Chapter 58: The Mainland War – Chapter 23 (Face of the Monster)

 

1 day since the last chapter…

Succubus Homeland, Research Facility

 

“Shaya, why do you have a gun?” Rex asked the little succubus who walked into the Research facility.

 

Not only was it not the striker-fired version he had made, but it was also a revolver like what Welch used. Shaya looked down at her gun then back up at Rex, a look of defiance was on her face. Just as he was about to complain, the image of Kira with her giant battle-ax appeared in his mind. The image of the two little succubi overlaid in his vision, and he sighed in defeat.

 

“Alright, just don’t point it at anything unless you are prepared to use it.” Rex said.

 

Shaya walked over to one of the cabinets and opened it up, inside was her stool, which she happily carried over to the mill. On top of the mill’s bed was a large rectangular block of steel, she was going to make the engine head. Rex smiled as he watched her climb her stool with a determined expression. As long as it was just the two of them, she was much easier to talk to. This led Rex to believe he had discovered something that made Shaya unique among the succubi.

 

I think she is autistic…

 

She had a lot of unique traits about her, the stool was the one that stood out the most. Shaya was very protective of that stool, the cabinet that she kept it in was locked by Rex when it wasn’t in use. She wanted it locked in the same cabinet that Rex kept explosives in, and she was a succubus! The fact that she valued that stool as much as explosives were incredible for a member of her species. 

 

“Hey Shaya, before you begin can you show me your gun?” Rex asked.

 

Shaya looked at Rex with a weary expression, she hesitated for a few moments before she walked over shyly and presented it to him.

 

“I am guessing you snuck in here last night? In the future, if you want to use the shop without me here you need to have an adult present. I’d be worried if you were hurt!” Rex scolded the little succubus as he took the gun carefully. “This is incredible, you rechambered the revolver that I had you make to the smaller 45 caliber round. You must have redesigned several parts, did you do this all in your head?” 

 

Rex as an engineer would know immediately that it was impossible to just scale down the parts from the bigger revolver. This would have required quite the redesign for everything to fit in a much smaller frame. Rex could also tell that she had even fired the weapon a few times from the scratches in the barrel.

 

“Yes…” She said she was looking at the ground with a troubled look on her face.

 

Rex reached forward and grabbed her chin and pointed her head to face him. 

 

“Regardless of what your sisters may say about me, I am not one to take things away from people if they enjoy them.” He said with a gentle smile. “If you think you will have problems getting someone to accompany you into the workshop just come and get me, alright?”

 

Shaya finally nodded at this and Rex returned the gun to her, right now his mind was rapidly churning. Her gun had a short barrel that rivaled his own of around 184 millimeters, or around 7 inches. This made it easy to maneuver and accurate at close range. Rex could tell from the wear inside of the barrel that she had even fired the weapon a few times, probably right after she made it. Rex had almost wanted to take it apart to see the inner workings but he stopped himself.

 

Seeing the little succubus standing on top of her stool and starting to mill an engine head, a thought crossed his mind.

 

She might become the best craftswoman in their history…

 

John Browning was the most famous gunsmith that Rex had ever heard of, but he was 24 when he patented his first gun, Shaya was only a few years old. Suddenly the little girl with a hairclip and problems facing crowds was beginning to look like an uncut diamond.

 

If she was just following directions that would be one thing… but she is doing it her way…

 

Nikola Tesla, Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, Emily Dickinson, Elon Musk, and Alan Turing. These were all people who fell on the autism spectrum, every single one of them was brilliant. Some people thought they were developmentally challenged, the word “retard” was even used for a few of them when they were children. When Rex first began to understand things like autism and that people’s minds worked differently, he felt disgusted by the people who would judge them so harshly. 

 

Walking over to the mill, he stood beside Shaya and watched her work. He would never say a negative word to the little succubus. If his lifespan was only to be what a normal human experienced then he wanted this short period of her life to be like a warm blanket for her. One where she was always encouraged by her teacher, even if she took advantage of him a few times it wouldn’t matter.

 

“You are doing great, Shaya! Keep it up!” Rex said to her. Seeing her little tail begin to raise in determination, a smile was brought to his face.

 

Alright, time to go kill a giant swamp plant!

 

-

Meanwhile…

Beastmen Plains, Unnamed Foxman village

 

A sword took a knight several years of training to learn, a spear took several months. Flails, maces, and axes were adapted from farming tools to shorten training times. A firearm can be learned in an afternoon, it can be mastered in a month. A child can kill an adult with a twitch of the finger. The guns the fox beastmen were using were the long rifles that the succubi used to use that were modified for a traditional bolt. They also had the Monsterfauster rocket launchers and a variety of grenades.

