Chapter 72: Awful Taste

“SPEAK”

“ME SPEAK ALREADY. WHAT I KNOW”

“LIAR”

A blood-curdling scream echoed through the forest as my tail carved into him some more. This bastard came here and attacked my home and now has the gall to hide information from me. my tail carved into his stomach, causing him to unleash another guttural scream of agony.

<Mother, that’s enough>

A hand rested on my tail and pulled it back.

< it's not enough! It will never be enough! He came here. He was responsible for killing my son. For all of this!>

<Mother, I understand. But we’ve already got everything an hour ago. There is not a single thing extra we are going to get from him>

<You don’t know that! We know he has a leader. What if more come? We have to make sure we have every piece of information! Who knows what will happen if they come again!>

<Mother… Please. I know you're sad about losing one of your sons, but this isn’t healthy for your mind. Please just end it. Penn says she has something important she wants to tell us.>

<WHO CARES WHAT PENN WANTS SALLY! ALL THAT MATTERS IS THAT HE PAYS FOR WHAT HE’S DONE. WHAT HE MADE ME DO. HOW CAN YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THAT!>

<OF COURSE I UNDERSTAND! I WANT THE SAME TO SEE HIM SUFFER! But mother, we need to focus! You promised that. You promised him that.>

<BUT HE. HE!>

I glanced back to the wailing goblin. Anger surged through my body. I hate him. Words can't describe how much I hate him. He should suffer. He deserves to suffer. He can't have a peaceful death….It’s..it’s…ITS NOT FAIR!

My tail lashed towards his head, piercing it cleanly through the middle, killing him instantly and plunging the clearing into a deep silence. My body still boiled with anger, but there was nothing I could do. Nowhere I could place this unyielding rage.

<Mother….>

<WHAT SALLY!>

<Thank you, mother. > I felt her arms wrap around my body. I knew she was trying to reassure me and temper my anger in some sort of way, but it was useless. I pushed her hands away and walked toward the other side of the clearing where Penn was studying a mysterious glowing rock.

“Oh, Diva, you’re here. Is….. everything okay?” My eyes darted towards her, causing her body to shiver

“S..sorry. forget I asked.

“What have you found, Penn,”

Her eyes darted to Sally, who was standing behind me still holding my tail.

“I’m not going to bite your head of Penn! What have you found!”

“yes!…Sorry! Well, errrr, what I have found is a very interesting magical artefact. “

She held this weird stone up towards the both of us. It was glowing a dull green; however, as soon as she pointed it to the entrance of the Hive, it started glowing brightly.

“The artefact itself isn't very interesting as they are usually used by farmers to keep track of there live stock, but what’s interesting is how a goblin got a hold of said stone and how our new guest was able to be tracked by it in the first place.”

“What do you mean?” Sally asked.

“a tracking stone works by having two stones, a transmitter and a receiver, that are paired together. For this to work, that scout must have the opposing stone somewhere on his person.”

“I had a look through his bag when I first caught him. There was no sort of stone in any of his belongings”.

“Are you sure, Diva? You could have->

“I’m. sure. Penn.” I spat towards her.

Penn shrunk back a little. As she held the stone close. Is she scared all of a sudden? If she doesn’t like this, then she shouldn't be asking stupid quest-

<Mother. Stop glaring at her like that. She is trying to help.> I felt Sally pull on my tail. I glanced back at her, but she didn’t budge. I looked back at Penn, and a long sigh escaped my body. “sorry, Penn. But I’m sure I would have noticed the stone if it was on his person.”

Her body relaxed. “It's fine…I saw what happened. I understand why you are… Let’s move on, shall we? If you are sure it wasn’t on his person, then we are just going to have to use the tried and trusted method.”

She held the stone upwards towards the cave, causing it to glow several times brighter.

“Let’s go see where the other half is.”

We followed Penn as she led us back into the Hive and towards the old cage room. The stone was glowing so brightly that the cave was lit up a bright green.

I pushed the door open, and there he was, still asleep in his cage. I looked to the side across from him, and there was my other captive, the assassin. His eyes stared daggers at me, which I easily ignored.

