Chapter 318: Outmatched
Trauma.
The “funny” thing about traumatic events is that one doesn’t necessarily have to be physically affected by them in order to have them haunt them for the rest of their lives.
Being caught up in events or having witness them up and close and personal is enough to cause even the hardiest of fellows who say that they have guts of iron to realize that they too are very, very mortal.
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“Mmm, huh? Where…am I?,” Rianna muttered as she roused to consciousness.
The last thing she remembered was following a pretty butterfly and then…hearing a song?
Was that it?
“Pa-”
“RIANNA, LOOK OUT!”
“Huh?! Ah!”
Just as the child was going to call out for her father for a hug, the sound of his shouting roused her to full consciousness, giving her ample time to see a vicious tentacle that ended in a myriad of stingers coming flying towards her like a spear.
Out of fear or as a side-effect of the song wearing off, Rianna couldn’t get her legs to do what she wanted.
The girl could only scream and duck her head in a feeble attempt to dodge the incoming attack.
“DIE YOU LITTLE BRAT!”
“AAAAAAAHHHH!”
“DON’T YOU TOUCH HER!”
*FWOOM!*
*SCHINK!*
“GAAAAAAAH!”
“PAPA! NO!”
In a matter of seconds, one possible tragedy was replaced by another.
As soon as Frederick launched his attack towards Rianna, Rocko and his saber realized that there was no way he could counterattack with hurting their daughter in the process.
So he did the next best(?) thing.
With passionate determination, Rocko swung his saber and released a blast of flames and launches himself backwards landing him directly in the path of the incoming tentacle.
Frederick’s attack didn’t pierce through the child, but it did pierce Rocko through torso, giving the little girl a full frontal view of Rocko’s insides, bloody and torn.
Rianna had seen her father bleed before when he came back from hunts, sure, she had even seen the insides of the giant insects they would butcher for food.
This was different.
The blood might have been red, but the smell was disgusting and the sight horrified her.
She didn’t know the name, the anatomy of even the functions of the organs she saw…all she knew was that her instincts were screaming at her that this was a very, very bad sight.
But all she could do was scream and cry.
“Haha! Looks like you were outmatched after you old bastard,” Frederick mocked as he relished the sight of landing a decisive blow against Rocko.
“Now I-huh?”
Frederick was about to retract his tentacle and properly squash this annoying swordsman wannabe with his good arm but found that it the tentacle was decidedly stuck.
Actually…his whole body was getting numb.
He was about to question how he was becoming paralyzed bit by bit, but the sound of glass vials hitting the ground caught his attention.
“Gah! *Cough!* What was…that…about being outmatched?!”
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With the repelling effect no longer in play, Nepherage, Frosttusk and Hurricroak rushed towards their lord’s location as fast as their legs could take them, only to stop briefly when they ran into an unexpected group of passer-bys that quickly bypassed them.
“Grooaann….”
“Were those…rusted metal zakos carrying Nausicaa on a makeshift stretcher made of rusted shields?,” Hurricroak asked.
“Think…so…,” Frosttusk replied.
“I think they dropped her saber though.”
“Happens…”
“Shouldn’t one of us make sure she’s okay?”
“They…got…it.”
“Enough talk! We’re almost there!,” Nepherage interrupted as she got back to running.
Hurricroak and Frosttusk just shrugged at her impatience. They both understood separation anxiety as well, granted in very different ways that they were definitely not gonna share until it became relevant.
As the three of them moved forward, they felt their connection to Zhen Liu restore itself back to normal.
“Oh thank the heavens, he is still in one piece.”
“Uh… y’all feel a lot more activity on this thing than usual?”
A very fortunate event, as the three of them heard the sounds of battle grow louder and louder as they got closer and closer to the chamber.
“Yeah, is it just me or does it sound significantly more chaotic than just one man vs one abomination in there?”
“Who cares?!”
Nepherage rushed in first, ready to rip and tear whomever or whatever attempted to hurt their lord in the first…only to suddenly pause.
“Milord! Are you okay?! We’re here to-oh…what the fuck?”
“Wait, did you just swear and stall? Why aren’t you rushing to rescue the maes-oh what the fuck?”
