Chapter 498
Chapter 498
As he continued to drop toward the ground far below, Jake saw Owen, out of the corner of his eye, plummet toward the ground like a rock, shooting past him. Being much heavier than Jake, his counterpart was going to hit the ground first.
A few seconds later, he saw Owen hit the ground hard, creating a crater beneath him. Jake prepared to land next to where his partner had landed. But it didn’t happen. Instead, one of the synth stalkers shot through the air, slamming into him like a torpedo. Instinctively, Jake clung to the creature’s armored head with Adhesive Secretion.
The synth stalker’s tentacles lashed out at him, but their double-edged, bladed tips glanced harmlessly off his armor without dealing any damage. Jake drove his drill into the monster’s armor plating, punching through and creating a weakened point, then immediately went to work on it with his smashfists.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the helicopter spiral downward past him and smash into the ground with a devastating crash. Metal screamed. The rotor blades shattered against the hard ground in an explosion of sparks and debris flying every which way.
The crash was brutal. The nose dug into the earth, and then the fuselage flipped onto its side, carving a trench into the ground. The helicopter skidded for several yards before finally slamming into a boulder and coming to a stop.
The wreck was badly mangled, but the engine must have escaped the worst of the impact. No mana leaked, and no explosion followed. Even so, the helicopter was clearly done for, beyond repair.
Jake continued to pound the monster’s armored head with his smashfists. The synth stalker circled over the ground, twisting and thrashing, trying to shake him off. But Jake held on, not letting up on his assault.
As he struck the creature one last time, it spasmed once and began to plummet to the ground.
Enemy Killed. +3,345 XP
XP: 228,977 / 262,800
Jake quickly glanced around and saw Owen on the ground below, not far from the spot where the synth stalker he was still clinging to was about to fall. His counterpart was being assaulted by two more of the creatures at the same time, ramming him with their armored heads and lashing out with their bladed tentacles.
Jake pushed off the falling synth stalker, activating Gravity Leap and propelling himself through the air. One of the upgrades for the ability allowed him to drop down with increased power, greatly boosting the damage he could deal upon landing.
As he ripped through the air toward the ground like a meteor, he prepared to activate Ground Strike. A moment later, he crashed down on one of the synth stalkers from above, striking it with his smashfist with devastating force and dealing a tremendous amount of damage to the creature. Its armored head collapsed in on itself, and just like that, the monster was dealt with.
Enemy Killed. +3,345 XP
XP: 232,322 / 262,800
Jake jumped to his feet and turned his attention to the other synth stalker. It stopped attacking Owen and turned to face Jake. He launched a grappling hook at it, but the creature twisted away just in time. By the time Jake reeled the hook back in, the synth stalker zipped skyward out of reach.
Jake quickly glanced at Owen, standing not far from him. His partner was a bit roughed up, but not too badly. Jake turned his attention back to their opponents.
They had brought down several of those creatures, but there were still too many left. They circled over the ground, trailing their glowing tentacles behind their armored heads. None of them attempted to descend and attack the two of them from close range anymore.
For a moment, Jake just watched them. The synth stalkers continued to drift through the air in circles. They didn’t attack anymore. They seemed to be waiting for something. For what exactly, he had no clue. He didn’t bother firing his grappling hook at them, as he could see that they were well out of reach.
The mothership glided through the sky far above them, gradually approaching the crash site. Its enormous form cast a huge shadow across the ground, getting closer and closer to Jake, Owen, and the synth stalkers circling overhead.
Then the mothership began to open its maw once again, making Jake wonder what was coming next. But before the enormous mouth could fully open, the synth stalkers all sprang into action at once. Only they no longer tried to engage in close-range combat. Instead, they stayed far above, making use of their energy cannons.
Bolts of energy rained down all around Jake and Owen. They slammed into the hard ground with tremendous force. Earth exploded outward, leaving deep, blasted craters behind. They darted from side to side and managed to avoid the barrage so far. Owen was less agile than Jake, so it was only a matter of time before he began taking hits. Something had to be done about that.
