The Mech Touch

Chapter 3832: Targeted Evolution

Venerable Tusa made a discovery that could completely change the Golden Skull Allianceʼs perspective on large pocket space that it had stumbled upon.

The fish-whale race not only turned out to be much more diverse than everyone initially thought, they also appeared to be divided into several hostile camps!

Since no one was here to view the amazing sight of fish-on-fish warfare, Tusa took it upon himself to name the different fish-whale groups. This not only made it easier for him to categorize his new discoveries, but also allowed him to communicate his findings more effectively after he returned.

The original fish-whale group that Tusa encountered during his initial exploration run resembled that of a hive. The group bred a huge number of cannon fodder that were clearly intended to be cheap and expendable. The differently-colored elites were a step up from the plain white cannon fodder and possessed the ability to direct and take charge of all of the grunts.

However, while Tusa had yet to encounter a fish-whale that was clearly in charge over the elites and the rest of the group, it was easy to infer that such a super fish-whale existed. His best guess was that the ʼqueenʼ or whatever resided in the middle of the central landmass. There were so many fish-whales over there that it was probably the center of the high-ranking fish-whaleʼs ʼkingdomʼ!

”Iʼll call you guys the Swarm Kingdom.”

The Swarmers as Tusa called the group of attacking fish-whalers truly emphasized quantity over quality. Even their elites such as the sergeant fishes, assassin fishes, spitter fishes, biter fishes and warp fishes were getting their fish-butts kicked by their opponents!

The individualistic fish-whales that were defending their landmass against the Swarmer incursion displayed a lot of individual power.

Each of them looked and fought in different ways, so much so that their actions lacked coordination. Despite the lack of unity, the individualistic fish-whales still managed to hold their ground by relying on their vastly superior combat prowess!

For example, one bulky fish-whale boldly flew forward to meet the incoming Swarmers. Just before it made contact, hundreds of dark and vicious bone-blades sprouted from its body.

Blood sprayed and splattered across an expanding space as the bladed fish-whale unceasingly shredded dozens of grunts at a time!

Venerable Tusa looked on with astonishment at how this amazing creature displayed killing efficiency that was far above his own!

Although his Dark Zephyr was a far more superior duelist, his expert mech only possessed two thin knives after all. Let alone shredding dozens of grunt fishes at a time, he would already struggle with killing two of the weak white fish-whales at a time!

The Swarmers instinctively reacted to the threat that had entered the midst of their vanguard. Even more grunt fishes sought to surround and overwhelm the bladed fish-whale, but that was exactly where the powerful creature was at home!

No matter how many grunt fishes tried to approach and bite the interloper, the only result they achieved was to get cut up by one of the many blades that stuck out of their targetʼs body!

Even if the bladed fish-whale became surrounded by impaled grunt fishes, the Swarmers following up on behind became stimulated by all of the bloodshed.

Since the unintelligent grunt fishes couldnʼt get close enough to attack their target, they became overtaken by their cannibalistic instincts and bit at their brethren that had gotten impaled by the many blades!

Their behavior not only finished off the stuck and heavily-injured grunt fishes, but also caused the next wave to accidentally bite and impale themselves on the blades that had previously crippled their predecessors!

This resulted in a new round of cannibalization and impalement. The grunt fishes were so feral and short-sighted that they completely lacked the perspective to realize that this was nothing but a giant that especially targeted all of their shortcomings!

In a span of a minute, over a hundred fish-whales already succumbed in this fashion!

Even though the pressure on the bladed fish-whale was not light, the creature looked large and strong enough to handle all of the pushing.

The bladed fish-whale didnʼt even have to do anything anymore to kill as many grunt fishes as possible. The killing machine simply floated in place and made sure its sharp and seemingly indestructible blades continued to impale the incoming grunt fishes on a continuous basis!

”This… this is perverse!” Tusa reacted with shock.

Although he was not an exobiologist or anything, he definitely saw that it was not a coincidence that this fish-whale developed such an effective approach against the Swarmers. There had to be a purposeful hand behind this creatureʼs growth or evolution.

When Tusa briefly directed his attention to the derelict but still recognizable giant ruins, he started to suspect that this asteroid likely possessed the means to allow this bladed fish-whale to develop in such a highly-targeted fashion.

As time went by, the main wave of the Swarmers finally approached the bladed fish-whale.

Sergeant fishes began to appear and used their stronger and harder bodies to charge at the obstacle in their way!

Unfortunately, their fate was hardly any different from that of their lesser brethren. The sergeant fishes only managed to push the bladed fish-whale back a bit. Their thicker and denser bodies did not prevent them from getting impaled by the blades that never seemed to break!

Although their larger and tougher physiques allowed the sergeant fishes to cling to life, that didnʼt stop the surrounding grunt fishes from treating their former bosses as their prey!

Eventually, all of the sergeant fishes that got stuck in place turned into food for their own little brethren!

Nine different sergeant fishes succumbed in this fashion before the Swarmers formed a proper response.

After receiving an unknown signal, the surrounding grunt fishes temporarily lost their bloodthirst and spread away from the bladed fish-whale.

Numerous bodies clung to the massive and deadly individualistic fish-whale. Blood poured out of the victims like a macabre waterfall. It became increasingly harder for the simple grunt fishes to hold themselves back!

However, this brief period of calm was enough for the spitter fishes and warp fishes to get into range and gain a clear line of sight against their target.

