POV Rio
"Okay, so the plan is straightforward. Delta Squad has gathered the Deathclaws from Massachusetts and the surrounding area. They will go in first with me, and we will whittle down the Massive Radscorpion," I explain.
"Are you sure we have to do it this way?" Preston says with some reluctance.
"Don't get me wrong, I don't love it either, but we have to look at things practically. While the Deathclaws are allied to us, they are not to others. They strike caravans and neutral people not part of the Minutemen. They also require far more food to maintain and meat to precise. And while they are, on average, about as smart as a dog, they have the massive downside of being far less controllable, thanks to their completely wild nature. It's just not viable to have them. And it's not like these are the only Deathclaws in the world. There are plenty more outside the Commonwealth," I explain.
"I know, I know, it's just leading them to their death seems... Wrong in a way," Preston says.
"Well, without the Deathclaws, this plan will be challenging. That creature is not only over 500 feet long but is also surrounded by its brood. And we can expect that when it feels threatened, it will call its other kin throughout the Commonwealth. In fact, I believe that most, if not all, the Radscorpions of the Commonwealth and possibly beyond are its offspring," I say.
After explaining my estimations, nobody had any other issues, as we knew that the other ideas would be unlikely to kill such a beast. Collapsing the tunnel would likely do nothing but anger it. Bombs would require a massive resource investment and still might not work. Sending our troops to fight it would cause severe casualties. Thus, it was decided to use the Deathclaws with me assisting as much as I could. If I used more than 2 of my life-saving skills, I would be forced to retreat, and the Minutemen would take over from there.
The creature, which I named the Radscorpion Empress, was surrounded by over 100 of her brood, and it was feasible that another 200-300 could be summoned. Delta Squad and the others managed to gather 378 Deathclaws, with none being babies, due to a slump in egg laying and fertilization, which meant that the weakest of the Deathclaws were Young Deathclaws, which were still quite the menace. It should also be noted that there is a very real chance that we still missed a Deathclaw or two. With the plan laid out, all that was left was to wait for the Deathclaw horde to show up.
Many Hours Later...
When the Deathclaws show up, some of the Minutemen get pretty nervous, but Preston calms them down. I greet Pharynx, and I take over the horde. The Vault Door was already open, and I silently cleared out the rubble blocking the path into the massive cavern. As for the opening attack, that was done by me. I pulled out several explosive weapons and shot them at the horde. I also released plenty of Flashbangs. When the Radscorpions were confused and blinded, the Deathclaws came pouring in.
I flew up towards the ceiling to pester the Empress with pot shots here and there.
SCEEEEEEECH
The Empress screeches loudly, and the ground shakes. I look around and see every Radscorpion I could see was converging on the Empress. And those I couldn't see were coming into view, doing the same. After the screech, the Empress attacked with her stinger and obliterated an Alpha Deathclaw and then destroyed a Train Car. I took this chance to land on the tail, and I took out a weapon that I had worked really hard on making.
'Please work.'
Pssssssh
A dark blue blade made of concentrated plasma appears from the Lightsaber Hilt I made. I slash at the tail, and what happens surprises me, but I barely manage to react fast enough to avoid falling off. The blade had bounced off the carapace and left barely a scratch.
'Holy cow, what is this stuff made of?'
I keep attacking the tail while holding on. Thankfully, the Empress seemed distracted by the Deathclaws more than me. That was until I managed to hurt her. I slashed her carapace again, but this time I aimed for the joint and managed to cause a little damage. With that clear, I keep going, but this time I aimed for the stinger at the end of the tail. The Empress shook her tail to try and dislodge me, but that didn't work, and she couldn't focus on me for any longer as a Deathclaw Matriarch slashed at one of the 6 legs of the Empress. The damage was quite bad and looked like she might be able to cut off the leg.
I took this chance and ran as fast as I could towards the stinger. As I reached it, I cast a sticking spell to keep me stuck to the tail, and I grabbed the Light Saber in both hands and cleaved down with all of my strength.
SPARK
The first blow created a massive amount of sparks, but I didn't stop even for a second. By the third slash, the Empress stopped trying to toss me off and slammed her tail into the ground, then the walls, then the trains and metal she could find.
