The Collector allowed the goblin swarm a brief moment of time to say their farewells, for it had been advised by the elder that such things would aid in strengthening the mental fortitude of them swarm overall.
Goromir and Kandak split off half of one of their tusks and left it behind with Thragg's conquering force. This, the twin elites stated, was what all those who were of the elite blood did when they had resolved themselves of potential death and went forth to war.
Thokk, observing this, scrambled to match the elites and did the same.
And Thragg, taking the three tusk shards, returned the gesture, stating that he and his swarm were not merely resting, that they too were going forth in the Collector's name to battle and make its name known.
With that, the final exchange was made, and the swarm split into two as the Collector had intended.
The conquering force under Thragg and his fourteen champions strong.
The Sovnar force around the Collector numbering twenty-three with Thokk, Goromir, and Kandak.
As time went on, the Collector would be able to keep surveillance on the conquering force. Every single time they captured a dungeon and created another boss, potentially another elite, they could utilize the dungeon as a limited warp vessel to boost their mental link to the Collector and communicate with it directly.
Militarily speaking, the swarm was at its absolute peak given the Collector's current capabilities. Every single goblin unit had been enhanced with the Breath of Life, and the Collector had tuned its Breath of Life regenerative settings such that it would provide minor amounts of sustained regeneration to every single unit even if they were far from the Collector.
Every single goblin unit was further armed with purifying lightblades that would make them efficient dungeon clearers or, in the case of the Sovnar force, aid greatly against the ancient beasts that lay beyond the Rift.
Judging by an initial assessment of the life forms in the biome known as 'Fjall', the Collector estimated that the conquering force ranked among the strongest provided they worked adequately together. They would have no difficulty subjugating the remaining goblin tribes and securing dungeons.
This way, the Collector could have a sizable network of surveillance all across this area known as 'Fjall' while it headed now to the north.
To beyond the Rift.
To the slumbering Jotnar.
To the draconid that had turned the Collector into a challenger.
The Collector flew from above as the Sovnar force underneath it sprinted. They were dramatically quicker than before, their each and every large steps sending them hurtling across the snow at a speed of three hundred kilometers an hour.
If they sprinted at full force speed, utilizing their mana to do so, they could reach twice that speed for short bursts of time. However, the Collector determined it would be more prudent for them to save their mana for later.
Geographically, the Collector knew that the Rift itself was a series of closely packed mountains separating Fjall from what was known as the 'Wailwaste'. Scaling the Rift by foot would be incredibly inefficient, so when they reached the base of the mountains, it would lift the goblins via mass Sapia.
It did not take long before the Collector and its swarm reached far enough north that the fall of Grain started to cloud visibility. However, the Collector with its immensely boosted Primal Density felt no ill effects from it, and the Breath of Life too had charged the swarm with primal energy linked to the Collector that let the Collector accurately grant its carrier unit mental commands who then spread them among the rest of the swarm.
A useful adaptation, for it was not long before the Collector encountered an anomaly.
A flock of enormous avian specimen flew towards the Collector. They were similar to conventional avian lifeforms the Collector had observed in the forest biome, but they were easily at the size of the grizzled stormbear.
White feathered with sharp, piercing yellow eyes and enormous black talons wreathed in frosty magical energy. Icy winds channeled around them in spiraling patterns as they flew with their wings compacted by their sides, boosting their aerodynamic acceleration.
They were maximizing their speed, but not against the Collector.
In fact, they completely avoided the Collector, swerving around it.
They were running from something.
The Collector sensed it. A dual gathering of magical energy signatures that the Collector was quite familiar with.
Two draconids rapidly approaching, cutting through the thick fall of Grain. Though judging by their trajectory, they were not intentionally targeting the Collector. Indicated that the draconids were traversing beneath the Rift for a reason.
The Collector understood from the Jotnar's memories that the Jotnar and draconids had been engaged in an intensive and lengthy war, and that the Jotnar had been beaten back, forced to seal themselves away.
