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[Proofreader – Draxx]

Chapter 233

Shadows spread over countless branches as the clouds that had scattered returned to block the sunlight.

In the cool, ashen light, we followed the trail of the Screamers.

The once sporadic footprints were becoming increasingly frequent. Not just on the ground, but the surrounding trees and rocks were also covered with marks left by sharp alloy claws.

\'It\'s not just one or two.\'

Given that Screamers have eight legs, it\'s natural for there to be many footprints, but even taking that into account, there were far too many. There had to be at least several dozen of them.

"How many Screamers were deployed for this mission?"

I utilized stored genetic information to mimic a voice as I questioned PS-111.

"Three hundred units were deployed at the start of the mission."

"Three hundred? That\'s quite a lot."

Hearing its response, I was slightly surprised.

Considering that standard Screamers are almost treated like bio-drones in the Star Union, deploying 300 of them isn\'t particularly unusual. In large-scale ground battles in the game, thousands of Screamers would often be deployed.

But that was under the players\' command. It\'s rare for the regular Star Union army to deploy Screamers alone.

Screamers possess formidable combat power, but they have a downside: a lack of strategic thinking and flexibility. So, when unexpected situations arise, they can\'t respond appropriately.

\'Normally, you\'d need something to make up for that shortcoming...\'

The Mutant Screamers resolved the old models\' flaws by categorizing them into standard models and commander models. The fact that Mutant Screamers\' commander models possess superior strategic judgement is evident just by looking at PS-111.

When fighting Odd Grad, it quickly understood the signal I sent and brought in the cruiser. A regular Screamer would never have made such a decision.

\'At least the good news is that their numbers should have significantly decreased by now.\'

Given that the planet is teeming with dangerous creatures, it\'s unlikely that all 300 have survived unscathed. In fact, even PS-111 was nearly destroyed by an Ice Horror attack.

"How many do you think are left? Two hundred? Two hundred fifty?"

"I believe the total number hasn\'t decreased significantly from the original 300 units."

"Why is that?"

Although Mutant Screamers are powerful, they wouldn\'t come out unscathed after encountering Apex creatures like Ice Horrors or Glacier Fiends.

PS-111, which was searching for traces with its sensor protruding from its eye, responded.

"According to the data stored in my brain, the former main controller, \'Pyra Eleven\', had facilities on its ship capable of producing Mutant Screamers."

"What?"

"As long as there is genetic information, a large energy source, and organic material to use as resources, it is possible to produce S-model Screamers."

In the lore, Screamers are often seen as expendable, so it\'s rare to provide support via ships. The most you might get is orbital bombardment support after deploying the Screamers.

But since Mutant Screamers are more strategically valuable than older models, it seems they\'ve allocated a dedicated support ship.

"Considering the scale of a Screamer production line, it would likely require at least a Jamah-class warship to house the facilities. Even then, they\'d have to replace all the ship\'s maintenance facilities with repair equipment."

"Due to data loss, I can\'t provide an exact answer, but that seems like a reasonable assumption."

The XAX01-class warship is named after the capital planet of the Star Union. Often called Jaks Alpha, this ship is the largest and most heavily armed of the Star Union\'s warships.

Of course, in this case, it would have been heavily modified as a Screamer support ship, so it would differ greatly from its original form. The internal facilities and equipment would all have been removed and replaced with Screamer-related facilities, leaving only the minimal systems necessary to keep the ship operational.

"Do you remember where it landed?"

"My apologies. Due to data loss, I cannot confirm that."

The Jamah-class warship is just under a kilometer in length. I haven\'t seen any signs of such a massive ship landing around here.

Furthermore, the Gallagons would never miss such a large ship entering the planet\'s atmosphere. If there\'s no mention of it, it must have top-tier stealth capabilities.

As I thought about it, something felt off.

"Your mission was to capture me, right?"

"If you\'re referring to the special objective A set by the former main controller, \'Pyra Eleven,\' then yes."

"A Screamer that can self-repair and three hundred units at that. Why have they been lying low all this time, when they could produce even more?"

