Chapter 119

Chapter 119 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. 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.