Chapter 427: Bottleneck

Chapter 427: Bottleneck

No matter how I look at him, Pong Pong doesnt look like a creature standing at the pinnacle of strength.

For starters, hes tiny and not growing bigger at a noticeable rate. Ive been tracking his growth with a piece of string, and after four months, hes barely grown a centimetre from tip to tail despite devouring at least a hundred times his weight in shrimp. Its almost like he doesnt retain any nutrients and turns all his food into turtle poop, which begs the question if he even needs to eat. I wish hed grow larger though, mostly because itll make him even stronger. Sure he can summon tidal waves to crush his foes, but Chi alone (or in his case, Heavenly Energy) can only go so far. Take Reinforcement for example. Being in peak physical condition for a human my size and age, I can deadlift close to three-hundred kilograms without using Chi. That number jumps closer to four-hundred while using Reinforcement at 30% effectiveness, but maxes out around four-fifty at 100% effectiveness. The important thing to note is that those numbers are a flat value contingent off of my base strength, meaning that if my physical condition deteriorates, Reinforcement becomes less effective. Knowing this, how much extra strength could Pong Pong possibly get from Reinforcing the muscles of a turtle measuring seven centimetres long?

Theres something to be said about intimidation through sheer mass. Sweet and affable as she is, Ping Ping just seems so much scarier given her massive size, especially once you realize how much effort she puts into not accidentally killing things.

Another thing which I found surprising was Pong Pongs temperament. Less apex predator and more petulant teen, the little turtle is prone to long bouts of pouting when things dont go his way, but is also incredibly forgiving and magnanimous. Even lovable Aurie will show a little fang if I clip his nails too short, but Pong Pong has the patience of a saint. Ive legitimately stepped on the little guy and gotten nothing more than a dirty look and a sigh, though it could be because he wasnt actually injured. While Reinforcement wont help him much, Pong Pong has an incredible mastery over Deflection which he uses to great effect. We even made a game of it where I toss fruits and pebbles at him and he Deflects everything inedible while allowing the fruits to plink off his shell.

It seems mean, but I think he enjoys the challenge, like being hand fed is too boring. Small turtle. Big mood.

Then theres how much he sleeps, which is a lot. Twenty plus hours a day whenever he can get away with it, which I have no idea how he managed out in the wild. Even lazy Mama Bun is awake more than he is, and no matter how indelicate she is with his sleeping shell, nothing she ever does will wake him. Ive seen her cuddle him, groom him, drop him, and even gnaw on him, but still little Pong Pong continues to sleep, snoring away without a care in the world while tucked inside his intricately patterned shell. Ive gotten so worried Ive had Taduk check on him at least a dozen times to see if hes still alive, but every time my teacher has given Pong Pong a clean bill of health and told me to let sleeping turtles lie.

Gotta say, Im kinda envious. The little guys got it made. If I wasnt so concerned with keeping his power-level a secret, Id charge him rent in the form of dead Defiled per month.

In the end, Pong Pong is a little too smart to be considered a floof. Im not talking about animal smart either, where he learns a few commands, does a couple tricks and everyones blown away. While intelligence is difficult to measure, Pong Pongs abilities go beyond simple tool use, facial recognition, or clever problem solving, as hes proven himself capable of abstract thinking and reasoning. For example, after we ran out of shrimp during our first patrol, Pong Pong learned to ration his favourite treat and pad his meals with other, less desirable foods like smoked fish and cabbage. Its gotten to the point where I show him all the shrimp we have remaining and hell decide how much he wants to eat. He doesnt divide it into equal daily portions, but he always leaves enough so he never has to go a day without shrimp. He even knows to start on the fresh shrimp first before moving onto the preserved stuff, though it could be more a matter of preference rather than understanding that food spoils.

Although Im not entirely sure how much of his cognitive abilities transfer to non-shrimp endeavours, all of this shows that his mental capabilities are far beyond most animals. It shouldnt be so surprising considering Mahakala claimed intelligence correlated directly with chance for Ascension, but Im still blown away by how reasonable the little turtle can be. Hell make demands, like more shrimp, more Water Chi, or more scritches, but if I say no, then hes willing to accept it, though perhaps not understanding why. It feels strange treating such an intelligent creature like a pet, but the way I rationalize it is that Pong Pong is smart enough to decide things for himself, and hes decided that he likes letting me decide things for him. Where we go, when he poops, what he eats (so long as it includes shrimp), he accepts all the decisions I make regarding these minor issues without complaint.

Which is good considering his last turtle temper tantrum almost got Ping Ping, myself, and a handful of Peak Experts killed.

Sunning himself atop Zabus head, the tiny turtle in question surveys the land before him in a rare show of vigilance. Most days he prefers staying snuggled in Mama Buns embrace, but it appears the summer heat makes it too hot to spend nestled in rabbit fur. Its that or Pong Pongs feeling anxious because were back on the front lines again, but that might be me projecting my fears on him. Our month-long vacation in SuiHua felt far too short, but in our absence, the Defiled threat continued to grow unchecked. Now its the tail end of the eighth month and the small war-bands have been replaced by large tribes of Defiled, complete with Elite warriors, capable Champions, cunning Commanders, and even the odd Demon or two, marking a critical period in this war for survival. While a true, cohesive army like the ones we faced at Sanshu or the Wall has yet to present itself, these Defiled tribes are far more organized than the feral gangs which came before them. Most Captains can do little except retreat in the face of such overwhelming numbers, while even the most veteran Senior Captains are under pressure to perform.

