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[F2-PP] Long Live The Queen [Completed]


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ID# 75559: BD: 7 (4+3) 

Basic Attack: 9 Dmg to Vespa Warrior #2 -1 EP +1 EP

EP: 10/22

Beat watched as Shield abated the wasps' onslaught with his numbers alone, not even bothering to defend himself since his numbers also dealt damage to them assuming their attacks were not perfect. Thorns was a nice ability and one that Beat might consider since it required no energy to use and added damage on top of whatever he would manage to do with his own attacks. 

Thoughts for later.

He refocused himself as he jumped into the air, addressing Shield's banter. 

"Attacking is just way more fun. Anyone can stand there and reflect damage, but-"

Beat had jumped directly in front of one the wasps and performed a single forward flip, bringing his heel down on top of its head, sending it plunging several feet before it could right itself in the air. Landing gracefully, Beat pointed at the example he had just made. 

"That feels amazing when done correctly."

 

Edited by Beat
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Shield

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Action: Howl

Mobs

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[Vespa Warrior 1 - 62 HP - 20 dmg] ID# 75563 results: MOB: 6 - Hit! 20 dmg - 16 Mit - Takes 14 thorns dmg
[Vespa Warrior 2 - 67 HP - 20 dmg] ID# 75564 results: MOB: 2 - Miss!
[Vespa Warrior 3 - 48 HP - 20 dmg] ID# 75565 results: MOB: 10 - Hit! (10+2) * 2 = 24 dmg - 16 Mit
[Vespa Warrior 4 - 62 
HP - 20 dmg] ID# 75567 results: MOB: 4- Miss!

"Sorry!" Shield called out. "I can't hear you over all of the bugs that can't seem to hurt me!"

One of the wasps, recognizing that Shield was not fighting back, had landed on his chest with its thorax aimed towards the sky. Brandishing its stinger, it curled its body and drove the point directly into Shield's face. Mean while, the recipient of the precise and calculated blow, merely picked up the insect and tossed it aside.

Behind him, Norbert snapped fruitlessly at the air, waving his feet around. His thick, lumpy head wove back and forth with the passing of the insects, trying to get closer to them, but due to the nature of his short legs and the effectiveness of his harness, the turtle was held fast.

"Don't worry, Norbert," Shield reassured him as one wasp buzzed away angrily, having been the victim of its own attack due to armor's thorns. "They'll get theirs."

Edited by Shield
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ID# 75566: BD: 10

Crescent Moon - 3x1 - AoE - Dmg: 11 * 3 = 33 -6 EP +1 EP

EP: 5/22

Beat laughed doubling over as Norbert flailed at their venomous adversaries. There was something about an angrily flailing turtle strapped to Shield's back that set the younger player off. 

"Mess'em up Norbert! Almost! Not that time!" 

Beat entertained himself for a few more moments before seeing an opportunity that was not going to pass up. The wasps had flown in a sort of formation that was rather effective, but left them open after Shield laughed it off. Fully committed to the attack, the follow through left their backs turned long enough for beat to leap into the air and send his glowing leg along his X-axis, releasing a bright wave of energy that caught all of them from behind and sent them into the trees. He looked to Shield and referred to their banter. 

"How was that not as cool as getting stabbed in the face?"

Edited by Beat
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Shield

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Attack:

ID# 75571 results: Battle: 3 - Miss! -2 NRG +1 NRG

Mobs

Spoiler

[Vespa Warrior 1 - 15 HP - 20 dmg] ID# 75571 results: MOB: 8 - Hit! 20 dmg - 16 Mit - Takes 14 thorns dmg
[Vespa Warrior 2 - 20 HP - 20 dmg] ID# 75572 results: MOB: 6- Hit! 20 dmg - 16 Mit - Takes 14 thorns dmg
[Vespa Warrior 3 - 15 HP - 20 dmg] ID# 75573 results: MOB: 1 - Miss!
[Vespa Warrior 4 - 29 HP - 20 dmg] ID# 75574 results: MOB: 1 - Miss!

