Poseidon in Arknights

"Plus, his shell is so hot it's almost glowing; we'd better make sure our weapons don't melt when we hit it."

“Oh, look at this temperature.” Provence held up a handheld thermometer and pointed to the off-the-charts temperature. “For an Originium Bug, this temperature is indeed like a live volcano.”

“You guys were lucky to have escaped from it,” ACE muttered. Then, his shield began to shimmer with a faint glow, and patterns of light, like a tortoise shell, gradually appeared on its surface.

In this environment, using Originium Arts for an extended period of time is not a good thing. However, looking at the huge thing in front of him, ACE knew that without using Originium Arts, the shield in his hand might not be able to withstand even a single attack from the opponent.

"That's right, we don't know if we were lucky or unlucky, but we were almost hit by the gravel he spewed out." Provence's words also carried a hint of relief as he looked at the giant Originium Bug that was constantly spewing gravel around even as it was moving.

“We must change Pompeii’s course,” Provence said, looking at Pompeii. “This will buy more time for the people of Siesta to evacuate. If we can drive it back into the lava, the volcano may not erupt for a while.”

"If we can achieve this, the people of Siesta will be safe, and the mayor there can gradually move the city elsewhere to rebuild it."

"Hurry him into the back passage? Understood, wait a minute." ACE turned his head with some confusion. "Pompeii, the code name of that queen insect?"

“Hmm.” Provence nodded. “It comes from the name of another city I know that was destroyed by a volcano. Anyway, it’s just a code name, to distinguish it from special individuals.”

"Understood." Herag, who was following behind the group, nodded, the longsword in his hand already gleaming slightly. "Be careful to protect your weapons. If your weapons are damaged while facing this guy, it could be a big problem."

"Don't worry, we've already made preparations." ACE nodded. "Anyway, we just need to change this guy's route, and provoking him should also work."

"I think he's pretty angry right now," Tianhuo muttered, the tip of his staff gleaming faintly, ready to attack at any moment.

"It's less about anger and more about fear." Amiya clenched her fist. In her perception, the Originium Bug constantly exuded an aura of fear.

Amiya stepped back slightly, leaning against the Doctor: "Doctor, do you think it could be?"

"I think that's it." The Doctor nodded, then leaned close to Amiya and whispered in her ear, "Originium Bugs aren't very intelligent, but they do know fear. Yuuki scared it, but she hasn't continued to scare it now."

"After sensing the departure of the terrifying being around it, this Pompeii instinctively tried to eliminate any possible danger in its surroundings."

"It is a demonstration out of fear, just like other animals inflating their bodies to make themselves look bigger and more dangerous when facing a predator that is much stronger than themselves."

"But won't this make things even more difficult?" Amiya looked at the Doctor with some concern. They were already finding it extremely difficult to deal with this terrifying monster.

Now, however, it has become even more ferocious, instinctively trying to eliminate all dangers around it. Once they attack, Pompeii will undoubtedly see them as a new threat and try its best to eliminate them.

“It’s a bad thing, but not entirely.” The doctor thought for a moment. “If we can make Pompeii feel pain and threatened, it might escape deeper into its more familiar lair.”

"If we can do this, we will have succeeded."

Chapter 146: The Scorching Battlefield

“…” ACE and Hellagur both looked back at the same time. Although the doctor’s voice was very soft, it was not difficult for the two of them to hear it.

However, the two tacitly agreed not to ask any further questions. Since the doctor did not want to tell everyone, there was no need to verify the matter with him.

Moreover, neither of them were stupid; neither ACE nor Helag had ever heard of that kind of magical tea before.

The fact that a single sip of tea could keep them at a comfortable body temperature in this lava environment—in other words, that it could maintain a relatively comfortable body temperature under any extremely specific conditions—is more than just a strategic resource.

In other words, this kind of thing is theoretically impossible to exist on Terra, but it just so happens that Ace and Hrag know a little about... other people who walk on this land.

Therefore, Hrag and Ace wisely refrained from inquiring about the origin of the tea or about the Yuzuki mentioned by the Doctor.

As for Provence and Tianhuo, although they didn't know some of the secrets, they also knew what to ask and what not to ask, so they didn't inquire about the origin of the tea beforehand.

ACE coughed lightly, drawing everyone's attention: "Since we don't know how long the effects of the tea will last, I think we should get started now."

Then, ACE glanced at the doctor behind him out of the corner of his eye: "Doctor, do you have any plans?"

"There was supposed to be one." The doctor's expression was somewhat helpless. Although he had some idea before, he never expected that this little guy would be such a big little guy.

"The current plan is to find every opening in his defenses, inflict maximum pain on him, and force him to escape. According to biological instinct, if he senses a threat, or if that threat cannot be resolved, he may retreat to his more familiar lair."

