[CHAPTER 16]


    Leo set the ball of acid against the roots and began to smear it on as many as he could reach. The moment they came into contact the roots started hissing and smoking as it melted to the floor. Once the beginning of the door was clear, he tossed a few more balls of acid through the doorway to help clear the way. Soon enough, he could see a murky light through the door so he turned to his team.


    “Looks like we’re through, let’s go.” Leo forged through the few remaining plants in the doorway to find himself in a large, circular room. He estimated it was a couple hundred feet from one side to the other. Covering every surface were Antithesis hive constructs including pools of some liquid on the ground, thick branches with bulbous pods hanging from them, and a large pillar like tree directly in the center. He noticed multiple monkey-like Model Tens tending to the pods.


    <This is not a normal hive. It is far too established for being this young. Something bigger is happening.>


    ‘What do you mean it’s too established?’


    <There are far too many digestive pools, each one takes time and dedicated biomass to set up. A hive will usually only make a new one if they have an excess of biomass that they cannot process. For a hive this young, the majority of biomass would go to growing new models in order to secure the area.>


    Leo thought about this as the rest of the team came through the door. Hawkins let out a low hiss, “This is one big baby hive. Do we even have anything big enough to damage it?”


    Burns spoke up with a sharp note, “Doesn’t matter, looks like the plants noticed our entrance. If we’re going to do something, do it now.” With that, he stepped forward and began firing at the few Antithesis that had noticed them first.


    Leo shook his head to clear his shock at the size of his first hive. “He’s right. Hawkins, Burns, take care of the small stuff and buy ammo as you need it. Kat, secure our evacuation just in case we need it later, then focus on expanding our base here. I’ll work on getting something that can take out the hive.”


    The group jumped to their assigned tasks immediately. Hawkins joined Burns up front and began firing into the incoming horde of Model Threes and Fours. Kat set about placing a couple turrets around the doorway before setting one on either side of Hawkins and Burns.


    ‘Aegys, what have we got that could damage the hive?’


    <You have a couple options that will be available to you. You can go slow and steady, whittling the hive down to nothing over time, or you could go fast and decisive by targeting the main hive structure. The former is less immediately dangerous, but leaves you at risk of being overrun if you can’t kill the Antithesis fast enough. The latter would require you to more proactively kill the Antithesis to build up the necessary points to buy a solution.>


    Leo thought for only a second before answering. ‘Fast and decisive, you already said this hive is abnormal, I don’t want to risk letting it build something big.’


    <Understood, in that case I would suggest purchasing the Mk II Shard Grenades from your Bursyamo catalog. They will explode in a cloud of Solitite shard and are very effective at killing nearby Antithesis. Total cost per grenade is five points.>


    ‘What are my point totals now?’


    <You currently have 175 points and climbing slowly. You should not need to worry about purchases for much longer.>


    He was about to respond when he heard a shot from Hawkins. “Hey boss! We got anything stronger than these SMGs? They don’t seem to be doing anything to the new guys.”


    Leo looked at the horde to see a couple bear-like Model Sixes lumbering towards them. He quickly queued up a ball of fire in one hand and pulled one of his pistols with the other. Throwing the orb into the horde, he pulled his other pistol and fired both at one of the Model Sixes. As the shards of Solitite hit, they penetrated the thick, bony plates that covered the Six and Leo watched as it quickly stumbled before crashing to the ground.


    Target Eliminated!


    Reward - 30 Points


    ‘Grenade, now!’


    As soon as he had the thought, an orb appeared in Leo''s hand. He idly realized it was warm, similar to picking up something that had been sitting near a fire, before he chucked it directly at the second Model Six coming their way. The orb sailed through the air before smacking the Six in the face. A moment passed before everything around the Six was consumed in a sparkly red cloud that quickly settled onto the ground, forming a spiky outcropping a couple feet in any direction.


    Target Eliminated!


    Reward - 30 Points


    “I didn’t expect it to also make lawn decorations.” Leo commented.


    <It shouldn’t be anything to worry about. You would need to throw hundreds before they caused a problem in a space this large.>


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ‘Good to know. Back to plans, what do I have access to that could help solve this hive issue?’ He began firing into the horde and tossing acid balls, greek fire, and the occasional grenade as he and Aegys talked.


    <Right. Your best chance in my opinion is to purchase the Class II Bursyamo Explosives catalog. From there you would buy the Solitite Hive Buster bomb. This device uses dimensional shunting to hold a large shard of which is then forcefully stabbed into the hive and pumped with enough heat to effectively crystallize the entire thing. If you can move around the pillar I can scan it and perform the necessary calculations to make sure the heat applied will not cause the Solitite to grow out of control.>


    Leo noticed a small swarm of Model Ones flying their way. “Kat, Fliers at 2 o’clock!”


    A couple of her smaller turrets began firing into the incoming swarm as Leo continued thinning the horde. “I’m going to start moving around the pillar. Aegys needs to scan it so we can take it down.”


