The Collector waved the purple skinned specimen back. “Leave this area. Do not stray far from the clearing, for there are other predators that will devour you. But do not interfere. Maintain adequate distance.”

The purple skinned variant nodded quickly before picking herself up on shaky legs, stumbling over herself to leave.

The Collector took steps back from the pond’s edge, watching as great bands of water rippled as the bulk of the creature approached at great speeds. The entire pond must have been one hundred and fifty meters in length, and this creature crossed it within a timespan of ten seconds.

That the creature did not cause enormous splashes of water indicated that it traveled at some depth as well. Even more impressive as a testament to it speed and strength that it could power through denser, deeper water with such ease.

The Collector clicked its mandibles in eager anticipation. Good. It was growing bored of the lack of challenge. It stepped back from the edge of the pond, for it did not yet have adaptations to safely fight within aquatic environments.

The rippling waves of water approached faster and faster, and then, right before they came to the pond’s edge, disappeared for an instant. The Collector tensed its body up, carapace clinking into defensive posture while its sensitive hairs raised up, primed to predict any attack.

The edge of the pond erupted in an enormous geyser of muddy water that obscured the creature’s initial angle of attack.

And this creature was exceptionally fast. Far faster on land than it was on water. The Collector’s sensitive hairs picked up the movement of a scythe-like limb whistling into its left side a mere moment before impact.

The Collector reacted the very instant it received this sensory input. The three arakka legs on its left side curled around its body like miniature shields while it raised its thicker, humanoid left arm as a sturdier last line of defense beneath the arakka legs.

A shattering echo pinged across the vast and dark breadth of the Darkwoods as carapace slammed against carapace in a shower of sparks that lit up for the briefest of instants before the Darkwoods, shadowed witnesses to this battle, devoured the light.

The Collector skidded several meters across the ground, driving its legs down to prevent itself from falling over from the impact of the blow. Behind its two legs, piles of mud drew up.

It clicked its mandibles.

An extremely powerful blow. One of the strongest it had taken so far.

Its three left arakka legs were crushed in half, dangling uselessly by its side. A small chip started to flower from the Collector’s more heavily armored, heavily muscled left arm.

A shrill, siren-like roar emerged from the Collector’s opposition, and the Collector too clicked its mandibles and growled in opposition. The Collector analyzed its threat.

With water dripping from its sleek red carapace was an insectoid creature. That much was unsurprising. What was noticeable was its sheer bulk. In pure size, the creature must have been almost as tall as the Collector even while it stood on six legs.

Six meters in height. A large, oversized abdomen compared to its thorax and small head. A design optimized for battle. The abdomen was heavily armored in red carapace covered in black spikes, protecting its vital organs.

Its head was guarded by its two massive front legs that were more than three times the size of the others.

The front legs were far more heavily armored and also covered in spines, their ends tapering off into hooked blades of carapace. These legs could be used as both bludgeoning clubs or slicing weapons, and it was one of these that had dealt damage to the Collector’s left side.

A lengthy proboscis lay tucked under the insectoid’s head. Likely, from its positioning, not utilized for battle, but more for feeding.

The Collector clicked its mandibles in interest. The enormous insectoid had staked upon the various spines lining its carapace corpses. Corpses mainly of jumping arakka, though there were other insects there as well.

These corpses formed an additional layer of protection shielding the insect and also obscured its scent greatly for the corpses did not seem to be in any state of decay.

Two cloudy white compound eyes settled on the Collector, and the Collector could tell then that this creature was not entirely brainless. It too was analyzing the Collector, standing still for the moment to size up its chances.

The Collector liked its chances. The creature had sizable bulk, it was true, but without water to counterbalance the awkwardly oversized front legs, it would have trouble outmaneuvering the Collector on land. Its blows might have been powerful but dodging them and taking the insectoid’s side would be easy.

From there, the Collector’s monomolecular claws would chip into the insectoid’s carapace. The Collector’s claws were too small right now to make any single blow a lethal one but taking the insectoid’s side and striking the same area four to six times would likely yield wounds deep enough to reach vital organs.

First, the Collector would have to tear off the insectoid corpses impaled upon the creature.

Pyrocatalytic glands were optimal here but difficult to use. They required some time to wind up, and this creature’s maneuverability might have been sub-optimal, but its capacity to charge in a linear direction was likely on par with the Collector’s own speed.

As the Collector set into this battle plan, something surprised it.

The insectoid, having finished assessing the Collector, changed its behavior and shuddered. The spines dotting its carapace began to move, shifting around its body. Spines from the back came to the front.

The Collector clicked its mandibles in mild interest. These spines did not display insectoids, but instead humanoids.

Six humanoids all exhibited towards the Collector, their bodies attached to the insectoid through spines impaled through their chests. Hairs on the spines hooked into the flesh, keeping them solidly attached.

The humanoids lacked eyes, only the hollows of their sockets showing, and their skin was shriveled from excessive exposure to the pond water, but they too like the insectoid corpses remained in relatively fresh condition.

And they spoke.

“Help…me…help…,” came one wheezing voice from the mouth of a human male.

“Save me…please,” came another voice from a furred humanoid female.

The Collector noticed that their mouths and throats moved in precise, mechanical ways while the rest of their bodies remained still. Auditory confirmation indicated a lack of heartbeat in all of the corpses. They were being puppeted, or, more likely, simply programmed to utter these lamentations.

The insectoid inched closer to the Collector, waving the humanoids towards the Collector.

The Collector understood. This insectoid had assessed the Collector, found that it was bipedal, and assumed that it too was a humanoid of some sort.

Thus, this display of humanoids in an attempt to appeal to a sense of compassion.

The Collector clicked its mandibles as it decided on a course of action.