Chapter 518: 518

[Haul that monkey butt, Tiny! We need to move, move, move!] I shout as I zip after my pets .

Invidia has seized hold of the big ape with his stick-thin arms and clings to his black fur as Tiny leaps and bounds forward with all of his strength, making the little demon flap like a flag in a high wind . Lagging behind as always is Jim, and I catch up to him in no time .

[Jim! You need to pick up the pace! The Warriors have caught up to us!]

[What?! How many? He shrieks .

[Just the one . ]

[Did you … finish it?] He asks, desperately .

[No time . Doesn’t matter anyway, there’ll be more in the area, which is why we need to move . ]

[I’m trying, damn you . . . I’m not … built for this!]

His thoughts come with gaps breaking up each sentence as if he doesn’t have the energy to think coherently anymore . The stress of the situation is having a distinct effect on him as well . I’ll try to reassure him .

[Don’t worry, Jim . Just a few more minutes and we’ll make it to the Colony . I can sense them, hundreds, maybe thousands . Just keep pushing, and we’ll get there . I won’t leave you behind . If the Golgari catch up, I’ll hold them off with my pets, alright?]

[O-Okay…]

[Good worm . Keep at it!]

Contrary to my slithery associate, I’m bursting with energy . The more we flee, the more the Vestibule pays off, replenishing my energy and soothing my aches . We continue to run, but it’s a nervous thing, with my antennae focusing more behind me than in front of me . Thanks to my particular brand of compound vision, it’s not a big deal to focus in all directions . It won’t take long for the Warrior I left behind to catch up again, that mental barrage is something he can probably shake off in a few seconds at most, and I don’t expect the acid to be much of a hindrance . It does affect stone, but not nearly as well as it does biological matter . The amount I hit him with won’t do much damage . If it slows him down for another second or two, that’s a win .

I keep the mental construct suspended in my mind in case I need a bit more of that brand of magic . It’s plenty useful for distracting and disrupting enemies without doing anything too lethal to them . If I’m forced to it though, I’ll abandon it for a more direct form of persuasive magic . Fire, maybe .

In front of us, a pack of shadow creepers poke their heads up before hissing in our direction as we rumble toward them .

[Leave them!] I shout . [I don’t care if they attack us . More chaos is better, and we can’t afford the time!]

All I get is a grunt from Tiny as we continue to sprint past the pack who, thankfully, leave us alone . If they get tangled up with the Warriors, then I’ll be a happy little insect but based on my knowledge of the monsters they’ll probably let them through and try and tangle with all of us once things get messy . I hate those things!

A flicker of something catches my eyes and a ripple of feeling twitches in my antennae, and I throw my body to one side .

BOOM!

Where the heck are these guys coming from?! I can’t even sense them until they’re almost on top of me!

[Keep running!] I holler and follow my advice as I regain my feet and dash forward, my legs a blur as they move faster than my eyes can track .

Gogogogogogo! WHOA!

BOOM!

Another one!

I right myself and start to dash off once again before a blade of light erupts from the shadows on my right, cutting off my path of escape . Don’t underestimate me, you punks! Do you think I’m going back to dance for your amusement?! Don’t make me laugh! I throw myself forward directly into the line of the blade and allow it to strike my side as I pick up speed, angling myself to protect my legs .

OOF!

The strike shatters against my carapace, leaving a shallow slice in it but the sheer force is enough to make me stumble for a brief moment, which isn’t enough for the triad to catch up as I spin my legs and rush away once more . They’re going to have to do better than that if want to get through my diamond carapace! You want to try and cut it with a sword?! Pure madness . That’s precisely the kind of attack that it’s specifically designed to ward off! Muahahaha!

I like to think of my carapace as medieval armour . When a soldier or knight was properly kitted out with padded wool, leather and chainmail, it was pretty much impossible to hurt with them a sword slash, which was the entire point . To deal damage, you needed to use either massive blunt force, like a heavy axe or hammer, or punch through it with a powerful stab . That’s precisely how my diamond carapace works, whilst also being way shinier . I’m incredibly resistant to cutting, and thanks to my inner-plating, I’m pretty damn hard to crack with blunt force . The last way to try and get through is with a powerful stabbing attack, which is something I’ll need to address at some point in my evolution .

If these guys want to fling more sword light my way, I’m more than happy to take them . Just don’t cut off my legs, I need those .

Dash! Need to get more distance . I’m frantic for every last metre of space of I can get . Each step brings me that little bit closer to safety and a little further from not being in control of my destiny . I won’t have it again! I refuse! Damn stone-heads, just get out of my way already! Their stubborn refusal to let me go is driving my anger toward them to rise, to the point where I don’t even mind if they reach the Colony alongside me . That will just mean that none of them will return to their stupid city!

Arrrgh! No! Bad Anthony!

I throw on the brakes and screech to a halt as I call out to my pets .

[Tiny, Invidia! With me! Let’s try and put these three down quickly! Non-lethal if we can manage it!]

[Yessss . ]

[HARRRR!]

I’m not sure if Invidia is especially delighted or is just saying yes, but Tiny is clearly pleased to get a chance to punch some stone people in the face . I just can’t let them find out about the Colony . I’ve brought disaster down on their heads already, and I refuse to allow it to happen again . I’ll knock down these three and then flee to safety .

[Keep going in that direction, Jim!] I yell at him, [It won’t be long until you find them! Tell them I sent you and you’ll be fine!]

[… alright… . Then…] He wheezes .

Hopefully, he still has the energy to whip up a mind bridge, the poor worm . I don’t want to get eaten because I ran him ragged trying to find Tiny… He slithers off into the distance as my pets, and I go face to face against the three suddenly wary Golgari Warriors . The tunnel isn’t wide enough for much manoeuvring, especially with Tiny in here . There’s little choice for them but to come right at us if they want to .

But… they don’t . When we stop, ready to fight, the Golgari simply stop and watch, weapons at the ready .

What are they doing? Aren’t they trying to fight us? Or are they just?

BOOM!

Waiting for reinforcements… dammit .