Chapter 139 - In The Name of Artillery

*(mood song: "Kidz In The Hall - Break It Down")

They walked to a tall ice hill and they finally could see the armorlisk in the distance, as it was enthusiastically digging the ice mountain, green chunks of ice being thrown to the sides by the beast, using its flat pointy shovelhead to clear the material it dug up with its claws, a big crater already forming where the mountain used to be.

The bots then started installing the enormous cannon onto the icy hill, the entire thing the size of a truck as they slowly installed it over two massive metallic front wheels full of spikes to adhere to the ice, in the end, just a gigantic wheeled version of a Flak 88 cannon.

Rose observed the armorlisk and sighed, muttering to herself: "wish I could have made a railgun sigh... but that would have been impossible to up here, we would have needed the core from the Forge to power something so big up here... oh well... this should be-"

Amanda: "but are you sure this will be enough? that beast is heavily armoured..."

Rose shrugged: "this cannon is also much more than what you think you are seeing too, it's made is bio alloy from the iron mussels, and uses a highly explosive compound to propel an osmium round with a tungsten carbide core, I've also prepared abyssal bone cores too just in case"

Amanda: "...what if that doesn't pierce it? or what if the damage ain't enough?"

Rose rolled her eyes annoyed: "...then we run..."

Amanda: "...that's it? that's all your plan?"

Rose: "well, I came to rescue Erik, so... this is what I came up with as a diversion, but now that he's safe we can just try and see how it goes for real taking our time, even if it fails we will gather data for the next time..."

Amanda paled as the blue lines under her skin turned dim "why did you bring me along...? I can't regenerate like you...."

Rose put her right arm over her shoulder and used her left arm to point at the bots: "don't worry too much, you just need to run faster than the bots and you will be fine~"

Amanda: "...that doesn't make me feel much better... maybe I should start going back..." but Rose's armoured hand was clamping her shoulder like a vice "teacher... can you let go...please?"

Rose: "well you see, since you are my... student, isn't it only logical for you to stay and learn~?"

Amanda struggled but Rose in her tight fitting new power armor was way too strong.

Rose: "hush my student, it's almost ready~"

The cannon was almost mounted in place as the bots loaded a two ton 500mm round into the cannon, and closed it, moving levers as they aimed it at the side of the belly of the armorlisk, twelve other rounds left on the floor next to the cannon.

Rose: "aiming... FIRE!!!"

*BAAANNNGGG!!!* the plains rocked with the colossal explosion, a twelve meters long blaze leaving the muzzle as the projectile cut the air like a hot knife through butter and impacted the armorlisk at the right side of its belly, penetrating it and leaving a car sized wound that instantly started bleeding, the seer impact force throwing the enormous beast to the side, as a moment later *BOOOOMMM!!!* the sonic boom rocketed the surroundings.

A Bot with binoculars at the front: *IMPACT CONFIRMED!*

Amanda relaxed as she exhaled "haaah... glad it-"

Bot: *enemy is standing up!*

Amanda: "huh?!"

Rose whistled: "impressive... we will need lots of samples from that... armorlisk!" her eyes shining with greed "RELOAD! KEEP FIRING!"

The bots promptly loaded a new round, and Rose's eyes glowed a cyan color as she took over control of the fifty bots, making them go way faster and fluidly.

*KROOAAHHRR!!!!* The armorlisk stood up and charged in their direction as it left a trail of purple blood behind it.

Rose: "haha~ NICE TRY~!"

*BAAANNNGGG!!!* The armorlisk tried to react using the thick spike in its head, but the shell was unavoidable, it was impossible for the armoured beast to react to something so fast as it impacted on its chest, and actually made it slide backward, cracking the armor of its chest, and leaving a one meter wide wound.

The armorlisk wasn't dead though, and it was really close by now, quickly recovering and charging forward once again.

Amanda: "let's run! it's too close!"

Rose: "it's fine, it just needs one more shot..."

Amanda: "but there's no ti- huh?" but then she saw 30 bots charging, fifteen to each side of the beast, and open fire at its wounds with both the rail guns and oversized plasma rifles that were magnitudes stronger than the plasma spears the damage was enough to considerably damage the wounded unprotected areas, enough to make the beast notice the threat.

The armorlisk slowed down as it tried to cover its wounds from the concentrated fire, growling from side to side and curling to his injured side as it ran in a clearly awkward way, still going after the biggest threat, the cannon.

Rose: "and that's how you use pawns... now just FIRE!"

*BAAANNNGGG!!!* this time the round scraped the neck of the armorlisk as it moved its head side to side, and with incredible accuracy hit the wound on its chest, going deep inside this time.

The armorlisk stopped running, but continued to walk weakly instead, as a torrent of purple blood came out of its chest wound, its lungs hyperventilating like the bellows from a forge, it was clearly dying and the beast knew it, but it wouldn't give up.

*KROHAHH....* it growled while panting as its six eyes glared at the small beasts that had injured it, and finally right in front of Rose *BLAM!* the beast fell to the floor as its panting was slowing down.

Rose: "seems like you are choking on your own blood humm... poor thing... let me help with that~"

She pointed her weapon at one of the three meters wide eyes of the beast and pulled the trigger, and her oversized railgun shot a projectile point blant, right into the head of the beast through its eye.

The armorlisk then twitched a few times and finally died, its corpse now lying on the green and purple icy plains.

Rose examined the enormous corpse and frowned.

Amanda: "so... how do you plan on moving it now?"

Rose caressed her chin and said: "...guess we will dismember it here, and take it down piece by piece, since it will freeze by itself here on the surface, we just need to guard the corpse so nothing else tries to eat it... we also have those hybrid crabmen people doing nothing, they can walk on the ice so they can help dismember too... and it has an awe and intimidating effect too, as when they see we can take down something like this... hehe~ they will become more honest and obedient~ lets see if that fire tribe blacksmith can work this metal too... not like I can't do so myself but... there's more than enough" she then murmured, "yeah, the frontal hull could be made of this..."

