Chapter 91: Pest control Part 2

“WAAAAGAHHHAAAAA-UUUUURK!”

The goblin impaled itself onto my blade. Instantly, I flicked my arm forward, sending its corpse into the mass of advancing goblins. It was hard to make even a dent in the mass. They were endless. However, they were hilariously weak.

“WAAAAAAARGHHHHH” My blade swiftly swung through the air, bisecting the goblin. I snapped my finger, and soon, all the purple blood that had been pooling on the floor started to collect into an orb next to me.

The blood nexus is one of the abilities I have. What it can do is a mystery to me, but I feel the possibilities are endless. One of the things I've figured out is that I can draw blood towards it, which will then channel it into me. Providing me with health and a little bit of stamina. It's not a lot, but it's perfect for a battle of attrition like this one.

Stamina, however, was something that didn’t even bother the warriors; with ease and unrelenting efficiency, they cut through dozens and dozens of goblins. The once yellow and green armour was now a deep, disgusting purple adorned with viscera and organs.

Suddenly, a loud, ear-piercing screech hit my ears. I looked up, and suddenly, more green light was fired up into the air. I watched as the green light arched upwards, illuminating the entire cave before suddenly darting towards us. Swiftly, we all moved out of the way as the green orb splashed down where we were. I looked closer and noticed that the ground had slightly melted. Corrosive. The information was relayed between all of us. Avoiding those blasts would be-

Suddenly, more and more orbs flew towards us, and at the same time, the goblins' attack continued. A goblin leapt out again at me. I felt my blades slide out when, all of a sudden, a warrior appeared by my side. In the blink of an eye, he caught the goblin by its foot and slammed it into the ground, causing its body to explode, spreading bone and blood all over the floor.

This is annoying; the constant air bombardment and the unending attacks made it impossible to push forward. Dammit, we have no choice. we started to back up towards the entrance of the tunnel the roof of the tunnel worked as decent cover from the aerial attack. However, this meant we were now fighting in a narrow area, which made it very easy for them to put pressure on us.

Another green orb launched into the air. I focused on where it came from, and just for a few moments, a figure was illuminated. That’s it. That has to be responsible. But how do we get to it? They are right at the back of the cave. We have no easy way of getting to them from here. Hell, even seeing them is a challenge. It’s so damn dark in here; even with my improved vision, I can't see that far.

More bright green flashes illuminated the room as the blasts splashed at the entrance serving as a constant reminder.  <Dammit! We can't continue like this. I need to think.> I retreated back from the lead deeper into the cave. The warriors quickly repositioned themselves into a defensive position. As I sat down. The problem is range. We don’t have any at all. I would ask for some of the spitters, but right now, they are preoccupied with the air battle outside. Meaning I need to improvise. But with what?!

Suddenly, a purple/red orb floated into my view. The blood nexus. I haven't done much with his, seeing how I haven't had a reason to do so. However, now may be the best time to do so.

The blood nexus floated down into my hands.

<Just what can this thing do?>

As if reading my mind, the system popped up

Blood nexus

Your journey and understanding of blood begins here. Experiment and explore to unlock the true potential of this ability

Experiment huh…. If that’s the case, then….. I tapped it with my hands, and the nexus gently deformed and warped. So I can mould it, I wonder…. I grabbed hold of it and stretched it as long and thin as possible. After that, I shaped the ends to a sharp point, making a very basic spear.

<That might work>

I grabbed the spear in my hands, but as soon as I did, it collapsed.

<I forget it's still just made out of blood. Unless.> I grabbed hold of the spear and focused on it. Channelling all of my will into it.

<Harden>

Instantly, the spear shook, and I felt it become heavier and more solid. I can work with this.

New ability added: Blood manipulation.

Blood now bends to your will. Use it to forge weapons to spill more and more blood into this world.

(The blood nexus can be manipulated  to a limited degree into tools and weapons that help you in whatever you need)

I charged back towards the battle lines with my spear in hand. The Warriors have done a good job holding; however, I noticed they now had a few injuries on them. Annoyingly, the enemy had noticed as suddenly 3 large goblins came out of the dark. They were huge, almost a foot taller than the warrior, and made of muscles; however, that didn’t distract them. The warriors quickly formed a plan. Divide and conquer. They split up into 3 teams of 3 and lured the large goblin into the cave. The last remaining goblin acted as a guard and held off the smaller goblins.

