Harem In The Intergalactic Apocalypse

Sofia left, and I got to work on the trees. Every one of them was going to become weaponized for this.

Thirty-seven is a much smaller number than I had anticipated, but that also didn't sit well with me. The AI wasn't this stupid, so there had to be a reason for sending such a small number.

"Gaia?" I called, and she appeared almost immediately.

"Yes?"

"How are things going with the signal?" I asked, and her bright form nodded.

"Done. The AI will be locked up as soon as they enter, and they won't be able to break out even if they leave the forest. My only problem is that I won't be much use in the fight. I have to spread myself out in hundreds of trees, so the best I can do is lock the AI down," Gaia explained, and I nodded.

"That is more than enough. Do you think that you can patch Orphus in here with me? The AI that is coming is far less than I expected. That has me worried, so I want to pick his brain on the matter," I said, and Gaia nodded and then disappeared.

Almost immediately after, Joe Black appeared dimly lit, looking confused.

"Oh wow! Now, this is something! I was just working on a bird and BAM! I am floating here!" Orphus exclaimed.

"Yes, sorry about that. I am sure you heard what is going on, and you can see now," I said, and Orphus nodded as he looked at the overview.

"Small group. That isn't good," Ophus said, and I nodded.

"That is what I thought. What does it mean?" I asked.

"That they are taking you seriously. I am working on trying to extend the bird's range, but I don't think you can let this group get to the forest. I am almost positive that there is a much larger force waiting out of our range. This group is a suicide squad just meant to engage us and report information. They already know we can cut them off, but if a large group is coming, we can't give them any kind of advantage. We have to take everyone we have," Orphus explained, and I nodded.

"Okay, so I go out and deal with this group-," I started to say, but Orphus shook his head.

"Not you, or at least not this body. It is too dangerous for you to leave the forest since we have no clue what is coming. Sofia can supercharge a clone, but you need to do the deed with Firaga so you can take that System and the one that is being flung here. I had already seen a brief look at the overview and got the ball rolling," Orphus said, and I nodded with a sigh.

"There is just no winning. I was trying to take my time with her, but even she was pushing for it," I groaned.

"This isn't the time for groaning, Daniel. This is the first real fight you are going to be in, and this is just the warm-up. If my assumptions are right. There could be up to three hundred or more AI waiting in the background with a commander. There are ten of them in total, and I was one of them. That's why your System is so strong," Orphus explained.

"I get it. I will get it done, but I am going to take it out on the Villains after!"

"Good. These will all be rough rag tags that they know won't give up if the AI is gone. Also, ensure that she consumes them, and then we can put them all into your super clone. It will be hard to control, but your body will become a weapon of mass destruction, and you will grow ridiculously fast. The issue is that even with the body being supercharged, there is a limit to all System's growth, but the body also has a limit. Your System, the Evergrowth, is the exception, but you can't add more Systems to yourself," Orphus explained.

"So that means I am only going to be able to use the body for so long?" I asked, and Orphus nodded; then I said, "Then I will just put them into more bodies. Depending on the Systems, two to three per Supercharged clone should be enough. Even the set I am going to be using, Max Power, and the Chimera system should be a good match. Anyways, I have weaponized the trees and foliage, but I am keeping all the animals in the cities. That will be good if any try to sneak their way into the center," I explained.

"That is probably more efficient, and you can scan the clones after using them to fight to learn more about them. You can make yourself stronger through your growth with them. Your System focuses on growth and the growth of everything around you," Orphus explained.

"Okay, I am getting out of here and back to Firaga. Start getting more clones ready for me, and keep working on the birds. We need to know exactly what we are facing. If you can get them to scan the groups as well, that would be helpful. We might not be able to tell what kind of Systems they have, but we can isolate and mark the ones that don't look as eager as the others. The more we can point out right away, the faster we can subdue and get them out of the fight," I explained.

I received a nod from Orphus, followed by his disappearance.

Getting the ones out of the fight who didn't want to fight was my first priority when everything started. The last thing we needed was to have them get pushed into a corner, forcing them to fight back, so dealing with them first was crucial.

I pulled myself out of the tree and back into the pool, where I found Gaia, Melody, and Firaga all talking. The three girls looked up at me, and two of them smiled.