 

All of the weapons that the succubi sold had a branding on them, it was a black spade-shaped mark that Rex was very familiar with, he has had many of these bruises on his face over the years. 300 fox beastwomen stood in a line before Lunas, these were the ones she had spent the last couple of days training. These would be her elites and the start of her troops. Behind her, several crates were being airdropped, and processed copper was being loaded in bags for the succubi to carry away.

 

Walking over to one of the crates she popped the metal tabs and lifted the plastic tops. Inside were many newly processed bullets, gunpowder, and rockets. Looking at the other several crates that were being moved towards her, she could already imagine all of the contents. 

 

More guns, more uniforms, explosives, soap, towels, and blankets!

 

She had also gotten incredible news from her succu-sisters and that was that they were going to be selling even more weapons soon! This news brought a large smile to her face, as she gave her next orders to all of the gathered foxes.

 

“Take up your news weapons and ammo, and we shall go and fight our first battle against the Dingomen!” Lunas announced with anger. “Just last year they forcefully took in 500 members of our pack into their own! An affront like this cannot stand now that I lead the Foxwomen!”

 

Lunas looked around at the gathered foxwomen, she had a very serious expression on her face. The town around her had changed drastically, all of the clayed wooden buildings were torn down and tents were placed instead. These tents used mostly synthetic materials and were smaller versions of the ones favored by the Pride of Men. Lunas liked the size and shape of them, and they were very popular among the foxes. Most beastmen didn’t like sharp corners in their designs. 

 

These foxes were all equipped with the equivalent of camouflaged cloaks that looked like ghillie suits in cloak form. When Rex had thought of the best way to use the foxes it had been as snipers. They had incredible vision and they were very agile. Use the rifles to support a push using rockets and shotguns, then run away. The foxes did not have large numbers, they were spread out over a very large area.

 

“We must send a message to the entire beastman plains that the foxes are no longer the weakest predators in the area!” Lunas announced. “Now, to battle!” 

 

Rocket launchers, shotguns, and large-caliber marksman rifles, Lunas was also inspired by the succubi using their distinct tails as their mark, so she did as well. Their battle flag was gonfalon in shape, or a standing rectangle with a sharp point at the bottom, it was bright red with a white tip. These materials had been carefully prepared before Lunas was sent to the mainland and the foxes would start their first battle in a few days.

 

-

Meanwhile…

Rattholme, Outside of the city

 

Greko was sitting before a large sand table, on it were various beads that represented the different armies and tribes in the area. Fang City had recently been destroyed, and the crocodile beastking wasn’t holding up much better than the tiger king did. An army of 15,000 elves was being directed at the mousemen, and Greko was carefully preparing his brethren to deal with it. Trench warfare wasn’t possible in the water-laden swamp. Instead, tunnels were being dug through the few dry places in the ground and shored up.

 

Digging the tunnels were naked fleshy creatures with large teeth and claws. They could easily rip and tear through the ground using their well-adapted bodies. There were 30 of these creatures who had come to Rattholme, they were called Gophermen.  Out on the swampy grounds, groups of mousemen could be seen burying round objects that looked like a stack of dinner plates. On top of these large round tins was what looked like a button, it then had the logo of a black spade and underneath it read S.F.S. 

 

The Succubus Fulfillment Society existed for the sole purpose of bringing succubus’ dreams to life in weapon form. They originally wanted something that could be placed under a doormat, or in the garden, to deter the burglars that the succubi always worried would climb their way into their volcanic crater. This land mine was one such creation from this fabled group of succubi who made it their mission to bring new tools to the succubi.

 

“The mines are being installed!” A white female mouse reported to Greko.

 

She was now wearing the standard armor of the mousemen with her own gray coat and gas mask hanging around her chest.

 

“Remember to set up the gas grenades on tripwires, they will be here soon.” Bernie told her with a stoic voice. “Even sharpened sticks can be effective if they fall on them.”

 

“Big cheese!” A young mouseman ran up to him and took on a subservient posture.

 

“Report!” Greko commanded.

 

“The elves are coming! They will be here in a few days!” The little mouse said.

 

Greko nodded as if this was only to be expected. “Anything else?”

 

“No, Big Cheese!” 

 

Greko nodded as if this was of little consequence to the tawny mouse.

 

“Well done, go get some cheese and beer, on me.” Greko said as he pushed a bone coin to the boy.

 

Greko nodded as he saw the excited young mouse run towards the city. Only a few beast kings had currencies, most of them saw it as too disgraceful for warriors to partake in. Greko was looking at Rattholme for what it would be in the future. 

 

On the other side of the city, many mousemen could be seen welding plows. As teams, they dragged these large metal tools over the ground, while another team followed behind them with seeds. They were planting a variety of crops, and marking out large swathes of land. Groups of mousemen could be seen coming from the swamp covered in the muck with clear plastic backpacks that were filled with crystal nitrates. Some of these were being mixed into vats to make fertilizer while the rest was being packed in large plastic crates and pushed into a large river.

