Chapter 851: Clash of Minions
As a battle broke out between the two squads of specially modified zakos, Zhen Liu and his latest kaijin opted to simply watch the battle unfold from a high vantage point. While it was technically his responsibility to put an end to this soon, especially when he needed to know why the so-called “Gal-em Force” decided to go AWOL, Zhen Liu figured he had at least a couple of minutes to watch and see exactly how close these modified zakos were becoming full-fledged kaijin. Especially when he was going to reach his limit of maximum summons when they did.
[So you’re really going to just sit here and watch?,] Blazejudicator asked.
‘I mean…yeah? If things get dicey, I’ll get involved. Otherwise…its good for their development? Maybe?’
[…]
‘What?’
[I will be honest, Executor, this sounds like you’re just being lazy with extra steps.]
‘Good to see that you’re about as sassy as the others.’
[Well, I have catching up to do. I can’t just be making innuendos all day now that the scope of my reality has expanded by several fun magnitudes.]
‘Ominous.’
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*Bing-Bong!*
For the ease of reading, the zakos in this chapter will be given short nicknames.
These aren’t their actual names like proper kaijin, but you’ll see what this entails.
Thank you!
*Bing-Bong!*
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Gal-em of Wood(WoodGal) vs Domehead Paleo Punk(Domehead)
[Here I come!]
[Whoa!]
*Boom!*
[D’awww! I missed!]
Domehead didn’t just have an armored head, as expected from a kaijin infused with the power of a pachycephalosaurs, he also had a pair of giant dome-shaped fists that were strong enough to pulverize stone into powder!
Which is why, when the fighting started, Domehead opted to start with not just a running headbutt, but a running headbutt accompanied by his fists. This allowed him to turn what was originally a “single barrel” headbutt into a triple barreled one.
[That would’ve shattered my precious chest, holy shit!]
(Un)fortunately, WoodGal proved to be more nimble and agile than anticipated.
Moments before impact, WoodGal managed to tap into some unknown part of her innate powers as being made of wood and stretched herself upward and away from the charging Domehead.
She could’ve also opted to go underground or even thicken her bark to the point of deflecting the blow, but her instincts told her to stretch and bend. Then again, that could’ve been the innate [Lust] baked into her being, forcing her to be more…flexible.
And a touch more focused on the ensnaring properties of wood. Granted it would take a bit to realize this last bit.
In fact, it took her so much time that Domehead was given enough free reign to try and smash with her the exact same attack four times in a row. All of these aforementioned attempts ended with WoodGal simply growing and stretching in such a way that the attacks all ended with him impacting a wall and not much else. Much to his (un)justified frustration.
[Stand still so ya can be pounded into toothpicks!,] Domehead roared as he attempted to do the same move for the fifth time in a row. At this point though, WoodGal was sick of it and was just about sick of the yelling and was ready to go on the offensive herself.
[Ugh! You stupid bull-headed rock lizard!,] WoodGal shouted as she clapped her hands together, causing the two masses of wood to clump together into a wriggling ball of branches and vines.
[Why don’t you sit and behave for a bit?!,] WoodGal shouted as her hands fired off a torrent of ensnaring branches. As they surged forward, something in WoodGal and Domehead went off simultaneously in their “brains”.
[I want to ENSNARE this fool!]
[Imma SMASH right through!]
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Galem of Copper(CopperGal) vs Long Clawed Paleo Punk(LongClaw)
[Here I come, Copperbottom!]
[I am not choosing that as a name!]
[Well I thought it was clever!]
LongClaw was infused with the power of a therizinosaurus, as such, he had wicked long claws that were able to slash through flesh, wood and stone like a hot knife through the most delicate of butters.
(Un)fortunately, the zako girl he was going up against was made of metal and was actually a touch smarter than he had anticipated.
[If I step too far back, he’ll just scrape and cut me into rivets! But if I get in close…]
CopperGal realized that LongClaw’s…claws, were essentially long ass fingernails. If she got in close enough, LongClaw wouldn’t be able to do shit with them, let alone make a fist. Worst case scenario then would be that LongClaw would attempt to slap her or use a palm strike to make up for the lack of claw action.
