Touching the transit point immediately shifted the Collector to what was presumably the next layer. The psionic signature of the warp gate was much nearer now.
Good.
An indication that the Collector was on the correct path.
It assessed its surroundings.
The sights of tinkering were strong here. The ground on the tunnel paths were carved out to an even surface shingled with layers of smooth stone that reflected the blue light from lightstones above.
Significantly more developed than the prior tunnels.
The tunnels themselves were different, shaped in even circles that indicated that they were artificially carved from the earth. There were no presences of insectoids either, and as the Collector followed the psionic trail again, it noted that there were not even traps lining these paths.
This was a level of development that escaped the grasp of goblin civilization.
Stoneworking and the creation of artificial tunnels indicated as much.
And, when the Collector came upon a small cavern dotted with mattings of cloth that formed beds, it realized this must have been a living quarters for the goblins.
Though, with the culled goblin populace, this layer of the dungeon became nothing more than a deserted labyrinth.
The Collector could smell the scent of goblins, however, and they had been here recently. None of them possessed the scent of more developed and stronger kinds. The scents all belonged to smaller goblin or females.
No challenges. No scents or signs of a specimen from a higher civilization.
The Collector exited the cavern, and in short time unopposed by any traps or insectoids, neared the second transit point.
Slipping down a series of holes through various tunnels led down into a bottom-most cavern far larger than the one housing the first transit point.
This area was not developed at all, the ground a cracked, patchy and uneven surface and the cavern ceiling lined with rough stalactites of lightstone crystals.
Under their ghostly blue light, the Collector first spotted four statues fashioned in the shape of a goblin.
Yet, different. These goblin visages possessed long tusks and four arms. They were also almost as tall as the Collector, though whether this was in artistic exaggeration or accurate representation, the Collector could not ascertain.
The statues stood with swords of stone in their arms, frozen in images of threatening battle stances, and they stood between the Collector and double stone door: the same kind as that which housed the first transit point.
However, no light of magic reinforced the doors, instead, the light flowed through the statues.
The moment the Collector analyzed that the magic in this area flowed in concentrated amounts to the statues, the stone goblins moved with clattering and groaning movements, piles of dust silted in the crevices of their muscles and bodies falling off in small clouds.
'Natural golems,' remarked the daemon, a sense of fear tinging her words. 'Strong ones, too. And because they're natural, they have no cores, they...they have to be completely destroyed.
Can...can you fight them?'
The Collector clicked its mandibles as it took in the daemon's words.
Then it was a waste of time to try and smash and hack these things to pieces.
A brief sensing of the golems showed that magical energy flowed through them, empowering their movements, and this too prevented foreign magical manipulation via Sapia.
Far more efficient to evade them and smash through the stone doors.
The Collector used {Dash}, zipping past the first two golems, but the third one reacted, charging at the Collector at considerable speed and using two of its arms to swipe axes at the Collector.
The Collector swerved back, and the axes crashed into the ground, smashing the stone and lining cracks of impact across them.
Considerable strength. Respectable speed.
In terms of raw physicals, the golems possessed approximately 65% of the Collector's stats while it utilized magic.
The Collector could easily deal with one by itself. Even four at once was an ordeal the Collector calculated a 98% chance of succeeding against.
But it would prove to be a time-consuming process involving dodging and picking apart at the golems one by one, with more rushed combat greatly reducing success rates.
No need to deal with this now, not when the Collector was so close to its mission.
The psionic threads the Collector perceived were strong now, indicating that past the second transit point would lead almost directly on top of the warp gate.
The Collector powered more mana into its tail and further empowered its muscles, engaging its coilboosters. The tail itself curled around in a spring-like shape, all the muscles stretching and swelling before hyper condensing in an instant, packing as much potential energy as possible.
It was then that the lurkers following the Collector acted.
Spines shot from the ground, piercing through the bodies of the four golems and holding them in place.
Very briefly, however, as these stone constructs did not possess vitals, and they would easily be able to snap the spines to set themselves free in but a single moment, likely even killing the lurkers by pulling them from the ground as well.
For the golems were formidable. In scaling comparison, the four-starred adventurer would have faced significant difficulty in dealing with them all at once, and he would have made short work of the lurkers if he could reach them.
But a single moment was all the Collector needed.
Its coiled tail unfurled, and the Collector shot forwards like a red-wreathed bullet, slipping right past the third golem.
The fourth golem could barely react to the Collector and lunged with its swords to try and intercept it.
The Collector swiveled its body and used Sapia on itself to change its trajectory and simply evaded it before placing its shoulder forward and slamming into the double stone doors.
