Chapter 380. Nanta.

  “My warriors will aid you,” the tribe’s leader said. She waved forward several men armed with simple bows and spears.

  “The best thing they can do is stay safe and observe. You’ll see how a system enhanced person fights, and maybe it’ll help your people think about what they want to become once our world is integrated,” I said, casting Duplicate on the drone, and sending it to join its twin.

  “We shall do as you say, and we will stand ready to assist if you need us. Our people are not frightened animals,” the woman said with pride.

  “I don’t doubt your bravery. I’m only concerned that this beast is far more powerful than it should be. That’s why the system sent me, it’s because this is something that the people of our world can’t stand against without taking massive casualties,” I warned.

  While the leader was proud, I could see that she wasn’t a fool. She had been looking for me to give her an “out”. After several attacks, she had to know there was nothing they could do against whatever was coming for them. With the villagers safely falling back into the tree line, I focused on the coming threat.

  I could see movement through the trees at the edge of the camp, and the monster crashed through, stopping when it saw my minions standing before it. It was a huge crab with a shell over forty feet across. It was almost as tall as the trees, and the massive claws clacked aggressively when it spotted us. This thing was much larger than what the tribe had described. Maybe its rapid growth was another reason the system wanted me to put this thing down.

  At first, I figured that this was pretty much just a giant crab, but that’s when I heard the voices and noticed the ring of faces around its body. The large upper shell had partially shielded the faces from view, but now that I knew where to look, I could make out the obviously human faces that were constantly muttering.

  There was no way to understand what they were saying. A dull murmur sounded through the clearing, and I could feel something trying to worm itself into my mind. A system prompt appeared, giving me an idea of what was happening and what I was facing.

  Shelled Soulstealer, Teir 3, Rank 5 Veteran.

  Your Mental Intrusion resistance has activated; you are able to completely ignore the Murmur of Madness ability being generated by your foe.

  Shaking off the strange voices, I ordered my team to attack. The creature seemed surprised that I had been able to shake off its murmur effect, and it stood still a moment too long as my drones got to work. A pair of Plasma Beams ignited, burning across the crab’s body and at my side, the skeletal mage began to cast.

  One plasma beam melted into the shell of the beast, while another targeted some of the faces that never ceased their murmuring. I didn’t know if the crab’s ability would overcome my resistance with constant exposure, so I was glad that at least one of the drones was taking action against them. Elida also joined in the ranged attack, hitting the crab with a Deadly Beam.

  The thing was massive, but our attacks hurt it, causing it to recoil. Overcoming its pain, the crab suddenly clattered forward, claws aiming for the pair of drones. A faint shadow fell over the crab as the skeletal mage’s Simple Curse took effect. It would lower its constitution by 15%, but more importantly, would make it more susceptible to the Rot spell that was being cast next.

  Plasma beams expended, the drones began to hurl grenades at the legs of the crab, while they swung their bladed arms at the incoming claws. The shells on the claws were thicker than the rest of the creature, and the drones’ attacks merely cracked the shell in a few places, failing to penetrate. Each drone was caught by a claw and lifted high in the air.

  I had been expecting the claws to snap shut and either be defeated by the drones’ armor or cut completely through them in a flash. Instead, they seemed to slowly compress, like some kind of industrial press that was stamping out parts. It left the drones active to fire the remaining grenades in their launchers. Both drones seemed to realize the high explosive grenades weren’t doing much, so they switched to caustic ones, each exploding in a spray of acid that ate quickly into the shell of the creature.

  Seeing the health of both drones dropping rapidly, I hit the regular drone with my Ring of Sacrifice. The duplicate drone died first since it took extra damage from all attacks. As it dissolved into mana vapor, the skeletal mage fired off his Rot spell. That made the crab vulnerable to my Parasite spell. I could see the rot eating its way into the shell of the crab, right where a plasma beam had melted one of the faces.

  I cast Parasite, targeting the rot. My spell went off, and I could see something writhing inside the wound. The mage also landed a Parasite spell as I started on my second charge. My casting wasn’t complete when the second drone was killed. The mana vapor of the drone’s death was turned into an explosion that ripped off the claw that had been holding him. Shrapnel made of crab shell peppered us, but I ignored the pain to complete my spell.

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  The spell had just been cast when I was knocked off my feet by the shattered remains of the claw. My armor protected me for the most part, but I could feel ribs snap as the chunk of claw remained on top of me, crushing me into the rich soil of the island. A splash of healing hit as Elida attacked the beast with her mace, the Battle Mending ability and her Gleaming Aura were both healing me for a small portion of the damage she was doing.

  The shell was over my upper body, and I tried to kick my way free, but the weight was more than my strength could handle. I could hear a sizzling noise as Melvin began to dissolve the claw. He sent me an image of melting through enough of the claw for us to wriggle free.

