Chapter 272
Chapter 272
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 272
Chapter Title: Rat Swarm (3)
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The banquet hall in the basement of the Second Command Post.
It was usually an empty space, but not today.
Outsiders affiliated with the universe's great powers—like Mega Corp, the Cult Empire, and the Star Union—were gathered in the banquet hall. Dressed in opulent attire, they were being served food as exquisite as their clothing.
Everyone present was a major client of Montana Marcio.
Originally, they had planned to invite them to the banquet hall after the auction began, but they moved it up deliberately.
It was due to the unfortunate incident at the fortress.
Montana's business had a significant share of illegal dealings. His clients knew this well when they came to the fortress. If Montana made even the slightest mistake, they would immediately seek alternatives and leave.
That was why Montana had to do everything in his power to keep them there. At least until his subordinates resolved the issue in the underground vault.
"How was your meal, everyone?"
At Montana's question, the guests nodded silently. Their expressions weren't bad, but they weren't exactly friendly either.
There was a problem in the underground vault where their goods were stored. Because of that, the mercenaries they had brought were heading to the vault to check on the items' safety.
The reason they hadn't left yet was their status. In truth, none of those enjoying the meal in the banquet hall were true upper-class elites. They were merely proxies for the higher-ups in their respective factions—servants handling illicit transactions.
Naturally, if something happened to the goods and the deal fell through, they would bear the responsibility too. It was somewhat better for those from the Cult, but the servants of Noble Capital or Prime Capital could face who-knows-what punishment.
So, cutting ties with the Marcio Cartel could wait until the goods' safety was confirmed.
For these reasons, the banquet hall guests were staying, trusting Montana's words.
Some hoped he would handle it well, others harbored dissatisfaction with the messy situation, and still others pondered how to profit from it. They all wore smiles, but behind those facades, complex calculations were at play.
Montana, watching them, was doing the same.
He was furiously calculating in his head. The losses from the accident were inevitable. But he wondered if he could turn it around—overcome the crisis brilliantly and build a positive image with them.
He had weathered countless adversities before. This time would be no different.
That was what he believed when a subordinate approached cautiously.
"B-Bos—er, Chairman."
"What is it?"
"An emergency report. It's a bit... delicate to discuss here."
Stepping away in front of all these clients was far from wise. Under normal circumstances, Montana would have chewed out the subordinate.
But if he hadn't noticed the man's hair drenched in cold sweat, he definitely would have.
"Hahaha, looks like things are wrapping up. The main course will be out soon, so please bear with us just a bit longer."
Responding calmly as if nothing was amiss, Montana followed his subordinate out of the banquet hall.
But after hearing the full report outside, he could no longer maintain his composure.
"The forces we sent to the military port have lost contact too? All of them?"
The worst-case scenario Montana had imagined was heavy losses for the troops sent to the vault.
But the reality far exceeded his imagination. Not just the vault—the reserve units assembled at the military port were also out of contact.
"W-We asked around with the guys patrolling the port, and it's total chaos there. Monsters appeared and are massacring people..."
"......"
The situation was gravely serious. It was the greatest crisis since he had taken control of the fortress.
'This isn't the time to sit around.'
"I'm heading to the central control room. You stay here and entertain the guests inside."
"Yes, sir."
After sending his subordinate back to the banquet hall, he boarded the elevator with his bodyguards.
The central control room was on the 10th floor. As the heavyset man pressed the button, the elevator shot upward swiftly.
-
After mopping up the forces gathered at the vault, I sent the mutant horde toward the command post. I didn't go with them because I had business at the military port.
'There should be more reserves there.'
The pirates from the train I raided were all heading to the military port's station. For security reasons, no patrol ships or hover buses could land near the vault.
So, the enemy must have assembled a large force at the nearest military port, planning to deploy them sequentially based on the situation.
'If I turn them all into mutants too, conquering the fortress will be much easier.'
The mutants would handle reducing the enemy's numbers on their own. Plus, seizing the military port—where many of their ships were docked—would drastically cut their defensive options.
For these reasons, I asked PS-111 to sneak into the military port and do some preliminary work.
And now that I had arrived at the port, I could see the results.
"Ugh, ughhh..."
"Urk! Cough, cough..."
Pirates, mercenaries, and assorted criminals were sprawled across the military port. PS-111 had hacked the environmental controls in the port's sector and turned them into a mess.
First, it distorted gravity to immobilize the enemies, then lightly sprayed toxic gas on top. Thanks to that, the combat effectiveness of the assembled forces had plummeted.
"Hurry and request backup to the command post!"
"Damn it! Comms are dead!"
"Forget that crap! Release the Hulk Mutants first and hold them off!"
The downside was that not all enemies were neutralized. Plenty had reacted quickly to their comrades dropping like flies.
Mercenaries and pirates were enduring the gas and gravity with gas masks and injected enhancers. The Hulk Mutants—likely brought by Mega Corp—wore specially made bio-masks, unaffected by the gas.
'Not a bad response, but...'
