The Final Desperation

Genji wiped the blood off the corner of his mouth as he walked out of the decaying nest. By his side, his left arm hung limply, broken from the intense battle moments prior. As he walked, multiple broken ribs pierced into his mangled flesh, causing him immense pain.

This was the price he paid to kill the queen while Igani distracted the swarm. Genji used everything to come out on top, but this was a risk he willingly took. The first step was always the hardest. Now that they secured a large supply of bio-energy, things would only get easier from now on.

"You can scavenge the other bio-crystals. I need to heal myself," Genji said to the bug under Igani's control.

Genji found a remote corner and took out his dagger to open his arm to perform a makeshift surgery. After aligning the bones, he poured a bottle of healing potions over it. Smoke and a burning sensation came from the wound, but Genji didn't even flinch. By now, he was used to this minor pain. Once his arm healed, he opened his chest to deal with the shattered ribs.

He carefully removed the shards piercing his organs and moved them back to their correct place like a jigsaw puzzle. All the medical knowledge he invested in was showing its worth now as Genji deftly patched himself up.

A few hours later, the Zergs gathered all the bio-crystals and marched back to the nest. Igani controlled the Zergs to construct a storage room to deposit them.

"Replenish the army. We're heading out for more attacks later," Genji said, bringing Igani out of her joy at the sudden windfall.

Another attack? Why? We have plenty of crystals to live a carefree life. Why would we go risk our lives now that we can live in peace? These questions went through Igani's head as she climbed out of the pile of bio-crystals, but she didn't dare ask. Just obey for now. It's not like her life is in danger when she's hiding deep underground.

"And before I forget, here's the antidote," Genji threw over a small ball wrapped in a plastic film.

At his mention, Igani remembered why she was in this situation. She scurried to weave a web to catch the small projectile, afraid the pill would break if it hit the ground.

"Hey! I could have dropped that," she complained.

"It won't matter. That's why it's wrapped up," Genji replied.

"Fine. But isn't this too small? Are you sure it's enough to detoxify the poison?" She asked as she struggled to unwrap the pill.

"Yes. Don't think about the details too much. Just let it dissolve in your mouth."

'What a weird method. Don't you normally swallow the antidote? Why is this one so different?'

As curious as Igani was, she didn't dare go against the instructions. What happens if she dies because of it? It's better to not take any chances, even if it will be uncomfortable to ensure the ball doesn't roll down her throat.

'This tastes good?' She asked herself as soon as the ball started dissolving, unleashing a sweet flavor. 'Maybe this won't be too bad.'

Igani lay down and fully focused on the antidote, savoring every moment of it as she made sure she didn't die from the poison inside her.

'That should last her a few hours. Now to plan the next attack.'

 

---

 

Genji sat on top of a Devourer and watched as the swarm tore apart a stegosaurus. It had been a few weeks since Genji killed the queen, and he'd added two more to the count. Because of this streak, Igani managed to obtain enough bio-crystals to develop her nest to spawn these mini-bosses, making her one of the stronger queens in the race.

As for why they were hunting beasts, it had to do with Genji's stock of poisons. To be specific, he was running low on numbing poisons. At best, he had enough to kill one more queen, but he would rather not risk it. Because of the queens' deaths, all the other queens became more alert, making his assassinations very difficult.

It wasn't easy to kill a queen when her mental powers overwhelmed his stats. Since internal conflict was out of the question, Genji chose to hunt beasts instead. Either way, he got bioenergy and contribution points.

As they were searching for another hunt, Genji saw a group of parasitized Celestials, Beasts, and Zergs. As for Sentinels, they were made of metal, so the parasites couldn't control them. If they tried, then the worms would end up dead from mana corrosion.

This was the same reason the Zergs avoided conflict with the Sentinels. Because of their composition, the creep carpet couldn't extract any energy from them, making all battles between them a pure waste of resources.

"Igani, take them down."

Genji had a strong hostility toward the parasite faction. Because he killed Panolis, the General of Infection, he was hunted down. Since he is still alive, he knew the King would continue to send pursuers after him. It was either his death or theirs. There is no in-between.

Since he could inconvenience them, he had no reason not to. That's even mentioning how LuminalRealm, Sinclair's realm, was paired with this faction. With how things were going, Genji refused to believe that LuminalRealm wasn't scheming something.

As the two groups closed in on each other, Genji noticed a few people without tentacles coming out of them. This could only mean one thing: realm members.