 

Between the unstoppable force and the immovable object the wasps were beginning to lose their nerve. One would batter them if they turned their backs, and the other would show no signs damage from their stingers, and would simultaneously damage them back. All they could do was to angrily swarm overhead, buzzing angrily as they circled. Shield opened his arms wide.

 

“Come on! Get down here and fight, you cowards! You started this fight, now come back and finish it!”

 

One by one, the wasps fell in to launch attacks against the taunting tank. He held out his spear to strike, but the agile attackers dodged around it entirely. The first two struck with their stingers, but the armor stung back, sending them spinning away as their wings flailed in pain and confusion. They collided with the other two, who in turn missed entirely. Shield gave beat a sidelong glance and a lift of his eyebrow.

 

“I’m not making claims about who it or is not cool here,” he said with mock innocence. “All I’m saying is that ONE of us is so good at their job that they’ve started doing the other one’s job FOR them.

Edited by Shield
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No offensive actions: +1 EP 

EP: 6/22

Beat folded his arms as he watched Shield's numbers once again, utterly defeat their opponents. He chuckled as the banter continued.

"Well, I suppose I would tank, but I don't care to let numbers do all the work for me. Plus, no one ever said tanks aren't supposed to do damage. Now, if we had a third, you might have the luxury of sitting back and soaking everything."

 

It wasn't that they had been trying to find a third regular party member, but the idea had likely occurred to both of them at least once. The higher floors were dangerous and, at some point, they would need either more damage or a healer. Although, adventuring would be less lucrative if they had to split loot another way. It was a dilemma that they would likely eventually have to deal with

"Of course, we can't find anyone to play with because so people on the lower floors have settled to just live out their lives in the game until someone saves them."

Edited by Beat
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Shield:

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Attack wasp 4 ID# 75578: Battle: 9 = Hit! 1 + 1 Dmg, -1 NRG, +1 NRG

Mobs:

Spoiler

[Vespa Warrior 1 - 15HP - 20 dmg] ID# 75578 results: MOB: 3 - Miss!
[Vespa Warrior 2 -  4 HP - 20 dmg] ID# 75579 results: MOB: 8 - Hit! 20 dmg - 16 Mit - Takes 14 thorns dmg
[Vespa Warrior 3 - 15 HP - 20 dmg] ID# 75580 results: MOB: 4 - Miss!
[Vespa Warrior 4 - 27 HP - 20 dmg] ID# 75581 results: MOB: 10 - Hit! (10 + 2) * 2 = 12 dmg - 16 Mit-2 dmg

There was one wasp who had taken considerably less damage from Shield's defenses. It was difficult to say if this one was the leader of the platoon of insects, but regardless, Shield shifted his focus to him. As they swarmed and prepared themselves for another attack, Shield's eyes narrowed, eliminating all other distractions from his focus.

Their fat bodies swished through the air and formed into a line, each of them bearing down on him head first. Dropping to one knee, he planted the butt of his spear in the ground and waited for his moment. One after another they came, one bouncing off harmlessly, another scratching a line across Shield's cheek, another one losing its nerve altogether, but it was the tank's focus that truly committed to the attack, not wavering in its path in the slitghtest.

As quickly as he was able, he slipped his spear into the creature's flight path so that as the stinger struck its target, so too did the spear. Both connected with intensity, but as the wasp turned and buzzed away, it was the only one of the two who had sustained lasting damage.

"My friend, it's all a numbers game. If you don't make the numbers work for you, you end up working for the numbers."

He pushed himself back up onto his feet and nodded as he looked around at each of the healthy bars.

"Go make those numbers work for you."

