Chapter 104
Chapter 104
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: Gremlin Onslaught
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The metallic gremlins latched onto the hull.
They tore into the ship with their sharp teeth.
Too late to dodge now.
I hurriedly generated erosion tentacles along the outer hull. They surged toward the gremlins alongside the stormgun's barrage.
｢■!｣
Countless tentacles latched onto the metallic gremlins, ripping off limbs or swallowing them whole. The rot mold batteries already embedded in the hull relentlessly spewed spores.
Adhai, who had returned to the ship, and Number 26—who was using Terror of the Deep—fought back against them as well.
Adhai tore through the gremlins like a streak of green lightning, while Number 26 bound them in sync with the stormgun's firing line. The black hull gleamed slick with the silver blood they sprayed.
We defended fiercely against the metallic gremlin horde, but it wasn't easy.
There are just too many.
I dismissed the text boxes popping up nonstop. Devouring such a massive number of metallic gremlins meant predation effects kept triggering.
Most were traits I'd already acquired, like Metal Predation, or useless ones like Dwarfism. Still, I managed to snag a few worthwhile ones.
If it were any other time, I'd be thrilled...
But the situation was dire right now.
My psychic breath had halved their numbers, but hundreds still swarmed us. No matter how many I killed, they didn't thin out.
And the stormgun's ammo is gone.
At this rate, mutual destruction was the best we could hope for.
While we slaughtered hundreds, another few hundred gnawed at the hull, leaving the outer plating in tatters.
[Zzuzzuzz (Everyone, come back)]
I couldn't delay any longer.
Any more hesitation, and FTL navigation would be impossible. It put serious strain on the ship—too much damage, and we'd shatter mid-jump.
Still a ton of them clinging on...
Over a hundred metallic gremlins remained attached, but there was no choice.
｢Biggie! Too many bad guys!｣
｢Foe｣ ｢Endless｣ ｢Me｣ ｢Tired｣
I checked that Number 26 and Adhai, who had approached me, were okay.
They looked exhausted from battling nonstop, but thankfully, aside from minor scratches, no serious injuries.
Now that the kids are here, let's prepare.
I restructured the ship, thickening the walls around our room, the reactor, and other vital areas as much as possible.
Then I diverted the reactor's remaining energy to the light-speed engine.
The engine, corroded into a black sphere by my erosion, sluggishly writhed as it drank in the power.
Even as it spooled up, the metallic gremlins' assault raged on.
With Adhai and Number 26 back inside, defending was getting harder.
I battered them with erosion tentacles as best I could, but some inevitably crawled inside.
The intruders trashed the interior like they owned the place.
If there'd been more of them, we'd have lost the reactor before the engine fired.
As they gnawed at the reactor's outer wall, the ship's heart signaled that preparations were complete.
It's ready!
The light-speed engine finally roared to life.
Destination: the sector the smugglers frequented. Nearby was a jungle planet teeming with rare creatures.
Blue light enveloped not just us but the entire ship, and the sparse stars ahead warped strangely.
Then, everyone inside and out leaped through space together.
Urk?!
The moment I registered it, crushing pressure slammed into me. The shock of exceeding light speed.
The escape pod hadn't been this bad. Was it because the ship was bigger? Or the gremlin damage?
The sturdy alloy, shielded by my special mucus for erosion, twisted like a pretzel.
Since my body linked to the ship for control, I could feel it. The hull wasn't under normal stress.
To check the ship's status, I extended my senses deeper into the mucus coating the alloy walls. Agony like my whole body was being crushed exploded in my mind.
Pain Mitigation
Active
I wanted to sever the sensory link right then, but I had to monitor the ship constantly. No choice.
...We'll hold together, barely.
If it was going to split, it would've already. We could make it to planetary landing like this.
But pain was another matter. Even with mitigation active, the squeezing torment made it hard to stay conscious.
｢Biggie! Hang in there!｣
｢Great One!｣
Waves of encouragement from Number 26 and Adhai reached me.
Buoyed by the kids, I gritted my metaphorical teeth again.
I never died like this even in the game.
No community user would believe I'd gotten taken out by mere metallic gremlins.
Clinging to sanity amid the pain, I generated erosion tentacles on the outer hull.
