled with light in an instant and, not for the first time, I wished I had eyelids. This is going to give me some serious retina burn! The impact pierced the ground and sent a shower of earth into the air. So fierce was the force, it rippled through the air and smashed into me as I fell, burning me and sending me tumbling end over end, squashing Crinis into my back.
I've been cooked! Also, I can't see!
Not only that, my ears are ringing as if I were a bell that was struck! What the hell was that?! Am I alive? It's all white!?
[Are you alright, Crinis?]
[I... I think so!]
[Tiny?]
[Raaaah!]
Ok, that's good.
[Uh, Crinis?]
[Yes, Master?]
[Any chance you can let me know which way is forward?]
[I-I'll try!]
And we were off once more! Standing still is death! Using her ability to sense mana, Crinis pointed us away from the horde and we ran into the distance.
-x-X-x-
Blinded and frantic, I ran as fast as I could away from the horde (I hoped) whilst Tiny bounded alongside. As I stumbled and tripped over what felt like every obstacle, bump and uneven patch of ground on my path, I tried to lunge left and right to avoid the fireballs and other spells that continued to be flung my way. The odd explosion actually landed quite close but thanks to Crinis latching onto my mandibles with a tentacle each, she was able to steer me away from the spells that she detected by literally steering me.
It was undignified but I was much more interested in survival than my pride.
I was confused as to what had occurred in that strange confluence of events, but I didn't have to ponder over it until the very real mortal peril I found myself in had subsided, so I persisted in running as far and as fast as I could.
THWACK!
Ouch! I'm under attack! Still blinded and bewildered, my forward momentum was suddenly and forcefully brought to a halt by something blocking my path. An enemy? Feel my wrath!
*Shattering Bite!*
Crunch!
My jaws flooded with energy as the active skill took effect and snapped them shut on whatever was barring my way. I felt whatever it was splinter and shatter beneath the force of my bite, followed by a vague tingling sensation from my antennae. What is this thing in front of me? I don't detect any heat from it, so it shouldn't be a monster. My antennae are telling me something is leaning over this way?
OOF!
A crunch of a different sort rang out as the tree I had just felled landed squarely on my carapace, the weight and force of the impact flattening me in an instant and putting several hairline cracks in my exoskeleton. At least those'll heal up fast.
[Are you alright, Crinis? I think I just dropped a tree on us.]
[I'm alright, Master. A little flat, but otherwise fine.]
I felt her shift about on my back for a moment before another downward spike in pressure forced the wind out of me again.
OOF!
Crinis extended a few tentacles and succeeded in lifting the tree off of us before she threw it to one side.
The two of us lay on the ground in a battered daze for a minute or two, neither of us sensing any danger and neither of us willing to move without a motivating force.
[Are you here, Tiny?]
[Hmm] came the grunted reply.
Fantastic, the gang's all here.
As I lay in a daze, waiting, the white gradually began to fade as my normal vision returned. Blessed light! The power of eyeballs in all their glory! After spending so much time obsessing over my vision in my early days on Pangera, it was more than a little disconcerting to have that sense removed, even temporarily. That lightning had surely been something special. I'd never seen anything like it. The force, the power, the sheer destructive impact of it. I'm not sure even Tiny could have survived such a thing hitting him directly.
So how did I survive?
At that moment, I saw Isaac and his crew approaching.
My weary and still somewhat scattered minds put together the necessary mind mana and I reached out to the former guard captain.
[Well, if it isn't speary mcspearface.]
He halted his step.
[What the heck does that mean?] he asked.
[Nothing,] I harrumphed, [I was just a little miffed when you threw that spear at my head!]
[If I hadn't done that the lightnin' bolt would 'ave turned you into a crispy husk of yer former self!] Isaac protested, [I was expectin' thanks, to be honest!]
I hesitated.
[You mean to say that you threw that in order to make it act as a lightning rod to save me?]
He nodded vigorously.
[Of course! Why would I try 'an kill ya?]
[I've no idea, I just didn't think you'd be smart enough to think of something like that.]
Isaac stared at me for a moment before he muttered something out loud to himself. Then he laughed.
[Well, perhaps I've a little more goin' on upstairs than you give me credit for.]
I could only nod in agreement, still exhausted from my misadventure.
[Thanks Isaac] I told him, [you really pulled my portfolio out of the bear market.]
[You're ... welcome?]
[That was one heck of a throw though. I don't think I've ever seen someone with an arm like that.]
Isaac thought for a moment and shrugged.
[Where would you have seen someone throw? I don't think you ants have quite the physiology for it.]
He wasn't wrong, but he wasn't quite getting at what I was saying either. I was speaking of my experience on Earth. Obviously there are tons of fantastical and insane things that are possible in this world that simply weren't on Earth, but the different levels of ability between humans is the one that keeps surprising me. He must have thrown that heavy spear over a hundred metres! An unspeakable feat of strength on my old world
The man in question smiled as he pictured the scene in his mind.
[I wasn't sure I'd get there, to be honest,] he admitted, [I saw the lightnin' buildin' in the cloud over ya head and figured you'd be toast if that hit ya. My throwin' skill isn't the best, so I was a bit worried I might skewer ya but I couldn't think of another way to divert that lightnin'.]
The more he concentrated on the image in his mind, the more his rustic accent came to the fore. It was one of the more interesting things I'd noted about direct mind to mind communication is that a person still tended to think messages in much the same way they spoke them, accents and all.
[Well, let's say I owe you and leave it at that, Isaac.]
[As you say, Anthony.]
The two of us sat in silent contemplation for a time.
[So what's the play now?] Isaac broke the peace first.
[I'm not exactly sure,] I confessed, [we need to keep killing stuff but it's going to get more dangerous the longer this goes on.]
Isaac grinned.
[Danger, I can handle. As for the rest o' my people here, they seem mighty devoted to keepin' your shiny shell in one piece. I think they'll stick around.]
