RinoZ
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Chapter 1242 - Waste Not
🕑 Added 2023-10-09 03:21:36 +0000 UTCAfter Solant returns and the news spreads of the results, there’s a mixed response amongst the Colony. Most of the generals, including Sloan and Victor, are concerned and cautious at the aggravated response of the slugs. So far, these are by a long stretch the most difficult to kill monsters the Colony has encountered.
The rate of attrition is downright awful. Soldiers, scouts and generals are on a constant rotation, recovering from awful burns to their mandibles. Mages are struggling to penetrate the slime defence using their basic elemental magic, leading to horrendously inefficient fights where we pour out ten times the amount of energy our opponents use to attack and infect our tunnels. Even the carvers are in fits, since designing defences that keep out the damned slugs and their corruption is proving to be all but impossible.
Me though? I’m absolutely thrilled.
We’ve proven that the incredibly infectious mana these monsters spread can be countered. That’s massive. The weird, jelly-pillars that Solant, Ellie and Bella came up with are pretty much useless for doing anything else, due to just how expensive it is to buy the organs that allow them to perform their cleansing function, but who cares? This is the Colony! We can spoon feed them xp and cores until the cows come home if we have to.
I don’t think they should even try to make them combat capable. If they get faster at vacuuming up goop and purifying it, that’s all we need. When they get down to the fifth, they’ll have to absorb literal tons of the stuff, gigalitres of toxic sludge just waiting to be cleansed. If they can counter-terraform, fill an area with self replicating anti-sludge, then they’ll have achieved everything they need to.
And as for the super aggro response by the slugs? I’m with Solant, that’s excellent.
“Bella, Ellie! Get me your wuff-squad, we’re going out! You come too.”
“What?” Ellie boggles at me. “Our teams just got back a few hours ago! They need to rest!”
“Don’t give me that, they weren’t even out for that long. I need you for a few hours, tops, and we need to powerlevel the little jellies anyway. These dudes need another two evolutions at least.”
“But we haven’t prepared for that,” Bella tries to reason with me. “We need more time to study the organ and Skill options that will maximise their performance.”
“We learn as we go. Hurry up!”
I’m not to be dissuaded and the two core shapers can only sigh and begin to round up their people as I bounce around eagerly.
[Crinis, Tiny, Invidia. I need you three to hand off your tunnels and come to me as soon as you can. We’re grouping up and heading out on a quick trip.]
[Fight?] Tiny asks.
[Oh, for sure. It’s going to be nuts.]
[Good,] the big ape huffs, and I can feel his grin over the mental connection.
[Where are we going, Master. Are you safe?] asks Crinis, suddenly worried.
[I’m perfectly fine, just get over here.]
In an hour, all the required parties have gathered and it’s time to depart. The moment Crinis arrives, she glomps onto my carapace, whereas Tiny decides to stomp along beside me, with Invidia riding on his shoulder.
Behind us come the core shapers and their charges, who are, I have to say, rather adorable. Also, pretty dang slow.
We make our gradual, inexorable way down into the deeper levels, heading down the spiralling tunnel that leads roughly straight down from the fortress.
Of course, it doesn’t take us long, once we leave the defensive line behind us, to run into corrupted land.
“Send forth the jelly-slugs!” I demand and the core shapers, somewhat reluctantly, comply.
As the pets wiggle their way forward, happily huffing and swinging their face tendrils, Ellie, Bella and the others watch nervously, knowing what’s going to come next.
The pets leap into the sludge with reckless joy and I look on, fascinated as they begin to draw it into themselves and purify it, releasing their cleansing mist from their tendrils. As the mist fills the air, it seems to neutralise the miasma, even wearing away at the slime and mucous that covers the walls.
Seriously impressive!
And the second we get spotted, by a slug, it goes complete berserk, gurgling and shrieking as it rushes towards us like a slimy missile.
VOID CHOMP!
CRUNCH!
