Sage_of_Eyes
patreon
V9: Chapter 4
🕑 Added 2024-10-28 06:23:46 +0000 UTCV9: Chapter 4
…
Supersoldiers.
Everyone wants them.
Everyone needs them.
Now, supersoldiers aren’t really a thing in most high fantasy settings. Their writers tend to shy away from the nitty gritty details to preserve some mystique. In low fantasy settings, your supersoldiers have just been trained from birth or are fuck-off huge for some reason, and you’re good to go. High fantasy, there’s a need to explain how you’re taking a regular, average human being and enabling them to fight against armies of giant monsters.
Thankfully, my current reality is actually a sci-fi setting disguised as a high fantasy setting.
Meaning that the lore and creation process to uplifiting stock humans from Tier 0 to Tier 3 is something that I knew from the start thanks to wiki-dives and the in-game encyclopedia.
I’ll leave the long, comprehensive explanation to lore videos.
The short of it is that the Ancients have already done most of the work with most of the improvements and changes that people need are just lying dormant in their bodies. Back when they were in power, if someone needed all those improvements turned on for their job or something valid, they go to a clinic, get some injections, and get put into a chamber that provides them with energy for the transformation. Obviously, just like a certain superhero with a star-emblemed shield. When everything’s over and done with, they go to a clinic, get the genes turned off, and the extra mass and improvements fade over time.
Part of the reason why the Ancients managed to push through and gut their enemies after the initial sucker punches was thanks to this fact.
It’s hard to conquer a planet full of people that can bench press sedans and run at fifty miles per hour for hours on end.
Anyway, the increased health, defense, attack, and other stats of normal mortal people over time is explained by uncovering these methods. The Ancients took loads of certain grains and plants and made it so that fermenting them or putting them through simple distillation techniques could create the serums and nutrient-dense pastes necessary to elevate their descendants, after reinforcing and locking in the genetic improvements. As you research upgrades to your units, and they start moving faster, hitting harder, and surviving longer, it’s all reasoned out to be everyone slowly getting improved by rollouts of serums and injections that activate dormant genetic codes.
In the tech trees, for example, the upgrade is just called Infantry Level 1, a regular old upgrade before you upgrade to Tier 2. Just something nice to pick up on the way to the good stuff. It just gives your Infantry gets 10% in all stats, and makes them a bit more competitive until you get the next tier of units out.
In reality?
That little upgrade is a massive logistical and scientific challenge, since everything needs to be developed and then everything developed needs to be made, before being rolled out to all my armies across the continent. Thankfully, after realizing that there was no way it’d be simple to roll an upgrade like that out, I had the foresight to start researching and developing for it the moment my university came online.
Now, it was time to see the fruits of my labor.
…
The Alchemist Wing of the University was a combination of a chemical factory and a steampunk-lite workshop. Most of the higher end devices for measurements, manufacturing, and chemistry had been developed by the Scholars. After their city was used to crash into the Academy, everyone picked it clean, and everyone worked to replicate the devices that they once produced and sold at a premium. Of course, the Citadel could produce high-end scientific equipment, but they had learning curves and I couldn’t give my scholars the time needed to study the machines and learn their intricacies. So, we used rudimentary machines made by the Citadel, and the contemporary machines that the alchemists were familiar in combination.
The results spoke for themselves in the form of a dry, red powder contained in large, robust flasks held in wooden boxes filled with straw.
Admittedly, though, we were mostly getting this far because we were working off the work of the backs of giants.
“Ten boxes. Each box will be able to start the improvement process for a thousand soldiers. Distilled water provided by mages, then the measured serum will be consumed.” The first idea was to make single-use injectors, like adrenaline pens back home. The Ancients made that unnecessary by making sure that the serum could enter the stomach without issue. Not only that, but the serum itself could be dried out and turned into a powder, after which they can be stored and shipped around with immense ease. “The first shipments are already out and heading for the farthest of our troops, along with the increased rations for the next few weeks.”
In fact, it was so easy that we had another possible avenue for them.
Giving dissidents a powerful edge, until everyone else figures it out.
