NOVEL SIMPLE Death will claw at your face.
[Fauna Files : Searching database...
- World Creatures :
Category: Firstborn Beasts
Result found for "Lupinox". File access...]
"When you hear the moon howling in the night, you are already a meal for the corpse pack." Saying from a human fairy tale of world 17.
Lupinoxes, more commonly known as "Werewolves" by many of this world's inhabitants are wolf-like beings who have the ability of standing on two legs and wielding tools. They are categorized as Firstborn beasts, primitive beings unable to cast or sense the unknown energy called "Manawave", also known as Magic, and fall into the classification of Daemonic race due to their primarily bestial physiques.
Lupinoxes live in a similar fashion as wolves do. An Alpha standing atop of a pack who decides the next movements of the group. But contrarily to their animal counterparts, Lupinoxes are able to form very large groups of individuals, although for a short time due to their nature.
Although they ressemble wolves, Lupinoxes possess sentience and a humanoid upper body with overdeveloped forelimbs. They are also able to form nomadic societies where packs will travel, settle temporarily in a place the Alpha deems suitable and live off the resources the local ecosystem can give them. This usually lasts until half of the pack dies. That moment marks the start of a new voyage in which the rest of the pack and its newborns pack their belongings and the bodies of their kin to another location.
This pelicular behavior may seem barbaric but behavioral studies by several of our esteemed Sky-Beyonders show that these actions in fact save the environment they settle in from ecological collapse.
To understand this matter, analysis were conducted on bodies with the approval of Alpha •••, and several abnormal facts that defy the very-laws we know of have been discovered. Among these facts, three of high medical interest.
- Lupinox bodies do not decay and retain the functions of a living one for a century at least. Alpha ••• explained it as "Soul poisoned by body leaves like wind."
A normal Lupinox corpse is said to be able to outlast 20 generations of Lupinox and further beyond if the corpse is cared for.
- Lupinoxes, alive or dead, hold highly toxic substances in their bodies, in amounts that would kill beings such as a Space Whale. The presence of such substances is what push Lupinoxes to carry and consume the bodies of their kin past a certain amount of time.
For unknown reason, these toxins ar not effective on Dog and Fox-people but rather act as "Domination Pheromons", causing panick, loss of sentience and total submissiveness upon inhaling or coming into contact with them.
- Lupinoxes have a very short lifespan. A normal Lupinox will live for approximately 5 years and an Alpha lasts for 10 years. The most credible leads we have found at this date indicates that the effects of the toxins seem to take effect after the first mating, which usually occurs at the age of 3. The presence of toxins in the subjects' brain matter seems to corelates the explainations provided by Alpha •••
Their origins are unknown but studies of genus samples have shown that Omega members who fled from ancestral packs are likely progenitors to Kobolds and Demi-human races such as Dog and Fox-people, although they are considered lesser kin, and even traitors for diluting their blood by mingling with humans.
(Note that Lupinox biological tissues should never come into contact with these races of Demi-humans for the reasons cited above.)
More information can be found i----
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"What you do with brother's body, Benefactor?"
"Are you interested in these things? I'd have never thought you were. Well, since you are, I supposed I can tell you. You see that rosey blob? That's the brain, where your brother's soul was. And with these cables, I am relinking the brain with the body. It's a very delicate process."
"But what little metal plate for? Soul is gone, cannot replace soul with this."
"Well that's another type of brain. Let's say it's a brain from... a golem. A very smart golem."
"But brother has brain, is not sufficient?"
"It is. But this golem brain is needed for what I want to do with the corpse. The brain will be lodged deep inside of your brother's brain and replace the part that creates fear and dominates your kin's primal urges. The golem brain will rationalize all of that and treat it as another thing that the soul sees."
"But... brother dead. He can't fear."
"But I can. It won't be good if I feel things I am not supposed to when I control your brother's body."
"You?! Go inside? That why you put lot of metal in it?"
"Precisely. I made a few arrangements to leave some space for my self in there. But this is a foreign body I'll be controlling. That's why I left off some parts of your brother's in there. I need this body's instincts, but I don't want them to influence me. Now I just need to carefully place the brain where it's supposed to be."