Edited by Shield
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ID# 75596: BD: 6 (3+3) LD: 17 (14+3)

Crescent Moon - 3x1 - AoE - Dmg: 9 * 3 = 27 -6 EP +1 EP

EP: 1/22

Loot: 2600 col and 4 T1 Mats

 

Beat smiled as he watched his energy bar tick up enough to finish the fight. He had been waiting for this moment and by his estimate, the wasp Shield had just struck was now within kill range. He focused his left leg once again took on a familiar glow. Leaping into the air, Beat brought his leg in an extremely wide arc, making the largest version of this sword art yet. The wave was thinner as a result of its new size, but it would get the job done as it cleaved through each of the insect, carving them in half. Their assailants dissipated as Beat landed, giving Shield pat on his pauldron.

"Yeah, but I like to get my hands dirty. I like to think I have a good working relationship with numbers."

He laughed at his twist on the concept, knowing exactly what Shield had meant. Looking at the reward screen, he was pleased to see that the rewards seemed to be climbing with the difficulty of the enemies.

"Not a bad haul for those enemies. I can't wait to get back to the fifth floor. Ten-thousand col each for one dungeon is pretty nice." 

Edited by Beat
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ID# 75621 results: Loot: 8 + 5 = 13 = No materials (0 total)

Glancing over the screen himself, Shield gave a nod of agreement. The higher floor level had been part of the appeal of the mission. It wouldn't be long before venturing further into Aincrad was a real possibility.

"The sooner I can get myself to the front lines the better," Shield sad, continuing his line of thought. "If for no other reason, there's no way to get special boss loot while we're behind the leaders."

His own reasons were much more complicated than loot, but he remembered what it was that motivated Beat in the last game where they had been rivals. If anyone was going to put guts and glory on the line for the sake of rare and powerful loot, it was Beat. That was the main reason that they had adventured off out of the town of beginnings on their first quest.

Now that I think about it, I think this is the first time we've taken a quest on the second floor since then.

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ID# 75643: LD: 6 (3+3) = no mats (2 total)

Rest [1/3]

Beat nodded in agreement. Loot and game features were certainly appealing to him, but now, people's lives were on the line. He was probably unaware of it himself, but the fact that the stakes were so high was actually motivated him more. Some people found the challenge too daunting and had simply conceded to life within Sword art online. Beat would have preferred that the stakes remained at simple glory and total game domination, but being a savior came with a glory of sorts, not that people's appreciation really mattered to him. 

"That's true! That last hit bonus is apparently no joke. I wonder if it's entirely random or if the person's specialization plays is a factor. I would suck if a sword dropped for me."

Beat's brow furrowed as a realization hit him.

"That's another thing, how do Tanks get the loot drop? Do they just hope the dps gets them close enough for the tank to finish? Sounds kinda bs to me." 

Edited by Beat
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ID# 75645 results: Loot: 9 + 5 = 14 - No materials (0 total)

"That thought hasn't escaped me," Shield said. "Let's just say I've been doing a little moon-lighting to make up for it."

He gestured to Norbert with his thumb which the snapper then attempted to bite. Shield moved his fingers out of the way and gave a little one-fingered thump on the hollow beak. Norbert grunted and attempted to swim away through the air, yielding no movement whatsoever.

"Bad! You need to learn some manners, Norbert! In any case, that's hopefully some of what my profession will account for. I may not be as likely to get the final hit bonus, but I can get some uniques by chance while appraising. I actually found my first the other day. It was on a two-hander though," he said, a little lamentation veiled in his voice as he looked down at the shield equipped to his off-hand.

He took a quick look around the clearing to make sure they had not left anything on the battlefield before turning to Beat.

"We can move slow if you need to recover, but we should keep moving."

Edited by Shield
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ID# 75646: LD: 20 (17+3) = 1 T1 mats found. (3 Total)

Rest [2/3]

Beat snickered as he always did when Norbert and Shield were having a disagreement. Norbert's ineffectual attempts to swim away were particularly amusing to him. He moaned at the unfortunate news about Shield's first unique enhancement being unusable to him. 