Naturally, I obliterate it with an empowered void chomp before it can get too close, but soon enough I can sense the shifting gravity as monsters in the area begin to rush towards us. At this point, I take a step back and urge my three pets forward.
[Time to get some XP you three!] I tell them cheerfully. [As long as those kelly things keep working, there’s going to be an endless supply of fifth stratum monsters to fight. So get ready!]
A broad grin splits Tiny’s face as a fierce, burning light ignites in his eyes. For his part, Invidia reveals his broad, creepy smile, while Crinis rises up from my back, tentacles writhing as she moves forward.
Soon enough, the torrent of sludge arrives. Heaving masses of liquid goop. Toads as big as I am. Slugs dropping hunter-killer mini-slugs. Even a dense floating cloud of gas with a core comes at us. I mean, seriously?
Naturally, my three allies deal with the problem the only way they know how: extreme overkill.
Tiny’s punches have only continued to grow stronger as he sends fists of light the size of cars crashing out into the oncoming beasts, striking down monsters ten metres away from his actual hands.
Invidia hisses to himself as he lasers and explodes everything he can, his minds working like a tireless symphony conducting an opera of boom.
Crinis… well… we know what Crinis does.
And whenever they can, I have them fling a barely living, monster back for the little jelly-pillars to climb on and deliver the final blow.
Gweheheheh. This is excellent.
Comments
ShockedCorgi
Yes! The Wuff squad! I bet these Jelly-pillars are going to become immensely important to the plot.
Rahsheem Reid
Where has chrysalis gone
SuperNewbie
Hi RinoZ, don’t know if you’ll read this, but I caught up to 1212 on RR in about a week and was obligated to support you. I love your worldbuilding and character writing. It’s made me realize I need to be more ant-like in my pursuits and passions. Thank you for your amazing story!
Nathan Quitugua
Need to have it be healing/cleansing mist. AoE antidote/heal all in one and all they gotta do is eat corrupted jelly slime? EASY PEEZY
Nathan Quitugua
Imagine a sea of wheat blowing in the breeze...except the wheat is black...with serrated teeth on every inch of it and it wraps around you and it covers literally every surface you can see.
Anthony Romanov
RinoZ we need more description of Crinis battle 😱😂
Gonvas
The 3rd is great to reach T5 and T6, with the never ending supply of demons and war vs demon cities that have thousands of high tier monsters. But after T6 there's a lack of monsters and the Colony also has a policy of integration with the demons. The 4th the only thing I remember is that the local bosses are T8s mythic. The impression I've is that it's more peaceful stratum than 3rd, less spawns but monsters can get to higher tiers, ... Sapients have a strong presence and there should be some conflict in the future but overall, not the best place to rapidly evolve large numbers of high tier monsters (while trying to have max mutations and core size). This idea is like an artificial wave from the 5th. It should be a fast and risky way to evolve in the high tiers (T7 and T8, not sure about T9). This time there's a policy of extermination and can also be grouped together with an expansion policy to the 5th.
Gopard
Thanks for the chapter!
Findell
[As long as those kelly things --- kelly into jelly
CentaureHeart
If there is a way to extract the substance the Wuffer produce, this could be the most sought after produce of the colony. Not to mention that they will need help conquering the 5th Stratum, might be good if others could use that to help.
Ej Speed
Good chaps and pets evo coming soon
alt31415
Second this; some of the best scenes are other people seeing Anthony and their thoughts on him.
Isiah Debarros
That's actually perfect This could be a great way for the stronger members of the colony to level up and get tier seven
pink playz
Can we PLEASE get the situation from Bella and Ellas view. They just got back and the eldest drags them out into another fight, with only 4 offensive capable monsters. And they just win completely. Also it is really nice how this book balance the fact that ever though the eldest is only a few tiers above the majority of ants, he is still a major powerhouse, that is unrivaled in almost every sphere. He is so strong he does not even need a plan, he just fights.
pink playz
First comment, never mind. I did not update. Curse you Koala Man.
Koala Man
:)
