Chapter 31 – Life 6 – The Squad

  There was a snowstorm on the horizon.

  Snowstorms rarely happened here by accident. I had learned that, over the past 2 years. Despite the area being filled with ice, actual weather events were pretty rare. This place was cold – damn cold – to be sure. Windy, too. But what I had never expected before being shipped off here was how *dry* it was. Snow happened so infrequently, I could only imagine how long it took for this whole place to be covered in ice.

  But there were more important things to think about. Like what was causing this particular snowstorm. It was too obvious for it to be natural, and I had been following it for what must have been days. A monster, then.

  Despite what one might think, Antarctica was not *only* home to monsters with Water, Air, and their combination of Storm. There were crystals of all 6 types to be found, if one looked hard enough. The trick was that, for those unfortunate Fire monsters, they needed to be strong enough to survive the cold wind. It led to a number of monsters dying to environmental conditions before they ever met a single person.

  Air monsters in particular, though, could thrive here. They were able to evolve into their Greater versions at rates that almost made me think someone destroyed a crystal here, though I had been assured that was not the case.

  I picked up my already quick pace as I thought I saw a glimpse of movement. I ordered my Squad to do the same.

  Ranger was at the lead, as usual. I had modified her legs to be better able to run at high speeds. After her was Striker, who kept his spear at the ready. Next to me was Guard, scanning the area for any potential threats as usual.

  Heavy Red and Heavy Blue trailed behind, as the metal alloys used in their construction slowed them down a bit. Finally, taking up the rear, was the most recent member of the Squad, Quartermaster.

  I had based her design off an old story about something called a ‘cen-taur’. Four legs on a monster-like body, which smoothly transitioned to a human torso on top. It had been difficult to get her legs working in sync, but the result was that she could carry an exceptional amount of spare metal weapons and other supplies with ease. She was in the back for now but could easily overtake the Heavies if I commanded her to push herself.

  Eventually, the monster causing the snowstorm came into view. A large bird flying in the center of the storm. From its appearance, I suspected that it had evolved from a Gust Vulture, as opposed to a Hydro Gull. The difference mattered, since anyone who fought enough Evolved monsters knew that while their element would be the same, their fighting style would be dependent on whichever one they started with.

  In this case, I knew that the Vultures depended more on physical strikes, as opposed to the Gulls that preferred ranged attacks. I silently commanded Striker and Ranger to take the first shots, while the Vulture hadn’t noticed we were tracking it.

  They worked in perfect synchronicity. Ranger fired an arrow from her custom-made recursive bow, while Striker threw his spear with inhuman strength. The Vulture was aware enough of its surroundings to dodge the arrow… but hitting it hadn’t been the goal. The dodge took it directly into the path of Striker’s spear. The Vulture *squawk*ed in indignity as the spear dug into its wing. It fell from the sky.

  Out of its preferred battleground, the fight against the Vulture was rather simple. It did, to its credit, condense the storm to a small but fierce area around itself. Many humans would die from attempting to step foot there. But Heavy Red was built with this kind of thing in mind. Contrary to popular belief, Redsteel was not just resistant against heat, but cold as well. Bluesteel, despite being the stronger metal normally, would become brittle when facing Essence-empowered cold.

  Heavy Red retrieved its large war-hammer from Quartermaster and systematically crushed the Vulture’s feet and wings. It wouldn’t be going anywhere. The storm ebbed as its life faded. Finally, before the thing died entirely, I used a dagger to its eyes to achieve the actual kill. The rules of how much Essence a Caster got from killing a monster were… unclear. That said, the rush I got was noticeably more than if I had just let the non-living Squad do all the work for me.

  I thought that had gone rather well… until Guard suddenly jumped in the air to deflect a strange, red projectile with her shield. I had been worried about something like this. I ordered the Squad to form up around me, infusing my Essence into Guard to give her as much of a boost as possible. Infusion had become more difficult as of late, which carried implications, but there was no time to consider that.

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  Red projectiles started to assault us, with my Squad taking the hits. I knew that if even a single one came in contact with me, there would be little that could save me. Eventually, Ranger confirmed the direction the projectiles were coming from and began to rapidly fire arrows. One of them eventually hit, as an inhuman *screech* rang out.

  Taking that as a cue, Striker retrieved his spear from the corpse of the Vulture and ran off into the distance, hoping to hit the monster before it recovered. I almost thought we had gotten it in time until the discarded projectiles began to writhe and liquify. That was a ‘no’, then.

