"You know you're not only losing this bet, but more than likely your life, right?" Barry taunted, as we stood 50 feet outside the Jaia Giants' front gate, awaiting the next wave. Our internal timers that prompted anyone within a Pylon's vicinity ticked, however I made a point to ignore it. I'm ready now, there was no need to compound anticipation.
"Are you actually trying to talk shit after yesterday? Come on man let's be real, I had you dead to rights." I said, before pretending to choke, my fingers on my blade grips looping around my neck.
"You slimy littl-"
"BOYS! Save it for the beasts." Cassi barked. Looking behind, my eyes surveyed the massive coalition that stood behind, stretching wider than the walls of the Pylon. Cassi stood in front with Phoebe, Becky the boa and Steve at her sides.
Our original 15 water druid warriors were the first line of soldiers behind. Our remaining 17 soldiers and 25 of Garrin's giants followed, though the giants would serve as tanks and push ahead as soon as the beasts closed in. All of the giants were at least level 5, which is probably when they made their transformation. It made sense, considering that's everyone's first evolution level anyhow.
Our soldiers by now were pretty diverse in levels outside of the original 15. The best of them had just hit level 5 in his class, and was saving his evolution for after this fight. Got to remember to get that kid's name.
My thoughts struggled to differ from the utmost confidence, but how couldn't I feel more than secure in this stand? We hadn't even been home for our Pylon waves, leaving the turrets and traps to do the dirty work for us. Having all of us here for a defense had to be overkill, of the highest order.
"MOVEMENT WEST!" Phoebe loudly announced from behind me, entirely too fucking close to my ear. Focusing forward and rubbing my ringing ear, the dangling vines and branches rustled ever so slightly in the distance. It was after the crescendo of screeches and heavy footsteps did the loud cracking of tree branches breaking begin. Not a moment later an army of massive grey beasts with multiple giant horns atop their skull and bodies bursted through the treeline.
Falling to the ground beside them, some of which landed on the backs of these four legged beasts, were utterly massive gorillas, a few missing limbs. Around them buzzed a giant swarm of people-sized Praying mantises, their wings fluttering rapidly through the air blocking the trees they emerged from.
Okay, maybe not so overkill.
"PELTASTS, HEAVE!" Cassi's voice thundered surprisingly loud given her chill physical demeanor. The giants in our backline began tossing tree sized javelins at the incoming melting pot of horrifying beasts. Their range was incredible, most hitting or barely missing the charging beasts from over 50 yards away. The grey ones grew nearer, allowing for a better look. They had massive fanged jaws, yet adorned most of the physical characteristics of a rhino.
"AGAIN, HEAVE!" Cassi ordered, a second barrage of javelins flying overhead after. This time hitting many of the Giant mantises, and even a few of the Gorillas. One Gorilla took a javelin to the skull, only to catch its balance from the momentum pushing back, resuming its charge as the wood dragged behind its unnaturally bent back head and neck.
"Phoebe, your turn." Cassi calmly ordered our new archer friend, who grinned taking an angle outside the formation toward the stampeding crowd. She volleyed arrows one after another, each igniting in a fiery blaze descending upon the mixture of beasts. The arrows hitting the oversized bugs fragmented on impact, knocking multiple other mantises from their flight around the targeted Mantis.
8 thunderous pops rang throughout the forest, causing some serious damage to the mantises in particular. Phoebe's shoulders dropped after loosing her final fiery volley, breathing heavily. No doubt she'd just tactically spammed some skill of hers, something I'm sure Cassi schemed up.
"Team Tom, you're up." Speaking of the devil, she'd finally just let the dogs off their leash. Both serpents, Barry the Giant and I took off, leaving Phoebe to rest before hopefully rejoining us later. Steve swooped me up under my legs as I waved goodbye to Barry's determined sprint, zooming right past him. Becky struggled to stay at Steve's pace, which he not so secretly made up for by slithering at wider oscillating patterns.
"Stop stalling, we're fucking hunting. Your girlfriend will catch up." I scolded Steve mentally. He continued the same wide arching path for a while before relenting, narrowing his path and exponentially increasing his speed toward the charging rhino-things. Once close enough to get a decent enough look, I ordered Steve to slither sideways along their charging front line, trying to identify exactly what we're dealing with.
(Hippocerotidae [level - 7])
No way those thing's are a hippo mix.
