Chapter 5: Preparation

In doing anything, those who do not prepare, prepare to fail. It is with this mindset that Argent began his mission to cleanse the island of Grimm.

While Argent may have potent psionic abilities from the genetic modifications during his evolution. Being overly reliant on one ability can easily cripple a person. He sought to supplement his psionic powers and eliminate his weaknesses with the technology and forces he now possessed.

One such weakness was his nature as a singular entity. While Argent had never truly been alone since his rebirth, as the crystal core, be it dormant or active, had always been within him. They lived in a single body. This was, in some ways, a weakness. Yet now he had the might of his foundry, and the organic forces of the Zerg at his call. Argent was far from alone.

The dust mining operation had been ongoing for sometime now, the drones had gathered and transported a stockpile of crystalline dust. Argent re-tasked his drones to deliver most of the extracted dust to the foundry for refining. Still, he had the drones provide a small portion regularly to the hatchery. This was to restore any spent energy from birthing larva, providing food for the drones, and giving the fleshy structure everything it needed to survive.

The hatchery was as much a living being as it was a structure. And unlike in the game from which it originated, it required an upkeep of energy to keep it alive. Luckily, the acid pools within could digest almost anything, and raw dust crystals were especially nutritious to it.

With his gathered abundance of refined energy, Argent set to work preparing for his conquest of the island. The foundry rumbled to life and larva morphed into eggs as Argent uploaded designs and sent orders through his psionic link.

Argent watched as the Zerg eggs rapidly grew, each containing a non-standard form of Zerg. With the combined might of the crystal core, Argent's enhanced mind and the super computer/psionic matrix of the foundry, a new breed of Zerg had been born.

They would undergo a trial by fire. Argent intended to send them against the Grimm to see if the new breed of Zerg proved to be effective. Once their task was complete, he planned to upgrade their status to core members of the Zerg portion of his faction. Investing into them through creating personalized living structures that will take care of their needs.

During the time it would take for the eggs to hatch, Argent was using his psionic might. He monitored the foundry as it produced what he and his forces needed for the coming task. Even the threat levels of various groups of Grimm were being categorized mentally. Argent examined and remembered their routes and frequent locations for when he unleashed his forces.

'This operation needs a certain amount of finesse. Not a single Grimm will escape this island…' Argent thought as he pushed his psionic powers further. He wanted to wipe out the Grimm before they even react to the attack. The preparations took three hours from start to finish. Night had descended on the island, with only the faint light provided by Remnant's shattered moon illuminating the area.

Wearing a dark black skin suit with gray metal plates protecting his vitals, Argent was akin to a reaper. He had designed and requisitioned this armor from the foundry; one of the numerous preparations for the attack.

Behind Argent, several pitch black creatures silently waited, each about the size of a panther, their legs packed with dense muscles. Near their head they had two appendages with sharp bone-like talons. These were Argent's Zerglings. He took ideas from a strain known as the Raptor Zergling. Each had a build that was lean and streamlined. Imprinted into them were the basics of hit-and-run tactics and group fighting.

Each Zergling wore dark armor, the only colored portion being the blue gems embedded throughout. They were sinister, in a way. Thirty armored Zerglings, as still as statues, their red eyes gleaming. Their equipment and birth had used up significant amounts of resources and stressed the production capabilities of Argent's hatchery and refinery. However, it would all be worth it once they cleared the island of Grimm.

'Go.' Argent mentally ordered across the psionic link. A simple word, a death sentence to the Grimm. He had already transferred their orders, along with their targets, to the Zerglings through the link. Argent would monitor the operation through his psionic powers and take care of any complications should they present themselves.

With the shattered moon overhead, Argent's forces vanished into the night.

AN: 8/19/2020 - Overhauled this chapter and finally posted it once more. I rather like how it turned out, especially when compared to the original draft of this chapter. For those of you who have read the original chapter before, hopefully this has enough small changes to feel fresh. In other news, I'm focusing on writing once more, so expect some additional chapters soon.