[It's not a shell. It's a ... never mind. The first thing we need to do is change our position and wait for the heat to die down. We'll have to be extra vigilant at all times. The Kaarmodo could be scrying us at any time and those mage servants have a habit of appearing rather suddenly in awkward places.]
[We should stay spread out as well] Isaac pointed out. [If they try to spring another cage on us and we all get caught inside, things'll get ugly.]
[Right you are,] I agreed.
With the basics of our next steps planned out, we shuffled off with Isaac and his group to find somewhere to recuperate not far from the horde, but far enough to be comfortable. I desperately need that XP and I'm going to have to keep taking risks in order to get it.
-x-X-x-
"How'd it go Tungstant?" Cobalt asked.
The carver ant slumped into the council chamber, exhausted but with a glimmer in her eye that suggested she was more energetic than she appeared.
"Well enough I suppose" The small ant replied, dragging her tired front claws across her antennae.
"Will she be able to move more freely now?" Antionette asked, her concern for her mother bleeding through.
"Should be fine now", Tungstant replied, "we had to be a little careful in places seeing as the structure is more complicated than it was before, but with a bit of care we were able to widen the main shaft and strengthen the walls to bear her weight. She should be able to move vertically within the nest without too many issues."
Each of the ants relaxed slightly upon receiving this news. The evolution of the Queen had been a major event in the life of the colony and one that required several adjustments the moment the Queen had awoken in her new form. For one, she'd needed to retreat slightly lower in the Dungeon, meaning that a new chamber had to be prepared and more soldiers placed on guard to ensure no harm came to the Queen or to the brood.
Secondly, the carvers had needed to make several adjustments to the main body of the nest to ensure that the main pathways within the nest were able to accommodate the Queen's new size. The main shaft in the nest had been dug just large enough for the Queen to move through before she had evolved, as she was by far the largest ant in the colony, but her new size had necessitated some careful work to ensure the widening project didn't collapse or disturb any other chambers.
"The newly discovered 'Architecture' skill seems to already be paying dividends to the carver caste," Cobalt observed, "along with 'Engineering' our ability to make precise structural changes is vastly improved."
"I agree, sister," Tunsgtant responded with building enthusiasm, "but you know I think we also need to investigate the possibilities behind the utilisation of Earth magic in nest construction."
"You aren't worried about the increased Skill training load?"
"Well I think that the Brood Tenders may be able to offset that."
"With the education Skills?"
"Exactly!"
"It may be worthwhile even without. It feels that there is sure to be a skill unlock in there somewhere."
"I quite agree."
"Do you two want to save that conversation until after the council is finished?" Coolant asked, amused.
"Apologies."
"Sorry about that, sisters."
The twenty took a moment to clean their antennae and settle into their spots as they prepared for perhaps the most important council meeting of the colony's history. It wouldn't be long until the horde arrived at the nest and the family would engage in a battle for its very survival. To make matters more complicated, the Eldest was still engaged in levelling up and had yet to return, meaning the twenty would be forced to make the final preparations on their own.
They were arrayed in a circle in a similarly shaped room that sloped down slightly towards the centre. Each of the council members had their own place, including two spare positions for the Eldest and for Vibrant, should either choose to attend.
For the time being, Vibrant had chosen to attend to the Queen, ensuring her safety and providing food to pick up the pace of egg production. One of the things to come out of the Queen's evolution was an increase in her daily maximum egg production from two hundred to three hundred. Not a massive increase, since the Queen had emphasised other aspects of her form with her chosen evolution path, but it would make a difference over time.
Every member of the council knew that casualties were going to be inevitable in the upcoming battle, perhaps as much as half of the colony would be destroyed, maybe even more. By ensuring a healthy amount of brood was prepared in advance, the colony would be able to ensure that they would regenerate as fast as possible.
"How far from evolving are you two?" Mendant leant over and whispered to the two Juvenile Queens to her side, Antionette and Victoriant.
"Still quite a ways, I'm afraid," Antionette whispered back. "The jump for tier three to four is large, even the Eldest hasn't reached it yet."
"Yes, but the Eldest hasn't had the colony force feeding experience down their throat" Mendant pointed out.
"Due to the oncoming conflict, we've asked that the combat castes and members of the colony be given priority over our own growth," Victoriant chimed in. "Every advantage must be seized in order to achieve victory, and even if we were to evolve before the battle, which we couldn't, our eggs wouldn't have hatched by the time we had to fight."
Mendant nodded.
It was a fair enough stance. The colony had placed great importance on evolving these two Queens into an egg laying state, but even with the support of the colony during the wave, reaching level forty was no easy feat. Once the threat had been dealt with, then the family would return to funnelling resources into the two young Queens.
"I believe our preparations are almost complete on the construction side of things?" Sloan spoke out to get the discussion rolling.
"Absolutely" Tungstant agreed. "The traps are done, the ambush tunnels are ready, the wall and moat have been prepared. Without any brilliant ideas popping up, I'm not sure what else we'll be able to do."
"Great work. Our gratitude goes to the carver caste," Sloan dipped her antennae in a show of respect, a gesture which the two carvers reciprocated.
"The academy has been running on schedule. We should have our final class of graduates ready twelve hours before the horde arrives," Florence chipped in.
Grant the soldier nodded her head.
"We've got as many troops as possible battling and strengthening themselves in the Dungeon. Every skill level counts at this point."
"How many are down there?" Sloan inquired.
"A touch over four hundred at last count."
"Combined with the harassing forces we have in the field, we've committed a lot of soldiers outside the nest. Is the Queen secure?"
"Of course!" Grant huffed, her antennae twitching in irritation. "Do you think we'd leave Mother in any way vulnerable?"
Sloan raised her own antennae in a mollifying gesture.
"I apologise. Of course you wouldn't. How goes the preparations of the mage caste?"
Coolant raised her head, as if she hadn't been paying attention and only tuned in once her name was spoken.
"What's that?" the mage ant asked.