After luring them forward, the warriors got to work quickly, disassembling the big ones. The goblins swung at them with their ogre-like arms, which the warriors rapidly dodged out of the way Before responding with a swing from their bladed arms, taking off the arm of the goblin. The goblin roared in pain; however, they didn’t stop. Instantly, they would rush the goblin, taking out the legs, immobilizing them and then swiftly executing them by taking off their heads.

I was awed. The entire thing took less than a minute and before I knew they were back holding the line. With a show like that, I can't disappoint. I quickly ran and took the lead. Spear in hand, I waited. Waited for the perfect moment. My eyes scoured the back of the room where, finally, a green orb was launched into the sky.

<This is my chance.>

I pulled my arm back and flung it forward as hard as I could in an I hope my aim was good. I waited again as the spear disappeared into the darkness. Time appeared to slow down. This had to hit. IT HAS TO

Green light started to form in the direction of my spear. I waited a bit more, suddenly a loud screech filled the room.

1x goblin Shaman slain!

500xp awarded

<YES! That’s it!> I started to celebrate; however, in the corner of my eye, I noticed a spherical green orb on the opposite far side of the cave. Another goblin shaman however, this one isn't hiding. The goblin shaman suddenly started to stomp its feet and bang on its belly. Almost immediately, a ton of green orbs flew towards us.

The warriors bolted backwards and dodged the corrosive green gunk that landed on top of us. I summoned up another blood nexus and quickly formed a spear like before, throwing harder than ever before. It flew dead straight, splitting the air as it moved. I watched as the Shaman's eyes panicked as the spear collided with the green orb that surrounded him. The green orb glowed a deep, grungy green before a large crack appeared all across it.

<Dammit>

I got another one ready when suddenly, one of the warriors put their arm on my shoulder.

<Wait>

I wondered why until I felt it. Finally. <Took them long enough.>

The ground in the cave shook, causing panic among the goblins. The shaking got more and more intense. Several holes suddenly burst into existence in the cave walls; instantly hundreads of combat units flowed out as a yellow chitinous wave. More and more holes appeared on the opposite side of the cave, causing more combat units to flow out onto the battlefield.

The warriors suddenly lunged forward, engaging the stunned goblins. I, on the other hand, slumped up against the wall. I’m beat. This has been way too exhausting. The moment I sat down, I felt someone tug on my mind.

<Mother.. is that you?>

<Yes, it is.> Her voice boomed across my mind <Sorry for that, but you did well. I'm proud of you.>

<Thank you, mother. I'm just gonna rest here for a while>

She chuckled <Of course. You’ve earned it. I've got it from here….>

A few moments earlier……

Diva pov:

“Run this by me again, Diva.”

“What’s so difficult for you to understand, Penn.”

I watched as the workers dug quickly and efficiently towards the cave. At the same time, I've been following Sally and her squad; she’s done well, all things considered.

“Why are you not just rushing in and killing them all. You more than have the numbers for that.”

“For a self-proclaimed genius, you really have a shallow way of looking at things. It’s simple. The intel about this cave came from the enemy. While it's from a legitimate source, it could be a trap, for all we know. With that  in mind, it's much safer to send a smaller team to check first.”

“Then why send Sally? What if she is hurt or killed? Why couldn’t you just send a bunch of combat units or just the warriors.”

“The combat units are too weak unless they are in very large numbers, and the warriors are brand new. I'm not sure what they can and can not do. So Sally was sent as a pseudo-leader, whilst, yes, I could lead them myself from here; my impact is limited; at best, all I can do is give instructions. Having Sally there allows for more flexibility. Sally has a unique set of abilities that can be very useful.”

“Huh, it seems you thought this through, but you're missing the big elephant in the room. What if she died?”

I laughed. “She’s fought way stronger opponents when she was much weaker. I'm not worried about that, but I'll humour you. If she died, then it would be a sad and unfortunate loss. However, I am the queen of this hive; my role is to gain more power and keep my hive alive. My children dying is a part of that, as nothing is gained without some sacrifice. Now then, is your curiosity sated?”

