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Chapter 611 - Yellow Team
🕑 Added 2023-02-20 13:00:23 +0000 UTC"Are we there yet?" Mylo asked. The fighter was in the center of the platform, standing completely still while holding Shane's hand tightly.
"We are almost there, big guy, don't worry. Keep your eyes closed, ok?" Shane patted his shoulder.
"I don't get it. You weren't scared when we went to Sky, and we were much higher up there," Blue tilted her head.
"I don't know if we were that much higher," Bonnie looked up towards the tree, "In the Abyssal Deep, we didn't have anything big enough to work as a landmark. Well, there was the raft, but it was just a flat thing on the ground. Having a mountain would be better to measure height."
"Doesn't matter. We were safe then," Mylo replied.
"And we are not now?" Blue pressed.
"No. There are no railings, no barrier, nothing that stops us from falling down by accident," Mylo continued.
Everyone looked around to the edge of the platform. Even if it was very wide, and there were around seven meters between them and the end of this hexagonal flying structure, knowing that they could fall like that made everyone feel somewhat worried.
Hera started to nervously chuckle, "C'mon, there is no way. Nimbus, do you mind showing how we can't fall from here?"
"Of course, Empress," Nimbus took his bipedal form and walked to the edge. When they entered the throne room, Hera told her court to stay in their weapon form. That way, if there were any attacks, they could catch the enemies off guard. When the Sentinel reached the edge of the platform, he noticed that there was no barrier or anything like that anywhere. Thinking it might be funny, he simply took a step forward and plummeted to the ground.
"Nimbus!" Hera yelped. Worried that he could get hurt.
"See, I told you. We can just fall here, and that's it!" Mylo gasped and tightened his hold on Shane's hand.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch. I know you are scared, but take it easy. My hand is not made out of rubber," Shane slapped Mylo's shoulder and tried to take her hand away, but the fighter wasn't about to let her do that. However, he did loosen his grip so as not to hurt her.
"Is he ok?" Alex asked.
"I don't know!" Hera gasped. She could still feel her titled blade, but he wasn't replying.
The Sentinel flew under the platform and appeared on the opposite side with a smirk on his face, "I am completely fine. Thank you for worrying about me."
"You dick!" Blue yelled and tossed a cloud punch at him that was easily dodged.
"That was really mean, Nimbus," Hera huffed.
"It was also really funny," Daskka smiled but got a flick on her head from the Empress.
"My apologies. I couldn't resist. But yes, this platform doesn't stop you from falling, so it is a good idea to stay in the center. I can fly beside you all, that way. If anyone were to trip, I could catch them," the Sentinel suggested.
"Consider yourself lucky. If it weren't for the fact that we are going to a fight right now, I would tell you to fly down by yourself. And I know you can't just dive to the ground right away," Hera huffed, still annoyed by the prank.
'I consider myself lucky ever since I joined you, my Empress,' Nimbus replied in Hera's mind, knowing that she wouldn't like to have the entire group hearing that.
That worked to a point, the problem was that he didn't try to speak only to the Empress, and the entire court heard his words. They started booing and groaning.
'C'mon. Don't you have a better line than that?' Core sounded very annoyed.
'I hope you are not trying to hit on the Empress,' Frost snickered.
'Booo, stop trying to kiss her ass, boo,' Daskka waved her tail.
'Shut up, all of you! You are only upset because I said it first!'
'So what? You already have a title, and now you want to get another leg up on us,' Edge added.
"Hera? Are you ok?" Blue asked, noticing how her ears were starting to turn red.
"Yeah, don't worry about it. The court is just rowdy today," Hera replied and looked away to avoid any follow-up questions doing her best to ignore the argument her blades were having.
As they got closer to the ground, they saw a large group of people moving in the hills wearing some strange armor covered in fur. They were going to the left side, where there was a large Yellow banner and a yellow mark on the ground. Paying a bit more attention, they could also see some vines and other plants growing there. To the other side, about five hundred meters away in the opposite direction, there was another set of banner and mark, but those were black instead. The beings moving around in that area were also different. Instead of people, there were hundreds of beasts, but it was hard to identify them. Some walked on four legs, while others were more monkey-like. Some had wings, and others had long tails. All of them also seemed to be eating something in a more or less orderly fashion.
When the platform landed, the group heard the voice of the wasps once more, "Since you are new to this event, I shall explain a few details. First, you need to walk to the Yellow area since that's where your team is. Your goal is to defeat the opposing team. There is no trick to that. You just need to kill all of them. If one is still alive, the game is still going. Being part of the Yellow team, you will have at your disposal some plants. What you can do with those plants is up to you. The tribe will be able to help you do whatever you want with that. To participate in this event, they became a simple bunch who can do wonders as workers. So long as they have someone to direct them. Usually, this particular team composition requires a very… hands-on approach on my part. However, this is why you are here. So I'll leave the command of the troops to you. You have twenty minutes before the battle begins. Until then, neither side can cross the middle of the field. You are free to prepare however you wish, and make sure to give us a good show."
They assumed that they heard the Yellow Wasp talking, but it was hard to tell. Both their voices sounded the same, having the pitch change with each sound they made. As their team owner finished speaking, a black and yellow glow appeared in the middle of the hill, splitting the area in two, with each team on one side of the barrier.
