Chapter 273
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 273
Chapter Title: These Bastards Dare!
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Boom!
[W-Warning! Stop right now, or else...!]
Thud!
[...Damn it, open fire!]
Had they finally realized that mere warnings wouldn't stop him anyway?
The moment Mota gave the order, the soldiers gulping nervously in front of Sao Paulo sprang into action all at once.
Ratatata, boom, whoosh!
Rifle fire, anti-materiel sniper rounds, grenade launchers, mortars, tank shells—the works.
Countless bullets and shells traced glowing paths of light as they slammed into the body of the colossal monster bearing down on Sao Paulo.
It was a barrage that could reduce even a battleship to scrap in one go.
But the soldiers' faces were filled with despair.
Not a single shell or strike had felled the beast—hell, it didn't even have a scratch.
As the monster continued its inexorable advance despite the onslaught, it finally halted its steps and drew in a deep breath.
Mota cried out in horror.
"Deploy the barrier at full power! Everyone, put on gas masks and inject the antidotes!"
The order was carried out swiftly.
But it wasn't enough.
Before the army could cease fire and fall back, the monster spewed pitch-black venom from all six of its maws.
Sizzle!
"Arghhh!"
"Medic! Medic!"
"S-Save me!"
The barrier erected by Players with defensive skills melted away the instant the venom touched it.
Thanks to the barrier's shielding, only a fraction of the venom reached the soldiers directly—but even that was enough to render most of Mota's unit combat-ineffective.
The Dungeon 95th-floor boss Hydra.
Gula's venom perfectly replicated its power, far beyond what a regular army could handle.
"Fall back! Everyone, grab the wounded and retreat!"
If not for the Russian gear and antidotes supplied by Quetzalcoatl, it would've been a massacre. Mota had no choice but to grit his teeth and order the withdrawal.
Gula didn't bother pursuing the army as it tucked tail and fled in panic.
[Heh heh heh, pathetic fools who don't even know whose side to pick to survive.]
Gula chuckled darkly as he watched the Brazilian forces scatter in retreat.
Perhaps due to his massively enlarged body.
The fleeing humans looked like bugs.
He couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to crush them underfoot.
But Gula suppressed the surging impulse with effort.
An army like that?
Not worth his time.
Even a decent high-level Player might pose a threat, but he was the Monster Lord—at the pinnacle of physical prowess and vitality among all Players.
[I'll deal with you lot after I crush Quetzalcoatl HQ.]
Thud.
And so, Gula ignored the army entirely.
He simply pressed on toward downtown Sao Paulo, leading the elites of Forest Guild.
Of course, the result of a monster bigger than several skyscrapers combined entering Brazil's largest city was utter devastation.
Rumble, craaaash!
"Kyaaah!"
"It's a monster!"
Every step pulverized the roads.
The shockwaves shook nearby buildings, shattered windows, and filled the air with screams and wails.
[Heh heh heh.]
But Gula didn't stop.
No, he deliberately stomped harder, amplifying the screams tenfold.
He could feel the terror in the eyes of those watching him swell with every cry.
'Yes, this is it.'
Some might shrink from such gazes, but not Gula.
No, he reveled in it.
The more they feared him, the more tangible his overwhelming power became.
Especially when he crushed those terror-stricken faces with his own hands—it reminded him of the most thrilling moments from his past life.
Like when he gouged out the eyes of those who dismissed him based on looks and fed them to dogs.
Or when he massacred the guild members who schemed against him after failing to recruit him.
Or when he flattened the bitch who dared reject his offer to be his concubine and snapped her neck.
Memories of their fearful stares sent shivers of delight through him.
'This is how eyes should look at me.'
That was why he'd deliberately transformed into this colossal monster to raze all of Sao Paulo.
Time to topple a city and squash a hundred thousand or so—then those fence-sitters eyeing him and the Green Dragon Clan warily would finally get the message.
Innocent casualties?
Collateral damage?
Not his problem.
Playing the hypocrite and peeking over shoulders was for the weak and NPCs.
Unlike his past, he was now absolutely powerful—the 'protagonist' who could kill and plunder freely and be hailed a hero for it.
Thud!
[Hm?]
Striding triumphantly and sweeping buildings aside, Gula suddenly halted.
On the wide road leading to Quetzalcoatl HQ stood a lone woman, glaring daggers at him.
[Heh heh heh... I rushed here worried you might run, and you show up right in front of me? What, playing city guardian, apostle of justice?]
Vivid green hair.
Sharp eyes laced with venom.
Frail bordering on sickly beauty.
An unforgettable peerless beauty. Gula's twelve pairs of eyes gleamed at the sight of Maya.
[Whatever! Today, I'll finally sever that tenacious neck of yours...!]
Bang!
[Huh?]
Gula couldn't even finish his sentence.
Something flashed.
