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Chapter 76

“Squad leader! We can’t hold on any longer!”

“We have to retreat… argh!”

A soldier fell. Though retaliating with plasma launchers, it was not enough. The launcher’s recharge time made it unsuitable for effective use in this chaotic mid-range combat.

Originally brought along as support weaponry against the monster, using the launcher was never intended in combat and especially against the knights.

“Why are the knights attacking us?”

The Crisis Management manager wasn’t able to digest the overall situation. Everything was fine when they entered the sewers. Even during the initial reconnaissance, there hadn’t been any major issues.

The Vice commander of the knights had been respectful towards them, and their members were also disciplined.

“It’s not a rebellion. The orders from above are clear.”

That’s what Vice commander Vicus had said earlier.

“We must not let them take over. The target must be captured alive.”

‘There’s something about the monster we don’t know.’

Amidst the chaos of screams, gunfire, and plasma bolters tearing through the air, the team leader’s thoughts persisted.

‘The monster first caused trouble in the apartment complex, fought armed police, and then fled. The next place it went was the port district.’

There, the monster killed some smugglers and fled again.

The police officer who uncovered this at the port district ended up hospitalised in the commercial district, and then…

“The knights visited that place. Good lord, ‘it was a destruction of evidence’!”

The manager finally began to put the pieces together.

“It’s a secret bioweapon made by the Eden family!”

For some reason, the Eden family chose this very trade centre as a mock battleground for their experimental subject.

“It was probably designed for city assaults.”

Having wiped out the armed police force in the apartment complex, their experiment could be deemed as a success.

The smugglers were probably secretly hired by the Eden family to bring the creature back.

“Perhaps they tried to sedate the monster and move it.”

But that operation failed, and this gruesome sight was discovered by the detective team investigating the smuggling case at the port district.

It was then that the Eden family dispatched the knights, under the guise ‘assisting’ the city defense forces in capturing that creature

“They couldn’t afford to leave any witnesses.”

The manager felt a shiver down his spine.

To think such a grand scheme and conspiracy was unfolding itself. It felt like something out of a novel.

‘I need to report to the administrator, but the current situation won’t allow me to do so. I have to hold on until communication is restored to have the chance to report this crucial discovery.’

‘Is there any way out?’

Most of his subordinates had fallen, leaving only a single soldier handling the launcher, relentlessly focused on firing while pinned to the ground. The odds were clearly against him.

Unexpectedly, a hand extended towards him amidst his contemplation of survival strategies, a presence entirely unexpected.

“Manager! The monster is only attacking the knights!”

“What?”

“Look over there!”

The manager looked towards where his subordinate was pointing. It was true. A long-tailed, multi-legged monster was slaughtering the knights.

***

‘Let’s head to the administrative district.’

Admittedly, going to the Eden battleship was an attractive option. Currently that is where the elite forces of the upper capital had gathered, ahead of the council meeting. Escaping before they aimed for his life wasn’t a bad choice.

Yet, there were three reasons for choosing the administrative district over the battleship.

‘Firstly, I need to evolve. The ‘Cult’ part of the evolutionary condition for my maturity is unfulfilled. If evolution is impossible, no matter how abundant the genetic essence, it will have its limits.’

‘I can gather enough genetic essence in the administrative district.’

At this point, it was uncertain whether there were Cult members on Eden’s battleship. The fact that the knights weren’t called in when I was apprehended suggests that the Cult might not be there.

‘Additionally, if I board the battleship, I can’t take the kids with me.’

Number 26 and Adhai. Though they’ve been beneficial to me, and have never caused me harm. If questioned about the merits of boarding the battleship by abandoning them, my answer would be of course negative.

‘In Adhai’s case, I made a deal.’

I promised to spare it and offer protection in exchange for the whereabouts of the Gallagon’s nest. If we part ways here, I will gain nothing.

‘And lastly, I have insufficient information from T&C compared to Eden.’

Despite the joint operation between Eden and T&C in the sewer search, there’s a considerable information gap between the two sides. Even the armaments that were brought into the sewers hinted at that.

‘Eden brought weapons capable of subduing me.’

Plasma bolters and blade claws could pierce through my exterior, and assault packs were equipped for close combat anticipation.

‘Moreover, they even brought a launcher.’

This weapon, except for my head, could heavily damage other parts of my body.

‘However, the defense forces didn’t.’

While they did bring a launcher, it was merely a support weapon at the squad level. Apart from that, their equipment wasn’t significantly different from what the armed police wore in the apartment complex battle.

‘The knights didn’t share information about me yet.’

They probably did it for their own interests. Thanks to the knights’ information control, the upper echelons at the special trade centre have very little knowledge about me.

‘The special trade centre undoubtedly sees me as a threat, but they don’t know how dangerous I truly am.’

The less my enemies know, the more I can do.

‘So, hiding in this administrative district is advantageous for me.’

‘Now that I’ve made up my mind…’

Only action remains.

I charged towards the knights attacking the defense forces. A knight who had just slain a soldier with a blade was aiming a bolter at another.

I lunged at him from behind, toppling him over.

“Ugh?”

The knight, completely caught off guard, lay defenseless. Restraining him firmly with my combat arm to prevent him from getting up, I pierced his head with my teeth.

“Help…!”

The knight struggled futilely within my grasp, but I held him down firmly, rendering his resistance useless. I bit into his head again, tearing through his helmet, exposing his brain matter.

Devouring what spilled from the knight’s head, I leaped towards a fresh target.

“Damn it! Capture him!”

As I unexpectedly struck a knight from behind, Vicus screamed in rage. I lashed my tail towards the surrounding knights. The sharp spines at the tip of my tail aimed at them, but their quick activation of psychic shields nullified the effects of my spines.

