RinoZ
patreon
Chapter 1369 - A Successful Test
🕑 Added 2024-05-10 02:00:04 +0000 UTCThings are looking pretty decent down here. Well, by ‘things’, I don’t mean the environment, that’s for sure. It still sucks down here. Big time. But, the work of the Colony has been immensely successful. We’ve been able to maintain our foothold here in the fifth for two days, and I’ve spent the last few hours taking a break within the cleansed mana zone, poking the wuffers with my antennae.
Everytime I give them a prod, they wobble like sentient jelly, wiggling in delight and happily letting out their little ‘wuff wuff wuff’ noises. It’s not as fun as playing with the brood, but it’s a pleasant distraction from the madness going on at the edges of the territory.
“Surely you’ve had enough of a break now, Eldest,” Advant says. “When are you going to get back out there?”
I turn my attention to the powerful, tier six soldier, who is also taking a break from her duties on the frontline.
“By ‘back out there’, do you mean out into the toxic poisonous mana of the fifth? Because, just in case you weren’t aware, I’ve been running in and out of that stuff for days now, and it’s rather draining.”
That’s putting it lightly. When I finally decided I’d had enough and sat down for a rest, I was shocked to discover just how many little pockets of invasive mana had managed to take root inside my body. A single speck of fifth strata energy is enough to kill me, but after the relentless pressure I’ve experienced, even with so many mind constructs monitoring, some was still able to slip through the net.
I managed to purge myself after a great deal of effort, but it was a sobering reminder of just how careful I need to be down here.
“I’m aware of that, Eldest, more than aware.” She looked out at the area surrounding our little bubble, the only pocket of safety amidst an entire stratum of madness and death. The locally spawned monsters were still coming at us as soon as they could, crawling, rolling, clambering, worming their way through the tunnel to throw themselves at the Colony and destroy what we had created. It almost reminded me of fighting during a wave. Not quite, the spawn rate around here wasn’t enough to properly mimic the sheer insanity of fighting out in the Dungeon during a wave, but the feeling of being under siege was extremely familiar.
“Do you think they’re ever going to get tired of that?” Advant asked me.
“The slime monsters? No. Though, I expect there are some smarter creatures who can resist the urge to go completely berserk when they see what we’ve done. I expect they still hate it, but they may act a little more carefully.”
The soldier waggled her antennae.
“Do you mean the Krath?”
I shake my head.
“Obviously they’ll be a challenge, probably the biggest, but as far as I know, they aren’t the only smart monsters down here. This deep, there’s sure to be some old monsters with a more intelligent approach.”
“Just another thing for us to overcome,” Advant replies, grim determination clear in her tone. “No matter how many of them there are, they won’t be able to overcome the Colony. We’ll succeed here, I have no doubt about it.”
“Why would you? We’ve decided to do something, so it’s going to get done.” I too cast an eye at the madness still happening all around us. “Eventually.”
The fifth does not want to be conquered, that much is clear. Unfortunately for it, I don’t intend to allow for a choice.
“Do you think they’re going to be satisfied with the progress we’ve made? I notice the boffins have been recording and measuring non-stop for the last few days.”
A particular frenzy had come over them in recent hours in their measuring and testing. I’m not too familiar with all of it, but I know that the main thing they’re interested in is how well the purification process is going. It's the hinge around which this entire operation will swing, and the only reason we’re down here is to see how well our current plans are working.
“How much longer until we leave?” I ask the soldier in charge.
Advant considers for a moment.
“Not long, I think. We pretty much have what we came for. Solant is going to be very interested in all the data we’ve gathered.”
I look over my shoulder to the wuffers, still cheerfully working in the centre of the formation. Without these creatures, we don’t have any hope of success. Fingers crossed, they’re up to the job. It’s been a little eye-opening to see just how small a space five hundred of them can keep pure. I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting, but I was expecting more than this.
Advant notices my gaze.
“I wouldn’t worry, Eldest. The wuffers are still a work in progress. With further refinement, and higher tiers, we’ll see what they can really do.”
“How much refinement is left? I thought they’d been working on them for more than long enough.”
“The organs and processes at work here are extremely complex. The five hundred wuffers we have here aren’t the same, there are three main designs being tested in this expedition. Purification rates and cleansed mana density are all being measured in order to help decide which methods are the most promising for evolution into tier six.”
Man, I’m so glad it’s not me having to put all this thought into things. Because I wouldn’t, and I think everyone can admit that. With a logistical genius like Solant around, and the thousands of mages, generals, core-shapers pouring their efforts into this, I can feel relaxed that the i’s are being dotted and the t’s are being crossed.