IronJaw watched anxiously as his benefactor manipulated the gooey blob. She was very serious. Of course she was serious all the time but he had never seen her like this. It made sense that she didn't want to feel fear or bad emotions. The stress he was feeling right now was not good and he didn't want it.
After what felt like hours, IronJaw woke up in alarm, the screams of joy he was hearing surely meant that the Elf had succeeded. He grumbled, trying to stand up. He was having such a nice dream where he was tasting a delicious Tortuuga liver with a pint of Monnwater. He then smelled the air. It was cold and humid. Night would be here soon.
"Let's go Jaw. Didn't you tell me there would be a party tonight? We can come back later. I really want to test your Moonwater. But please, cook the meat a little bit more. I can't stand it raw as you guys love to eat."
"Ahhh! Of course! We forget weak stomachs exist!"
=
"That's a fine piece of meat. Where did you get this?"
"Benefactor, hunt was successful today. Wounded wyvern landed today. Wing teared apart and spear in guts. We finished off when it slept. Meat is very good. Smoke flavor is very strong." IronJaw's lieutenant replied before digging in again.
"Hm? Then that description fits... a wyvern I fought two days ago. Have you done something with the materials?"
"No, no. Scales and unedible piled up in forest."
"I appreciate the offer but I won't be able to do anything with it right now. I was thinking of sending a cart to fetch the scales and everything that can be used as armor or weapons. But maybe you'll find some uses yourselves so I'll leave it to you guys."
The Lupinox nodded and started cutting another piece of meat from the carcass. The howls of joy of the others and the scent of Moonwater was relaxing. Not as much as the sound of a hammer or a grindstone but still. Lupinoxes were simple but not mindless. Victor made them relatively early in Tales of Steel and Magic's developement. Werewolves were cool in young Victor's eyes.
In the game, Lupinoxes were the only friendly acqaintances of Victoire. Not friends per say but she could relax a bit, mainly because they trusted her fully.
Victoire thought about her debut in the game. The human-centric route was the obvious choice in the prologue. This route opened the humanoid territories to the player and they could grow relatively easily.
However, the convoy attack was a test of swiftness, but also of ability to observe a situation in a short time. If you looked at the scene of the prologue closely, the convoy was being surrounded by the fighters, in the outer edge, the humanoids, in the inner ring, closest to the convoy, were the Daemons. Being in the inner egde seemed like an odd position for the attacking force.
Yes. The Deamons were the ones who were being attacked. And in her past life, Victoire had chosen to help them. That obviously closed off the human part of the story and instead allowed access to the lands under the Daemon King.
The early game in the Daemon side was much harder. There were less resources, far more hostile entities and humanoid assassins often went after you for the first in-game week. But your growth potential was much more important.
In the human side, the human empire that ruled and imposed its rules over magic was a brutal brake to your progress. You had to pass by Empire academies or getting your knowledge from hidden figures or lost tomes across the continent, it depended on what the game's alorythm cooked in all honesty... But that was worth it.
On the other hand, fights and skirmishes were very beneficial to get combat experience in the Daemon territories. You had more chances to die at the start but you didn't stagnate if you chose this route.
But apart from the person Victoire was in her past life, no-one bothered to save the Deamons instead. So there was no feedback on the plot of this part of the game...
'You seem aprehensive. Why?'
"Several things in mind. Mainly, does balance in the world work exactly like in the game? Are Daemons strong enough or on the contrary, are they too powerful as I made them?"
'Huh?'
"In the setting, Daemons and other bestial races aren't able to conjure magic so I buffed them. But now I wonder if that's a good idea since all of this is real."
'Well, you can only know once you see a battle between magic races and non magic ones.'
"Yeah..."
-
"Everyone, thank you for your hospitality. I'll finish this one and I'm going back to the castle. Take care and until next time."
"You wish I come with you?"
"That won't be necessary. I'll finally get your brother's body out of here. Destroy the place with the thing I gave you last time."