"Even better," Genji grinned and watched as the Devourers rushed at the group while the Ravengers and soldier bugs surrounded them.

This was the formation Igani settled on after her battles. Her control was still horrible among the queens, but she could at least issue separate commands now. Genji faded into the shadows of the Zergs and waited for the opportune moment to strike.

This was how they fought their battles. The main army would always draw their opponent's attention, and Genji would strike, severely injuring them. After that, the bugs would whittle them down.

"Oh great Ares, grant us your blessings to combat this monstrosity."

Genji noticed his opponents getting stronger when one of the apostles finished his chant. Seeing this red glow around the parasitized opponents, Genji knew this was a troublesome ability. He looked in their direction and saw a group of people clasping their hands together, chanting.

Knowing how bad things could get if all of them were buffed, Genji quickly weaved between the Zergs and dashed for them. A few realm members noticed this and got in front of the members with a large rectangular shield.

Swift Movement, Lightweight

Genji sidestepped the shields before the people could react, igniting his daggers in flames and swinging at the vulnerable members. A few barriers sprouted up, but his daggers carved through them easily. A few smarter people canceled their chant and started using other abilities to delay him. As long as they managed to keep him stopped for a second, the others could kill him.

Dagger Arts: Threading the Needle

Genji appeared outside the crowd as many people were cut down in an instant. Then without looking back, Genji faded into the shadows and retreated. That small exchange cost him 2/3 of his energy, but he knew that it was a worthwhile exchange. He managed to cut down half of the members with his attacks, severely weakening the powers of the buffs.

For the rest of the battle, Genji watched from a distance. He might be able to make openings for the swarm, but it was risky considering how strong everyone was. After a while, the parasitized creatures used everything they could to break out of the encirclement, losing a decent amount of their forces in the process.

"Let's clean up. We've done enough for today," Genji said as he watched the tattered group retreat in haste. Now that their weaker members perished, there was no way to catch up.

"Here's the antidote," Genji said, throwing another wrapped sphere to Igani.

Seeing this familiar item, Igani skillfully weaved a web, catching it before impatiently pulling on the ends to unwrap it. Over the past few weeks, Igani developed a small craving for these antidotes. This got to the point that she started counting the days until Genji would give her one. If he forgot, she would always remind him, saying how she was afraid of dying from poison.

At this point, it was unknown if she even considered them an antidote or if it was simply a snack to satisfy her sweet tooth.

 

---

 

"Faust, call a meeting," the Elderbeast ordered telepathically upon sensing the situation in his territory.

"Understood, Elder," a silver wolf lowered its head and left the den.

Minutes later, a gathering of beasts and realm members filled the large den.

"What are your orders, Elder?" Beasts of various species surrounded him, eager to receive instructions.

"I sense a Zerg army near our borders. I want you to form a group to eliminate them. They've killed many of our brethren in the past week," the Elderbeast stated, his eyelids drooping.

"We will obey."

The Elderbeast was highly esteemed among the Beasts. While his physical strength had waned due to age, his wisdom remained unparalleled. This drew many nearby beasts to his domain in search of solace from the ongoing war. Survival might be tough, but under the guidance of a wise leader, it became much easier.

"Allow us to join," a realm member chimed in, hoping to participate in the mission that arose.

[You have been presented with the mission: Exterminate the Zerg Swarm]

Details: Eliminate the Zerg queen near the beast's borders

Reward: 20,000 contribution points

 

"Very well," Faust growled.

The growl was challenging to discern, but the translation feature proved helpful. After determining who would remain to attend to the Elderbeast, the silver wolf led a team toward the outskirts of their land, ready to eradicate the newly emerged threat.

 

---

 

"Oh no!" Igani perked up, exclaiming in panic.

"What happened?" Genji looked over, curious about what could have alarmed the lazy spider.

"No, I didn't do anything wrong. I was only following orders. Why are they here? Please, I'm too young to die," she blurted out with tears forming in her eyes.

"Who's coming?" Genji noticed her panic but needed more information.

"B-beasts," Igani stuttered as fear caused her mental powers to fluctuate wildly.

"Beasts? Isn't that more prey?"

"No, you don't understand. The beasts are the main cause of death for Zerg queens. They can be considered experts in this. Quick, we need to leave. We can't fight them. This must be retribution for all the beasts you hunted in the past few weeks."

