In any event, as the hippo-turtle rights itself and recovers its balance, Crinis begins to transfer her tentacles away from the monster’s face where, despite her most violent effort, minimal damage has been done.
Not only is the shell tough as nails, it seems the skin ain’t no slouch either.
[Go hard, Tiny. This guy looks tough!]
“ROOOOO!” Tiny bellows, the fire blazing bright in his eyes.
He’s ready to go!
Fists sparking, the ape launches himself into the air and brings both fists down in his patented ape-smash directly onto the hippo-turtle’s shell. The flabby beast grunts as all the air is forced out of its body in a whoosh and it slams belly first into the ground.
Electricity flows out of Tiny and into the beast, momentarily stunning it as lightning crackles over its shell and leathery skin. Snarling, the beast forces its feet back under it and turns to engage the offending ape, snapping at him with those huge jaws.
Why does everything around here have to have such large mouths?
Whilst my pets engage the monster in brutal battle, I bravely continue to crawl through the dirt as my missing limbs regenerate. It’s been ages since I lost a leg. This hippo is going to pay!
As Tiny continues to trade blows with the beast, his fists snapping that head left and right, sending shockwaves through its long neck, Crinis busies herself with ripping into the legs. Trying to saw her way through the thick skin is taking a long time though.
“Vibrant! Give it some acid, aim for the neck!”
“Roger-roger!”
The ant soldier had been waiting for the opportune moment to engage in the fight, not willing to obstruct Tiny in his battle. With my instructions given, she proudly presents an ant’s best feature and begins to blast the enemy with her potent acid.
Four shots in total land on that long neck and begin to sizzle away. The big monster groans in pain but cannot turn away from the ape in front of it growing more and more aggressive, his fists swinging faster with every moment.
Gravity Bolt!
I hastily whip up the spell and blast it out, hoping to assist my pets in their work. Unerringly, thanks to my skills, the bolt strikes home on the creature, directly behind its head. I’ve seen this before. When the bolt hits a creature of sufficient size, it doesn’t just increase the gravity of the whole monster, but rather drags down the body part it’s hit.
In this instance, the fatty is instantly affected by a strong dragging force that wants to pull its head into the dirt. Tiny takes advantage of the hippo’s distraction to smash a few punches directly into his opponent’s face.
Gravity Bolt!
Gravity Bolt!
I pile more spells onto the now struggling monster’s neck, removing its ability to attack quite so swiftly with its jaws. Unwilling to suffer from the torture of the ape’s fists any longer, the hippo-turtle begins to withdraw its head back into shell.
You can also do that!
I hate this monster… so much.
[Get that leg, Crinis!]
[Fall, you filthy beast! Become food for the Master!]
With a horrible ripping sound, those countless tentacles twist and writhe before eventually completing their task and crippling the hippo’s front left leg.
Hah! How do you like it?
As the beast topples to one side, this time for good, the assault is renewed. Crinis moves to another leg as Tiny lays into the shell like it’s a punching bag, eventually cracking the hard outer layer with every punch.
Vibrant judges the time is right and leaps to engage with her mandibles, chipping away at the beast.
By the time my legs are sufficiently healed that I can walk, the creature has been brought down.
Finally!
109. More Marsh Explorations
[You have consumed a new source of Biomass: Sus Aquarum Armatae. You are awarded one Biomass.]
[Basic profile of Sus Aquarum Armatae has been unlocked.]
[Sus Aquarum Armatae: Armoured Water Pig. This giant monster possesses a robust defence, boasting a tough skin and extremely durable shell. Offensively, the Water Pig can deploy its vicious bite and has been known to utilise water magic to attack its foes.]
Water magic huh? This one didn’t use it, but it may not have had the chance.
After the fight, I had Tiny tip the beast onto its back, a difficult feat even for him, and we commenced feasting on the creature’s flabby Biomass.
Somewhat vindictively, I started on the legs.
Damn pig!
My legs have regenerated at this point. The new limbs are still somewhat stiff and a little tender, nothing a day or two won’t fix. Having my legs get eaten is still irritating.
[“We need to make sure we don’t get ambushed by these damn Water Pigs again, guys.”]
[Tasty,] Tiny disagrees.
“Yeah, tasty!” Vibrant registers her opinion cheerfully.
[I will be three times as vigilant! No such filth shall approach you again.] Crinis furiously wiggles her tentacles in the air to emphasise her words.
The unity of this group is severely lacking.
More to the point, listen to me, dammit!
Other than Crinis, the other two are only interested in eating.
She might get a little over-enthused sometimes, but at least she listens and pays attention.
[Thanks, Crinis, I appreciate your efforts.] I give her a quick tap on the top of her tennis ball form with an antenna.
[HAGA!]
Eh?
Standing next to me, elevating her main body on a few slender limbs, Crinis freezes and ever so slowly, begins to topple over until she’s lying flat on the ground.
“What happened to Crinny!” Vibrant scurries over to the small mass of tentacles lying unnaturally still on the ground, poking her friend with a foreleg.
…All of them are useless. Hopefully, the next generation of ants will prove to be more helpful than this lot.
Did I just jinx myself? No flags! Shut up, Anthony!
After finishing off the pig and letting Crinis recover until she’s able to take her place on my back, I pause to consider the next move. The lush growth of the marsh Expanse surrounds us, pools of murky water everywhere and the extensive mangrove-like trees with their vast, overly fleshy leaves.
Those small shadows are still up there also. Little shapes that change their position every now and again, shuttling about in their own airy domain. I think I’ll get myself up there. I’ve had enough grubbing about down here.
More than anything, I’m curious as to what those creatures are. What exactly are they doing up there?
Informing the others of my plan, I head straight to the nearest tree and place one claw against the wood of its trunk. There’s something odd about this bark. I can’t quite put my finger on it. Not that I have fingers. Leaning back, I reach forward with my front four legs and try to pull myself up.
Slippery!
Sticky!
What is up with this tree? I can’t quite get my claws to dig into it. Not only do they slide off, refusing to properly grip into the soft looking bark, they also feel gummed up, as if coated in some invisible substance.
Damn tree. How dare you resist my claws! As an ant, I will not be denied my natural born right to walk vertically on anything I darn well, please! There are species of ants that can hang upside down on glass back on Earth. For a tree to try and stop me climbing has lit a fire in my ant heart.
I shall climb!