A bolt from a knight’s bolter was aimed at my head. Just before it fired, a piercing shot flew, penetrating the knight’s head.

“Damn defense forces!”

Vicus shouted as they fired Gauss rifles at the knights.

“Four of you handle the defense forces, the rest deal with that monster!”

‘I can’t let them leave me alone.’

I extracted a bloodsucking tentacle from my right shoulder and struck it at a knight’s head with the red tentacle. With a gruesome sound, the knight’s neck snapped, leaving them lifeless.

“How dare you!”

Enraged by their comrade’s death, a knight fired their bolter at me. Quickly raising my head, I intercepted the plasma rounds coming from the bolter. While my head’s exterior was the toughest, the collision caused a sharp, throbbing pain in my head and neck, although it is still bearable.

‘But taking multiple hits in succession would be dangerous.’

To minimise the target area, I submerged myself in the debris-laden water, using all four of my combat arms and legs to swiftly move, confusing the knights.

“Where did it go?”

My lowered position exposed my back above the water level, yet the floating debris made it challenging for them to discern my presence.

“It’s over there!”

One knight, seeking vengeance for his fallen comrade, spotted me and aimed his bolter.

“You darn…!”

“You fool! Avoid it!”

Vicus shouted in panic, but it was too late. A plasma beam from the defense forces wiped out both the bolter and the knight’s arm in one swift strike.

“Ah!”

The price of ignoring the defense forces to catch me was a costly mistake. The knight cried out as his arm, along with the armor, became dust and vanished.

“Pull that idiot back immediately!”

I couldn’t miss such a golden opportunity. Grabbing the panicking knight by his severed arm, I hurled quills towards him. The neurotoxin-laden quills struck accurately at the severed area, causing the screaming knight to collapse as his nerve was affected due to the neurotoxins.

As his screams faded, his bewildered companion tried to assist him. Rushing towards him, I pierced through two of the knights simultaneously with my horns.

“Gah, monster!”

Despite their pierced abdomen, the knight didn’t give up. Swinging his blade claw, he managed to cut off a part of my hardened exterior.

‘Thankfully, it’s a less sensitive area.’

Had the monster’s tentacle been severed, it would have caused substantial pain.

‘Pointless resistance.’

I shook my head vigorously while still holding onto him with my horn. The horn lodged in his abdomen caused agony, making the knight groan. His arm, attempting to strike my forehead, lost strength and fell.

“Die!”

Another knight aimed at my back. I turned my head just as a plasma round was fired.

Naturally, the knight became an unintentional meat shield for me due to my horn, shielding me from the shot. The sound of bursting flesh followed by the acrid smell of burnt flesh stimulated my auxiliary system.

“Avoid friendly fire! Avoid… Argh!”

“Vice commander!”

Vicus, who was commanding in agony, grabbed his shoulder after being hit by a piercing round. The sight of the commander wounded made the knights’ moral to flater.

Since my surprise attack began, the situation had drastically reversed.

“Good! This is our chance with the Vice commander injured!”

The defense forces pressed aggressively against the knights. The front-line soldiers fired indiscriminately towards where I and the knights were, creating chaos. The rear soldiers evacuated the wounded and reorganised their formation.

In contrast, the knights’ formation collapsed entirely due to my attack. Those who were engaging with the defense forces were mostly incapacitated due to my assault, while others seemed confused about who to strike.

With even their commander injured, the disadvantage for them accelerated.

“The mission has failed! Retreat, everyone!”

Finally, the word “retreat” sprang from Vicus, who had been supported by his subordinates.

‘Should I let them escape?’

Even if the relationship between the two families might deteriorate significantly because of me, there’s a possibility that they ignore this and maintain a cooperative relationship for a while due to the council meeting. If I resume my hunt and go to the administrative district, I might encounter them again.

‘You never know what might happen.’

It’s best to minimise uncertainties.

I attacked those retreating, gradually reducing their numbers. Not only me but the defense forces also chased after the knights fleeing from this place.

“Vice commander! How should we deal with that monster?”

“Penetrating rounds won’t work on him, fire the launcher!”

Amid slicing through a knight’s throat, I heard the voice of the defense forces.

‘Is it time to retreat?’

I checked the remaining number of knights. Six, including Vicus, were fleeing. There were still dozens in the defense forces. They should be capable enough to handle the situation even without me.

‘Let’s end it here.’

Intentionally, I shook the corpse of the knight, showcasing it as if a beast would do with its prey. The defense forces, perceiving this as an opportunity, fired the launcher. A green light tore through the surface, flying towards me.

Already anticipating the trajectory of their attacks through my auxiliary systems, I adjusted my head to align with the beam’s path. The beam, capable of easily piercing through a ship’s outer hull, collided with the exterior of my head.

“Ugh!”

The force was stronger than I expected, involuntarily causing me to take a few steps back. While most of the impact was absorbed by my thick exterior, the residual shock spread all over my body.

The exterior on my neck, back, and legs ruptured, with blood spurting out.

‘I can still endure this.’

My body, which got covered in blood in an instant, had regenerative properties. As long as the brain in my head wasn’t destroyed, these injuries would heal quickly.

‘Activate apparent death.’

Pretending to collapse from being hit by the beam, I activated the “apparent death” trait. Instantly, all strength drained from my body.

My body, now beyond control, collapsed into the sewer passage. The auxiliary organ beneath my chin, which had always been a source of support, fell limp, completely devoid of any sensation.

I couldn’t see or hear anything. The only sensation I felt was an eerie coldness. It felt like death. The thought that this might be a mistake was so strong that it seemed real.

‘This feeling… but it’s familiar.’

The inexplicable sense of familiarity dissipated along with my fleeting consciousness. That’s how I died.