Osamaru Ta
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(AS) B2 - Lesson 51: "Challenge Accepted!"
🕑 Added 2024-08-30 18:29:53 +0000 UTCI had fun with this one. Tell me what you think!
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“AAAAHHHRRRRUG!” Bert swung the massive [Megaton] hammer at the charging Bulwark Termite soldier. The powerful weapon slammed into the armored head of the tank-sized insect with such force that a visible shockwave expanded outward.
THUMP!
A secondary boom sounded as the kinetic piston at the back of the hammer activated. The termite screeched as spiderweb cracks spread through the quarter-meter-thick armor of its head. That next instant, its back end exploded, covering the two dozen smaller soldier termites behind it in corrosive blue gore.
The Bulwark Termite collapsed, dead before it hit the ground. A group of Adventurers cheered, then rushed past the massive insect and swarmed the distracted soldier termites before they could regroup. In a matter of seconds, the termites were dead.
Bert whirled, breathing heavily, [Megaton] at the ready… only to find no more targets. Instead, the battlefield was littered with the corpses of hundreds of large termites. Most were workers or soldiers, but nearly two dozen tank-sized termite corpses were spread around the area.
The Adventurers of the expedition had treated the termite infestation mostly as a way to kill boredom. While the creatures’ numbers were great, the Adventurers chosen for this expedition were elites, and each individual termite wasn’t much stronger than [Bronze Spirit].
That changed when the Bulwarks appeared. Nearly twice as large as the typical soldier termite and heavily armored to an absurd degree, each took at least three Adventurers to take down. Even Bert struggled to kill the creatures quick enough.
Offensively, the Bulwarks weren’t too strong, but if the Adventurers weren’t careful, they would be swarmed by the hordes hiding behind the creatures.
The expedition would have lost a few people that way, but for the quick actions of the goblin hunters in retrieving the wounded or redirecting their efforts.
Bert was honestly surprised at how coordinated the hunters were. They were more efficient and worked together better than some of the most elite militaries the large man had seen. He would have to ask about their training one day.
The tide of the battle had shifted once more when Boarslayer, wielding the weapon Bert now did, had appeared. The artifact — [Megaton], as she called it — proved exceptionally effective against the Bulwarks, its mighty blows seeming to bypass the creature’s insane armor. Unfortunately, the weapon also appeared to put more than a little strain on even the powerful goblin warrior. Boarslayer had only killed two of the armored insects before she nearly collapsed, her arms visibly shaking as purple bruises spread up her arms.
So Bert had taken up the weapon in her stead.
As soon as he picked the weapon up, he understood why Boarslayer struggled with it.
It was heavy, even for Bert. Moreover, the massive hammer’s secondary impact shook his bones in a way he had never felt before. Bert had to reinforce his body with Spirit Energy like he did with his most powerful body enhancements to even use the bloody weapon.
Now, the fight was over, and the Bulwarks were exterminated. Whatever intelligence — if any — commanded the termites seemed to take that as a sign. The forest emptied of termites as quickly as they had appeared.
The gathered Adventurers and goblins paused, taking in the battlefield. Seeing no more enemies, the group erupted in cheers.
Bert smiled and knelt in the gore to catch his breath.
Glad that’s over. Don’t think I could have done that many more times… Bert thought to himself as he stared at his slightly shaking arms.
Silent as a ghost, Boarslayer suddenly appeared beside him. She stared down at Bert with a frown for a silent moment before snatching [Megaton] from his hands.
“Mine,” she said before walking away.
Bert only chuckled to himself and shook his head.
As the large goblin warrior walked away, practically dragging the massive hammer behind her, Bert’s gaze drifted back to the [Megaton], and he hmmed to himself.
He had never seen a weapon quite like that hammer before. It hadn’t taken long for Bert to realize the weapon used none of his Spirit Energy at all, barring what it took to reinforce his own body. For such an astoundingly powerful weapon to use no Spirit Energy? Yet be able to be wielded by a mere early [Spiritual Awakening] Cultivator like himself?
That kind of thing was unheard of.
Bert had to consciously suppress his greed at the thought of the hammer. Trying to take it would only crack the already strained relationship between Halirosa and the goblin village, let alone his newest ‘apprentice.’ Besides, it didn’t take a genius to figure out where Boarslayer could have gotten such a weapon.
Bert’s gaze drifted toward the direction of the dungeon. He wondered how Robert and the others were doing with their own mission. According to Dr. Maria, they should hear some news soon.
Bert grinned from ear to ear.