Amanda: "wow... you always have something planned teacher..."

Rose held her head high "of course I do, that's how great I am!" she then looked thoughtful "better inform Erik, let's see how he's doing..."

--- Meanwhile below the ice ---

Erik had dug out a tunnel down into the ice and with a final quick broke the ice and slowly came out into a dark ice cave, a hole in the ceiling being the only light source illuminating the place, in the middle of the cave a hole filled with ocean water rippled with the light.

Rose: [oh, you are almost out, good job (◉ω◉)]

Erik: [yeah....almost... how's it going up there?]

Rose: [hehe~ we got the armorlisk, I'm sure it will be a great evolutionary source~]

Erik's eyes opened wide: [wow, really?... that will surely help a lot... there's space in the crab people city to store it if needed]

Rose: [yeah, already thought of that, aren't you gonna ask how I took down the armorlisk?]

Erik shrugged: [bet you used a big railgun to one shot it]

Rose: [brrr~ wrong answer~, I took inspiration from your memories and made a really powerful chemical combustion cannon, kind of like the H.A.R.P orbital cannon you have on Earth]

Erik: [...what other things are you making? I'm curious now]

Rose: [nothing special, a couple thousand repair drones, thousands or torpedo launchers, a submarine dock at the other side of the mountain, your submarines, a couple more platoons of battle bots, portable radar scanners to install on the perimeter, some chainsaws for the hybrid crab people to use, the tunnels between areas now have cameras, and the tunnel down from the crab people city controlling some flesh puppets, nothing much really (✿◠‿◠)]

Erik: [...sigh... I'm sorry for asking for so many things... I believe in your judgment, so... can you scan this cave? I have the feeling I shouldn't turn my lights on...]

Rose: [alright, let's see.... oh...]

Erik: [what? tell already!]

Rose: [well your intuition is really good it seems..., there's something right to the left of your exit tunnel, but... it seems to be resting or sleeping]

Erik gasped: [...is it big?]

Rose: [...around the size of a.... an elephant I would say]

Erik: [...you said it might be sleeping right?]

Rose: [yes? no no! don't even think about that!]

Erik: [come on! no peeking my thoughts, I just wanna take a quick look...]

Rose: [sigh... secure an escape path first at least...]

Erik: [yep, that's probably for the best, I will just drill down to the water and that's it] and so he kept digging for a couple of hours amd finally reached the ocean, and went back up to the entrance to the dark ice cave.

Erik: [alright... did it move?]

Rose: [...no, it's still there]

Erik: [good good~] he then took a peek and activated his headlamps, revealing six meters away a quadruped beast with big black eyes, four clawed legs, a tail like that of a tadpole, spikes over its spine like those of a swordfish and a snout full of rows of sharp spiky teeth like those of an abyssal fish back on Earth, the sudden lights seemed to have scared it though as it quickly jumped at the hole in the middle of the cave and getting away.

Erik then observed the place that the beast had just been at and saw a nest made of bones and animal pelts, with twelve green eggs on it.

Erik crouched on the nest, and examined the eggs, the exterior seemed to be made of an extremely durable bio rubber [interesting...]

Rose: [are you gonna steal one?]

Erik: [wow steal... no I'm just helping her... it, raise one of its children, it will be easier for it to feed just eleven puppers than twelve after all]

Rose: [hey I'm not judging but... be fast, the mom is coming back with reinforcements]

Erik: [oh shit!]

Erik quickly stored the basketball sized egg in a container and jumped down the tunnel he had dug down, moments later hearing a multitude of enraged roars like whistling howls coming from up the tunnel.

Rose: [it seems like she didn't get your kind intentions?]

Erik shrugged: [...well that's fine, I like that beast, as it was a mix of both terrestrial and aquatic, it could be a nice gain for pulling carts or something like that]

Erik came out under the ice, not getting too far from the green ice behind him as he could only see a black and dark abyss below, only a faint glow crossing the thick green ice.

Erik: [...now what Rose?... Rose?! oh shit... where to go now...-]

Rose: [pffft haha~ sorry sorry, alright go to the right 30 degrees, then activate the jets and keep going that way until you see the base, keep close to the ice just in case, it should take you some hours to get there]

Erik did as told and got moving in the direction told, like a torpedo through the water leaving a trail of bubbles behind [...it wasn't funny by the way...]

Rose: [sorry, you sounded so desperate haha~ it was just a joke, in winter there shouldn't be any beasts so near to the ice don't worry~ ¯\_(✿╹◡╹)_/¯]

Erik: [...Rose... this ain't the world you used to know anymore... don't make safety assumptions when my safety is on the line okay?]

Rose: [... I... okay I understand... you are right, sorry... this world has kept evolving without me... you are right... (っ◞‸◟c)]

Hours passed, and he finally saw the outer perimeter of the mountain base, quickly approaching as the octopeople keeping the perimeter came to salute him, and talked with the radio intercom on their helmets.

Guards: "WELCOME BACK FIFTH ELDER!"

Erik: "Did anything happen while I was away?"

Guard captain: "nothing of danger to the colony Fifth Elder, just that miss Rose mobilized the crab people and lots of... bots and sent them over the ice, apparently they hunted a big beast on the surface"

Erik nodded: "understood, continue guarding the perimeter then soldier"

The guards saluted and went on their way continuing with their patrol as Erik landed on the plateau and finally felt safe again "ah... finally home~" he then patted his container belt "now let's get to these..." so he decided to go to the greenhouse first to check on the crazy old alchemist crab man Beritkan.