“It’s definitely in here,” Penn said as she walked up to his cage.

“It’s on his body somewhere, I think. We’re going to need to-“

“WAKE UP”

My foot swung into the cage, sending it flying back against the wall.

“WAAAGHHHAAA WHAT'S GOING-“

I quickly opened the lock and pulled him out and up to his feet.

“STRIP. NOW.”

“Just what is-“

My tail snapped up and wrapped itself around his neck and started strangling him.

“No questions. Do as you’re told I’m in a foul mood.”

I unwrapped my tail around his neck, and without further word, he started stripping himself. I must have put the fear of death in him because Even with one arm, he still managed to do it quickly. Fear is a great motivator.

“So, Penn, where is the stone.”

“Hmmm,” She scanned his body intently, looking for anything that stood out like a sore thumb.

“I think I might have something here. Come take a look here at the back of his thigh.”

Penn beckoned us over to the back of his leg.

“do you see that?”

On his thigh was a thin gash that ran from one side of his thigh to the other. It looked like your typical knife wound, however….

“What are those green crystals.”

“Good eye, diva. That right there is the other half of our stone.>

“What?”

“Hey, bunny man?” Penn yelled

“Y….yeah.”

“This injury back here. How did you get it? And don’t say I don’t know. You wouldn’t want to make our chitinous friend angrier than she already is.”

I gave him a toothy smile, showing him all of my serrated blood-stained teeth.

“errrhhh ahhhhh WAIT! I remember! The goblins caught me off guard and ambushed me. I tried to fight them off, but there were so many, and I ended up on the floor. One of them stabbed me with this green blade they had, but when they sliced me, the blade crumbled into tiny pieces. Even the goblin who did it was surprised.”

“ I see. That would be all.”

I gave him a swift punch in the stomach before shoving him back into his cage.

“Don’t get comfortable I’ll be seeing you later.”

I left the room with Sally and Penn.

“Well, that solves the question of how they found us,” Sally said. I looked at her body. She was completely dishevelled. Even though she was here, she must have been stressed, wondering if I would be okay.

“You’re right Sally…..We have solved the question.”

Sally and I both looked at Penn, worried. Her face was serious and highly focused.

“What’s the issue, Penn? You look worried.”

She snapped back to reality, and her face returned to normal, but it was obvious she was faking it in, so “sorry, I was just thinking about something not important.”

“Penn…. If it’s a threat to the Hive's survival, I must know,” I said. She looked at me and sighed.

“The behaviour of the goblins is…unusual.”

“How so?”

“They were organised somewhat. Goblins do move in groups, but they are usually wild, uncoordinated groups that fall apart when they all turn on each other. But this time it was different. They had a plan and a common goal to achieve. They creatively used the tracking stone to find their prey. All of this is not common goblin behaviour…..i think there might be a hobgoblin in the Forrest.”

“Hobgoblin? You can’t be serious” Sally said, her voice covered in concern

“What’s so special about hobgoblin?”

They both snapped their heads at me like I just said the stupidest thing in the world.

“Just entertain me….”

“A hobgoblin is a rare phenomenon that occurs within the goblin race. They are a special type of goblin with higher than average strength, intelligence and a unique ability to be able to lead a large group of goblins.”

“Okay, and what’s the problem? I feel like there are more serious things to be worried about in this forest.”

“Goblins reproduce like crazy diva” Sally chimed in. “they are worse than rats. If a hobgoblin was to take control and lead a force like that. There is no telling what damage they can do.”

“What Sally said. There are historical accounts of thousands of goblins marching and destroying entire towns. It's why the adventure guild always had quests to cull goblins to hopefully prevent this from happening. But I guess with the chaos from the Ashdown explosion, they must have forgotten or got complacent.”

“What happens to some shitty city is not my concern.” I chimed in. “however, If what you said is true, it means that those goblins were following orders. From there, leader to come here to capture that bunny man.”

“Why do they want him?” Penn asked. I shrugged my shoulders. “it doesn’t matter. Those bastards will pay for Today.”

“How do you plan to do that. There could be hundreds of goblins down there. And there are barely 30 of your children here. And 2 thirds of those aren’t supposed to be fighters.”

