Chapter 73: Outlier’s infiltration
Three Months Later.
Clayton crouched on the edge of Verdis Hold, a Rootbound Clan settlement 200 kilometers west of the Forgotten Atlanta Expanse, his Shedskin armor, fungal chitin plates, thorned vines, and adaptive camouflage morphed into a tattered scavenger’s cloak, masking his Verdant Lord aura.
A dagger lay hidden under rags, a new Initiate Ember Artifact that he gained from hunting Behemorphs, his Heartseed Core pulsing with 2,147 Genesis Embers, Aspect Strain low.
His Architect rank Aspect, divine-like, with a 6,000 Embers cap, thrummed through Shedskin’s enhancements- 80% physical resistance, 70% mind/soul resistance, stealth affinity honed to near-invisibility.
His Aphid Network had swelled, encompassing 50 minions now, including 6 Luminous Seed Behemorphs (Spore Plague Lord, Spore Husk, Ashbloom Stalker, Spore Crown, and two new Thornweave Sentinels).
He also had 44 Initiate Ember Behemorphs in his army now (10 Thorn Strays, 8 Sporelings, 12 Thorn Hounds, 8 Howl Shriekers, 5 Ash Sprites, 1 Spore Drifter).
They all lurked in the Expanse, cloaked by Veil of Verdant Shroud.
His Rootsite, 100 kilometers east, was a fortress. The thorned turrets had tripled, venom-sap pits deepened, Core Maw chambers reinforced, Territorial Sentience spanning 200 kilometers.
Three months had reshaped the Expanse.
The Plague Sovereign’s fall sparked a new trend in the Forgotten Atlanta Expanse, the advent of Verdant Warden abominations.0
It didn’t stop at the Plague Sovereign. Four more Verdant Warden Behemorphs emerged in this time: a Spore Monarch (60 meters, spore storms), a Thorn Behemoth (55 meters, spiked carapace), a Mycotic Harbinger (50 meters, psychic spores), and a Bloom Tyrant (58 meters, carnivorous flora).