After dodging another energy projectile, Jake quickly assessed the situation and then launched himself upward using Gravity Leap. In midair, he fired a grappling hook at one of the synth stalkers and yanked himself toward it. The moment he latched onto the creature’s armored head, he employed the same tactic as before, boring a hole with his drill and hammering the weakened spot with his smashfists.
Enemy Killed. +3,345 XP
XP: 235,667 / 262,800
These creatures were quite tough, so each kill took time. But at least his tactic was working, and all the abilities and their various upgrades were definitely paying off.
Upon landing, Jake quickly assessed the situation again. He was about to launch himself toward another synth stalker circling overhead when something attracted his attention. The mothership had already reached them, hovering motionlessly high over the battlefield. Its maw was opening, and just as Jake glanced at it, he saw a new type of creature fly out.
This new creature was huge, over thirty feet long. It resembled a gigantic eel. Just like the synth stalkers, its body was mostly transparent and luminous. It looked more like some deep-see horror than anything that should have been flying through the sky. Also, like the synth stalkers, it wound through the air with smooth grace, making it seem as though it were swimming through invisible currents rather than flying.
Unlike the synth stalkers, however, this new creature didn’t seem to be a fusion of a living being and artificial parts. At least not at first glance. It had no visible armor, no mounted weapons, no outward signs of augmentation. Its entire form was sleek, organic, and ghostlike, and through its translucent flesh, Jake could see its internal organs.
However, as the creature descended further, getting closer to the ground, Jake was able to see that it wasn’t entirely organic after all. The creature didn’t seem to have a skull, leaving its brain on full display. As Jake focused on it, he spotted something clearly artificial there.
Embedded directly into the creature’s brain was a dark device. It had to be something like a control implant or a biomechanical chip. Thin metallic tendrils spread from it into the surrounding tissue, pulsing rhythmically. With each pulse, the creature’s entire nervous system briefly lit up in a flicker of eerie light.
So, just like the synth stalkers, this new creature was clearly also controlled by somebody. Whoever was behind all this could almost certainly see through its eyes and direct its every movement and behavior.
The creature didn’t look armored, seemed to have no weapons, and wasn’t aggressive. However, it was clear it hadn’t been released for no reason. What purpose it had been deployed for, Jake didn’t know yet, but he knew he had to be prepared for anything.
Following the first eel-like creature, another one drifted out of the mothership’s maw. Moving in a smooth, undulating manner, it began to descend toward the ground as well. One by one, Jake quickly assessed the luminous creatures and learned that they were called synth phantoms and that both were the same level as the synth stalkers.
He darted to the side as another energy bolt slammed into the ground not far from him. The impact blasted a small crater into the earth, hurling up a cloud of dust. Another bolt of energy struck a nearby rock outcropping, blowing it apart and sending sharp pieces shooting through the air like shrapnel.
Some of them rattled off his armored body, with one embedding itself in his shoulder. He didn’t even bother to pull it out yet, as with so many energy blasts raining down, he didn’t have a second to spare. All he could do was dart from side to side, dodging the deadly projectiles.
At one point, when he glanced at Owen, he saw something wrong. His counterpart was no longer trying to dodge the bolts of energy raining down all around them. Instead, he was standing perfectly still, his head tilted back as he stared at one of the synth phantoms a dozen or so feet above him.
The creature’s body undulated lazily, but it held its position in the air. Its glowing eyes were fixed on Owen, and Owen stared back without moving. For a split second, Jake thought Owen was about to be peppered by the energy bolts. But in the next instant, he realized the synth stalkers had stopped attacking his partner altogether.
Look at me, said a strange voice inside Jake’s head.
He glanced around and saw the second synth phantom hovering a dozen feet above him. Its undulating form was angled downward toward him, its glowing, mesmerizing eyes staring right into his own. This was a weird situation, and Jake didn’t like it one bit.
He bent his knees and leaped away. Or he attempted to, but his body refused to listen. That was when he realized he couldn’t move from the spot. He was rooted there. He now knew why Owen stood as still as a statue. Jake tried to turn his head to check on his partner, but that was when another realization hit him.
Not only could he not move from the spot, but he couldn’t even tear his gaze away from the glowing, mesmerizing eyes of the creature hovering above him.