After being shown memories of what has transpired in her absence, the creator smiled, all is well with her plan. With two G.o.ds on her side, the battle would be much less destructive and would save her the trouble in having to create G.o.ds to maintain the world"s presence in her absence. Falmart exists within a dimensional bubble located inside a multiversal rift. The rift"s tunnels are labyrinths of distorted s.p.a.ce that can lead anywhere, which is why Hardy can open the gate but knows little of where it leads to.The dimensional bubble has a constant size of one solar system and only contains an earth like star, Falmart and Falmart"s moon. The bubble"s creator is unknown but the G.o.ds seem to be appointed gardeners of Falmart and their destruction or absence would lead to the bubble"s collapse. Using her powers, the creator determined that as long as one G.o.d remains, the bubble will stay present. Upon her a.s.sured victory, she wants to expand the bubble into a cl.u.s.ter containing 1,000 star systems.
Each star system has a minimum of 5 planets and one habitable world. Only 10 of these systems, excluding Falmart"s contains advanced multicellular life but no sapients. When the time comes, the creator would integrate the cl.u.s.ter into her main galaxy.
Judgement day nears for this world and the creator must prepare disasters to inflict. The disasters would undoubtedly kill their apostles, drawing the G.o.ds into action and making it easier to kill them in turn. Then, she could start a new beginning on the world of Falmart.
The creator entered the primary hive cl.u.s.ter on Alnus Hill, its fleshy door contracted to give her entry into its corridor of muscles. Inside, bioluminescent pus protrude from the ceiling, providing half the light of a light bulb in the long corridor. The floor is like soft human skin, constructed from collagen and arm muscles to form a soft but strong surface for the hive tenders to walk on. At the end of the long corridor is a ma.s.sive infolding of muscles, acting as the final gate into the Hive"s interior.
The gate could fit half an ultralisk and could survive a relentless a.s.sault from one. The infolding contracted, letting the creator entry into the innermost chamber of the hive, the birthing cl.u.s.ter. Here is where larva are produced and where resources are processed to be spread throughout the hive mind as bio energy. The chamber was 12m tall, two thirds of an ultralisk in height.
The room spans six school buses long and wide in a circular shape. In the room"s center is a ma.s.sive pool of green, nourishing fluids large enough to submerge two large tanks. Above this pool is a plump, intestine like structure that frequently drops small chunks of various materials from its fleshy, exhaust pipe like mouth. Strong, peristaltic contractions move materials from the collection sites where drones drop their harvest to this chamber where the processing will begin.
Once a material drops and enters the pool, a small ripple occurs and the hissing sound of digestion echo from the pool. A chunk of rock rapidly corrodes as the enzymes within the pool break it down to monomers or small molecules. These products begin to dissolve into the pool as the organ prepares to store them for further use. Green coc.o.o.ns line up the wall, each containing a larva being conceived by the Hive.
The creator walked up to the pool, looking into its green and transparent contents. It was like looking into green dyed water but minus the super corrosive properties and hyper advanced digestive enzymes. The creator plunged her right arm into the pool and began peering into the hivemind. The creator hasn"t observed the hivemind over her stay in Falmart.
She was too occupied with the Invasion and Salvation of Falmart to check on the Swarm"s progress. A flood of data and memories enter her mind, informing her of the Swarm"s expansion.
Swarm Tier: 3 (Pseudo 4)
Bio Energy: 9.73 trillion /10¹⁵ units
Bio Energy Production rate: 30 units/hour
Zerg Population: 534.6 Billion (World Hive)
Swarm Leaders:
- Praelis (85.4%, Huge Queen), Pralaya
- Kushra (8.69% Huge Queen), Kashurya
- Nemosyne (5.63%, Huge Queen), Har"ka.s.si
- Nesfel (0.281%, Large Queen), Nashfalic
Worlds Inhabited:
- Vanahim VII (Praelis)
- Vanahim VI (Praelis)
- Kashrya (Kushra)
- Ahrya (Kushra & Nemosyne)
- Falmart (Nesfel)
Tier Advancement Requirement:
- Juvenile Broodmother
- 10 Trillion Zerg Units
The creator is intrigued and satisfied about their progress, the birth of two new future broodmothers is an unexpected development. She thought that she would have to make them herself and give a name to their brood, however, that seems to be unnecessary now. She"ll probably do it to create specific broods when the time arises for her to do so. Since everything"s all right, the creator shifted her focus back to Falmart.
Judgement day is approaching and she is psyched about fighting and killing G.o.ds. Although not G.o.ds in the creator"s definition, their deaths will show Falmart how powerful she is and they would serve her. Although she doesn"t want to be G.o.d for them, she will do it until they achieve warp travel. Once they do, she will teach Christianity and place herself as a saintess or a lesser G.o.d.
Even with the almighty powers of creation, the creator will retain her humility and will still bow to G.o.d, unlike typical humans who will be rotten and twisted by power, thinking themselves impervious. The creator teleports out of the Hive and stands on Alnus hill, looking up into the sky. She wonders about her next step after Judgement Day and the New Millennium.
