In terms of the individual mutations, it isn’t that hard to pick out what I want from the exhaustive lists. As I stated, the condensing effect I’ve been adding to my gravitational mana gland has been great. It’s actually an idea I stole from Tiny, believe it or not. He added this effect to both of his Lightning Mana glands a long time ago, and it was only much more recently that I decided to follow suit. The carapace plating has a mix of mutations so far, aimed at improving its ability to absorb forceful blows as well as healing the carapace above.
I think I’ll look at emphasising the former rather than the latter. The healing effect I get from the plating is good, but that isn’t why I purchased the organ, I purchased it to help shore up my defence against solid, concussive blows. Making sure it’s working at maximum capacity in that respect is going to be the best choice right now.
In fact, when I next evolve, I might look at reforging the carapace plating along with the carapace. Rather than add the healing effect, I could go all in on bulking up my defence and add an additional organ or element to repair damage to the carapace on the fly. Even those diamond bugs I was offered last time… I’m not especially comfortable with having little parasites inside my carapace, but if they can strengthen and repair it, then it’ll be a worthy trade.
Anything to make the diamond shine brighter!
With all of that done my upgrades look like this:
Braced Healing Inner Carapace Plating +25 à Fortified Healing Inner Carapace Plating +30.
Unyielding Coordination Cortex +25 à Steadfast Coordination Cortex +30.
Compressing Unending Gravity Magic Gland +25 à Forceful Unending Gravity Magic Gland +30.
And those three upgrades are going to cost me just FOUR HUNDRED AND TWENTY BIOMASS. Holy moly, things are getting expensive at this tier. I seriously need to prioritise mutating my stomach the next time around. I need to squeeze all the Biomass I can out of the prey I get, because I need literally thousands of points to get myself to fully upgraded.
This is likely the downside of adding too many different body parts and organs… but it’ll be fine. As long as I spend enough time, I’ll eventually get to max. Considering I need to reach Level one hundred and sixty to evolve again, there’s almost no chance I’m reaching that Level cap before I finish my mutations. The sheer volume of experience required is just mind-boggling. Although, knocking down a tier seven opponent is worth quite a few Levels… hopefully I’ll get the chance again tomorrow.
With my selections confirmed, it’s time to put my head down and confirm my choices. I may as well let my mind get some rest whilst I’m at it. For a battle of this size, I need to be as fresh as I possibly can.
When I feel the itch start to roll over me, I almost welcome it. Then it erupts from inside my brain, and I immediately hate it again.
DAMN ITCH! WHY MUST YOU TORMENT ME?
29. Assault on Orpule, Part 5
The defensive strategy of the Colony is a brutal one. Though they shy away from attrition warfare in principle, they have been known to engage in it when the grim calculus of war is sufficiently in their favour. If you are losing ten soldiers for every ant you kill, then that isn’t a fight that will go well for you. However, committing meat to the grinder is often the only avenue that the damned insects will leave open for you.
The records are filled with example after example of the superiority of their defensive construction. The generals have a saying: “Leave three ants on a rock for two days and you’ll find an impregnable fortress when you get back.” The folly of rushing to engage the fortifications of the ants has been proven time and time again.
Their mages are well-trained and strong, adaptable and with excellent coordination. The spell barrages that would-be attackers are forced to endure are harrowing. If you manage to neutralise the mages with your own, which is no easy task, then you still have the literal rain of acid to deal with. Their artillery ants are capable of firing the stuff a kilometre, spraying wide areas with a mist that will strip flesh from bones if given the chance.
Suppose you manage to overcome that obstacle, you advance into their fortifications —likely an anthill, since that’s their favoured configuration —and then what?
A bloody grind of a battle where you are forced to assault layer after layer of walls, traps, and pitfalls, that’s what. The ground will open up behind you to vomit out hundreds of ravenous monsters, rivers of acid will explode out of nowhere, bursting from concealed storage chambers and flowing down the hill, literally taking the feet out from under you. It’s a nightmare, but it’s not impossible. With sufficient numbers, grit, and clever tactics, you can overcome this hurdle. But what have you won? The answer is nothing. You have conquered the outside of the anthill, which is nothing. All the things they want to defend are INSIDE the hill, which means the true test is yet to come.
Fighting the ants within the tunnels of their own fortress-hills is some of the most brutal fighting I’ve ever seen in my forty-year career. I’ve witnessed veteran soldiers come out of those tunnels as shivering wrecks, completely broken from the experience. It’s dark, it’s cramped, and at any time, from any direction, a veritable horde of terrifying monsters could burst through the walls. Fighting the ants outside is hard enough, but within the narrow confines of their nests? They turn into another beast entirely.
My official recommendation for assaulting ant fortifications is this: don’t.
Establish ranged superiority and throw stuff at it until it crumbles into dust, then burn the dust until nothing remains but a puddle of molten rock. It takes a long time, requires a massive concentration of valuable assets, but it’s the only way that works.
When I snap out of torpor, I find the rest of my group has already abandoned me, leaving me inside the small resting chamber all on my lonesome. It’s fine, though, my feelings aren’t hurt. I’m tougher than this! Dammit… I need a diamond covering for my heart.
I head out of the chamber to find the Colony has been anything but lazy whilst I was… taking a tactical nap. Construction on the ramp continues at a vicious pace, and already the mighty edifice rises high into the burning air of the third stratum.
Seriously, there must be tens of thousands of tons of stone used to make this thing, if not more. It’s bonkers. Still, the Colony is doing it! A constant stream of construction materials flows into the site, but not as many as before. As I take a look around, I can see that a large concentration of ants has been assembled toward the tip of the ramp and that some form of conflict is taking place there.
It’s already started? I need to get moving! Flexing my legs a little, I quickly Dash forward, scanning around to find the mana signatures of my crew.
[Sarah? Tiny? Crinis? Invidia? Where are you guys?]
At first, I can’t spot them, then as I run up the base of the ramp and head toward the emerging end of the massive thing, I recognise them up ahead. They’re already at work!
[Guys! Why didn’t you wait for me?]
[Oh! Hi, Anthony!] Sarah greets me. [We thought it would be best to let you sleep. You’ve been up for a long time, after all.]
[But don’t let the fighting start without me! I need to be here to help out!]