Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Ep. 72
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'Scary. So scary.'
The enemies were firing their plasma bolters wildly, but being underwater threw off their aim—no one landed a solid hit.
I'd dodged the barrage of plasma rounds unscathed and was reeling in the knight while retracting my bloodsucking tentacles.
"...Ngh!"
The knight caught in my tentacle tried to resist, yanking out a blade claw with his remaining left arm.
'Not on my watch.'
Those razor-sharp claws on the back of his hand could shear through even my reinforced tentacles in chunks.
My bloodsucking tentacle reacted to my will, burrowing into the gaps in his shattered armor.
"Aaagh!"
The tentacle sprouted jagged, saw-like teeth on its inner surface as it plunged inside the armor, shredding his body.
It was like getting run through a sawmill at the stump where his arm had been torn off—the knight writhed in agony.
'Maybe a little water will calm him down.'
Thanks to his assault pack, the knight was getting oxygen through his helmet even underwater.
I yanked him in close and used my combat arm to rip off his helmet.
A cascade of shoulder-length blonde hair spilled out from inside.
'What? It's a woman?'
I'd assumed it was a guy, but no—she was female. Gene mods had left her strikingly attractive, too.
"Damn...!"
The knight's face twisted in extreme pain.
'Mega Corp players loved rolling female mercs in the game.'
The knight squad provided by Ezerton family perks came with randomized names and looks.
Sometimes you'd get a burly black muscleman; other times, a blonde white woman like the one in front of me.
That's why so many Mega Corp players wanted to build squads of pretty knights.
Strategy guides popped up on the forums about how to roll only bishoujo knights.
'I always preferred Aimorphs, though.'
Of course, as an ordinary guy, I still felt a spark of attraction toward beautiful women.
But in this body? Her beauty barely registered.
'Anyway, a lady knight.'
Watching her sparked an amusing idea.
There might be ways to use a woman to my advantage.
I opened my maw and gave the nape of her neck a gentle bite.
"Guh?!"
She flinched hard.
I'd barely nipped her, so it wasn't pain. Probably some instinctive revulsion toward Aimorphs or something.
The neurotoxin in my saliva kicked in fast—her expression slackened. The agony from her severed arm probably faded, too.
Confirming she was paralyzed, I slipped her helmet back on.
'To reconnect the assault pack... ah, here it is.'
I linked the tubes at her neck and shoulder, and light flickered back in the helmet. Power restored meant the recon chip inside would reactivate.
'You're my bait now.'
From experience, female allies make perfect decoys. People react way stronger to women getting hurt than men.
I wondered if space-age gentlemen would still rush to save a damsel. Time for a test.
-
'The signal was bait after all?'
Yanek double-checked the readout.
The signal—30 meters away when they'd arrived—was speeding off again.
'Another creature here?'
He pondered briefly, then shook his head.
'No. Too unlikely a wild animal would follow its plan this perfectly. Better assume it has fission abilities.'
Fission-capable organisms existed, though they were rare.
'Fissuring to plant signal chips and sow chaos. It's a strategist.'
A damn good one, at that.
Yanek decided he needed to revise his threat assessment upward.
'Fire-breathing, thorn-shooting, cloaking, fission, high intelligence. Worthy of His Highness's attention.'
Even Yanek, veteran of hunting hundreds of beasts, had never seen such a versatile monster.
No current Hulk mutant tech could cram that many traits into one body.
The Yujin family's gene-modded humans came closest, but this thing didn't look human at all.
'From what I glimpsed, serpentine form.'
It wasn't cloaking here probably due to the heavy water currents.
"Leader Yanek! Catherine's vitals are still active!"
"What?"
Yanek tapped his wrist terminal at the squad member's shout.
His helmet's visor displayed the four-man team's vitals, plus the missing teammate Catherine's field-of-view feed.
'Still alive?'
Her signal was faint but holding. Her POV showed her slumped against a tunnel wall somewhere.
"Leader, Catherine hasn't died yet. If we don't hurry, it might be too late."
