When morning came, Leon set out to begin his quest to raid the millipede nest. He waited until it was bright enough so that the millipedes would have enough time to themselves to leave the nest and begin their battle with the centipedes.
“If the millipedes have a catalyst, then there is every possibility that the centipedes also have one. Their entire fight might be centered all around trying to get their counterpart’s catalyst.” Leon mused as he made his way to the outskirts of the town on the millipede’s side.
The millipede nest was located at the southeastern part of the town, while the centipedes came from the northwestern direction. Their nest was most likely in that direction.
Half an hour of traveling later, Leon finally reached the nest, and as he had expected, the nest was much less crowded than the night before. Only about ten soldier variants and about two dozen lesser variants mingled about as they acted as protection to the nest while the main force was out doing battle with the centipedes.
“Here goes nothing.” Leon sighed and jumped down from the top of the partially collapsed building that he had been watching the millipede nest from ever since he had arrived.
Thud!
Leon landed in the center of a group of lesser millipedes, drawing not only their attention, but also the attention of the other millipedes around, both the lesser, and the soldier variants alike.
Shhhk!
His sharpened sword cleaved through the exoskeletons of the weaker variants, ending the lives of five of them at once.
[Level 78 Ghost Millipede killed.]
[Level 54 Ghost Millipede killed.]
[Level 62 Ghost…]
[Level 57…]
[Level…]
Purple blood sprayed in the air as the dismembered bodies of the millipedes dropped to the ground.
Screeee?!
The soldier variants screeched upon sensing the deaths of their brethren. Their many feet scrambled over the stones and rocks that littered the ground as their rushed at Leon. Their antennae waved wildly, and their mandibles clacked menacingly, making them looks like monsters straight out of a horror movie. Not that they were any different from just that in Leon’s eyes.
Clang!
Clang!
The sounds of Leon parrying and striking the soldier variants rang out, closely followed by the sounds of body parts dropping to the ground as he severed their heads from their bodies or targeted their weak spots that was located between their tightly fit segments.
His sharpened blade had become quite the helper, as he did not have to rely entirely on brute force to defeat the creatures any more.
[Dexterity +1]
Leon twirled the sword in his hand as he turned to dodge one of the millipedes slashing off its antennae in one smooth motion, and slicing off several legs of another millipede that tried to attack him from the back, instantly making the two of them lose their balance.
In just two short minutes, Leon had dispatched all the millipedes that lingered around the area, and was about to make his way into the nest when a bunch more of the lesser variant rushed out of the nest to stop him. One of the lesser variants had rushed into the nest to alert the others back when Leon had initially showed up and now, it had returned with back up.
Screeeee!
With a war cry, the army of lesser millipedes charged Leon, but he did not feel an ounce of fear. If only he was still able to level up, then this would have been a great boost for him.
‘Or maybe I can just cut off their feet and come back for them when my race advances…’ He thought, and a dark flame burned within his dark eye sockets as his excitement shot up.
“Come!” He roared and dove into the wave of dark purple chitin that was rushing at him. Instantly, blood was spilled. Although he tried preserving their lives and only cutting off their legs, there were still quite a lot of them that ended up dying.
[Level 82 Ghost Millipede killed.]
[Level 91 Ghost Millipede killed.]
[Level 97 Ghost Millipede killed.]
…
It seemed that the more powerful millipedes had stayed back to protect the nest, while the weaker ones went to fight and grow stronger in the battlefield. The thought was quite jarring. The creatures that Leon had fought earlier up till this point had always acted on instinct and he was able to predict them, but with the way these ones had acted, it hinted at a more sophisticated way of thinking.
‘Perhaps there is another variant that is smarter than the rest. It must be in charge of handling them.’ Leon thought as he continued with his machinations, slicing off their legs and making sure it was difficult for them to move about.
By the time he had handled most of them, his bones were covered in their sticky blood, but he barely felt it at all. He had lost most of his sensitivity after gaining this body, and that had come with quite a few upsides to it. He felt much less pain.
The remaining millipedes retreated back into the nest with haste, as though called back by something. They all turned around as one and began scurrying back into the depths of the nest.
“Follow them!” Leon cheered himself on as he followed after them. He made sure to be careful as he climbed down the hole, watching out for any possible ambushes, but there were none.
Thud.
He landed down on the hardy earth and took a look around. There were multiple paths that led away from the entrance of the nest, so he was not sure which one to pick. After a bit of thinking, he simply chose the path that was directly in front of him. After mowing through all those soldier variant millipedes, he was sure that he would be able to hold his own, or at least be able to escape in the worst case scenario. He was being careful too, and watching out for anything suspicious.
With caution in mind, Leon walked further into the darkness, for the catalyst that he needed for his Race Advancement.