224. The Battle of Five-ish Armies, Part 9 [Bonny]

Team Canine Crushers (Bonny)

The howling is deafening. A parade of ghostly wolves forms an ethereal, cacophonous barrier around Suka and the Wolf Lord. Both individuals are diminished from the Ritual's effects, but the latter suffered vastly more so. No outside sources of might or magic can interfere in the battle, including Leadership buffs and Power Bonds, a rule enforced by invoking the integrity of the Wolf Lord's own Evolutionary energy. The Flamestalker's duel went from 'ridiculously impossible' to 'steeply stacked against her' in an instant. That's a huge improvement by any measure.

Judging by the huge grin showing off her pointy teeth and the mad cackling, Gabby is immensely pleased with herself. Rightly so, I'd say. My Gobliness benefactor is talented beyond belief. I saw her work, her absolute focus while constructing the Challenge Ritual rune by rune, and I'm still flabbergasted by her accomplishment even taking her Witch abilities into account. She took Spindle's ideas and Sheikh research and turned it into a functioning Ritual overnight. The others can't appreciate the delicacy of the calculations involved, but I gained just enough Intuition through our bond to grasp the scale of the task. I might have accomplished the same thing with a year of work or two, and I would've been quaking with anxiety to test it out in the field. 

And she just activates it without hesitation despite everyone's lives being on the line.

Heat floods my cheeks as I stare up at this amazing monster. I'm sitting next to her. Gabby chose little old me as her Apprentice! 

My mind returns to last night during the bonding ritual when I thought for sure those sharp Goblin predator teeth would end my life. Instead, the things she did with her mouth were very pleasant indeed... 

No, got to focus! There's a battle going on! A battle they need my help to win... Me, a mouse who's never fought a day in her life before! Oh, why couldn't she have chosen someone better suited?

My gaze lands on a small dust cloud, and I tug on Gabby's sleeve while pointing. "There, it's Moka!" The Dust Bunny got tossed from the dueling arena by the Ritual. We need to pick her up on the broom to get her out of danger. 

"Oh, good eye. We could use more firepower!" Right, sure, that too. The Witch steers us into a dive, swooping down to fly parallel to the ground on an intercept course with the dust cloud. "Grab her!"

"Me???"

No response. Gabby doesn't ask twice. Shit. 

I wrap my tail around her waist, my legs locked around the broomstick, and lean over to let my arms dangle into the cloud. There's an impact as my gloves hit something soft, a scramble for purchase, and then I'm holding onto Moka's wrists for all I'm worth. 

Our momentum yanks her off the ground, my body taking the punishment as my joints scream. When we escape the dust, our bunny girl passenger registers its us who has her and hauls herself onto the broomstick in front of us before helping me regain my seat. "Thanks, Bonny. I was afraid one of the wolves would find me first."

"M-Mistress Gabby's the one steering this thing."

"Well, Suka would strangle me if I let anything happen to you, so..." The Witch already has us ascending into the air for a look at the battlefield when her words are stolen by the active Ritual again. She can't get over the spectacle. 

"They're fighting!" Moka exclaims as she gets a glimpse past the phantasmal wolves at where Suka and the former Wolf Lord clash.

The Greater Wolf is all feints and tricks despite being larger and stronger. He's trying to bait Suka into overextending. Age and experience left him wily without his mantle of Leadership to rely on. His fangs clack on empty air as she puts on a burst of speed to evade after making a mistake with her footing.

The Flamestalker now has the edge in speed, an advantage she makes liberal use of, circling her opponent to nip at his flanks with jaws of fire. The old cur is both tough and clever, though. He predicts her move and throws his body into her bite to deliver blunt force to Suka's delicate flame construct while accepting the cost of a burn. If she takes too much damage, it'll break apart, leaving her defenseless. 

In the other direction, I see our allies fighting for their lives. Well, Steelheart is definitely doing something. I suppose I shouldn't judge too harshly when the Omega Wolf is obviously well-acquainted with distracting strong predators with their body. Their pheromones managed to snag several Dire Wolves as well on accident.

Cottontail and that dark abomination have moved further away, making it difficult to tell how their battle is going. All I can see from here is that it sure is intense.

Closer, but hidden by a pink haze, is the orgy surrounding Gale's group and the mix of monsters caught in the seductive mist. No change there. Which is good, because we're screwed if we have to fight all those monsters as well.

Beyond that, Alex's team is battling the Ogre's army, but I can't spare them more than a glance because the situation with the rest of our group is actively shifting below us.

My horde of broomstick soldiers (I have no idea how I did that) is swamping the remnants of the imported Pack wolves while the Harpies batter them from above. While the avian army hasn't done well on their own, they shine as support for the weak and fragile wooden minions. Wolves can't maneuver in the press of bodies, allowing the birds to strike with impunity. 

The Red Slimes gorging on spilled blood spilled from the Harpy and Dire Wolf melee have reached a critical point. They're merging together and forcing their way to reach Flou! No amount of interference from the Delta Wolf and Night Howler can stop them, now. Flou adds gallons of crystal blood to her mass every second, ballooning the size of her axe.

Dozens of Cores combine their Blood Magic as one to control the oversized weapon thanks to Flou's Swarm Slime Distributed Intelligence. The giant axe moves through the air like her dance partner, swiftly weaving attack patterns that have the wolves tripping over themselves to respond. That isn't the ruby bunny's main concern, though. 

Flou rushes over to where Olindia is getting torn apart by the Beta Male and the Epsilon Wolf. Vines rip at her and thorns sprout in her path, but the Slime girl rearranges herself to slip between the gaps. She swings her axe in a wide arc when her foes come in to nip her flanks, giving her space as she uses the momentum to pull herself into the air and throw herself bodily at the Beta. 