The stone shattered, the doors crumbling apart in an ear-splitting impact as if a demolitions charge had been set off.
Beyond the doors was a narrow tunnel, a corridor almost fifty meters across that led out into the next transit point. The sounds of rock scraping against itself echoed behind as the golems rushed to catch up.
The Collector slithered through the shattered doors and then put power into its fists.
It twisted its body to face to the ceiling and then as it moved, unleashed an unending barrage of rapidfire punches, using bone binding on its knuckles and forearm to generate further shockwaves that split apart the ceiling, causing the corridor to cave in.
The Collector leaped out the last stretch of the corridor, sensing with its sensitive hairs adaptation the rapid movement of countless pieces of rubble and debris falling on the golems as they tried to pursue it, trapping them completely.
Shrieks and screams assaulted the Collector's auditory systems, and it turned to see a horde of goblins before it, all of them packed in front of the portal of the second transit point. Many small goblins and female hobgoblins of red and white shades stood against the Collector, shakily wielding weapons of Everfrost and Volcanite against it.
Hobgoblin infants lay crying at some of the female's arms, while the smaller goblin infant young, smaller and more misshapen, gurgled on the floor.
The Collector briefly analyzed them. Eighteen female hobgoblins.
The rest, the smaller goblins and the infants, did not matter at all.
The goblin lord's voice resounded from the portal, echoing across the walls of the cavern.
"Hold and fight! All of you!"
The words had a power to them, a magical power, and the crowd of goblin kind stood stronger against the Collector, their mouths twisting into snarls where before fear had tainted the majority.
Some of the mothers dropped their infants to engage in the fight, and even the infants tried to craw against the Collector, all senses of self-preservation erased with raw hostility.
'Dominus,' said the daemon. 'Magical control of the mind. Although, from what I can tell by hearing it, sensing the flow of magic in it, it only works on goblins.'
'What…what do we do?' asked the daemon. 'I…I can see it now. The reason why your Sapia and stinger did not work before.
They…they were already under dominus.'
'Then these specimens are useless,' said the Collector. 'I will do what is efficient.'
"If you desire to face me, then you will have to kill all of them. All the women and children," said the goblin lord, its voice growling, and yet, the Collector could sense a strong hint of desperation underneath.
"Kill all of them?" said the Collector. "That is unnecessary."
"What?" came the goblin lord's voice. The goblin lord likely did not believe this would work on the Collector.
The goblin lord had exhausted its options, and when pressured, it would still resort to this method regardless.
Such an act spoke volumes of its cowardice.
It was no true warrior.
Such was the nature of these positions of rulership, these social constructions that created hierarchies among the tinkerers.
Unlike the hierarchies of the Collective where all served the Great Purpose with equal devotion, social hierarchies of the tinkerers often bred weak and self-destructive emotions among those they christened with higher titles.
Hence, the plague of tyranny that often resurfaced among tinkering kinds regardless of their efforts to stem it.
Yet, the Collector had found this dungeon in some way an interesting challenge.
To be certain, this 'dungeon' was quite well-defended.
It would have been even more greatly defended had the more combat-capable hobgoblins not been eliminated beforehand.
A group of humans, 'adventurers', presumably, attempting to reach down into these depths would have found countless struggles against them.
Clusters of insectoids unburrowing to strike them. Countless pressure-triggered traps. The requirement of a key to access the first transit point.
Lurkers guarding the first transit point. Had the hobgoblins been alive, then a veritable army opposing them on the second layer.
Powerful golems at the bottom.
And now, this: one final attempt to appeal to emotions of compassion.
The Collector could sense that two of the lurkers had expired trying to hold back the golems, but one of them made its way towards the Collector.
Soon, it would join the Collector in battle.
Approximate time for it to reach the Collector again: one minute and twenty seconds. The Collector would utilize this delay to its advantage.
The Collector put its shoulder forwards again, the spikes in its carapace sticking out, and charged mana into its body and tail.
It utilized {Dash} again, shoulder bashing in a straight line through the entire crowd of goblins, killing infants, smaller goblins, females, it did not matter.
The force of the charge blew back the goblins that the Collector did not directly touch, sending them tripping to the sides or, if they were infants, crushing their fragile forms outright.
The Collector did not kill all of them. It was inefficient to waste time in eliminating them all when it could simply charge through the ones in its way.
It stopped in front of the next transit point, and as a rain of blood, torn flesh, limbs, and skin fell from above from its charge, reached out a hand to touch the portal.
The environment around the Collector shifted as it entered the third and final layer.
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