Chapter 674 - The Siege to 19 (1/2)
Whatever these things are, they're fast and they hit hard. The creature in front of me shrieks in rage as it presses through my screen of steaming hot… steam, and brings two ma.s.sive hands down on my back in a devastating hammer blow. My legs buckle under the impact but barely manage to hold my body up as the diamond carapace and inner-plating does the work absorbing the blow. My mandibles are locked in position and I unleash them, feeling the coiled energy within unleash all at once in a mighty chomp!
The jagged edges of my jaws slice forward and the opponent in front of me screeches with pain. Yeah, you don't like that, do ya?! Ouch! Dammit, this guy is tougher than I gave him credit for, he recovered from the bite quickly and scr.a.p.ed his claws down my back. He was aiming for the antennae but my reflexes fired in time and I pushed forward into his chest. I don't have time to mess around with this guy! I channel my newly minted fire mana into my mandibles and they begin to glow white hot, heat rolling from them in waves as I reset the muscles in my face and lunge forward again.
CHOMP!
As strong a physical specimen as this weird hybrid is, it lacks the same level of protection that the regular Legionaries have and even without using my skill, the power of my musculature is enough to bite deep. The sizzling smell of roasting meat that fills the air is disgusting enough on its own and my opponent falls back before me. As much as I want to lunge forward for the finis.h.i.+ng blow, I resist the urge and maintain my formation with the ants around me. If I go out too deep, I'll only get surrounded and end up needing my siblings to rush forward and bail me out, increasing the risks they have to face. Not worth it. Instead, I'll stand here and absorb my share of the punishment as we grind out this battle. This one's going in for the long haul.
The crush of bodies forces another hulking monstrosity in front of me in short enough order and I greet them with another burst of searing hot steam, which obviously goes down very well with my next customer. I follow up that opening salvo with another roasting hot chomp and get punched in the head for my trouble. Bare fists against my carapace turns out to be a bad idea though, who would have thought. The shock of the impact rattles the enemy long enough that I can lunge forward and bite down once again.
”GRUAAAAAAA!”
BOOM!
Tiny's here. Clad in his armour he looks like an unstoppable juggernaut, the sheer ma.s.s of him is intimidating enough, but then he starts to throw hands and things get really scary. Just not for us. Standing just behind the frontline of soldiers, Tiny's fists blaze with light and electricity and he uses his potent ape boxing skills to send fists of pure energy smas.h.i.+ng into the faces of the oncoming tide of creatures. Relying on their natural toughness, they try to withstand his strength but quickly find it impossible to tank it head on. With a devastating uppercut that starts from his toes and ends with his knuckles nearly sc.r.a.ping the ceiling of the tunnel, Tiny sends a number of enemies flying as if a bomb had detonated beneath their feet.
But they don't stop coming, and not all of the defensive line is holding as well as this section with myself and Tiny in it.
[Invidia, I need you to support the rest of the line, don't let them buckle under the pressure. Crinis, get ready to intervene if you need to.]
[I hearssss you.]
[Yes, Master.]
Ironically, this is exactly the sort of drawn out fight that Leeroy and her group are perfectly suited to fight. Vibrant is a powerful soldier and her group are all highly evolved, but they're built for speed, not this sort of face to face slug fest. It's going to be tough going for the speedy ant so long as the battle lines remain static, she simply has no room in which to run. As the pressure increases and the packed armies smash into each other again and again it becomes harder to have the spare room for thoughts of the rest of the battle. In my face is a constant stream of these disfigured part monsters, each one quick and strong, smas.h.i.+ng at my carapace and trying to claw my eyes before I can finish them off or drive them back. At my back, the ants hold the line and push up behind me, occasionally climbing onto my back to dart forward and provide support, shrinking my vision even further.