"Let's move quickly. 20 minutes is not a lot of time," Bonnie said, and the group rushed towards the Yellow field to meet with the rest of the tribe.
Everyone hurried along, and when they arrived, they were all surprised by the sight. The tribe in fur-covered armor was actually made of bipedal mammoth-looking creatures. Looking at them now made it clear that they were the same ones that were depicted in the pillar before. The large hooks coming from the armor were, in fact, the massive tusks, and the apparent large head and body were only like that because of the enormous trunk that hung all the way to their knees.
"Oh… hi?" Blue greeted the first group of mammoths that they saw. The beings just looked at them with dead eyes. Still, she tried again, "Hello?... Can you hear me?"
With that question, the mammoths nodded, but it still looked as if they were not fully there.
"Is it just me, or do they seem off? Like the lights are on, but there is no one home," Adriel asked.
"Yeah.. they do seem weird… Do you think they did something to force them to be like that?" Hera asked.
"Maybe, but then again, I don't think this dungeon is about something that actually happened. It doesn't look much like the place we were in," Alex nodded, "Should I find that out? If this place really is a dungeon about what happened in the past, or not?"
"Alex… remember what we talked about? If we are using the curse, let's let someone else ask the question," Bonnie tried not to sound annoyed, knowing that this shouldn't be Alex's fault, but the curse's.
"Right… Does anyone want to try that?" Alex turned to the group, seemingly oblivious to the risk.
"Hang on. Do you guys think we will need Yarnball in this place? I can just use it to figure that out," Hera suggested.
Shane stopped everyone by pushing Alex forward, "Let's try to figure that out after the dungeon. We only have 20 minutes before we have to fight."
They continued moving around the area, trying to talk with the mammoths, and eventually, Mylo introduced himself to them, allowing the group to learn their name. Apparently, they were Xandari warriors, but that was all anyone managed to find out.
When they found the plants, everyone realized that this was actually quite intuitive. There were a few bags of seeds that would be grown instantly when tossed on the ground, and in front of the bags, there was a fully grown version of the plant. Amongst them, a few seemed much more useful. One seed would create a large area of spiked thorns that would damage anyone passing by them. Another could create a bellflower that attracts animals to it. There was one that could make a large bush that would be shooting out berries at their enemies. They weren't able to deal too much damage by themselves, but the sheer amount of projectiles could suppress some of the targets. Lastly, there was a seed for a hedge that could withstand some damage before it broke down.
"Ok… so how do we do this? I think using the vines in front and then having the bellflowers to lure the monsters into kill zones for the bushes, and then the hedges could be some cover for us to hit them from a distance, could work," Bonnie suggested.
"I think we should put the hedges in front. Then the vines with some of the bellflowers in the middle and the bushes in the back. That way, we can thin the horde by dealing with the strongest ones first and then with the rest," Shane retorted.
"I think I have a better idea. We can…" Adriel started, but Blue cut him off quickly.
"No! We are not doing that. We only have twenty minutes, and we are not going to waste that discussing plans. Everyone splits off, and we prepare like we want. When the time is up, we gather somewhere for the fight. Ok?" Blue looked around, and everyone seemed to agree. During the months they stayed together in a dangerous place, talking a lot about plans became something that happened frequently. Not so much because they had to come up with new ideas, but because they didn't have anything else to do, and planning things out became a good way to pass the time. After saying that, Blue picked a handful of seeds from each of the plants and called a few of the Xandari to help her set them up around the area.
The rest of the party didn't say anything and spread out to do the same. However, Bonnie quickly rushed towards Hera.
"Hey, can I ask for a quick favor?"
"Sure, what's up?" the Empress still sent her court to move around and scout the place. They were looking for anything that could be hidden or things that could improve their chances.
"Can you take Ruby to the sky and let her see the field? Then we can use her as a map for the battle plan," Bonnie offered the red slime to Hera.
"Sure, that shouldn't take long. But can she even see things from that high up?"
"She can. I tested it out before. She can turn herself into a small diorama, and then I can ask her to add the traps in certain locations to see if my plan will work. It might also help to tell the Xandari where they could place the seeds."
Hera nodded, "Ok, give her here. Nimbus, we are going up."
Bonnie passed Ruby to Hera, and they took to the skies. The field was very different from what she expected. Even if this was called a hillside, there were no actual hills. None that was of any relevance, at least. The center of the field was a bit taller than the rest, but the entire thing was very flat, and the two sides were mirrored. This was both good and bad. It meant that no one had an advantageous position, but it also meant that there was nothing Hera could use in the environment to increase their odds. Then again, if they played defense, they would already be in a better position. Being able to install traps would artificially tilt the scales to their side. Looking to the other camp, all the beasts were looking down, eating something, and changing. Some would sprout wings, others catch on fire or become stark white while the ground underneath them froze. Maybe that was the effect of the fruit she saw in the pillar. After all, each pillar seemed to have either a group or a benefit. So it would make sense for the monsters to get something to level the playfield.
When she felt she had given Ruby enough time to get the information, Hera told Nimbus to rush down. She also had a few ideas about how she could make the life of the Black team harder, and she had precious little time to put her plan in motion.
