Tangling with the big boys, wrestling with the top dogs, that’s my job as the strongest the Colony has to offer. The first time I went up against a tier seven demon, it was Grokus, and he very nearly had me for dinner. The last time I tried it, I absolutely annihilated the opponent so quickly they didn’t have time to pick their nose.

In fact, it was so fast I’m not even sure they had a nose…. In that instance, I had to go all out to protect the Queen, but here, I can be a little more discerning and test my limits a little more.

I’ve got enough Biomass stocked away for a decent mutation session, and I’d like to have a clearer idea of just what I need before I commit. This can be my chance for data collection.

The horde we find is several thousand demons strong, and rather worryingly seems to be heading towards the pillar behind us, which leads directly into the territory of the Colony. Considering how busy they’ve been, I don’t think there remain many cities in this area that haven’t been visited by the demon hordes. Any non-demon occupants have been excised, so now they need to go looking further afield for targets.

The time when the Colony is going to clash head-on against the demon uprising is fast approaching, but if we play our cards right, we can delay it just a little bit longer.

[Get ready, gang,] I tell the others. [We’re going to commit to this one. Not a single demon in that horde is allowed to survive. I want you guys to peel away the weaker demons so I can have a crack at the tougher monsters in the centre.]

The three of them nod in affirmation, pumped up and ready to fight, but someone else pops up to spoil the positive atmosphere.

“Are you sure this is a good idea, Eldest?” Protectant pops into existence not far away, looking somewhat tired and bedraggled.

“Of course it’s a good idea. We can deal with this threat here and now, and my comrades need precious levels to push them closer to evolution. There’s so much winning involved, it almost beggars belief. What’s your problem?”

The leader of operation: Silent Shield rubs at the carapace between her eyes with a foreleg, as if relieving a tension headache.

“There are multiple highly evolved demons in there, and thousands of enemies in total. Of course it’s dangerous! It’s also completely unnecessary. You know just as well as I do that if this demon army climbs that pillar, there is an entire fortress filled with ants waiting to greet them on the other side. They’ll be annihilated! So why risk yourself?”

I mean, she raises good points, but there are other things to consider. For example: “Have all of you reached tier six yet?”

Protectant flinches slightly, giving the entire game away.

“Still?! This is getting absolutely ridiculous. I’m going to be getting up close and personal with tier eight demons soon. EIGHT. What do you think is going to happen to one of you if you're three evolutions behind? You’ll be evaporated, that’s what!”

“This isn’t what we were discussing…” she protests lamely.

“Nonsense! We are out here strengthening ourselves for the trials to come, and that includes you twenty slackers! Get your mandibles ready, because you are charging into that horde along with the rest of us, and you’re going to like it, dammit! Get all the experience, Biomass and cores you can, I’m going to be too busy to babysit you. Ready?”

“Not rea-”

“Good. Go!”

And we’re off! Racing across the plains, my legs are a blur and the air pressure blows my antennae back against my carapace. Tiny whoops with joy as he rumbles forward like an avalanche, a grim-eyed Invidia latched onto his shoulder.

I can sense the twenty baby-sitters falling in behind us as we charge, forced to go along with the plan despite themselves. Gweheheheh. Masterful persuasion tactics, even if I do say so myself.

Up ahead, the demon horde is just as excited to see us as we are to see them. The lead demons go absolutely berserk, red eyed and frothing as they hurl themselves towards us. Once the front of the group gets moving, the rest soon follow, the mass of monstrous flesh soon stampeding in our direction, with those powerful demonic auras washing out from the centre.

Bring it!

The bulk of the horde are weak, mere tier four and five demons gathered from the plains, and I slam through them like they aren’t even there. With every chomp of my mandibles or thrash of my head, I send the weaker monsters tumbling out of my way.

Of course, even as strong as I am, it isn’t enough to let me run straight through a thousand demons, not without drawing on the Altar, at least. If I need to use it, then I will, but for now, I’ll hold back.

“Get off me! I’ve got stuff to do!”

The moment my momentum stops, the demons pile onto me as quickly as they can, hacking and slashing, biting and punching. Thankfully, my carapace is more than up to the task of deflecting physical damage like this. Acting as the strongest possible armour, the weaker attacks simply bounce off me.

As nice as that is, I still have vulnerable points, namely my eyes and the joints between my armour segments, so I manoeuvre quickly in the confined space left to me. Guided by my brief glimpses into the future and acting with unnatural speed thanks to my enhanced reflexes, I can shift and deflect every strike that aims at my more vulnerable points.

Seriously, though, what’s the most efficient way to get rid of these small fry? I can chomp them to death in an instant, but I don’t want to drain my stamina. Acid? Probably not. I could use magic, I suppose, but the number of spells required. Ah, forget it, let’s try this.

I draw deeply on my gravity mana, compress and form it into the spell I want before unleashing it along with a burst of energy from the Altar.

Taste my Gravity Domain!

The purple sphere of energy expands outwards with me at the centre, larger and darker than I’ve ever seen it. The moment it reaches full size, the air within the dome changes. All at once, hundreds of demons slam to the ground, no longer able to keep themselves upright as the tremendous force crushes them down into the ground.

All of a sudden, I find myself standing alone, surrounded by a carpet of monsters straining to rise from the floor. Empowered by my gravity mana specialisation and the energy of the Altar, the Gravity Domain has become so much stronger!

“Gweheheheh. That’s right, get on the ground. You small fry don’t get to stand in the presence of a king!”