A cacophony of wings buzzing around us inspired me to unsheathe my twinblade, as mantises swarmed me and Steve. Their massive bladed arms swiped wildly as they flew over head, stalling me from identifying them and the other beasts race. The mantises burst of speed was genuinely impressive, Steve having seen them coming and dodging being the only reason why I hadn't had my head lopped off. A pair zoomed by closer than the others, just within my range. My blades flashed a trail of blue and white light, slashing and stabbing through the near 6-foot insects mid-flight.
The air sprayed with green insectoid blood and plasma as Steve weaved across the mass of malicious beasts. Steve jerked around making a full U-turn without warning, making me grab hold of his scales tightly to refrain from falling off. I was about to question the purpose until I'd looked toward his new target.
Becky was caught up between a group rampaging Hippocerotidae, three of them circling her. The rest continued their charge toward the settlement, being met by Barry's mighty cleaver cutting clean through one's skull from the side. Meanwhile Becky had barely managed to wrap her body around the legs of one Hippocerotidae, the two others actively trying to gore her with their massive sharp horns.
Steve slammed hard into the Hippocerotidae closest to goring Becky's long abdomen. Another attacking rhino-monster staggered its charge behind. It adjusted its trajectory toward Steve however, rather than Becky.
My arms and feet shoved me off of Steve's side as I slid across the low grass. Energy sparked off of my blades at my side as my heel caught the ground, standing me up beside the Hippocerotidae using the momentum. Flow shot up my foot into my arm, launching a Flow Strike and stabbing into the charging Hippocerotidae's front shoulder.
The Hippocerotidae's leg collapsed, causing it to nose dive into the earth sliding and rolling forward. Steve's head snapped around hovering over a motionless Hippocerotidae. It was propped on its side, being fully strangled by Becky who wrapped around her entire torso head to toe. Steve took the opportunity to land two Flow Bites on the prone beasts belly.
Scanning over the battlefield, the first 15 Druid warriors and most of our coalition were fully engaged in combat with the beasts. The giants wielding massive wooden shields sat at the front line holding back the Hippocerotidae. Another pair of mantises landed in front and behind me interrupting the view, appearing coordinated in their approach. The grass ripped into the air under my feet darting to the side, keeping both giant insects within my periphery by changing their relative angles. One dashed forward at a speed that definitely surpassed the Cantis-Pantheris boss Lonni and I dealt with.
My counter stab was already in motion however, having read the Flow coiling in the mantises limbs. My body swayed to the side as the insect rocketed through the air, impaling itself onto the length of my blade. A surge of lightning mana shooting through its torso ripped a hole through its extremely soft body before it could land a single swipe.
With a wrist-flick downward, the Mantis' corpse quickly slid off my weapon, repositioning for its fellow Mantises follow up attack. Its razor sharp bladed arms danced through the air, creating a strange pattern of clear lines in front of it. The memory of the Wind Warrior from the tournament bouncing off of invisible platforms in the sky flew through my head as I dashed away preemptively. A massive gust of wind drafted by my leg, turning back in time to watch a flurry of air cutting across the battlefield.
The mantis immediately changed directions darting toward me, its limbs barely tapping the low grass before attacking. Seeing its descent toward the ground I Water Stepped diagonally, swiping its left limbs out from under it. The mantis launched itself sideways onto the ground having one limb disappear from under it. Three quick stabs to its prone body earned my beloved death notification. An arrow flew by my head, a ball of flame manifesting within the belly of the Mantis behind me.
Phoebe wasn't far off having caught up with Cassi at the frontline. Cassi's watery gauntlets glimmered under the flashing lights of Phoebes explosive fire arrows. They both were battling mantis, undead Gorillas between giants, and Hippocerotidae alike. Confident in our stance, I continued running throughout the crowded wave focusing on cutting through the nearest beast at all times.
Another group of mantis landed in my path, all with their bulbous eyes trained at me. My weapons crackled with energy deciding to initiate the fight this time, lurching with a tempered Lightning Strike. The mantises may have excellent speed, but their reactions seem lackluster seeing as though my attack landed unfettered. Its thin green skin pulsated a blue glow as the energy dispersed throughout its body before falling limp to the ground.
*ding*
Another two mantises released a flurry of wild slashes from either side, forcing me to retreat. My feet rapidly shuffled backing up to keep pace with their movements, waiting for one to overcommit to an attack. The rumbling of heavy footsteps brought my attention to my side, finding a charging Hippocerotidae headed straight for me.
One Mantis dove at me seeing my head turn, receiving a swift counter-stab to the body having spotted them from my peripherals. My chains extended out from my body while shuffling in retreat, the Hippocerotidae's horn snagging between a metal link as it flew by. The momentum of being dragged way whipped my legs over my head. Using the Flow created by the whipping momentum, I landed a swinging roundhouse to the second Mantis' torso, sending green blood splattering out from its crushed midsection.
