Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 828: Hive Resource Management II

CH0828 Hive Resource Management II

***

Of course, Alex hadn’t overlooked the fact that herbivores generally reproduced far more quickly than carnivores. If left unchecked by their natural predators, he risked making the eventual beast tide even larger than originally anticipated.

However, he ultimately decided that it was far better to face five—or perhaps even ten—herbivorous berserk beasts, creatures that rarely fought except when defending themselves, than a single predatory berserk beast, whose very existence revolved around hunting and killing.

Then again, maintaining a large herbivore population also meant that the Hive would have a plentiful and readily accessible food source much closer to home.

Another future problem Alex had already begun considering was the Hive’s location.

As the berserk beasts were gradually driven back and his domain continued to expand, civilisation would inevitably spread towards the mountain that housed the Hive.

When that happened, not only would the Hive’s food supply become increasingly distant, but the Hive itself would also occupy valuable land and resources that would otherwise become part of the developing domain.

Keeping the herbivores nearby for as long as possible would buy Ava valuable time to grow stronger and, hopefully, develop a solution to the Hive’s long-term mobility problem.

With Alex’s orders transmitted through the Hive Network, bat and crow drones took to the skies and forest alike, searching for carnivorous predators.

These reconnaissance drones were roughly the same size as ordinary crows. Their primary advantages were their extremely low presence—which was further aided by the fact that they were not truly living beings—and their enhanced vision, allowing them to locate suitable targets with remarkable efficiency.

Once a target was identified, its location was immediately relayed through the Hive Network to the attack units responsible for engaging it.

For instance, one crow drone spotted a Green Sabretooth Tiger silently prowling through a forest clearing.

The beast had instinctively suppressed the green aura that normally coated its body, allowing its magnificent orange fur to blend more naturally with the surrounding foliage.

To human eyes, the brilliant orange coat would have stood out.

To its prey, however, the tiger’s colouring might as well have been another part of the surrounding vegetation.

Slowly and patiently, the tiger stalked through the grass and undergrowth, its entire body poised to strike.

Its target was a young male Earthshaker Bull that had only recently reached adulthood and had wandered away from the safety of its herd.

Unable to vent its primal instincts now that the route to the Rotbark tributary had been cut off, the young male Earthshaker Bull took out its frustration on the surrounding flora, leaving holes and bodily fluids wherever it could to relieve the primal urges raging within it—urges further intensified by the berserk energy coursing through its body.

The Earthshaker Bull became so engrossed in satisfying those instincts that it failed to realise it had gradually wandered away from its herd.

Nor did it realise that it had become the target of a Green Sabretooth Tiger.

Just as the bull discharged another round of fluids into a narrow hollow within a tree—or perhaps one it had made itself—and was momentarily vulnerable, the Sabretooth Tiger struck.

It pounced with explosive speed, driving its long sabre-like fangs deep into the bull’s neck and accurately piercing the major blood vessels supplying blood to its brain.

The bull thrashed violently, instinctively trying to throw the tiger from its back.

The Sabretooth Tiger, however, refused to release the prey already trapped within its jaws.

Before long, the desperate struggle came to an end.

The Earthshaker Bull collapsed lifelessly.

Having successfully hunted a Class 2 Earthshaker Bull, the Class 3 Green Sabretooth Tiger prepared to enjoy its meal.

The faint warning aura naturally radiating from its body had already driven away most nearby berserk beasts, none of which wished to challenge a predator while it fed.

Just as the tiger lowered its head to begin eating—

Hum~

It suddenly caught the strange buzzing of countless insect wings.

The sky above it darkened.

Looking up, the tiger saw an endless rain of stingers descending like arrows.

There were so many that they almost completely blotted out the sky.

Instinctively sensing danger, the wind-attributed beast immediately attempted to flee.

It almost succeeded.

Almost.

Only the tiger’s waist and hindquarters were caught by the first volley, but that was enough.

Dozens of stingers buried themselves deep into its flesh.

Injured, its greatest advantage—its speed—plummeted almost instantly.

The buzzing only grew louder.

Only then did the predators responsible finally reveal themselves.

The Hive’s Vulture Bee drones.

Suddenly, every stinger that had missed the tiger rose back out of the ground and flew through the air, returning to their owners.

Curiously, however, the drones made no immediate move to continue their assault.

Instead, they simply hovered in formation, silently observing the wounded predator.

Roar~!

Preparing to make its final stand, the Green Sabretooth Tiger let out a furious roar.

The drones remained completely unmoved.

Soon, between the blood loss and the venom coursing through its body, the Sabretooth Tiger weakened rapidly until it finally collapsed onto the ground in agony.

Only then did the company of drones move in for the kill.

Pucchi!

Another several dozen—perhaps close to a hundred—stingers shot through the air, pinning the Sabretooth Tiger to the ground like a pincushion.

Individually, each drone was relatively weak, hovering somewhere between Class 1 and Class 2.

However, when dozens—or about a hundred—worked together in perfect coordination while employing venom, even a powerful Class 3 beast like the Sabretooth Tiger stood little chance.

Once the beast’s death was confirmed, the drones retrieved their stingers.

Four Vulture Bee drones then descended, seized the tiger’s carcass, and lifted it into the air before flying back towards Hive Mountain.

Another dozen or so drones worked together to airlift the Earthshaker Bull that the tiger had hunted.

Nothing could be wasted—especially not even a free carcass.

Viewed through the eyes of one of the crow drones gliding overhead, the scene was somewhat chilling.

Dozens of berserk beast carcasses were being carried through the skies towards the Hive.

A quiet sense of dread gradually settled over the berserk beasts living along the Frontier March’s border with the Great Berserk Beast Forest, as well as those inhabiting its outer reaches.

Back in Fonterra, Alex rubbed the bridge of his nose as he severed his shared vision with the Hive.

He had monitored the entire operation remotely through the eyes of several surveillance crow drones responsible for locating prey for the Hive.

He was still getting used to the sensation of sharing multiple viewpoints simultaneously—even with his second mind, Orion, shouldering most of the mental burden.

It was certainly nowhere near as seamless as sharing the vision of Senu alone.

Alex leaned back in his chair and allowed himself a moment to clear his mind.

‘The operation was a success. The drones coordinated and executed their assigned tasks and the updated Instruction packets almost exactly as instructed,’ Alex thought.

‘With this, I can confidently deploy them for that mission.’

Alex rose from his seat and walked over to the window.

‘What was that saying again? “The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind”.’

Alex recalled the ancient proverb.

‘It might not fit this situation perfectly, but it’s close enough.’

A faint chuckle escaped his lips.

His eyes gradually narrowed.

“Well then… let’s see just how far you’ll allow me to go,” he muttered to himself.

***