Igani started ordering her bugs to pack her crystals and prepare to run, but Genji halted her with his saber.

"What are you doing? Quick! We need to get out of here!"

"I don't think so," Genji said coldly. "If you insist, then I will have to end our cooperation."

His words sent shivers down Igani's spine. How did things end up like this? Now she's stuck between a rock and a hard place. No matter what she chooses, she will end up dead. Why? She just wants to live a peaceful life!

"Why are you doing this? Don't you realize if we stay, we will only end up dead?"

"I'm stopping you because I realize that. Do you really think you can escape when you're carrying that many bio-crystals?"

This made her realize that Genji was right. With so many bio-crystals in her nest, it would be impossible to sneak away. It would take hundreds of bugs to carry them, drastically slowing their pace.

"Good point. Then let's grab a few and escape."

"You still don't get it, do you?"

"Get what?"

Igani doesn't understand why Genji's still delaying. Since he gave her the solution, shouldn't they be escaping right now? Why is he still wasting time talking to her? At this juncture, every moment counts.

"Escaping is not an option."

"What do you mean?"

How is escape not an option? Can't they find a new place to start over? Why would they stay to fight?

"If you ditch your nest, you will become extremely weak. No matter where you go, you won't be able to settle. The local groups won't allow it. Your only chance of survival is to hold your ground."

"But-"

"No buts. You don't have a choice. I'm forcing you. Now you either start pumping out Devourers and Ravagers, or I end it right now."

Genji raised his saber, forcing Igani to cower in the corner and lament her bad luck.

"Good choice. Because if you escaped, the poison will kill you in a few days," Genji said, going upstairs to command the battle.

'You're a bully,' Igani thought as she sniffled to herself.

Minutes later, Genji saw a group of beasts heading right for them. At the front of the group, a large silver wolf led the charge. The nest opened its doors and a sea of cannon fodder flooded the area. As for Ravagers and Devourers, Genji had Igani save them for later when they accumulate enough.

When Faust, the silver wolf, got within reach, he swiped his claws and cleaved through the army like a hot knife through butter. Some of the nimbler beasts were able to keep up with him, but the bigger ones had to stay back due to the tide.

"It's a shame that we don't have any defense towers set up, or this could be the perfect chance to use them."

The top flaps opened and allowed a flood of gliders to join the battle. Genji knew these mobs wouldn't pose a threat to the beasts, but that's not the reason he sent them out. No, the main reason is to delay until they accumulate enough Ravagers. Because they are common mobs, the nest can produce thousands of these per minute compared to the Ravagers and Devourers with limited capacity.

Minutes later, Faust got close enough for Genji to inspect his stats.

[Faust the Silver Wolf]

Health: 21,976/23,600

Energy: 521/540

Con: 36

Str: 41

Dex: 45

Int: 27

Spc: 21

Skills:

Boss: +20,000 health

Silver slash: Coat the claws to increase sharpness

Tough fur: +7 defense

No further skills can be read

 

The stats were high, but Genji knew they had a chance. After all, the wolf didn't have a crown above his head. This then begs the question: how strong are the beast kings that not even this boss could count as one? For now, Genji doesn't want to find out.

"Unleash the Ravengers."

With this addition, the Zergs were able to slow down Faust's advance. Mind you, they slowed him, not stopped him. His silver claws could shred through the carapace easily, killing in one hit. After the Ravengers cleared out, the Devourers stepped out as the last line of defense. On their backs, multiple soldier bugs rested, with the nest starting another flood of them.

When Faust closed in, Igani had the soldier bugs jump into the devourer's mouth to kick-start the recovery process. Then the Devourers tangled with the silver wolf, taking a massive beating.

Genji expected this. There's a big difference in power between a boss and a mini-boss despite the small difference in name. At best, these Devourers can survive three hits before they perish under Faust's claws. But for Genji, this is enough. He can tell Faust exerted himself to quickly finish them.

The same goes for the other beasts that followed him. They might be able to do this, but for how long? The beasts quickly noticed how the Zergs were trying to delay and increased their output, clearing out an area instantly. Then they charged in formation, doing everything they could to clear a path for Faust, even if it meant taking injuries.

"No wonder Igani said they were proficient at beheading operations. It's only been 15 minutes, and they've already gotten within 100 meters."

Genji caught a worker bug and disappeared from the top of the nest, only stopping when he was in a distant forest.

"Igani, activate the backup plan."

