Chapter 960: Swampland Stand-off
*Bing-Bong*
We interrupt this chapter because the winter of this work is attempting a new formatting thing.
Instead of using “___”, they’re gonna try and use…break words? Is that a thing?
|They were in comic books.|
Huh…anyways, you’ll see what he’s talking about about soon, comment if you think it’s crap or not.
Thank you, we now return to your regularly scheduled chapter.
*Bing-Bong*
________________________________________
Meanwhile, as the kaijin got involved in a conflict that was growing at a rather absurd rate…
‘Please tell me you almost got that boat out of the mud,’ Zhen Liu complained. ‘I can’t taste the swamp water, but I can feel the texture! There are so many wriggly things…’
[I’m in his body, I feel it too. They’re everywhere…,] Blazejudicator added.
[We’re trying!]
[Damn thing is stuck real deep!]
With the hostile [Chaos] out of the way, Screamira and Hurricroak took to the task of pulling the [Storm Queen’s Galleon] out of the mud and back to the surface.
There was just a little issue.
Due to the sheer amount of time that this ship has been left at the bottom of the swamp, the surrounding mud had it more or less locked it in place. This normally wouldn’t be a big issue, but the mud in question was also exposed to several centuries worth of [Chaos].
The resulting material probably worked great for zako making, but it also made it nigh near impossible to remove things do anything ever got stuck in it.
Either way, it was going to take Screamira and Hurricroak time to extract the ship, despite their prodigious strength.
[Fuck it, I’m just gonna see if I can I blast it out of the water.]
[Wait a minute, sound travels in water at a much faster-BAH!]
Correction, it was going to take longer due to moments like this.
…One more quick aside before we get back to fighting…
“Ku…”
“I know Mini, I know. But you have to let your big kaijin siblings do their thing…”
As the kaijin were throwing hands with the mysterious [Chaos] wielding warriors, Alicia, Bellona, Mini and Tiny had hidden themselves off to the side so that they wouldn’t be a distraction.
Normally, Alicia and Bellona would be against such an idea since they were both aether warriors in their own right with the ability to fight for themselves and then some. However, due to the fact that this was a battle between [Chaos] users and they had seen what [Chaos] could do against normal aether warriors and beasts, they determined that they didn’t want to get involved in that just yet.
After all, their own ability to wield [Chaos] was still a work in progress.
More or less.
“Who are…actually, I guess a better question would be, what the hell are these guys?,” Bellona asked. “Because they don’t look like kaijin, but they feel like it…
“Oh, I actually know this,” Alicia answered. “You know how the kaijin can take human form?”
“Yeah…”
“Apparently, they’re also…compatible with humans in that form.”
“Seriously?”
“Yup. So what Nepherage and the others are dealing with right now is like…the kaijin version of a Bloodliner? I guess?”
“That…that leads to question about my own heritage now.”
“Right??”
As the girls maintained their rather unusual discussion, a warrior cloaked in [Chaos] had found their position.
[One, two, three…wait, do I count the beasts for this? Hmmm.]
…Back to the fighting…
[Intruders. You have the honor of facing Chief Tusk of the Strange Bloods. Prepare to die.]
The aforementioned Chief Tusk was…a surprisingly average looking man with an outfit consisting of a sturdy pair of woven pants, a cape and a headband. However, Frosttusk could sense that his power was much deeper than how he looked.
Razorstella would’ve sensed this fact as well if she was paying attention. But right now, her mind had noticed something else entirely.
[Jaw, Claw, Tusk-wait a minute, are y’all seriously named after body parts?!,] Razorstella asked in disbelief over their weirdly straightforward anatomically themed names, while completely ignoring the fact that their names weren’t much better.
[Uh…]
[I’m aware, just didn’t realize other people followed that naming scheme too.]
[Our names are sacred titles, passed down from generation to generation. It is to remind us of where we came from and what gifts we had inherited from our ancestors,] Chief Tusk explained.[But I fear such words will be wasted on you. Since this is the part I skewer you. Ha!]
[Chaos] surged around Chief Tusk’s body until a pair of massive tusks manifested from out of nowhere. Once they were in place, Chief Tusk proceeded to charge forward at breakneck speed, hoping to impale Razorstella and Frosttusk while they were still recovering.
[Ah shit.]
[Time for defensive-]
Clang!
[-or not. Finally decided to join us?]