“Lots…of…zako?”
“Oh? Hey guys!’
“Grooaann…”
“Clatter…”
“Skiss…”
“AnnnNNNOooyyyinnngggg Fliiiezzzz!”
When the kaijin went bowling down the hallway to make sure their Lord was okay, they had their own little expectations of what had happened to cause the abomination’s repel effect to shut off.
Maybe Zhen Liu made use of his prodigious strength to gut punch thing so hard that it was more focused on the pain than anything else.
Maybe he did the emotional/psychological route to manipulate the thing into realizing the futility of it’s repetition.
Perhaps he had gotten his shit kicked in, causing the abomination to laugh like a maniac and attempt to gloat, lowering it’s guard.
Absolutely none of them expected to see him coordinating a veritable attack force of zakos made from discarded weapons and armor, the bones of the dead and the carapaces of several insects.
“You guys gonna just stand around there or help out? He may be outnumbered but I think the zakos here might be a touch outmatched,” Zhen Liu asked his heavy hitters while still coordinating the zakos to suppress Grub.
There were dozens upon dozens zakos performing all sorts of roles ranging from melee fighting, shield walking, even a few making use of ranged weapons in an attempt to pepper the thing down with bolts and arrows. That being said, a good chunk of the zakos were just clinging onto the abomination’s tentacles in an attempt to slow it down as much as possible.
While the amount was stunning to say the least, the zakos could be boiled down to four main types.
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Zako Type: Metal(Armor)- Rusty
Combat Strength: Novice
Abilities: Rust Block- Brittle reborn
Description:
A foot soldier created from the nascent [Kindness] found in all armor. This particular type is also tainted with the [Sloth] of rust.
Evolution chance: 10%
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Zako Type: Metal(Weapon)- Rusty
Combat Strength: Novice
Abilities: Nasty Scratch – Brittle Reborn
Description:
A foot soldier created from the nascent [Wrath] found in all weapons. This particular type is also tainted with the [Sloth] of rust.
Evolution chance: 15%
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Zako Type: Bone (Mortal) – Decayed
Combat Strength: Novice
Abilities: Weapon Usage, Grudge
Description: Foot soldiers created from the grudges that crystallize in the bones of those who’s lives were cut short. Time had eroded the state of these bones, weakening their capabilities but making it viable material for zakos at least.
Evolution chance: N/A, user is not strong enough.
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Zako Type: Chitin (Spider)
Combat Strength: Novice
Abilities: Blunt damage resistance, Sticky grip
Description: Foot soldiers made from the [Envy] locked within the shells of arthropods, insects, arachnids etc. Not the strongest type of zako, but they have potential.
Evolution chance: 35%
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[You got it, maestro!]
[We’ll…take it…from here!]
[BURN YOU MALFORMED MAGGOT! BURRRRRN!]
“WhhhaaaAATTtT MoReee, [Chaaaooosss]?!”
With the order given, Nepherage Hurricroak and Frosttusk went right to work in coordinating with the zakos in order to attack the abominable Grub.
Zhen Liu might have felt a little bad for his opponent getting ganked like this, but this was very much a reap what you sow situation.
‘Ya couldn’t have the decency to die from starvation or something?,’ Zhen Liu thought with a hint of mercilessness.
He was just about to sit back, relax and hope that his…minions…soldiers…insta-children(?) took care of the rest without his needing to help further, but then a certain pair of assistants made their presence known in his head once more.
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*Ssskrrt*
‘Gah! What the f-?’
‘Bah! Hey Pathos. Looks like y’all managed to reconnect. Just in time too, I was starting to get lonely without y’all in my head.’
‘Oh that’s a reli-wait, normal?’
=We were certain this wouldn’t happen, but it looks like we were wrong,= Logos followed up, = milord, you should probably know that the kaijin can technically bleed.=
‘…I feel like I should ask why that is relevant right now, but I also feel like I’m not going to enjoy the answer to that question.’
‘Yes, but…oh. Oh.’
=Its highly advised you keep the zakos and kaijin away from that thing’s mouths like…right now.=
‘NOTED!’