“Give it a few more hours,” Advant said decisively, “no need to overstay our welcome.”
I push myself up onto my feet.
“Alright. I might as well get out there again.”
~~~
Zluth’s heart was filled with vicious glee as he returned to the scene of the crime. His tribe had reacted with predictable fury and outrage when he had returned to them. It was difficult to keep the grin off his face as he imagined the painful future in store for the invaders. With his tribe behind him, he rushed to the upper echelons of the stratum.
Slowly, he extended his stalks, keen to see just how far the ants had extended their reach.
And saw, nothing. The insects were gone, no trace they had been here at all!
Comments
Grey Knight Lord
Health check, how you holding big man.
Rahsheem Reid
Hope you and the fam are recovering well RinoZ.
alt31415
Yeah I'm sure it's just that easy.
dummy testhh
We also need food biomass processing, and a way to hold on to area they have conquered
dummy testhh
We can also make varients of mana that are more invasive than 5th to 5th monaters
Hayden Leech
I love the woofers! They are an adorable answer to mass purification all the toxic mana of the fifth…..I hope they are not the only answer. But the core shapers could come at this from another angle too, they are looking to terraform a whole sphere right? That’s a BIG task. They need more than just a growing cloud of mana that’s not ruinous to life. The core shapers are definitely the class that has gotten the least attention. Make pets that thrive in the toxic fifth like the Krath! Have them hunt the Krath! Ooh! Release one awful invasive species after another to totally wreck and cripple the native (awful)ecosystem to ready the land for ant terraforming. Replicate!! Reproduce!! Spread!! They just went through a big fight where the enemy (kaarmodo) invented a pet (termite) that was the perfect bane to the enemy (mother tree). THATS A GOOD CONCEPT! The ants are all about taking the good ideas of other civilizations right? That’s how you remake a planet. The woofers are an excellent FIRST step. Pls don’t make cleansing the fifth trivial. Woo!
Prophet of Truth
Somebody will end up being eaten by the tribe LOLOLOLOLOL
LuffyBR
We already saw Zluth in the fourth stratum and he was perfectly ok. So the answer for your question is: no
Gopard
Thanks for the chapter!
CentaureHeart
Perfect timing. I think they need Tier 6 Woofers to really do some damage. Is normal mana actually damaging to the Krath? This would be an advantage but I'm pretty sure that's not the case.
Greyg
Ant species do not coexist peacefully they’ve a longer history of warfare then even our species. They enslave other ants or genocide them. Even separate colony depending on species can fight each other a few species are closer to a super organism in which separate colonies and queens do not fight each other in peaceful coexistence focused on expanding territory. Creating an off-shot race sounds problematic at best. The queens themselves should hyper focus on separate paths like the first queen being a war queen the others can hyper focus on stat bonuses for brood. Wild ants and termites exist i do wish they would come across wild ants
Paul Birchenough
Hehe, boffins. Will we ever see an Alan Turant or a Von Neumant?
Brandon14754
creating an enchantment with air mana to create breathable air or lightning mana for electrolysis probably wouldn't be ass hard as dealing with the corruption though
Rahsheem Reid
I was laughing @ Zluths description of what’s going on. He was making such a big deal and now no one is there. My theory is They will progress forward with poss poor results.
ZaneofBane
They need a variant that sucks corruption out of allies.
Conspirant
So tortured smh
Conspirant
The council should look at altering their species again. Focusing again on quality over quantity 1. territory boundaries slowly being reached and population growth less of a priority 2. They are significantly better core shapers now, in both knowledge and experience 3. Another branch specifically built to think. Bigger brains smaller and weaker everything else
alt31415
I was gonna say something similar but less witty. Well done.
Shimelton
Psych!
Dave
Thankyou!
Marter
Anyone else predicting a boy who cried wolf? Kind of vibe.
Joseph Dizdar
Zluth's gonna become the slug that cried ant
Ibuks5
Zluth is so dead
Noble Defect
Oof poor Zluth
Briar
Yes please!!! Thank you.
John Pratt
I wonder what the cleansed fifth will look like. The monster spawns make me think it will be ocean bottom themed. Makes me think about what the non-corrupted mana of the fifth is and what effects it might have. Will it drown the ants? Will it make things buoyant?
MADSanzenin
Krath who cried Ant
Brandon14754
he writes the 5 chapters then schedules them in advance, this chapter was written last week
Rahsheem Reid
Great Chappy chap thank you
Hayden Leech
Sneaky sneaky ants!
SuperNewbie
Lmao pranked
Rahsheem Reid
You at supposed to be resting sir!!
saltyApple
first! FTC!!!
