Defiance of the Fall: A LitRPG Adventure

by TheFirstDefier

  That the huge construct was an actual being didn’t change much, in Zac’s opinion. They’d still farm for ten days, after which Zac would enter, and drag Ogras with him no matter if he was willing or not. Inside, they would find the boss and kill or destroy it.

  With that, everything was settled, and Ogras immediately set out with a company of soldiers, loath to miss even a single contribution point. Zac stayed put since he would be needed to relieve Ogras when he ran out of steam so that they could put continuous pressure on the insects. He really didn’t want that huge queen beast to get her hands on his Nexus Vein, so no expansion could be allowed. And who knew if the hive queen would have some strange mutation from getting too close to the vein.

  As the days passed, an advance wall was erected. It was nowhere the size of the regular wall, but it would allow some protection while retreating. The craftsmen also refitted a few of the siege machines so that they would be able to attack the hive queen. However, the large boulders and bolts only bounced off the black structure without so much as leaving a mark.

  Zac tried as well and ran up to the structure with his movement skill and slammed into it with a Dao-empowered [Chop]. It was effective, creating a large scar, but the response was horrifying. It was like the ants turned crazy and surged against the demons in a frenzy.

  The mantis things actually started throwing the vomiters in retaliation, and as they sailed through the air, they overcharged themselves much in the same way as the suicide attack the demons possessed. Zac was forced to expend most of his Cosmic Energy in a short time, furiously throwing out projectiles in order to clear the rabid waves. But he still got a few acid burns on his face and hands that would take time to heal, as most of the vomiters were hurled in his direction.

  Seeing that Zac’s swing only made a small crack on the gigantic structure, they knew that a siege wasn’t really possible against this thing, and they’d have to enter the tunnels if they wanted to kill the queen.

  On the seventh day, Zac’s fears were realized, as a new foe started emerging out of the hive along with its three siblings. It was called an Ayn titan and was a hulking insect at over three meters tall. Its shell was at least twice as thick as on the others, and it was impossible to penetrate for most of the demons.

  They were forced to slowly whittle it down by first disabling its legs by attacking the joints, all while avoiding its terrifying smashes with its claw-like front arms. Since the thing was so heavy, its mobility was quite bad, and if they fell down with broken legs, they stayed down. After it was downed, it seemed the simplest method to kill it was to just boil its head in a fireball.

  If Zac or Ogras were present, they could penetrate or crush their skulls instead. However, the time it took to kill the titans increased the pressure, as the ants unceasingly kept pouring out of the hive. There were no breaks, no lulls; just constant, unrelenting battle. The only reason they weren’t overrun in just a day or two was the fact that the monsters were quite weak, and even the siege machines they’d brought had no trouble killing the foot soldiers.

  The only thing strong about them was their carapaces’ sturdiness, but that wouldn’t impede the skilled warriors overly much. In the few cases when they were starting to get overrun, Zac or Ogras would unleash their most powerful area attacks. Zac simply threw out his huge edges that created large swathes of death and destruction.

  As for Ogras, he created a sea of shadows that moved across the battlefield, where dozens of spears unceasingly sprang up to kill everything around. It wasn’t an attack that Zac had seen before, and he suspected that the demon had made a breakthrough with either a skill or his Dao some time recently.

  With his new skill, the demon’s killing speed was terrifying and almost eclipsed Zac’s own speed, which was doubly impressive since he no longer suffered from an energy shortage. Zac was shocked by the display of power, as he knew that the power of the demons was still limited by the System.

  There were a few more who excelled at area battle such as Alea and Rivea, the pyromancer who’d learned the Seed of Tinder during the wolf waves. Her fire kept spreading among the ants and was particularly deadly to them. It simply stuck to their carapaces and slowly cooked the beasts, and from there, spread to their brethren.

  The windfall was so great that Zac relented and actually prolonged the farm-fest another day, much to the delight of the demons. Ogras was like a storm, grinding his contribution points at a furious pace.