In retrospect, there were several opportunities for them to attack me. When I first arrived on the planet, when I was weakened after fighting Jason, when I was ambushed by Odd Grad, and so on.

However, they never gathered systematically to attack me, making the placement of a commander model to compensate for the Screamers\' weaknesses seem pointless. So far, the only Screamers I\'ve encountered have been stragglers.

That leaves only one explanation: something must have gone wrong with Pyra Eleven.

After a moment of silence, it replied to my question.

"I don\'t know about that."

"You don\'t know?"

"In the process of rebooting the system, memory data was damaged. However..."

It mechanically tilted its head. The movement resembled someone pressing their temple, trying to forcefully recall something they couldn’t quite remember.

"In my last memory, Pyra Eleven was severely damaged and had entered a dormant state due to certain events."

"Dormant? Was it attacked by the Gallagons?"

"No. Pyra Eleven...error, excuse me. It was damaged after failing to perform actions necessary to achieve its objective."

Summarizing what it said, it was clear that Pyra Eleven had been unable to operate normally for some time.

\'Now that I think about it, the one I encountered when I went after the Winter Walkers said something similar.\'

That one definitely mentioned being in a delayed command state. The others I encountered in the forest after killing Jason said the same thing.

Considering all this, Pyra Eleven, their commander, must have been inactive until relatively recently.

"These traces are proof that it\'s active again."

"That is a reasonable assumption."

Though there was a high probability of encountering enemies, we had no useful information beyond knowing that there were many of them.

\'Did PS-111 say it could control lower-tier units?\'

When I first met it, it mentioned being able to physically connect to the circuits of lower models and take over their control. It would be great if it could do the same with commander-level units, but Pyra Eleven had improved the security of their control systems, making that impossible.

\'I need to capture a few Screamers.\'

Doing so would allow us to gather information about the ship\'s landing site, their plans, and other vital details.

After our conversation ended, we continued following the traces for quite some time.

At first, there were only footprints, but as time passed, other signs became apparent. Scattered around the footprints were the remains of creatures, torn to shreds.

"They’ve been replenishing their energy."

"Looks like it."

PS-111, which had the functions of the Blood Reaver implanted in it, could replenish its energy by absorbing bioenergy in addition to consuming meat with its mouth. It was an exception, regular Screamers absorbed nutrients by sucking up small prey through intake tubes attached to their mouths.

\'The blood’s been dry for a while.\'

Given the dry, cool environment, the fragments of corpses had only begun to decay slowly. This allowed me to make a rough guess about how they hunted.

\'So they\'ve modified some of them after all, just like the ones equipped with production facilities.\'

Just as PS-111 had upgraded itself by absorbing genes, some of the enemy Screamers had adapted to their environment.

\'...For instance, by acquiring ranged attack capabilities.\'

I pulled out a large bullet, about the size of my finger, from the pool of blood. It resembled a depleted uranium round used by a storm gun, but it was far more threatening.

"Do you know what this is?"

"It resembles a depleted uranium round used by the APDT, but upon inspecting the internal structure, it appears to have been modified into a cluster munition."

"Exactly. It’s mixed with Black silver fragments."

As I shook the deformed bullet, a small amount of Blacksilver alloy shards fell out. It wasn\'t a large amount, but it was enough to be a lethal threat to certain species.

And on this planet, there’s only one type of creature that could be significantly harmed by a cluster munition infused with Blacksilver.

\'Gallagons!\'

I think I know what they\'re targeting.

"Do you know where Odd Grad\'s nest is?"

“Yes. It\'s this way.”

"There\'s no time, so get on top and guide me."

Time was of the essence, so I unloaded the corpses I was carrying and placed PS-111 on my head. I then called for Number 26 and Adhai.

[ZZZ ZZ ZZZZ (There’s no time, get on my back.)]

｢Aren\'t you taking the prey?｣

[ZZZ ZZZZ ZZZ (We’ll come back for it later.)]

Number 26, sensing the gravity of the situation, didn\'t ask any more questions and quietly climbed onto my body. It shrank down and nestled into the small arms on my chest.