“Guess I have no choice. I’ll just have to step it up a gear and make more children.”

“that won’t help! Sure, you have that one other lady.”

“Friede”

“Yes, Her. but even with that, I doubt you can make up the numbers. You need to understand that goblins reproduce that fast. You would need several more women to even have the chance to match them!

I looked towards Penn, which caused her eyes to bulge and to jump several feet back.

“Nope, nuh uh. I’m off the table when it comes to that right now!”

Right now? So she is thinking about it. I shook my head. I’m getting distracted again. What's more important is that if what Penn says is correct, we could have big problems in the future.

“I need time to think. I’ll come up with a plan tomorrow morning you guys rest.”

“Where are you going?” Penn asked. I turned around and gave her a smile. “Someone has to keep our new guest company….”

I entered the room, leaving the two of them alone. As soon as I entered, the bunny man started to cower and move to the back of his cage

<Like that’s gonna help you>

I ignored him and went to sit on the floor on the other side of the room. Today’s been rough, and by the sounds of it its going to get rougher. But we will cross that bridge when we get there. Right now, I have a lot of questions to think about. Let’s start at the top with the big question.

Do I need to fight the goblins? Sure, this sounds like a dumb question, but it’s one I need to ask myself. The goblins are a problem, but is it a problem I can kick down the road till I’m stronger? If what Penn said is true, then no. If I leave them alone, then they could reproduce into the thousands and if they decide they want to try again. I don’t think I will be able to deal with that many. With that in mind, it would be better to nip this in the bud now and kill the hobgoblin, but That fight………. Many of my children will die. But if I do nothing, all of them will die.

I let out a loud sigh. I made a promise; I’ll just have to accept the losses no matter how much it hurts. I felt my heart twist, but I ignored it. If we are going to fight, there is one problem. Can we even beat them in a fight in the first place? As the sole person capable of reproducing, there is a limit to how much I can produce. 120 eggs is the limit before I have to wait a day or so for them to return before I can start breeding again. 120 eggs every 2 Days is a lot, but is it enough to surpass the goblins? Penn doesn’t think so. And even if it can, I can’t possibly feed an army this large; my children will starve and perish before the fight even begins.

<This is so stressful.>

So think. What can we do? If we can’t beat them at the numbers game, then we have no choice but to go for the quality game.

I opened up the hive management menu and went to the unit types section.

<It’s been a while since I last opened this. Surprised There aren’t cobwebs in here.>

Currently, I can make 4 units. The spitter combat units, workers and nurses. I think for this fight, we are going to need  something new to help boost our offensive power, and luckily, There were was one unit that may fit the job perfectly

Alvearix Warrior unit.

A combat unit but with a lot more punch. Gone are the mandibles, and welcome thick chitinous blades and a tougher exoskeleton to top it off. additionally, it moves in a bipedal stance

WARNING: YOU DO NOT HAVE THE NECESSARY FOUNDATIONS TO SUPPORT THIS UNIT.

Gestation 3 days

biomass: 600

This would be perfect, but there is one problem: The system won’t let me specialise them. If I remember correctly, the system considers the space, food, and workers that support it. If those requirements are not met, then I’m not allowed to make them. This means we are essentially back at square one of…

<The Hive must grow>

I glanced towards the bunny man and smiled. Before he knew it, I was dragging him out of his cage and straddling him down to the floor.

“Please don’t!”

“Shhhh.” The chitinous cover protecting my vagina peeled back. “Me and you are going to get very acquainted….”

******

A few hours later….

“AHHHHHHHH”

150mls of Semen detected.

Please select 1 of the following.

1: convert Semen into biomass

2: convert seamen into a growth accelerant (Reduces the gestation period of all currently selected eggs)

3: Storage (current storage 450mls out of 1 litre)

I enjoyed the afterglow for the moment. We had been going for a few hours now. Who knew bunny men had such great stamina. Hahaha. Well, thinking about it, I shouldn’t be too surprised anyway. I looked at the menu and selected the storage option. I smiled as I looked at the thoroughly spent bunny man.

“I guess I was able to squeeze every drop out of you.”