IronJaw watched the pendant hanging from his neck. So that was that thing's purpose. The red round thing was very tempting to push on but he had refrained from doing so for the past months.
"Okay. Take care."
=
'Do we really need this much preparations? Is it that dangerous?'
"Yes. Back in my world, biomechanization was a dangerous process, even with the technology we had. There's always a risk when you start touching the self. And even thought what I'm doing is just partial biomech, it's no less dangerous. I'd even say it's worse since I don't have equipment as powerful as what I had in my company.
Supressing and transforming the data of the animal part of the brain is always the hardest part. There were several cases where the human self of clients got overloaded with new senses and feelings. I don't want to end up like that.
That... AMtel thing better give me some good performance... Gosh I swear... what's that brand...? A mix from an alternate reality or some kind?"
'Ready?'
"This'll hurt like a bitch. And I'll have a migraine 100% sure."
Victoire apporached IronJaw's brother's corpse, under the original soul's watchful eyes. Previously a proud Alpha Lupinox, SilverMane had been turned into a biomechanical monstrosity. Four meters and a half of flesh, merged with steel, copper, wires, orichalcium and Zamirite while retaining the original properties of the body.
Even the Domination effect was still effective. The filters of the room could detect a large amout of pheromones and toxins passing through the vents. Truly fascinating... to think that the lore would be replicated to such an extent.
The thorax of the corpse opened, revealing a perfectly-sized compartment for Victoire to fit. The Elf entered the cavity and felt wires connecting and digging into her spine.
Urgh. No matter how much she had wanted to get rid of this process as Victor, this was still the best and safest way to connect during biomechanization, even after two centuries and a half.
The soul watched as her creator took a deep breath before giving the order for the thorax to close itself. The metal encased her as flesh and organs started to grow back and stitch together to fill in the gaps.
Then the lights went out. That wasn't in the plan at all. Victoire was still syncronizing!
"What the hell's that place... That's way too modern to fit in there... Ain't that supposed to be a medieval fantasy? There's a robot in there... and ligths too... That's bad... Wait. That robot looks strong. Maybe I can find a switch to control it... I should be able to make an escape then."
'This... is... the one IronJaw spoke about! Victoire! Wake up!'
Rhhhhhhhhh... khhhhhhh
The copse had started breathing. Then the eyes opened. Red sclera and black slits as irises shat shone in the dark. Those weren't SilverMane's original eyes. But ones from a young wyvern. Thermic vision. That was what made most wyrms so annoying. They could see you even if you were hiding.
The cables holding the body snapped one by one, dropping the corpse on the ground.
STOMP
"Shit, this sounds like a hidden boss to me... better run away."
RHAAAAAAA
HOOOOOOOOOOOOWL
The human in wolf skin knelt on the ground. Judging from his trembling limbs, he was trying to fight and get back up. But he couldn't. His whimpers could be heard in the room and the now awakened corpse advanced forward.
'Victoire? You okay in there?'
"... Predictions... correct. Body instincts still... strong... Can manage... but was overwhelming... at first. So... painful. Bolts, cables, joints all bolted my Elf body..."
Hm. The speech was unnatural. It made sense.
"I deal... with the rat."
The monstrous corpse's claws ripped apart the intruder's entire throat, ending his life in an instant.
"Now time... Strong enough to... prepare plan for king. Not much time left."
Victoire dashed on all four and passed by the numerous tunnels and chambers that previously held other Lupinox bodies. The facility was big, big enough for at least a thousand corpses. But no-one would be able to know about it.
Victoire pushed open the latch that sealed the entrance and accelerated towards RickRockVille. She had a prey and a traitor to hunt.
-
It... h-hurts. Kh! Deep breath Victoire, deep breaths...
Ngh!
Goddamn... it-it's fucking painful... Should go away in a few minutes... But still... Now I understand why the medical department prescribed anesthesia before setting prosthetics up. That's pure madness... Activating all the muscle and nervous system at the same time... the headache's going to be strong.
Everything being bolted into my body... Urgh!
