Chapter 938

Chapter 938

After the Desolate Deep were driven off, the local cultivators from Terbettem came to thank the group representing the Scarlet Alliance. Your timing was impeccable, said a woman with hair that shifted from red through orange to yellow and back. I am Ritu, she bowed her head towards Ravina, the Augmentation cultivator leading them.

Ravina, she said. My companions and I are here to help how we can.

Chidi noticed Aconite nuzzling into the pouches of a fallen member of the Desolate Deep. Then she licked something carefully, presumably their special powder.

Im glad our request was taken seriously, Ritu said. An Augmentation cultivator should help with the aggression weve experienced lately. Though its difficult to be certain as they should have known of our association with the Alliance and still have caused us this much trouble she shook her head.

Chidi left them to discuss the next course of action. He found his way over to Aconite. How is it?

Dry, Aconite replied. Its inherent properties are slightly absorbent of upper energy, but not to the level it would bother anyone. Perhaps direct injection of sufficient quantities into the bloodstream would be troublesome, though at a certain point

Isnt everything? Chidi nodded.

Exactly. Well, its not that this isnt toxic. Its just insufficient alone. Unfortunately, they dont seem to have their technique manuals on them.

They knew they were going to battle and maybe they didnt expect to win.

At least enough to be forced to caution, Aconite agreed. Its not that unusual.

Chidi nodded. Then he went to find those who had been fighting against the Desolate Deep, hoping to ask them about the energy draining. Unfortunately, when they were successful with their technique it often meant a swift death for their target afterwards as they would be significantly hindered. The only one who survived while experiencing a significant effect was currently unconscious and being treated.

He did ask the others participating in the battle about their thoughts, and some had a small effect of their energy being drained, but they didnt provide useful insights for Chidi. It seemed he would need to experience it himself.

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After their initial arrival on Gedale, they continued back towards Terbettem itself to engage in proper planning. The planet was nothing amazing as far as the Scarlet Alliance went, but as they had been independent just recently Chidi also didnt find it disappointing. What was disappointing was the lack of information they had on the Desiccating Deep and their techniques.

It wasnt worthless, and indeed they had practical advice on avoiding their assaults, just not resisting them. They seemed to establish a domain of control, the powders used to boost either directionality or power of their abilities.

They also didnt seem able to completely negate attacks coming into their domain, but those who remained too close to them could find themselves suddenly missing an important portion of their energy. In a fight, both energy stores and what was immediately active were critical. Lacking the former put one at a disadvantage in the long term, and the latter affected individual exchanges- any of which could be crippling or fatal.

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As was his goal, Chidi volunteered for the first opportunity to head into battle. It wasnt so convenient that it met all of his plans, like being solitary, but he couldnt be too picky. There would be a small group of them going to hunt down another group somewhere on Gedale. The planet was large enough that it was difficult to sweep it all at once, and its rocky surface had many caves that people could hide in. That was part of the main reason it was chosen as the Desiccating Deeps stepping stone into the system.

Both Alva and Aconite were competent trackers in their own ways, so the two of them set out with the others following- those others being Chidi and their fellow Conncha. Ravina was focused on a larger gathering of the Desiccating Deep that had been discovered and was coordinating with local forces to that effect.

Tracking down their quarry wasnt too difficult- even Chidi could have sniffed them out rather quickly. There werent many tracks left in the hard ground, but that was only a small portion of what could be used to find people.

The group descended into a series of icy caves, Alva taking up the rear with Aconite directing their choices ahead. Some areas were clearly natural, while others had traces of rock being carved out. These secondary tunnels tended to be smaller, and in Chidis opinion they werent particularly well constructed. Perhaps these people werent worried about a hundred tons of rock crushing them, but Chidi would still find it quite inconvenient.VIsit n0(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience

Chidis hand grabbed the hilt of his sword before he even truly felt the waves washing over him. Somehow, the enemy forces had concealed their energy- though that was not a terrible surprise. His blade came out as the waves sloshed back and forth through him, not pushing him around but instead simply brushing against him.

Conncha found his way to the fore, reaching out as the first enemy came into view. His energy lashed out like a vine, striking both them and the wall before snapping short and pulling them back. His external energy was draining rapidly in the aura around the other man, but the restriction allowed him to strike the mans ribs directly, cracking them much like the stone behind.

Ugh, but theyre so weird, Chops replied.

Yeah, but for my plan we really need them. You see, were going to make Crossed Antennae take a vacation. She needs to go away and see that everything runs just fine without her.

Isnt that also bad? Chops asked. If she is worried about her job.

Nah, Snips signed in reply. Everything here is happening according to her instructions, so shell see that was all she needed. And if there are mistakes, she doesnt have to correct them herself.

So why do we need the other two? We can carry her off ourselves.

Because, Snips signed clearly. They can totally destroy us if they misunderstand us for rebels.

Pfft, I could probably cut them in half before they did anything, Chops said.

Probably? What if they got a move in?

Id be super dead, Chops agreed.

Then its settled. Plan abduct-the-queen-for-fun-and-efficiency shall commence!

You dont get to name things, Chops said.

-----

Disaster. Crossed Antennae had nodded off for a single second, then she found herself betrayed by her own royal guard. More than that, the elites. One moment she was directing a new colony, the next she felt herself being picked up by her outer legs. Only the middle two were left alone along with her wings, which were too heavy to fly.

What was worse was that she couldnt produce any pheromones as she watched her unconscious royal guard laid out- except for the traitors around her now. She couldnt even have a proper conversation with them, as with both pheromones and limbs tied up she only had her antennae and mandibles to gesture. She wasnt going to accept the outpouring of peace and safety that came from them either!

But while she could probably individually trounce any of them, being older than them, as a queen she wasnt really fit for combat especially as she was spending most of her effort producing new queens.

Unable to do anything about it, she put up with the horrible situation until they arrived some days later at a pool of water. Had she been brought to drown? But no, her captors carried her onto a leaf and dropped her there, pushing it into the lake.

What is going on? she asked frantically. This is treason ! I will have you punished for this!

She didnt strictly know how they would be punished, given that nobody had ever assaulted her before or disobeyed her in any way. In fact, void ants had very little need for such a system in general.

You are here to relax, Snips said.

Enjoy the sun, Chops said.

Dont think you can just fly off, Bullet added. You have several days until the numbness in your wings will wear off.

Theres a little island with tons of tasty treats piled up, Fire added. Make sure to have some of everything!

This was the strangest situation Crossed Antennae had found herself in. She might have expected oddities like this from the wild people of Akrys, but from her own progeny? It was incomprehensible. And what did they mean relax? She was supposed to be founding a colony!