Unfortunately, CopperGal was dealing with the smartest of the Paleo Punks which wasn’t saying much, but still.
[Gonna try and get the cut on me? Too bad! Surprise kick!]
[Bitch!]
Just as CopperGal managed to close the distance and was about to slug LongClaw with a right hook, LongClaw realized that he had a pair of legs that could be used to kick someone across the face. Or in this case, knee them.
Which turned out to be a rather mixed idea.
*Dong!*
[What the fuck?]*2
A large ringing sound occurred the moment his leg made contact with her chin, surprising both LongClaw and CopperGal in the process.
However, CopperGal recovered a bit faster in that regard once she realized what was going on.
She could feel vibrational forces starting from her head and spreading out to the rest of her body. Running on combatitive zako instinct, she used this vibrational force to move her arms and continue her original plan of punching LongClaw right in his face.
*Bwoom!*
[What the-BAH!]
However, instead of just landing a solid right hook against the boney lizard man’s face, CopperGal instead launched a ringing blast of sound that disoriented and caused LongClaw to take several steps back.
This moment enraged LongClaw…and confused the hell out of CopperGal.
That is, until CopperGal experimentally took one of her fists and slammed it against her chest, causing her body to vibrate once more.
Once she realized what she could do, a wide smile formed across her face.
[Ohh…this is going to be fun.]
In direct opposition to this glee, LongClaw wasn’t looking too pleased… sorta.
[Aight, looks imma gonna have to somehow learn how to cut through metal in the next five minutes…this is going to be fun!]
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Marble Gal-em(MarbleGal) vs Spike Back Paleo Punk(SpikeBack)
[Try this one on for size!]
*Sound of spikes made of fossilized bone and [Chaos] being fired like short ranged missiles.*
[Oh what the fuck?!]
When MarbleGal decided to go toe-to-tor with SpikeBack, she figured this was going to be a straightforward brawl for two, two and a half reasons.
First, all of the fighters in this match were zakos. Most zakos, regardless of their development, tended to lean more towards physical close quarter combat type of things. Not necessarily because they’re geared towards such things, it was just the easiest thing for zakos to mentally process most of the time.
That said, when something “clicks” for a zako, they end up rapidly mastering and practicing a particular skill until they reach a point of evolution.
Second, the other reason why she assumed this was going to be a brawl was due to the fact that SpikeBack was built like a muscular sumo wrestler. Combined with the fact that he kept smacking his two compatriots across the head with his fists, MarbleGal figured he’d be throwing punches as part of his fighting style as well.
Evidently, this was a misdirect.
The moment MarbleGal attempted to close the distance to start fighting, SpikeBack suddenly turned around and started firing spike after spike like he was a living grenade launcher meet hand cannon.
Literally.
MarbleGal had been using her stoney exterior to block and knock the spikes being fired at her, but every now and then, one of the spikes that were fired from SpikeBack’s back would suddenly explode into a shower of shrapnel. These fragments would then scratch the surface of MarbleGal’s skin.
Nothing too major by themselves, but the scratches did add up.
MarbleGal knew that this wasn’t a good situation, but SpikeBack loved this situation.
So much in fact, he started to mock her about it.
[What’s the matter, Miss Marble? Worried about getting impaled?!]
[No, I’m trying to figure out how to smash your face in!]
MarbleGal wasn’t lying on this statement, but she was having a hell of a time on figuring out how to do so.
‘Seriously, how the hell do I get close enough?’
MarbleGal had precisely three options on how to get close enough to actually do some damage, without getting damaged in the process.
Option 1: Speed.
MarbleGal could attempt to actively evade every attack while rushing as fast as possible. This required her to be significantly more nimble than what she was used to, but it was possible.
Option 2: Object deterrence.
Technically speaking, MarbleGal was strong enough to cause some environmental damage, such as ripping apart pillars or the ground itself. With a hardy enough stomp, she could create a piece of rubble large enough to block all the spikes and use it as a means to smash in SpikeBack’s face.
Option 3: Toughen up and rush.
MarbleGal could simply grit her teeth, strengthen her skin and bumrush SpikeBack.
She went with option three, because she didn’t even think about option one and two being possibilities!
[Grit your teeth, spike boy! Because I’m coming for ya!]