Bringing the weapon up, over, and down, her blade bites into the Third Tier wolf's shoulder in a massive turning point for the fight. The Beta Male is too preoccupied with Olindia's tentacles covering and stinging his eyes to see the axe coming until it's already slicing into him. However, his Toughness won't let him just roll over and die; Flou's Second Tier Blood Magic construct only cuts skin-deep. But it's enough.

He howls in pain, releasing Olindia from his jaws. The Pink Jellyfish Slime needs a second to recover while regenerating a good portion of her body. She then rises above the battle with luminescent levitation to resume raining her tentacles on the enemy. Her aura heals as much as her limbs harm, but she's a major distraction to all four of the elite wolves.

Flou splits apart her axe into eight spears she wields using an octet of arms sprouting from her main body. She's really putting her Distributed Intelligence to work, now!

Earlier, Gabby briefly introduced me to a concept she called the 'Action Economy,' and how Flou's ability completely breaks it. The idea is that two monsters with the same speed have a roughly equal ability to make attacks and respond to their opponent. Multitasking Focuses are the exception, and SSDI takes it even further, with each Flou Core able to act independently in service to her greater will. And she has a lot of them. (I think her max of the First Tier variety is twenty-seven.) 

Crystal blood spears and stinging Jellyfish arms slap and pierce the four Canines over and over. Flou's weapons don't penetrate deep, but quantity becomes a quality all its own as the number of her attacks per second ramp up. She doubles her spears to sixteen with the next influx of blood-swollen Cores alone. As a result, the canine opposition is on the verge of breaking ranks. They're being covered with small wounds that only add to the blood volume Flou is absorbing. I doubt they'll last longer than another minute at this rate.

Meanwhile, we've been flying toward Ariella's battle as her struggle becomes more desperate.

The Zeta Wolf has just gnawed himself free of Gabby's impressive root restraints as we return and the Witch immediately grabs him with another fist of woody fingers. He's been completely written off as a threat that easily!?! Well, now we can concentrate on the real danger. 

Suka's mother, the Alpha Bitch, has overpowered the mass of broomstick soldiers crowding her, twisted loose of the crab monster's pincers, and 'turned the tables,' as the ancient expression goes. Her jaws are clamping down on a crustacean claw and sending cracks shooting through the chitinous shell. Ariella's crab mount can't hold out much longer, though the mermaid and her crew are raining retaliatory blows down on the Bitch. 

Gabby let me borrow her spectacles to read through the Book of Monsters last night, and my memory has always been fairly good, so I'm able to identify the monsters attending the Lady of the Cove.

Book of Monsters Entry – Scallopia: Mer monster. 2nd Tier, Average Rank. Evolved from Mermaids that hid from danger until they evolved through sexual experience. These Merfolk sacrifice mobility and offense to emphasize defense. Their hard shell is even tougher than Cancer chitin. The ability they have to conjure pearl jewelry is purely cosmetic. They tend to be used as breeding stock by more powerful monsters due to their sedentary lifestyle and protective prowess. Mono-sex species, female. Water magic user.

Book of Monsters Entry – Cancer: Mer monster. 2nd Tier, Above-Average Rank. Evolved from Mermaids that hid from danger until finding an opportunity to strike. These Merfolk exchange mobility and the dexterity of humanoid hands for the increased offense and defense of their new crab bodies. Their hard chitin can withstand most Second Tier blades. Their pincers can pierce most Second Tier defenses. Mono-sex species, hermaphroditic. Water magic user.

Book of Monsters Entry – Sharkkin: Mer monster. 2nd Tier, Above-Average Rank. Evolved from Mermaids that gained a taste for meat and crave battle. These predators hunt prey in both the sea and on the shore. Their hydrodynamic skin increases their swim speed beyond even that of a Mermaid. Their sharp claws and crushing bite are the equal of a Fishman's spear, while their strength and stature are similar to that of an Orc. Mono-sex species, female. Water magic user.

Book of Monsters Entry – Tendra: Mer monster. 2nd Tier, Above-Average Rank. Evolved from Mermaids that gained a taste for toying with their prey. These predators have no compunction with targeting monsters of their own Evolutionary line. They have surprising strength in their tentacles and each operates independently in service to their will. They depend on their tentacles' ability to each focus on a separate spell in combat. Mono-sex species, female. Water magic user.

Book of Monsters Entry – Triton: Mer monster. 2nd Tier, Superior Rank. Evolved from Mermaids with experience impregnating prey, fighting against those with summoned weapons, and finding victory in combat. Triton most resemble their Mermaid origin, their development not sacrificing speed in the water or nimble hands, and a significantly larger stature that brings a commensurate increase in strength. The greatest advantage of this evolution lies in their summoned bronze trident. This weapon excels both in water and on land, throwing it gives the wielder a ranged attack, and the metal haft is far more durable than a Fishmen's wooden equivalent. They naturally come to dominate the local aquatic ecosystem unless a higher-Tier monster is present. Mono-sex species, hermaphroditic. Water magic user.

That's a good team of strong monsters. They have every right to fight here on this battlefield alongside us. But they're nowhere near strong enough to face down a Promoted beast like the Bitch. The only reason they're alive is because a couple of them are defensive specialists.

Jets of water pummel the female wolf while Ariella jabs her trident into canine flesh repeatedly. Still, they're only Second Tier monsters. Neither attack seems to bother the wolf too much. No, I can tell the Bitch is about to break them. There's a glint of victory in the canine monster's eyes while preparing a final twist of the neck to snap that claw like a twig.