When Alvor described the Iron Ant Guardians as being almost as tall as a Mountain Goat but also massive, Zed thought it was a little odd. Sure, Mountain Goats could certainly become huge, but most were around horse-sized or smaller, and Zed certainly wouldn't describe a horse as 'Massive.'

But now Zed realized that Alvor had given them the worst description physically possible.

The four Guardians were definitely tall, an intimidating 7 feet, but their bodies were structured like upscaled Drones, making them a terrifying 14 feet long! Their legs, which were quite spindly on Drones and Soldiers, were no less than a foot across, their heads were as large as Zed's torso, and their jaws looked like they could crush iron girders. The black carapace, which was normally shiny and smooth, was rough with bits of rusted iron poking out at odd angles. Their forward legs, instead of having blades like the Soldiers or Warriors, were covered in rusted iron spikes that looked like they could shred you to pieces just by brushing up against them.

Zed nearly stopped moving as he watched what were essentially living tanks making their way across the battlefield. They weren't as intimidating as The Guardian Elder, but the fact that she was the only thing he could think to compare them to was frightening in and of itself.

Almost afraid to do so, Zed used [ANALYSE].

[NAME]: N/A

[SPECIES]: Iron Ant Guardian

[LEVEL]: 30

[STATUS]

{HP}: 1200/1200

{SP}: 1200/1200

[ARMOR]: 160

[END]: 80

[STR]: 89

[AGI]: 51

[DEX]: 13

[PER]: 24

[INT]: 5

[SPT]: 5

100

[SKILLS]

[ANTENNAE] Lv.10

[HIGH-DENSITY IRON CARAPACE] Lv.10

(Passive) Increase Armor by 200% of END.

[IRON ANT PHEROMONES] Lv.10

[IRON JAW] Lv.10

'...Can I even scratch these things?'

He knew his Iron Ant Soldier Spear's damage output was well around 160 now that he had [SKILL A] so he might be able to damage it, even knowing how thick its carapace probably was, but killing the massive insect seemed impossible. Chipping away at it would eventually get through its HP, but with that much armor and health, Zed felt like his weapon would break before he ever got it down to half-health.

That modified armor Skill was also disheartening. The highest Armor stat ever seen by the players had been Yang's overpowered Maple Wood set at 45, and the game had chosen to nerf that during the version update. Seeing an armor stat that was almost four times higher was like the game screaming at him that this wasn't an opponent he should be fighting right now.

'No point in not trying though.' Zed grinned as he dashed toward the three lumbering insects. A few Warriors tried to intercept him, but a speed boost from [SPRINT] let him land three quick, deadly blows that brought them to the ground.

'Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen.'

As he got within 15 feet of the lead Guardian, it suddenly put on a burst of speed and tried to crush Zed between its massive jaws. Zed jumped upward, easily evading the enormous insect's attack by a matter of inches.

Zed's grin didn't falter, but he did feel beads of cold sweat forming on his brow. With the Guardians' STR, not only was the damage worse than the Drones, but only Alexx was strong enough to even try prying them off. There wasn't even the tiniest room for error.

Landing on the back of the massive ant, Zed stabbed down just to see if his damage was enough to scratch it. The blade of the spear buried itself a few inches into the carapace. Zed used [ANALYSE] to check the ant's HP, and wasn't surprised to see that it hadn't taken a single point of damage. The Guardian made no attempt to throw him off, clearly knowing just how impenetrable its armor was.

'But what about the joints?'

Turning quickly, Zed slashed at the joint between the ant's head and torso, creating a long but shallow cut in the softer, more flexible material. Seeing the larger wound made Zed grin. He checked its HP again... but there was still no damage.

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Zed's grin fell away. 'Huh? That should have done something.'

He did some quick math in his head to double-check, and by Zed's calculations, his slashing attack should have dealt at least a few points of damage. For the rest of the Iron Ants the game seemed to decide that the joints were actually unarmored spaces, so the fact that the Guardian took no damage at all forced Zed to reconsider the situation.

'...It's too thick,' Zed realized after a moment.

Realistically, weapons that cut and pierced killed by directly damaging the flesh of their target. Blunt weapons primarily worked similarly by crushing the target's body, but the reason such weapons were so effective against armor was because of the force behind it. Armor can only disperse so much kinetic energy, if the force was too great then not only would the armor crumple or crack but the power could just be delivered to the flesh below through the armor.

'This thing's carapace is too thick for my spear's blade to get through, and it doesn't carry the same crushing force that a blunt weapon would have.'

Not feeling very hopeful, Zed turned his spear around and attacked with the bludgeoning end, landing a quick strike to both the Guardian's back and neck. He checked again... no damage.

'Makes sense. I wouldn't expect a wooden club to do that much damage to armor this thick.' As heavy as his spear was, it just couldn't generate the force necessary to damage the enhanced armor of the Guardian.

'I guess the neck really is my only option.'

Although Zed hadn't managed to affect the Guardian's HP, he had managed to damage the carapace itself. With a little more time, he should be able to cut through to the soft flesh underneath.

'Hopefully, the goats can slow them down while I work.'

