“Shit!!”
Viers was already in battle mode the instant the teleportation was complete, because there were hundreds of pony-sized beasts all around him.
Their body structure was designed for agility and melee combat. A variant of insectoid dogs, only they had spikes of bone growing out of their body. They had six legs with an additional twin-mantis claw-like limbs growing from their segmented-armored backs. Their eyes were emitting hunger and hostility, which was why Viers was spooked in the first place. Just one look at their teeth and anyone would understand they were not vegetarians. Viers didn't like the way they were looking at him as they licked their chops.
Viers was surrounded by a sea of teeth and claws of the Aberrants, he would have to fight his way out of this. His head was already making tactical decisions on how to fight Stage 5’s antagonist race but the abberants did not attack him.
Instead, the crowd parted, making a clear way for Viers into the big structure not far from where Viers was.
No, they are not the Aberrants. They are my troops!
Viers realized that now. He expected to find a garrison of human warriors so the insectoid dogs were a surprising find. Viers let out a sigh of slight respite. He didn't let down his guard but at least he did not seem to be in immediate danger. Seeing the… beasts didn't move -though they growled- Viers only had one path open for him, the one where the beast crowd parted like the red sea.
Viers took the opportunity to digest his surroundings as he walked the open path toward the lump of red flesh as big as a keep.
The ground he walked on was not dirt or earth. It was something blackish red and slightly squishy when stepped on. Viers deduced he was in some kind of crater because something big seemed to have made a dent in the earth where he was standing.
A really big dent.
Mangled Flesh… Muscle lines… Towering bones…
It was as if a leviathan-sized creature crash landed here, making a crater and Viers was right in the middle of the remains.
Walking felt off to Viers. It was a matter of balance, he realized. His left arm was gone from the shoulder down. He would need to get used to this as soon as possible so it wouldn't hamper him in combat.
Or I could supercharge my healing factor to get my arm back sooner. Then again, I don't have much life force left. Should I?
Freya cut off his hand once, at the wrist. It took Viers a month to regenerate it. His current situation and back then was a bit similar. Only this time he had done this to himself and by choice.
Viers paused his walk at the foot of his castle, a bulbous flesh the size of one. Part of the wall was throbbing as if there was blood or something similar flowing underneath. It was fitting, Viers felt, when he saw the biomatter gate up close, like a thorax blocked by tumors and steel like blood vessels.
The clot and obstacles receded like a living thing. The way such a gate with bizarre design worked escaped his understanding.
“Be ready for anything, girls,” Viers warned.
“Be careful, Lord Viers,” Farley said.
“When am I not?” He scoffed.
“You almost fell off the edge of the World Tree when the wind suddenly blew because you wanted to take a piss at the ‘highest point of existence’. Did you conveniently erase that from your mind?” Clarissa mocked.
Tyrion Lannister has done the same, Viers thought. “Experience everything, girls. Good words to live by. That’s the key to keep life interesting. Now, time to go into the tunnel of a dead titan but still living meat.”
Viers had a sufficiently clear image of what an ant nest looked like because of Chrysalis and YouTube. His castle was very similar. Long tunnels with pocket chambers made of flesh. A sentient food would definitely feel the same way as Viers when it was going through the intestines. The chambers were closed or blocked by bulky armored insects that barred the way. Viers could only follow the available path, risks that Viers didn't want to take if Aletro was not the Gamemaster. Viers met many smaller tumor gates along the way, all opening up without delay as he got close. He suspected he was led to the throne room, where he would meet the big kahuna of this place.
“Holy Shiet…”
There the creature sat, on an organic throne. Its face was inhuman, yet to say the least there was a touch of femininity that Viers could relate to. A sturdy black exoskeleton encased its upper body but the lower parts were clearly much more vulnerable. From the stomach down it was white in color; a long, worm-like shape.
Viers’ mind quickly pointed out its similarity with the termite queens. Their stomach grew to an absurd degree compared to the rest of its body. Viers realized what it was used for immediately.
There were tendrils connecting to the creature's back from the ceiling, making the creature seem fused with the room. Mobility would be a massive issue for the creature thus it was very much protected. Four insects which were clearly a cut above the rest guarded Her Royal Majesty.
Alien Queen.
Nothing else could describe the extraterrestrial creature in front of him.
Directly above it, was a green crystal shining with a gentle light hanging from above like a chandelier.
Viers thought it had no eyes but he was wrong. It was only closing its eyes. Six orange eyes were looking straight at the human less than a third of its size.
“I have been waiting for you, Chief.”
Viers’ ears only heard an indescribable hiss but his mind perceived it differently. Not only the words, even the uniqueness of the voice.
And the voice sounded familiar.
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“...Wait. Kaari?”
“Yes, Chief. You have known me as Kaari before.”
She sounded… human despite the paradoxically inhuman appearance. The NPC assistant of Viers spoke in an unfeeling and robotic manner before but the new Kaari that he had given a soul was a very different being altogether.
“I can feel your soul…” Viers sounded almost touched. “Was the soul transplant a success? How are you feeling? You good?”
The soul transplant was a haphazard idea. However, it seemed the integration between the soul and Kaari had been achieved.
The queen slightly moved its big body.
“Yes. I feel… different. I have the memories of my previous self but I feel she and I are two different people. How odd… Ah, but first please allow me to apologize on behalf of my children for startling you and for my boorish appearance.”
Viers was no expert at deciphering the body language of others, especially not alien’s body language but she looked like a shy girl being squeamish while wearing a nice new dress.
