The Boss Wasp was huge. The size of a human, about five and a half feet tall, from head to tip of its stinger. Hard to tell as it was curled up a little, and he wasn't even taking into account those long antennae that stuck out. Black and yellow stripes running down its body like a particularly deadly racing car. It moved like one too, breaking free of its nest to explode outwards, zipping upward to dodge a floating ball of unrefined Tower energy that struck the nest, moments later.
Arthur cursed, stepped back to give himself a second and focused. The Refined Exploding Energy Dart he had been building flew forwards, cutting through the air to target the creature as it flew upwards. To his anger, but not to his surprise, a slight twitch of the creature's body was enough for it to dodge the attack.
Damn it.
His attack had a lot going for it. Speed, conservation of energy, explosive power. But it was, at the end of the day, a single-shot, blind attack. Once released, it could not home in on its target, it could not change course. A monster moving this fast could easily dodge his attack.
As though dismissing Arthur, the boss flickered forwards, buzzing down so quickly it brushed by one of its own wasps, sending it spinning around as it struggled to deal with the turbulence. It struck at the last moment, pulling upwards from its dive to hover and stab with its massive stinger, the damn thing so big it might as well be a sword. One that dripped with poison.
Its minor hesitation was all that saved Yao Jing from immediate death; the big fighter crossed his arms before his body to take the attack. He managed to slip it just above the striking stinger, slowing its plunge even as it dug into his body and then ripped upwards. Stomach cleaved open by sheer force, throwing him upwards and backwards, skin already blackening from poison.
A bark, a bullet striking the creature in the side. Rick had no time to switch guns, and so he reacted by firing with his pistols. The bullets tore into the creature's body, the first one managing to hit, the second missing as it darted away. It buzzed higher, dodging the bullets as it twitched in the air, reorienting on Rick.
"Shit!" Arthur cried, trying to break free from his own attacker. No time to get around it though, with the damaged wasp focused and in his way. He blocked the latest sting, cursed as it got into his face and forced him back again and again. Always, he tried to get around to striking it, even as Rick stopped firing for a moment, his gun clicking empty.
Arthur could see the future in his mind's eye. The Boss Wasp flying in, plunging its stinger into Rick. The man wasn't as fast as Yao Jing, and Arthur could imagine the attack impaling the man entirely. See it shake the body off, even as Rick died. Then, it would pull back and the wasps that were already becoming a problem would turn on them, finish it off.
Energy that he had been pulling towards him was poured into the Heavenly Sage's Mischief. Too slow, he knew, as he watched the Boss Wasp dart in.
Perhaps Rick knew what was coming too, for he had thrown himself backwards, abandoning trying to reload his weapons as he brought his hands up to guard himself. Even as the wasp came to a hovering stop, shadows emerged from the ground. Some to slam upwards, to slow down and block the striking stinger, others to grip Rick and pull him back further.
At the same time, more attacks landed. An arrow, fired from the distance, buzzed through the air, slamming into one wing and then tearing out through the other. It caused the Boss Wasp to stutter in its flight, to tumble downwards, its attack marred as it scored Rick's bracers and glanced off them. The creature fell to the ground, even as shadows tried to wrap themselves around its limbs, pulling at stick-thin legs as it scrambled on its back.
Not that that was the only battle, for a bottle of oil landed on the nest. It went up in flames, the dried clay and spit and twigs and whatever other materials the wasps had used were now burning merrily. It caught at the thin hairs of the wasps that still struggled to exit, spread as droplets fell, as another keening stone cracked open heads and a blast of condensed Tower energy struck.
Eric ran towards the nest, holding his spear close to him, stabbing down at wasps that had been grounded. Killing them before they could crawl over to do more damage. Mel, by his side, fighting desperately against a pair of uninjured wasps trying to strike him down. Yao Jing was desperately trying to stem the flooding blood of his wound.
Then, time sped up again, as future prediction shattered and the cultivation technique snapped into place. Arthur felt the surge of energy coursing through him, Heavenly Sage’s Mischief empowering his body. When he next blocked the wasp before him, it found itself thrown backwards further than expected. A moment's hesitation as it tried to reorient its body, instinctively trying to find altitude. Instinct betrayed it, for now it was far enough away for the spear point to find its body.
A single thrust, empowered and using Focused Strike, plowed through the body, leaving it pinned. Arthur didn't even bother trying to retrieve the spear that had punched all the way through, instead dropping it to the side as he snatched at his kris and dashed over to the boss.
He wove another technique, knowing he had only a little time before it broke free from Uswah’s tendrils. Gambled, on Murphy, on expectations as he chose which of his many techniques to use, knowing he still needed the Heavenly Sage's Mischief to do battle.
The Boss Wasp broke free, tearing itself out of the gripping shadows, pulling itself upwards. Damaged wings or not, the mixture of magic and physics was more than sufficient to empower its rise. A foot, two feet, four. It rose upwards in a blink, rising almost vertically.
Grinning, Arthur engaged his Seven Cloud Stepping technique, kicking himself higher off on the cloud that he leapt onto, getting above the creature. He came crashing down as it rose, arms extended with the kris leading the way. Blade plunged into body, one arm fouling around the tip of a wing and bearing the creature down as he let go of the qinggong technique, giving the Boss Wasp his full weight.
Something burned along his body, drawing a streak of pain that dug into his side and nearly causing him to let go of the wasp he bore down on. The bark of a bullet came nearly at the same time. Eyes wide, even as he twisted and turned the kris in the bucking, twisting wasp.
"You shot me!" Arthur cried. He'd glare at Rick, but his face was buried next to the creature's flesh, his skin tickling as tiny hairs brushed at his skin with each jerk of the monster.
"Shit! Don't just jump without warning me," Rick cried.
"Don't just shoot!" Arthur snarled, continuing to twist and dig in. He could sense the kris’ Yin poison entering the creature's body, even as it thrashed around. If he could just hold on, he'd win. Of course, that was a big if.
After all, it wasn't as though the Boss Wasp was not moving around desperately, twisting and turning even as they fell to the ground, bouncing the pair of them on the earth as they thrashed around. His grip was slipping. His legs hurt, his face was battered again and again by flapping wings, the stinger stabbing open air and batting at his legs, seeking an opening in the armour.
Tiny feet, pushing against his body, barbed and tearing at his flesh. It was like holding onto a rotating skewer of meat, one filled with poison and malice. Each drop of poison that fell from the stinger wafted into the air, causing Arthur's eyes to burn, his breathing to tighten. He felt his strength being robbed with each moment in close contact.
Still, he was winning. He was sure of it. He just had to hold on. None of his friends could help him, but he could win.
As the drumming increased, Arthur realised it was not the pulse of his heartbeat juddering in his ears. No, it was the drone of more wasps as they emerged.
He could hold on. Now, if his friends could do the same, they might just win.