She smiled. “Yes. I think I understand you a bit better.”

“I wish your understanding would benefit me at some point. I've yet to see anything useful come from you being here.”

She chuckled. “You are right about that… Don’t worry. I haven't been sitting idly all this time. I'm working on something, but it just needs the right catalyst.”

I rolled my eyes and shooed her away. I have bigger things to focus on. The tunnels advanced forward with amazing speed.

<it won’t be long now….>

Present time…

I watched as hundreds of hungry minds sprang out into the fray. The weave was awash with activity. Dozens of micro commands came from every combat unit as they swarmed out of the tunnels.

Soon, the body count began to rack up. My mind was filled with the faces and body parts of dismembered goblins. It was beautiful. I focused on one of the warriors. Instantly, my vision was filled with a torrent of purple blood as the warrior ripped the head off one of the bigger goblins.

<good work. Proceed forward>

He shot forward. I ordered several more to follow him to the back of the cave. They scrambled over the dead bodies of goblins and other combat units as they moved.

Hmm, this is an issue with limited space for the hive. They can’t move as quick as they usually do.

Eventually, they made it to the end and started pushing deeper, slicing and eviscerating any goblins that tried to flee.

Bigger and bigger goblins came towards the group, but even that couldn’t stop the sheer number of warriors that went down that tunnel. In no time, they made it to the end.

“ANNNOYING BUGZ. ME SLAUGHTER YOU ALL!>

The warriors all squared up to fight the goblin lord. The hoblin lord was much bigger, and his body was made of muscle. He wore a cape made of some type of animal fur and a pointy crown made of bones. All in all, I’m not worried.

“YOU WILL PAY. ALL YOU BUGZ WILL BE EATEN AND-“

<Do me a kindness and shut him up. However, don’t kill him>

In unison, they formed into a spear-tip shape before running towards him in formation. The goblin king roared and charged into the tip of the spear, meeting one of the warriors and stopping his advance instantly. The other folded around the goblin encircling him, and then it started. The goblin king growled as he tried to fight his way out of the circle, but the warriors held firm. As he attacked one warrior, another would do the same when he was distracted. The same thing repeated over and over; the goblin lord's anger rose as his injuries increased.

“AGHAAAA STOOPID BUGZ STOP IT!”

His body started to rupture with green lighting that arced out across the room.

“ME BLOW YOU ALL TO RED MIST!” The lightning quadrupled in intensity as his anger rose. This wont end well. I let out a sigh and tapped into the weave once again.

< I didn’t want to do this, but….>

A single order echoed out of muscle mind. Suddenly, hundreds of tiny feet started to move, barrelling down the tunnel. The warriors retreated as instructed. Creating as much space as possible.

“STOPID BUGZ I WILL KILL YOU-“

Suddenly, the combat units arrived; around 100 of them charged out of the tunnels and piled onto the goblin, smothering his green lightning. He tried to fight them off, but their sheer number was immense.

A powerful vibration suddenly shook the room, followed by a dull green flash. Instantly, 30 minds disappeared from the weave. Signalling their death. I stifled the pain. It worked. That’s what matters.

The combat unit peeled away from the goblin lord one by one, eventually revealing his injured and wretched body. Containing the attack had another benefit: A lot of the damage was returned back to him essentially doing the hard work for us. The warriors pounced around him. I gave them my permission to rough him up.

<Torture him. But I want to see him alive.>

My mind left the weave, and suddenly, I was back alone in the hive. I shook my head. Being in the weave and being connected to that many minds is draining in its own way. I slowly stood up. Scanning the room for anything out of the ordinary,

<Where are you boys….> I asked myself. I looked around again, but there was no sign of them.

<Perfect. You blend in perfectly. You can reveal yourselves now>

Suddenly, several of the mushrooms around me blurred and turned into several warriors; however, thease ones had a deep dark blue tint to their armour.