Holding it securely, I called out to Adhai.

[ZZZ ZZZ ZZZ (We’re flying. Get ready.)]

｢Where are｣｢we going?｣

[ZZZZZ ZZZ ZZZ (We’re heading to Odd Grad\'s nest.)]

I spread out my folded wing-arms wide. The massive membranes extended, and my body soared upward rapidly, shattering branches as I ascended. Adhai followed closely behind me.

｢Is｣｢the nest｣｢in danger?｣

[ZZZ (Possibly.)]

"Just keep heading in this direction."

Adhai tensed up at the mention of potential danger to the nest. I flew at full speed in the direction PS-111 indicated.

While flying, I kept a vigilant watch below with my auxiliary sensors, wary of the possibility that Screamers might open fire from the forest. Despite my shadow and Adhai’s passing over the area, there was no reaction from below.

\'...The situation isn\'t good.\'

There must be hundreds of Screamers swarming somewhere in that forest, yet it was eerily quiet. I couldn’t decipher their intentions, but it was definitely not a good sign.

After nearly half a day of tense flight, the cliffs where PS-111 said the dragon’s nest was located began to come into view.

There were no signs of Screamers or any other creatures near the cliffs.

\'Wait, there\'s nothing visible?\'

By now, Nel Germa, Adhai\'s deputy, should have returned. With the nest this close, at least one or two Gallagons should have shown themselves.

｢Great One｣｢something’s wrong｣｢the group｣｢isn\'t on guard｣

Adhai seemed to have sensed the same thing, sending out a puzzled mental wave.

Gallagons always kept sentries at their nests because of predators like the Skywhales. Green Gallagons or White Gallagons would take turns guarding the nest, anticipating unexpected attacks.

The absence of such guards meant something was seriously wrong.

I was about to warn Adhai to be cautious when my auxiliary sensors detected movement in the forest below.

The forest, which had been completely silent until just moments ago, suddenly sprang to life. The movement was simultaneous and widespread, like an army of ants marching.

Realizing what this meant, I urgently sent a wave to Adhai.

[ZZZZ ZZ ZZZ (Adhai! Use your power!)]

｢!｣

At the same time I sent out the wave, an overwhelming number of projectiles erupted from the forest.

A rain of death, blacker than the clouds above, was flying towards me and Adhai, intent on taking our lives. I shielded Number 26 with my combat arms and moved beneath Adhai.

The Blacksilver cluster rounds, so densely packed they obscured my vision, pelted my entire body. As I’m not a psychic creature, those anti-psychic rounds didn\'t deal much damage to me.

Moreover, with their lack of penetration power, those cluster munitions couldn’t pierce my carapace and scales.

\'But they can still hurt them.\'

While the shots did nothing to me, it was a different story for Adhai and Number 26. Number 26, who heavily relied on psychic power, would be rendered completely incapacitated if hit by those Blacksilver cluster rounds.

Adhai was in a better position, thanks to her \'Red Armor\' absolute defense technique, but even she could only protect her head and part of her forelimbs, leaving her vulnerable to their attack.

[ZZ ZZZ (Is everyone okay?)]

｢I’m fine.｣

｢Thanks to you,｣｢Great One.｣

Fortunately, my shielding had kept both Number 26 and Adhai from taking any damage.

“I took a few hits, but the injuries are minor.”

The only exception was PS-111, who, being perched on my head, had been an easy target and took a few hits.

“I\'ll make sure you get some good prey later.”

“Understood.”

After a brief reloading period, the firing from the ground resumed. The Screamers were intent on killing Adhai and Number 26, even if they couldn’t take me down, shooting wildly in a frenzy.

\'This isn’t a good place to fight.\'

[ZZZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZ ZZZ (Adhai, stick close to me and follow.)]

Taking hits from the Screamers\' bullets, I flew toward the nest. Adhai clung to my back, following closely.

I then landed at a suitable spot near the Screamer positions. As soon as I touched down, the trees around us shook ominously.

A horde of Screamers was closing in on us.

[Proofreader – Draxx]