CRASH CRASH CRASH CRASH CRASH CRASH
Even as my vision went red from all the blood and I felt impact after impact, I didn't relent and kept hacking at the stinger. After nearly 30 seconds of hacking and slashing, I managed to cut off the stinger, and it was right in time as I was dangerously low on Health and needed some distance to avoid using a life-saving ability. So when the Empress was busy screeching in range and flailing about, I let the sticking spell go and glided away. All the while casting healing spells.
The flailing Empress kills many Deathclaws and Radscorpions alike with her thrashing. It seemed like the death of her children didn't bother her, which I suppose made sense. Speaking of her children, most of them had already arrived, but a few were still trickling in every so often. And depending on how you look at it, the Minutemen on the surface were helping deal with some stragglers.
Eventually, the Empress stopped thrashing about and started to attack again. To further help the Deathclaws, I used my infinite rage form and ran at the Empress.
"RAAAAAAAARGH!!!!" I scream as I grow several sizes and jump at the Empress.
My strength jumped from 16, which is already very high, to a dangerous 66 thanks to the skill and the armor I am wearing, granting additional Strength boosts.
BOOOOM
My first punch caused several of the plates on the Empress to crack and shatter. The AOE damage also caused the Scorpions nearby to fly off while the Deathclaws were unaffected, thanks to being just far enough. The Empress uses one of her claws to snap at me, but I catch it and start pulling with all my might. With my Strength, I can almost lift the entire beast, but that wasn't what I intended.
CRACK SNAP (POP)
With the sound of tearing flesh and the unholy screeching of the Empress, I rip off her claw and throw it at her nearby offspring. The Empress starts to back off, but I use the few seconds I have left in my 66 Strength form to try and damage her as best I can. When the buff wears off, I get slapped into a wall, and my first Life Saving Skill activates. A wooden body replaces me, and I appear out of the ground nearby.
At this point, many Deathclaws were dead, but the Empress was not in the best condition, and few of her kin were left. From what I could tell, she wasn't going to get many more reinforcements. Which meant it was now time for the lengthy process of weakening her until we can finish her off. Her health bar was only sitting at half.
Many Minutes Later...
As the last Deathclaw goes down, I decide to use my next power. I was curious what it would do underground if it would ever work. I activated Glacial Cataclysm and a massive blizzard formed... inside. All of the Blizzards' power was concentrated inside the cave that Vault 88 was supposed to be built in. The effect was much worse as the effects had far less space to work with, which concentrated the effect quite effectively. But despite the effect, it still didn't manage to kill the Radscorpion Empress. It had another 10% to go.
"WHY WON'T YOU DIEEE!" I scream with annoyance, clear in my tone.
I use my daily transformation to turn into the thing I thought would work best. An Elder Dragon.
FWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOSSSSSHHHH
The combination of superheated dragon breath and super cold ice and frost on the Empress caused a logical reaction.
BOOOOOM
The Empress's carapace was shattered, and the Empress took critical damage. It also had the effect of cooking the Empress quite well and made the air smell really nice.
Gulp
I feel my mouth water from the smell, but I first make sure that the Empress is dead. Once that is confirmed, I send word to the others. When they arrive, they see the field of roasted meat of various sizes and the carapace all over the place, and then the 5-story-tall Elder Dragon with Dark Blue scales and Black claws.
"Gawd Damn, Rio! Put some clothes on!" Cait mocks from the ground.
I peer down at her.
"I could crush you with my pinky claw," I joke right back.
"Hah, you would have to catch me first," Cait says while making a run for the doorway.
I grab with with two claws and lift her up like she is a kitten being carried by a mother. I put her close to my face but outside spitting distance and smiled with my massive maw full of razor-sharp teeth. Then I blow a cloud of smoke at her.
"Cough cough! Damn it, Rio! I'll get you for this. You and your stupid dog!" Cait says while shaking her hand at me.
"Ruu?" Dogmeat says while turning his head to the side cutely.
I smile at Dogmeat, and I use my second hand to claw a small ledge in the ceiling, then I place Cait there.
"You're in timeout," I say to Cait.
Cait's eyes go wide, and she tries to struggle.
"Don't you dare! Rio! You can't leave me up here!" Cait screams while I move away.
I ignore her and start helping everyone clean up the battle. With my size, it's quite easy.
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Author's Note:
This chapter is NOT sponsored by Raid Shadow Legends. I don't like those kinds of games. Gacha Novels are nice to read, but I don't like the genre in real life. It's a terrible practice that should be illegal in more places. Don't worry, Cait will get down. Until next time, Ciao.