 

The crates were sealed and waterproofed, and the succubi would scoop them from the river from further downstream. This was mainly due to how close the mousemen were to the Falcon King, so the succubi could only deliver supplies at night when the falconmen’s eyes were useless.

 

“The soil here is incredibly rich! Much better than that accursed island!” an old mouseman said.

 

He was 22 and had a head of gray fur, he was once a solid dark coal color.

 

“There is something wrong with that island! Poisonous plants grow everywhere!” 

 

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“Dave, what are you going on about?” a younger mouseman asked.

 

“While the Supreme Cheese was training us to farm it seemed like it did not matter what we did, even corn would turn poisonous if it was grown on the island!” Dave said in anger.

 

“That is because of the creature in the swamp! That is why the Supreme Cheese wanted to kill it so badly.” The other mousemen replied.

 

“I wonder if the Supreme Cheese has defeated it yet?” Dave questioned.

 

-

Meanwhile…

Succubus Homeland, Waste Chemical Storage

 

Rex looked around the room he was in with shock, all around him were steel barrels that had holes carved into them. The clay floor was covered in deep signs of corrosion but all of the chemicals in the room were already eaten. This was the case with all four of the buildings he used to dispose of chemicals.

 

“Blue… you had babies…”Rex muttered in shock.

 

Around him were several clear bluish slimes that were bouncing around the room, sometimes they would bounce into each other and combine before separating. Through a careful count, Rex soon realized there were over 20 of them in total. Right now there were so many different thoughts going through his head he was having problems describing just how he felt. 

 

This is certainly good, but now I need to think of a different way to destroy the swamp monster…

 

When Rex thought of the giant plant creature in the swamp a fear would pass through him. Over his time on the island he had made several speculations about the creature that was in the swamp, The first had to do with the poisonous nature of all of the plants on the island. The only thing Rex could think of was the possibility that the genes of the plants on the island were being modified. This was the only reasonable explanation he could conclude.

 

I wonder if Blue can fight it?

 

The alternative was to use a large number of explosives, and in a swamp that was not a great idea. The oil and gasses that were everywhere were all incredibly flammable. It was even possible to damage the Refinery if he wasn’t careful. The main reason he had decided to use his waste chemicals to kill the monster was mainly that he could not come up with a better way to deal with it.

 

“Blue, can you kill the monster in the swamp?” Rex asked the slime that was vibrating proudly on his shoulder. “Do you even know what it is?”

 

Rex realized the slime on his shoulder would have never seen the creature in the swamp. Ever since he was attacked in the swamp he never went near that creature again. Now that Rex began to think about things carefully, he realized his hatred of the elves went away around the same time he was attacked by the swamp monster.

 

Hold on… am I a petty person?!

 

Rex was carefully going through every instance in his life where he formed a grudge against something. It was causing him to feel a deep disappointment in himself as he realized a character flaw he had never spotted before. Rex slowly raised his hands and began counting the various instances that he had acted on this impulse.

 

“How cute!” One of his succubi guards commented.

 

They were all staring intently at the various blobs of goo bouncing around the room. All of them had a slight blush on their faces, they were trying to think about how to attract the adorable creatures into their houses. They were all thinking of the level of security it would bring them to have a creature capable of dissolving steel protecting their homes.

 

“Gather all of the slimes!” Rex ordered the guards.

 

All of them had happy expressions, they were finally getting something they wanted! They were so disappointed in the SMG that Rex had designed that they had convinced Shaya to make all of them shiny new revolvers. She had already delivered several of them this morning, they were beautiful weapons. 

 

Rex watched all of the succubi pick up slime with an almost motherly smile on their young teenage faces. Nodding several times he issued a set of orders that made them all very disappointed.

 

“We are going to the swamp, I need to face my fears!” Rex announced to the disappointed guards. “What’s gotten into you now?”

 

-

 

Rex had been dropped off at the oil refinery, Kira was away from the island getting ready to bring her sisters back to the main island. 

 

“She is going to be pissed when she realizes what I am about to do.” Rex muttered to himself in fear.

 

Rex took a deep breath to steady himself as he continued walking deeper into the swamp. The further they went the more the trees and grass looked almost burned or corroded. The grass was black and turned to ash under the weight of his boots, and tree branches that were in his way would turn to ash if he even lightly pushed against them. The ground was also dark and looked depleted.

 

“It is so much worse than when I was a kid, what is going on?” Rex muttered.

 

Rex paused as he looked out into the water that the creature lived in. The first thing he noticed was that the water was slightly see-through, he was able to slightly see the vines at the bottom of the water, but it got deeper towards the center. Looking back at one of the guards he asked her a single question.

 

“Do you see anything in the swamp?” Rex asked. “Anything living?”

