Chapter 60 : Purging The Nest "Is the map complete ?" [Not yet, but the drones gathered enough information for us to start the assault.] It has now been a few hours since Jerome left the cave, and we still haven't engaged the hundreds of worms that are hidden deep within their lair. I sent a few drones to explore the tunnels connected to the main gallery and map out the area around the nest, but they didn't find any other entrance to the worms' nest except for the one I already discovered. "It looks we are forced to dig ourselves and face them head on..." [Dealing with the worms you faced earlier won't be a problem with the help of the Battle-drones ; I'm more concerned about their alpha specimens. Their heat signatures indicate that they are far bigger and larger than those we encountered previously. ] "Did you find out who or what is controlling them ?" [No, it's most likely hidden deeper within their nest where your sensors can not reach.] Gladia and I suspected that the entity controlling the worms with the thin mana threads was a kind of overmind ruling over the whole colony. If this colony of worms had the same structure as the swarmling Hive on Kar'goth, there would surely be an overlord ruling over the worms. At first look, the Hive and this colony were quite similar... however, these worms acted much more cautiously toward intruders. No matter how deep within the mountain we explored, they didn't try to attack us again since our first encounter. "Why do I feel like they are baiting us deeper inside the mountain..." [They aren't wrong to do so, we have no choice but to run head-first into their territory if we want to kill them.] We eventually started moving after all the battle-drones I sent scouting the tunnels came back. We cautiously advanced through a dark gallery, until we reached a place close enough to their underground nest so we wouldn't need to dig too much. When we arrived, I ordered the drones to drill through the rocks while I started to gather Void energy and prepare myself for the upcoming fight. I knew this battle would be difficult, so I intended to give it my all from the start to avoid any unexpected surprises. After carefully observing the worms' movements through my sensors, I was certain the entity controlling them was aware of our presence and waiting for us to penetrate its lair. It was of no use to try to be furtive at this point. Even if they patiently waited for us to enter their nest so they can overwhelm us with their great numbers, we had no choice but to go along with their plan. While a few battle-drones were drilling through the dense rocks with the chainsaw attached to their mechanical arms, I ordered the others to closely follow behind me. "Prepare for contact once we enter the worms' lair, and immeditaly engage them in the Phalanx battle formation. Fire at will ; do not let a single one of them pass our defense line." The drones didn't answer me, but I knew they would follow my orders to the letter. If there was something I was sure of, it was the inflexible loyalty of my drones. Compared to the reapers who were sentient living beings, and therefore, able to take decisions on their own depending on the situation, the drones were nothing but lifeless robots created for the sole purpose of war. They would listen to nobody except for their master, the one who awakened them from their slumber in the Golden Hangar... which is me. Each step of the battle-drones marching behind me shook the ground, while the walls progressively shattered as the drones at the front proceeded to drill... The more I could smell this putrid odor of rotten meat emanating from the little cracks in the ground, the closer we got to our destination. At one point, it became so unbearable that it was impossible to breathe. I had to purify the air coming inside my helmet with my black matter to not puke inside my helmet. After slowly digging for almost an hour, we finally reached the nest's border. The moment one of the drones drilling at the front finally passed his chainsaw through the thick layer of rocks surrounding the lair, a huge mouth covered in razor-shaped teeth appeared from nowhere and swallowed his whole mechanized arm. *crunch* Despite being clad in heavy armor made of exotic metal that even the Scylla Templars had trouble breaking, it didn't protect the drone from losing its limb. Undisturbed by losing one of his four arms, the damaged drone reacted instantly by inserting his second chainsaw inside the worm's mouth and brutally lacerating his head from within, spraying the wall with a mixture of hot blood and flesh. "Engage!" I gave the signal to the drones behind me, before charging toward the fractured wall and smashing it with all my might. "Go! Go! Go!" I shouted, as I passed through the wall while quickly releasing my Red Mist. The first thing I saw when I entered the worm's lair was an incredible scene : more than a hundred worms were rushing toward us from all directions. The firsts to attack me came from the ceiling and fell on me their mouth wide open. I punched them with all my strength before they could bite me ; I already learned the lesson once, I wasn't going to let them plant their poisonous teeth inside my flesh once again. *sproch!* *sprach!* *crieeek!* My blows powered up with the Red Mist ripped off the worms' disgusting bodies and completely exploded their head. Now that I had more space to fight, I did not intend to behave as cautiously as inside the narrow tunnel by restraining my energy to not blow up the walls. We only entered the outer area of the lair, yet it was already wide enough for us to unleash our attacks without fear of the ceiling crumbling on our heads. The first battle-drones who passed through the damaged wall behind me fired their shoulder-cannons as soon as they noticed the swarm of worms approaching. Their devastating shots were decimating the horde charging at us from the front, while I was taking care of the few worms who slipped through the deluge of fire in melee combat. '【Dark Blade】' *swish!