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Chapter 119

Muriel, seated in the commander’s camp surrounded by defenses, stared at the monitor with a cold gaze. The vital sign graph, which had been turbulent until a moment ago, now showed no movement at all, forming a straight line.

What could this mean?

“Leader, there’s a massive pool of blood here.”

In the video sent by subordinates, puddles of blood were visible. The genetic analysis revealed that it was all the blood shed by the Sky Mother. With such a significant loss of blood and no detection of the chip’s location, one could anticipate the fate of the Sky Mother.

“A troublesome situation.”

The reason Muriel spared the Mother of the Sky was that a female wolf slave who shared her intentions wanted her. The Mother of the Sky was a suitable target for her colleague’s discerning taste. The plan was to discipline her a bit and then send her away, but things took a turn.

“That damn Amorph!”

If that infamous Amorph consumed the Mother of the Sky and gained her abilities, it would be a headache. She also knew the low probability of Moth Park acquiring abilities. However, in this unpredictable world…

“I don’t think I’ll lose, but….”

Muriel opened the safe in the camp. Inside were an old communication device and a diamond-shaped kit. The most powerful weapon in her possession was the ‘Brain God.’

The Brain God was merely a means to make battles more favorable. The weapons she used most effectively were the ones inside this kit. She placed the communication device in her pocket, carefully held the kit with both hands, and sat in front of the computer.

“Ah, I’ll need to restock after this fight.”

She sighed, handling the precious items slowly as if dealing with delicate treasures. The kit contained various drugs and small mechanical devices. Syionium, which elevated the user’s potential, Ultra Controller, a drug that significantly improved the precision of psychic power technology, and Nano Spartan Module, which made the skin extremely tough while enhancing recovery, were among them.

Each item was powerful, but the side effects were not to be taken lightly. If she didn’t have a ‘special’ body thanks to the ‘benefits,’ she would have hesitated to use them.

After carefully examining the items, she closed the kit and called her subordinates.

“Did you call, sister?”

“Brother, there will be an attack soon. Gather all the captured slaves in the central square.”

“Slaves? Understood.”

The wolf slaves were all intended to be used as reinforcement materials for spearheads.

For a moment, she thought it would be a waste to discard all the carefully collected toys, but she shook her head.

Those expendable items can be easily replaced at any time.

More importantly, there’s the Sky Mother, obtained through difficulty, along with precious drugs and enhancement modules. The damage inflicted by Moth Park on her was never insignificant.

“That Amorph bastard, he should forget about dying peacefully.”

Until now, Muriel had never let those who caused harm to her go unpunished. Ranked 5th, Moth Park would soon pay off his debts with his own blood.

***

‘It’s complete.’

Confirming that the tenth nest was autonomously mobilizing, I disconnected the link. Cute spores emitted slime and toxic mist, while the black waves on the ground relentlessly advanced. Up to this point, I had strategically placed nests around Muriel’s camp, completing a total of 10 nests—five on the surface and five underground. Nine of them had already merged into one.

Within 10 minutes, the tenth nest would also merge with the others. After that, my assault on the enemy’s stronghold would begin.

‘But there’s something to check before that.’

I headed towards the sixth nest through the pre-dug tunnels. The underground world that was once filled with soil, rocks, and tree roots no longer existed. This place was now filled with sticky slime, malignant tumors, disgusting sacs expelling vile substances, and spores constantly contaminating the air.

It might seem repulsive to others, but to me, it was a familiar space.

Passing through the elongated tunnel, my constructed underground community, the sixth nest, greeted me.

On top of the nest lay a Wolf with a half-human, half-beast appearance.

She had the head of an eagle, mane-like long hair resembling a lion’s mane, and a body mixed with that of a lion and a human. Her hands and upper body resembled a woman covered in lion fur, while the lower body was that of a lion, but without a tail.

‘Seems to be at a high level of beastification, resembling a beast quite closely.’

If she hadn’t been seriously injured, she might have been a formidable opponent. Currently, thanks to the symbiotic spore effect, she was recovering rapidly, but it would take a few more days for a complete recovery.

I lay down in the middle of the nest and called her.

‘Awake?’

｢….｣

I had known she was awake since entering the nest. It was different from when her heartbeat had stopped.

The Griffin Wolf quietly opened her eyes.

｢Surprising. You’re not killing me?｣

“No.”

｢Huh?｣

‘Your body will be useful later.’

Not killing the Griffin Wolf didn’t mean keeping her alive indefinitely. I crawled closer to her, dipped my fingers into the pooled blood on the ground, and put it into her mouth. Even if I roamed with honey instead of blood, it still tasted sweet enough to be believed.

‘It’s a pity I can’t eat it right away.’

Keeping the Griffin Wolf alive is advantageous for me in various ways.

In the short term, she can provide useful information. Starting from essential information needed when fighting Muriel, to details about the player’s existence.

