Chapter 13 :Weapons of the Dark Continent
The Venomous Mist Centipede, its head still buried deep in the cavity of a crimson flesh-eater's corpse, suddenly pulled free.
Bloody chunks of meat fell from its monstrous jaws to the dry ground below.
Then its long black antennae extended, sensing something
Germain.
Had it already discovered him?
He glanced down at the lantern by his feet the inscription read Cooling Complete.
This time, instead of retreating immediately, Germain stepped forward toward the massive creature.
The Venomous Mist Centipede twisted, its tentacles searching the air, tasting the presence of the unknown intruder.
When it detected movement, it froze, confused, before slowly descending from its meal.
Try using your speed, Germain murmured.
He materialized his musket in one hand and a butcher's cleaver in the other, sprinting sideways zigzagging to the creature's left flank.
The centipede's eyesight was poor; it relied solely on the vibrations its tentacles detected.
Because of that, its reactions were sluggish.
Germain seized the opening raising his cleaver high, he swung down on one of its enormous legs.
Thud!
The dull blade slammed into the centipede's joint with the force of a butcher cleaving a pig's leg.
The limb split apart severed cleanly.
A deafening, guttural howl tore through the valley as the centipede writhed in agony, twisting its long body to strike back.
Germain caught a glimpse of its mouth blood still dripping from its fanged palate and smelled the nauseating stench.
Without hesitation, he lifted his musket and fired straight into its jaws.
Bang!
The shot shattered one of the centipede's fangs.
It recoiled violently, thrashing its segmented body in pain, roaring like a wounded beast.
But Germain didn't rush in.
Instead, he retreated swiftly ten meters back creating distance.
A wise move.
Moments later, the centipede's entire body began to tremble, like a rattlesnake shaking the hard chitin of its tail.
Then it exhaled a toxic black mist, thick and boiling, potent enough to kill even a crimson beast the size of a car.
The deadly vapor began to fill the valley.
I knew you'd release the poison… Germain whispered, anticipating the creature's move.
The mist served both as a weapon and a defense mechanism a smokescreen that blinded enemies and poisoned anything living.
But it also dulled the centipede's own senses, its tentacles flailing uselessly in the haze.
In other words, its own poison worked against it.
Germain reached into his backpack and pulled out a remote-detonated bomb.
He dashed forward, hurled it hard into the dark cloud then raised the trigger.
Click.
BOOM!
A violent explosion erupted.
Flames burst skyward, painting the valley in a blinding orange flash.
For a moment, everything went silent.
The poisonous fog scattered, blending with the black smoke of the blast.
Germain waited, motionless, refusing to approach too soon.
He stepped back further, careful not to be caught by a shift in the toxic wind.
When the flames and smoke finally cleared, he could see it
The Venomous Mist Centipede, as long as a train, had fallen on its side like a derailed locomotive, curling its massive body into a crushed coil.
A thick stream of black blood poured from a gaping wound where the bomb had hit.
After a brief silence, its many legs twitched again
faint, spasmodic movements, like cockroaches convulsing in a corner.
Germain tightened his grip on the cleaver, resting one hand on his hip as he tilted his head slightly.
Not so easy, huh? he muttered.
The Arms of Humanity
Legends described the creatures of the Dark Continent as terrifying
but humans were no less terrifying, especially when armed.
So long as they didn't encounter beings with truly supernatural powers,
humans still had a fighting chance here.
Bombs, in particular, were among humanity's most formidable weapons constantly refined, redesigned, and never obsolete.
The remote bombs Germain had acquired were simple but effective.
Even so, they only managed to partially destroy the centipede's limbs.
Did he really have to dive into that poisonous mist again and finish the job up close with only a musket and cleaver?
He reached into his pack again
a gas mask.
Before he could decide, a sound split the air.
Whup-whup-whup…
The beating of enormous wings.
Germain looked up just in time to see a colossal moth soaring from across the valley.
Its broad, scale-covered wings shimmered gray-brown in the light, and its wingspan easily exceeded that of the centipede.
The centipede's antennae twitched violently it sensed death approaching.
Its legs flailed desperately as it tried to release another cloud of poisonous mist.
But its venom reserves were already depleted.
And the giant moth known as the Hurricane Moth had its own way of dealing with poison.
It ascended higher, above the reach of the mist,
then beat its scaled wings in long, deliberate strokes.
A massive whirlwind formed beneath it, scattering the toxic fog effortlessly.
The Hurricane Moth didn't stop there
it continued fanning the air, driving a focused vortex toward the wounded centipede.
Its wing patterns shimmered like the eyes of a predator.
The centipede shrieked, spewing mist again and again,
but each attempt was swallowed by the Hurricane Moth's windstorm.
The cycle repeated until the centipede's venom output dwindled to nothing.
And in that moment, Germain understood.
The Food Chain
The crimson flesh-eaters had evolved camouflaged shells to hunt and hide from predators.
The Venomous Mist Centipedes developed their toxic fog to prey on those crimson beasts
and to escape from the moths.
And now, the Hurricane Moth, predator above them all, had evolved storm-summoning wings to kill the centipedes.
A perfect, merciless food chain.
A Hunter's Adaptation
Germain realized he could use this natural hierarchy to his advantage.
Alongside his own discipline, telekinesis, and human weapons, the Dark Continent itself could become his arsenal.
The Hurricane Moth's winds had cleared the poisonous fog,
leaving the centipede exposed a rare, perfect opportunity.
From his backpack, Germain pulled the rope he had used to climb the valley cliffs earlier.
He dashed forward, closing the distance between the moth and the wounded centipede.
As he neared, he flicked the rope with precision
the metal hook at its end coiled perfectly around the Hurricane Moth's neck.
With a sharp tug, he yanked hard.
The enormous creature screeched in surprise, its wings folding.
Then it plummeted
crashing into the centipede's massive body like a falling meteor.
BOOM!
A thunderous impact shook the ground as dust erupted skyward, swallowing both monsters in a storm of debris.
(End of Chapter 13)