* I conjured my Dark Blade and slashed multiple times at the worms rushing at me. My blade enhanced with the Red Mist was sharp enough to cut their scales without any resistance so I only needed a single clean hit to take them down, but because their number was increasing, I started to feel overwhelmed with a single arm. When I thought about getting back to the drones behind me to not get surrounded, I suddenly felt intense vibrations coming from under my feet. I instinctively jumped in the air, just as several holes filled with sharp teeth appeared where I stood just a second ago. Not only near my position, I saw many holes opening in the ground all around us. "These fuckers!" *pulch!* On my way down, I planted my Dark Blade into the mouth that emerged just beneath my feet before condensing Singularity energy in my left arm for a Dark Explosion. 'Forget about preserving my energy reserve ; I won't survive this battle if I don't use everything I've got.' [Jun, on your left!] *crunch!* "Argh... Shit!" *woosh!* Despite Gladia's warning, a worm hidden below the ground snuck up on my flank and bit my left leg before I could chop his head off with my Dark Blade. Inside my helmet, all my sensors were beeping like crazy. Even if I was aware of the menaces around me, I couldn't dodge them all. There were so many hostile signatures displayed on my helmet that the glass of my visor was constantly flashing in red. All of the fifty drones passed by the passage on the wall behind me and joined the battlefield, yet we were still heavily outnumbered. I knew beforehand that we'd have to fight an attrition battle with the worms before we could get to the core of their nest, but it was hard to not get injured in the process. Even if these worms were weak individually, I still couldn't avoid getting bitten when too many of them attacked at the same time. Fighting with a single arm against multiple foes was too big of a handicap ; these situations always forced me to use my skills more frequently to stay safe, which tended to exhaust me very quickly. '【Dark Explosion】' *criek!* *crieeek!* I cleared up the worms surrounding me and I was about to prepare for a Void Surge, when the poisonous mana from the previous bite kicked in. My movements slowed down, and I even stumbled for a second because of the growing pain I was feeling. This poisonous mana was very annoying. I was already in a bad state, and the injuries will only continue to add up over time. I could feel that Tassadar wouldn't be able to suppress the mana running rampant inside my body indefinitely. Fighting so many of these worms was a pain in the ass. It was clearly a battle of wits ; if I don't endure the poison's effects and clean this damned nest fast enough, the accumulated damage will make me too vulnerable to defend myself properly. Even with fifty heavily armored battle-drones supporting me, it sure is a challenge. Thanks to my black matter dealing with this mana on its own, I was far more resistant to it than the rest of my squad... but I wasn't immune to it nonetheless. Getting bitten a second time made me feel dizzy, and even my vision began to deteriorate... If Tassadar had such difficulty restraining this mana after only two bites, I knew my situation would quickly worsen if I got bitten a few more times. My body was reaching its limit. While I was continuing to fight the flood of monsters coming at me while trying to get back to my drones' regiment, I noticed another group of worms crawling on the ceiling. As if the overlord controlling them noticed that between the drones and me only I got affected by their mana, it sent a large group of worms to flank me from an undefendable angle. Although they prepared to fall on me, I couldn't do anything to prevent them. It wasn't time to use the Void energy I gathered for a Void Surge yet. Because the poison temporarily slowed my movements, it gave them the perfect opportunity for a surprise strike. I couldn't help but prepare for the impact, while going back inside the Phalanx formation behind me. 'Argh...These fuckers sure chose the right timing...' Fortunately, before the worms could jump, they all got blasted by a volley of powerful energy shots from the battle drones behind me. When the drones noticed my abnormal condition, they quickly realized that I was in trouble. They switched the focus of their shoulder-cannons from the front line to the ceiling, and slowly advanced to encircle me inside their Phalanx. "I'm so glad for bringing them with us." [Without your tactical training in the Golden Hangar, they wouldn't have been capable of taking such a decision in the middle of a fight. Who'd have guessed that even these inanimate drones could learn ?] Gladia was right, as surprising as it was... it seemed that the drones were learning in real time. Moreover, those fifty drones are part of Jerome's regiment. Because they always followed him to the front line, they are probably among the most experienced drones. Seeing them adjust to the situation on their own made me feel just as proud as when my squad members became self-dependent for the first time inside the Hive on Kar'goth. I felt like a parent witnessing his children's first steps. "Ahah, these guys are the best ! I would not trade any of them even for a thousand knights." I was lucky to be accompanied by Jerome's regiment. If the elite-drones accompanying Douglas had little to no chance of dealing with these worms in such a closed space, this wasn't the case for these robust battle-drones. No matter how hard I struggled, this situation was ideal for