A day after, ten infested civilians are sent to each city on the break of dawn. Via a tunnel of nydus worms, they managed to arrive in front of their destinations within an hour or two. Suddenly, flesh started bleeding out from their orifices, encasing them in a hard coc.o.o.n of thick flesh. Green tumors grow on the surface of each coc.o.o.n, pulsating in various degrees of cancerous activity.
Imperial Capital
A few hundred yards in front of the capital"s ma.s.sive, brick walls, ten infested coc.o.o.ns stood in place, evolving its contents. A patrolling mage suddenly spotted the coc.o.o.ns and immediately alerted the city to be on guard. Siege weapons are brought out, dozens of soldiers dragging the ma.s.sive but primitive war weapons to their stations. Squads of archers run up the wooden ramps, making their way to the wall with their bows ready to shoot upon command.
Civilians enter their homes, locking doors and hiding in their safest rooms. Families carry food supplies and weapons with haste, fearing for the coming attack. Infants are given pacifiers or have their mouths covered, the noise from their cries would attract the infested and doom the entire household. n.o.bles and retired officials rapidly activated their fortifications, having prepared for any incursions ever since the first infested attack on the capital.
Mercenaries were hired in the hundreds to man the fortifications and protect the rich from the incoming attack. On average, a ballista, four towers for archers to gain extra range and a stone wall are what make up the fortifications alongside mercenaries. Some of the more wealthy n.o.bles even used several trebuchet, dozens of ballista and two or three concentric circles of stone walls. Although some call this overkill or a waste of money, the wiser folk realise the zerg"s power and saw these as a good resistance but ultimately futile.
Most of those who say this are the infected, containing dormant HEV spores within them. Once the creator snaps her fingers, they will transform into special infested whose forms will haunt the memory of survivors for many generations to come. Stories will be told of them and it will remind mortals to tread in the creator"s holy path or watch these demons return to wreak havoc. Also, yes, there will be survivors.
The creator intends for 5% of the empire"s population to survive the coming slaughter and tell the tale of its destruction. Wait 5% sounds too small, maybe just anyone who surrenders and any innocents. Else than that, well, it depends on luck if they survive the zerg or her battle with the G.o.ds. Not exactly a battle but more of a short display of complete dominance over immortal primitives.
After fifteen minutes, the coc.o.o.ns hatched a monstrous abomination whose very existence defiles the human form. Almost three fourths of an ultralisk tall, standing on four stilt like legs with a twisted face and a centaur like shape. On its back are purple sacs of acid, slowly swelling in size. Its face was vaguely human, with eerie purple eyes, a pair of bony mandibles and a ma.s.s of fleshy tentacles nesting in inside of its carnivorous maw.
Not giving time for the defending forces to react, the newly born Aberrations charged towards the walls. Their light but strong legs allowed them to charge a few times faster than a horse, quickly closing the gap between them and the defenders. In almost eight seconds, the Aberrations crashed on the stone wall. The impact force immediately threw hundreds of defenders from the wall, making them fall to their deaths, screaming.
Half of the wall"s thickness was breached as stone bricks were shattered by the ma.s.sive infested. Before the remaining defenders can start attacking, the Aberrations began slapping or punching the slightly taller wall in a frenzy. Archers could barely aim as the attack"s vibrations disturbed their focus. Mages began casting their spells from a safe distance, preparing single target spells with powerful effects.
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The more expert archers took aim alongside siege weapons, who were unaffected by the shockwaves since they"re stationed behind the walls. Soon, they fired shots. Archers fired arrows at great speeds, ballista spears were fired alongside a volley of rocks or flaming projectiles of similar size. Arrows landed first, its metal edges bouncing off harmlessly from the hard carapace of the Aberrations.
Before any artillery landed, the creator commanded the Aberrations to burrow. With the aid of the zerg microbe colonies on their carapace, the Aberrations disappeared into the ground in the blink of an eye, right before the volley of destruction crashed on their wall. Their quick burrowing action was enough to trick the defenders into thinking that they have been bested by their combined attack. In truth, even if all of them fired on just one Aberration, it would only lose half of its health.
Not to mention its regeneration, the Aberration would regenerate in just over fifteen minutes. Considering its regeneration, armor and the sheer lack of firepower hurled at the infested, its regeneration would only be delayed by 10 minutes at most even when facing an army alone. Nothing short of a whole skysc.r.a.per falling on them will kill them. The defenders cheered at their apparent victory and lowered their guards.
Since the empire hasn"t faced combat for over a century, its military prowess is lacking while its pride is on an all time high. Despite losing half of their va.s.sal states and a huge chunk of their territory, they are still boasting and flaunting their might by proclaiming that the threat from Alnus Hill is under control and within a year, they will clear the corrupted lands and retake Alnus Hill from the invaders. Only people with a fully functional brain realize that it"s hopeless and that the invaders are simply toying with them.