“How goes the theoretical studies regarding providing these to rebels?” Supersoldiers are great on the battlefield, but they were even better for espionage and clandestine actions. The Ancients made it so that most of the improvements were underneath the skin, though some improvements to the physique were natural with increased musculature and overall improved health. A talented, skilled spy is dangerous enough, but when they can manhandle policing forces with their bare hands or exfiltrate on foot at a stupidly fast pace, they become exponentially more terrifying. There’s a reason why Espionage Champions are considered a must-have, even if they’re just going to protect on your regions. If you don’t have one, while the enemy does, you’re going to lose tech, find your economy suffering, or even lose your leader. “Lysander and his sect most especially?”
“Volunteers that imbibed the serum from the Wardens geneline, from the Smiling Tyrants, showcased different physical improvements.” I thought that Infantry Level 1 provided different bonuses depending on the faction researching it, but it looked like I was wrong. Instead, it looked like the same serum, activated different improvements to each faction. The Guardians were different since most of the Infantry was just masses of Undead. They just put more magic on them or something and made them more resilient and hit harder. “The Warden showcased no improvements to healing, and in fact became lighter and more fragile, but became far faster and vastly increased in strength.”
“The Ancients are making sure that everyone gains the most from the serum, then.” The Descendants of the Ancients got the generic 10% improvement to all stats. The Conquerors got 30% Health and Attack, so rushing Infantry Level 1 pretty much turned their baseline troops into fucking monsters that lets them blitz in the early game. The Wardens, if I remembered correctly, got 25% attack and 25% more speed, but lost 20% of their health, gearing them towards their glass cannon, swarm role more. That pretty much explained the increased fragility and lightness of the Warden who volunteered. Wait… lighter and more fragile? Are you telling me all the Wardens will be even more slender and twinkish after getting the serum? Man, the Ancients really are all perverts. Gone too soon. “It will still be quite the advantage for our planned successors to the current Warden regime. Continue to study the feasibility and bring in Khanrow to evaluate the plan.”
“Yes, your majesty.” Ayah gave a prim bow at my words, while I returned my gaze towards the serum. In the thick travel flasks that they were housed in, you’d be forgiven for thinking that they were just mundane supplies. We stored dried vitamin mixes and antibiotics from the Citadel in similar containment vessels to keep our troops healthy out there in the field. These flasks, though, are going to turn people most soldiers into monsters. Thankfully, the off-switch was just as easy to manufacture. “Anti-serum production has also reached the desired rate. Experiments towards weaponizing it for future action has borne fruit. The prisoners given the serum, provided nutrients for the requisite period, and then exposed to high concentrations of the gas experienced nausea, fatigue, and had to fight to stay awake. Over the course of ten days after exposure, the prisoner lost all improvements provided by the Ancient’s serum.”
The only thing more important than making supersoldiers is being able to neutralize them.
“Good for hitting our foes on their retreat, or pacifying possible criminals with the serum, then. Not so much for combat, unless those symptoms are especially severe. Maybe, if you couple it with some of our more lethal methods.” After the success we had with chemical and biological weapons against the monster hoards summoned by the Death Lord, I shelved and stockpiled the excess agents that we developed for war. Everyone saw them already, so it was only natural that they’ll come up with counters to them. I’m sure that they’ll notice how my troops didn’t suffer from the diseases I inflicted on the enemy and find the vitamins and antibiotics that the Level 4 Citadels can produce. In the next conflict, I’ll use the stockpiles up, but make no more thereafter. We were working on far more terrifying weapons now. “How goes the development on the Corrosive Fog?”
Corrosive Fog was an ability that artillery could unlock for the Descendants. The design intention was to reduce the armor of enemies and let rifles and small arms do more work. Good targeting and placement of the rounds would get the effect on the enemy, while sparing your troops. In the end-game, it’s pretty much needed, because your armies would run out of ammo before busting through all the armor most late and endgame units have. The skill launched a horizontal barrage across the enemy force, letting you catch multiple battalions if they didn’t spread out properly, and it effectively increased damage by thirty percent.
In-game, it didn’t do much damage to people directly, just working as an armor reduction debuff, but I had a feeling it was going to be far, far more horrific. It’s a lingering corrosive acid designs to stick and ablate armor… what will it do if it’s breathed in, gets into the eyes, or swallowed by accident? Not only that, but it can be upgraded to effectively halve enemy armor by endgame and do decent damage over time. At that point, I’m sure people will melt wading through acid that strong.
