Chapter 90 - Ending The Fight

Lily's mind reeled from the sudden onslaught of feedback from over a dozen of her Hive Units perishing at once— plus the ones that were injured in the process.

It was as if a bursting pain was ringing throughout her mind, the throbbing sensation causing an ache. Blood trickled from her nose— her hand wiping it away as she regained her composure.

If it wasn't for her enhanced mental strength, such mental feedback would be much worse; however, since her mental state was so high, it only made her temporarily disoriented. The blood loss was a natural bodily reaction to warm her of the impact.

"I expected it to be difficult, but this is disappointing."

She couldn't help but be disappointed in her own lacking capabilities—it had to be known that even though she was a hivemind, she rarely relied on her Hive Units to fight, and they rarely got injured.

Due to this she had little experience with personally controlling or dealing with the backlash that was brought about by the mental feedback of the Hive Units being connected to her mind— espicessly in such a large amount.

She shifted her attention back to the scene through her Hive Units.

From that attack alone, over 11 of her Swarmlings had been torn apart and instantly perished under the force of the explosion, including the ones that died facing the other mutants. In total, she had 34 Swarmlings remaining.

Even worse was the fact that a Direworm died from that explosion— being an expensive unit to produce and a key figure in her plans, losing one was unfortunate.

Putting aside the losses to the Hive for the time being, she assessed the situation on the battlefield using the various view points. The once chaotic scene lay eerily silent, the air thick with dust, smoke, and the wailings of pain coming from surviving Fort members who were caught in the explosion.

What she found curious was the way the explosion destroyed things—it wasn't like a bomb going off that simply destroyed everything around it; instead, from her point of view, it looked more like an outward burst of energy that either pushed everything away or disintegrated things that were too close.

The building itself was destroyed, but the walls weren't simply broken— they were caved in, overlapping with the inside of the building and sealing it off.

The people that were close to the scene that had managed to survive the Swarmlings were on the ground with bodies broken and seemingly rotting— as if acid had burned away at their flesh at rapid rates.

The ground had cracked, and a large crater had formed, with the mutant that had exploded at its core. As the dust slowly settled, she found the mutant still alive.

Albeit, they were seemingly passed out on the floor.

As the dust settled further and Lily was able to make out more of the battlefield, she found that the group of mutants, though battered and bruised, had managed to survive the blast, shielded by the barrier created by their companions.

From what Lily could tell, the barrier was barely holding on; cracks had formed throughout it, and the mutant that created it was supported by another member of the team.

It was clear that this was the majority of his strength—he would be useless in any further situations.

Lily felt a pang of anger ringing through her mind at the loss of her creations— many died because of the actions of one mutant, and even his allies remained.

But she quickly snuffed the thought out and focused on the matters before her— anger and grief were of no use to her if they distracted her in battle.

The mutant group wore grim faces, seeing and feeling the aftereffects of their comrades' abilities used to the max. They were thankful they survived, but they were not able to celebrate just yet as they noticed the remaining creatures still existed.

With a deep breath, the pain from her mind quickly subsided, and Lily focused her attention on the remaining pieces of the Fortress. Though weakened, the mutants were still formidable and determined; she wasn't sure what cornered animals would do.

She couldn't afford to underestimate them and face another backlash.

Slowly, the Swarmlings began to converge on the mutants from all sides. As the mutants were now gathered in one place, surronding them with the remaining Swarmlings was much easier.

The Swarmlings were swift and coordinated as they closed the area around their target off— but this time, Lily held back some of the Swarmlings. 

Opting to have some remain back and observe a little first from a safe distance rather than having them all dive into battle.

She needed to conserve the remaining forces she had and act only when the perfect opportunity to strike arrived would she act.

As the Swarmlings she sent forward engaged in combat with the mutants— their swift bodies jumping at them with claws and teeth like razers ready to rip them apart— Lily watched intently from all angles.

Her mind raced with thoughts as she analyzed the entire battlefield, looking for any sign of weakness or vulnerability. Even the slightest moment could be used to her advantage.

Even in their weakened state, the remaining mutants were still quite skilled—especially their leader and the muscular female.

They were the main fighting force of the remaining group as the other member supported the weakened Barrier Mutant— using her telekinesis to support the others from behind.

Even with the injured and their team not full, they were able to work perfectly together— showing just how close and trained the team was. They each made up for a gap in another's ability and perfectly countered the Swarmlings that rushed them.

The tension in the air growing thicker with each passing moment— the onslaught of the Swarmlings growing more violent with each passing moment and the group growing weaker in turn.

And then, in a sudden flash of insight, Lily saw her opening to make a move.

The Barrier Mutant passed out from his weakness, which temporarily wavered the Telekinesses girl's attention and shifted it to him—this granted her the perfect chance to get in between the gaps left by her distraction.

Swarmlings rushed the group in an instant, and the ones that waited from behind rushed forward instantly. Slipping through the opening left by the two mutants that fought, they got behind them—their target was the girl.

Normally, she would make up for the blind spots of the other two, but with her distraction, the Swarmlings were able to slip past them and get to her— their claws slashing forward as they sunk into the girl's body.

Blood gushed out as the girl's gutwrenching scream echoed out when the Swarmlings bit into her body and neck, using their sharp teeth. 

Before the other two could realize what had happened— she was dead.

The remaining mutants fought valiantly, their powers clashing against the relentless onslaught of the Swarmlings, but despite their best efforts, they were slowly being overwhelmed— their strength waning further with each passing moment.

With the fall of another of their comrades, their already lacking formation took a heavy blow—they could no longer leave their blind spots to the girl, and because of this, they were quickly put into a disadvantageous position.

The musclar female was the first to fall among the two that reaming— she fought with all her might and did a lot of damage to the Swarmlings however as she fought with her bare body, the wounds eventually caught up to her.

Bleeding out— she could no longer maintain her strength and fell to her knees— instantly, the Swarmlings rushed her and ripped her body apart without hesitation.

With a final burst of effort, Lily pushed her Hive Units to their limits to deal with the final one. He fought valiantly and refused to fall even with all his remaining teams dead—however, even the more valiant souls perished under the masses.

Eventually, he fell, unable to muster up the energy needed to control the earth once more— the Swarmlings were rushing him.

Yet under the impending Swarmliings the man did not show any fear, he did not beg for his life, nor did he cower— his face stood firm as he looked upon the sky.

Just as the Swarmlings covered him— ripping his body apart and killing him— Lily made out the words that escaped his lips.

"For the brotherhood."