CHAPTER 143: What Now?
“Reminds me of the goblins,” shivered Joseph, regaining his balance after being healed.
He had taken hard hits before, but feeling those large holes closing and his insides wriggling around as they figured out where they needed to be while reconnecting was more disconcerting than anything else so far. Plus, he could feel the impact of not having Adam here.
Adam had always used his advanced strength to put the rest of them in the position to do the least work necessary for victory, or was ready to step in should things get too far out of hand like this. However, there was another aspect of what Adam brought that Joseph was becoming more aware of. Somehow, Adam kept them all calm. His presence steadied them and reduced their fear and pain. That was even before adding in his connections to bolster any emotions they might need to stay focused.
Joseph wasn’t a very focused guy to begin with, didn’t put much stock in others, but it took a lot more mental and emotional effort without Adam to keep in control and to just walk off the hits and damage. He tightly gripped the handle of his spear, preparing himself mentally to walk back into the monsters, where more hits would be coming.
“There is no dual hammer wielding monster to save us this time,” snarled Carlos, using his speed to upend approaching soldiers, unbalancing the groups moving in to allow space to be maintained.
Andrea ran forward, around the side of Brittney’s shield. Her agility was high compared to other casters thanks to her class using it as a secondary stat, yet it was still low compared to their opponent. A lance arm impaled her stomach as soon as she got past, and she cried out. Yet even with blood dripping from her lips she smiled.
“More like the Testudinates than the goblins,” she whispered as her hand was shoved into the open shoulder wound of the Nest General. “[Jolt]!”
Much stronger electricity than when she fought the Testudinates flowed into the monster, creating sizzling and popping noises. The Nest General shook and twitched. It opened its mouth to scream, but a second [Jolt] was cast before Brittney could yank Andrea back towards their healers.
After a few seconds of twitching, smoke rose out of the Nest General’s mouth and wounds, then it fell to its knees, unmoving.
Entugo “Nest General [45]” slain. 33,273 shared XP gained.
“That sure took a lot more than the ones attacking Carmichael’s group,” muttered Brittney.
“Adam mentioned those guys were weak on purpose. They probably saved the strong ones for attacking Adam or Jackson. It’s why we need to get stronger,” said Tom.
“Then let’s get to it,” interrupted Lucas. “We’re getting bogged down here. Once Andrea is healed, we need to move again. Get ready, Randall!”
Joseph stepped forward and used his new skill [Reaping the Fields] to swing his oversized spear. The head of it cut through the first few Entugo it hit, but even as the cutting force disappeared, Joseph’s strength was enough to fling more out of the way. The bodies impacted others and created an opening ahead of Randall.
“I’m ready,” said a pale Andrea, her hand touching the newly healed skin exposed from the open space in her robe. They needed to find a way to improve the armor of their robes, though she doubted there was currently anything that could stop such a powerful invader. Maybe something from these bugs could be used. She looked at the maggot-looking mother, about 40 feet away, and shivered. Maybe its skin would work if they got out of here.
The Sentinel Army fighters were deteriorating, though not as quickly as they feared. The soldiers wouldn’t have been a problem without the commanders coming in and opening holes in their formation. Even with that, they were taking too much damage, with the Guards and Leputi needing to be pulled inside the formation for healing. Their healers were also quickly running out of mana.
They needed to make this more than a battle of attrition.
Lucas waited until the approaching Nest Generals were halfway to them before he shouted to Randall, “Go!”
“[Electric Wave Thrust],” he called and blasted forward once more, electricity spreading from his movements to damage, and sometimes stun, the grouped enemies.
Andrea and Fido were behind him, increasing the lightning, damage, and control. The group rapidly filled in the space that Randall created, trying not to leave anyone behind or cause gaps the Entugo could use to split them in the crowded room.
“One last push in 8 seconds,” Lucas announced. “Keep it tight!”
The fighting picked up again, but not with the goal to kill them all. They were just trying to buy time, space, and to stay able to move once the time arrived. Unfortunately, that was when the Nest Generals arrived.
Sounds from combat were normal, but the insects never made oral noises of their own. They just pushed forward until they died. That made it easy for the Sentinels to hear commands and communications from those around them. It also made it obvious when a person screamed.
The scream echoed in the cavern. Lucas looked back and saw a healer from the General’s Guard impaled on a lance. They kept trying to cast spells on themselves, but their motion was stopped by another lance impaling the moving area. One arm had completely come off.
The people around were trying to help, trying to get to the Nest General that had pushed inside their positions, but between the four lances it had, and the press of Entugo soldiers and commanders from the side, there was little they were able to do.
