WorldCrafter - Building My Underground Kingdom-Chapter 71: Finishing the Upgrade
A direct hit at point-blank range had barely left a mark. Against normal Ravagers, it might work. But against Brutes or anything with similar armor? It would be useless. He needed more power Or a different approach.
Ben tapped his fingers against his arm, thinking. If a standard bolt couldn’t do the job, maybe—Explosive tips. His mind immediately went to the Explosive Talismans. If he just need to put it on the tip with detonation on impact, the problem of raw penetration wouldn’t matter anymore. The force alone would make up for it.
Ben’s smirk widened. ’Now that would work.’ The reload mechanism was still clunky, but it was good enough to use for now. He turned his focus back to his army. It was time to upgrade the rest of the Krell. He applied Adaptive Muscle to all of them, enhancing their reflexes and movement. For the Krell Scouts, he gave them Serrated Claws—a simple but deadly modification that would make their strikes far more lethal.
[Processing… Making final adjustments and calculating final cost…]
[Krell Tank | Complexity: 12 | Cost: 135 Mana, 155 Biomass]
[Krell Worker | Complexity: 10 | Cost: 195 Mana, 225 Biomass]
[Krell Soldier | Complexity: 13 | Cost: 300 Mana, 335 Biomass]
[Krell Scout | Complexity: 12 | Cost: 450 Mana, 385 Biomass]
[Krell Supervisor | Complexity: 10 | Cost: 96 Mana, 70 Biomass]
The only one he didn’t update was the Krell Supervisor. His reasoning hadn’t changed—he refused to give it any modifications that could increase its combat potential. He still didn’t fully trust them. The hive mind gave him control, but intelligence could breed rebellion.
Satisfied with his adjustments, he pulled up his resource count. His eyes flicked over the numbers. 258 White Gemstones left—equivalent to 2,580,000 Mana. He clicked his tongue. ’I don’t even feel it, yet I’ve already spent millions…’
Most of his mana had been burned through crafting gear, traps, and fortifications. It had all gone into making this place a fortress, but the sheer amount made his expression darken. ’Those damned Ravagers… just wait. I’ll make sure you all pay.’
His biomass reserves sat at 8,875. Each Krell Soldier cost him an average of 300 Biomass. That meant he could create about 20 more while still keeping a reserve for his own transformations and regeneration in combat.
Mana was limited—he had to return to base to refill.
But Biomass? That, he could harvest right from the Ravagers’ corpses.
He began creating more Krell, increasing their numbers. With each new creation, the base felt less like a hollow ruin and more like a fortified stronghold. By the time he was finished, his total forces had swelled to 51 Krell.
At the top of the hierarchy stood one Krell Supervisor, overseeing operations with. Under his order, ten Krell Workers tirelessly handled construction, logistic and maintenance.
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The core of his army was now fully assembled—four full Krell Squads, each fully equiped. The Krell Scouts equiped with Grimslate light armor keeping them agile as they clutched their portable crossbows, ready to rain death from a distance. The Krell Soldiers stood firm, armed with grimslate armor, swords, halberds, and spears, their presence a wall of lethal discipline. And at the heart of each squad, the Krell Tanks stood equiped with enhance ingot armor making them even stronger. Each of them fitted with a portable crossbow for ranged support making them a menace in the battlefield. Ben surveyed his army, his chest swelling with satisfaction. Even tough the gear were created with creation system and not as good as the one from forget it’s still good enough for now. ’Time for counterattack.’ His fingers pulled up the creature creation screen. He hesitated for only a moment before deciding ’One more.’ He created another Krell Supervisor.
The moment it materialized, the newly-born Krell dropped to one knee, head lowered. "Greeting, Master."
Ben’s eyes narrowed slightly as he gave his next command. "I will call you Number Two. Lead two squads into the Ravager outpost—destroy it and bring back all usable remains. If there’s too much to carry, assess the situation, make the best decision, and report to me before acting."
The Krell Supervisor stiffened slightly at the name. There was a brief flicker of hesitation, something akin to indignation, before it quickly suppressed the emotion. "…Understood, Master." Its voice was steady, obedient—but Ben could still sense the faint displeasure through the hive mind
’They don’t like being numbered, huh?’ Not that it mattered. He wasn’t about to waste time giving them personal names now. Maybe if they achieve something than he will give them name making it like some kind of badge.
Without another word, Number Two t gathered the assigned squads. The Krell Scouts moved first, sprinting ahead to secure the path, their movements swift and silent. The Soldiers and Tanks followed, marching in formation, their heavy footfalls echoing through the stronghold as they made their way toward the Ravager nest.
Ben watched them leave, then shifted his focus back to construction. His stronghold still on progress on building everything. Meanwhile, through the hive mind link, he could see through Number Two’s perspective as the squad reached the outskirts of the Ravager base. The nest had changed. When Ben had scouted it before, it had been populated, but manageable. Now, it was teeming with more Ravagers.
Number Two’s mind sharpened as it analyzed the enemy numbers. It began counting, but in doing so—it moved too close.
SNAP!
The air split with the sound of something massive jumping forward. From the shadows, two Brute Ravagers exploded out, their hulking frames charging straight at the Krell Supervisor.
The ambush was instant But Number Two didn’t panic. "Defense formation! Soldiers, intercept! Scouts, suppress from range! Tanks—hold the line!"
The command rippled through the hive mind, and the Krell reacted immediately. The first Brute swung its massive claws, aiming to tear Number Two apart in a single swipe. But before the attack could land, a Krell Tank intercepted, meeting the attack head-on with its reinforced chitin armor.
BOOM!
The impact cracked the ground beneath them, but the Tank held firm, absorbing the force. The second Brute tried to flank, but the Scouts had already drawn their crossbows.