them. It was in these kinds of close-quarter combats that they could shine the most, especially when they were performing their signature formation, the Phalanx. This defensive formation was an immovable force capable of resisting threats of all kinds, from an endless swarm of monsters to a powerhouse like Legatus. As far as I know, the only time this formation failed was when we faced Legatus on the megastructure. Yet even then, I purposedly let Legatus break the formation so he could lower his guard and take the bait I served him. After fighting for a long time, none of the worms were able to breach the battle-drones' defenses. This horde of monsters facing the Phalanx in such a confined place looked like a giant tide smashing on an immovable fortress : it was a one-sided massacre. I rested for a short moment in the middle of this turtle made of exotic metal and chainsaw, until my black matter slowly dissipated the effects of the poisonous mana. I couldn't cure myself, but I was satisfied if I could just move my body without being bothered by this substance running wild inside my veins. When I felt slightly better, I straightened up myself and got back to the front line. Even if the battle-drones surrounding me were slashing, sawing, and blasting an incredible amount of these disgusting monsters, wave after wave, their numbers didn't decrease. 'Did we miscalculated the size of their colony ?' [No, we didn't. It may look like their numbers are not decreasing, but they are. The battle-drones have already eliminated the worms that dwelt in the outside nest ; all of the worms that are currently attacking us are from the inner part of the lair, indicating that their forces are nearly exhausted.] 'So, if I understand correctly, we just have to hold on until the stronger foes, their Alpha, show themselves ?' [Yes. Up until now we only lost seven out of fifty drones, so we still have some leeway before getting pushed back. Just be sure to not get bitten again, and we should be fine no matter what awaits us in the inner nest.] I had a bad feeling rising in my guts, but everything was going along Gladia's predictions. As far as I know, Gladia was never wrong when it came to analyzing the current state of a battlefield. 'Alright, I'll follow your advice then.' I stood with the drones at the forefront of the Phalanx, and shouted. "Keep the line !! Hold on the formation !!" I knew deep down that something was amiss with the inner part of the nest, yet despite this ominous feeling, I trusted Gladia. If she was so optimistic about the situation, it meant that no matter what happens, we'd be able to deal with it. The cluster of battle-drones was like an armored turtle with an impenetrable defense. In addition to their resilience, they were all connected to each other in the same way that I was always linked to my squad members through my synaptic links ; this granted them an unrivaled synergy when fighting large battles together. Eventually, after fighting for an entire hour, the waves of worms coming out of the inner nest finally stopped. I was bathed in blood and guts, catching my breath in front of a pile of dead worms. [Jun, I detect movements in the inner nest. These... are probably the alpha worms.] "What's our casualties ?" [11 drones lost, 4 are still functional but too damaged to move.] Despite our fierce resistance, we couldn't avoid casualties. It was already a miracle fifty individuals cleared a colony strong of a thousand worms. Thanks to my experience fighting the swarmlings for many days in a row on Kar'goth, I wasn't too exhausted. I only used about a third of my energy reserve. The only problem so far was the poisonous mana still running wild inside my body. The more time passed, the harder it was for me to move even with Tassadar's help. "How many Alpha did you detect ?" [Five, but... they are not coming our way. They seem to be protecting something in the inner part of the nest.] The worms' outer nest didn't have a very refined shape, it just looked like a wide cavern dug underground. The only thing out of the ordinary was the acidic and sticky fluid covering the walls and ceiling as well as the bones and rotten flesh that littered the ground. About a kilometer from our location, in the center of this huge cavern, there was a dome made with a mix of rocks and an unknown organic matter. This was the place from which the waves of worms came from ; Gladia called it the inner nest. My sensors couldn't penetrate it so I couldn't see what was hiding inside, but fortunately, Gladia was able to detect the life forms hiding inside. "You said they are protecting something inside this dome, right ?" [Yes.] In normal circumstances if I was accompanied by my squad, I would have asked Douglas to shoot it from afar or Alice to sneak inside, but now... It was just me, alone and injured. I needed to take care of the inner nest quickly, but I had no idea how to do so without endangering myself and sacrificing more drones. I had no idea what was inside this fortified dome, but the fact that the Alpha worms guarded it so carefully rather than rushing out to protect their territory made me concerned about it. While I was trying to figure out a way to take care of whatever was within the inner nest without approaching it, I felt a very familiar presence enter the slime cave from which we came from. "Ahah... look who's joining the party." I couldn't help but smile under my helmet, relieved to feel her presence getting closer. "Whatever is hiding inside and controlling the worms from afar is so dead now that she arrived... I almost feel bad for them." The most suited out of all my squad members when it came to dealing with this kind of situation... The one who has the power to disintegrate even air particles... Kat couldn't have arrived at a better time.