A substantial volley of spit jets struck the impaled bodies, causing them to die and melt like butter in a hot oven.

Once the bodies were out of the way, the second volley of spit jets struck the creatureʼs thick and leathery hide without any misses!

The bladed fish-whale was obviously built like a tank, so while it wasnʼt able to dodge the incoming attacks, its thick and resilient hide did not easily fall apart like the bodies of the weaker fish-whales.

However, the reactions taking place on the surface of the bladed fish-whaleʼs body indicated that the acid was still wearing away at the creatureʼs defenses. When a second volley of spit struck the bladed fish-whale, the monster finally showed an expression of pain!

That was when the warp fishes among the Swarmers made their move.

Strange fluctuations emanated from their enchanting green exterior. The Dark Zephyrʼs gravitic sensors detected fluctuations that corresponded to the activation of a substantial amount of phasewater!

”Each of those green fish-whales are floating treasure bags!”

Tusa would have been tempted to approach them and assassinate them in quick succession if they were alone.

However, despite the earlier casualties, there were still far too many grunt fishes to allow him to get away with such a suicidal act!

The bladed fish-whale showed why it was ultimately not a good idea to confront so many fish monsters head-on in such a high-profile fashion.

Soon, the warp fishes activated their mysterious phasewater-derived abilities. Most of them seemed to destabilize the space occupied by the bladed fish-whale.

Though the Dark Zephyr did not detect a lot of signs of damage, Tusa guessed that all of the strange spatial disturbances must have messed up the bladed fish-whale internal organs!

At this time, the bladed fish-whale already started its retreat, but it was way too slow and vulnerable against the constant attacks of the spitter fishes and warp fishes!

Just as Tusa thought that the bladed fish-whale would get melted down by getting spit upon a hundred times, the space around the creature suddenly wobbled in a much more serious manner.

In one moment, the bladed fish-whale was out in the open and completely vulnerable to getting attacked from range.

In the next moment, the heavily-injured hero fish returned back among its brothers where a couple of friendly fish promptly brought their comrade away for treatment.

”Thereʼs another big fish among the defenders!”

The Dark Zephyr recorded the most powerful phasewater activity to date in a fish-whale that possessed glittering silver scales.

If the Dark Zephyrʼs sensors werenʼt wrong, the silver fish-whaleʼs entire body was laced with phasewater!

There was so much phasewater in this remarkable fish-whaleʼs body that it could probably power the warp drive of a capital ship!

”Where are these monsters getting all of their phasewater?!”

The power at the silver fish-whaleʼs disposal exceeded that of the warp fishes belonging to the Swarm Kingdom.

Whereas the warp fishes were only able to attack distant targets by disturbing the fabric of space, the silver fish-whale unleashed a veritable spatial storm!

Hundreds of grunt fishes and several elite fishes tore apart as the space they occupied seemed to fracture for a moment!

Although the effect only lasted a brief amount of time, the outcome was absolutely devastating!

The Swarmer offensive temporarily stalled as thousands of surrounding grunt fishes rabidly turned their attention to the separated body parts and ate as much available flesh as possible!

While this happened, the remaining defenders werenʼt idle. Those with ranged attack capabilities continually used their means to damage the aggressive invaders.

One fish-whale generated spikes from its back and subsequently launched them at the distant swarm.

Though a single spike was unlikely to take out a grunt fish, as long as it succeeded in making a creature bleed, the victim would soon turn into food for its own brethren.

This was yet another sign that the individualistic fish-whales developed targeted solutions against the Swarmers!

After slaughtering thousands and thousands of Swarmers, the invading force finally reached the surface of the asteroid.

The fighting turned a lot bloodier at this point. The defenders employed many amazing and effective means to slaughter a multitude of grunt fishes, but a few of them started to get overwhelmed as the elites among the Swarmers ganged up on their targets!

The silver fish-whale unscrupulously made use of its phasewater abilities and destroyed hundreds of Swarmers at a time by unleashing deadly, wide-area space storms that none of its opponents could resist!

Another fish-whale with hard, maroon scales breathed fire that was hot enough to burn the grunt fishes that came into contact with the flames.

By relying on all of these wide-area attack capabilities, the Swarmers were quickly being cut down to size.

”Itʼs not enough, though.”

The attackers were simply too numerous. Hundreds of bodies were ready to fill in the void left by their brethren and more were ready to follow suit at any time!

Just as Tusa thought the Swarmers were able to break through the defensive line of their opposition, a fish-whale that was larger and more majestic than any other fish emerged from one of the large and more intact buildings.

The newcomer possessed a body that was as large as a small starship and exuded much more power than usual. The creatureʼs rippling azure scales and remarkably bright eyes indicated that it had incorporated much more remarkable enhancements than its smaller comrades.

As soon as the giant fish-whale emerged, the Swarmers finally slowed down their offensive. Their fear and vigilance towards this super enemy was greater than their instinctual urges!

The giant fish-whale slowly opened its maw and began to unleash a wide energy blast that wiped out at least a third of the attacking force at once!

”What?!” Tusa reacted with much more shock than before!

The power exhibited by this giant fish-whale vastly exceeded that of everything else he had encountered before!

Not even the Bolvos Rage was able to wipe out thousands of Swarmers with a single salvo of attacks!

The only enemy in his memory that possessed a comparable amount of combat power was one that still evoked a lot of dread in his mind.

”This… fish-whale king… has the power of an ace mech!”