"......"
Yanek fell silent at the squad member's words.
'A trap.'
This thing ran signal-disruption ops. It had ulterior motives, no doubt.
"It's too intelligent to leave an injured foe without reason."
"Maybe she fought back? With assault pack boosts, a blade cutter could slice its body easy."
True enough.
They hadn't charged into the sewers blind. Data from fallen comrades at the hospital and station—gear levels, battle traces—gave them a read on the monster's defenses.
Simulations showed assault pack-enhanced knights with blade cutters could pierce its hide.
"Leader. We're here covertly to capture it. Delays risk bumping into the garrison. No time to hesitate."
That rang true, too.
The enemy was smarter than expected, headaches piling up—and garrison involvement would tangle things worse.
Process the target fast, rescue the teammate en route.
"Fine. Reporting to Mr. Jacob now..."
As he raised his comms, something thin and elongated flew from the tunnel rear.
It speared straight into his comms unit.
'Thorn stinger!'
His gaze snapped back; his shoulder-mounted auto plasma gun fired. Green energy bolts lit the tunnel.
In that instant, he glimpsed a python-like shape diving subsurface. The black shadow on the water vanished ahead.
"Leader!"
"I'm fine."
The cunning bastard timed it for when his focus split raising the comms.
'Damn!'
Yanek gingerly sifted the shattered comms wreckage on his hand.
'If only the chip survived...'
Luckily, the chip itself was intact.
'Whew, spared from total loss.'
He slotted it into his wrist terminal.
The device lit up with file and message functions. Yanek fired off a brief warning to Jacob, attaching his camera logs.
'This leaves evidence...'
They used isolated comms for the covert op.
Terminal transmission routed through garrison networks. Unless they were idiots, questions about their secret mission would arise.
'But the enemy's exceeding projections. No choice.'
Their boss Denver would smooth it over somehow.
"Moving out."
Intel safely sent, Yanek led his men onward.
The steel-clad warriors charged down the tunnel, massive frames pounding forward.
Sewage sludge half-filling the passage couldn't halt eighteen knights over 2 meters tall.
Anger-fueled? Or assault packs and reinforced suits? Each step cratered the concrete floor.
"Catherine: 15 meters."
"Slow down, eyes sharp."
As her position neared, the knights eased pace, scanning intensely. Auto plasma guns tracked targets eagerly.
"No sign of it nearby."
Water currents aside, no other motion detected.
Yanek nodded; two squad members approached Catherine.
Upper body above water, head lolled—she looked dead, but vitals confirmed otherwise.
She lived.
"Hey, Catherine. You okay?"
"......"
One grabbed her left shoulder, shook. She mumbled faintly.
"What?"
"...!"
Her voice crackled in the helmet—wanting to scream but muffled somehow.
"Dang... danger?"
As he muttered, two red tentacles erupted from behind—the knights' rear.
"Gah?!"
"Urk!"
The tentacles whipped the rearmost pair's necks viciously.
Reinforced suits or not, necks were human weak points.
Thigh-thick tentacles striking dead-on? Their necks snapped aside grotesquely.
"Enemy!"
Yanek's roar turned eyes rearward. Green bolts from auto plasma guns nailed one tentacle, severing half.
The other vanished subsurface.
"Kill it!"
Knights aimed bolters at the tentacles' origin.
But the assault wasn't over.
While eyes faced rear, the tentacle main body—hidden under Catherine's feet—lunged.
Its real prey: the two knights who'd closed to check her.
"Huh?"
The dumbstruck knight.
Turning, he saw small white blades... darkness. Pitch black swallowed his head whole.
"Son of a—urk?!"
The other knight glimpsed his comrade's head crunched instantly. He swung his blade claw desperately.
Hadn't something coiled his leg, he'd have beheaded the monster.
His stance crumpled, but he was elite—assault pack-boosted. Mid-fall, he adjusted, slashing the monster's shoulder.
Blood sprayed, splattering his helmet.
