Chapter 304
Gaining ground was a slog. The initial fights went fairly well across the board for Corthian Mining, with thousands of the E Grade fungi being wiped out in the first push. However, the presence of the D Grades made advancing difficult. They were strong and fast enough to push past many of the containment attempts, and without a firmly secured perimeter Kyle and Garth found their team flanked on multiple occasions.
“Just how many of these damn D Grades are there?” Garth grumbled, cutting down another of the infested refugees.
“Hopefully we’re getting toward the end of them,” Kyle said, pressing a palm into another while activating Repel.
As the creature exploded, Kyle suppressed his anger. Fortunately, none of the D Grades they’d encountered had been people they knew, but somebody was missing a loved one, and Kyle had no choice but to end them. From what C.H.A.D.D. was able to determine, each of the D Grades was impacted down to the cellular level. Brain cells, organs, even blood and bone were infested by the strange strain of mushroom. Attempting to heal damaged tissue would just regenerate the fungus.
At least I can put an end to them quickly, he thought, striking the last D Grade that attacked the team, destroying it with Repel. The key to dealing with high-regeneration opponents like these was to deliver overwhelming damage immediately. By focusing the initial blast of Repel as tightly as possible, he found that he was able to contain and shape the blast for a fraction of a moment; just before the full force of the skill erupted in all directions.
While the new use of the skill wouldn’t be very helpful against foes with high Endurance, like the hodags, the mushroom creatures didn’t share that characteristic. With a few more levels, Kyle expected that Garth might be getting close to overwhelming them with a single strike of his Skyrend skill. An alert popped up on his nav bracelet, the chime echoing from Garth’s and Arianna’s as well.
Boltsbury,
Two more D Grades broke through, be careful for flanking. We are going to hold our position, let us know if we need to begin a retreat, or if you need support.
Short and to the point, as they’d grown accustomed to. Thanks to C.H.A.D.D., Garth’s team hadn’t needed to worry much about being ambushed, though the same couldn’t be said for all of the other teams. Both Corthian Mining and their hired mercenaries had reported several casualties already, and the fighting was only getting fiercer.
After the initial fight, Kyle and Garth’s group had only fought a handful of E Grade swarms, which Joseph summarily destroyed in another massive blaze. That experience was growing common. Since the last large engagement with them, the E Grades had only been spotted against groups that lacked larger area-of-effect skills; their numbers proving effective despite their lower level of average power.
The whole situation was making Kyle uneasy. He thought back to Jarberry’s warning, that Malcolm’s approach to things would be direct and predictable. Yet, from what he’d observed, these fungal creatures weren’t operating mindlessly. The tactics at play were rudimentary, hardly the work of a mastermind, though when coupled with their initial escape… There’s more here.
“Garth, what are your orders?” Kyle called to him as he dispatched his opponent.
Garth cleaned his blade, then looked at his nav bracelet. A screen appeared in front of him, showing the satellite view of their progress. They were still a good distance away from the heart of the fungal colony, though they’d at least covered some ground. Unfortunately, many of the others were struggling to continue their advances.
Looking at the projection, Kyle saw a handful of teams that had been pushed back closer to the original perimeter, while many others were mired down. Should they continue to advance, they would be closer than any of the other teams. Which also meant that they’d be leaving their rear guard exposed, and potentially setting themselves up to be surrounded.
Garth shook his head. “We’re staying here. No sense in overextending ourselves.”
Kyle was about to nod his agreement, when another message came through, this one from Tillienne.
Kyle,
Be careful, just had an elite D Grade appear, took our Fire Mage out of commission. I’m handling for our group, but E Grades won’t be cutting it. You owe me a celebration dinner after this, so don’t die.
-Tillienne.
The fact that she had time to send a message boded well, though before he could even mention it to Garth, similar reports started cropping up from the various field teams. From the sound of things, mid-tier D Grades were appearing, many of whom had a couple of skills they could use. Moreover, these were being followed by fresh vanguards of E Grades, large swarms of fungal soldiers moving in unison.
[DR. MAYHEW, MR. BOLTSBURY, I AM DETECTING MOVEMENT IN OUR DIRECTION AS WELL. ONE PARTICULARLY POWERFUL FUNGAL SOLDIER, WITH FOUR MORE D GRADES AND ROUGHLY TWO HUNDRED E GRADES BEHIND IT.]
“Well, it looks like the damn mushrooms decided to change things up for us,” Garth growled, before barking orders at the rest of the team. “Everybody, listen up! We’re going to have incoming, and they’re dangerous. Leave the tough ones to Kyle and I, and do what you can to keep any pressure from the E Grades off of us. Prepare to fall back as needed, and no heroics! We’re all going to make it through this.”
Kyle could feel the aura from the D Grade now, its power almost a mirror to Garth’s. The other four felt only a little stronger than the infested refugees they’d faced down already. A plan formed in Kyle’s mind, and he stepped up to stand alongside Garth, facing the oncoming horde.
“If you can hold out against the stronger one, I’ll take care of the smaller four, then join you. Together, we should be able to make short work of it.”
“Just make sure you take care of it quickly,” Garth grunted in response. “If I have to pull out my boosting skill, you’ll be stuck covering us for a full retreat.”
Kyle nodded, understanding full well the cost of Garth’s boosting skill. From what he’d discussed with the veteran soldier, it appeared to be even more potent than Ignition, although it came with backlash to both him and the team be borrowed the attributes from. Using it meant that the fight was over.
