Chrysalis

Chapter 93 The second war of the hill

The adult centipede hurled towards me as if pulled by an invisible string.

Haha! Behold the power of gravity mandibles!

After my evolution these larger centipedes don't look nearly as threatening to me, I could defeat them easily before and now that I'm so much larger than I was I hold no fear of them at all.

CRUNCH!

I great the arriving monster with a fearsome snap of my jaws, directly severing the creature in two!

[You have defeated level 6 Adult Claw Centipede]

[You have gained experience]

This is amazing! The power of gravity eh?

With my first foe defeated I turn my eye to the progress of the battle.

What had begun as a long line of monsters battling each other has quickly squashed into a broad, circular grand melee, with monsters hurling themselves into battle with each other as far as my eyes can see. The constant noise from all of this fighting is only serving to attract more creatures and so with each passing moment the fight extends further into the forest and grows yet more louder.

Tiny is already is the thick of it, smashing out devastating electrical punches with reckless abandon, the joy of battle sparking in his bat eyes. I hope he doesn't get carried away.

As a matter of fact, it would do for a master to be outperformed by his own pet!

Just as Tiny is about to join battle against a fearsome looking antlered monster I reach out to it with my gravitational energy and latch on, yanking it towards me and right out from under the confused apes nose.

Haha! Take that you ape!

The monster is a little quicker to react than I would have expected however, lowering its many pointed antlers towards me and bellowing with fury at having been summarily pulled through the air.

Yikes!

Quickly jumping out of the way I totally forgot that what the beast was being pulled towards was none other than myself!

Idiot!

CRASH!

Luckily the sudden change in direction was enough to throw the point of impact off and the antlered creature smashing in the ant hill beneath my feet. Even so my legs get clipped and I'm sent spinning madly into the dirt.

Shaking my head I get my feet under me and prepare to do battle with this new beast. My opponent looks similar to buck, or at least, what I imagine a buck would look like if it had been on a steady diet of steroids and its antlers were made of glittering steel.

This beast is absolutely bulging with muscle! What sort of gym junkie of a deer are you?! You need to be more mindful of your health, deer! Those supplements aren't legal!

Staggering to its feet the poor monster is still looking a little the worse of wear after the sudden journey it was forced to undertake. I won't miss this chance! Dashing forward I don't give the beast the time to gain its bearings and chomp down on one of its legs with my mandibles!

Crushing Bite!

The deer howls in agony as my mandibles squeeze down on the leg, tearing muscle and splintering the bone.

Monsters in this Dungeon don't go down without a fight though! Before I can release my grip and bite again the deer has swung its head, smashing into me with those fearsome metallic horns.

Crash!

The impact staggers me but my carapace holds up under the pressure and isn't punctured by the sharp tips of the antlers.

Thanks for giving me your neck!

Chomp!

[You have slain level 9 rapit cervum]

[You have gained experience]

Haha! Now I'm getting into the swing of it.

Just to satisfy my curiosity I quickly lean down and take a quick bite out of the creature I just defeated.

[You have consumed a new source of Biomass: Rapit Cervum; you are awarded one Biomass]

[Basic profile of the Rapit Cervum unlocked]

[Rapit Cervum: Bulky Deer, this impressively muscled monster is incredibly strong and specialises in offense, being somewhat vulnerable. It's metallic element antlers are a deadly weapon].

Bulky deer?! Even Gandalf thinks this creature is overly ripped!

As I turn to identify my next target the first of the colonies reinforcements has begun to appear. Too fast you guys! Why don't you stay down in the nest and let me deal with things for a while?

It's no use however, at first in a trickle that quickly swells to a flood, more and more ants begin pouring out of the top of the ant hill. As soon as they spy the sprawling melee, these workers don't hesitate to leap into battle, charging forward without pause or thought for personal safety!

Streaks of acid begin flying into the air as more and more workers emerge, presenting the business district to their foes and letting fly! In mere moments, almost all of the combatants close to the ant hill have become drenched in acid as yet more ants pour out of the nets.

And then more.

And then more!?

Holy heck? How many of us are there now?!

When I last checked there were several hundred workers and hundred more brood waiting to hatch, the new workers who had been born after the first big battle next to the ant hill. Judging by the sheer number of hatchling workers emerging from the top of the nest some of these must have completed their pupal stage recently!

There must be five hundred monstrous ants here!

Several workers seize on the Biomass I've already secured by yanking it towards me and start dissecting it for transport to the nest.

Seeing the hordes of workers pouring out of the ant hill so close to me a sudden though strikes me. Rather than the workers running out into the battle and risking their lives, what if I brought the battle to them?!

No sooner has the thought occurred to me than I have reached out and latched onto the fearsome Lion Ogre, rampaging through smaller foes at the foot of the hill.

Come on up, big guy!

Once again the monster is yanked towards me as if fired out of a cannon. By shifting my position at the last moment I make sure that the poor beast slams into the side of the ant hill without crushing me to death.

When the dust settles, a dazed and angry Lion Ogre is slowly starting to pick itself up, not realising that it is currently surrounded by hundreds of monstrous ants.

In an instant, the monster is completely covered in hatchling workers, biting furiously and spraying acid and close range.

Vale Lion Ogre, your sacrifice shall not be in vain!

Checking on my gland I can see that my infused mandibles are draining the gravitational energy gland at a fairly rapid pace, each use is fairly mana intensive. If I can pluck a few more monsters out for the colony to take care of that would help the situation greatly.

Even as the Lion Ogre is enduring its final moments I'm already searching my next target.

Aha!

A Croca-Beast!

YOINK!

After casting out my hook, the unsuspecting monster is pulled towards me at speed, slamming into the ant hill as I dodge to one side at the last moment.

Once again the monster is completely covered in workers before it even manages to make sense of the situation.

Hopefully I can do this for a bit longer and keep the most of the ants out of the main battle as long as possible!