Chrysalis Chapter 1727 - Don’t Look a Gift Church Army in the… Face?

Well, well. The Church of the Path, those very folks I harbor the deepest resentment toward, have suddenly dispatched a massive punitive force of thousands straight here to take me down?!

That's... that's... utterly tempting!

No. No way! Calm down, Dark One! Retreat to the shadowy abyss from which you emerged!

Ha! Do you honestly believe I'll just retreat into the gloom so readily when my targets have presented themselves so perfectly? Never! I declare it again! This is my territory, and I'll stay put right here!

[How many do you reckon there are?] I inquire of Crinis.

[No less than four thousand, Master. I didn't pause for an exact tally; I feared they'd spot me.]

[Smart move, Crinis. It's preferable if they remain unaware of your presence.]

Besides, they could possess odd methods for capturing monsters that might trap her and block any getaway. I'm the one aiming to ensnare them, not get caught myself.

A horde of thousands from the Path, positioned directly before me. It's practically a dream come true. Should I simply unleash a massive gravity bomb on the whole bunch? If I produce the largest bomb possible and boost the spell via the Altar, could they even withstand such an assault?

Hold on, that's impossible! Releasing a bomb that enormous right beneath Green Mountain might cause the whole city to collapse! Who knows the extent of the destruction, and it would utterly ruin my strategy for securing peace in the process!

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Curse you, Dark Anthony! Return to the depths!

Good grief. It's perfectly justified to bear a grudge against the Church of the Path, yet allowing it to sabotage all my efforts here? Absolutely not.

Much as I'd love to unleash total chaos and vent my fury on this invading force, that approach won't secure the peace I'm after.

“Eldest… you’re not considering anything… extreme… are you?” Sloan questions cautiously.

“What… Me? Absolutely not!”

“How extreme?”

“I considered dropping the whole mountain on them with a gravity bomb huge enough to likely wipe us all out.”

“That sounds quite extreme.”

“But I’ve snapped out of it! Honestly! You show so little trust in me at times.”

“I was merely a bit concerned, Eldest. You do tend to act on impulse occasionally.”

“... I’d love to claim I’m stunned and insulted by that label.”

But I can't deny it. Truly, I can't.

“This does make things trickier, though not overwhelmingly so,” I assure the general. “We’re facing extra foes beyond what we anticipated, but that's okay. Our main objective stays unchanged. Actually, this might even play to our advantage.”

“In what way could this benefit us? Thousands of experts dedicated to slaying monsters are out there, intent on eliminating you in particular. From my view, it’d be wiser for you to vacate this region and head back to the nest.”

“We concur,” Protectant murmurs from an unseen spot.

Let me verify… she’s perched on my head. Seriously?! That's not open territory! I begin flicking my antennae in subtle gestures, attempting to dislodge her without drawing notice, yet her agility is infuriatingly high, only fueling my annoyance further. Quit bouncing around up there, blast it!

“I’m staying right here! The rewards down the line have simply grown larger, nothing more. We get to bloody the noses of both Green Mountain and the Church simultaneously. What's there to dislike? If they're not fools, they'll realize not to tangle with our colony and grant us the room to complete our tasks in the fifth.”

After we triumph there, as the pioneers in Pangera to claim any win against the Krath, we'll stand as invincible legends across the world. No one would dare label us hazardous, pointless beasts following such a monumental feat.

“Eldest,” Sloan voices, “I’m simply concerned this might exceed what you can manage. You’re formidable, yet your evolution is fresh. The scheme was risky enough with only Green Mountain; now an additional full army enters the fray. Doesn’t this surpass your limits?”

“Not at all,” I retort dismissively. “You’ve no clue about my current abilities.”

Honestly, even I’m not entirely certain of my full potential, but this presents an excellent chance to discover it!

“You fret excessively, Sloan. Er… Sloan?”

Only vanishing shadows meet my gaze as I glance toward the spot where the general once stood. Still doing this? In this place too?!

They mean business.