My body continued its arching descent until finally mounting the horned Hippocerotidae between the spikes lining its back. The beast dug its lead limbs into the ground trying to stop its charge, bucking wildly and snapping its long jaw as it tried to get me off. My chain was able to get free of its horn while the beast leaned its head back, an advantage on me it should've kept.
My weapons crackled audibly stabbing rapidly into the Hippocerotidae's stomach from both sides as I rode atop this amalgamated monster. The unbearable pain must have empowered the Hippocerotidae momentarily as it stood up on its hind legs, my back sliding against the length of its rear horn. My feet scurried under me hopping to the beasts side, leaping and stabbing into its body with both blades as I fell 8 feet from its back.
The blades ripped down the Hippocerotidae's side, though surprisingly its strong hide maintained its internal contents in place. That's not to say it wasn't seriously damaged, seeing it spinning around its wound trying to attack something that isn't there. It took a few more stabs to finish off the flailing beast, avoiding its numerous horns and hulking form.
"TOM!!"
My head whipped back at the sound of Cassi calling for me. She was 30 feet back with the rest of our soldiers, pointing her blade across the battlefield. My eyes followed the direction only to widen at the sight of a massive green and purple mantis, nearly triple the size of the swarm around it attacking further along the northern front line.
The monster mantis had 6 extra bladed arms lining its body with 3 to a side, and a huge jaw that had a circular row of jagged teeth with pincers on its cheeks. Its arms moved independently of one another, slashing through a few giants at the frontline on either side of it.
Barry wasn't far off, however he was completely surrounded by the relatively smaller mantis and some zombie gorilla, whom I'd yet to have the pleasure of fighting.
It took a fair amount of slashing through some oversized bugs and avoiding the charging Hippocerotidae before I got in range to Identify the monster mantis.
(Queen Mantis [level 9])
The Queen exerted her royal stature on the shorter peasants that were our noble giants, slashing through 3 more in succession before I got within striking distance. One of its children spotted my approach at her rear, and tried to intercept. I was fully prepared to counter-attack the smaller mantis when the end of Barry's cleaver slashed it out of the air.
He had no business having caught up here given his prior predicament, as the Giant was fully surrounded by angry beasts last I checked. Barry quickly resumed his 1 man army-act, dashing back into a crowd of beasts. His body was burning with dark orange flames as he cheered with each ferocious sweeping swing of his cleaver through the crowd of monsters swarming him.
Continuing my stride now untouched, my blade shot out towards the Queen Mantises back, piercing only an inch before ricocheting off its body. The metallic clink on impact meant this thing had some kind of natural armor. One of its rear sword-like limb lunged for my gut, the Queen's head rotating around its body at me.
The bladed arms slashed moved nearly too fast to track, my blade barely parrying the insects stabbing thrust. Its front legs rose as it rotated around, the Queen Mantises side arms all slashing at me at insane speeds. The air gusting from its swipes felt like a giant ballon popped with every evaded strike, my feet barely able to keep me out of range from its attacks.
One of the smaller mantises flew in from the side, attempting to catch me off guard. Flow Slash activating having read its hasty dash perfectly bisecting its body, sending green fluid spraying across the low grass. The Queen Mantis was already charging by the time I'd slain its soldier, only giving me time to parry one slash before rolling away from her lead arms downward slam.
Barry came in swinging at its pincers that were now impaled into the dirt, only for his oversized cleaver to bounce off completely leaving them unscathed. Barry didn't even bother after that, instead flying back toward a charging Hippocerotidae and some mantises.
The queen clearly didn't take kind to being ignored, ripping her blades arms free from the earth and flying toward Barry. My eyes and body alike twitched from limb to limb avoiding the Queens attacks, heading for her rear end. Reading her movements better, I noticed the Queens Flow culminated in her thin rear legs, rather than her rear end.
Flow Strike activated with a slash, igniting a white flash across the queen's back leg, causing her to drop down awkwardly as the limb fell severed to the grass. My eyes trained on its backside shuffling to stay behind the mantis. Before another opening manifested however, its head rose up with its front mouth mandibles chittering together.
Immediately I was swarmed by all surrounding smaller mantis, some even peeling off from fighting Barry to defend their queen. I had no choice but to keep close to the Queen Mantis, hoping a few of her side limb swipes hit her own in tragic familial friendly fire.