  Guard and I quickly grabbed onto handles that I had formed on Quartermaster’s back for precisely this purpose. She ran at top speed away from the red liquid, but it almost wasn’t enough. A new projectile shot forth, directly towards me. Guard was narrowly able to do a summersault over Quartermaster’s back and deflect it, dropping to the ground in the process.

  I was about to command Quartermaster to begin evasive movements when another *screech* rang out, shockingly close. The icy ground erupted right before us, and a red monster the length of a building emerged, angrily.

  The sight of it confirmed my worries. Ordinary Wurms were bad enough, carrying the highly rare Life Essence. They were able to heal themselves from many injuries, up to and including being split in two. They could also burrow underground to some degree, even without any access to Earth Essence. This one, though, was far larger and clearly Evolved. A Blood Wurm.

  Striker soon arrived and began stabbing the thing repeatedly. Unfortunately for him, the injuries healed almost as soon as the spear had left the Wurm’s body. Heavy Red’s war-hammer did even less, and while Heavy Blue’s great-sword dug a bit deeper, it wasn’t enough.

  Even worse, the injuries they could cause leaked blood that the Wurm could control. The Wurm had a simple mind, but it began to figure out how to use the red liquid to restrain my metal soldiers, even though it couldn’t kill them. If this went on, I would be doomed.

  I ordered Quartermaster to flee, but it was no use. Just as I had hunted the Storm Vulture, the Blood Wurm was hunting me. The icy wasteland had no features I could use to hide, and Antarctica’s sole true settlement was at least a week away. I considered altering my armor, trying to make sure there were no gaps that the blood could get inside and touch bare skin, but that would leave me completely immobile.

  Instead, I decided to strengthen Guard. She had been the Squad’s first member, modelled after a combination of myself and my long-lost teammate Silvie. Guard traditionally wielded a shield and short sword, but I had tried to put in skills for all sorts of weapons, including the ones wielded by the other Squad members.

  As we ran, I tried to think of anything I could to strengthen Guard. Necessity was the mother of invention, after all. I changed her musculature, made her faster, stronger. I had already incorporated something like a skeleton of harder metal, but now I pushed more and more Essence into it. But I couldn’t think of anything that would put the Wurm down.

  It was difficult to think while constantly dodging blood projectiles. If it weren’t for my armor’s healing capabilities, I would have long since passed out from exhaustion. Then, just as I began to despair, I noticed something. The green veins that ran down Guard’s body… started to become deeper and darker in hue.

  The Swordsman’s memories surged inside me. This was it! I focused on adding more Essence, not to the metal, but inside the veins themselves. I sank deep into thought, some faint part of me hoping that Quartermaster could keep the projectiles off me by herself. I needed my full concentration.

  Life… and Metal. Metal given Life. Two opposites, one opportunity. The natural (or even supernatural?) meeting human artifice.

  But for what purpose? What did I hope to gain from this? Well…

  The answer came to me all at once. I didn’t need to *gain* anything. I just wanted to retain what I had lost. My home. My friends and family. My life in the Five States.

  I didn’t fight to gain honor, or glory, or power. I didn’t make my soldiers to conquer, like the cruel rulers I had met.

  I only wanted…

  to *protect*.

  A flash of green light almost blinded me, and I almost fell off of the still-retreating Quartermaster. Then, I saw a fantastical sight. Guard had grown, from her ordinary height of a little under 6 feet to at least 9 feet tall. Her veins were a dark, emerald green, and they ran through her newly resized sword and shield as well.

  Guard began to pummel the Wurm, and with every strike, its bloody wounds seemed to heal more and more slowly. Then, I remembered something else about the Swordsman’s powers. He didn’t just have one sword. He had 6.

  I had Quartermaster bring me around to come in contact with Lancer, and in short order he disappeared into dust. My consciousness wavered, and a headache slammed forth. Then, before I could worry that I had done something incorrectly, Lancer reformed, this time in a form just as tall as Guard, along with a pair of giant spears.

  The two together were finally enough. Guard, after slashing many times, finally cut the Wurm in half. Before the two halves could reconnect, Lancer stabbed one with a spear and hurled it into the distance. The blood that had pooled all around the battlefield lost its liquid quality, soon becoming frozen in the cold wind.

  I was completely exhausted, even with my armor healing me at maximum speed. But, as I lost consciousness, my final thought…

  Was that I was in good hands, now.

  no, neither of the Heavies are dead