Choosing the lesser evil over the worst still wasn't good. Once they chose to fight, they had only two futures left.
Death. Or...
"Open fire!"
Enemy troops hiding behind buildings unleashed everything they had at me. From gauss rifles firing tungsten rounds and stormguns with depleted uranium slugs—pure physical destroyers—to pulse grenades deadly to electronics and energy blasts from laser weapons.
A barrage of every type poured in, but few reached me. All physical projectiles hung frozen in midair.
"What the—?!"
"What the hell...?"
If they were from the Cult, they might have understood why the bullets floated. No. 26 above my head was catching every incoming shot with powerful psionic force.
[Zuzuzuzuzu (Don't kill them)]
｢Got it.｣
No. 26 hopped down onto the metal floor. At the same moment, the bullets ensnared in its psionic web clattered to the ground.
Standing protectively in front of me, No. 26's body rapidly expanded. Massive fins sprouted beneath it, and countless tentacles above.
In an instant, it grew into a 25-meter colossal monster, its torso sprouting innumerable eyes. Each eye moved independently, fixating on the enemies' positions.
"......"
"......"
Those who met its gaze froze, unable to act. An overwhelming terror beyond imagination gripped their throats.
As silence fell, No. 26's assault began.
Intense psionic power erupted from its body, while its tentacles elongated, slamming down on the buildings.
"Everyone, evade!"
"Gaaah!"
A building with about ten hiding on the roof crumbled under one strike. Their fate was easy to guess. The other enemies snapped out of it and screamed.
"Hulk Mutants! Unleash the Hulk Mutants!"
"Kill that thing!"
Hulk Mutants in bio-masks charged out with guttural roars. No. 26 stood firm before me, blasting psionic power at them.
"Grooo?"
"Guhk!"
Four Hulk Mutants levitated simultaneously. Their bodies shuddered, then limbs tore off like they were drawn and quartered.
"How do we beat that monster?!"
"We gotta run now!"
"Fall back—argh!"
Pirates trying to flee got snared by No. 26, their legs twisting 360 degrees. Others were too busy saving themselves to help comrades.
'No need to help.'
As expected, No. 26 was handling it fine without me.
I plucked tentacles to inject mutation virus into surviving enemies. Pirates wailing with bones protruding from thighs went silent upon contact.
They shed their frail minds, reborn as new beings. The thirst for slaughter set them free.
"Kikikikiki"
"Grraaaawr!"
The fresh mutants lunged at the limbless Hulk Mutants.
'Wish I could mutate the Hulk Mutants too, but oh well.'
The virus worked, but results were poor. Maybe due to spliced genes—it mutated in bad ways.
I gave up on Hulk Mutants, focusing on living mercenaries, pirates, and humans.
By the time No. 26 subdued the rest, mutant numbers swelled to hundreds. As the "Herald of Great Chaos," I directed their paths.
｢Not that way, babies—over here.｣
"Kikikikiki"
Stragglers were personally retrieved by No. 26. Those with snapped necks or backs staggered into the horde.
'Port's mostly cleared.'
After turning dozens hiding in a building into mutants, I moved to merge them in.
'This should do it?'
Then, a slender cylindrical building flashed in the distance.
A beam of immense power vaporized dozens of my mutants instantly. The blast's center even shoved me back a few meters.
'Damn!'
That was one of the fortress's internal defense fortress cannons. Two per command post, six total—this was the main gun at the Second Command Post.
'Command post noticed.'
Mutants were en route, but this was likely due to lost contact and manpower at the port.
'Firing fortress cannons right away, though.'
Fortress cannons activated only in dire straits. Designed for internal infiltrations, their firepower was immense.
They knew about mutants but not me—still, quick response.
｢Big baby, you okay?｣
[Zu zuzuzu zu zu zu zu (I'm fine. Shrink back down)]
Worried No. 26 reverted to small size. It could deflect beams with psionics, but risky—two cannons meant blocking one left it open to the other for a fatal hit.
'Time to use that.'
I'd planned to save it, but no choice now.
My newest unique trait, Prismatic Complexity, was ready to shine.
The second fortress cannon at the Second Command Post would fire soon. Before then, I activated the trait.
Upon activation, intangible heat haze rose from my body like shimmering air. The hazes coalesced in midair into a massive transparent tray—big enough to cover me and max-sized No. 26.
The tray solidified, refracting and dispersing surrounding light into rainbow hues. It resembled my "Abyssal Hues" state but differed slightly.
Abyssal Hues felt eerily ominous, while this looked like pure natural refraction—like light through a prism.
Then, another flash from the distant command post.
A psionic heat ray, far faster than a Galleron's breath, hurtled toward us—and collided with the transparent tray above me.
The enemies never saw it coming.
Blocked by the invisible barrier, the ray shattered into countless beams, scattering in all directions.
The core ability of the tray-like Prismatic Complexity:
'Reflects energy-based attacks.'
｢So sparkly and pretty!｣
Meteor showers of light over the fortress, a city ablaze.
As No. 26 said, it was a stunningly beautiful sight.