I wonder if they had as much fun as us?
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<< Alpha Log -
6952 SFY-Third Era, 7 standard months since Planetfall.
5 days since the beginning of Operation: Safari Hunt >>
The enemy has been vanquished! Long live the colony! Long live the Queens!
In all seriousness, though, I’ve made quite a bit of progress on our little termite problem. While the goblins and Adventurers slaughtered the army sent into the forest, I’ve not been sitting on my digital butt.
Infiltrating the termite colony was easier than I expected.
With most of the termite colony’s soldiers and workers split between fighting the ant colony and the Adventurers, they have made a critical error and left their own colony practically undefended.
Of course, there’s no way I’d let that chance slip by. It helped that the Alphantonso Mark-6 iterations were nearly as strong as a termite soldiers themselves. Refining the modular nanite ports built into their carapaces had greatly increased their utility.
I’ve even noticed the native ant-mind adapting to the mods as well, and they have been ‘requesting’ access for various jobs around the colony when not being actively directed by the onboard AI.
That such a thing should only be technically possible is a minor matter. That’s the best kind of possible!
Ok, so I should really look into that, but I’ve got other, more important issues to deal with right now. I’m sure it’ll be fine.
As I was saying, the strike squad, backed up by a few Antonio-II model soldiers, made quick work of the termite colony’s weakened defenses.
As I suspected, the termite colony was massive, even compared to the ant colony, but as it followed a similar layout, I was able to quickly find several key locations.
Including the royal chamber.
At ten queens, half of which seemed newly hatched, I’m glad we managed to find this threat before it became significant. If the termites had been allowed to continue to grow, their numbers would have snowballed out of control.
At first, I was going to wipe them out. Kill all the queens and torch the nurseries I could find. Sure, with such a massive colony, there was a chance I would miss a few, but it would have been worth it.
Dr. Maria, however, convinced me to leave a few of the queens alive. According to her, for as destructive as they could be, this particular species of spirit insect were prized for their various alchemical and medical uses.
Keeping them around while regulating their numbers would be a boon for their growing outpost, and act as another draw for Adventurers. If we were lucky, the various rare resources in the forest, coupled with both the termites and ants, would attract experienced alchemists and mages looking to exploit the resources. Apparently, the natural napalm produced by the ‘Demon Ants’ was also quite valuable, if much less so than the termites.
In retrospect, I should have considered that, given how adept the natives seem at exploiting their environment. The Federation would be proud!
Another surprise came in how well Bert wielded the [Megaton]. That wasn’t a weapon designed to be used without Boarslayer’s custom armor. The damage the woman had caused to her body in just a few swings was evidence of that.
Yet Bert had not only kept pace with the weapon for quite some time, but had reduced the strain on his own body through a rather clever use of Spirit Energy.
I knew that the strange energy could reinforce a biological body through observing my ants, but not to such a degree. This warrants further investigation.
That said, now that the termite issue has been mostly resolved, it’s time to get on with the show!
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Bert chucked as he grinned wider down at Robert.
“Hey boss, welcome back. Sorry about the mess. We had a small… incident while you were gone.”
Robert stared at the grinning, blue-splattered giant of a man in front of him, then turned to the gore-filled battlefield spread out behind the giant. He then sighed and pinched the ridge of his nose.
“I assume you’ve already sent scouts out to locate the colony?” he asked the giant man.
Bert nodded, “Yup. They left not too long before you all returned. Some of the goblin hunters even agreed to escort them to the most probable locations. We should hear back from them within the day if luck holds up. This place just keeps getting better and better, doesn’t it?”
Robert smirked, then frowned. “Yes… it is. That’s what I’m worried about. This place is a little too good.”
Bert raised an eyebrow. “You expect the clans to raise a fuss if the Guild tried to claim this place?” he asked.
“… Among other things, yes,” Robert responded.
The two of them stood there in silence for a long moment, each lost in their own thoughts before Bert coughed into his hands.
“So, boss… how did things go on your end? Were you able to meet with the Dungeon Core and figure out what we’re dealing with?”
Robert’s shoulders sagged, and the man resisted the urge to complain. “Yes. We did. Things aren’t as simple as they seem, however. If we want to keep this place, I’m afraid we have quite the challenge ahead of us.”
Bert’s eyes lit up, and his grin grew wider. “Keep talkin’. I love a good challenge.”
Comments
VoidWorldGaming 1116
When it comes to stories it's the reactions of the side characters to the main characters nonsense common sense breaking shenanigans that I love best I can't wait to see what the others think of the coins lol
