The next morning started off with a strange bit of news from the teams who were watching the scouting feeds from the various drones that the Hunters had sent out to explore the area.
A lot of them had been shot down by the Myceloids, who seemed to take great joy in chasing after and shooting them. Not because they saw them as an actual threat but simply because they could chase and shoot at them.
"Is it just me, or do they kind of remind anyone of dogs with guns? Vicious ones, but that simple joy and dedication to everything that they do has a very domesticated dog sort of quality to it." Nico asked the meeting room full of Huntresses the moment that she walked in.
"I don't think that you're wrong. There might be better animals to compare them to, but they do seem to just enjoy everything that they do wholeheartedly. There isn't any sort of lingering malice behind their actions that I can detect.
Max here is nearly as good as an Illithid, so we should ask him. Commander Max, do you sense any lingering bias in their thoughts or possibly an ingrained sense of superiority or species isolationism?" One of the Huntresses asked.
Max shook his head. "None. Even when we went to challenge, their only thoughts were that we probably weren't worthy since we needed to use Mecha to be as large as them. For their species, size equals both power and increased intelligence, so the leader is naturally the biggest, toughest and smartest.
I don't want to make them sound like they've got the perfect culture, but we've all seen what happens when we let societies vote for politicians based on empty promises."
The women burst into laughter at that. Huntresses were chosen to lead because of their skill and accomplishments. There was an aspect of politics to it, but if you didn't have the personal achievements to back up your ideology, then you would be laughed off of any stage where you tried to assert your right to lead.
ραΠdαsΝοvel.cοm For that reason, many young Huntresses with great ambitions would go on solo missions to build up their reputation. If you went with a more senior Huntress, you would end up in the background of their achievements during the mission unless they deliberately helped you get ahead and sent you to do tasks alone, but with them to back you up if you failed.
It was a good system, Max thought. Unfortunately, it was not without its own issues since the best Hunters weren't always the best group leaders, but that was where the voting aspect came in. When there was more than one person qualified for the job, the group would decide who was the better person for the task, and in most cases, the other would also be given a position that was better suited to them.
[Leaders, look at the feed from grid C24, Subsection X8.] One of the observation team members announced over the building's intercom.
All of the Senior Huntresses at the meeting turned one of their screens to the situation unfolding, then backed it up by a minute so they could see it from the start.
Two large Myceloids got into a fight inside one of the camps, and then the crowd gathered and ushered them both outside the walls. They formed the same sort of circle around the battle, making the same fifty-metre arena for the Challenge that they had for the Challenges that Nico and Khan had issued.
"A leadership challenge? Oh, this should be a rare treat." Khan mused.
The two Myceloids were roughly the same size, both of them close to four metres tall and both heavily muscled.
But when Max zoomed in on the feed, he could see that one had a brutish set to his stance and expression while the other shifted comfortably. If he had to guess, that would be the challenger, and he clearly had a plan for how to win this fight.
Being roughly the same size, they should be closely matched in accomplishments, but if one of them was a lot older, the other might easily overcome him. Max had no real way of judging their ages, but the way that the one being challenged dragged his weapon had a very caveman sort of vibe that suggested he was from one of the earlier generations.
Another large Myceloid, not up to the standards of the other two but still larger than the average, stepped in between to referee, speaking some words to each. Half of his face was mangled and scarred, and one arm was regrowing, being much thinner than the other.
That intrigued Max, as it meant that they could inflict permanent damage that the creatures couldn't heal. He just had to learn how.
The older Myceloid finished his instructions, while Max wished that the drone was in range to get audio recordings. It had a microphone, but if it got that close, it would get shot at relentlessly by the Myceloids.
The mangled referee stepped back, and the battle started. As Max had expected, the one being challenged fought in a more brutish and simple manner, while the other was definitely more cunning. It wasn't going to matter for long, though. The current leader wasn't as dumb as he looked, and everyone watching in the Command room could see that he was baiting a trap for his challenger to outsmart himself.
Nico laughed in appreciation as the trap was sprung. The challenger knocked the leader's club far to the side with his foot and charged in with his sword, leaving himself off balance while driving his blade deep into the older Myceloid's stomach. But the old leader had set him up.
He let go of the club as soon as it started to fly outward, avoiding having his hand thrown out of position, and grabbed the challenger by the head, lacing his fingers together and crushing the skull of the challenger like an overripe melon.
He was severely wounded by the blade still hanging from his stomach, but the fight was over. Experience had prevailed, and the leader had proven himself the strongest of the bunch.
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