  Zac had thought that this kind of situation was something unique, but he was surprised to find out that most large forces in the Multiverse kept zones and forests that were a bit like this, teeming with monsters. It provided their young and their soldiers with ample training and outlet for growth, and the clan didn’t need to provide any salary, as access to the farming zones was benefit enough to join the army. The elders of the clan took care of the evolved monsters and immediately rooted out any beast that got too strong.

  But all good things must end. The eleventh day approached, and the core warriors started to rest up and prepare their aces. Tomorrow, they would assault the hive.

  105

  Into the Hive

  “Is everyone ready?” Zac asked as he glanced back at the group. It was time to find the queen, and a strike force was assembled. It would be led by Ogras, with Zac second-in-command. Zac didn’t mind not being the leader, as he didn’t have any experience leading an operation like this. He didn’t want to risk his teammates getting killed due to his inexperience. Besides, he could always overrule him if he felt it warranted.

  The group consisted of only six people. Apart from Zac and Ogras, Janos and Alea also joined the group. Ilvere and Namys were left behind, leaving them in charge of the main army, whose job was to keep the fight going outside while they entered the hive. Janos was a support mage who hopefully could turn the odds in their favor, while Alea’s attack had proven itself effective even against the Fiend Wolf.

  The last two were Rivea and Herod. Rivea was the Pyromancer with the Seed of Tinder. Herod was the earth mage who first spoke up about the digging on top of the wall. It turned out he possessed the Seed of Tremor, making him extremely perceptive to even small tremors in the ground. His job was to act as a scout in the tunnels, whereas Rivea was just additional firepower.

  They didn’t bring any more people, as quantity didn’t really work against E-grade evolved beings. Most of the soldiers would only be a hindrance rather than an asset inside the hive. Even Rivea was mostly brought so that she could defend their backs while the rest fought the queen and the bodyguards.

  “Human, why not just wait a few more days?”

  “You’re pretty close to affording the Fruit, huh? Remember, if I die, the mission is failed, and the contribution crystal is gone,” Zac answered with a small smile.

  It was true. Since Ogras had started using the wide-scale shadow attack, his contribution points skyrocketed. In only ten days, he almost got as many as he did during the three weeks of the first wolf horde, and he possessed over 40 million points by now.

  Ogras muttered something under his breath but didn’t seem overly worried. There was a whole third wave, after all, and there still were a lot of contribution points to be gained inside the hive. Zac had gotten over 5 million points for killing the Fiend Wolf, and he heard afterward that both Ogras and Alea received quite a few points for helping out. Killing E-ranked beings at this stage seemed truly profitable.

  They were currently at the back of the fight against the insects and started to move forward. As they did, both Ogras and Janos cast a skill, shrouding them both in shadows and illusions, making them almost invisible. They easily slipped past the ant army and headed into one of the large tunnels.

  The inside looked just like outside, with black walls and green crystals. The crystals thankfully emanated some light, though it was a lot darker compared to the tunnels in the mines. They could light up their path with the help of Rivea, but held off on that for the moment, wanting to mainta
in their cover. They didn’t expect to be able to sneak all the way to the core room, but the faster they proceeded without being bogged down in fights, the less pressure on the fighters outside.

  Groups of ants kept coming through the tunnel to join the battle outside, and most simply ran right by. With Herod’s timely warnings, they usually had time to press themselves against the wall while their skills hid them. However, they were still discovered every now and then and were forced into a furious battle. It was mainly Zac and Ogras who slaughtered the ants without using up too much Cosmic Energy, and then threw the bodies into Cosmos Sacks.

  They quickly realized something was wrong as they walked. The inside of the hive actually seemed larger compared to the outside. The hive was shaped almost like a pyramid, reaching about a hundred meters in height, and was a few hundred meters wide at the base. But they had walked over ten minutes in an almost straight tunnel without reaching an end. They were frequently forced to stop as they walked, due to the incoming packs, but they should long ago have crossed the whole structure.