So that's what biomechanization feels like... bad. Strange and bad in the first moments. Can't believe I can control this mass of flesh like that. Should be able to regrow the muscles to hide the wires but that'll take time. The instincts are still very strong. Guess that's an Alpha for you...
But now... just need to focus... where's the tracker pinging?
IronJaw felt his pendant vibrate. The red thing was glowing too.
'Signal, must be. Good luck Benefactor."
He pressed the tempting red thing and instantly, his ears picked a low rumble deep under the village.
'I see...'
=
"Mister Kazu-kun, we're clos- cough cough!"
"You...really don't look okay Why didn't you tell me earlier...?"
"D-don't worry about it, I'll manage..." cough cough
"Obviously you won't!"
The duo smiled sadly, he cared for her and in less than two days, they had fallen in love. They were aiming to get out of the lands under Daemonic infuence and join the academy Flora was supposed to enroll in. But a strong coughing fit made them stop for the night. They weren't really far but they didn't want to take any risks, Flora had to be cured. She explained the reason of her condition and that it could be cured by wolfbane. A pant with a misleading name. Rather than a poison, it was a drug for canine races.
And so, Kazumi started searching for Wolfbane, a red flower with only two petals. It was dark but it was easier to navigate with a torch and after half an hour, he finally found it. Just as he was about to grab it...
"Wel well well... What we have here? Human pup with blood traitor? Hoping to steal graced flower? Sorry, I'll disappoint. You pay price, you life I mean."
Some sort of huge werewolf creature was standing just behind Flora, who was kneeling and trembling.
"Y-what do you want? What are you doing?"
"Nothing really, Reincarnator. I kill you, 'players' not belong here. You felt it... You got nerfed. It is world rules. Now, let's dance!"
Kazumi unsheated his katana and slowly came closer to his opponent. The joints between the limbs were obviously weak points he had to slash. But the words of the being were very alarming. An entity who knew what was happening in its world or another reincarnator. The terms it had used made Kazumi believe it was the latter. Another reincarnated person.
"Why... are you doing this...? We're both humans, aren't we? You've got no reason."
As the entity went closer, it responded, obviously not worried about the blade.
"Ahahah... Reason not needed. Honor, morals... beliefs weak people invented. All to downplay and chain down strong ones do. This not Earth, You adapt to world, or you get crushed. No in-between. Only strengh matters.
Little birdie told me you wanted to become mage swordman... and how many brothers you will kill to become one? How many Daemons? Besides... in world I created... I cannot accept it to... be dirtied by people who think it's game...
Yes, slavery exists, yes, nobles and poor exist... yes, powerful and weak exist... but it is real... it is no black white manga. I made world that is not fairy tale. I will do many things, very bad ones to reach my goal. And now that explaination out of the way, die."
The werewolf swiped its claw and Kazumi barely had the time to react. He lifted his katana in a desesperate attempt to block the blow, which somehow worked. He had avoided decapitation but his arms weren't even able to move now. The awkward angle that formed his wrists wasn't a pleasant sight.
The he felt Magic being pulled towards something. Flora was gathering magicules as a distraction. but it seemed the other mysterious reincarnator had noticed what he was looking at.
A low growl escaped from their throat and Flora's pupils widened. She turned to face him, with a blank face.
"... Kill."
He felt hot. His entire face was burning. He screamed in agony. He couldn't even watch as Flora collapsed while vomiting the meal he had treated her hours before. He couldn't see the monster crippling Flora of her right hand. He couln't see it stomping on the flower. He couldn't see Flora being bitten in the neck by the abomination.
=
"K...-kill me..."
"No... you wanted to escape. Go, humans will find you. You are free."
"..."
"It's an order." Victoire growled. And with that, like a puppet, Flora started running off, not even looking at the charred corpse of the man she fell in love with.
'Wow! That was pretty cruel from you.'
"SilverMane had a strong will. It kind of acted as soon as I saw and smelled the fox-girl. But still. Hardcore, I won't hide that."
'Won't she cause problems?'
