Under the bright light of the sun, the trees covering a certain area of the Red Island were dancing in unison due to the gentle and cold wind passing by. The marching army's sound echoed throughout the area, and the dried leaves made crunchy sounds, indicating the location of the approaching siege. After hours of searching, they finally came across a group of prey.
Six Slugs, one of which was a level 3 Slug, raised their heads as they detected the scents of an approaching army. The Slugs huddled together, fully aware that running was no longer an option because the predators had already focused their attention on their group, preparing to defend their lives. The ground beneath them began to become soaked with the mucus erupting from their bodies as their primary defense against their attackers' gripping bites.
The army of Peasants surrounded all of the escape routes, their vicious mandibles opening and closing as they saw their targets. One of them was a ruse, not a real Peasant. While his dot-like eyes darted toward the location of their newly discovered prey, Eon stood beside the highest-leveled Peasant. He closed and opened his mandibles, perfectly imitating the Peasant's actions as if he was born as one.
RACE: Slug [Level: 3/10].
HP: 30/30
MP: 29/30
Top Speed: 6 km/h
Defense: 0
[STATS.]
Strength: 3
Agility: 3
Intelligence: 3
Eon had to be extra cautious this time and keep an eye on the strongest Slug; if the level 3 Slug managed to hit him with its skill, Mud Ball, at least once, it would inflict 9.3 damage. Running head-on would be dangerous, so he stood still and watched the movement of the strongest of their group, the level 2 Peasant.
The strongest peasant, who was also the army's leader, raised its head and closed and opened its mandibles, giving everyone orders. The entire army moved quickly and without hesitation, throwing themselves into the crowd of Slugs and lunging their heads. It was either kill their enemies or die trying.
The entire army moved in unison; some of them fell to the ground before reaching their destination due to surging balls of mud, but stood and continued; others purposefully jumped onto the soaking-wet ground and formed a bridge out of their bodies. They were unconcerned about their lives. Killing machines that their designers would be proud of.
Eon, on the other hand, remained standing beside the Peasant leader, along with a few others, a total of 12 on standby. Throwing his life away to build a bridge was never in his plans. When the level 2 Peasant moved and rushed toward their prey with such speed and ferocity, all the other Peasants who had been waiting began to move as well, including Eon.
Eon trailed the group's fastest member, the Level 2 Peasant, while keeping an eye out for incoming Slug retaliation. Balls of mud flew in all directions as the Slugs tried to reduce their numbers. He had to change his running pattern several times to avoid the surging ball of mud, and one of the mud was almost as big as him, apparently coming from the strongest Slug.
The Peasant bridge was already built when he arrived, ready for those who arrived late to attack the Slugs. One of them was the strongest Peasant, which lunged its head as soon as it got close enough to any of the Slugs.
The gripped Slug's growl echoed as the strongest Peasant grabbed its face with its gripping mandibles, paralyzing it instantly with excruciating pain.
Eon had learned something from his previous hunt with another group against the Pup Diviar wolves. And now was the time to put his theory to the test.
Eon rushed across the Peasant bridge to the strongest Peasant dangling on Level 3 Slug. He used the same Peasant to climb up. Climbing was impossible while the Peasants were soaked in slimy liquid, and the same could be said for the skins of the Slugs that provided the liquid. So, Eon took advantage of the opportunity while the level two Peasant was still dry, and once he reached a certain height where he could see the formation clearly, he proceeded as planned.
[Savage Bite has been activated.]
Even without any momentum to propel him forward, his head lunged toward his intended target. Due to the Slugs' preoccupation with fighting the incoming Peasant siege and deciding which to attack first, they did not notice Eon flying toward the Slug located right in the middle of the Slugs' crowded formation. Before any of the six Slugs could notice, his mandibles had already taken a bite out of the middle Slug's head.
[Savage Bite has dealt 1.45 damage.]
The Slug couldn't fight back because it was too close, and all it could do was growl while waving Eon in the air. Eon fell into the thick liquid in the middle of the formation due to the slippery mucus all around them. At first glance, it appeared to be a death trap, with no way out once he was in the middle of the formation and covered in slick liquid. It was, however, part of his plan.
Eon extended all six of his legs toward the huddled Slugs and planted his feet on each of them. For Eon, it wasn't a question of who would win or lose; it was obvious that the Peasants would triumph due to their overwhelming numbers. It was all about getting stronger as quickly as possible.
[Lethal Augmentation has been activated.]
As their entire formation was attacked at once, all six Slugs growled.
[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]
[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]
[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]
[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]
[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]
[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 1.45 damage.]
That single Lethal Augmentation attack was insufficient to eliminate any of the Slugs or deal fatal damage, especially to the level 3 Slug. However, that single attack served its purpose admirably.
A few seconds after Eon dove nose first into the middle of the Slug formation, an overwhelming number of Peasants began to crush the six Slugs; they had level 3 on their rank, but it was insufficient to stop the siege of red knights. Although the level 3 Slug had the advantage of being able to destroy the Peasants as they charged, it would become useless once the Peasants closed the distance, which was extremely easy for them due to their skill, Savage Bite. The moment they set their sights on the Slugs, it was already a resounding victory.
The final Slug eventually collapsed while 15 Peasants, including the strongest Peasant, continued to bite it.
RACE: Slug [Level: 3/10].
HP: 0/30
MP: 0/30
As its face fell to the slimy ground, its final roar echoed. Eon, on the other hand, witnessed the fall of the group's strongest Slug while swimming in a slimy liquid, repeatedly moving his legs as he swam to the end of the slimy swamp.
The battle had ended in a resounding victory.
[You have received 4 experience points.]
[You have received 1 experience point.]
[You have received 1 experience point.]
[You have received 1 experience point.]
[You have received 1 experience point.]
[You have received 1 experience point.]
Eon reached the soil and drew his body from the slime puddle. He let his gaze wander, staring at the bodies of their prey. The peasants, having achieved their resounding victory, began to move. They began by smearing dry dirt on the Slugs' bodies to remove the slippery liquid that was preventing them from grasping them. Because of the size of the Slugs, it took some time, but it was the easiest part of their hunt. They carried the Slugs in groups after they had dried. A Slug could be lifted and pulled by one Peasant, but four could easily carry one.
Only four peasants died as a result of mud ball assaults, particularly those launched by the level 3 Slug, as those massive mud balls crushed everything in their path. Most of the time, the ones acting as bridges were the ones who would most likely survive because they were the least of the Slugs' concerns. However, they received few to no experience points in exchange. Those bodies of peasants who had died would be left behind... They were no longer useful in the colony.
Eon joined the Peasants and helped carry the prey to further his disguise as one of them.
He proceeded to tag along with the group of Peasants and would then get inside their lair due to him no longer having a home to return to... Their anthill, which could be found in Death Canyon.
The Peasants were only the tip of the Peasant evolution line's iceberg. Many more powerful ones were hidden underground.
Eon was on his way into their perilous den.
RACE: Lesser Teplonide [Level: 1/10] [Exp. Points: 14/25].