[Save the chatter for later!,] Nepherage reprimanded while gritting her teeth. [Deal with the enemies in front of us first!]
Before Razorstella and Frosttusk had to act, Nepherage, in her human form, had appeared from out of nowhere and had intercepted the charging Chief Tusk.
Against most other opponents, Chief Tusk’s charge would normally be unlockable due to the interactions between [Chaos] and aether.
Against Nepherage though, this was one of the few times outside of sparring where Chief Tusk had to deal with an opponent being able to block his attacks in such a manner.
[Yet another warrior? How many of you intruders are there?!]
[Enough. Razor, Frost. Go and assist Spring Brawler, he’s fighting four on one right now!]
[Right!]*2
[About damn time!,] Spring Brawler shouted once he heard he was finally getting help.
As Frosttusk and Razorstella were making their way to assist Spring Brawler, Chief Tusk was just about to shout words of indignation about being denied his original targets…until…
[Hey! Get back-]
[Meteor Kick!]
[Chief!]
Bam!
[Bitch!]
[Ahh!]
[Shell!]
Keeping her hands on the [Chaos] made tusks, Nepherage attempted to kick in Chief Tusk’s head. Unfortunately, yet another one of these weird Strange Blood warriors had appeared and blocked her attack.
Instead of impacting a skull, her kick ended up impacting the woman’s shell covered forearms.
The woman was sent flying as a result of the kick though.
[You’ll pay for that!,] Chief Tusk roared after seeing one of his warriors getting kick in such an indignant manner.
[You started this shit first, I’m just ending it!,] Nepherage shouted back.
Once this exchange of words had occurred, Nepherage performed another feat of acrobatics to place her feet back on the ground so that she had a stable enough center of gravity to toss Chief Tusk into the frozen swamp water.
The sound of cracking ice or possibly bones breaking echoed through the swamp as Nepherage threw Chief Tusk into the ground.
Despite the impact though, the Strange Bloods’ chief managed to get back to his feet very quickly.
[You really think that’s all it’s gonna take to take me down?!]
[No, it wouldn’t be fun otherwise!]
…Several intense moments of fighting later…
[Fucking hell, is this what it’s like fighting us?!]
[Guess so…]
[Shit, no wonder people consider fighting us to be an absolute misery.]
[We outnumber you, how are you not dead yet?!]
[Because fuck you, that’s why.]
[Rarrgh!]
For the better part of what felt like an hour to the combatants, the kaijin and the Strange Bloods had been constantly exchanging blows and defenses to the point of exhaustion.
Both sides had experience dealing with dragon force, aether warriors and each other during a sparring match, but this was the first time they had ever dealt with opponents of equal abilities across the board.
If there wasn’t a number disparity though, the kaijin would’ve definitely won this battle by now. But alas, that one warrior difference made things tricky.
Hell, at this point, the kaijin started to partially transform parts of their body in a manner similar to the Strange Bloods in order to try and get the edge. But alas, this still led to a stalemate due to the kaijin were still technically holding back.
But they were getting to the point that they wanted to flip the table and stop doing so.
[How quickly do you think we could end this if we ditched the fleshbag disguises?]
[Very quickly.]
[So we’re in agreement?]
[Aye.]
However, just as the kaijin were about to ditch their masks and go ape shit, this happened.
[ALL Y’ALL BETTER STAND THE FUCK DOWN OR I’M TAKING THEIR LIVES!]
[Huh?]
“Let us go you overgrown lizard!”
“Agreed!”
“Kuu…”
[FUCK!]
[Way to go, Scale!]
[Seriously?!]
In a turn of events that was entirely detrimental to the kaijin, yet another one of these Strange Blood weirdos had done the unthinkable and had taken Mini, Alicia and Bellona hostage.
As for Tiny and Matilda, the maid was currently rendered unconscious and under Scale’s foot, while the former was being forced to give him a ride.
A mother will do all they can to protect their child, after all.
At this moment in time, the kaijin thought they were up shit’s creek without a paddle while the Strange Bloods were over the moon.
However…that feeling was about to change.
[Now, why don’t you invaders-]
[COUNTER OFFER,] Nepherage interjected with a booming voice, [How about you let them go and I don’t turn your Chief here into charcoal!]
[Holy shit!]
[Chief!]
[Grrk-rrk!]
In a dramatic reversal of the situation, Nepherage made it clear that she had the Strange Bloods’ leader by the throat.
For all intents and purposes, this was now a stand-off.