“[By Your Side],” yelled Brittney, her skill rapidly moving her to her ally. She used a [Shield Bash] to knock the Nest General backwards a few feet and grabbed the dying healer. “[Attention Here]! [Cover All]!”
A barrier formed around the group of people as Brittney taunted the monster. Lucas sighed. He didn’t have time to watch. Brittney wasn’t their only defender, but she was the only one that could last more than a few seconds against these powerhouses.
“Change of orders,” he shouted. “Randall, Andrea, Elias, Alissa, and Joseph, follow the plan. The rest of us need to hold here.”
“Seriously?” complained Joseph. “By ourselves? There are still two more of those strong buggers!”
“Can’t do it? Too weak?” taunted Tom, not even looking back while he worked to put down a commander.
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“Tom…” menaced Joseph, raising a fist.
“Go or don’t,” shouted Lucas. “You fail, we die! Brandon, re-buff them. Fido, I need you over here.”
Buffs went out. Everyone who had a group buff skill used it on those five.
Fido, who had gotten larger and more intelligent as he leveled and grew, went over to Lucas and the two headed to where the second Nest General was arriving on the opposite side as the previous one Brittney went to hold.
Five defenders were waiting together to prevent the Nest General from breaking through, as had happened on the other side. Lucas went over to help. He activated all his weapon and technique enhancement skills, ready to dance with his opponent.
To Fido he said, “Don’t worry about fire. Just use ice and lightning breaths when the coast is clear.”
“We’re going,” shouted Randall. “[Electric Wave Thrust]!”
“That’s what he said,” shouted Tom. Someone tried to slap the back of his head, but their hand passed through an illusionary body. “Hey! That wasted my illusion. You know we’ve all been thinking it since he first used that skill.”
“Shut up, Tom!” called Lamar.
“C’mon, focus,” ordered Lucas. “We need to hold things here. Lamar, keep them covered. Try to draw attention to us so they can strike.”
Then Lucas arrived at the Nest General. Five shields were already scrap, punctured and bent inwards. The hammer was too slow for this, so he dropped it and pulled a sword.
Recognizing him as the greatest threat, the general came at Lucas. He activated his class’s level 35 skill [Trade Blows]. The Nest General was faster but not stronger than Lucas. With [Evade] activated, he still took the thrusts from the Entugo, but they were mostly glancing, deflected off his wrist guards and chest armor, or cutting the skin on his upper arms. Yet, for every attack he took, [Trade Blows] also allowed him to strike his opponent. The other creature’s armor was tougher, leaving only scratches on it when Lucas’s sword landed.
The defenders, even the ones with bend shields, tried to hem in the Nest General from the sides. They limited the space available, jostled back and forth, and their shields pushed against it to prevent all four arms from having free range of motion. This weakened its strikes and angles of attack, making it easier for Lucas to manage.
Fido was also doing his part. He would release breaths at the surrounding soldiers to keep them back, while one of his heads would bite the leg of the Nest General and use a breath on it. Sometimes Lucas was hit by the breaths as well, but Abbey had left a [Circle of Life] around him to keep the heals going.
Few ranged were helping to avoid friendly fire, while the other melee were too busy engaging the thousands of encroaching invaders. With how little damage Lucas was able to do and six people plus one Cerberus involved in just locking down a single opponent, their only hope was for the rest of the team to succeed, and quickly.
***
Randall had aimed his propelled attack directly at the Nest Mother. The lightning radiating off him once more pushed back all the enemies in his line. The tip of his spear made it all the way to the giant maggot like queen. Unexpectedly, the soft outer skin of the nest mother stopped the attack in its tracks. The lightning touched it, and the spear point only drew a small mark on its hide.
Upon making contact, the Nest Mother shook and rippled. Then a tone vibrated out of it that shook the ground and the fighters. Randall almost dropped his spear as he tried to cover his ears, feeling sharp pain and a pop. Then his hand touched wetness trickling from the ears.
“Noisy cow,” cursed Joseph. Then he activated [Deadly Penetration], [Under the Seam], and [Follow Thru]. He thrust at the mother with all his buffed strength.
Once more it shook and rippled, releasing the vibration. Randall felt his balance failing and almost fell over as more blood dripped from his ears.
Joseph’s spear was able to penetrate the skin, but as he pulled the spear out, the Nest Mother flashed with a skill. Its body bulged at the same time the skin tightened, crinkling into ridges. This drew in the area that had been punctured. Another strike by Joseph failed to pierce, even with his skills.
“Can’t get through the skin,” moped Joseph.
“[Volt Cutter],” called Andrea as she used a skill that looked similar to an arc welder. “No good with this either.”