Barry fought valiantly to dwindle the swarm, sweeping through 2 at a time from behind them. They didn't even care, fully focused on me parrying and dodging their attacks circling around the Queen Mantis' rear. The Queen remained relatively agile, but definitely slower than before having lost a rear limb, forcing a few side limbs to pick up the slack.
My weapons met pincers and fleshy insect skin cyclically as I counter struck the smaller swarming mantises, until there was none left hyper focused on killing me. Looking up the length of the Queen's spine, her head cocked upward to the sky once more, her mandibles spreading across its face again.
Fuck no.
Leaping, I dragged my blade across the Queens back and secured my footing before sprinting toward her head. The mantis's head wrapped around to face me, a mess of mandibles and teeth lurching and gnawing in concert. My eyes trained on its face, waiting for it to commit to its bite. Once it fully leaned in, I dashed to the side, Flow Striking away one of its metallic looking mouth mandibles. No longer will it be calling for its babies to fight its battles.
Barry screamed, his body raging with scorching fire as he slammed his clever into the Queens neck, piercing deep and splattering green blood with a loud thump. The front blade slashed across Barry's chest, only feeding his fire as he howled a warriors retaliation. My body shot forward seeing the creature launch a desperate swing, one arm tucked up towards its neck wound.
My swords pierced into its eyes, popping both on impact. The creature reached for its face with its bladed arms, swiping wildly while I landed harmlessly at its side. The sound of my feet hitting the ground must have given me away, as its extra arms slashing toward me. Barry stepped beside the mantis swinging his cleaver into its open neck wound, a loud crunch sounding as he struck deeper into its spine this time.
The Queen Mantises maw spread wide flailing its limbs, the bladed arms whipping through the air at insane speeds trying to defend itself. I was still trying to find a safe point of entry as it blindly attacked air all around it when Barry recklessly charged forward. His skin spurted blood from every cut sustained, his new shoulder armor denting under the slashing limbs' strength. Barry swung his cleaver, chopping off one of the arms. The Queen's head bashed into him from the side, knocking Barry off balance.
My feet pressed off the grass below launching forward with a Flow Strike, aiming at the open wound on the Queen Mantis' neck. The twinblade slid comfortably through the oversized bugs exposed wound, stopping at the metallic layer protecting the other side of its neck. Blue energy visibly popped in its jugular, before it fell lifeless to the grass.
Breathing heavily, I was just about to congratulate Barry when a cacophony of hisses behind me stole my attention. Steve and Becky were defensively slithering backwards as a Cobra bigger than even Steve backed them up, its hooded head spread wide.
"Tom!! Great fucking work, let's clear this section until we close up this frontl-"
"GOT TO GO!" I yelled back to Barry, who looked utterly betrayed at seeing me denying his praise and team up offer. Quite frankly, my snake took priority over every giant here. May Jaia be with them, not me.
Battling my way through the remaining bugs and finally getting a twinblade on an unsuspecting zombie gorilla trying to carry away a giants' corpse for some reason, I was approaching Steve and Becky when for a second time, Cassi called out to me.
"TOM! RETREAT TO THE WALL!!" Cassi called, this time not getting any form of acknowledgement from me. If we were retreating, that meant Steve needed to get going before he loses his rear support. Cassi's voice cried out once more, only it sounded more like a grunt than an order, drawing my attention.
50 feet back was a gigantic grey mass, with far more horns on its back, firing water all across the low grass the front line retreated upon. The smaller Hippocerotidae sank under the muddy soil and dash quickly along the areas it had sprayed, goring multiple giants and biting into one of our newer recruits. Our front line was being shattered at its center.
"STEVE, RETREAT COME ON?!" I yelled, charging toward the three serpents and getting an Identify off on their larger opponent.
(Ophiophagus Callosus[level 9])
Shit, another boss?!
My twinblade slashed across the giant Cobra's body that slithered along the grass, having a much easier time piercing through its scaly skin than the Queen Mantis. Its maw spread wide lurching toward me, lime green fluid flowing from its mouth. My body barely avoided the last drop as it sizzled in a steaming puddle burning through the grass and soil.
Steve, Becky and I struggled to slowly inch back, all three taking turns exerting pressure to keep from getting overwhelmed by its long reach and deceptive twitch reactions. Becky wrapped around its tail at one point during its charge, only to narrowly dodge an incoming bite as she disengaged.
Steve may not be as large or strong as the cobra, but he was most definitely quicker. The issue was each time he'd get an angle to land a bite, the cobra would expand its hood, sending a spray of its green acidic venom shooting into the air and forcing Steve to flap his feathered wings to change course mid strike.