“Hell no. You look badass!”
Viers stepped closer and that one step made the four praetorian guards twitch. Ready to defend their queen whatever the cost. The creature that was once Kaari glared at them, moving her long neck, and they cowed like obedient puppies.
Seeing he was safe and the creature permitted, Viers touched her body, feeling the smooth, cold exterior of her exoskeleton and the warm, delicate birthing organ.
“Such a beautiful woman you have become.”
Viers gave the creature other people would call grotesque a gentle hug.
He couldn't wrap his arms around her, but it didn't matter. The queen hissed again.
“Most appreciated gesture, Chief. This one feels unworthy of such kindness.”
Viers felt the appendages of the queen hug him back.
Hugged by an Alien Queen? That’s 1% up in Horizon for sure.
“You can talk to the others? Are they all your kids?” Viers asked.
“Yes. I can feel them. I can call on them, telling them to do things and they will do so. But although they are my children, it isn't quite accurate. Such is the odd feeling I have, Chief.”
Hive mind!? Holy-
“You know what you're doing here?”
“That is so. I have knowledge of why you’re here, Chief. About the trial, the spark shards, and other people like you. The existence of the Aberrants, and why we should prepare for war against them. Assisting you is, once again, my purpose. My role is to birth more children, develop the Nest, and improve our force as a whole, preparing them for the war to come. Allow me to explain–”
The creature explained the ‘mechanics’. How she needed biomass to birth more workers and soldiers, how the gathering worked, what Viers could build to contribute to the Nest’s defenses, what mutations she could give to her children, and so on.
“Furthermore-”
“Stop,” Viers put his palm out. “I get the gist of it. How many can you spawn in one day?”
“Should there be sufficient biomass, I believe I can lay a hundred eggs each day, increasing the limit is possible in the future.”
Good.
“Will they obey my command?” Viers pointed to the praetorian guard.
“I’m connected with each of my children, Chief. I’ll obey you.”
Good!
Viers realized the format of Stage 5 was a real-time strategy and his controlled faction was bio-focused with the perk of churning out many units.
Naturally, there was only one thing to do.
But before that, he needed to finish the introduction first.
“You-who-was-once-Kaari, despite your appearance, your soul is human. You are no longer a doll and have the ability to think as an individual. Now, you're directed here by someone to help me but do you want to help me?”
The creature seemed confused.
“What kind of question is that, Chief? I hope to serve you forever and ever. It is my greatest joy.”
Viers was, for the slightest bit, flattered by the highest form of devotion from an alien.
“Good. Do you have a name for your race?”
“Yes. We are called…”
Viers winced after hearing the bad name.
“Can I rename the race?”
“Feel free to do so, Chief.”
“Very good!” Viers straightened his spine and peered into the six eyes of the creature, he was addressing the whole horde.
“I am Tanael, your master. You-who-was-once-Kaari, the empty vessel who has now gained a soul. I bestow upon you the name Zerrigan! From now on, you and your progeny shall be named the Tyra Xerg! Let the world tremble before our presence!”
The creature lowered her upper body as much as she could.
“This Zerrigan will serve Chief Tanael until the end of days. Glory to Lord Tanael. May your magnificence shine eternal like the stars.”
The other insectoids, the re-christened Tyra Xerg shrieked to the heavens, mirroring their queen. Every Tyra Xerg, inside and outside of the Nest shrieked with all of their might.
The Nest -the fortress- itself started shaking, that or Viers was the one shaking because of his excitement. He didn't know. Perhaps it was both.
“Zerrigan. Hear my first order: assemble nine-tenths of the Swarm on the outside of the crater and wait for my further orders. The remaining units shall gather resources from nearby areas.”
“By your will, Chief.”
“Master Chief!” Viers said.
“Of course, Master Chief.”
Viers gave a fist pump.
“I need someone to lead me to the highest point of the Nest,” Viers asked.
“One of my royal guards shall lead you. Although my main body cannot move. This Zerrigan will follow your advance along with my children. May your endeavor find success, Master Chief.”
Queen Zerrigan said her goodbye.
Before long, Viers scouted his surroundings by using Euryale Sight and found what he was looking for. When he came down, everthing was ready.
The Tyra Xerg was nothing but efficient because they were all united under a single will, Zerrigan. Viers was looking at an army arrayed for war atop of a mount.
It was one of the insectoid dogs. One of them was chosen by Viers to be his mount. They were smaller than horses but they had no problem carrying Viers’ body weight.
“From now on your name is Xel Doggo,” Viers patted his steed’s head.
“Angels, what did I say about great madness?” He asked his three tenants while basking in the privilege of a general, to be able to command an army.
“With great madness comes great possibility,” the three said uniformly.
“Your madness paid off, Lord Viers. Your vision and wisdom are beyond compare,” Farley further praised.
If Viers had a dead uncle with the name Ben, he would be turning in his grave.
Viers held his laughter and raised his fist to the sky.
“FOR THE SWARM!”
The answer came in the form of a sound tsunami.
“Kraaa—!”
“Kraaa—!”
“Kraaa—!”
“KRAAAAAAAAA!!!”
Hundreds of feet stomping through the plains, a man riding at the tip of the spear. A carpet of violence made form. It was a great sight, enough to impress the people inside Viers’ head but he knew this was nothing compared to the true potential of the Tyra Xerg!
Xerg Rush! Kekekekekekeke!
Chapter 181 - The Swarm Cometh