But now with the Jotnar gone, what were the purpose of the draconids? They likely numbered to a sizable host, and each of their individuals was exceptionally strong compared to the average specimen of this world.
As beings also charged with primal energy, they were diametrically opposed to tinkerers.
Eventually, there would only be conflict between them.
Were they now scouting with an advance force for a potential war effort?
Or were they searching for the Collector?
Answers, the Collector would tear from their throats.
The Collector signaled for battle readiness among its swarm below and then flew upwards, its two wings of light flaring red as they accelerated the Collector upwards, its magical energy forming a blade that parted the Grainfall cleanly before it rapidly converged upon the two draconids.
The Collector sensed that the draconids stopped moments before the Collector reached them, evidently also sensing the Collector through the grain with their magically charged electromagnetic sense.
However, far too late.
The Collector operated not with sight, but purely with its senses, utilizing its sensitive hairs, magical perception, and electromagnetic sense to create a far more efficient locating system than that which the draconids relied upon.
It pinpointed the exact location of one of the draconids and slammed into its chest with a shoulder bash. The enormous impact of the blow sent out an explosive shockwave that blew back the slow falling Grain, temporarily revealing everything.
The Collector flew suspended in the air, hovering in front of the second draconid that opened its maw in surprise as its companion flew over a hundred meters backwards, spiraling in the air from the force driven into its stomach.
The Collector clicked its mandibles. It was thoroughly pleased with its newfound strength. Leagues beyond its past form. Now then, for this one-
The remaining draconid specimen bared its thick, icy blue claws and stretched out its dorsal fin. Glowing blue magical energy surged around the fin in electrical arcs as it opened its jaw wider, channeling a storm breath.
The Collector reacted in an instant, shooting forwards in a [Dash] that ended with it uppercutting the draconid's chin, snapping the creature's head upwards and causing its storm breath to bellow straight up, targeting nothing.
The stream of blue energy exploded high above, clearing the Grain even further.
Now this one, the Collector would use to test the goblin swarm.
The Collector immediately flew upwards so that it was slightly above the draconid and then slammed its two lower fists down onto the top of the draconid's skull. The twin impacts loosed a concussive shock, drawing out twin networks of tears in the finer denticle scale weave of the draconid's head before sending it hurtling straight downwards, over a hundred meters down like a comet right into the ground where the swarm would be ready for it.
That one, the Collector ordered the swarm to kill.
The other one, the one the Collector had sent away with its tackle, was the one it would spare for questioning. Red energy flared all around the Collector, and its twin red wings of pure energy flared outwards on its sides like angry red eyes, shooting the Collector forward.
A sonic boom left the Collector's tail as it approached the draconid still mid-flight, feeling from the blow.
Remarkably, the draconid could still react at the last moment, righting its violent surge backwards by expending magical energy to regain its balance in the air. The damage done to the draconid's chest from the Collector's first tackle was not too deep, creating cracks in the dark blue, plate-like scales, but not fully permeating.
This one was stronger than the other one, but not by much.
Not nearly as mighty as the white maned draconid specimen.
Regardless, strong enough that the draconid specimen put its muscular arms up in a form of guard, hunching its head down so that its thick, plated neck would defend its face. Magical energy raged out of the draconid in chaotic whirls of red, dramatically enriching its muscles and scales, making them several times more durable.
The Collector could not easily brute force a [Guard] like this, though the downside of using so much energy for [Guard] was that it limited mana to enhance other movements for counters or evasions.
Which made the draconid a stationary target.
The Collector aimed one of its right hands towards the draconid. The plates of white carapace around the forearms parted, revealing a fleshy, bulbuous green sac expanding rapidly into a grotesque, pulsating lump like an engorged tumor.
The draconid specimen did not react adequately in time, believing mistakenly the Collector was purely a melee brawler.
Before it could undo its [Guard] and evade, the Collector shot forth a torrent of superacid from its bilespitter.
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