The monster, pained, gaped wide—head still clamping the other knight's.
"Grraaah!"
"Got it—urk?"
Good so far, but what followed stunned him.
His blood-smeared helmet began melting.
"Wha—what?!"
"It's nearby! Don't remove your helmet!"
Left on, his head would melt too—he tore it off fast.
Too late did Yanek realize the main body lurked forward, not rear. He shouted.
But warning lagged.
The leg-coiling thing's tail burst from water, piercing his occiput.
"Guh."
Head holed, the knight collapsed.
"Damn! Main body's up front! Fire!"
Yanek and knights blasted bolters. Several rounds hit its head, but it ignored, bolting ahead.
"One stay with wounded! Rest, follow me!"
Thirteen knights pursued at speed.
Fast as ever, but head shots slowed it—distance closed gradually.
Volleying bolts and plasma, Yanek gritted teeth.
'My misjudgment! Should've held and called backup!'
Four dead in minutes, plus one wounded.
Inflicted damage, but their losses dwarfed.
"Target heading narrow tunnel!"
"Map shows dead end."
"Good!"
At least the monster panicked.
Unfamiliar with injury, it herded itself into a corner clumsily.
'Smart ones like that aren't used to pain.'
Beasts born mighty trample others easily but flail at their own hurt.
Silver Lion Knights' mighty foes all fell that way—inflicting huge casualties before small wounds doomed them.
Their trophies now coursed in the knights' veins.
'Now's our chance.'
Subdue while it's reeling—no more losses.
Yanek and knights plunged the narrow tunnel.
-
'Oof, that hurts like hell.'
I checked my wounds.
Regeneration healed my head's carapace mostly, but shoulder still throbbed.
Left arm's bloodsucking tentacle was half-torn—long recovery ahead.
'Without Hunter's Mark, it's tough.'
My hide's tough, but blade cutters and plasma pierce hard.
'Pure organic traits aren't enough.'
Perfect Organism doubled Flesh Reinforcement's carapace strength, yet gaps remained.
'I baited carelessness on purpose, somewhat.'
Head tanked plasma fine, but blade claw was surprise. Hurt bad—I yelped instinctively.
'More foes ahead. Gotta be careful.'
Almost done anyway.
I huddled in a dead-end tunnel barely fitting my bulk.
Auxiliary organs passive, I heard them charging in.
'Pissed off good.'
Water churned violently—furious indeed.
'Losing cool mid-fight's dangerous.'
I positioned half-submerged.
This chokepoint tunnel: one-way street.
Oversized foes? Two abreast max, likely single file.
No cover for AoE blasts.
'Psionic Enhancement Type, boosted by Perfect Organism.'
Synergy unleashing monster-tentacle psychic breath.
How strong?
'Let's test.'
Acquiring Psionic Enhancement, instinct told me: limit upped to twice.
'Normally it'd KO me after one.'
Not now.
Water accelerated—closing fast.
'They're in deep enough.'
Time precisely; no wasting shots even if two available.
"Target: 10 meters."
Enemy voice echoed. Dark tunnel showed lead knight's silhouette.
I faced outward, activated monster tentacles.
Violet tendril bundle from my rear nape quivered.
Thick purple tentacles converged before my head, dragon-power primed.
"Target sighted—wait! Something's off!"
"This is? Ev... everyone, shields u—!"
Apparent leader barked urgently.
Solid call, but could shields block this?
Immense psychic power—unseen since becoming Aimorph—focused before me.
Sewage filth boiled, unable to withstand.
Before, it'd drain all life and mind; now, less so.
But scorching—like facing magma furnace. Carapace glowed red.
Then.
A purple sun—wielded only by cosmic dragons—erupted.
Water vaporized; metal walls powdered.
Knights' shields' violet glow? Laughable against pure incinerating energy.
Purple beam touched—shields evaporated like illusions.
Tough armor, pricey packs, gene-packed flesh—all devoured by the beam.
Psychic breath ended.
Nothing remained before me.