One might think it’s enough to extract the information needed for battling Muriel and then dispose of her, but it’s not that simple.

Even if I were to capture Muriel and extract information about the player from her, without a cross-verification target, it’s difficult to discern whether the extracted information is true or false.

‘And Griffin Wolf harbors hatred towards Muriel.’

Griffin Wolf’s skills are decent in my observation. Bringing her along to confront Muriel would bolster our forces.

Betrayal is impossible due to the implanted parasite while she’s unconscious. Moreover, the intensity of pain inflicted by the parasite has increased significantly due to the infection enhancement type, so if she were to betray, it would result in immediate death.

Unless I command the parasite to retrieve her, her means of escaping from me are limited.

Besides the short-term advantages, she could also be useful in the long run.

‘Because she can be used when fulfilling the conditions for promotion and evolution later on.’

Since the juncture of transition to adulthood, the evolution conditions have become much more stringent. It’s not just about consuming a few sapients and acquiring a few types to evolve.

‘Instead, you have to hunt specific creatures or obtain unique traits.’

I’ve displayed the newly updated evolution conditions.

[The Quasi-Saint > Ascendant evolution conditions have been partially fulfilled.

APEX 0/30 (Incomplete)

Possessed unique traits 2/10 (Incomplete)

Possessed types 4/6 (Incomplete)]

To evolve from junctura to adult, one must hunt 30 rare creatures classified as the top predators, or ‘APEX,’ and secure the 10 unique traits they possess.

One notable difference is that now, successful hunting without necessarily consuming the prey also counts toward fulfilling the conditions. This change has occurred due to acquiring traits that affect the gene essence absorption mechanism, akin to the jaw structure of a gene essence extractor.

‘It doesn’t mean it’s particularly easier though.’

The APEX category includes immensely powerful psychic creatures like Gallergons to creatures with extremely potent powers like Skywhales and their superior species, Arcane Orcas. Each creature classified as APEX possesses formidable strength and is exceedingly rare, making even finding them a challenge in itself.

‘Signing a contract with Adhai was also necessary to surpass the Quasi-Saint stage.’

Gallagons are a prime example of creatures classified as APEX. Guided by Adhai, if one were to venture into the Gallagon’s Nest, fulfilling the evolution conditions wouldn’t be too difficult.

‘Besides that, there’s also actively utilizing the transcendental system….’

Currently, I possess two unique traits, all obtained through the transcendental system.

One might think that since there’s a transcendental system, there’s no need to capture APEX, but there’s an issue with that.

“Not knowing the effects of the traits and being restricted from using other traits.”

These are the major drawbacks of the transcendental system.

The unique traits obtained through the transcendental system are entirely new traits not existing in the game. Thus, it’s challenging to judge immediately whether they are beneficial or not, and the restrictions on using other traits are unknown until obtaining the trait.

‘I suppose both hunting APEX and utilizing the transcendental system appropriately are necessary.’

In any case, keeping Griffin Wolf alive aligns with the context of signing a contract with Adhai.

When ascending from the mature stage to the transcendent stage, it demands conditions incomparable to those before. I don’t know what will happen afterward, but at this point, there’s a high possibility that her life will become necessary.

‘Ha, still alive.’

She seemed vaguely aware of why I didn’t kill her.

‘But even if she considers me an enemy, there’s no sharp move she can make.’

Currently, she is in a critical condition. Thanks to the symbiotic organisms attached to her body, she is receiving healing effects and immunity to contaminants from the nest.

Even without using parasites, if I release the symbiotic organisms, she will die. Of course, she knows me well as a player. She must understand how foolish it is to resist in this situation.

｢It doesn’t matter. As long as you keep your promise.｣

‘Muriel will suffer and die.’

｢Fine. I will follow you, I am the Mother of the Sky.｣

As expected, she made a wise choice by calling herself the Mother of the Sky. The griffin, Wolf, forced herself up and bowed to me.

‘

｢I’ll recover as quickly as possible to be of help.｣

“It doesn’t matter. Use me as you need.”

In truth, the reason she couldn’t get up wasn’t solely because of the injuries inflicted by Muriel.

‘Partly because of me, but there’s no need to mention that.’

When I decided not to kill her, I removed the vital signal device from the back of her head with my Ghost Claws. It was a bit challenging to remove the chip without the skill of dexterity, leading to a considerable amount of bleeding and aftermath.

‘Well, she’s a griffin. She’ll recover quickly.’

If she were a regular wolf, she would have died the moment I removed the chip. However, she’s different.

The ‘Divine Transformation’ stage is relatively high, allowing her to inherit the abilities and appearance of the griffin mode even in an untransformed state.

With the griffin’s regenerative power and the healing effect of the symbiotic organism spores, she should recover enough to move alongside me when I confront Muriel.

But more urgently, there’s something I need.

‘Tell me Muriel’s weaknesses.’