'Of course not. First, because I marked her as slave-kin. Second. Who would believe a slave? Third, she's one-handed. She can't even cast that damn magic of hers anymore. Forth and last, a declaration of war. With the amout of toxins I put in her body, she'll go berserk. Hopefully in the capital of the human empire."
'Does WrathBorn knows? Stirring up trouble may not be the best thing to do.'
"Don't worry about that..." the Elf in wolf clothing replied while dusting the fur of the biomech
"The plans I made in-game were worse than that. We were supposed to originally launch a full-scale invasion against the Elves.
But now with my little time-bomb, the humans will be the ones to suffer from an attack. They'll demand answers, answers we won't be able to provide them. So they'll resort to violence. And it's going to be a legitimate war. No-one will be able to say anything.
The plan changed overnight, just before the first reincarnated guy came. I made a call with the Generals and the King. Without going into details, I told them humans could have mysterious backup that had already infiltrated us. And now... If there's two, there's surely more. I'm confident in the balancing and the restrictions I imposed in the game's code but I still don't want to clash face-to-face with these so called 'players' and stuff."
'I see. And I assume you'll use every invention you made in-game for all these years? They've been pilling up in the storages since forever.' Victoire's spirit joked.
"Hm hm. The Lup-infantry is ready. And even with a few machines, we've got technological advantage. They have cannons, but ours are stronger, longer, bigger and more importantly, they're mobile and more accurate, hundreds of years ahead of what this world has. We'll have to worry about their mages and mana-cannons but other than that, our artillery should be able to destroy their forces."
'Still, regular soldiers need to be here. We have to protect our own lines.'
"Of course we do. But this is going to be very different from the usual charge-and-run tactics this world knows of. You've seen memories of my world's history, right? Trench battles. The Empire already has magic muskets but they're inaccurate as hell and unlike in videogames, you don't die from just one bullet. In the heat of battle, pain turns into rage that fuels lifeforce for a few more seconds."
'This is going to be a massacre, right? But I never really understood why we need to take this with conflict in mind. Why can't we just spread tech peacefully?'
"Because of situations inspired from my previous life. Everything always ends in bloodshed. No matter what we try to avoid it. The humans and their Empire won't take kindly that another nation is developing technology other than magic. I created this hegemonic state as the top dog is this world. It rules over half the supercontinent, creates and enforces laws regarding magic, holds the knowledge about magic.
Even Elves, although magically superior, need to bow their asses and study in Empire lands to learn about this power. Unaware of... wh-t... is un-ergr-nd..." Victoire mumbled at the end.
'Unaware of what ? I ddin't catch that.'
"Forget about it." the Elf dismissed her words as if they were nothing.
"But do you understand? The Empire will start to feel that its power could vanish, threatened by a power they can't control, but if they hear about tech spreading, what can stop them from studying stolen or scrapped goods and reverse-engineer them?"
'No? I still don't really see.'
"The people with education, mages, commanders and officials, will be on the battlefield, unlike in my modern times. And a rain of explosive steel won't make a difference between a noble and a conscript. Once we reveal our tech, the only people who will hopefully remain are women, children and individuals who don't have the background or the abilities to study.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the world I made is stupid. But a superpower who has the political and military might to restrain the main power of its world will definitely not educate all of its citizens. Ignorance is a bliss after all. "
'Oooookay. I get it now. Seriously, you sure you didn't switch out personalities with me when we merged. We're fucking wicked now! Oh, by the way, how much TNT did you put dow- Huh, not what I meant.'
"... Really? That old cube game video? You watched the wrong memories. What have you been doing in our mind for the past three days?"
'Nah, I wanted to know how you planned to... go back to the castle like that. Nobody knows any Lupinox there. And certainly one who has been dead for a decade.'
"Easy. I'll climb. And there's a lot of secret passages. Like in Hyrul- copyright, that's right."
'Will WrathBorn enroll Lizardmen in the army? They're strong.'
