Uno

After the retreat, I counted my losses. Out of twenty Lebirs, only four managed to escape. Well, that was a big word. They stumbled back while trying to fend off the attacks from the snakes. In the process some of the aggressors were dragged back to the land, suffocating.

It wasn’t a retreat, but comedy.

This battle really drove the point that in order for the Lebirs to be useful in the future either an upgrade in terms of equipment or combat potential was sorely needed.

And I certainly needed to add mouths to their design.

As soon as I regained my faculties the Drones were put towards making an iron grating. It was used to divide the not-yet-conquered lake and the rest of the dungeon. Of course, I made doubly sure that the free spaces between the metal were too small to let any enemy slip away. And left a part of it movable. I would be back, after all.

Then came the cameras and the Chandeliers, which were installed in the ceiling, lighting up the place and making it a bit friendlier and safer.

Not that it really mattered.

After defensive measures were in place I sat down and started thinking. What I could use in my counter-attack?

There was going to be one of course. No overgrown snake will dictate the terms on which I expand!

The most obvious idea was electricity. Yet, while water in the lake should be barely conductible there was simply too much volume to fry all of its inhabitants. Not to mention that this underground cistern was all composed of drinkable water… I didn’t have access to enough electrical energy to vaporize or electrify it. But then again, something like a localized weapon, with a few meters of range should be doable. And maybe even useful. Especially since the snakes seemed to attack anything that moved. Even if it was a club swung down on their heads. Thus it should work.

Really, calling this thing a weapon may be an overstatement though. I just made a few centimeters thick rod, connected it to the wires already put in place two meters above and prepared to send the electricity through it. And then I was stuck. The wire was of the finite length and because of that this giant energy stick was pretty much immobile.

I resolved the problem in the easiest way possible. By adding electrical outlets.

Or rather I put a few output points in my walls and attached them to the wires inside the wall. Then I added a cord to my new weapon and taught the Lebirs what to do when using the Rod.

As a bonus, anybody stupid enough to put their finger in the socket would get electrocuted.

Normally I would laugh at the usefulness of such a trap, but then again I was in a fantasy world...

Still the resulting rod was a bit too heavy to carry with my artificial arms alone, so instead, I opted for the creation of a few of the “blue-plated” Lebirs (simply for an aesthetic reason) and made them carry the weapon. They shouldn’t die even when electrocuted.

And even if they did meet their end remaking them was easy and cheap, so there was no big loss overall.

Just to make sure I succeed two teams of Lebirs were made in total, eight warriors in each of them (blue and then black type), each of them informed about their orders and purpose. The undead had problems with carrying the rod normally, so I added a few metal handles to both sides of it. Because of that some of the energy would get redirected towards the ground, but it was a loss in power I was willing to accept.

I also needed something else. Plan B, so to speak.

Since my escape, I was thinking about something.

My Lebirs were mainly classified as undead. Iron and dead bodies were after all their main components. Not counting the duct-tape. They were skeletons if one wanted to be precise.

Yet they were eaten by the snakes.

Why?

Were they able to digest them?

Weren’t my abominations I don’t know… poisonous?

I decided to check this theory of mine back at the now blockaded lake.

In an immaterial form, I floated forward, slowly moving through the tunnel. While it was true that my body right now was pretty much invisible and indestructible I wasn’t so sure there weren’t monsters, spells and artifacts which could capture, or even destroy me. Haste makes waste.

After a moment or a few, I arrived at the said lake and a strange sight greeted my non-corporeal eyes.

Quite a lot of the snakes were dead, floating powerlessly in the water.

In the meantime those still alive attacked their unmoving brethren and devoured them whole, only to succumb to the same state minutes later.

So the undead were poisonous like I thought!

A grin appeared on my face. With a bit more courage I moved forward while analyzing the situation. Soon however my smile faded. There was no end to the snakes. It was like something was producing them 24/7. For one that was killed by the poison, another two were swimming up from the depths to eat their fill.

While in the long run, the whole situation would probably resolve itself there was also a chance for some of the enemies developing an immunity. Or diluting the poison due to constant consumption. Or who knows - even one or two may develop a beneficial mutation.

It was best to end this battle quickly.

There was one more thing on my mind though. Painful like a splinter.

The Glass Progenitor that the Analyze mentioned.

Since the Glass Snake Maws that attacked my forces were already at such advanced stage (two-meter long beast being the maximum of their growth) then it wouldn’t be a stretch of the imagination to think that their “papa” was also here.

Which meant that I needed something even stronger to beat him. Whatever his final form would be.

And my quick check on the assimilated corpses gave me just that - a potential trump card.

In a hurry I returned to the artificial pond, stretching my imaginary fingers. The first design was easy - just a plant that grew in the water, a seaweed of sorts. I grabbed the Fiery Dandelion and changed it to resemble large tubes that would be able to grow on most surfaces, floating underwater. Now to mix them with zinc, which should stop the corrosion and whatever organic bullshit that helped to stop explosions in Dandelions.

This time an Acidic Freshweed was born, with its distinctive pale yellow color visible on the shell, a few small floating feelers burning potential attackers from outside and a whole boatload of acid inside.

Was that all?

Nope!

After that, I decided to make a monster. The template from the Glass Snake Maw was interesting, but in the end not feasible.

There were however useful parts - the brain of the creature for one, which was enough for my ability to mix and match various designs. In short Anima, usage was needed once again.

This time I decided to use zinc as a corrosion-resistant metal, no iron - it rusts easily - then bits and pieces of copper for electric parts and - at the end - even the Glass Snake frame. Now, while my Analyze wasn’t describing the creature I had its shape burned in my mind. It was a see-through snake, with barely visible organs and elongated body. On both sides there were small pairs of fins, helping it navigate and on the eye-less head, four long feelers resided, allowing it to both sense the temperature and movement. Besides, that was, of course, the Maw - a mouth full of teeth made from some strange compound. The outside was clad in a similarly see-through scale with great resistance to cutting weapons.

It looked like a glass sculpture given life by a mad scientist.

But it would bear the name of apex predator no longer.

My new creation also had an elongated body, but it was much more flat and wide that its future opponent, making it similar to the manta ray. On the bottom side of the body a strange, wide mouth hung open, creating a terrifying toothless grin. The whole animal was silvery-gray in color, not unlike most of my creations. This time however it was not an aesthetic choice, but an effect of the zinc parts. And a few more “secret” additions.

There was a gimmick to their way of battle, but I decided to spawn only a few of the monsters for now and even then leave them in the artificial pond. After all, they were a bit of a double-edged sword. Using them came with a cost.

The last thing I tried was also a plant, this time however I went for something else entirely.

The little grey underwater plant which the system named humorously a Drowning Man Razor. Why? While it tasted quite good (according to the description) it also contained a very strong poison. The type which was potent enough to kill an elephant by sprinkling a few drops on it.

If elephants lived in this world, anyway.

Which they might.

Also, its leaves looked like small, one-use razors popular in my town. They were however similar to their namesakes - dull and non-lethal.

Anyway - the preparations were set.

I summoned a few more Lebirs and stuffed them in a formation, led by the Lebir Captains. Behind them stood two Electric Rod teams (temporary name) and… Ratlings?

They may be useful, but I didn’t call for them?

And why has it these mechanical arms on its back?!

This needs an investigation…

And also reminds me… I never actually created a smith for the Lebirs on the first floor, eh?

Gotta do it soon. Maybe a Bilebrain and some metal skeleton would work?

Hmmm...

Ah!

Focus, Uno!

Don’t lose sight of your goal!

It is time to hunt some snakes!

Get to it!