“That makes sense, deep within the mine shafts.” Provence nodded. “Give the order, Doctor.”

“Hmm.” I nodded, my expression instantly turning cold. “Skyfire, Amiya will stay here to provide fire support for Provence, ACE, and General Helag.”

"Amiya, you're in charge of weakening that giant snail, oh wait, Pompeii's armor. There are a lot of Originium Bugs around Skyfire. Your Originium Skill Beggar has a wide-range attack capability, so I'll leave the task of clearing out the grunts to you."

"Understood, Doctor." Amiya nodded, her hands already poised to unleash a spell at any moment.

"Clearing out the grunts? Okay, I got it." Skyfire nodded, then looked at the other three. "Don't worry, I'll try my best to keep any Originium Bugs from interfering with your battle."

Seeing that Skyfire and Amiya understood their responsibilities, I turned to the other three and said, "General ACE Helag and Miss Provence, the close-quarters combat mission may require the help of you two."

“ACE, just do your job, General Helag. I believe it’s easy for you to judge when to insert a victory.”

"Don't worry." ACE gently patted his chest with the hand holding the sword. "I will ensure everyone's safety before I fall."

"Hmm." Herag nodded, gently pushing the scabbard open, and a cold glint appeared from it. "I will give that guy a painful blow if I can."

“Then there’s Miss Provence.” The doctor looked at Provence. “I’m sorry, but because of that guy’s body temperature, neither ACE nor General Helag is suitable for prolonged contact with him.”

"Only your heavy crossbow is the most suitable weapon. ACE and Hellagur will create openings for you. The key to cooking this time lies with you. You must succeed."

“Leave it to me.” Provence nodded, understanding that under the current circumstances, only his heavy crossbow was the most suitable weapon to inflict pain on the opponent.

Whether it's the sword in ACE's hand or the longsword in Hellagur's hand, if they were to come into contact with Pompeii for too long, they would probably backfire or even melt away.

Even with the protection of Originium Arts, the fundamental law still applies, just like with primal memories. This extreme high temperature is an unreasonable form of restraint for metal weapons.

If the weapons break, or even if the shield in ACE's hand is damaged, then this will not be a bargaining chip to show off their skills, but a complete annihilation operation.

Therefore, Ace and Hellagur were merely there to distract him; the main focus of the battle was on her and Amiya, who were in their hands.

Seeing that everyone understood their responsibilities, the Doctor nodded: "Put on your headsets. I will do my best to provide you with information and updates on one person. The fate of all Siesta citizens is in your hands."

"Understood!" x5

"action!"

As the Doctor finished speaking, the spells that Skyfire and Amiya had been preparing to unleash instantly left their staffs and shot straight towards the Primal Insects below.

The spell from the skyfire blasted away the Originium worms gathered below as it struck the enemy, while Amiya's spell hit Pompeii's head, which was protruding from the massive rock shell.

At this moment, ACE and Hrag also rushed out of the passage and slid down the rock wall. ACE kept hitting his shield with the hilt of his sword, making a loud noise to attract the attention of the Originium Bugs.

Provence slid down the rock wall after ACE and Herag had drawn away a large number of Originium worms. She didn't even bother to clear away the few remaining Originium worms that hadn't been drawn away by ACE and Herag. She had to make sure that all her arrows hit Pompeii.

Feeling the pain, Pompeii became even more ferocious, spewing out large amounts of flaming debris towards the ACE who had made the sound.

"Holy crap!" ACE looked at the flaming rubble that almost covered his eyes, quickly flashed to Herag's side, raised his shield, and a semi-circular light shield, like a tortoise shell, spread out in all directions along the shield.

Boom—Boom—Boom.

The rubble, encased in flames, carried terrifying force as it relentlessly struck the light. ACE's expression, however, was grim. He had expected this guy to be outrageous, but he hadn't anticipated it to be this outrageous.

Judging from the feel of the shield, each of these pebbles was no less powerful than a heavy mortar shell. However, the advantage was that even the Originium Bugs following them were pulverized by Pompeii during that barrage of bullets.

While this is indeed a good thing, as it means that Tianhuo can free up his hands to help them attack, every single one of this guy's attacks is like this.

If ACE were to use his original shield, that would be one thing, but the Beagle's standard shield can't withstand much damage.

God knows how many more times this guy can unleash that dense barrage of bullets. Even if the storage capacity isn't large, this place is practically a minefield.

ACE and Hellagur exchanged a glance and nodded to each other. They couldn't continue to be beaten like this.

The tortoise shells surrounding them retracted onto the shields, forming a shield of light in front, with an exceptionally bright azure glow swirling around it.