    Hawkins called over to him. “We’ll cover you, just don’t get trapped, none of us are equipped to pull you out!”


    Leo nodded and began moving around the room. He was constantly shooting, throwing chemicals, and chucking grenades to keep from getting overrun. Now that he wasn’t in a defended position, he began using his hard-light walls to keep from getting flanked.


    <This is strange.>


    “What?” Leo asked as he watched a Model Ten skewer itself on one of the crystal growths from his grenades.


    <There are many structures that are commonly found inside of central hive structures. I am seeing many of these structures instead on the outside of the central pillar. I have attempted to scan the inside of the pillar but you do not have powerful enough scanners to penetrate the ECM shielding.>


    “What does that mean for our plan?” He continued his journey around the pillar, his pistols never stopping their stream of crystals for long.


    <Nothing much. Without the blueprints for this area or stronger scanning abilities, we cannot know what the inside of that pillar is made of. Using the Hive Buster Bomb should still destroy this hive.>


    A fresh wave of Antithesis headed his way, an ocean of Model Threes, Fours, and Sixes. Leo saw an opening in the wave and sprinted up a large root. Once he reached the top he had a wide view of the entire floor. “That’s a lot of plants.”


    <Indeed, I would recommend hard-light walls to keep from getting flanked and a lot of grenades.>


    He set hard-light walls all around him and charged them with flames before turning towards his kill funnel and chucking the grenade Aegys summoned. He brought both pistols to bear and held the triggers, spraying the incoming Antithesis with razor sharp crystals. Mere moments into his slaughter, one of his pistols suddenly cracked and stopped firing.


    “Umm, Aegys? I don’t think guns are supposed to crack like that.”


    <Looks like the shard finally died. I’ve replaced the core, I would suggest you continue firing.>


    He resumed firing into the oncoming horde, throwing grenades at any groups of heavily armored Sixes he saw. Before long the wave broke and Leo had a moment to rest.


    <You should probably be aware, both Hawkins and Burns have purchased the Firestorm rifle. Essentially an up-sized version of your pistols but with a larger crystal core and slightly lower fire rate. Your new point total is 2496 and one token.>


    Leo sat on the root to catch his breath while still keeping an eye out for any Antithesis who thought he looked like a good snack. Luckily, Kat and the rest of the team were good at keeping attention on themselves. “How much do we need to get that Hive Buster?”


    <The Class II Bursyamo Explosives Catalog is 400 points and one token while the bomb itself is 300 points. I would suggest heading back to the doorway and firing it from there. You do not want to be in the room when it goes off.>


    Leo tapped into the team comms. “I’m heading back. We’ll retreat through the door before I destroy the hive.” After getting confirmation from all three of his team, he began running back towards them. A few groups of Antithesis were climbing out of pods nearby and Leo tossed a grenade at each, causing the pods to be replaced with crystal growths.


    Finally slipping back behind the defensive line, Leo took deep breaths to get his breathing under control. Hawkins looked over at him while carrying a sleek rifle with various crystal growths accenting it. “So, where’s this fancy hive destroyer you got?”


    Leo chuckled. “Get through the door and I’ll pull it out. Aegys, can you buy the stuff but delay the delivery?”


    <Of Course. Standby.>


    Class II Bursyamo Explosives Unlocked!


    Points reduced to - 2865


    New Purchase: Hive Buster Bomb


    Points reduced to - 2565


    They all backed through the door, Kats turrets starting to take the brunt of damage without the extra support.


    <Should be far enough. Ready?>


    “Get it. Hawkins, here is the fancy hive destroyer.” As he spoke, a four foot long box appeared. Leo flipped the lid open to reveal what looked like a large tube with two handles. One end flared open and the other held a cylinder with a cone shaped head.


    Hawkins glanced over his shoulder. “Is that a fucking RPG? Shit, if I knew those worked I’d be dropping hives left and right.”


    Leo chuckled at the man''s animated reaction. “Not quite. Aegys added some alien tech to make it actually effective.”


    Aegys spoke up over the comms, “Indeed. If you tried using a regular RPG against a hive, you might as well sneeze on a Model Three. Leo, all you need to do is aim it at the hive and pull the trigger. The warhead will penetrate the hive structure and then rapidly crystallize the internals.”


    Leo picked up the Hive Buster, it was significantly lighter than it seemed, and took aim at the hive.


    “I’d recommend dropping to one knee. Not sure if you need the stability to keep from getting knocked over, but aiming would probably be easier.” Burns piped in.


    Leo dropped to one knee and immediately noticed the difference. Aiming carefully, he brought the hive into the sights. ‘Ready?’


    <Fire anytime. No need to worry about the back blast.>


    He breathed out slowly and as soon as his lungs were emptied, he pulled the trigger. They all watched as the warhead streaked towards the hive and held their breath waiting for it to impact. Right before impact, several glowing motes of light came streaking through the air before blossoming into intense fireballs, destroying many hive structures and setting off the warhead in mid-air.