<The gifts you inherited from your host are very useful.>

<Thank you, mother. If they allow us to serve the hive, then we will use them to the maximum>

<That you will>

I chuckled. Fucking that assassin wasn’t a bad idea in the end. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what they would get the abilities in the end, but this was worth it. However, they can only disguise themselves as inanimate objects. Which makes them perfect for defence. Offence, however, it may be tricky to put it into practice. But I'm rambling. I have a goblin lord to kill

My wings fluttered as I quickly made my way to the tunnels. Thankfully, The workers made one of the tunnels big enough for me to fly, but only just; my wings were so close to scraping the edges. I made it through, and in no time, I was in the gore-splattered goblin cave. Body parts and organs hung from the walls and ceilings like a fucked up nativity scene. Everywhere you stepped, a loud, wet sound rang out as blood seeped from the bodies onto the stone. However, despite all of that, it wasn’t the worst of it, Far from it. I clenched my nose shut. Sometimes, having improved senses is a curse rather than a blessing. The stench was unbearable. Not a single pellet of water had touched these goblins in their entire sordid lifetimes.

<Mother? Is everything okay>

I looked down and was met with a combat unit standing in the crap without care.

< I'm fine. It’s just the smell. Let's go. I don’t want to be here any longer. >My wings lightly flapped in the air, allowing me to hover gently over the goblins. I moved with the combat unit down until, finally, I arrived at the location of the final battle.

<Thank you, children. All of you may return home except for the warriors. As a reward, you can eat half of the goblins, the rest, take it back and use it to make another farm.> God, just thinking about the smell of that farm makes me want to play in traffic, but it will benefit the hive. I signalled azuura and quickly told him what to do before returning my attention back to the goblin king, who looked a lot worse now than a few minutes ago. One eye had been gouged out, and chunks taken out of his ear. I could count on one hand how many teeth he had remaining, and I'm confident he had more blood on the outside than inside.

“Having fun down there?”

He growled and opened his mouth immediately; the warrior slammed his head down, silencing him.

<*chuckle* let him talk>

His foot lifted up, and immediately he started yelling.

“YOU STUPID BUG. YOU FIGHT COWARDLY. FIGHT ME GOOD AND PROPPER NOW!”

“No. and can you stop acting like a chi- “

“GRAGHHHHAAAAAAAAA NO! YOU FIGHT ME NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW!”

I watched as he threw a tantrum like a child in front of me. Usually, when I win, a strong feeling of victory fills me. But this time, it's different. It wasn’t a victory. It was something else…..Annoyance

I watched as he flailed his hands and wailed in front of me. Can you at least have some self-respect? Come on. Seriously?! I can't believe this is what I was fighting. This was the person I was wasting so much time and energy defeating. A Child. A stupid fucking baby that probably got into this position purely by being strong. I can't believe THIS  was my fucking enemy the whole fucking time.

<move>

The warrior quickly moved away. The goblin child tried to get up, but in a flash, I was flying above him.

<NO FAIR! GET DOWN FIGHT ME NO->

I dropped like a sack of stones onto his body. Several loud snaps echoed out as he wailed in pain. <SO STUPID!> I yelled as I  stomped on his head. Again and again. Every stomp was responded with a pained wail and a splurt of blood I happily ignored. Every stomp channelled all the frustration and disappointment I was carrying. To think I wasted brain power on this guy. To think I sacrificed 30 OF MY OWN FUCKING CHILDREN TO KILL THIS CHILD!

I raise my foot high one last time before bringing it crashing down on his head. Instantly, white chunks of bone and grey matter shot across the floor and up onto my armour.

<And you even made a mess on my armour>

I wound my leg back and booted the rest of his body into a nearby wall, spreading what was left of him all over the cave.

<How fucking disappointing.>

I let out a disappointed sigh as I started to leave <Come on, boys, let's go home. This was a waste of everyone's time> The warriors all started to fall out of the room except one. He was busy looking at a wall.

I moved closer to see what got him so transfixed. And that’s when I saw it, too. The wall was completely flat except for one segment that protruded out a little bit

< Boys. Come give mother a hand> I called.

The warriors all returned. I watched as 4 of them stabbed their blades Into that piece of wall. At the same time, using their blades as an anchor, they pulled backwards, slowly pulling the segment backwards. In no time, the segment was free, revealing a hidden passage.

I signalled one of the warriors to head in first. After a few moments of silence, I got the all-clear and followed him in.

Maybe this wasn’t a waste of time after all…..