Chapter 684 - The Siege pt 29 (1/2)
When the gates finally fell, they fell with a resounding 'boom' that echoed from the walls of the tunnel. Might seem a little excessive to knock the d.a.m.n things off their hinges, but that's what the Legionaries decided to do anyway. Perhaps they felt the width of the nest entrance was a reasonable width for them to engage in and I have to agree. The tunnel approach to the nest narrows as it approaches the gate, stays the same for a short distance before it opens out into the chamber beyond. To be honest, they're probably just happy not to see yet another gate waiting for them in the distance.
Once the gates are down, it takes the Legion a few minutes to reorganise their formation before they once again begin their approach.
Boom!
What the heck was that?! The vibrations of a colossal impact roll through the rock beneath my legs and my antennae waggle through the air in confusion as I try to pick up the source. It didn't happen within the nest, that's for sure, whatever it was that caused that, it surely originated outside the gates.
”Eldest! Can you sense what that was?” Burke rushes up to me.
”I'm trying to work it out,” I reply distractedly as I focus on watching the approaching soldiers whilst reaching out with my mind.
The distance is too far for me to reach, even with my relatively high Skills, but there are definitely fluctuations in the mana further down the tunnel, behind the approaching force.
”I can't be sure,” I respond tersely as I set my mandibles, ”but it seems like something is happening at the rear of the Legion forces.”
”Like what?!” Burke is baffled.
”How the h.e.l.l am I supposed to know, Burke? Maybe put a scout on it?”
”There's an army between us and that location!”
”I noticed!”
The two sides have already begun to accelerate towards each other and I join my brethren, using all three pairs of legs to synchronise three separate dashes to achieve maximum speed.
*CRUNCH*
The two fully braced armies smash into each other as both sides activate their Skills, spells and everything else they have at their disposal. Armour and carapace are dented, cracked and splintered as neither side holds back any of their strength, the Legion on the precipice of victory, the Colony on the edge of annihilation. My carapace absorbs numerous blows in the first few seconds as weapon light blooms all around me. Only my future sight and heightened reflexes keep my antennae attached to my head as my body makes the minute adjustments necessary to absorb all the strikes with my diamond exo-skeleton. Precious diamond carapace. Where would I be without you? If I could, I'd kiss that precious stuff, but thankfully for my dignity such a thing is impossible.
By this point, my sub-brains are fairly cooked and I've released the omni-elemental construct, opting instead to deploy a simple gravity domain over as wide an area as I can, hoping the already tired Legionaries will suffer under the added weight of their armour. It's hard to tell what sort of effect it's having, but then again, it's hard to get a good visual of the battlefield when I'm doing the dirty work here in the front line. s.h.i.+elds and the flashes from enemy attacks are pretty much all I can see at any moment!