Sloan bit back a curse. Damn mages, always had their heads in a cloud.
"How are the preparations going for the mage caste?"
"Oh! Right as rain. We need a ton of Skill levels before we can be truly useful, so the new mage ants are in the Dungeon, assigned to teams with the soldiers. We're hoping to have one hundred combat ready mage ants in time for the battle."
All the members of the council waved their antennae in approval at this. It had been a risk to produce so many Mage Ants this close to the arrival of the horde but with recent breakthroughs in the academy program, as well as Coolant and Propellant nailing down their desired skill progression path had meant the time to develop a new mage ant had been drastically reduced. With the numerous Skills required to be effective, the mage ants were still a long term investment for the colony, but their help would be invaluable in distracting the enemy mages.
"We project our project should be completed in fourteen hours," Bella the core shaper chipped in.
"That's cutting it close," Advant the soldier frowned.
"Modifying cores is exhausting and difficult work," Bella defended her caste. "Not to mention there aren't that many of us." The second statement was a little cutting, since the core shapers had been neglected in favour of other castes.
"Considering the number of Shadow Beast cores we've handed over, the results had better be worth it," Advant muttered.
Ellie bristled.
"You needn't be concerned. Our early field tests have been extremely promising. The first Shaper teams with their modified beast pets will be deployed to the Dungeon in the next two hours. We think you'll be impressed at their effectiveness."
The council nodded soothingly toward the grumpy member. It was well known that the shapers had a near perpetual headache due to spending every spare moment modifying cores in order to raise their skills. Elligant and Bella had been desperate to prove the worth of their caste and the Shadow Beast pet initiative had been their best chance to date.
"Has there been any word from the Eldest?" Victor turned to the two scout leaders to ask.
Burke and Wills both shook their heads.
"Not a peep. We've got scouts keeping an eye on the Eldest, obviously, but it's been difficult to get close. Lightning storms, fireballs, even boulders and ice spears seem to be filling the air around the Eldest almost constantly."
The council shifted uncomfortably at that. None wanted to see the Eldest fall.
"From last report the Eldest is still alive, and battling the Mage Servants to try and gain the experience required for evolution. No need to worry."
"By distracting the mages, the Eldest has ensured our advance force has been able to operate in much safer conditions," Victor affirmed. "Casualties have dropped massively and the damage inflicted on the horde has risen accordingly."
The twenty fell into silent appreciation at the risks the Eldest was taking on behalf of the family, all except one Soldier, who, when considering the glorious, almost suicidal fight their senior was embroiled in, couldn't help but curse softly.
"Lucky bastard."
-x-X-x-
Damn this horde, damn it to its monstrous, scaly core. I've been at this for hours now, engaged in an endless tug of war with Setsulah mage servants, and to a lesser extent, their hidden master who remains tucked somewhere in the centre of the slowly moving monster mass.
Thankfully Garralosh hasn't reared her ugly head again. When I felt that aura pressure mounting on me my heart nearly leapt out of my mouth and into my loving face hands. I am not ready nor willing to go face to face with that giant mega-monster yet. Hopefully after I've evolved I'll have some chance of dealing with it, though I've no idea how. I'll be evolving into a tier four creature and although I've been told that Garralosh may not be as highly evolved as I think, she must be tier six or seven. I refuse to believe she's tier five, refuse!
Given that's the case, however, I do have hope. I think the Queen was tier five, which means that she'll have advanced to tier six, with the aid of the rare core no less. Although a lot of her evolutionary energy has been spend on her reproductive capacity, I'm hopefully that between the two of us we'll be able to hold off the big Croc and the Kaarmodo from devastating our family members.
Claws crossed.
But to get to that point I need to defeat some monsters and that is proving difficult!
Oh snap! Lighting!
BOOM!
I threw myself to the side at the last moment as a jagged lance of light stabbed down from above, sending a burst of soil into the air in the place I had been standing. Stupid Kaarmodo! Annoyed, I pick myself up and wave one claw at the sky.
I know you're watching you stupid Wizard Lizard! Too bad I don't have any fingers, otherwise I'd give you something to look at!
I generally don't like to be rude, but this Lizard is really getting on my nerves. Every time I take a rest anywhere close to the horde, the pot shots come out. To say that it's getting irritating would be an understatement. Without my future sense antennae, I'd have been thoroughly cooked by now.
At least I've managed to gain a few skill levels, but getting raw XP is getting harder and harder the closer the horde gets to the nest. I can't afford to wait much longer!
Currently my status looks like this:
Name: Anthony
Level: 39 (Special core)
Might: 41
Toughness: 29
Cunning: 44
Will: 35
HP: 58/58
MP: 176/230
Skills: Expert Excavation (III) Level 5; Deadly Acid Shot (III) Level 7; Advanced Grip (II) Level 6; Shattering Bite (IV) Level 15; Advanced Stealth (II) Level 9; Splintering Chomp (IV) Level 2; Tunnel Map (II) Level 6; Mana Transformation (III) Level 13; Condensed Mana (III) Level 7; Finer External Mana Manipulation (III) Level 8; Empowered Mana Sensing (II) Level 9; Core Surgery (III) Level 6; Expert Exo-Skeleton Defence (III) level 14; Distant Pet Communication (II) Level 5; Flicker Dash (III) Level 2; Expert Water Magic Affinity (III) Level 3; Expert Stamina (III) Level 5; Pet Growth Speed (I) Level 1; Mana Coveter (III) Level 1; Expert Cerebral Endurance (III) Level 19; Profound Meditation (III) Level 10; Advanced Precise Shooting (II) Level 8; Severing Bite (III) Level 18; Enhanced Mind Magic Affinity (II) level 7;
Mutations: Perimeter Eyes +15, Future Sight Infrared Antennae +15, Mana Binding Acid +15, Rapid Absorption Legs +15, Empowered Mandibles +15, True Diamond Carapace +15, Regrowth Regeneration Gland +15, Loquacious Pheromone Gland +15, Bottomless Gravity Magic Gland +15, Adaptable Coordination Cortex +15, Supportive Inner Carapace Plating +15;
Species: Dispersed Mind Ant (Formica Sapiens)
Skill points: 18
Biomass: 7
All of my goals are currently within reach! Just two more levels in severing bite and I'll be able to prompt the System for the skill fusion. And ONE. MORE. LEVEL.
