Chapter 179
Chapter 179
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 179
Chapter Title: qiqi iykow gkk-179i
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 179
Chapter Title: Annihilation of the Temple Guardians
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"Hah... hah... hah... hah... heuk... hah..."
Selene, warrior of the Temple Guardians, sprinted down the icy passage.
'Damn! Damn! Damn!'
The oppressive silence blanketing the entire tunnel spoke volumes about her comrades' fate. The other squad members had sacrificed themselves to ensure her survival—the one who had mastered the memory storage technique.
Even after learning the enemy was a demon that devoured souls.
'To think monsters like that exist in this world!'
As she ran, she replayed the horrific scene she'd just witnessed.
Towering white bone frames rose to several times the height of a Cult. At first glance, she thought some colossal creature had resurrected in skeletal form.
It didn't take long to realize it was something else wearing the bones and carapace of a giant beast. And atop the head of that rising "something," rising with the bones, were her comrades.
The first Cult she spotted was their leader, Crishian. He was impaled on a horn sprouting from the monster's head.
Below that, in the theropod-like pointed maw, a leg—presumably one of her squadmates'—protruded, twitching desperately.
The scene was so surreal that she and all her comrades could only stare in stunned silence.
Soon, with a gruesome sound, the flailing leg went limp. Only upon hearing that death knell did she and the others snap out of it.
Rough shouts erupted alongside the sharp clangs of weapons being drawn—the sounds that always accompanied monster hunts.
The Temple Guardians dispatched here had come fully equipped to slay three demons.
Demolishers that manipulated and shattered matter, Champion Shields combining psychic power and ether for exponentially boosted defense, Dragon Scale reinforced suits forged from monster hides, swords honed from White Galleron claws, and more.
As one of the empire's elite units, the Temple Guardians naturally wielded the finest gear.
And those wielding it? The absolute best of the best.
If the foe had been just the bone-clad monster, they wouldn't have fallen so easily.
But the battle took an unexpected turn for one reason.
The enemy wasn't just one, contrary to their expectations.
As the massive monster rose, others hidden beneath it emerged.
A monster with a human head and spider body. Another with a pink balloon-like form and elongated tentacles.
Among them, the spider monster absorbed the Champion Shields' composite energy fields. Chunks of the shields' energy sloughed off with every rake of its hook claws.
The bone-clad behemoth targeted only those whose shields had weakened. Despite its enormous bulk, it moved with unimaginable agility. Each motion claimed comrades—impaled on horns or crushed under massive feet.
And finally, the pink balloon monster. It wasn't as nimble as the others, but it possessed a terrifying ability.
It was the strongest psychic user she'd ever seen—stronger than any monster, though not quite on par with young Priest Jason. More than enough to overwhelm everyone present.
The pink balloon cut off nearly all external communications. Its overwhelming psychic aura jammed telepathy and soul links alike.
For Cults, psychic power was like a limb. Even for the Temple Guardians, restricted psi-use crippled their full potential.
Her comrades desperately dodged and counterattacked the two monsters.
But their numbers dwindled rapidly, rendering those efforts futile.
The creatures seemed to know every strength and weakness of the Guardians' gear.
When the spider neutralized shields, the giant struck. Evading the giant? The pink one pinned them down.
Even Demolisher gunners found no opening. The monsters took other hits but dodged those shots religiously.
Their coordination surpassed even the Temple Guardians, honed over decades.
The result? A massacre.
They, eternal hunters of monsters, had become the prey, slaughtered like livestock.
The spider ripping guts with hook claws. The pink one levitating Guardians with psychics, then tearing limbs asunder.
And the giant devouring the survivors.
Selene would never forget those sights, even in death.
When their numbers dropped from twelve to five, her comrades shouted for her—the memory storage expert—to flee.
To honor their deaths, she had to survive. Knowing this, she abandoned them and ran.
'I've stored all the memories. If I can just deliver them to Priest Jason...!'
She kept attempting telepathy as she fled. The farther from it, the weaker its power grew. A bit more, and she could transmit the memories.
"!"
Suddenly, a sound reached her ears as she poured on the speed. She activated the Champion Shield on her wrist.
'Where is it?'
Gripping the softly glowing golden shield, she scanned her surroundings.
Maybe she'd imagined it—but no, there it was again. Amid the tunnel's wind, something else mingled.
'Damn! Where the hell...'
Her eyes darted wildly. All she saw was her distorted reflection in the ice—twisted Cult faces mocking her, like her comrades jeering.
You'll join us soon.
Temple Guardians trained to stay calm even in dire straits.
But today—whether the situation or some unknowable factor—she felt like a rookie in her first fight, mind unraveling.
"Goddamn it! Where are you?!"
Losing composure, she howled like a wounded beast. As if in reply, the sound came again.
It resembled a flag flapping in the wind.
Then it hit her.
A massive-winged creature's wingbeats.
And this time, it was close—right overhead, it seemed.
"......"
Her gaze slowly lifted.
To where only ice should be.
A green-winged creature hung upside down, staring down at her.
Locking eyes with its purple orbs, she reached for her sword.
