The hivemind is conquering for me? Chapter 757: Step 2: Go Left

The rest of the group dashed off to handle their assigned duties, yet Willow, Sithrik, and Tamara remained by my side for a brief instant.

'So, what's the strategy, Apollo?' Tamara inquired, only for Willow to playfully swat her arm.

'Quiet! He's firing up that brilliant mind of his. Give him space to devise a plan.' Tamara observed the pink-haired woman gazing at Apollo from behind with an intensely eerie fascination.

'Why does this feel so familiar?' She pondered briefly before refocusing on the mission at hand.

I gestured toward the opposite side. 'There's a break in their patrol path, right between our position and the following wall. We drop down here, dash to the next wall, and scale its fortified part.'

'Why not leap from rooftop to rooftop? Bet the snake's got the bounce to match?' Tamara suggested, prompting a startled gasp from Sithrik.

'The snake? How dare you! I... shall address that later. For now, I trust my dear Apollo has a good reason for avoiding it?' Sithrik replied evenly, turning toward me with anticipation.

I affirmed with a nod. 'Correct, we can't afford detection before the kill team finishes. Rooftop traversal spikes the risk of spotting from the higher wall ahead or even this one. Stay low on the ground, sneak through, then climb up.'

I gazed forward and issued the command.

'Onyx, recon ahead. Eliminate any dangers silently as needed and rendezvous at the summit.'

Tamara appeared ready to question my words, but a voice chimed in from behind her. 'Naturally, my universe. Catch you at the peak.'

Tamara's eyes bulged wide. 'Where the hell did she emerge from?!?'

Onyx gave Tamara's shoulder a pat and a wink. 'Where indeed?' She approached me next, planting a kiss on my cheek. 'Left or right? Take the left. You'll see why.'

I fought the impulse to swat Onyx's mischievous backside for misusing her abilities, but the timing was wrong, and she'd already slipped beyond normal sight.

'Alright, time to advance.'

…

We scaled down the wall swiftly, landing in a narrow alley flanked by structures. Peering through a window grate, I arched a brow. Willow's squad hadn't cleared every ammo cache. This place was a huge munitions storage. From Tamara's mission pack, I retrieved a remote explosive designed for the boomstick.

'Apollo, those are meant for—' Tamara tried to protest.

'—I get it. Still, let's cripple the Drakoshi ahead of tomorrow. Each round wrecked saves a Phalanx life.' I flung the device like a disc, and it settled on a tall crate, unlikely to catch the indoor Drakoshi's notice.

Building by building, we progressed. Spotting a few more depots, I planted the ordnance there too, reaching the next wall without encountering any patrolling Drakoshi.

'Willow, hop on my back—I'll haul you up. Tamara, catch.' I tossed her the Zircon for climbing.

We four ascended—climbing and slithering—to the next parapet's crest. Drakoshi barks echoed this time, alerting everyone. I told Tamara to hold tight momentarily, then peeked over the edge.

Drakoshi appeared to train, or at least it resembled training. A cluster watched comrades brawl. The brief look suggested a clan skirmish, yet the spectators indicated it was orchestrated.

Right as I prepared to wave Tamara onward, tremors hit the wall. Heavy footfalls. Machinery hummed next. Glancing toward the source, my eyes expanded in shock.

'What in hell is that thing?'

…

'What exactly are you lot up to?' Kragg boomed in a deep, ominous, altered tone from his mech down to the minions.

That mech embodied his brilliance. Terrifying feats emerged when he focused. Towering forty meters, blending Drakoshi engineering with spoils from vanquished foes. Humans offered little, save fine arms for their 'knights'.

Neuro ports fused the mech to his mind—he became it inside. Thus, mimicking his form perfectly mattered. Solid gray with protruding orange cybernetics, bipedal clawed limbs, rounded shoulders for superior shielding. It felt like him, amplified in size and might. He deemed other clans fools for disagreeing.

This forty-foot colossus menaced foes, but non-Dinnac Drakoshi scorned his armored reliance over innate toughness... Perfect for purging weak allegiance.

'We're honing our bodies, boss, with mere scraps! See, we trust raw strength against the pink skins, not metal and circ—'

*Splat*

The ex-Emoth retained fiery spirit. Unfit for his ranks. Brains over brawn were essential—plenty of muscle already abounded.

Kragg scraped the mess off his mech's foot sole, then eyed the stunned underlings below. 'Return to stations.'

The fools dispersed to duties; he shook his head, mech mirroring. Clan Dinnac alone seemed intelligent, yet brainless Emoth Yzylocks favored by the...

He inhaled deeply. Thinking of them was taboo. Not yet a warlord, no privilege. Forbidden to utter his true tongue despite mastery from studies—confined to this vile pidgin.

With a sigh, he mastered his fury, steadying. A prime Dinnac clone gene perk over rivals. Pivoting left, he marched the mech to the wall, propping arms there. Parapets crumbled slightly, structure intact.

Gazing across river and vast plains, unease churned in his belly. Threat loomed. Unspoken, his clone gene mutated post-armor loss years back, self-tested.

His quirk was rare—Drakoshi slain for it, to deny the great foe. That notion triggered battle instincts, but he quelled it, resuming reflection.

Fortuitously basic: sensing incoming peril. Survival's secret. Battle selection. Outlasting stronger millions. Thus, claw-raking the parapet amid this alert troubled him deeply.

Fortress his creation, yet isolated, ammo scarce...

Nodding decisively, computations complete, resolve formed while eyeing the serene river by the outer wall. Such tranquility. Pity Drakoshi stripped every resource from beyond home galaxy...

Alien realms oft held stunning allure.

…

The enormous metal claws ceased scraping beside me, retreating from the wall. Spotting their descent, I veered left, vowing to devour Onyx at first chance. The talon grazed past me and Willow harmlessly...

Braving a peek over the scarred wall top, I saw the Drakoshi mech charge off swifter than its approach.

'Best of luck against that beast, team.' I mused silently, signaling Tamara and Sithrik to resume ascent.

'Damn, never witnessed a Drakoshi mech so enormous...' Tamara murmured.

'Same here, though pure Dinnac craftsmanship. Lethal.' Willow noted, dismounting my back.

I nodded somberly. Gut twisted at the sight—I couldn't solo it—but I steadied fast. 'Onward; destroying it's not our goal. Faith in our comrades' ingenuity. Move—the upcoming walls are shorter.'