Full scale conflict is emerging in Zone 4, Cazoran resulting from the shockwaves of two major coffee conglomerates vying for control over distribution into the galactic center through the Cazoran straight. The current alliances we are seeing appear to divide battlefronts across major beast occupied regions. Whether this is a play for beast cores to fuel the conflict or outright conquest of the remaining Cazoran beasts remains to be seen. Regardless, such open conflict may force the system to utilize world trials, title scenarios, and competitions as a means of arbitration. We are expecting a bloodbath ahead.
– Cazoran Times, Voidbreaker News
Chapter 20 – Phalanx Exoskeleton
Claws clashed with a cacophony akin to swords on shields in the somber underground cityscape. The cowcrabs' armored shells grated with a sound that sent shivers down Toki's spine. The creatures, now a swarm, skittered and thrashed before them into the street, their pincers snapping with deadly intent. They swarmed from the waterfront.
Amidst the melee stood the colossal upper stage-one cowcrab. Toki could only guess, but it was definitely greater than level 80. Its strength alone was staggering. Just entering the boardwalk, its presence stretched like an ominous portent over the skirmish. Rearing up, the pale glow from inside its shell cast a strange light over its jagged carapace. Each movement it made was ponderous yet precise, allowing spears to skitter through cracks in the exoskeleton. Its massive claws were poised to crush bone and spirit alike, heeding no mind to its bovine-crustacean brethren.
"I’ll take him! Can you take the other?" Toki called out, her voice half-lost in the pandemonium. The question was superfluous; Edgar's every feather seemed primed for the fight, but his reassurance would dictate advance or retreat.
Not far from the leviathan, a smaller, though no less menacing lower stage-one cowcrab circled Toki with a hunger in its beady eyes. Its exoskeleton bore scars from many battles, the most recent of which was from Toki’s [Lessons]. This one moved with a deceptive speed that belied its bulk, its sharp legs darting around like spears thrust by a skilled lancer.
The darkness seemed to cling to the battlefield, punctuated by Toki’s flame and the luminescence of the gathering cowcrab shells. Toki’s slender form weaved through the onslaught with a grace born from Golgheim's target practice. Her white hair danced in this true battlefield where a mistake could mean losing her head.
A look from Edgar was all the confirmation she needed as they executed a switch maneuver. The lower stage-one cowcrab lunged toward Toki, a move both predictable and terrifying, its shadow engulfing her.
But Toki was no stranger to shadows. They were now kin.
With a burst of color that seemed to defy the darkness, Toki watched Edgar draw the attention of the lesser cowcrab. With a thought, she propelled herself forward, trimming her [Lessons] down to two appendages. One shadow claw defending by parrying the rabble around her and another extending in a silent lunge toward the upper stage-one cowcrab. 5% / 95% manadraw.
The air itself seemed to scream as her assault rent towards the cowcrab, leaving ephemeral trails of darkness in its wake. The dark claw clashed against its luminous carapace. Each following strike from Toki was a test as she tried to understand the power of [Lessons] and the durability of this patriarch. Using her Twice flame to deepen the shadows, she was able to draw bigger and sharper shadows by varying her positioning.
As the creature parried with its monstrous overlapping exoskeleton, a subtle shift occurred within Toki's understanding. She observed the interplay of offense and defense, the way the cowcrab's own armor positioning dictated its movements and its offense. A revelation unfurled within her mind—perhaps a result of [Dearly Departed].
"Carapace Art," she murmured, almost in awe of the crab’s evolutionary wisdom that now surged to the forefront of her thoughts.
Toki sidestepped a pincer's swipe, her [Lessons] grazing the joint where chitin met flesh. She realized the potential for both shield and claw in this dance of shadow and exoskeleton. Her deft movements turned aside the cowcrab's attacks, each motion a study in fluidity; and in those same breaths, she launched counterattacks that struck with precision using her hammer to force the cowcrab back.
The cowcrab recoiled, its once-imposing form now faltering under the relentless barrage of both shadow and metal. It was strong, but it was slow. Toki's eyes focused intently on her adversary, every muscle coiled in readiness. It began its retreat towards the beach and Toki followed.
The creatures' clattering mandibles snapped at Toki, almost fearful, as she advanced. Her own breath came in measured rhythm, her concentration unyielding as she drew adrenaline into fortitude. The [Cascade] stacks had increased her attributes by a whole 20%, making up a large fraction of the real fortitude. I need to adapt to this increased speed and strength. I’m wasting movement in my strikes.
Stolen story; please report.
In the brief interludes where adamant met carapace, Toki pieced together the narrative concealed within its armored shell. Alone the exoskeleton was weak, but together the pieces were a phalanx, with spears jutting out at precise moments to counterattack. Toki pondered, ducking beneath a sweeping claw to deliver a riposte. Her opponent recoiled, and for an instant, its eyes met hers. She used the moment to draw the three other appendages out once more. 5% manadraw each.
A fragment of clarity took root within her mind. With each clash, she gleaned insight from the cowcrab’s movements. Its relentless aggression somehow spoke of an existence defined by survival, an uncanny purpose in its coordination and parries. It attacked with defense in mind. It defended with a counterattack planned.