“Euuuughhaaaaa….ahhhhhhahhhaaaaaa”

Hahah cute. I climbed off him easily and shoved him back into his cage.

“Don’t think I forgot about you.”

I looked back at the former assassin who was glaring at me from his cage.

“You should count yourself lucky that he could last so long. I won't need to  have fun with you tonight.”

He didn’t say a word; he just continued to stare at me. Not that there was much he could do. I made sure he was secured. His cage was securely linked to the wall with wax. I had to be careful with him. He is still a capable assassin.

“Let me go...”

“Ooooh, buyer’s remorse? Remember, you chose this over dying. Live with it.”

I gave him a goodbye wave and left him in the room. I was still wary of him and his abilities, so I made sure to keep him as weak as possible, only giving him enough food and water to live, and that’s it. And constant surveillance from royal flies.

<I need a way to extract that ability away from him. Once I have that, then his life will be expendable.>

I headed up and out into the now-empty clearing. The stars were out in force, dotting the sky, letting me know it was night. It’s funny that ever since the evolution, days and nights have always looked the same. It’s a blessing and a curse. There is something relaxing about the darkness night brings; I miss it. I took several deep breaths, making sure to enjoy the crisp night air.

I walked around the clearing until I arrived at the centre of the clearing, where there was a large blood stain. Not just any blood stain, mind you. A familiar blood stain. A bloodstain filled with sadness, guilt, self-loathing and anger.

******

A few hours earlier….

My tail swung wildly as I moved towards the trembling goblin.

“You and I have a lot to discuss....”

The goblin shrieked as my long tail wafted back and forth as I approached his trembling body.

“is it wise to do this here?”

I snapped around to see Penn walking towards me.

“The fight is over, but more could be coming..... I suggest we take him to your Hive and interrogate him there.”

I felt my tail tremble in anger. Every part of me wanted to rip him to shreds and make him suffer here, but I had to accept what she said made sense.

I looked towards one of the combat units and nodded. He walked up to the goblin and, clamped his mandibles around his head, and lifted him up

<All of you return home. I’ll be with you shortly>

All The combat units left, leaving me alone in the now empty battlefield. I walked over to a nearby tree

<I’m sorry>

I looked down to the ground where the body of my son lay motionless. He was among my first. The first eggs I ever specialised and impregnated. He was so happy to finally have me back, and not even 2 full days later, he’s dead.

I swooped his body into my arms and dashed towards the Hive. My mind was a stream of jumbled, uncontrolled thoughts replaying the fight over and over. What could I have done better? Was this a matter of leadership that caused this? What could I have done better?

My head was a complete mess as I arrived in the Hive.

<Mother! You’re back. Is Everything oka->

Sally stopped as she son as she saw me holding his corpse.

<Mother..I’m so sorry. Leave him there ill deal with his body. You go rest.”

<No.>

I placed his body on the ground. The combat units and every other member of the Hive gathered to watch.

<As the leader of the Hive, deaths like these are ultimately on my head. He died following my orders. Knowing him, he probably died happy knowing he did his part for the Hive, and as a way to show gratitude and take responsibility, I will let him serve the Hive once more.>

*SNAP*

Green blood dripped from his leg all down my yellow armour. My head began to spin, and my stomach started to turn, but I pushed through. I placed the leg in my mouth and bit into him. A sour taste exploded into my mouth, making me want to throw up, but I pushed through, eating his legs, abdomen, organs, head and mandibles. Every part of him was eating, leaving nothing to waste. It was the worst thing I’ve ever eaten…

+125 biomass

His flesh settled in my stomach, becoming one with my body. His biomass is once again being used to birth the future generation of this Hive. And that is the crux of it all: life and death are a core part of living in a hive. Whilst they live their purpose, they fight, build, look after and maintain the Hive, and when they die, they do so in defence of me and the future generations of this Hive. The way I have been behaving, denying them their purpose and their role in the Hive, has been selfish and foolish.

<I’m sorry for being such a fool but don’t worry. Things will change going forward. I promise you that as my children, I won’t get in your way anymore. You will be able to fulfil your duties to the very end, and I will do the same. That is my promise to all of you. >