Just one!
I'm so damn stressed! Just let me fight some stupid monsters already! I need to evolve!
Wait...
HAP!
BOOM!
Missed again you stupid Lizard! Shove off already! I threw myself onto my back and wiggled aggressively at the sky. Scry THAT you reptile!
Whoops!
BOOM!
Haha! Getting mad are you?! Not liking my dominance display? I've got plenty more where that came from!
Oh boy, the clouds are starting to gather, think it's time to move on. I gathered myself and moved around the horde toward the location I sensed Tiny and Crinis where operating. I'd asked them to fight away from me in the hopes that we could split up the Mage Servants but it hadn't worked. The horde was seemingly happy to absorb the massive losses that my two pets were able to inflict, so long as I was kept at arm's length.
Which meant that the two of them were getting some great experience and raising their skill levels, which was great, just a shame it didn't help me to do the same. Gah! I'm tired of trying to go around these stupid mages to get at the horde. With their very own eye in the sky, I just haven't been able to get a hold of them. It's starting to fall to night time now, and the horde is expected to reach the colony sometime tomorrow. I'm running out of time!
Wait a second. Maybe I'm thinking about this situation all wrong. What if I didn't try and avoid the servants to get to the horde, but avoided the horde and tried to get at the servants? After all, the servants are perfectly prepared to step forward and fight me, I don't have any trouble at all getting into a scrap with them. It's not an easy fight by any means, but with the exception of that one time, I haven't actually been trying to fight them, just keep away from them.
If you won't let me get experience from the horde, then I'll just have to take it from your servants, Mr Kaarmodo. I can hardly be blamed that's it come to this.
Gweheheheheh.
But how am I going to do it? I'll need help, that's for sure. Tiny and Crinis will have to group up with me, maybe even Isaac and his group as well. They might be able to provide some ranged fire support. It's risky though. The second the Lizard Wizard realises what I'm doing, they are going to come down on me hard. Even harder than they have before.
And I'll need to be quick. If the fight drags on, there is a good chance Garralosh will wander over and that's not something I'm prepared to deal with right now.
One last roll of the dice to level up. Let's see how this goes.
-x-X-x-
My pets and I strolled brazenly toward the horde, as if we didn't' have a care in the world. It was a façade, of course. I was sweating blood on the inside. Not knowing when some ancient mage might choose to drop a thunderstorm on my shiny carapace is a stress inducing state of mind, to say the least. The outward appearance of confidence is what we were searching for in this instance.
Before we got too close, the three of us split up, Tiny and Crinis hung back and moved to either side of me but at a distance. We didn't want another cage scenario to play out with more than one of us in the cage. Since they seemed to be either invisible when they chose, it was possible that the mages were already around us, so we were on high alert.
My every sense was tuned to the maximum. I detected no heat signatures I couldn't explain from nearby, nor did I perceive any ripples from the future. The vast horde was arrayed in front of us, walking towards the location of the village and the colony as they had done for six days already. I knew that on the other side of the mass of creatures the soldiers of the colony were at work, inflicting whatever damage they could. I hope they've been safer since I've been causing havoc back here. I now casualties are inevitable, I know it, but it still hurts know it's happening.
Hopefully after this fight I'll be able to retreat back to the colony along with the rest of my siblings and finalise our preparations.
When I was within twenty metres of the closest monster, I turned to present my business district to my foes and showered them with my justice!
POW! POW! POW! POW!
Four rapid blasts of acid that blasted high into the air before they arced down, scattering in the air and falling across a wide area.
"Roaaaar!"
As soon as it landed, many monsters howled in pain and rage at the sudden attack, and they began to thrash about as they searched for the source of their woe. In this instance, the merciless and mindless nature of the horde came to the fore. Without food to sustain them, the monsters had been forced to rely on consuming each other to gain energy on the long march. For the most part, this meant picking over the Biomass that the colony left behind after raiding and fighting, or picking it out of the spike traps that the workers had left behind.
But ultimately it didn't take much for the horde to turn on a wounded member, almost nothing really. After six days of solid marching, with no human cities or towns to feast on, the monsters were ravenous. So the poor and unfortunate victims of my acid were rather rapidly set upon by their starved neighbours and a quick but violent feeding frenzy commenced.
I'd used this method a few times before, as had the rest of the colony. The damage inflicted on the enemy was high, but no experience was gained since I didn't actually last hit anything. All I wanted to do was draw out my Lizard friends without expending my magic.
The faint tingle that's coming to me from my antennae seems to indicate that they have taken the bait. They're craft these slave mages, always trying to catch me off guard, distracted or otherwise occupied.
HAH!
Suddenly activating my rank three dash, my body flickered for a moment as I ran forward at almost supernatural speed! Once you get to this rank, the active skills really take on a life of their own!
Severing Bite!
Along with my future sense, the sudden flickering of heat revealed the location of the mage just as they were about to appear. Hoping to get the jump on them for a change I leapt out for the surprise
bite attack!
WHAM!
Stupid light barrier! I really want to learn how to cast this thing. At the last possible moment, the barrier sprung into existence around the freshly appeared and very startled Setsulah slave mage. This version of the spell was less of a wall and more of a cocoon that surrounded the mage in protective sphere. I was willing to bet it even went through the ground beneath their feet. As the mage stumbled back and fell onto their backside, I realised it likely wasn't even them who cast that barrier.
Perhaps the great Kaarmodo is still looking out for their servants?
If I'm going to get my mandibles onto one of these punks, I'm going to have to pull something out of the hat that I haven't showed them yet. Thankfully, I've got just the thing.