As they arrived on the beach, each step upon the shifting sands was a challenge as she surrendered the advantage to the crab. The crashing waves sang a chorus in the background. Here, the terrain conspired against her—each foothold unsure. Now with a homefield advantage, the cowcrab advanced. Toki defended, meeting its charge with an attack of her own.
In this pivotal moment the crab illuminated the surroundings by drawing energy to its glowing carapace, weakening the attacking shadow claw. Toki faltered.
In this moment, where death seemed all but assured, Toki shifted manadraw to her other appendage and mimicked the cowcrab’s exoskeleton using her four remaining appendages. A shadow phalanx of her own. The claw parried off and deflected into the sand.
In that moment, time slowed, grains of sand suspended mid-flight, witnesses to the impending coup de grâce. With a piercing cry that melded with the sea's tumultuous refrain, Toki’s hammer found its mark. It plunged through the cowcrab's mandibles with a sound akin to shattering glass, triggering a final pulse of [Request] that pulled the remaining lifeforce into Toki. A deathblow.
[[Dearly Departed] has pilfered Carapace Art (56/100)]
[Carapace Art has reached partial comprehension]
Toki stood over her vanquished foe, her chest swelling with hard-earned triumph. In her victory, she glimpsed the potential of her own new power, but also her hubris. The claw makes up for so many of my weaknesses. It's like Obie with his fire and hammer.
Still, I need to remember that others also have their own aces. For a moment, Toki considered the fragments of the cowcrab's story, the fragments that now made up the Carapace Art. But the euphoria of victory waned as Toki's eyes swept the battlefield for Edgar, her heart thrumming with a new urgency. She navigated the sandy landscape backwards. Her gaze fixed upon Edgar's form amidst the melee on the boardwalk, staving off the lesser stage-one cowcrab with the finesse of a dancer and the precision of a manasurgeon. His movements were a blur, katana flashing from each of his projections.
Toki arrived just as the stage-one cowcrab crumpled to the ground, its lifeblood seeping into the street that would serve as its final resting place. The exoskeleton lay silent, proving to be no match for Edgar's relentless assault. The remaining mortal cowcrabs scattered, now leaderless.
"Are you hurt?" Toki asked.
"Scratches," Edgar replied, his voice betraying the weariness that lay beneath the bravado and the malfunctioning left wing. "You?"
"Nah, I won," Toki said, the corners of her mouth lifting in a half-smile that failed to reach her eyes. "Let’s go pick the big one apart. I think its shell could be good to enchant on. Then we’ll have to continue moving."
"Might also be tasty."
"Ohhhh, some stew! I like it!"
The stillness of the aftermath was a deceitful reprieve, shattered by the sudden whistle of an arrow cleaving through the dusk. Edgar's form buckled under the unseen assault, a feathered shaft sprouting grotesquely from one of his vibrant wings. Shock spread across his face, contorting his features in a grimace of pain as he stumbled back, his hands grappling at the invasive bolt. The projection shattered dropping the arrow onto the street. The real Edgar crumpled by Toki’s side.
"Edgar!" Toki's voice was a strangled cry, her heart thundering against her ribs like a war drum.
She sprang into action, [Lessons] building a phalanx around their position. With a fluid motion Toki swept her hand through the air, dragging the darkness along with it. It swelled into a protective bulwark, a shield wrought from the very absence of light. Another arrow, aimed with lethal intent, splintered against the barrier. Fuck, how did they get here so quick? Three was in the same meeting as me. Unless… he knows. Shit.
"I got you, Edgar."
“No, go after him,” his large eyes reflecting a mix of gratitude and agony. Blood, starkly crimson against the iridescence of his plumage, dripped in heavy droplets to the street from a phantom injury.
Toki's gaze darted across the shadow-strewn landscape, seeking the source of their peril. Her mind raced, piecing together the origin of this new threat.
“Fuck that. I need to get you to safety.” With Edgar wounded, their vulnerability hung between them. "Can you move?" Toki asked, her eyes never leaving the horizon where danger lurked.
“Yeah.”
With one arm wrapped protectively around Edgar, she supported his weight and started to move.
"Gone. He's gone." His eyes lit up red as he used his [Eagle Eye] skill, frustration smoldering at the cheap shot. The city loomed ahead and their footsteps, hurried and heavy, drummed a relentless rhythm against the cobbled streets, echoing the pounding of Toki's heart. Buildings sculpted from clay rose around them as they weaved in and out of back alleys to escape any pursuit.
"Here," Toki breathed after she was certain no one had followed, her keen eyes catching the outline of a door left ajar.
The clay house was cool and still. It offered them solitude and a place to rest and recover. Edgar collapsed against the rough interior wall, his colorful feathers now stained with streaks of crimson. His chest heaved.
"Rest now," Toki murmured, her hand putting pressure on the wound as she pulled out bandages from her bag. As she tended to his wounds, the silence was punctuated only by the faint clacking of the city—the hum of the dispersing cowcrabs, indifferent to the plight of two souls hidden in its midst.
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