The angry stone snake tower felt rage. This was not surprising, as rage was not so much an emotion as it was a state of being for it. Though it didn't know this, as it was far too young to have started getting philosophical over its state of being, as it wasn't even older than a day by this point. Though it had learned that it had stages to its rage despite its youth. As it was far more angry than it had been before all the strange beetle worms were attacking the walls it was made to defend.
This was good to know; it may have thought, but again, it was a being of rage. So it was having very different thoughts than such reasonable ones. "I will rip out your spine and shove it back down your throat! "Hssss!" The angry stone snake roared and hissed through out its stone base as it unleashed another swarm of angry necrotic smog snakes, all of which were its rage made manifest. It commands its ever-raging swarm of angry necrotic smog snakes to rip and tear into the invading beetle-worm hybrids.
The battle was a bit of a stalemate, as both sides had a continuous supply of reinforcements. So no side ever had a number advantage for very long when ever they got it. The combatants themselves were also on equal footing, as the worm-beetle hybrids were a random mix of beetle and worm. This meant that while there were several beetle-worm hybrids that weren't all that effective, there were others that were.
While on the other side the angry necrotic smog snakes were of the same type and as such were all the same level of effectiveness. Which was decent, as the nature of angry necrotic smog made their bites carry a bit more punch than they otherwise should. Though this caused them to not care about being flanked or defending, as they were too busy trying to get at the enemy as quickly as possible.
Now under the right leadership, this inherent aggressiveness would be positive and could be used effectively. Sadly, the angry eastern stone snake tower was as lost to anger as those he created and led. "Bite and tear! Hssss! Destroy them all!" The angry stone snake tower roared in rage as he ordered his angry smog snakes to press the attack even harder.
The angry stone snake tower's lack of strategy made it easier for those more maneuverable beetle hybrids to get around them and go straight at the wall. Fortunately for the serpent wall, the angry smog snake was not the only one charged with its defense. So it was that after those beetle-worm hybrids capable of digging or flying got around the melee involving their comrades and the angry smog snakes, they found themselves dealing with the second guardian of the wall.
The sad stone snake tower was sad, which wasn't surprising, as, just like its kin, the angry stone snake tower, its being in that state was more of its state of being than a true emotional state. Though it was more sad than it had been when the defense had started, as the angry stone snake tower has failed in its job. So now it was up to it, the sad stone snake tower, to deal with those beetle-worm things that had broken through the waves of angry smog snakes.
"It's all so sad. Hssss. He's going to get in trouble; I just know it. "Hssss." The sad stone snake tower said to itself, its voice echoing through its scripture and around itself, as its choice was carried along the acidic tears that streamed down its serpent face. The waterfall that formed from the falling acidic tears quickly created an ever-expanding moat that got deeper with every moment.
This caused those beetle-worm hybrids with digging abilities to burn in acid as they found themselves digging into an acid moat. A few of the digging beetle worm hybrids would manage to avoid the acid moat by getting out of the dirt and trying to climb up the walls. It didn't work out for them, as the acid tears were not always going straight down and would go side to side. Which meant no matter what portion of the wall these lucky few climbed, they were getting acid tears for their troubles.
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The fliers weren't doing much better, as the ever-shifting necrotic smog that filled the air of the necrotic smog kingdom was forcing them to flow low and straight at the serpent's wall. Where some acid teardrops would get them, causing the flying beetle-worm hybrids to burn as they slammed into the grass walls. Which meant they got the added flavor of breaking their bodies as well as being burnt by acid.
"It's so sad; not only is the angry stone snake tower going to get in trouble for letting so many get past his angry smog snakes, hssss, but also all those putrid creatures are burning in agony from acid. Hssss. It's all so sad." "Sad stone snake tower," he said as his growing sadness caused his stream of acid tears to flow even faster. The combination of both the sad stone snake tower and the angry stone snake tower was dealing with the horde of invading beetle worm hybrids.
This left the last of the trio to deal with the one in charge of the beetle-worm hybrid horde. The giant magical beetle, which was not an easy task. "Just die already, you overgrown pebble and twig, hssss!" "Ghost wind stone snake tower," it said, its voice echoing in its stone tower and on the wind around it. Its rage was easy to hear in its voice as it slammed whirlwind after whirlwind at the giant magical beetle without making much progress.
The source of its frustration, the giant magical beetle, had shown itself to be a bit of a challenge for the Ghost Wind Stone Snake Tower. The reason for this was twofold, as the giant magical beetle had a shell made with necrotic magic, hence the paleness of it. Which meant it had an inherent resistance against necrotic attack, so Ghost Wind Stone Snake Tower's dependence on ghost winds for attack left it at a disadvantage.
The other reason was that its ghost winds worked by creating windy versions of dead things it had gotten and crushed. So it had at the moment only crushed grass, which meant its ghost whirlwind was filled with dead blades of grass. So its current ghost whirlwind was great at cutting things. Which doesn't work all that well against a beetle shell with an inherent resistance to the very nature of the whirlwinds.
Luckily, even though the giant magical beetle was tough and resistant to his ghost whirlwinds, it still slowed him down. Even though the ghost whirlwinds couldn't do much, it didn't mean the giant magical beetle liked having them thrown at his face. So for the moment, the ghost wind stone snake tower was holding the giant magical beetle back and slowing its ramming into the grass walls, as well as reinforcing its army with more summons from its fae horn.
Though Ghost Wind Stone Snake Tower wasn't sure how long it could hold it up. Eventually it might decide it was tired of it and just try and get around it. So it had tried to make its ghost whirlwinds faster and sharper; it wasn't sure if it had been successful, but it would keep trying. "Take this, you overgrown rock! "Hssss." Ghost wind stone snake tower said as he launched another barrage of ghost wind whirlwinds at the creature, hundreds of spinning ghostly grass leaves as sharp as knives spinning inside the whirlwinds.
Watching the battle unfold and seeing just how conscious the stone snake towers were was Maxwell. He was realizing that it wasn't just the undead and the fae that would be citizens of his new necropolis but the buildings themselves. As the stone snake towers showed far more independence than he had ever expected out of a couple of towers shaped into snakes.
Though honestly, as Maxwell thought about it, he shouldn't have been surprised. He himself was an undead construct, a kind of living building. So it wouldn't be surprising that the buildings he created were the same. Which made this battle even more interesting, as it would help him to judge how the other constructs might react and feel within the necropolis. So it was that the weight of the necrotic smog above the battle intensified as Maxwell's attention was put full force on the battlefield to make sure he missed nothing.