As the D Grades drew closer, Kyle got a good look at them. The four weaker ones appeared about as he expected, though the elite was easy to pick out. Like the others, its face was covered by a helm of mushroom caps, though these were a reddish-violet in color. Reddish mushrooms caps also covered its shoulders and hips, though its most distinct characteristic was its left arm. Rather, the lack thereof. From just above where the elbow should have been, a long, tentacle-like whip protruded from the arm, thrashing about wildly.
Suddenly, the appendage straightened and pointed toward where Garth and Arianna were standing. Kyle felt his hair stand on end as mana built up, and he knew a big attack was coming. Dashing toward them, he activated Storm Shelter, just in time for a barrage of crimson lightning strikes to smash into his shield. Electricity began to swirl around Storm Shelter, and Kyle’s eyes widened as the whip-like appendage lashed out again, this time directing the ambient power from around the barrier to strike it again.
By now, the weaker D Grades and E Grades were beginning to close the distance. Joseph launched a volley of flaming spheres at the group, though one of the D Grades sent a wave of dirt and stone to intercept it, overpowering the E Grade skill entirely.
“These must be the awakened refugees,” Kyle breathed out, his mind racing to find a solution.
“I can hold off at least one of them,” Arianna said, her grip on the fighting sticks tightening.
“You’re not going to do anything but grab Joseph and head back to Mary Ellen and Johannes,” Garth growled. “This is trickier than we expected, there’s nothing wrong with falling back.”
[DR. MAYHEW, I BELIEVE IT MAY BE TIME TO USE YOUR SECRET WEAPON.]
Kyle sighed, and nodded. They’d hoped to keep the chaddlings unused, but in a case like this, there wasn’t much for it. At least with his Level 105 skill being entirely passive, he had some excuses for anybody who wanted to investigate too much.
Arianna was just starting to argue with Garth, when Kyle cut her off. “When I drop the barrier, run. That’s not a negotiation, I promised your grandpa and your sister that I’d look after you. Get back with the others and keep them safe, we’ll get things cleaned up here.”
Before she could say another word, Kyle dropped Storm Shelter and released a blast of Repel to disperse some of the lingering red lightning. At the same time, a half dozen of the melee chaddlings appeared behind him, brandishing their swords. One wrapped a vine around Arianna and took off toward the mobile fortification, while another did the same as it grabbed Joseph. The remaining four took a formation around Kyle, brandishing their blades.
“What the hell are these?” Garth breathed, looking at the meter-tall acorn soldiers.
“They’re backup,” Kyle said. “Now, go see if you can buy time. I’ll take care of the D Grades then join, these four will handle the E Grades.”
Without waiting for Garth’s response, he dashed toward the infested refugee that blocked Joseph’s attack. A quick use of Identify showed Kyle that it was only marginally stronger physically than the others, though its Intelligence was rather high, allowing for smoother mana manipulation. Unfortunately for it, that didn’t help it at all as Kyle ignored the rocks and sand that pelted him, closing the gap and destroying it with a well-placed Repel.
Another closed in on him, its arm bulging and twisting as mana coursed through it. Its fingers extended into claws, aiming to rip into his torso. Kyle raised his arm, blocking the slash which didn’t even manage to draw blood. He ducked low to avoid an attempt to grapple him with its other arm, and it joined the first D Grade in oblivion a moment later as Kyle’s hand rested against its chest.
Shards of ice materialized around the third D Grade, while the fourth’s right arm twisted to resemble the barrel of a gun. With Ignition active, Kyle dashed the ice wielder first, the shards slamming into his flesh unable to pierce his Enhanced Carapace. A blade of ice appeared as it jumped back, attempting to impale him, but Kyle destroyed it with a quick activation of Repel from his sternum, shattering the blade. Unable to gain any ground, this D Grade met its end as well.
He ducked under heavy projectiles shot by his final opponent, and risked a glance toward the stronger D Grade, who was now surrounded by the E Grade soldiers. Garth was getting closer, but he’d been forced to dodge blast after blast of crimson lightning which only seemed to be growing in intensity and speed. Fortunately, the chaddlings didn’t appear to be the target of the attacks, instead leaving them to carve through any of the E Grades attempting to impede Garth’s advance.
Focusing back on the D Grade attacking him, Kyle sidestepped another projectile, meeting the next with a blast of Repel. Compared to the razorpines, the projectiles hardly had any force at all. Instead of merely negating the attack, the “bullet” was smashed and the rifle-arm was blown back, creating an opening for Kyle to finish getting into melee range.
He had an odd sense of deja-vu as he caught a glimpse of the face beneath the crown of mushrooms. It was a human male, with strong features that tugged at the back of his mind. Still, he had a job to finish. With an effort, he pushed the thought away and activated Repel, putting an end to his last opponent.
Looking back to Garth, the older man was finally in melee, trading cuts and avoiding heavy strikes with the whip. Just as Garth was gaining an advantage, the infested refugee let out a massive shockwave of crimson lightning, scorching itself, Garth, and everything else around it. As Garth was blown away, he managed a parting shot, removing some of the red mushrooms from the crown and revealing the face beneath.
Garth looked at it and froze. Kyle got the same vague impression he had before, but whoever this was, it was clear Garth knew them. However, that recognition clearly only went one way. Garth’s moment of hesitation cost him, as the whiplike arm lashed out, catching him in the stomach and blowing him away with electricity crackling around him.
Kyle rushed to his side, a tendril of Parasitic Resonance already connected and Healing Impetus working through the connection. “Are you okay? Who is that?”
“That’s Porter Rathman,” Garth said, panting. “And I had it on good authority he was dead before the evacuation.”