"Maaaan that sucks! You should try to stick to items we'll benefit from. I know your stock isn't always up to you though. Our low tier is another factor we have to contend with. Even if you did find something good, it wouldn't be very good as soon as we reached the next tier of strength."

Beat's eye fell on a low hanging branch that had a bird's nest resting within it's smaller extremities. Inside the nest was an egg that was tagged as a cooking material. He quickly snatched up the useful item and continued walking with Shield, pulling up his energy bar before speaking. 

"Yeah, just for another minute maybe, then I should be good. Energy comes back a lot faster out of combat. Speaking of which, with my cooking, I can make food that will give me a good amount of energy. It takes time to eat, but it's completely viable in combat."

 

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ID# 75648 results: Loot: 13 + 5 = 18 - +1 Material (1 total)

"Actually, I'm slowly able to get more and more benefit from the salesmen and such around me," Shield replied.  "Being a merchant may not position you for power and wealth on its own, but it has its advantages."

The buzzing of the woods had abated somewhat now that some of the larger vanguards had been neutralized, but the further they walked, the louder things became once again. Although he did not have his map open currently, Shield had a pretty good idea that they were on the right path.

As they passed by a nearby tree, something golden caught Shield's attention from the inside of a gaping hole in its trunk. Upon closer inspection, he saw what appeared to be honeycomb resting on the bottom of the little hollow.

"Odd," Shield thought aloud. "Honey is something bees make, not wasps. Then again, as far as I can tell, they're already doing a little blending of species. I don't believe wasp colonies have queens the same way bees do."

He picked up the comb and stored it before returning to the road, continuing to watch for more more of the supposed queen's defenders.

Edited by Shield
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ID# 75650: LD: 22 (19+3) = 1 T1 Mat found (4 Total)

Rest [3/3] Energy full!

The hairs on the back of Beat's neck stood on end as his ears adjusted to the change in the ambience, his heart rate increasing as a smile slowly crossed his face. His enthusiasm and pride in battle was a great source of strength for him and it made the experience a rush. 

"Looks like we're getting closer. The boss's guards so far have been stronger than it is. Let's hope we at least get a nice challenge from more of them."

It would make sense to have guards accompany a boss like this since it was so weak by itself. The fact that they hadn't really run into any bosses that spawned with adds was a bit odd to Beat. Then again, the majority of the bosses they had seen had been on the first floor. The forest gradually turned into structures made of honeycomb, making a sort of large, single dungeon room that was bee themed. It was a little odd, but Beat spotted a unique portion of the wall and broke it away after pulling up the material tag on it. The room appeared to be a boss room even if it was empty at the time. 

"Here it comes...I'm ready."

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Shield:

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Action: Howl

Mobs:

Spoiler

[Wind Wasp Queen - HP 36/50, Dmg 20] ID# 75655 results: MOB: 6 - Hit! 20dmg - 16 Mit, 14 thorns dmg
[Elite Drone 1 - HP 186/200, ACC +3, Dmg 20] ID# 75656 results: MOB: 4 + 3 = 7 - Hit! 20dmg - 16 Mit, 14 thorns dmg
[Elite Drone 2 - HP 200/200, ACC +3, Dmg 20] ID# 75657 results: MOB: 9 + 3 = 12 - Hit! (10 + 1) * 2 = 22dmg - 16 Mit
[Elite Drone 3 - HP 186/200, ACC +3, Dmg 20] ID# 75658 results: MOB: 4 + 3 = 7 - Hit! 20dmg - 16 Mit, 14 thorns dmg

When Beat made to pick up the chunk of comb, the buzzing of the little boss room doubled, rising to a frenzied pitch. Through the patchy ceiling, three more wasps emerged. These ones seemed lither and more fierce than the first band they had encountered. Even as Shield was beginning to size them up, however, a fat-bodied insect emerged behind them that was easily as long as Shield was tall.

"I think we found the boss," Shield called out before ducking in behind his shield and rushing for the center of the arena. "Hey, queenie! You think your pathetic guardians will be able to do anything to slow us down?"

