Still, they’ve retreated and grouped up, which is nice of them.
[Tiny, smash those guys!]
After destroying the shield, Tiny has been impatiently waiting for it to completely dissolve before advancing. Now that I’ve given him a target, he bellows his anger, eyes blazing with wrath as he charges at the grouped-up warriors.
One of the soldiers barks a quick command and steps forward, glittering sword in one hand and imposing tower shield on the other. He really intends to face off against Tiny himself and leave the ants to his fellow soldiers.
Glancing at the mage who is yet to rise, I decide to gamble and leave her be for the time being so I can intervene and assist Tiny.
Skirting to one side, I open up the angle a little and unleash my potent range of products from the commercial district.
POW! POW!
Two rapid fire shots blast into the warrior, one catching him on the leg, the other hitting the side of his chest. Hopefully the restrictive properties and damage are enough to help Tiny batter his way through.
With a little momentum behind him, the giant ape unleashes his devastating fist straight on. The warrior doesn’t lose focus for a second and his eyes show no fear or surprise at all, even when my acid splashes him. Faced with the massive fist of Tiny, he shouts aggressively and steps forward like lightning, rotating his body and smashing his shield into Tiny’s arm, deflecting the blow.
Holy heck!
This guy is insane! He actually managed to defend himself against Tiny? I’d expected we’d be finding parts of him in the next postcode when that fist was unleashed. Clearly my Restrictive Acid isn’t enough to deal with him.
Tiny isn’t perturbed in the slightest. When his fist failed to destroy the target, he simply wound back his other hand and unleashed a vicious hook. His fist cuts through the air so fast, a shrill whistle rings in the ears of everyone in the clearing.
And there are subtle signs of Tiny winding up his electrical engine. Little sparks are beginning to appear on his body and the hair on his arms is rising.
Shockingly, this blow is also deflected but not quite as gracefully. Ducking low, the warrior braces his shield against his shoulder and angles it. The shield buckles when that colossal fist smashes into it, but it is successfully deflected, a solid imprint of one of Tiny’s knuckles left on the patterned metal.
The warrior’s whole body is rocked by the impact and it looks as if his bones have been rattled. Nonetheless he lashes out with his blade, opening a wound on Tiny’s chest.
I’ll have to let these two go at it and hope Tiny can hold his own, the rest of the soldiers are already preparing to unleash their skills upon the onrushing horde of ants. To my dismay, the queen herself has pushed to the front line. Fury blazes in her eyes as she marches over a carpet of her own destroyed offspring in order to attack their killers.
Dammit!
I really wish she wasn’t so damn brave. These guys will cut her apart!
Just as I’m preparing to leap and unleash my mandibles upon the clustered warriors, I notice another development in the corner of my eye. The female mage has stood up and her entire body is glowing softly with blue light. My acid is rapidly dissolving, lifting away from her robes and skin and fading away into the air.
ARGH!
Now this mage is going to start flinging spells everywhere again! I don’t want to get sliced up by that magic and I sure as hell don’t want to expose the workforce to it.
Making a split-second decision, I face off against the mage and begin weaving a Gravity Bolt as fast as I can, even as I Dash in to threaten her with my mandibles. She mustn’t get a chance to cast a spell!
As she sees me charge, her eyes flicker with panic and dart to her side. For some reason I get the feeling she isn’t worried about herself?
28. The Queen
Seeing that unwilling flicker of eye movement, I’m reminded of the mysterious heat I’d detected a few moments ago. I still can’t see anything occupying that space, but even though one of my antennae is still in the process of regenerating, I can detect there is some random heat emanating from that space.
What the heck is it!
In the heat of the moment, I don’t have much time to decide my course of action. Any second that mage is going to start casting her spells again. I refuse to be diverted and continue using almost all of my mental energy on the construction of my Gravity Bolt. This one happens to be inverse. We’ll see how well this mage can cast spells when she’s one thousand feet up!
In order to throw her off-balance, I lunge in with my mandibles, activating my Shattering Bite skill. The ethereal mandibles that are manifestations of my stamina, lash out through the air, closing rapidly on the mage. The warriors might be able to resist this attack, but I highly doubt a mage can. Not without some sort of barrier at any rate.
The woman shocks me by nimbly rolling under my strike, expertly tucking her staff flat against her stomach to avoid it catching on anything as she completes the motion and stands ready to strike at me, staff extended.
Yikes!
I hastily leap and narrowly dodge a lance of ice that materialises from the tip of her staff and streaks through the air like an arrow, smashing into the ground just behind me.
Close!
I can’t help but note that when she made her dodge roll, she managed to place herself in between me and the mysterious heat source. She is clearly trying to protect it. This only piques my interest. If she’s willing to put herself in harm’s way for that thing, then it may be able to swing the outcome of this battle!
And my own spell has just finished preparing. Have a taste of this delicacy, mage!
Ducking low as if I were about to pounce, I instead fire the Inverse Gravity Bolt directly at the mage’s torso. Caught by surprise, she doesn’t have time to dodge and her eyes flicker with shock as, instead of the wild leap I’d threatened, this bolt of magic has been fired at her.
Twitching her wrist around with incredible speed, she places the tip of her staff in the way of the bolt and manages to catch it somehow. The Inverse Gravity Bolt pushes against the staff as the mages face becomes a mask of concentration, using her staff and then her other hand to press back against my spell.
Is that even possible?
And just in case this spell wasn’t effective, I’m already on the move, rushing forward with my mandibles open to strike.
Shattering Bite!
Trying not to get too close in case she can do something ridiculous, like rebound my own spell at me, I marshal my spirit and crunch down on the mages leg, crushing it between my mandibles.
With a despairing cry she falls to one side, deflecting my spell into a nearby tree that immediately starts to pull at its roots in the ground, attempting to rise into the sky.
Now’s my chance!
I rush toward the heat source, and it recoils back from me somewhat like a person would. What the hell!
There’s a tugging at my foot and I realise the mage has desperately grasped my leg. As soon as she grabs me, ice begins to form on my leg, rapidly growing up to my body.
You are too persistent.
Shattering Bite!
[You have defeated a Level 46 High Mage.]
[You have gained XP]
[You have reached Level 13. One Skill Point awarded.]