Considering their rate of expansion since their arrival, the only explanation of their sudden stagnation is that they"re playing with them. Even after sending nearly half a million soldiers to deal with them, all of them were slaughtered. However, people like this are either executed for treason or escaped alongside Lunaryur"s followers after receiving prophetic visions from the creator. Several seconds of cheering and boasting was immediately met with horror as the Aberrations jumped out of the ground and revealed creepy smiles.
Then, it dawned on them that their own siege weapons destroyed the wall for them. The bony giants started their rampage by destroying ballistas and ramming towers. They s.n.a.t.c.hed wizards and soldiers alike, eating them like the cannibalistic mutants they are. Their serrated teeth shredded armor, cloth and flesh with ease, flesh and blood drip from their wide, fang filled mouths.
Minced meat and bones were spewed out at the defenders, breaking their morale and petrifying them on spot with a short, horrific show. Even the veterans had a hard time controlling their fears, letting the Aberrations continue their rampage through the capital"s east section. Every time the soldiers attempted to move, run or scream, the Aberrations simply chewed on their brethren in a very sick and sinister manner. They would rip their bodyparts apart and then chew it in a slow and savage manner, before spitting the mangled flesh on the bravest looking one.
The Aberrations looked delighted, with twisted grins on their faces as they pluck and torture victims before spitting or swallowing their desecrated remains. This continued on for ten minutes as the Aberrations decimated the defenders of the east side. When the defenders of the east section were slain in the thousands, the creator decided to drop the veil and let the divinities of Falmart get involved. The G.o.ds are made aware of Giselle"s defeat, Wareharun and Lunaryur"s betrayal and the violent attack unfolding in the capital.
The G.o.ds decided to send their apostles since many of their believers are there and without them, the G.o.ds would be weakened. Each Apostle immediately travelled towards the capital, reaching out in an attempt to save it. With aid from their respective G.o.ds, they managed to arrive in five minutes after the veil was dropped. By the time they arrived, the defenses were completely destroyed.
Bodies were strewn across the pavement, towers collapsed and the defenses set ablaze. It was eerily silent, only the distant screaming could be heard in the east wall. Despite the many corpses around them, the apostle of Emroy did not feel any of their souls enter the underworld through him. Giselle, the blue dragon like apostle of Hardy confirmed that none of the souls here entered the Underworld.
This made them tense, even the apostles could not do this, it would take so much power to prevent the souls from flowing into the underworld. There was a pathway where souls would flow like water to the underworld and stopping it is like trying to stop the flow of a river. Redirecting it would be much harder since a new pathway must be built and changing the flow"s direction would require so much power. Even if Emroy and Hardy used their full power, they could not pull off such a feat.
Resurrection is already hard on its own, not to mention creating a new underworld. The apostles started walking through the battlefield, keeping their guard up for any attacks. Seeing the Apostles so tense, the creator decided to scare them s.h.i.tless while also beating them up. As the Apostles carefully walked through the silent battlefield, their ears perked up to the sound of crying.
A few yards ahead, a child was crying over the dead corpse of a knight, presumably her father. No words were spoken, only whimpers and soft cries. The apostle of Miritta approached the child, her G.o.ddess" domain over fertility made her the most empathic. "Child, who are you crying for?"
Without turning, the weeping child timidly replied, "My friends."
"But I only see one person?"
"One person, aren"t there 17 friends here?"
Then, the child"s head rotated 180° unnaturally. Her face was shrouded in a tattered white hood, smears of blood tainting its color. Suddenly, blood started dripping down the child"s face and a deep voice spoke, "Now, come and join me friend!"
Tentacles erupted from her face and engulfed the Apostle of Miritta in an instant. She didn"t even have time to scream as the tentacles devoured her whole and forced itself on her, transforming it and its captive into a dome of hardened flesh. The rest of the child"s body erupted in numerous appendages of flesh, acting as the defensive body part of the forming flesh coc.o.o.n. He other apostles jumped to her aid, charging with their weapons up front.
Quickly, the appendages grew serrated, bone like protrusions to block the incoming attacks. Sixteen attacks approached and the mutated appendages managed to block them all. Despite some of them fracturing or bleeding from the attacks, the mutant, cancerous cells managed to grow more appendages from the wounds, increasing the coc.o.o.n"s defenses. They furiously attacked the coc.o.o.n, hoping to free their fellow apostle to no avail.
Each strike or spell, nothing could penetrate the growing defenses despite the coc.o.o.n also growing in size. Within, Miritta"s apostle is being a.s.similated alongside her G.o.ddess, another Hive Ent.i.ty shall be born and with it, the Swarm grows ever stronger. Several minutes of relentless a.s.sault was in vain as the coc.o.o.n reaches its critical ma.s.s, a behemoth rivalling the fearsome Ultralisk in size. Then, cracking noises could be heard as several b.u.mps started to form on its moist surface.
Then, laughter in two distinct voices vibrated in the air. "Hehehehehe, Apostles."