Until the nest is complete, I need to know as much as possible about Muriel’s equipment, strengths and weaknesses, combat habits, and anything relevant.

Knowing about the Mother of the Sky and information about players will be sufficient after dealing with Muriel.

Even though it’s midnight, the defense zone inside and the surrounding forest are as bright as daylight. The large lamps on the towering watchtower continue to surveil the fortress walls and beyond, with hundreds of pirates inside preparing for the enemy’s attack.

The vigilant posture of the pirates, even at this late hour, is akin to that of soldiers. The reason for their unwavering focus on defense is their leader, Muriel.

She impaled each Wolf slave gathered in the square one by one with a spear, as if slaughtering animals.

The pirates of the Humanity Cartel were wary of their enraged leader, well aware of the consequences if they displeased her. Naturally, discipline was maintained.

Moreover, the fact that the communication with the pirates who went on a reconnaissance mission outside a while ago was completely cut off added an extra layer of tension to the fortress’s defenders.

“Watchtower 1, all clear.”

“Watchtower 2, all clear.”

“Watchtower 3, sudden fog.”

“Here, Watchtower 4, fog is seen just like at Watchtower 3.”

“Watchtower 5, fog? It didn’t rain, why is it suddenly… Oh, I see it here too.”

While ominous radio transmissions echoed from the watchtowers, three pirates were moving Wolf corpses scattered in the square to the warehouse.

“Looks like the boss is really pissed.”

“Ha, I hope we can get through tonight safely.”

“Hey, I have a charm that wards off danger, want it?”

When they had moved about half of the corpses, a thick fog settled above the defense zone. Fog in the humid and warm jungle at night wasn’t unusual, but such dense fog without rain was rare. Moreover, the fog emitted an unpleasant smell. It was the familiar scent of death that anyone active in space would recognize – the smell crows circling around rotting corpses would appreciate.

“Cough!”

“Ugh, what’s this smell of decaying bodies…?”

“Wow, let’s hurry and finish and leave.”

The pirates, who were clearing the corpses, quickly moved to the warehouse, dumping the bodies on the ground. Dozens of Wolf corpses were piled up like a pyramid, and the warehouse floor was soaked with blood and organ fragments.

The corpses, all with open eyes, seemed to say,

“We won’t forget your sins even in death.”

One pirate shuddered at the eerie sight.

“Damn, it’s one of the most f*cked-up scenes I’ve ever seen.”

“Stop talking nonsense and help.”

“Fine, got it. Phew!”

The pirate, who spat on the ground, helped his comrades move the corpses to another location.

“Huh?”

Had he not seen the corpses wriggling before turning his gaze away, he would have undoubtedly thought so.

“What was that just now?”

He wiped his eyes and looked back at the corpses. As if to prove that he hadn’t misseen, the corpses lying on the ground were being ‘absorbed’ into the black soil.

He was about to alert his comrades about this bizarre phenomenon. Before he could open his mouth, long and massive hands emerged from the ground. He was dragged into the soil without even a chance to scream.

“Hey! Help… Where did he go?”

“Uh? He was just there a moment ago.”

The warehouse had lights on the ceiling, so the interior wasn’t too dark. It was in this well-lit space that their comrade disappeared.

“Damn it! Quit fooling around!”

“Is this the time for jokes? Come out quickly!”

Whether their comrade heard their shouts is uncertain. The pile of corpses began to collapse.

The pirates hoped it was just a prank by their comrade, but what emerged from among the corpses was not their comrade. It was a snake with six sharp appendages.

The snake bit the pirate’s head at bullet-like speed. Instantly, the pirate’s head vanished, and blood spurted like a fountain from the neck hole.

“Huh?”

The nearby pirate only realized the fact that his two comrades were murdered in the warehouse after getting splattered with their blood.

“Ah, ahhhh!”

He screamed and fell backward. Thanks to falling, he narrowly avoided the snake’s attack that killed his comrades.

Terrified, he crawled out of the warehouse. As soon as he stepped outside, he loudly blew a horn hanging around his neck. The sound, like the cry of a raptor soaring through the sky, echoed throughout the entire fortress.

“We’re under attack!”

“Where?”

“The warehouse!”

Voices of pirates shouting could be heard from various places inside the fortress, and the pirate who blew the horn somehow managed to get up and tried to flee.

Behind him, a deafening noise resounded. It was undoubtedly the sound of steel reinforcing bars and the roof of the building being destroyed.

As he ran, he saw debris from the warehouse flying into the sky. And above his fleeing figure, an object as thick and long as a redwood fell.

Thunk.

He couldn’t even scream before being crushed by the massive object. Thus, he never realized until the end that the giant object was the ‘tail’ of some creature.

“■——-!”

The creature, using its tail, slammed down a pirate, roaring triumphantly. It was as if it declared the commencement of a ‘night hunt’ within the fortress.