And today, I get to find out why firsthand.

Yes. Its true. I, the Undying Falling Rain, finally have a Healer in my retinue. Two no less.

I was pretty surprised to find two healers in addition to the fifty Khishig newcomers, but apparently if it werent for Tokta putting his foot down and limiting it to two, I wouldve had more Healers than actual warriors coming to join me. Not because theyre my fans, no, but because theyre fans of Medical Saint Taduk. As sweet and goofy as he is, my teachers quirky behaviour makes me look like a social butterfly with charisma up the wazoo, and a chance to learn from him was too enticing to pass up for newbie Healers like Jigari and Abjiya. Personally, I think Tokta is an exceptional, if overly sadistic, instructor, but regardless of their intentions, Im glad to have them both aboard and hope theyll be enough to keep everyone alive.

Even though I know it wont.

After months of patrols and battles, the prairie grass no longer restricts our view and the Defiled army jogs into sight from four or five kilometres away. The grass is still tall enough to hide in if you were to crouch, but the Defiled arent big on hiding which is why we have so much time to prepare. Not a second goes wasted as my people follow through on their training, but were ready long before the Defiled are even close to bow range, giving me plenty of time to study the Enemy. Once again, these Defiled are primarily of the desert-dwelling variety, and while they appear more professional than the ones we fought last time around, theyre still nowhere close to what I would call appropriately armed. Their weapons are largely improvised and what little armour they have is ragged leather or crude bone. They have no cavalry, no scouts, no standards, and no formations, pretty much nothing to differentiate them from an unruly mob. It doesnt make sense. The first few groups I can understand, but how did a three-thousand strong tribe of Defiled fail to find even a single piece of armour or weaponry during their long trek through the Western Province? Theyre murderous, not stupid. They wouldnt leave serviceable gear to rust on the battlefield, so it begs the question: where has all the gear gone?

Personally, Im hoping they used it all in some grotesque sculpture or macabre totem or something, because the alternative is too bleak to think about.

When the Defiled are a kilometre away, Sai Chou scores the first kill with her new Bekhai bow, a double recurve composite longbow taller than she is. The draw strength is too much for me to handle more than once or twice, but the grungy woods-maiden stands high on her wagon and fires off three more shots without slowing, each one finding its target true. As the Enemy speeds up their pace and more archers find their range, a symphony of bowstrings sound out, the Khishigs atop their quins and the protectorate atop their wagons letting loose at the encroaching sea of Defiled. There will be no organized duels today, no quiet exhibition of blades, for we are fresh and well-rested and they are close to their destination. With a series of mechanical clicks, hundreds of crossbow strings ratchet into place and add their quarrels to the hail of arrows, while the Defiled dead disappear beneath the unclad feet of their comrades, like raindrops disappearing into the ocean.

When the Defiled charge into the readied polearms of the Death Corps, their three-thousand strong horde is already at half-strength, if not less. Already in motion, XinYue raises his hammer and thunders into the fray, crashing into the mass of bodies and carving a swathe deep through their lines. On the southern flank, Moomie leads a similar charge pulling a hundred kilos of iron and more than double that in half-bear behind him. The angry bull flattens everyone in his path, and those lucky enough to avoid him are cut down by spinning, meter-long blades affixed to the wheels, leaving precious little for Ulfsaar to do. Accompanied by nine companion vehicles and dozens more of their mounted brethren, Ulfsaar and Moomie are barely slowed as they trample unchecked through the Defiled tribesmen, moving so quickly XinYue is forced to turn his cavalry around retreat back the way they came lest his cavalry fall victim to the stomping hooves and scything blades of my cattle-driven chariots.

Note to self: Give Moomie more scritches, and maybe a helmet and breastplate. Hes fucking worth it.

Also, leave a clear path for the chariots. Cattle arent great at cornering.

Less than a minute has passed since battle was joined, and already were in the endgame. While Wang Bao strides forth to join the fray with his mangy marauders and Bulat leads the voracious quins to encircle the Enemy, I open wide and Devour all the delicious, delectable Spectres before basking in the sensation of a job well done. Honestly, I dont understand what all the fuss was about. So what if there are more Defiled? Ive got soldiers, cavalry, armour, crossbows, healers, most importantly, cattle. Forget the chariots, I should just let the cows group together and fuck the Defiled up while we fill the survivors with arrows. If cattle are peasant animals and bows are peasant weapons, then it wont be long before the peasants usher in a regime change. Who needs a wall? Id rather arm every one of those poor labourers with a crossbow and all the bolts they can carry. Lets see how many Defiled remain after getting hit with a million bolts every ten seconds.

...

I wonder if I can train cattle to Lighten and launch them at the enemy using some sort of cow catapult...

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