  “The hive is likely a spatial being, containing something like a hidden realm,” Ogras said with a low volume when no ants were nearby.

  “Not illusion. Unless extremely strong,” Janos added with a nod.

  “Does this change anything?” Zac asked.

  “Not really; the mission is still the same. But it will be much harder to find the queen. We don’t know just how large the inside of the hive is anymore,” Ogras answered with a sigh.

  As they proceeded further into the hive, they ran into fewer and fewer packs of ants. Soon the group found themselves at a crossroads. The path split into three, and it looked like the left descended while the right ascended. The middle path stayed the course.

  “The core room should be in the depths since that place would be safest from external attacks,” Ogras said, and the group veered off to the left path. There was no talk about splitting up since perhaps only Zac and Ogras would be able to survive if they ventured out alone.

  As they moved further down, the rocky walls started to transform, looking more and more like flesh. It reminded them that they weren’t actually inside a mountain, but rather inside a huge being.

  “Trap!” the earth mage suddenly exclaimed, and soon after, the ground opened up beneath them. They barely had time to jump forward, and as they turned back, they looked at a pool of acid seething where the floor once was.

  “Does it know we’re here?” Zac asked.

  “Who knows? The information missive never explained how aware the hive queen is. It might just have been an automatic reflex from us stepping on this path. The ants might know which spots to avoid,” Ogras answered with a frown.

  It did not take long for the group to find the answer to the question, as a group of huge ant warriors streamed toward them. They were almost as large as the titans but far more nimble. Their name was [Ayn Elite Guard], and their front legs looked very specialized. One of the arms had the same sort of long blade like the mantis-like captains, whereas the other was extremely thick almost like a crab’s arm. It almost looked like a shield, Zac thought as he watched them approach.

  As usual, Janos erected a mirage around them, making it seem they were part of the wall as they pushed against it. The guards looked a bit confused as they slowed down as they looked around. As if in response, the green gems in the wall behind Zac and the others started shining more brightly. The guards immediately perked up and resumed their charge.

  Seeing that the illusion wasn’t effective anymore, Zac threw a rock toward one of them. The stone hurtled toward the front elite guard, which lifted its thick arm in response. A deep clang resounded as the ant was slightly pushed back, but not a mark could be seen on its arm. Clearly, the thicker arm was extremely reinforced.

  The ants approached, and Zac moved to the front and, with a grunt, swung his axe against the shield to test its might. A massive shock wave pushed both his target and a few of the other guards back, but the thick shell even held against his new weapon. There was a small crack, though, and a few more swings would probably do the trick.

  Zac was surprised at the sturdiness of these things, as there weren’t many things below E-grade that could survive a swing of his anymore. If they could take the shells of these things, they would likely be able to create some pretty damn durable armor. With some treatment and inscriptions engraved onto them, they might even become E-graded gear.

  “Don’t ruin their shields,” Zac said with some greed in his eyes. Of course, perhaps only he was actually able to damage them in any case.

  In the end, it fell to Zac, Ogras, and Rivea to kill the group of guards. Zac was actually forced to use the Seed of Sharpness to kill the ants while Ogras used his black spear to penetrate into the joints of the guards. As soon as the tip of the spear breached their armor, spikes made from shadows poured out of the tip and wreaked havoc on their insides. Rivea lobbed a few fireballs that stuck to their heads and quickly boiled their brains.

  Herod tried to help with a few earth spears as well, but his power wasn’t enough against these warriors. He could only help out by erecting earth walls to protect the noncombatants. It was a strain on him, as they weren’t in an actual cave, but a living being. The earth mages drew power from the ground, which enabled them to do more with less expenditure, but it wasn’t possible in here. Alea was simply staying put. Her poison spikes would be able to kill these things, but they consumed a huge amount of Cosmic Energy, so it was better for her to wait for more formidable targets.