｢■■?｣
Seeing tentacles burst from the half-wrecked ship, the gremlins panicked. I whipped them with the tentacles.
Need to clear as many as possible before we arrive.
Hard to shake the ones inside, but the outsiders were fair game.
｢■■■■!｣
Those on the hull struck by tentacles screamed pitifully and tumbled off into the void. They clearly wanted revenge but couldn't move recklessly.
One wrong twitch, and they'd end up like their kin.
The real problem was the ones inside.
Cunningly, they'd stopped breaching the reactor once we hit FTL—probably knew an explosion mid-jump would doom them too.
Doesn't mean I'll let them be.
They'd be first on my hit list upon arrival. Painful as it was, I had to thin them out.
I generated small rot mold turrets throughout the interior.
｢■■■!｣
The ones gnawing walls inside turned toward the new threat.
I handled the outsiders with erosion tentacles and harried the insiders with mold spores.
Ship status checks, tentacle control, mold organ management...
Too much to juggle—my head felt ready to burst.
Finally, the endless-seeming FTL jump ended.
We're here!
Beyond the enveloping darkness, a blue planet loomed. The one pirates sneaked onto for rare animal captures.
Good! Just hold on a bit longer!
I plunged into the atmosphere with the gremlins still aboard. The hull glowed red-hot as fierce heat clawed inward.
｢Kiiik!｣
The metallic gremlins screeched amid the blaze.
Not from pain.
Metallic gremlins wielded immense power in space but weakened drastically on planets.
By lore, they had near-zero eyesight or smell, relying instead on metal-sensing organs to hunt.
On a metal-rich planet, that sense became a curse—overwhelmed by metallic signals from everywhere.
Plus, they could only glide in atmosphere, lacking thrust to escape to space. Once in, they were trapped.
Planet-bound gremlins faced only one fate: wander until larger predators devoured them.
They knew it, hence the frenzy.
｢Kiiiiiik!｣
｢Kik! Kiik!｣
They wailed grotesquely, clawing walls with teeth and talons to flee outside.
Not letting you go that easy.
After all the trouble they'd caused, no way I'd let them escape.
I devoured escapees with erosion tentacles while constantly reshaping their footing.
Even if they breached a wall, the layout shifted—they'd just wander lost inside.
Thus toying with the gremlins, I entered the atmosphere proper.
Blue seas dotted with island specks, vast landmasses cloaked in dense jungle, all shrinking into view.
Diverse environments meant diverse lifeforms.
Which meant a broader pool of genetic essence for me to absorb.
Scanning for a landing spot, an unwelcome vision flashed by.
｢Intercepted by Cult cruiser main gun.｣
｢Hull split in two. Irreparable.｣
｣Reactor exploded.｣
｢I died.｣
What?
Recognizing it as a predator sense precog, I veered the ship hard right.
A massive heat beam lanced from the jungle depths, vaporizing the rear—thrusters and bridge gone.
Damn it!
The ship obeyed my control, but without propulsion, it couldn't maintain altitude.
Our ride broke free, plummeting wildly.
I quickly checked the crash site: shallow sea adjacent to land.
Cruiser main gun has cooldown. If I ditch in the ocean first...
But the mystery foes had no intention of letting me land safely. Diamond-shaped fighters erupted from the jungle.
What the hell?
Intel from the ship said only pirates came here—no other factions. No records of fights with outsiders among the ones I ate.
...Rival pirates.
Attacking so boldly, they had to be from a higher cartel than the original owners.
Of all days, they show up the day I arrive. Gremlins, then new pirates—misfortune on misfortune.
Stay calm. Panic, and we're all dead.
Lament later. Survive now.
If I don't land before the main gun recharges, it's over.
But those fighters wouldn't let me. Ship's too damaged—plasma shots would shred it.
I can take it.
As long as the reactor didn't blow midair, I'd survive.
The kids with me? Not so much.
...Gotta get them out first.
Issue: would the fighters ignore them?
If they targeted Adhai or Number 26, the kids were in deep trouble.
Adhai could fly to escape, at least. Number 26 couldn't.
Handy that it's ocean. Send the kids there first.
Water was Number 26's home turf. Submerged, it could flee with Adhai.
I'd snagged a new escape method eating gremlins earlier. I could stay till the end after sending them off.
