HPDBC Chapter 19 – Down With The Queen.
Chapter 19 – Down With The Queen.
Chapter 19 – Down With The Queen.
Rusty positioned himself strategically, making sure he had a clear view of the ant queen and her chamber. With the light crystal emanating a faint glow, he waited for the perfect moment to initiate his plan. The drones seemed to be preoccupied with the queen as they were regurgitating something into her mouth. Considering that she couldn’t move from this place due to the large abdomen, it was probably food.
Classification:
Lesser Myrm Ant Queen L7 F+
Type:
Insectoid
‘There it is, if it can only stay in that one spot then it shouldn’t be that hard to defeat...’
He needed that copper deposit that was sitting next to the monster’s enlarged rear end. Even now he could see white eggs coming out of it and getting carried to the side. It seemed that these things took some time to hatch and even now some of them were growing. The forces of the ants had been diminished but they still had a large group here.
‘Several of these tunnels connect to this main chamber. If this crystal does its job, then I should be able to do it...’
Despite being nothing more than a sentient piece of armor, Rusty experienced a peculiar sensation in his core - something akin to emotions. Emotions, both excitement and fear, coursed through him as he contemplated the impending battle, a battle that could potentially result in his final demise. Yet, he recognized the necessity of confronting the ant queen to strengthen himself and overcome the challenges of this insect-infested underground. Restoring his body was necessary for his future survival and he understood that this battle could not be avoided.
‘No way to go back now, if I wait, these ants will just come back in greater numbers! What if they eventually overrun those other insects?’
After pitting the two species against each other, it appeared that the ants were beginning to win. While the centipedes possessed larger and stronger bodies, their cooperation was more than lacking. It was likely that the ants would emerge victorious in the end. However, this victory could lead to a larger issue as he would be against even greater numbers than before, something that he would be incapable of handling.
‘Here it goes then... Come at me!’
It was time to start his plan and the first thing he did was to place the large light crystal on the ground. Next to it, he started stashing the other mana crystals and stopped after it was glowing gently. Then he started making some noise, while he was not capable of shouting, hitting his chest with his metallic gauntlet was enough to produce quite a ruckus.
The drones that had been busy feeding the queen and handling eggs instantly turned in the direction of the strange living armor. There was a small swarm of them in this chamber and he would certainly be defeated if he attacked the queen with all of them in there. Thus, he decided to lure them out and make himself a target.
‘Common, follow me!’
Just as he expected, the small drones tossed themselves at him the moment they saw him. They seemed angrier than usual, probably due to the fact that he had invaded their colony's innermost sanctum where their queen resided. The large ant gave out a strange hissing noise in his general direction which seemed to call forth even more ants.
One ant tossed itself at him and he quickly cut off his head, its fluids falling on him just as he had planned. Soon after, he turned around and started to run while ensuring the drones followed him. He could hear the skittering of their legs behind him as he led them away from the queen's chamber and deeper into the labyrinth-like tunnels of the ant colony.
Rusty knew he couldn't afford to let any of them catch up to him, as a swarm of angry ants could easily overpower even his sturdy metal frame. However, he also didn’t want to actually flee to safety. The angry ants needed to be close enough to keep following him and the more the better.
After spending some time fighting these monsters he had memorized a few paths and also marked them for easy use. He continued to lead the ants on a wild goose chase through the tunnels and eventually, he made his way back to the chamber where his target resided, the ant queen. He had gone in circles to return to this place that was now a lot emptier than before.
‘Where is that crystal!’
The monster was doing something strange, it was doing something to its abdomen or to be more precise, to the part that connected to the egg-laying organ. It started to stab it while also yanking itself forward as if it was trying to tear it off and get free.
‘This... doesn’t look good...’
He realized that he might have underestimated this monster’s tenacity. The ant queen's attempts to free herself were becoming increasingly frantic and she was starting to separate herself from the rear organ. The rest of her body was mostly uninjured and probably capable of defending itself. Eventually, he attempted to switch to attacking the main body but after a few pokes, he found it hard to pierce the carapace and even the weak parts.
His corroded sword had become dulled with time and he wasn’t sure if the time to spend his restorative resources was wise. Thus he continued attempting to stab the monster and slash at it with the help of his power skills. With the added momentum and attacking power he managed to dislodge one of the monster's hind legs. However, the monster wasn’t letting up and finally managed to separate its main body from the organ. It had managed to free itself and first fell forward in a daze.
Rusty didn’t panic yet as he tossed himself at the creature from behind. He would not relent until the queen was defeated but even after landing a few hits, the monster was still not dead. It turned around and angrily launched itself at the living armor that had been giving it pain for so long. The monster ant was bigger and stronger so his body was flung into the distance and collided with the nearby wall.
The monster gave out a massive shriek of anger and its antennae continued to twitch with anger. It looked at Rusty who was rattling around and trying to gather himself off the ground. His foot was loose and so was his left arm. With haste, he attempted to set himself back into place but the monster was coming. It charged with speed and force that he had never seen before.
Rusty scrambled to his feet, his damaged body protesting against the sudden movement. With his sword in hand, he braced himself for the incoming assault. The ant queen charged at him relentlessly, her mandibles snapping menacingly. He intercepted them with the help of his sword or at least attempted but to no surprise, his sword finally snapped in two.
His body was slammed against a nearby wall as the ant queen attempted to gut him. However, even though her mandibles were sharp and bit through his bronze body, this was not the end. He retracted his broken sword, stuck it into the monster’s mouth, and then quickly activated his strongest skill.
The ant monster’s mouth started glowing along with the leftover part of his blade that he enhanced with the light element. These monsters were all susceptible to this element and he could infuse his weapon with it. Once inside the monster’s mouth, the glowing sword entered its body and made it retreat. Rusty could see that the queen was in disarray and he needed to quickly follow up. This was the time to spend the rest of his bronze and conjure up a new blade.
The holes and gashes on his bronze body started to rapidly restore themselves and he was granted a replacement sword. Soon after his only leftover mana crystal was crushed to restore his MP. All of his bronze reserves had been just consumed but he didn’t care, the foe needed to be defeated first. Soon he launched himself at his adversary, his blade glowing red as he launched a series of powerful thrusts and slashes.
His attacks were precise and relentless, each strike aiming for the weak spots he had identified earlier. The ant queen, now weakened and disoriented, struggled to defend herself against Rusty's onslaught. Her mandibles snapped wildly and even were able to produce new wounds on his metallic form. However, he did not care and only plunged his sword into one of the monster’s eyes and finally, the monster was faltering.
With each strike, Rusty felt a surge of power coursing through him. This was his moment to prove his strength and resilience. He refused to let the ant queen defeat him, he would not fall after coming this far. The cavern echoed with the clash of metal against chitin as Rusty and the ant queen engaged in a fierce battle. Despite her size and strength, she had been injured too much and the metallic armor proved to be more resilient.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Rusty delivered the decisive blow. His sword pierced through the weakened carapace of the ant queen, dislodging her head along with it. Without being able to screech in agony, the queen collapsed to the ground, her body unmoving and lifeless.
You have gained +250 experience points.
You have gained a new title.
Congratulations you have gained a level.
‘Haha, I did it but...’
While he was happy that he had been victorious, there was one little problem. The light crystal that he had left behind was starting to dim and behind it was a sea of angry ant drones. They were clearly enraged by the death of their queen and probably wanted to have a nibble at his metallic body...
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