  “Not tasty,” Melvin said through our link, he was obviously not enjoying the seafood smorgasbord on top of us. I could hear the drone back in action as the dull thrum of its plasma beam activated. Revive had kicked in, putting my most powerful damage dealer back in the fight.

  Even with the revived drone, I didn’t like my team’s chances on their own, so I wriggled my hand to the pouch at my belt, pulling out the figurine for the kobold warband. I couldn’t see where they appeared, but as I pushed mana into the figurine, I could hear the kobold team moving to attack.

  With more bodies to keep the crab occupied while Melvin got us out, I also pushed mana into the Ghost Archer Crossbow, adding its damage to the mix. There was also Rodney’s Bag of Beasts, which I activated, preferring to use my reusable items before dipping into the one and done consumables.

  A loud bellow nearby told me I’d hit a good one this time with the bag. I caught a glimpse of the summoned animal’s leg as it charged by, and the system informed me that it was a moose. While a moose wasn’t going to go one on one with a giant crab, it was tanky and its charge could probably crack through the things shell. Even better, it was a big noisy animal and a good distraction.

  Melvin was making good progress, despite the foul taste of the creature, and I managed to wriggle my way out from under the claw. Taking in the battle around me, it looked like my team was holding their own. The crab was leaking fluid from the severed claw, and I suspected that would was continually draining its strength. Even better, a huge section of its body had simply rotted away as the several castings of parasite ate their way into it. My drone was down again, and the thing’s remaining claw now held a kobold warrior in its unbreakable grip.

  Elida was still on her feet, slamming her mace into the legs of the creature, and the surviving kobolds were hard at work, attacking for all they were worth. They seemed to be smart enough to realize that attacking the unbroken shell was a bad idea and instead focused their attacks on the already damaged parts of the crab. I counted two kobold warriors, the sergeant, and a crossbowman still in the fight.

  They had started with eight kobold warriors, a sergeant, two crossbowmen, a sorcerer, and a war lizard, but the crab had taken its toll on them. The crab’s claw smashed down as I watched, crushing the moose. I cast Health Bloom over the area, to supplement Elida’s healing, and readied my javelin.

  Taking aim, I hurled the javelin at the crab, the weapon’s ability causing it to strike true. It hit inside the open wound created by the Rot and Parasite spells, sinking deep before releasing its electrical charge. The crab was jolted by the attack, causing it to miss the kobold sergeant it was trying to slam with its claw. Staggering from the effects, the monster put too much weight on a badly cracked leg, causing it to snap.

  Losing one leg wasn’t enough to knock it over, but it did unbalance the creature, allowing my team to inflict more damage. I needed more help and reached into the Fangs of the Hydra Pouch for additional reinforcements. There were three teeth in the pouch, and the monster it summoned was the size of a horse. The hydra only had one head, but its mouth full of teeth seemed strong enough to break through the crab’s defenses.

  Seeing the approaching hydra, the crab reached down to grab it. Elida then managed to crash her mace through a second leg, causing the crab to topple over. It rolled, landing on its back, and the remaining legs reached spasmed frantically as it tried to find enough purchase to right itself. The hydra, remaining kobolds, and Elida weren’t going to allow that to happen, and they renewed their attacks in earnest.

  I had no desire to join the others in melee, so I started to pelt it with magic missiles from my wand. There was also the Chains of Bal’sharuk which I threw and used to bind up two of the crab’s legs, keeping it from righting itself while we tore through its remaining health.

  You have defeated the Shelled Soulstealer that was threatening these people. You will be sent in a moment to your designated return location.

  “You did it, you and these things that helped you,” the village elder said, gesturing toward my surviving minions with the gnarled walking stick she used.

  “Yes, and your people will be able to do things like this soon. Have them use caution when the system arrives and offers classes. Talk and plan as a village so you make sure that you cover all your needs. Remember, it’s tempting to all take flashy combat classes, but there are also classes that will better support your people in their daily life,” I offered, trying to give them some good advice while I had time.

  “Thank you again, we will apply your wisdom when the time comes,” the village elder offered.

  “Here, take these as well. The potions are shielded, and you can use them now in an emergency to heal someone’s wounds. This figurine can’t be used until someone has mana. When they do, push some of the mana into the figurine and it will activate, coming to life to help you like my minions did,” I said, emptying the contents of the Limited Satchel of Storage.

  It wasn’t much, but even a few healing potions and a war horse figurine might help during the crazy opening days of the integration.

  “I am Nanta, the mother of the village, and I name you part of the people Rico. You will be welcome here anytime you wish. Let our village be your refuge and our warriors your shield,” the woman said, giving me a gap-toothed smile as a portal brought me back to the academy.