How to distract them... Ah.
An idea hit while pondering.
The gremlins rampaging inside. Use them.
I reshaped the structure, punching a massive hole in one wall.
Blue ocean sprawled outside; salty sea air flooded in.
[Zzuzz zzuzz (You two go first)]
｢Biggie?｣
｢Adult?｣
I morphed metal walls to encase Number 26 and Adhai protectively. Number 26 realized my plan and fired a wave.
｢Together!｣
[Zz zzuzz zzuzz zz zz (I'll send you ahead and follow)]
｢Can't stay! Dangerous!｣
I ignored it, focusing on outside. Fighters closing in.
Perfect.
As plasma launchers locked on, I cleared walls from a ship section.
Gremlins inside poured out, gliding straight into the fighters.
Now!
I smacked the protective metal sphere holding the kids with a tentacle. Just before separation, a thin tendril from Number 26 touched my auxiliary organ.
Instantly, I felt its thoughts.
Fear of what was coming, helplessness at being useless, desperate plea not to die.
To that torrent of emotion, I replied:
I absolutely won't die.
And we'll meet again soon.
｢Promise!｣
As it cried out, the sphere detached.
It shot through the pre-made hole into the sea.
I focused, confirming they splashed down safe. Fighters too busy with gremlins to notice.
Done.
My ship tasks complete, I released erosion tentacles and raced for the hole.
Leaped out.
Far off, main gun beam lancing from jungle. It pierced the ship mercilessly; massive explosion engulfed me.
Pain Mitigation
Active
Ugh!
Amid roaring flames, I splayed all combat arms and tail wide.
To use Gliding Membrane, one of the traits from the gremlins.
Long membranes stretched between my combat arms to mid-tail, unfurling. My body caught an updraft and buoyed.
Mimicking wingsuits or flying squirrels, but who'd picture it on a four-armed, long-tailed Aimorph?
Gliding slowed my fall; fighters pursued.
Their plasma bolts grazed my head and back.
I snapped the arm membranes shut. Body plummeted; fighters dove after.
Gotcha.
I redeployed membranes, closing distance on the descending fighters, then activated another gremlin trait.
Radio Interference.
Key for hijacking, acquired recently.
Disruptive waves poured from the dual ribbed plates on my back, enveloping nearby fighters.
Their power died; they tumbled helplessly.
Through reinforced glass, pilots flailed in unexpected panic.
With fighters neutralized, I glided swiftly into the jungle canopy.
Effect won't last.
Skilled pilots would recover quick.
Sure enough, one regained control and soared; others smashed into trees.
It chased, but I was nearly amid towering trees.
Folded membranes, crashed through branches into the depths.
Toppling countless giants, I landed safely and burrowed under fallen logs.
The trailing fighter mistook me for rock and overshot—until I hit the pilot with Gaze of Terror.
Where do you think you're going?
The craft veered wildly, slamming into trees. Half-shredded wings, it spun dizzily before cratering.
Two pilots crawled out: one Cult with horns, one human.
Dazed from impact, they bolted at my reveal.
No letting them go. Erosion tentacles snagged them.
"W-Wait! P-Please!"
"S-Spare me!"
They thrashed in my grip.
Normally, I'd parasite or exploit somehow. Not today.
Lid was off, properly.
"G-Gaaaah!"
"S-Stop! Aaaah!"
The human I devoured from toes up, slowly. The Cult, I gripped limbs with two tentacles and pulled.
You fed me a hell of a time.
Gremlin swarm—rarer than lightning twice. Thought I dodged? Space Dogs pop up.
Finally snag a ship? Main gun blows it.
And nearly killed Adhai and Number 26.
So yeah, mood was foul.
Daring to provoke me in a jungle?
My best battlefield wasn't ships or space stations.
After I wiped four clans on a jungle planet back then...
Even Space Survival rankers preferred suicide over fighting me in dense green.
In short: jungle guerrilla war was my specialty.
"Kkeeeek!"
The Cult shrieked deafeningly until upper and lower halves parted, silencing it.
"G-Guh... Uh..."
The other whimpered faintly before crushing.
Devoured both leisurely, then moved on.
More pilots in the wreck. All pirates on this planet—not one spared.