He began to press, pushing into the oversized abdomen of the queen as he pushed her back. The drones, enraged that someone would dare approach their queen, made to jab at Shield with their stingers, but no sooner had most of them attempted than they flinched and jumped back in midair. Even the queen was caught off-guard. Shield took a deep breath.

"Your stinger are weak, pests!"

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ID# 75660: BD: 8 (5+3)

Crescent Moon - 3x1 - AoE - Dmg: 9 * 3 = 27 -6 EP

EP [16/22]

Beat shrunk a little as the noise intensified when he stole a piece on the room they were to fight in. He chuckled as he stared at the now spawned mobs. They looked like they would possible offer something of a better challenge, though he knew that the boss was a push over given how easily Shield literally pushed it around. He shook his head as the elite guards failed much like the previous guards had, though their level of skill and ferocity was certainly noticeable. 

"Too bad your guards do crap for damage queenie!" 

He leaped into air and quickly snapped a wave of energy into the group of insects, striking them hard, leaving a line across each of them. The boss had the fewest hit points by far, so it drained a much larger proportion of its health bar. The guards for the boss, however, seemed much more resilient. He scoffed as he saw how pathetic their damage was. 

"Too bad those hit points just mean we get to beat them up more."

Edited by Beat
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Shield

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Action: Howl

Mobs

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[Wind Wasp Queen - HP 9/50, Dmg 20] ID# 75662  results: MOB: 4 - Miss
[Elite Drone 1 - HP 145/200, ACC +3, Dmg 20] ID# 75663 results: MOB: 3 + 3 = 6 - Hit! 20dmg - 16 Mit, 14 thorns dmg
[Elite Drone 2 - HP 159/200, ACC +3, Dmg 20] ID# 75664 results: MOB: 3 + 3 = 6 - Hit! 20dmg - 16 Mit, 14 thorns dmg
[Elite Drone 3 - HP 145/200, ACC +3, Dmg 20] ID# 75665 results: MOB: 6 + 3 = 9 - Hit! 20dmg - 16 Mit, 14 thorns dmg

The elites scattered for a moment, leaving their slower, less agile queen open. She buzzed in irritation, flying in small, panicked circles until her guard detail realized their blunder and reformed ranks around her. Their many-segmented eyes flicked back and forth between the intimidating presence in the center of the room and the one who had dealt them so much punishment.

"I don't know what all of you think you're looking at," Shield called out, wading into their midst shield first despite their frenzied, buzzing protests. "I'm right here in front of you! Huah!"

He threw his weight behind his shield, knocking one of the guards aside. A volley of stingers rained down on him, but each only drained the top of his health bar which was immediately replenished, all except the queen who missed entirely.

"You know, one of these days, we need to find enemies that can actually harm us, Beat!"

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ID# 75667: BD: 10

Tornado Kick - 1x6 - AoE - Dmg: 11 * 6 = 66 dmg  -12 EP  | +1 EP

EP [5/22]

Beat crossed his arms as he watched the guards stumble back into position. The AI for the wasp minions seemed to be lacking somewhat, which was funny when he recalled a mother boar that parried his attacks repeatedly on purpose. He had teased them about their hit points being meaningless, but really, he was somewhat annoyed with how little their stats mattered when the only thing that seemed to increase was their hit points. 

"I agree! I have yet to see that health bar drop since we STARTED this game!" 

With that, Beat rushed towards Shield and stopped just short of running into him, leaping straight into the air and spinning around at breakneck speeds, belting each of the buzzing annoyances across the face, the boss's head completely being severed from its body. The head flew across the room and exploded into red shards separately from its body. The guards were sent reeling and fell to the ground. They slowly picked themselves up and buzzed angrily at the murder of their charge, evoking a laugh from the victorious Beat. 

"At least you're fun to beat up!"

