Chrysalis Chapter 1609: 1717 - Word is Out

Information has apparently trickled down from Green Mountain that our policy is to take delvers alive whenever possible. Consequently, this group was more than willing to surrender after witnessing the sheer power of the singularity firsthand. With their traps ruined and their ambush blown, they had zero confidence in proceeding with the raid, resulting in the pathetic display I just watched.

It is fine, I guess. It wasn't as if I was vibrating with excitement for a legendary duel or anything. Honestly.

My main source of annoyance is the sheer number of these mediocre delvers; I have to wait for an eternity while they are all collected and hauled back to the Colony.

That is the sole reason I decided to use the Gravity Domain on them. I am certain of it. There was definitely no sinister laughter coming from the dark one as I watched those eager-to-surrender humans squirming in the dirt where they belonged.

Once the last of them was finally out of my sight and sent away, the journey could resume. Fortunately, the nameless were able to infiltrate the tunnels ahead of me to hunt down the remaining delvers while I was stuck on my carapace playing babysitter.

A part of me wishes to return to the nest to oversee the situation. Housing hundreds of elite, high-Levelled delvers cannot be easy for the family, particularly with our current shortage of antpower. I left Tiny and Invidia behind for a reason. With any luck, that pair provides enough muscle to keep the prisoners under control.

I charge through the tunnels now, no longer bothered with floating or hiding my presence. There is no point in stealth since the survivors are already sprinting back to the mountain. Now that rumors are spreading about me capturing people by the dozen in these tunnels, the idea that I might be vulnerable enough to be slain is starting to fade. The initial greed sparked by my bounty seems to have cooled off.

I had anticipated that more would be brave enough to face me, and perhaps they will once they have had time to reorganize. For the moment, however, too many have vanished, and I suspect the leaders on Green Mountain are growing anxious.

After all, as more delvers disappear, the prices continue to climb. I am aware that Merchant has been applying pressure to the mountain's representatives; they must be getting quite nervous by now.

Gaining speed as I sprint through the tunnels, I get my massive frame moving to close the gap with the retreating delvers. I am currently pushing toward the borders of the Colony’s territory and nearing the lands of Green Mountain. Does that mean I plan to halt or slow my pace?

Absolutely not! We are going even faster!

I am discovering something interesting about running at this size: it is often simpler to go through an obstacle than to navigate around it. As I sprint, I shatter boulders and plow through stalagmites and stalactites. I frequently shift my legs out of the way so my torso can simply smash through the terrain rather than attempting to climb it.

It doesn’t feel like a very ant-like method of travel, but it is far easier than constantly adjusting my trajectory. I refuse to yield to the terrain any longer! The terrain shall yield to me! Besides, I must weigh hundreds of tons at this point. I have to look out for my poor joints!

I continue the sprint, pushing my muscles and joints to see just how much velocity I can extract from this body. It turns out to be quite a lot. As I devour the kilometers, I begin to detect disturbances further up the path.

If I can sense them, they can certainly sense me. They pick up their pace, desperately trying to stay in the lead. Oho! They are still out of sight, but I am tempted to try another empowered Dash. However, being this far from the Colony, I’m not keen on blowing my legs apart again. Furthermore, I’m not even sure if the next set of vestigial legs has finished growing yet.

So I just keep running, forcing myself to accelerate until my legs are screaming and my joints are throbbing.

It isn't quite enough to catch them while they are utilizing Skills, but I am staying close. I simply need to wait for their endurance to fail, and then they will be mine.

Or… I could give myself a little boost….

Moving quickly, I manifest a gravity well and launch it ahead of me, detonating all its energy in a single, violent burst.

The ground drops away as I am launched forward and upward with momentum that would make one's eyes water. Well, it would if my eyes hadn't been replaced by literal gemstones.

I have to admit, soaring through the air at my size is a spectacular experience. Not to mention, it is incredibly fast. I can feel myself rapidly gaining on my targets, though I realize there is a detail I failed to consider.

How on earth am I supposed to land?

As it happens, the answer is "heavily."

CRASH!

I slam into the ground with immense force, not even attempting to use my legs to break the fall, as I know the impact would simply shatter them. Instead, my carapace grinds against the stone as I slide forward, soaking up the massive kinetic energy.

Fortunately, the slide carries me right into range of the delver group that was trying so hard to escape.

Gravity domain!

A purple sphere of hyper-dense energy expands rapidly, washing over the delvers and pinning them firmly to the floor. Another successful capture.