  They threw the most well-preserved carapaces in Cosmos Sacks and pushed further down, not bothering as much about stealth anymore. They had clearly been spotted somehow, and it would be better to just rush through.

  Soon they came to a large circular room, and after a brief hesitation, they ran toward the door that seemed to be leading downward. But just as they approached it, the pathway simply closed up by the walls moving together.

  “If it’s only the entrance that’s closed, I can break it down in less than a minute, but if the whole tunnel is collapsed, we need to find another way,” Zac muttered as he touched the closed doorway.

  “No, let’s retreat befo–” Ogras quickly interjected but was interrupted by the pathway they came from opening as well. “Shit, break the door we came from!” the demon shouted.

  Zac didn’t hesitate and used [Loamwalker] to appear next to the door and furiously slammed into it with a Sharpness-imbued [Chop]. A large crack appeared in the door, but before Zac had time to swing again, the floor beneath them opened up.

  It was as though the ground was a huge maw that opened up, and the group helplessly fell down into the large hole.

  “Grab on to each other!” Ogras shouted, and luckily, the demons were quite close to each other.

  However, Zac, who’d used his movement skill earlier, was over twenty meters away from the others, and he had no way to cross the distance while falling. A rope was flung toward him, but the winds in the hole pushed it out of his reach.

  Suddenly, the seemingly endless hole split up, separating the groups, and Zac was suddenly utterly alone while falling into the abyss.

  106

  The Descent

  Zac picked up speed as his descent continued through the black hole. He desperately tried to grab on to the wall as he fell, but the surface was almost completely smooth. Seeing no alternative, he grabbed [Verun’s Bite] with both hands and stabbed forward while summoning a sharpness-imbued [Chop] at the maximum length he could maintain.

  The Cosmic Energy edge cut into the wall, and Zac removed the Dao empowerment as soon as it did. Luckily, the walls inside the hive queen were quite a bit softer compared to the hard-shell exterior. The harsh deceleration almost ripped the axe out of his hands, and he barely managed to hold on as he ripped a large scar along the wall while moving downward. Soon he stopped just as he saw some green light below.

  Since his momentum was gone, he took out one of his backup
axes from his pouch and stabbed it into the wall with another cosmic edge. Like this, he climbed downward toward the exit. He initially thought about climbing up to find the others, but he soon discarded that thought. They should be down here somewhere as well, and going downward might be a better bet to find them.

  Besides, their goal was to go further down to find the core room in any case. So Zac started using the fractal edges of his axes as ice picks as he slowly climbed down toward the exit. And as he saw what created the green glowing light, his eyebrows rose.

  It was a large pond of acid. If Zac hadn’t stopped his descent, he would have fallen right in, and even with his armor and Endurance, he wasn’t sure he’d survive the bath. As he hung close to the edge, Zac was pondering what to do. He could see that there was dry ground roughly ten meters away from the hole, but he doubted he could climb the ceiling all the way over there, as his axes would just slide right out.

  He took out his huge elongated axe from his pouch. It had accompanied him during many of the wolf waves when he wasn’t able to freely use his skills, and by now, it was mostly warped and dull. It wasn’t really as useful lately since he didn’t have to be as stingy with his Cosmic Energy anymore. Its total length was a bit over two meters, and it would make a decent measuring tool for the pond. Careful to hold it completely vertical, he simply dropped it straight down.

  The axe fell down, and just as it was about to be completely submerged, it stopped with a thud for a few seconds before it fell down into the pool completely. It looked like the depth was only roughly two meters. Even if it was shallower than he had dared hope, it was still enough to completely submerge him if he dropped down.

  He didn’t have any more time to ponder, as the edge he hung from with his axes suddenly cracked, and he fell down together with a large chunk of wall. He quickly threw out a bunch of nonessential tools and items from a pouch, such as his large table and chairs, and a few boulders he used for ranged battle. They smacked into the pond with a large splash, and Zac felt a burning sensation on his feet from the splashing acid.