"We should scout the goals in the east first before planning anything strenuous." Shimika Doppler began to return, glancing around the swamp once to take in all the details. Based on Vishen Walta's line of sight, she observed the broken rock pillars, watching them half-subrged in the swamp, arriving at the sa plan as him.
They both made eye contact, smiling at the other party's thoughts. Hruna Bone was silent, thinking of sothing as she gazed at a certain Lava Turtle retreating from the battle. A mont of realisation later, her eyes widened in shock.
She pulled back the two retreating people, pointing at the Lava Turtle. "That Lava Turtle has been behaving strangely for so ti."
"Which one" Vishen Walta paused, feeling a shock course through his spine. The Lava Turtle was indeed behaving strangely; its head gazed at the sky while its body moved forward. It headed towards a goal, its intentions unknown.
The stranger point to note was the lack of Hunter Clams on its back. It didn't seem as if they had died in battle considering its lack of injuries. The Lava Turtle emitted faint sounds, blowing off steam from its nostrils.
The steam condensed into a small cloud, one that hovered above its head. It swirled around, forming a vortex, creating a dispersed pair of arms. Within a second, the cloud dispersed. A similar phenonon occurred every ti the Lava Turtle exhaled, which happened once every 80 seconds.
After seeing it for the third ti, the three Cadets looked at the faces of one another, feeling nervous, retreating a good distance into the land.
"It is about to lose control." Hruna Bone muttered.
The Lava Turtle seed to be in pain, its cries unheard by its brethren thanks to the ongoing war with the Floating Spiders and the ensuing sounds. It finally seed unable to bear any longer, its neck stiffening up, erect like a pole.
Its face gazed towards the sky, opening its mouth, creating a large geyser. It was an Amplifier Lava Turtle; the geyser created as a result of losing control, one produced through strain was quite powerful, impacting the psychic energy barrier hovering a hundred tres above.
The impacted water spread around, turning into water droplets that fell like rain. The war between the Floating Spiders and the Lava Turtles paused for a mont; the Floating Spiders retreated like a wave, shielding themselves from the raincondensed from boiling water.
Only now did the Lava Turtles notice the oddity of the situation, slowly turning around to gaze at their brethren in the back; it was on the verge of losing control. With a final cry, its voice cracked. In response, its shell too cracked, beginning to split into three, each making an angle of 120 degrees.
The swamp around the Amplifier Lava Turtle bubbled, with each bubble produced as big as its head, growing in intensity with each passing second.
"It's here!" Shimika Doppler muttered, her expression serious, her posture battle-ready, enacting maximum alertness.
"I knew it wouldn't allow such a situation to develop further." Vishen Walta motioned for Hruna Bone to hide behind him, watching the bubbles around the Lava Turtle beco as big as its body.
Followed by a gust of steam that covered its entire body, a gaping maw erged behind the Lava Turtle, sporting a face similar to a turtle but one that was elongated, bearing a faint resemblance to an alligator.
The gaping maw bit on the Amplifier Lava Turtle's shell, clamping shut imdiately; it caused cracks to form, breaking the shell into innurous pieces. The maw opened and closed once again, biting off a huge chunk, spilling out copious amounts of blood.
The blood spilled onto the swamp water, imdiately raising steam in large volus. The third chomp completely severed the body of the Amplifier Lava Turtle into two. As it spit out the remains, the gaping maw slightly retreated.
Four Hunter Clams jumped out from its back, all Amplifiers. They dug into the severed body of the Amplifier Lava Turtle, tearing through flesh, unaffected by the high temperatures. They soon exited its body, holding a spine.
It was cylindrical in shape, coiled around by nurous nerves, all leaking blood. The middle portion had an evened out bulge, thinning along the ends. The end on one side was even smaller than the other, also possessing two spokes.
It wriggled, desperately resisting confinent. The four Amplifier Hunter Clams wound their tentacles around it, constricting its movent. They floated on the swamp water, raising the bound spine towards the gaping maw, waiting for its decision.
The Gaping maw closed; a thick gust of mist escaped its nostrils as it retreated into the swamp. The four Amplifier Hunter Clams raised the strength in their tentacles, twisting the spine and ripping it apart into five pieces. They paused for a couple of monts, watching each of the five severed spine parts twitch erratically, turning limp one after another.