The worker bug croaked in response, as the stream of Zergs weakened in output.

"Not much we can do about it. We can only pray now."

Genji turned around and watched as Faust jumped onto the nest. Raising his claw, a silver coating wrapped around it. Genji felt a sense of familiarity when he saw this. Doesn't this resemble how he uses his shadow flames?

After charging his attack, Faust swiped down with untamed ferocity. Upon contact, a sharp burst of air ripples radiated out from the point of contact. Mists of blood showered the battlefield as gliders and other common mobs exploded in the aftermath.

Even Genji received a cut on his cheek, despite the distance between them. Looking around, Genji noticed the trees around him had their barks peeled away.

"What a scary attack," he remarked as the dust cleared, revealing a bloody mess beneath Faust.

Then he noticed Faust raise his claw again with the same silver coating.

"Oh shit! Igani, I hope you set up the backup plan in time because-"

*BOOOOOOMMMMMMM*

The attack destroyed the bio-crystals and reacted with all the stored energy to cause a giant explosion that could be heard for kilometers. Genji watched as the mushroom cloud coiled into itself, wondering how anyone was supposed to survive such an attack.

"At least Igani's underground, so she's already guarded against a nuke."

As he admired the view, he noticed movement at the stem of the mushroom. The smoke tumbled around that area, parting to reveal a battered Faust. He's hurt, but he's still in fighting condition. What a total monster.

"It's now or never, Igani."

When the atomic cloud dissipated, Faust returned to the giant crater where the nest was and looked around for tunnels. The Zergs were still active, so he knew the queen was still alive. Not a surprise, considering how many times Celestials and Sentinels dropped nukes in the past. That's why this planet is so barren. They might use nonradioactive energy, but the explosion blew away most of the dirt.

Faust sniffed the air for the scent of the nest, eventually setting his eyes on a blown paste. Faust moved the paste aside and continued digging until the passage transitioned into Zerg workers, all packed tightly. And when I say packed, I mean it. There's not even room for water to flow through.

Many of the Zergs are mangled and squished to fill this tunnel. In fact, most of the Zergs are dead by now, drowned in the fluids of their fellow brethren. This heavy scent of insect blood caused Faust to take a small step back. Just which madman thought of such a gruesome method? And why? What good would sealing the tunnels do?

Faust started carving away at the insect ball, but the deeper he went, the more alarmed he became. This queen is crazy! There's no other explanation. The entire tunnel network was sealed like this, soaked with flesh and blood. By his estimations, hundreds of thousands of Zergs were needed to fill such a gap.

Why did the queen choose to do this instead of sending them out? To slow them down? What's the point of that? By doing this, the queen literally cut off all paths of retreat in return for a few hours of safety. Even shorter now that the other beasts cleaned up the battlefield and joined him in his endeavors. Nothing makes sense anymore.

An hour later, they found the hideaway of the queen, yet Faust had an ugly expression on his snout. That's because this place was missing its inhabitant. In the back of this cavern, a large tunnel lined with Zerg parts and blood was found, as if mocking their efforts.

Seeing this tunnel dug with the flesh and blood of Zergs, Faust knew this queen must be eliminated. Those tactics are too cunning compared to the normal behavior of queens. Faust can't even imagine how problematic such a mind would be if paired with the right empress.

 

---

 

Genji was resting with his back against a tree when a white spider's head popped out of the ground. It looked around cautiously before emerging after determining the situation was safe.

"Good to see you alive, Igani."

"I don't understand. If we're going to run, why did we have to go through all that?"

Igani's voice was full of blame, clearly displaying her feelings about the troublesome tasks before her escape. All of that could have been prevented if Genji agreed to leave earlier.

"No. It's because you did all that, that we can escape. I suspect the Beasts are still digging through those corpses, which buys us way more time compared to if we escaped before."

"Whatever you say. I still won't forgive you for everything."

"Come. Let's meet up with your empress now," Genji patted her head and let her guide the way. This was an unfortunate disruption in his plans, but he should have enough accomplishments to talk to the empress now.

"Hmph, meanie. All you care about is meeting Mother, not even considering my feelings."

"I apologize, okay? It was the most efficient method to survive. How about I give you a mint? It's small compared to the antidote, but it's just as sweet," Genji coaxed Igani as he would an innocent child.

"Really? Then I'll forgive you," she said as Genji unwrapped some candy and threw it into her mouth, allowing her to fully savor the rare treat of sweetness.