I had a feeling that it’s going to be a horrific weapon to unleash, but I couldn’t ignore it. It’s just too powerful, and I know that the coming hordes of enemies were going to be armored up to the gills, except for the Stymphalians. Due to that fact, I was planning on making dedicated artillery units just armed with those shells to keep layering the Corrosive Fog on the enemy for a perpetual damage increase. If it was as deadly as I thought it was, I was sure that those units will need to be staffed with Iterants who can get their memories of the event wiped.
Ayah paused at my question before moving towards a desk in the corner of the room, where a box was present. Gingerly, she opened the box and extracted a piece of steel chest armor, probably the most common armor you’d be able to find on the field on most soldiers. It was pockmarked in multiple places, the straps holding it together were gone, and its lower half was connected to the top by just a few not melted threads of metal.
It looked like Corrosive Fog was going to even be deadlier than I thought.
I couldn’t help but give a hum, as simulated a possible battle against the Forgers on the surface of a table.
“Best terrain will be with us on the hilltops, then we’ll force them to come to us with aerial bombardment. If we have enough firepower, we can forget the pikes and just have lines of battlefield fortifications, guns, and artillery. Some cavalry just in case, of course.” Ayah went still by my side, probably using its hyper-computation abilities to simulate it. I didn’t need a brain like the Ancient Administrators. Closing my eyes was enough to remember hundreds and hundreds of battles against the Forgers with just the Descendants alone. “If they have cover, we burn it with incendiary. When they’re running up to us, we blind them, make them deaf, mire them in mud… and then it’s the Anti-Serum after the Corrosive Fog. That’ll destroy any masks they make, and disrupt any mages that can blow it away. After that, we lay on the firepower, while keeping cavalry in reserve to flank them.”
Ayah took a bit of time, before nodding.
I bet that she simulated every detail with great care and attention, and probably saw some issues.
We’ll solve that when making that actual battle doctrine for the field officers, though.
“I hope that your plans can be executed with such masterful coordination, your majesty.” Ayah laid it on thick with the praise. I just gave a small nod. No need to bask in it. Okay, I’m basking in it a little. Puberty’s starting to hit, so when a short-haired, tanned lady gives me a smile that reaches her eyes, I get distracted. Sue me, I’m a dude. “Rest assured, I will give my all when we recreate our warfare doctrines.”
That’s what I like to hear.
“We’ll run the usual wargames and simulations, but that’ll be how we add these new assets.” I turned away from her and looked back to the room filled with tables filled with other samples and single-page reports regarding the other projects. They ranged from our attempts at making antibiotic tablets, vitamins, incendiary compounds, and more. Unlike in the game, it wasn’t as simple as clicking one, single block on the tech tree to research. Everything was built upon each other, working off one another, and technology needed to increase to reach the higher Tiers of units, buildings, improvements, and policies. The University was proving itself as a great early investment, since all its scholars and departments could be combined to work towards the bigger goals. “C’mon, Ayah. There’s more for you to show me.”
“Yes, your majesty. I’m honored to be of service.” The bow was a bit unnecessary, but I didn’t call Ayah out on her flattery. “Please, I believe that the next appropriate showcase will be the enhancements to our incendiary weapons. With your suggestions, they have managed to compose a gelling agent which allows for solid streams of flames that stick to targets.”
Oh boy, napalm bomblets and flamethrowers are now available.
Is that worse or better than either the de-evolution gas or the metal-melting acid fog?
Comments
Silver flare
Couple chapter's ago jack said llych wasn't 20 yet and he was a couple years younger so he should be 14-17 puberty is already hitting.
Dave
or maybe descendant's experience that a bit differently than humans with all the genetic tinkering. Chapter filled with future warcrimes, but potential shipping implications stood out for me. The captain america super soldier serum seems super convenient. I'm not sure how you'd stop people from making their own the way some people make moonshine. I guess anti-serum and super power registries just need to be a thing from now on.
Dave
' Puberty’s starting to hit,' isn't jack 20 years old? he's been complaining about stupid sexy people who might kill him for years now. I think 'puberty is getting to me despite my best efforts' or 'I trust ayah not to murder me if I get distracted by sexy' would make more sense.
Alpha Koka
There's no better or worse in this case Jack. Not when you're totally planning to use all three in a single package delivery.
N U
WAR CRIMES AHOY.
Roughstar333
The DAKKA must flow, Jack!!!