"No. Not directly. SulfurSwamps isn't too far away from where the war will take place but they still haven't recovered from the conflict with the Elves, what I wrote was brutal. They'll be able to get us fresh fish tho. But enough chatting. We need to start preparations. My little pet will blow up in an unknow amount of time. Better be prepared by then."
"-eallysure about this? Ain't that just pure suicide? Standing like idiots in holes is just making our troops look like helpless sitting ducks! They'll be completely defenseless in front of a spearman."
"I agree with Dozer. The formations we're been using up until now cost us some men but they're effective. Our stronger physiques are still an armor by themselves. I don't see why we have to hide ourselves in these... 'trenches'. And putting our troops in a three-part front is the receipe for disaster. What do you say about this, Your Majesty?" a female Lamia turned to her interlocutor.
Red skin, muscular arms and torso, two wicked horns and a overdeveloped jaw. That could be considered as a Demon, not a Daemon. But the king was an Oni. Not some entity from the depths of Hell (which didn't exist according to the setting, just like gods and heavens).
The royal Oni rose from his throne and stepped closer to the banquet table. Instead of delicious food was the map of the world.
"Lady Crimson isn't wrong. The Republic won't intervene but the Elves may see an opportunity to get back their... traitor. Forgive me for using such a term, Master Smith.
The reliefs of the Dwarven Lands will help us to not get surrounded in the corridor but I am still against putting our soldiers into three groups on the frontlines, with only one being active. It would be spreading them too thin. And I do not trust the Elven enclave one bit. They could revolt at any moment."
"So you guys are all against me?"
Tsk
"We're sorry about that Dacier but you haven't actively been on the frontline. Your ideas saved many lives, we are all aware of that but effectively planning troops movements and enemy forces is another matter than hygiene and resource supply." Dozer said sheepishly. A Bullman. The definition of a living fridge. Almost as big as IronJaw, well rather, the herbivore version. Despite his appearance he was quite cultured and chose his words carefully to avoid misundersandings.
"Besides, asking us to not to be on the front is madness. How are we supposed to command our soldiers?"
The generals and the king watched the Dark Elf's cursed limb tapping on the table. They knew that in these moments, Victoire was getting lost in her thoughts, and it was better to not urge her. Who knew what she was thinking about? There were so many things she was working on, so many projects, blueprints, infrastructures she had shown them for the past decades.
Tch...
Ah, the eternal tongue click too. Iconic.
"It's all about power. Elves and humanoids, apart from our Dwarven friends, all have access to magic while we balance this out by superior physiques and instincts. The three of us have been in a standstill for... longer than we lived. Maybe not Your Majesty and me but still. But there's a point where... personnal strengh won't be enough in a conflict, whether it's magical or physical.
I'm sure you and every noble in the castle has heard me rambling about... 'cold hard steel, breaking through to elevate war and ingeniosity.'
I... recently made this breakthrough I believe. On several domains that could change waras we know it. I want to show it to you guys."
"But, these breakthroughs you speak about. Won't humans try to get them too? You're selling your equipment worldwide after all. And how come we haven't hear of these projects?"
"... Yes. But soon, the armors and blades I forge will be akin to paper and sticks in front of what I just developed. And besides... contrarily to swords and chestplates... my creations... will never leave the Daemon Realm. I will never ever give them up..."
"So it is done, Victoire. About time."
"Yes, I just needed one last thing and I happened to get it yesterday."
"So you were aware?" Crimson, Dozer and the other Generals asked the regal figure.
"Of course I was. She was the one who presented the projects to me. We agreed to develop them but she would receive no aid from the castle. She said they were risky and failure was a common occurence. Alright Victoire, lead the way."
The Master Smith nodded and signaled the troupe to follow her with a hand gesture. The Oni picked up the map and rolled it, before stuffing it in a pocket. It was a precious item after all.
They walked for five long minutes, going down and down and down. Finally they stood before the gates of the royal forges. Victoire stepped forward and started to touch a translucent black slate. Moments later, the gates opened with loud creaking sounds. The smell of charcoal and sulfur assaulted everyone's nose and the heatwave that followed was very unpleasant.