Several eyes burst simultaneously from an incoming bullet.
Wondering why a bullet pierced eyes that shrugged off shells, Gula scanned around with his remaining ones.
[BOPE? You toy-slinging pests...!]
Spotting BOPE snipers positioned across the buildings, Gula gnashed his teeth.
He regenerated his burst eyes in an instant, then fired the spines covering his body.
Whoosh!
Walls, windows, steel plates—whatever.
True to Dungeon 97th-floor boss Doom Akant's power, the spines streaked like beams, riddling everything in sight.
But that was it.
The BOPE agents were unscathed.
As elite agents specializing in high-level Player crimes, they'd already relocated.
And it wasn't just them who'd evaded.
Slither.
[You bitch, where do you think you're slinking off to now!?]
As if her job was done, Maya spun gracefully and ghosted away down the road.
Seeing this, Gula ignored BOPE entirely and lunged after her.
The problem? BOPE had no intention of letting him go easily.
Bang!
[Grahhh! You damn bugs!]
BOPE agents kept repositioning, sniping, and vanishing repeatedly.
Highly trained high-level Players using armor-piercing special rounds, they infuriated Gula.
It didn't hurt, but like mosquito bites, it grated on his nerves.
Chasing them down one by one would let Maya escape.
Gula decided instantly.
[What are you gawking at? Kill these bastards now!]
"Yes, Lord!"
Fearing his wrath, the Forest Guild members trailing at a distance reacted immediately.
Several officers led dozens to intercept the BOPE agents.
Even as one of the top ten guilds' ragtag bunch, their individual prowess shone—overwhelming the dozen or so BOPE agents into retreat.
Thud, thud!
With the mosquito-like interference gone, Gula redoubled his pursuit of Maya.
Whenever a BOPE agent sniped again, he'd dispatch guild members to drive them off.
He didn't even notice his trailing guild numbers dwindling.
Even if he had, it wouldn't have mattered.
To him, who trusted no one but himself, guild members were mere errand-runners and disposable shields.
Above all, his grudge against Maya blinded him to everything else.
Oblivious that it was all part of someone's plan.
He realized too late.
Boom!!!
[Huh?]
A deafening explosion erupted.
The lower sections of a massive building he'd passed exploded, toppling sideways like a rotten tree.
The wreckage—easily tens of thousands of tons—crushed his guild members.
"Shit! Run!"
"Wait, take me with—arghhh!"
Forest Guild fell into chaos.
Most were durable beast-type Players boasting high endurance.
A simple, potent ability—but not enough to survive being buried under tens of thousands of tons of concrete.
The silver lining? Most dodged the debris.
The misfortune? In evading, they scattered every which way...
And others had been waiting for that exact moment.
"Now! Form the Small Vajra Shattering Formation!"
"Attack!"
"N-No, it's the Green Dragon Clan! Green Dragon Clan ambush—ack!"
Before the dust from the collapse settled, lightning-fast figures burst forth: the Green Dragon Clan's strike force, led by Barbara and Arvela.
"Don't scatter—stick together!"
"Fuck, how the hell are we supposed to regroup now!? Screw it! Just smash whatever comes! Guhk!"
True to their top-ten guild status, Forest Guild tried to rally and counter.
But it was futile.
Flustered from dodging the collapse, they could barely group in fours or fives.
Meanwhile, the Green Dragon Clan's experts moved in flawless unit formations, effortlessly sweeping away the small clusters and lone stragglers.
[Damn it! You sneaky bastards, pulling this shit...!]
Finally sensing something off, Gula whirled around, grinding his teeth.
He saw his underlings as expendables.
But he couldn't tolerate expendables going to waste without his say-so.
Unfortunately, even that reaction was within someone's predictions.
The counter? Two elders springing from a manhole beneath his careless feet as he turned his massive bulk.
Splat!
[Grahk!?]
A bizarre pain like stubbing both pinky toes shot through him, sending him into convulsions.
He didn't even notice the two elders who'd hammered his toes with fists and massive iron mallets slip back into the manhole.
But that was just the beginning.
Thud, thud-thud, thud-thud-thud-thud!
[Y-You...!]
A middle-aged man soared like a feather, crashing down with an axe to cleave his nape.
As he scanned for the attacker, an old woman's nail pierced his eye.
His gut itched, making him twist—only for the poison-sprayer clinging to his belly to dart away.
The simultaneous assaults targeting his blind spots overwhelmed him, frenzying his massive frame. Soon, chills ran through Gula.
Not just because each strike rivaled an anti-aircraft Player's power.
They struck his vulnerabilities with precision.
And their attacks linked seamlessly, like interlocking gears—eerily familiar.
How could it not be?
Any high-level Player knew it well.
Something they'd done hundreds of times but never suffered themselves—never even imagined suffering.
[You dare raid me?!?!]