"Ha!!!" ACE charged forward with his shield, trying to block the flying rocks. Dark spells and fireballs flew down from above and slammed into Pompeii's head.

"Hiss!!!" Pompeii looked up at the direction from which the attack had just come, but he wasn't sure if the guy had eyes on his head.

A large amount of rubble was ejected from behind him, but the quantity was much less than before, and due to the parabolic trajectory, only some of it hit the passage.

Skyfire and Amiya had already pulled the Doctor inside, dodging the flying rocks.

While Pompeii was distracted by Amiya and Skyfire, Ace and Hellagur had already rushed to Pompeii's feet.

He suddenly drew his sword, golden light completely adhering to the snow-white blade, the sharp edge smoothly slicing open Pompeii's still relatively soft head.

Then came scalding steam, which spewed out from the cut wound. Herag hurriedly dodged, but the speed and coverage of the steam were faster than his reaction. The scalding steam brushed against Herag's arm, which had not yet fully retracted.

Feeling the heat radiating from his arm, Hrag frowned and casually flicked away the sizzling liquid on the knife: "Be careful, tea can keep us at a comfortable body temperature, but that doesn't mean we're immune to fire."

"Understood." ACE gritted his teeth. This was even more difficult. This guy was indeed a moving volcano. If the scorching steam was lifted even slightly, hot bodily fluids would splash out directly.

This situation is not easy for the two of them. To hurt this guy, they would have to get close with their weapons, but that steam is no joke, not to mention that its bodily fluids are scalding hot.

Fighting this guy is a waste of your weapons and a waste of your life. He's basically a tank that reflects damage, incredibly tanky, and yet he hurts when he hits you.

ACE shifted his perspective backward, looking at Provence, who was hiding behind the rocks with only a small part of its large tail showing. It seemed that Provence was indeed the only way to inflict more serious damage on the opponent.

ACE stood in front of Herag: "Shoot through his armor so Provence can shoot more effectively."

“Understood.” Hrag nodded, moved his arm slightly to ease the pain, then darted out from behind ACE and charged straight at Pompeii’s back.

The gleaming golden blade slashed down, cutting away a patch of scorching steam from the rocky shell behind Pompeii, which resembled a miniature volcano. However, the prepared Hellagur dodged the steam's coverage with his sprinting speed.

"Hey, don't forget me!" Just as Pompeii turned his heavy body around, ACE rushed forward, his sword covered with tortoise shell patterns, and slashed Pompeii's body with force.

As for the scorching steam, the patterns covering ACE's body kept it out.

"It's just a bug after all, with a single-threaded brain!" ACE smiled as he watched Pompeii wince in pain and try to turn away.

------------

"Calm down..." Provence took a deep breath behind the rock, his heavy crossbow loaded on the rock, constantly aiming at Pompeii ahead.

Just as Helag regained the upper hand, and Pompeii turned around to reveal the large piece that had been broken apart by the two men, Provence decisively pulled the trigger.

Lu Jianhua, amidst the fragile air, entered Pompeii's body at a perfect angle, right up to the root.

"Hiss!!!!" The pain at this moment was unlike the magical attacks from Amiya or Skyfire, or the sporadic slashes from Hellagur and Ace.

The crossbow bolt pierced Pompeii's body, turning red-hot from the heat. However, as Pompeii moved, the bolt continued to tear through his flesh, and the prolonged pain made him even more ferocious.

"Hiss!!!" Pompeii spewed out countless crimson rocks from the hollow in the rock shell behind him.

"Just how much obsidian did this guy consume?!" ACE struggled to maintain his light shield, protecting himself and Hellagur, who had just slid in.

“It’s starting to retreat.” Herag watched Pompeii, which was covered in rocks, gradually retreating. “The crossbow bolt that Provence just fired made it feel threatened.”

“Hmm.” ACE nodded. “We are a danger to it. It felt pain. Anyway, whatever the reason, the people of Siesta have gained a period of safety.”

After confirming that the area next to them had completely disappeared, they continued deeper into the mine tunnels, where ACE and Herag pulled Provence back up to the tunnel they had exited.

"Sigh, I'll have to get a new set of weapons from his Beagle later." ACE looked at the sword in his hand, which was now only half-broken, and the shield, whose surface was covered with dents and even showed signs of melting in some places.

Herag was also gently wiping his weapon, and breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the still gleaming blade.

Tianhuo looked at her skirt with some heartache. They had dodged in time, but Tianhuo's skirt was still torn by the flying pebbles.

"Seriously! I never thought dealing with a bug would be so difficult! Now my skirt is ruined too..."

“After all, it leads an entire tribe,” Provence said, sitting to one side. “But if someone hadn’t destroyed their habitat first, perhaps…”