More and more mages appeared around me, their spells already prepared. Tongues of flame lashed towards me but I was already moving, throwing myself to one side and dashing toward another target.
Severing Bite!
CRUNCH!
As the jaws of light that extended from my mandibles sliced down towards my target I was foiled once again by the barrier spell. The blade like bite skill I used connected with the glowing light and attempted to slice through but failed.
Fortunately, we have more than one way to hit a barrier.
From the ground around the mage, tentacles began to emerge and wrap themselves around the light barrier, squeezing it tight. Rather than try and get inside the wall of light, which Crinis had tried and failed to do, this time she was going to try and smash the barrier from the outside.
A dozen tentacles wrapped around the mage, almost completely hiding them from view. The limbs pulsed and flexed as Crinis began to try to rip and tear her way through, the teeth on the inside of her tentacles sawing away at the magic.
I'll leave that one for Crinis! I dashed toward another mage, moving so fast my legs vanished.
CRUNCH!
Another powerful bite slammed down on the mage as fire spells continued to fell in my wake. Another barrier prevented my mandibles from closing down, but I wasn't deterred. Without waiting I rolled to one side and sped away just as Tiny arrived.
Falling from the sky like a collapsing meteor, the giant ape hammered both hands down onto the wall of light that surrounded the startled mage.
BOOM!
The impact was thunderous and fractures spider webbed through the shield instantly. Thankfully for the mage, the spell held and didn't break down, but with the ten foot tall monster staring down at him, I don't think the mage felt particularly secure.
We hadn't run at them like this before and I could tell they were rattled. The spells they cast were erratic and the mages couldn't seem to decide whether to continue the barrage on me or try to protect their fellow slaves.
Not to worry, things are only going to get worse for you!
-x-X-x-
Putting the servants on the defensive was only phase one of the plan, but it appears to have worked. There are six of them here at the moment, and possibly more still in hiding, but so long as we're careful we should be fine. It's rare that every mage comes when I turn up, in fact the one time they did we just turned around and ran off. However, it seems that the Lizard Wizard can't spare them and that remains the only time I've seen all of them in the field at once, luckily for us.
[Don't let yourselves get roasted,] I warned my pets.
I wouldn't put it past either of them to go too far and try to tank a few spells in order to try and help me. It's a wonderful spirit but I'm not willing to risk the health of my pets for something as small as this. If this attempt doesn't succeed, then we'll just try again until either we succeed or die trying.
[I'm being careful, Master] Crinis assured me.
[Grrrrr] Tiny grunted.
Time to put more pressure on these mages!
I continued to blitz around with my dash skill, which rapidly drained my stamina but I didn't have a choice, what with the fireballs and infernos that were being conjured around me. Even so, I managed to find the time to squeeze off a cheeky shot from the business district. A bit of guerrilla marketing, if you will.
POW! POW! POW!
All three shots hammered home onto the hastily raised shield of one mage who had the enjoyable experience of their line of sight being covered with a sticky, adhesive acid that began to bubble and hiss as it ate away the magical protection that surrounded them. Nasty!
Another mage hampered, another step closer to the ultimate victory. Now for the next one. Rolling underneath a jet of flame one of the mages unleashed at me, nearly catching my own antennae on fire, I spun expertly and fired once again!
POW! POW! POW!
Three more blasts of acid, one more inconvenienced mage!
The mage servants are having a hard time maintaining their barrage, what with the imminent threats to their lives, so the pressure has begun to ease off wonderfully, allowing me to fire my last three shots comfortably.
POW! POW! POW!
With three mages now tied down by acid and with Tiny and Crinis occupying one each, (Crinis has extended even more tentacles, completely covering her victim from view) that left me with just one mage with an unobstructed view of the fight. Let's call that mage, Biomass A. Even with the hood up and full body robes preventing me from seeing them directly, I can tell that Biomass A is feeling nervous as I alter the angle of my run and begin to close in on them.
My antennae tingled and I jumped high just in time for another jet of flame to pass underneath me. Close, but no cigar! I wonder why these mages rely on fire magic so much in fights like this. They clearly have other options but fire seems to be their go to. A question I'll never get answered I suppose. Ah well.
Once I get close enough I put my two sub-brains to work. Filled with malicious intent, my two smaller minds begin to activate the external mana manipulation skill they have become so familiar with over the last week or so, and begin to try and drain away the mana that sustains the barrier around my friend Biomass A.
The body language of my target became even more frantic as the mage felt what I was doing, desperately trying to fend off my physical body as well as the intruding tendrils of my sub-brains that were busy trying to deconstruct their spell.
Gweheheheh. Yessss. Struggle all you want, but it won't help my dear friend, Biomass A. I shall taste the sweet, sweet experience that is contained within you nest attacking slaves soon enough!
I mean, I kind of feel sorry for the Setsulah on one level. They don't really have a choice in what they get up to, magically bound slaves that they are. Ultimately though, what does it matter? Willing or not, they've been doing their darned best to kill me and I'm certain they'll do the same to the colony when they get there. Heck, they already did it to Liria and all of its people!
Uh oh. Here we go, then. Big daddy (or mommy, I shouldn't assume) lizard wizard is getting mad now that I'm attacking its servants directly. The storm overhead is brewing again and it's looking like a big one!
*CRACKLE*
Powered by magic, the dark clouds began to form out of thin air at a ridiculous speed. It won't be long before the lightning starts to fall like rain around here. Fortunately, this time I came prepared.
Rushing from their hiding places come Isaac and his crew, each wielding the metal spears they have diligently been practicing throwing for the last few hours. Like a hunting party of angry tribesmen, they lofted the spears over their shoulders as they ran and hurled them high into the air with a mighty roar. The weapons arced gracefully through the sky before they thudded into the dirt, standing tall and upright as convenient lightning rods.