After some time, we'd caught up to within 20 feet of our retreating frontline with several Hippocerotidae at our backs as we fended off the toxic serpent. Thus far I'd been the only one able to land any decent damage, its defensive prowess being too much for the other snakes to get an angle on. Steve and Becky grew timid, as did the sense of looming defeat.
"Stop just backing up dammit. Attack together!" I called to Steve, apparently falling on deaf ears. It was clear neither Steve or Becky were evenly matched to the Cobra, but they needed to step up.
"Attack the fucking snake Steve. Both of you." I ordered again, this time feigning a step one way and dashing toward the cobra's tail. I'd nearly gotten within range when its maw appeared in the corner of my eye, forcing me to kick off its body and land a simple slash across its mouth. Once more, the other serpents backed away.
I'd chosen Steve over Cassi in assisting him, and he was actively choosing cowardice. My patience was running dangerously thin while retreating from the Cobra.
"Steve, fight. Or I'll fucking MAKE YOU." I threatened, feeling a familiar tingle in my mind as when I'd taken command over his body against the Sonic Mother-Orca. His fearful eyes narrowed as I looked him dead in the face.
"The fuck you will." He said, before turning his head toward Becky who was retreating further. She didn't change her body language until his tail wrapped around and slapped her body, his angry hiss causing her to bow. Then, she rose, and narrowed her own orange eyes.
The gate was only 20 feet out now, with most of our soldiers and giants trying to hold a path for our retreat. Cassi was occupied retreating with Barry, as they struggled with the giant Hippocerotidae's mud attacks. The wet dirt appeared to be giving its assumed pod a strange boost in speed, their bodies sinking unnaturally deep and quickly into the muddy soil. Steve and Becky shot out in different directions toward the Cobra, Steve dodging high one way while Becky dove another.
The Cobra's neck contorted to attack Becky, however my blade stabbing into its exposed chest caused its head to whip back, the chomp of its jaw slamming shut right by my face as I weaved to the side. My steps continued carrying me away from its mouth, which reared up to take another bite attack when Steve's teeth latched into its neck.
The Cobra froze, its face stunned from the Flow Bite. Its head was slowly leaning down in its state of catatonia when it suddenly reanimated, slamming its head into Steve's jaw and sending him whipping back. My blades slashed at its scaly body, blood splattering around me. The Cobra's head reared back, preparing to launch an acidic spit from its mouth my way. My body shot to the side, only for its tail to slam into my face.
My eyes finally refocused looking up from the floor to see the Cobra's maw opened wide. My eyes winced seeing and accepting my fate, when Becky's head wrapped around its neck and yanked the Cobra back. Becky repeatedly coiled along its midsection, allowing for extra torque as she squeezed the massive cobra's throat shut. Their bodies thrashed violently, soil kicking up in harmony with their violent wriggling.
Steve and I continued trying to find an opening, but couldn't distinguish their two tangled bodies with all the dirt getting kicked up. Frankly, neither could I. Finally, the cobra's hooded head rose above the cloud of dirt, Becky's neck bent just below it. The Flow in their bodies said it all, the cobra clearly worked to get this exact position based on its muscles contracting along its neck.
Becky, on the other hand, was none the wiser to her impending doom. Her Flow moved as if to evade a strike coming from the opposite direction. My heart sank into my stomach seeing the cobra's venom-dripping teeth extend toward Becky, when a long ball of fire impacted the side of its maw. The snake's lower jaw was completely blown off, its face engulfed in flames as it writhed in pain along the dirt, its body quaking the earth under my feet as it slammed down hard.
Becky turned back, only to fly right past me and the rest of the fight behind us and leaving the melting cobra behind writhing on the ground. Tracking her path I found Phoebe, teetering meekly atop the settlement wall high above. Her finger barely clung onto her bowstring as her legs wobbled, before stumbling forward and falling off of the wall. Becky's body barely peaked over the crowd of giants and Hippocerotidae'sheads, snagging Phoebe in her mouth and slithering into the settlement through the gate.
The rumbling thumps of the giant cobra's smacking its tail pounding on the ground trying to gather its senses brought me back to mine. Steve and I proceeded to stab, slash and bite through the massive snake. I refrained from using skills, seeing as this would be a matter of when the cobra was slain by this point. Finally, the serpent stopped flopping about. A series of dings rang through my head, but I had no time to check the status screen.
Because as me and Steve started heading toward Cassi and Barry to assist them with the 16 foot Hippocerotidaespitting water everywhere, another fuckingboss cut off our path. With it followed an unsightly crew, going utterly apeshit on our remaining giants.