Then the Elf started to strip. Dozer gasped and hid his eyes. Everyone looked at him with a deadpan face and facepalmed. This was a common occurence. The forges were pratically Victoire's home so she made herself comfortable. Besides she didn't have naturally heat-resistant skin. She still had the body of a frail Elf.
"Dozer, I'm just getting out of my armor. There's nothing to see. You can't even realise how much I cook in there."
Nothing to see my ass... the Bullman thought. There were clearly two medium-sized hills under the woman's blouse. He shook his head and moved on with the rest of the group while grumbling about lack of self-awareness.
"So, where's the thing you want to show us? Is it far?"
"We are close. Patience."
The group of higher-ups positioned on an elevation platform. An elevator Victoire called it and waited... again.
"Now we're done." she voiced out loud everyone's prayers as she opened a hidden door sculpted in the stone.
A gentle breeze carressed their faces, signaling they were outside. Judging by the surroundings, right under the cliff where the castle was. Had they been going down for so long?
But what mattered was another thing. There was some sort of big cart, with a long tube attached by various mecanisms on its rear, facing the sky. Right next to it, a golem like entity.
"A... Lupinox? What's it doing here?"
"That is... the breakthrough. This Lupinox corpse can be controlled from the inside by a soldier. Their ability to stay in a good shape after death made them very interesting to experiment on. It took me a lot of time but you can control this, like an armor.
I can assure you that these are much more sturdy than any armor I made at this point. They regenerate fast and I desactivated the feeling of pain and fear from the bodies. Only your own body reacts to it to avoid any risk of phantom pains when leaving the corpse. A thousand of them at the ready. Now I just need normal-sized, loyal soldiers to train in them."
"That's madness... how do you manage to do this...?"
"When you're dead, you're no different from a Golem. Earthveins replaced by veins and strings that deliver thunder from your brain. So I had to find a way to connect your brain to the other, bestial one, all while mitigating instincts and negative feelings.
Now, moving on. You're surely aware of the existence of muskets and cannons, right? Well, this is a manned mobile cannon. Much more firepower and much sturdier.
But enemies mustn't be allowed to get close to them? They are useless in that case. Another downside is that they wear out fast. But that's not a problem with me around. And if you would please?" the Elf asked as she showed a lever on the machine. She also mimicked someone covering their ears. Lady Crimson slithered forward and activated the switch as the others stuffed their ears.
An explosion rang in everyone's eardrums and the cart recoiled away. The spectators watched as a red and grey thing traveled into the air, coming closer and closer to a small cliff. Then another explosion, a silent one this time. But a very big explosion, that brought down and entire side of the rock formation.
Seeing as the Smith was still covering her ears, the others did the same. About three seconds later, the sound of the second explosion reached their ears.
"Do you see it now? Why I don't want any of you or your troops on the front? A hundred of them are awaiting deployment. Can you imagine what the humans will feel? That was more than a kilometer away. A single mobile cannon, with a single projectile... did all of this. Now, you put another hundred of these machines, firing non-stop for fifteen minutes at a rate of two projectiles per minute... What will the human side do?"
Everyone was silent. This thing was... way more destructive than any spell or muscle could ever hope to achieve.
"Very well. I've seen enough. You'll have to re-explain the tactics you came up with. I'm not sure everyone understood them."
Tsk...
Sniff... Sniff
"We were supposed to launch the game together goddamn! Why? Why cruel world?! Why did it have to be you...? The game is ready for fuck's sake! You should see... Sniff. Everyone is hyped for the release...
We've got two billions preorders across the solar system Victor. We're online in a system week... You should be proud Victor... you should be proud of what you've accomplished... Tales of Iron and Magic will be live... your dream Vic, your dream...
I don't know if you hear me but... we'll release the DLC in a year, just like you wanted... And we've got a collab with that monster hunting game you loved as a kid..."
Merde... pourquoi tu peux pas être là pour voir ça... mais... je peux au moins... te rajouter dans le jeu... Ton perso au moins. En hommage. En tous cas, c'était un plaisir de coder le jeu avc toi. Au revoir Vic.