 

She looked at him and shook her head, each of them had a clear slime creature in their arms, they were all playing with them. Rex reached down and took the blue bracelet off of his wrist and set it on the ground. As he watched it turn to liquid he reached down and patted it gently.

 

“Wait here, I will be right back.” Rex told it.

 

Looking around at his gathered guards, he told them the same thing.

 

“I need to go see what this thing is, it only attacks things that possess mana.” Rex told them as he began to take off his pants and boots.

 

Stripping to his underwear he took a pair of goggles from his clothes and pulled them over his eyes. On his waist and around his lower stomach and back were various scars caused by this monster when he was a kid. It took no notice of things that had no mana in them, Rex had thoroughly tested this.

 

Walking into the water, he took a deep breath and began to swim towards the center of the large pool of water. The water was gross, but the mold had already shown it was much stronger than anything that could be born naturally. As he approached the edge, he came to the first cluster of thorny vines and carefully picked one up.

 

It’s wilting… is the creature dying?

 

The roots were exposed in several areas, and he could also see that they were not in very good shape. Looking towards the center of the large pond, he decided it was time to see its true form. Rex soon reached the distance he did before when he was a kid and began to see that the ground was getting deeper. 

 

Rex took a deep breath and swam under the brackish water, his goggles made it much easier to see. He was soon able to make out a large amount of the vines that seemed to extend from a closed flower bud that was deep under the water. Seeing the sight of the flower that was large enough to fit several people in, he was forced to go to the surface as he lost his breath.

 

“Wow… it’s like a giant rose…”Rex said in shock.

 

He took a few seconds to gather his chaotic thoughts before he took another deep breath and dived underwater. Kicking his legs a few times he soon came to the large wilted flower bud. It was a dark purple color and appeared to have lines of what looked like gold along the closed petals. Rex reached out and ran his hand along the smooth plant matter.

 

It is dying...what’s going on?

 

The moment his hand made contact with the large plant a small piece of it had broken away. It was slightly crumbling under the force of his hand. Rex noticed that his skin was not reacting like it did when he made contact with something poisonous. Pulling his hand back he suddenly realized he was feeling conflicted, Rex began to ponder this feeling as he swam to the surface.

 

I wanted to make a democracy, then I wanted to kill this creature… Why do I suddenly feel so conflicted about killing it…

 

 These thoughts consumed Rex as he swam towards the shore. The anger he felt from the wounds he had been inflicted was slowly fading as it was replaced with understanding. As Rex got to the shore he walked over to Blue and placed him on his head. Rex closed his eyes as he went deep into thought, feeling the slimy creature start making its way from his head down his body.

 

Rex felt a brief shock when he felt this same feeling at his legs until he realized it was probably Blue’s children. He relaxed as he slowly processed his churning emotions.

 

I am petty, but I am also sympathetic to those whose situation I can understand…

 

It’s why he had never sought revenge against the old elf who tried to mug him, he knew what it was like to be in that elf’s situation. Rex could never fault someone for doing the most logical thing in a situation that was created due to negligence. When food was scarce people would fight for it, if anything he was happy the old elf hadn’t killed him after he got the ore. 

 

I can’t forgive what the Elves are doing…

 

A lot of the beastmen would be considered special needs if compared to humans on Earth. Borscht was a very simple creature who was more emotional than anything else. He trained Welch very carefully, he wanted her to be as strong as she could be. He let Rex ride him around everywhere, even though it was considered degrading. He had always seen Him, Kira, and Welch as his cubs.

 

Dammit, it is a monster!

 

An image of a giant white bear appeared in his head, and a crazy idea was starting to form in his mind. Another image of a blue blob of goo that was violently struggling in a glass bottle appeared in his mind. As he felt the gooey creature carefully and lovingly scrubbing away all of the filth and water from his body another idea appeared.

 

When has feeding a starving animal ever caused me harm? I often heard about this ridiculous statement on Earth. On whether you should teach a starving man to fish or give him a fish… I now think how nice it must be to have so much food that you can simply choose whether or not to starve others while you carefully debate all of this…

 

Rex had so many plans to address the food situation on the island, he would never allow anyone to starve! That was because he so profoundly hated the feeling it gave him, he now knew that he would never reach the same proportions that he would in the modern world. He would be short for the rest of his life, he would also be rather frail-looking. This was the effect of enduring so much hunger during his formative years.

 

I hate it so much…

 

This mountain would be able to sustain the succubi for hundreds of thousands of years, but he had already started to come up with a backup plan. It was a brainchild he considered more of a far-off dream at the moment than a true concept. A vast underground structure designed to trick and trap monsters inside of it. The entire base of the structure would work passively as the chain did, and whenever something died inside of it then its life force would be carefully extracted through the structure. He tentatively called the structure a ‘Dungeon’ and it was still a ways off.

 

Kira is going to be really upset when she finds out what I am doing...

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