The Crafter's Dilemma: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 3) by Jonathan Brooks (english readers txt) 📗

a Bearling it was attacking.  It collapsed to the dirt, unable to move effectively on only three limbs – and its skeletal metal head was crushed in between a Bearling’s jaws.

A Dire Wolf also lost a back foot as it was sliced apart while trying to grab onto a Bearling, but it managed to drag itself away from the fight – where Sandra’s Multi-Access Repair Drone got ahold of it and started to restore the amputated appendage.

By the time they were done, all but two dozen of her Rolling Forces had been lost; from her main attackers, though, only the one Queen was destroyed – though there were a ton of little injuries that would take a few hours to fully repair.  To cut that time in half, Sandra created and sent another Repair Drone along with the other replacements, using the Mana from the Bearlings’ deaths.  Overall, it was a very successful operation.

One thing that she noted during the battle – and which disgusted her even more – was when she saw one of her Steelclad Ape Warriors pick up a dismembered Bearling leg (from the Dire Wolves’ handiwork) and use it as a makeshift weapon to break the leg of another Bearling, before tossing it away when it was destroyed in the process.  Does that mean…they can use weapons?

“I don’t see why not; many other Dungeon Monsters – such as some of the Bipedals, Giants, and Goblins – can use weapons,” Winxa responded unasked to her mental question.  “Most come equipped with them when they are created, but there shouldn’t be any reason why they couldn’t pick up another one somewhere and use it.  And the name change does kind of hint at that, doesn’t it?”

Steelclad Ape Warrior did indicate that it was different from the previous Ape – so that was what it probably meant.  While the Ironclad apes could pick up a hammer and use it to craft, they weren’t made to use weapons in a fight; they could certainly use them, but they didn’t have the necessary experience to use them properly.  It was like giving a wooden switch to a toddler; the Ironclad Apes would use a master-crafted longsword like a stick and smash things with it, instead of using the sword how it was intended.  Perhaps these Warriors are different.

On that thought, Sandra used her Hyper Automatons that were heading towards the new battle site to carry four Steel longswords she had crafted a while ago, along with four Steel warhammers; she wasn’t sure based on the little she saw if they were skilled enough to use a sword effectively, or if they just liked to bash things.

It turned out it was the latter, as they all immediately picked up a warhammer and stood upright with them positioned against their shoulders.  Sandra thought it was strange to see them wielding weapons like that, but after a few minutes it started to look normal – as if they were meant to be armed the entire time.  With their decision made, a group of Automatons brought the longswords back to the dungeon, along with two Bearling corpses; it took approximately 60 of her little constructs working together to lift and carry each intact body, and the remaining few assisted each other in carrying…limbs that were ripped off.

With the extra Raw Materials from the Bearlings’ bodies, the Mana she gained from killing them, and the Seeds left behind by her all deceased constructs, Sandra was able to increase the amount of stored Monster Seeds and material even more – to the point where it surpassed the most she had ever possessed.  She had so many, in fact, that there was hardly room for her older Tiny Automatons – which helped to transport all of the Monster Seeds she created – to maneuver anymore.  I think that is sufficient…for now; she could always expand the room and add more later, but there was currently enough stored in there to replace all of the constructs in her dungeon at least once over.

Instead, the overflow she had from the last battle she used on adding more constructs to her extermination force.  That turned out to be a good idea when she sent them against the nearest Crag Hounds, as the stone-furred wolf-like creatures were fairly resistant to the slicing attack of the Jaguar Queens, as well as not allowing the Dire Wolves much purchase with their jaws to rip them apart.  Well, that, and there were many more than Sandra expected to be on the side of one of the mini-mountains – almost double the amount that she had actually seen, in fact.  They really camouflaged themselves well, and many of them were hiding under the ones she saw on top.

If it weren’t for the extra two Steelclad Ape Warriors she sent to reinforce them, her entire force might’ve been lost; the Crag Hounds were as deadly as the Bearlings with super-sharp teeth and claws – but they were also three times faster and more agile, despite being essentially covered in rock.  Sandra’s Rolling Forces did absolutely nothing against the Hounds and were completely ignored; her Jaguar and Wolves managed to do a little damage, but they were outmatched and outnumbered, and more than half of them fell before the Apes came to save the day.

They swung their Steel Warhammers like an extension of themselves, hitting the Crag Hounds so hard they were practically obliterated.  The first one she saw get smacked by one of their weapons surprised her, because she had thought that only their fur was stone-like; it turned out that their fur, skin, and at least three inches of flesh were also made of stone, leaving only the middle of their bodies vulnerable to serious damage.  Fortunately, they weren’t strong enough to withstand a super-strong Ape Warrior bashing them apart with a warhammer specially made for that kind of thing, so they didn’t last long