Once they went limp, the four Amplifier Hunter Clams further ripped them apart into many pieces, dumping them randomly before entering the swamp, heading in the direction the giant maw had retreated.
"It is not a newly broken through Developer Lava Turtle," Vishen Walta sighed, massaging his brows, watching the goosebumps that had ford over his arms, "It has probably been at Tier 3 for a considerable duration, at least a couple of years."
"That makes it all the more scarier." Shimika Doppler began to return to where the rest of her teammates were, intending to give a final round of instruction before enacting their plan. "And, should it possess an Unranked Skill, the situation would prove dire for us."
"Since the Tier 3 Floating Spider possesses an Unranked Skill, the chances are high for this Tier 3 Lava Turtle to possess one too." Vishen Walta clenched his fists, "It might be the sa for the other two Tier 3 Frenzy Beasts too."
"We can only prepare and hope for the best. We still have sufficient ti on our hands." Hruna Bone glanced at the sky, noticing the position of the sun inching towards the centre. "We have approximately three-fourths of the allotted ti."
The three returned to see the remaining team mbers having finished the construct, only leaving behind a small door for entry. Vishen Walta tapped around a couple of places, determining its structural integrity, glancing at Hruna Bone.
Hruna Bone unleashed her psychic arm, seeping it through the construct, turning all the stone and soil into her Refined Object. She then increased the resistance offered, ensuring any other Esper wouldn't be able to easily take control of it.
She also checked for any gaps or faults, rectifying them. She then raised its structural integrity, nodding upon completion. In the anti, Shimika Doppler motioned for everyone to enter, watching them walk into the construct one after another.
Vishen Walta stood beside her, gently unleashing a trace of his aura. When everyone had entered, he spoke, "Now, each of you will donate two energy biscuits to your respective team leader."
"What? Why?" A girl spontaneously questioned, wondering for his sudden statent.
"Why?" Vishen Walta laughed, "How else are they supposed to defend you? Tier 1 Skills hardly consu much energy. Also, if you don't spend any energy, two energy biscuits are sufficient for 24 hours. But, Tier 2 Skills consu a lot of energy upon each use."
"Except for two energy biscuits, the rest is unnecessary for you. But, in the case of Shimika and Hruna, it is a necessity, especially after theirs were polluted thanks to the attack of the Lava Turtle." Vishen Walta folded his hands, turning silent after saying his piece, only smiling gently at them.
He made a fair point, his tone equivalent to one used in chit-chat, but for so reason, the team mbers shuddered. They nodded and were about to take one out from each of their pouches when Hruna Bone stopped them.
"Your hands are coated with the blood from our last battle. Let take care of this," She lifted a pouch from her teammate and added energy biscuits from everyone until it numbered 16 in total. She strapped it around her hip, firmly securing it.
She then evened the quantity in each pouch of the eight team mbers, doubling it in the final pouch which she handed to a teammate. "The two of you share from this."
As they nodded, Vishen Walta pointed at the weakest mber, "Give your sword. I'll return it when I escort my team here."
The pointed boy nodded ekly, throwing his sword towards Vishen Walta. Once everything had been discussed, Hruna Bone closed the entry, making the entire construct blend in with the surroundings.
Turning around, they proceeded north for 20 tres, appearing in the terrain with cylindrical trenches. Hruna Bone took out an energy biscuit with the help of her psychic arm, eating it swiftly. She then took out another and fed Shimika Doppler, replicating the sa for Vishen Walta at the end.
The pouch she took out from was her own, the energy biscuits in them were undamaged. Hruna Bone sighed, "The fact that they forgot about the pouches being waterproof and their ability to resist elents to a certain extent, those Cadets won't make any significant contributions in the future."
"If they were capable of such basic observations, they wouldn't have been ranked beyond 600." Shimika Doppler shook her head, "Besides, they lack the drive to improve. Such types will either change upon facing the loss of a beloved or die a fruitless death."
The trio began to head east, treading through the trenches to avoid being detected. Since the depth of the trenches was almost their height, they could proceed forward without being detected. Wrapped around them was a barrier of psychic energy, shielding their image from sight.
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