Before her hand gripped the hilt, its wings flared wide. The moment she registered it, strength drained from her body. The world flipped; familiar ankles filled her inverted view.
Selene's mind plunged into darkness.
[Zuzuzu (Good job)]
Adhai returned from ambushing the escaper lurking outside. A mangled upper torso of a Cult dangled from its back.
Blood-soaked body—clearly a super-accelerated ram.
'No injuries, looks like.'
It had fully mastered the combat style of cloaking in psychic power before charging.
'Good kid.'
I patted its head with a combat arm, then seized the Cult corpse from its back with erosion tentacles.
'That makes twelve from this group—all accounted for.'
My Tooth Fairies had kicked off the fight, but this was my first direct engagement.
Their prowess matched my expectations, with a few surprises.
'Their gear's better than I thought.'
My gaze swept over the Cults' equipment: Dragon Scale suits, Champion Shields, Galleron-claw blades, even Demolishers. All top-tier valuables.
I picked up a harpoon-gun-like weapon from the scattered arms.
Plain-looking, but among Space Survival's standard ground-force weapons, it ranked in the top five for raw destructive power.
'Bringing Demolishers? Here for Galleron hunting?'
Demolishers fired synthesized rounds of dark matter and rare materials. Their beams manipulated matter on hit, crumbling even the toughest substances to sand.
Even the Ice Horror's carapace, which No. 26 and I busted at full power, punched holes under Demolisher fire.
Defending against them required special countermeasures. I had none yet.
'And these blades—pricey too.'
The white swords at their waists were crafted from shaved White Galleron claws. Effect: projecting psychic blades for ranged cuts. Identical to the Galleron claw Sihyun Yujin once drew from his hand.
No way these elite-equipped Cults came here without reason. I roused the human faces on my head carapace.
"Why did you come here?"
"Th-that's..."
The five faces resisted desperately, to no avail.
These human faces, reformed from Aimorph flesh, obeyed me like my own limbs.
Eventually, they spilled everything.
Not a long tale, but packed with critical intel.
What they hunted. Who led them.
Info that could doom us all if overlooked.
'The young priest is targeting me.'
He was the one pushing for an imperial dreadnought and flotilla to purge the three-headed demons on PH-101—Cygl08, as Cults called it.
After the plan failed and he lost sway in the Imperial Council, he'd led the Temple Guardians here personally to reclaim his honor.
What did that mean?
'The player sponsoring Muriel.'
The Black Galleron-tier powerhouse was a player. Far stronger than Muriel.
If a player, time to revise plans.
'He'll know all about me.'
Rankers knew what to watch for against Aimorphs.
'Can't fool them with parasites or faces once united.'
Original plan: lure to the Ice Horror cavern—walls and ceiling weakened, collapse imminent.
Drop the overlying glacier hundreds of meters thick. Even powerhouses unlikely to survive.
A Black Galleron might, depending on psi-tech. Then overwhelm with the kids.
'But if he suspects me as foe...'
He'd spot the trap; no falling for it. Need a smarter ruse.
'Good I learned now.'
I tweaked the plan on hearing it, then summoned PS-111.
"New variable. Take the kids ahead to the spot I mentioned."
"Understood."
It readied to carry No. 26, with Adhai alongside.
｢Big baby, see you later.｣
[Zu (Yeah)]
After goodbyes, I hurried to the nest. En route, I pressed auxiliary organs to the floor, probing enemy movements.
'Timing's tight.'
Minutes till the two groups merged. The ambushed one crept cautiously, not yet joined.
'Detour to nest'll be late.'
Strike before they unite.
I halted mid-passage, pressed head to ice, linking nest via chin aux-organ.
Nest had spread black, reaching here—mucus hardened, no spores yet, but signaling possible.
'She'll notice.'
Aux-organ groped floor, found fresh nest tendril.
Sensation flooded: part-sense poured into ground, vast passage feeling like my body. Link success.
'Perfect.'
I burst a few internal spores. Two bog-lurkers reacted; one hauled the other this way.
Sky Mother had read my signal, prisoner in beak.
Maintaining link, I rechecked paths. Enemy player-led group static.
Sky Mother arrived, beak-gripping female Cult. Neck snapped for capture; Dragon Scale life-support known to her.
I took the prisoner carefully, head averted—no soul link risk sans No. 26.
｢What's this? Not in the plan?｣
[Zuzuzu zuzuzu (Plan changed)]
I briefed her on the face intel. Her amber eyes blazed understanding my waves.
｢He's here?｣
[Zu (Yes)]
｢...Can't let him escape.｣
[Zuzuzu (Obviously)]
Can't release a player who knows me. Capture at any cost.
｢How?｣
[Zuzu zuzuzuzu zuzuzuzu (Clear minions first)]
Player's minions wield Demolishers and Galleron blades—lethal to me. Direct command makes them deadly.
'Hit before merge.'
I eyed the paralyzed prisoner.
Meant for live flaying before foes to instill terror. Circumstances shifted; new use.
'Player won't buy it, obviously.'
But the unjoined ones...?
I reached for the numb Cult.
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