With that thought in mind, Zed gripped his spear tightly and began hacking his way through the Guardian's thick carapace.

~~~~~

Even before she could see the approaching Iron Ant Guardians, Yang knew that something was wrong. The Mountain Goats around her suddenly became more erratic, with several of them charging forward to attack something.

Yang had little time to worry about them while dealing with the relentless attacks of the Warriors, striking and dodging faster than she could swing. A few of their attacks had gotten through the gaps in her armor, but she was much more concerned about the gashes being left in her armor. The weight of her armor was the main factor that let her use the Stone War Pick so effectively. If the Warriors' blades managed to tear the armor away from her, she wouldn't just be more vulnerable but less capable of fighting back as well.

Fortunately, she didn't need to worry too much about the Warriors herself.

As another Warrior dashed in from the side, Yang stepped back to swing through a group of Drones. From behind her, Alexx struck forward, only slightly faster than Yang, but moving with an efficiency that rendered the gap in AGI useless. His fist struck the Warrior's chest, easily crumpling the carapace and throwing its body back.

As another Warrior moved in, Alexx dropped into a sweeping kick, taking out several Drones as the larger ant jumped to avoid the attack. Now airborne, the Warrior watched as Yang's War Pick barreled through the air toward its abdomen. The flying ant began to beat its wings harder in an attempt to evade the slow attack, but it was unable to as its wings were suited for hovering and little else. The Warrior was helpless as the blunt side of the mighty weapon struck its body, crumpling its torso and throwing its dead body to the ground.

As the Warriors and Drones continued their relentless assault, Yang finally got a glimpse at the source of the goats' panic, eyes widening at the sight of the massive Guardians. She was partially surprised to see Zed on the back of one, but she should have expected that he would try to fight the biggest enemy he could find.

"Alexx!" Yang tried to warn, but her throat was too sore from all the shouting she had already done, and would be hard to hear even without the noise around them.

"HOLY SHIT!" Fortunately, it didn't take long for Alexx to notice the gargantuan ants for himself. "YANG! ARE YOU SEEING THIS?!"

When she didn't respond he looked at her and she nodded before returning his attention to the Drones and Warriors around them. Whether they wanted to engage the Guardians or not, they were still a few dozen feet away, the space between filled with hundreds of Iron Ants. There was no reason to fight their way over to them if they were already coming.

'Besides, things that big should be left to the goats,' she thought, taking comfort in the knowledge that these Guardians had been repelled before.

However, that feeling of comfort was quickly ripped away.

As the Guardians came closer, a group of Mountain Goats moved in to attack. They tried to circle around the giant ants, but the four spread out and kept the goats at bay, threatening them with their snapping jaws.

One of the goats, as large as the rest but with fewer scars, charged boldly and stomped on the head of one of the ants. The Guardian barely acknowledged the attack, the Mountain Goat's hooves practically bouncing off the impossibly hard carapace.

Seemingly enraged by the ineffectiveness of its own attack, the Mountain Goat reared back to use [SKULL BASH], but that was a fatal error.

As if having waited for this moment, the Iron Ant Guardian, pushed itself upward, its front legs briefly leaving the ground as its mandibles closed around the goat's throat.

The brute force contained within the jaws of the Guardian was immense.

The Mountain Goat's throat was crushed in an instant.

Its spine was snapped a millisecond later.

And as the Guardian's jaws snapped shut, the goat's severed head fell to the ground as every connecting piece of flesh and bone was crushed into paste and powder.

The display of lethal power was intimidating, but after witnessing the might of The Guardian Elder she wasn't that impressed. However, she was confused by how little the surrounding Mountain Goats were able to do against the Iron Ant Guardians.

'Haven't they dealt with these things before? Why can't they...'

Yang's eyes widened as she turned her gaze upward. Over one hundred feet in the air, The Guardian Elder was chasing down Iron Ant Soldiers. About a dozen of them swarmed around the gargantuan goat, but their attacks weren't that aggressive, as if they were just trying to annoy the elder.

'It's a distraction,' Yang realized as her heart dropped into her stomach.

The Guardian Elder was the only one that can stop the Soldiers, but the normal goats were at a severe disadvantage against the Guardians. The Mountain Goats didn't have the attack power necessary to damage the Guardians without using [SKULL BASH] but the attack left them open. The Goats would likely get through eventually with or without the aid of The Guardian Elder, but it would be costly.

'The ants are holding the line too well, we need some way to break through.'

Perhaps it was her dislike of the Iron Ants, but at some point since the start of the siege Yang's mindset had switched from 'hang back and gain some EXP' to 'help the Mountain Goats.' The idea of the goats having to make needless sacrifices put a bad taste in her mouth and made her want to find an alternative.

Yang's eyes once again landed on Zed, and a simple plan formed in her mind.

'They seem to be ignoring him. If we can get on their back the three of us can probably take at least one of them down. With only three they won't be able to hold the line as well.'

There was only a single problem. How would they get over there?

Yang glanced at Alexx before thinking of all the EXP currently burning a hole in her pocket.

'Alright,' she thought as she opened the menu. 'I really hope I don't fuck this up.'