The storm churned overhead and I could almost feel the Kaarmodo's agitation as it stared down at a small field of newly sprouted metal poles. At this sort of distance, you can't control the lightning too precisely, can you Mr Lizard? No, no, you have to use this big overhead mess of a spell at this sort of range and although you might get through to me eventually, how much time do you think you have?!
My pets continued to aggressively posture and batter at their respective targets but it was me who drew the ire of the lightning. By circling and tormenting my target, Biomass A, I appeared to have angered the Wizard Lizard deeply, which meant that Tiny and Crinis were able to torment their own victims in lightning-free peace.
*BOOM!* *BOOM!*
Lightning stabbed down from the sky but thanks to the spears, things were made more difficult for the Kaarmodo. Sometimes the lightning would fall close to me, but other times it would jag towards the spears and discharge all that energy straight into the ground.
I continued to run circles around the mage, ripping and tearing at its barrier with my minds and even chomping down on it to test its strength. The entire engagement had only taken a minute up to this point but things were rapidly coming to a head.
This was a smash and grab tactic, we were here for a good time, not a long time.
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon!
Target me! Fire at me!
It's only a matter of time!
Another five seconds passed before suddenly Crinis' voice rang in my mind.
[Master!]
Nice!
I turned instantly and sprinted away from the fight, the lightning bolts falling around me as I dashed. Jump left! Roll right! Stop for a second! My concentration was pushed to the limit as I avoided the furious barrage from the skies whilst trying to put distance between myself and the fight.
After all, I was the distraction in this fight, and it appeared that my plan had worked perfectly!
[Are you ready, Crinis?] I yelled back to my pet.
[Ready!] she declared, holding her prize high, wrapped in her tentacles.
Gravity mana flooded into my mandibles from my Gravitational mana gland and caused them to glow with purple energy.
[Now, Crinis!]
On my signal, Crinis opened her tentacles to reveal the Setsulah mage servant she had successfully dug out of the ground, still encased in its light shield. We'd suspected, and later confirmed that the shield rooted the mages to the ground somehow, but with sufficient arm, or in this case, tentacle power, we figured they could be dug up, we just hadn't tried it yet.
And now that they were airborne, they could be pulled.
YOINK!
Focusing on my gravity mandibles, I reached out with the energy, latched onto the shield and pulled.
COME HERE!
-x-X-x-
I'm not sure how the slave mage felt as they flew through the sky and into my waiting mandibles, but it can't have been pleasant. I tried not to dwell on it in the moment. I've already had to defeat human opponents in the defence of my family, taking down the Setsulah shouldn't weigh on my conscience any more than that did.
CRUNCH!
I brought my mandibles down hard on the shield that protected my bag of experience. The spell was not so weak as to break as of yet, but my mandibles sank into it with a satisfying crackle. With the mage safely trapped within my jaws, there was only one thing to do. Flee!
Thunder crackled overhead as I pushed my tired legs once more and dashed to freedom, carrying my prize!
[Get out of there, guys! Tiny, pick up Crinis and run for it!]
Even if I thought, I was going to draw the majority of the fire, it was necessary for the two of them to get out of there as fast as possible. Tiny might be able to take a few shots of lightning but I don't want to put his tolerance to the test.
Nor mine for that matter! Lightning continued to crash down in my wake as I fled the scene of the heist. The Kaarmodo must be furious! Having to watch as I escape with one of its precious servants!
Gweheheheh.
Starting to regret coming for my colony yet, you stupid Lizard?
I ran as far and as fast as I could, eventually leaving the range at which the Kaarmodo could threaten me. It seemed as if the Lizard wasn't willing to risk more of its servants trying to retrieve this one, which left it in an unfortunate situation indeed.
I won't go into the details of what came next, it's a little unfortunate. I was able to crack the shell eventually and ... end the mage.
[Severing Bite has reached level 19]
[You have slain Level 48 Setsulah Bonded Mage Attendant]
[You have gained experience]
[You have reached level 40]
[You have reached the maximum level for your tier. Evolution Menu is available.]
At last.... AT LAST!
I've done it!
Not caring if the Kaarmodo was scrying from above, I threw myself onto the ground and wiggled with sheer joy, my legs kicking ecstatically in the air. Finally ready to evolve to the fourth tier after all this time! My levelling speed had been severely knocked back by having to fight against lower tier monsters this entire time, but I've finally done it. And just in time!
Suddenly recalling that I don't have the time to sit around wiggling, I righted myself and reached out to my pets.
[Are you guys close?]
[Nearly there, Master.]
[I'll come and meet you, we need to make our way back to the colony as quickly as possible!]
[S-So you've finally reached it?]
[I have indeed, Crinis! It's time for this mighty one to reach and even greater height!]
[That's fantastic, Master!]
Crinis is overflowing with happiness and congratulations, but all I can feel from Tiny is a grudging jealousy.
[Aww, not to worry Tiny. You'll get your chance to evolve soon,] I teased.
[Grrrr!] he rumbled back.
It didn't take long to meet up with my pets and we began our trek around the horde towards the colony. We made sure back off a good distance though, I'm sure the Kaarmodo is mad as heck about losing another servant and I'm not especially keen about dodging lightning bolts from on high the entire way back.
After a short while we ran into Isaac and his team who had managed a successful retreat.
[Ho there Isaac. Made it out alright I see.]
[Nothin' to it,] the former guard grinned. [You look like you got what you wanted out of it.]
[Sure did,] I happily admitted. [It's time to get back to the colony and prepare for the final battle. What are you going to do?]
Isaac stroked the scraggly beard developing on his chin after several long days doing it tough.
[I think it might be time to regroup. We've got, what, less than a day? My group needs a chance to rest and I want to ogle - I mean talk to Morrelia once before the battle.]
[Right you are then. Pass on my thanks to your group, they've been more helpful than I expected.]
[That seems unnecessarily harsh,] Isaac muttered, but turned to speak to his squad.
Oddly, upon hearing his words, they faced me and bowed low as one, their faces beaming with happiness and pride.
Odd.