“The two Nest Generals are almost here, coming from the front. We need a way to hurt it,” said Elias. Using [Protection of the Earth] to give them some damage absorption, he also cast Landslide to keep moving the bugs away from them.
“No chance of getting into its mouth?” asked Alissa. “That’s the type of thing Adam would have done.”
“Those teeth are like thousands of rapiers!” screamed Andrea. “I’m not going in there!”
While they talked, the spikes on the outside of the nest mother’s skin began to grow or protrude more. They had been about the length of a finger, hooked and sharp. Now they were reaching out and the huge creature was trying to turn towards them.
“I can’t keep them back much longer,” said Elias, trying to hurry the group along.
Joseph tapped Randall’s shoulder and pointed at the rear of the Nest Mother.
“There’s more than one way inside,” said Joseph.
“Eww!” gasped Andrea, but Alissa just laughed.
“[Lightning Spread]!” used Andrea to create a path.
“[Raise Earth],” used Elias, to make a barrier.
“[Reaping the Fields],” used Joseph to clear even more space.
Alissa buffed herself with [Blessing of Wrath] and [Intelligence to Strength]. Then she used [Quick Step] to get ahead of the others. Each punch she threw at an Entugo added [Take Life] to weaken them as they were knocked back. At range she would cast [Death Bolt].
They made their way around the massive boss while it was unable to turn fast enough to keep up with them. Its mass and movement were also keeping the two Nest Generals out of sight of them. Every now and then the creature would release that tone, nearly causing them to fall, but Alissa would touch them and use [Give Life], healing them with the lifeforce she had stolen away from the enemies she punched.
More time was taken than they had intended, and their target kept shifting. Once they reached its back, they saw two small tubes that pulsed open and closed. One led to the sacs on its back and the other just went straight into the creature.
“Here goes,” said Randall, hesitating a bit as he aimed his spear tip at the second tube. He took a deep breath and let it out to steady himself. “I’m going to be tapped after this, so here’s hoping.”
Then he started layering his skills. [Sturdy Weapon] to make sure his spear survived. [Long Strike] to get a bit more range from his attack. [Lightning Tip] for an extra surge up front. [Flash Foot] to give him more momentum. Finally, he triggered [Electric Wave Thrust] and blasted forward.
He didn’t make it far, moving only about six feet before rebounding off the behind of the giant Entugo. Electricity struck him as much as the Nest Mother, shocking his body and dropping him to the ground with his body spasming. But the spear was deeply wedged in.
Joseph ran past Randall and grabbed the spear while Alissa used [Quick Step] to get there at about the same time. Her strength with her latest buff [Intelligence to Strength] was nearly the same as Joseph’s. The two pushed the spear further in. Then she grabbed the opening around the spear and started using [Take Life] to weaken it.
At the violent attacks, the Nest Mother stopped moving and its front pulled off the ground as it released a stronger vibration that shook the ground and damaged their ears. With the queen halting its turn, the Nest Generals had a clear path to them.
“Joseph, try to pry this open while I weaken the muscles,” Alissa ordered.
Grabbing the handle of the spear, Joseph pulled it to the side, forcing the tube to stretch about a foot and a half.
“Andrea, dear, if you would,” she said to her friend.
Andrea gagged as she looked on. Then she practically closed her eyes and rushed forward, jabbing her arms in the wider opening. She took a deep breath.
“[Volt Cutter], [Along the Flow],” she used, sending a strong current of lighting into the body and then moving it along a path. Her new skill [Manipulate Lightning] allowed her to control it longer before she felt the charge dissipating.
“Ack!” gasped Elias as the Nest Generals caught up to him.
Andrea felt the muscles of the sphincter tighten around her arms as Alissa stepped away. The taller girl used [Give Life] on Elias even as she stepped forward to try and grapple with the two stronger Entugo.
There was no way Andrea was going to allow her best friend to do that. She closed her eyes and then used everything she had.
“[Boost Power]! [Jolt]! [Lightning Spread]! [Volt Cutter]! [Fireball]! [Jolt]!”
One after the other her spells shot through the massive body of the boss, as soon as each cooldown was up. She tried to feel where they would do the most damage and lead the electricity there. The beast was vibrating and thrashing around. Andrea, arms caught inside, was flipped back and forth, unable to escape without losing the ability to damage it.
“[Volt Cutter]! [Lightning Spread]!” she finally said as her mana ran out and she was flung onto the ground, bouncing off it from the force.
“You freaky tart! Take this!” Joseph shouted as he stepped forward, planting one foot firmly, even as the ground continued shaking, thanks to [Unmoving Steps]. Then he used [Follow Thru] and [Deadly Penetration] as his other foot struck the end of the spear handle with a fireman kick. “Ass to brain, [Headhunt]!”