Demonic Po*nstar System Chapter 675: New Plan

"So we must do something else. Or we pack our bags."

A sly gleam flickered in Kaiden’s gaze. He had devised a scheme already.

The women noticed it immediately. Each one detected the change, the manner in which his stance relaxed, the way the anger in his chin eased into the icy framework of someone who had discovered the solution and was already several moves ahead.

"We require something grander," he declared. "Something that New Dawn won’t risk battling with a team like theirs."

Luna’s smile faded away.

Calypso’s tail halted its motion.

Aria parted her lips, shut them again, then examined Kaiden with greater scrutiny.

He wasn’t impulsive. He never acted on impulse. Impulsiveness was Ash leaping at beasts he hadn’t surveyed because his pride insisted. Kaiden hurled himself at beasts he had analyzed for hours, since the calculations indicated victory was possible.

There existed a clear distinction.

Several of the women grinned to themselves while maintaining an outward show of worry, for they understood. No matter his destination, they would follow. The issue was never if. Just the timing.

Kaiden summoned the tactical display once more.

This time, he scrutinized it in a new light. Previously, he had searched for objectives his group could tackle without danger. Lone ones. Controllable. The sort of beast that a unified team of fifties at their skill level could wear down through smart placement and error-free execution.

Now, he sought an entirely different matter.

His gaze skipped over the seventy-six levels. Over the seventy-sevens. Over the indicators he had already been barred from.

He paused at a group of crimson markers far within the northern passage. Level eighty. Alone. A Deepvein Colossus, as per the Association’s records. Enormous underground hunter. Dense hide covered in minerals, crushing earth-shaking strikes, and a fierce territorial reaction that drove it to pursue trespassers for more than a kilometer until relenting.

Veteran accounts marked it as a "do not engage without S-tier support" danger.

’Ideal.’

"Got it. Let’s go."

He closed the display and began advancing. Quicker than earlier. The cautious maneuvering from before, the broad detours around beast paths, the endless checking of guard routes, all vanished. He progressed with intent and exposure, carving direct paths across landscapes he had once bypassed.

"Girls, this fight will be fierce. We could get hurt. But we have to endure, or we’ll never claim our own victory. The sole way is to challenge something New Dawn fears to face."

...

The elevated plain emerged into sight. A wide ledge of shadowy rock gazing over a depression where the Deepvein Colossus had dug its lair into the mountain’s foundations. The beast was somewhat exposed, a colossal mass of rock-studded skin moving in the dimness of its burrow, every inhalation triggering minor avalanches tumbling down the sides.

It was enormous. Fivefold the dimensions of the Borer Queen.

Kaiden halted at the brink. His companions arrayed themselves beside him. Beneath, the Colossus stirred in slumber, and the earth quaked.

Aria’s eyes widened as she absorbed the magnitude.

Luna murmured, "That thing is huge."

"Yep."

"And we’re fighting it?"

"We are."

Luna blinked. Before she could question his sanity, the noise of footsteps on rock echoed from the south.

Ash and Chinedu’s team topped the rise.

"What? They dare fight a monster at level 80?!" Kaiden muttered in astonishment.

They had reached swiftly, implying the observer had tracked Kaiden’s path since his departure. Possibly even since he began debating their following objective.

The team advanced in orderly array, over a dozen combatants fanning across the southern entry with the smooth proficiency of those accustomed to the routine.

Ash led the way. His smirk was vast, the photogenic kind, the one baring all teeth while hiding his true emotions. But now, those emotions leaked through. Vindictive, blatant, delighted animosity. The expression of someone smacked down repeatedly and finally able to retaliate.

Chinedu positioned next to him, spear propped on his shoulder, stance as casual as awaiting a drink. His grin varied, friendly and amused. The grin of one savoring a contest unrelated to his own stakes.

"Oh, would you look at that!" Ash shouted upward, volume enough for his broadcast and Kaiden’s silent one alike. "Kaiden Grey, lurking by a monster he won’t touch! What’s the matter, pal? Exhausted your suitable foes?"

By the finish, he fully committed, capping his words with a "Go back to the starter area, fag!"

Chinedu waved. "Hey again!"

He made no effort to feign accident.

Kaiden gazed down from the ledge’s rim.

His jaw clenched. His fists dangled by his sides, forearm veins bulging like wires, and upon locking eyes with Ash, the rage on his face was intense enough to dim Ash’s smirk momentarily.

Excellent. Let them witness it. Let the viewers witness it. Let everyone see Kaiden Grey, trapped and enraged and without alternatives.

The New Dawn group spread around the depression with Chinedu directing via gestures. Skilled. Streamlined. They started establishing spots near the Colossus’s lair, readying for a clash that would grant them 250 rivalry scores and rob Kaiden of yet another prospect.

Ash stationed himself on a boulder above the depression and flung his arms out.

"Hey, Grey! Why not team up with us? We could handle this danger as one!" He blinked at his recording drone. "Chat, check this out. The mighty Kaiden Grey, merely observing true warriors in action. Anyone recalling his tournament stint? All show, no..."

Kaiden ceased paying attention.

Down below, New Dawn’s enhancer was at work. A female in Chinedu’s unit lifted her staff, and glowing runes inscribed over his gear, his weapon, his footwear. Damage boost. Agility increase. Shield layer. Triple enhancements layered in less than two seconds, the precision born from countless joint training sessions.

Routine procedure. Facing a high-rank beast in repose, your top attacker launches a powered initial assault. Strike it while asleep, injure it prior to aggression setup, and compel it into defense rather than offense. Every expert team globally followed this script.

Chinedu advanced to the depression’s verge. His bearing altered for the first instance since Kaiden observed him. The laid-back tilt, the effortless grin, the perpetually chill demeanor, all dropped. Left was an S-tier warrior with a spear and a defined goal.

He hoisted the spear high with a single grip. The point blazed with packed energy, searing bright, humming at a pitch that caused the surrounding atmosphere to wail.

"[Horizon Breaker]!"

The lunge spanned forty meters of empty space in an instant. A ray of focused impact energy burst from the spear’s end and crashed into the Colossus’s vulnerable side with the crash of a peak fracturing. The rocky shell at the strike zone exploded in a burst of debris. An injury wide as a vehicle hatch tore in the beast’s skin, black fluid gushing from torn flesh below.

The Colossus jolted alert.

Its bellow was tangible. A barrier of noise and shoved wind that pressed down scattered rocks on the basin base and compelled two of Chinedu’s members to steady against it. The monster hauled itself from its hole, revealing its immense proportions right away. A frame like a citadel clad in rock and ore armor, every footfall pockmarking the soil. Six eyes, all awake, all wrathful, fixed on the fourteen assailants who had roused it violently.

Chinedu’s initial blow had inflicted damage that would slay most creatures instantly.

For the Colossus, it was merely a gash. Profound enough for bleeding, superficial enough for fury. The rocky armor was densest along the spine and upper back, and the cut Chinedu made was now squeezing shut by the adjacent shifting segments, gravel rubbing gravel as the body attempted closure.

The Deepvein Colossus rushed forward.

New Dawn confronted it directly.

Fourteen combatants versus a level eighty Colossus. Two S-tiers managing the flow. A unified, savage, effective confrontation that would erode the beast via ongoing force and orderly shifts across the coming score of minutes.

Precisely the type of skirmish that pinned all in position and prevented retreat.

Kaiden observed the entire scene from the ledge’s boundary, his women encircling him.

Then he faced Luna.

"Luna."