Never mind, I've got bigger fish to fry. Evolution! And I mustn't forget that my bite skill is on the verge of reaching the fourth tier also! Finally! I feel like I've been slicing limbs off of monsters for weeks now and only now am I close to getting the skill fusion that I've been waiting for!
I said our goodbyes to the squad who, for their own safety I recommended moved separately from us. No need to put themselves at greater risk than they had to. For our part, we crept our way around the horde, only approaching for me to YOINK the occasional monster into my waiting mandibles to train my Severing Bite skill. I didn't mind throwing away my gravitational mana in this way now, since I knew I'd be heading underground to evolve anyway.
For an evolution like this, tier four and with a rare core, I thought it would be for the best to be safely ensconced in the Dungeon so that my core would be charged once I awoke.
It took six hours of crawling and chomping on monsters for us to make it the front of the horde where we were forced to hang about for another few hours whilst I pulled more enemies to a gristly end before the voice of Gandalf rang in my ears.
[Severing Bite has reached level 20, upgrade available.]
It's all coming up Anthony! Muahahahahaa!
Now I can head to the nest without regret and submit myself to the painful experience of absorbing the rest of that rare core. Claws crossed, I won't die!
-x-X-x-
"Are you returning to the colony, Eldest?" one of the scouts came up to ask.
"Yep! It's time for me to evolve."
"With your permission Eldest I shall inform the council of this event."
"Go for it,"
Once I reached the front I started to run into more and more scouts and soldiers, as well as other castes mixed into the small raiding teams. It appeared as if the colony was scaling down their raiding operations, withdrawing the forward squads to the nest in order to spend the final hours before the battle preparing and resting. Which made a lot of sense really. Ensuring the ground was prepared and the warriors of the colony where fresh would make a huge difference compared to the starved and tired horde monsters who'd been forced to march for a week solid on almost no food.
Even though the ants started with very poor stats, it shouldn't be forgotten that every ant was a tier three monster after having gone through the training program, the same tier as me. They didn't have the benefit of maxed evolutions like I had, but they were certainly a cut above the average monster in the horde. Bizarrely enough this fight would be a battle of quantity against quality, and the colony of ants would be on the quality side of the equation.
At least that was true for the general horde. Garralosh and her children were a whole different kettle of fish. That's where the Queen and I came into the equation. Hopefully it would be enough to tip the balance.
"Off to evolve are you, Eldest? Keep up the hard work!"
"When am I not working hard?!"
"That's the spirit!"
Gah! The closer we came to the nest the more ants we bumped into. Running back and forth between the nest and the front, passing messages and keeping eyes on the situation, or just returning to regroup or sleep. Each and every one of them was happy to chip in with a comment, which is nice on the one hand but gets exhausting after a few hundred repetitions.
Even still, it was nice to be wanted.
My pets and I made sure to motor as quick as we could, but even so it took several hours to make it back to the nest. Colony activity continued to rise, we found workers digging here and there, soldiers patrolling and scouts rushing here and there. It felt good to be back amongst the family again. The heart of the family.
I couldn't help but let my mind wander over what had occurred in the time I'd been gone. Had the Queen evolved yet? Had the defences been completed? How many new ants had been born and trained whilst I'd been away? I was also looking forward to the progress that had been made by the different artisan castes over the previous week. The ants were collaborating and pushing themselves so hard that their speed of development was getting out of control.
When I tried to picture what the colony would be like in a year's time, I just couldn't. I knew that the ants would have incredible potential if I was able to increase their intelligence, but how could I have anticipated that it would be this successful? If we were able to survive the coming battle, the sky would be the limit for my colony.
Or the centre, more to the point.
When we finally began the final approach to the nest, the first thing I saw was the nest itself. They'd made it even taller! At some point it had gone beyond 'hill-like' to just a full-on hill! At this rate I'd need to start thinking about how high a hill needed to be before you'd have to classify it as a mountain! At this range I could barely make out the small forms of the ants bustling about on that enormous dirt pile.
As we drew closer to the nest I could see the huge amount of work that had gone into the defences being prepared. Traps were everywhere, dug into the soil and marked with pheromones. I had to lead Tiny around a zig zagging path to avoid him falling into what I'm sure would be a spiky and painful hole.
Beyond the traps were layers of walls and led toward the nest. Each wall wasn't large, only two to three metres, but after the enemy crested the first wall, a second lay a hundred metres beyond it, and a third a hundred metres beyond that. A lip of dirt a metre thick at the top of each wall would provide some defence from enemy projectiles and spells whilst the ants unleashed their own barrage upon the horde with the height advantage and in relative safety.
There were eight walls in total that formed a wide ring around the main nest and we climbed over them one by one as we made our way forward. Holy mackerel! There's even traps in between the walls as well! The colony had really gone all out on this one. I wonder how many trees they had to cut down in order to form this many stakes... Hopefully haven't caused a deforestation issue in the local area.
I can see that someone has been directing the construction to maximise the colony's chances against the horde of weaker monsters that were coming our way. There are probably hundreds of tunnels dug through the area as well, concealed. I can detect some of them nearby from their pheromone markers. It'll be interesting to see what the twenty have planned for those.
When we made it to the main hill we began the climb and received the friendly greetings of every ant we walked past. I had many opportunities to engage in some friendly antennae slapping and exchange pleasantries with the members of the colony.
"How are you, Eldest?"
"Looking forward to the battle, Eldest?"
"Who's going to defeat more enemies Eldest, you or the Queen?"
"The Queen obviously" I scoffed at the ant who asked me that.
She's tier six! With a rare core evolution! Don't even try and compare us. That's just madness.
It was a relief when I finally reached the top of the hill and took a look around. From this high up, it was easy to see the village in the distance, many of the trees between the two locations had been cut down, ensuring a clear line of sight between the two locations. My eyesight wasn't good enough to see what the humans were up to, but I'm sure they were just as busy preparing for the oncoming disaster.