Edited by Beat
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Shield

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Action: Howl

Mobs

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[Elite Drone 1 - HP 79/200, ACC +3, Dmg 20] ID# 75668 results: MOB: 9 + 3 = 12 - Hit! (10 + 1) * 2 = 22dmg - 16 Mit
[Elite Drone 2 - HP 79/200, ACC +3, Dmg 20] ID# 75669 results: MOB: 5 + 3 = 8 - Hit! 20dmg - 16 Mit, 14 thorns dmg
[Elite Drone 3 - HP 65/200, ACC +3, Dmg 20] ID# 75670 results: MOB: 6 + 3 = 9 - Hit! 20dmg - 16 Mit, 14 thorns dmg

With the queen out of the picture, the patterns of the guards changed. Their flight pattern became erratic, and in the chaos, each of them turned their attacks on Shield. His arms open, welcoming their attack.

"BRING IT ON, YOU BUZZING FREAKS!"

The force of his voice drove them off-course at first, swirling in a torrent of translucent wings and long, round bodies before the regrouped and pushed forward again. Their stingers connected, one after the other, and each one failing to register as more than a blip on Shield's health gauge. Even as one managed to snap its stinger around behind Shield's head and stab him in the neck.

Behind him, Norbert latched on to the stinger but failed to do anything to harm the creature, only managing to yank a few times before the elite pulled itself free and buzzed away in indignation.

"They're low, Beat! This won't take much longer!"

Edited by Shield
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ID# 75673: BD: 10 

Basic Attack against #2: 11 Dmg -1 +1 EP

EP: 5/22

Beat cheered on Shield's companion as he charged, taking advantage of the reptile's assistance. 

"Nice Norbert! Hold him for another second!" 

Beat's form blurred as he picked up speed, leaping through the air and sending a kick that crashed into the back of the buzzer's head. The insect was sent flipping through the air before crashing to the ground. It tumbled for a moment before it re-engaged its wings to leave the ground in a huff. Despite knowing how the hate system worked, it was amazing to Beat that the now chaotic wasps had yet to turn on him. Crossreign had used what was called a threat system. It was essentially the same concept and he knew that of the mobs had actually had a random threat table, disregarding things like threat generation and aggro. 

"Man, the hate system is funny. I wonder if any enemies ignore the hate table. It would certainly make things a little more interesting." 

Edited by Beat
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Shield

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Action: Howl

Mobs

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[Elite Drone 1 - HP 79/200, ACC +3, Dmg 20] ID# 75677 results: MOB: 2 + 3 = 5 - Miss
[Elite Drone 2 - HP 68/200, ACC +3, Dmg 20] ID# 75678 results: MOB: 9 + 3= 12 - Hit! (10 + 1) * 2 = 22dmg - 16 Mit
[Elite Drone 3 - HP 51/200, ACC +3, Dmg 20] ID# 75679 results: MOB: 5 + 3 = 9 - Hit! 20dmg - 16 Mit, 14 thorns dmg

"There are," Shield responded. "I've heard about bosses that do, but they're rare. Then again, maybe those were myths, stories told my scared players."

The wasps were skittish, not wanting to attack right away after their retaliations failed. Shield watched them dart around in a wide perimeter, their AI unable to let them engage, but also recognizing how fruitless their onslaughts had proven so far. He took to an old tactic, banging his shield with the spear in his right hand.

"Come on, you bug-eyed creeps! You're not just going to sit back and abide the death of your queen, are you!?"

Movement caught his eyes, and he turned to see one of the wasps coming at him from the side. Rather than sidestepping it, he embraced the attack, planting his feet to keep his balance during the impact. As it hit, he slid a few inches, the stinger lodged in his rib cage. To his surprise, even with his preparation, its health bar did not deplete.

You managed to slip through the thorns, you sneaky bugger!

One of the others had managed to line up an attack from above, but it had not been as lucky, its stinger barely grazing him while its rear was split open by the thorny armor.

Edited by Shield
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