My anger at the horde and those behind it hadn't diminished over time, in fact it had only grown larger. Garralosh and the Kaarmodo would pay for what they brought upon my family. I could only hope that the rage was enough to sustain for what was to come.
[Let's go down and find the rest of my rare core. It's time to do this.]
-x-X-x-
Down into the nest we plunged. Is it just me, or is the opening a lot wider than it used to be? Even Tiny fits into the main shaft quite comfortably now. I wonder what that's all about. As usual, my antennae are assaulted by a plethora of pheromones. Trails that paint the way to each of the different sections of the nest are mixed with an overwhelming number of more short term messages from ants coordinating the many tasks that they've been given.
"We need more wood! Follow this trail for the worker teams heading to the forest!"
"Food! Get on it! You think the colony feeds itself?! Hunting parties are leaving from the Dungeon staging area now!"
"Got nothing to do? What the hell is wrong with you?! There's always earthworks going on, report to the Carver headquarters to join a work team!"
"Hey! Stay positive and work hard! :D"
... Not sure what the point of that last one was... just trying to keep spirits up around the place I guess. I hardly think it's necessary, the ants I can see look as if they could hardly work any harder. In fact, the only ant I can see standing still for any amount of time is ... me. Dangit, better get moving before I start to look conspicuous and lazy.
We clung to the wall and made our way straight down, innumerable ants rushing in and out of smaller side tunnels constantly. I feel as if the population has definitely lifted whilst I've been gone. If we managed to hatch and graduate two hundred a day then the colony would have gained 1400 new members in the time I've been gone. Some of that would have been offset by losses at the front, but even considering that, there would have been roughly one thousand more ants in the colony than there had been before.
If only we'd had another week! Then I'd be far less concerned.
When I reached the Queen's chamber I was quite confused to find that, apart from a few guards, it was empty! No Queen, no retinue of attendant soldiers and tenders, nothing! Where has she gone? Curious, I led Tiny and walked down the walls and followed the main shaft beneath the Queen's chamber into my own room.
Even this space has been widened, at least double the space it was before, but other than a couple of soldiers who sit around the outside of the room, keeping watch for spawning monsters so that they might leap on them the moment they emerge, the chamber is empty.
[Home sweet home] I told my pets.
[It's nice to be back] Crinis assured me.
[Hrrr] Tiny let his actions do the talking as he threw himself down onto the ground to rest.
That was fair enough. Our run back to the nest had been exhausting. Matter of fact, our entire last week had been exhausting. The entire colony must be tottering on its feet unless the mandatory rest has kicked in. The amount of work that had been done was staggering. I know it's almost impossible for the ants to admit they are tired, but I hope that the council will start forcing the family to rest before the final battle. Even just a couple of hours of torpor could make all the difference. Especially now when the horde was only four hours away!
OK. No more stalling. Time to get that rare core out.
I've been dreading this experience for months. I've already pushed my core beyond the System Imposed limit and even though gaining some levels and Biomass combined with a bit of time has helped ease the pain, it hasn't ever gone away. Even now my core aches with a dull throb, an inexplicable tightness that I can feel twinge every time I breathe.
Now where is that stupid thing? I know I left it here somewhere...
Ah!
Flipping on my mana sense, my mind is momentarily blinded by the ever present glow of the mana flooding out of the Dungeon walls. After a second or two I was able to blink the background glare out of my mind and focus on detecting the glowing core I had buried in the wall.
There it is!
I scuttled over to the wall and extracted the gem with my mandibles before I retreated back into the centre of the chamber, the bright, spherical gem held in my mandibles.
[I might need your help with this Crinis. I'm a bit worried about how it's going to go,] I admitted.
[Anything, master. I'll be ready for your orders,] the sphere of cosmic horror and tentacle death assured me.
[Thanks, Crinis.]
This tender moment of bonding between a monster and his devoted pet was only disrupted by the thunderous nasal snoring of Tiny a few metres away.
Alright then, here goes...
[Compatible rare core detected!]
[Would you like to absorb, or reconstitute this core? Warning! Your core has pushed beyond the allowed limit for your evolution. Further absorption will prove fatal. Do you wish to proceed?]
You know... Not really? But if I don't push myself beyond the limit, how can I possibly hope to match up to powerful creatures like Garralosh and the Kaarmodo?
Fear blossomed within me, along with the constant anxiety that had been bubbling away inside me, the nervous worry that I'd shoved into the back of my mind gushed to the fore.
I don't want to die... again. I'm enjoying my life on Pangera! I finally have a family. I finally feel accepted. I don't want to lose it all now that things are getting better and better every day.
At the same time, that fear of losing my family is what is driving me forward. If I don't go this hard and risk it all, I might not be able to defend the colony that has come to mean so much to me. How would it feel, to lose the colony knowing that I didn't do all that I could to protect it?
[Bring it! Absorb that core!]
PAIN.
Holy smokes! Ahhh! That.. That stings! Right in the core!
The moment I give the mental command to my good friend Gandalf the system, the energy began to leak out of the core and swirl through the air as a bright energy vapour toward me and then into my own core, which immediately began to expand.
Which was a problem.
Unable to contain the pain, I slumped to one side and collapsed into the dirt floor of the chamber, my legs twitching uncontrollably as my focus is turned inward toward the agonizing changes that are taking place within my body.
HAAARGHHH!
Come on Anthony! You can do this! Hold on man!
The pressure continues to build as the energy flows into me, the outward pressure of the expanding core is pushing outward against my inner organs, which in turn is pressed into my carapace, causing me to feel like a balloon on the verge of popping.
I can hear a vague noise echoing in my ears and with a start I realise it's my own mandibles grinding against each other. Even my face hands are starting to hurt! This is absurd! The pressure builds and builds until I can feel my core on the verge of cracking.
The outwards force is just too much! I need something pressing down on the other way, otherwise I'm gonna burst!
[Crinis! Wrap me up and squish me!] I screamed desperately.
[What?!]
[Just do it!]