Chapter 93
Chapter 93
‘His surname was Eden, right?’
Despite the distinctive armor and bearing the surname Eden, this person’s status didn’t seem low.
‘Shall I try an experiment?’
Just a moment ago, in order to immobilize Denver, I bit into his neck. Given that I’ve absorbed genetic information from his blood, I can mimic his voice.
‘Although the mimicry organ is sealed, I can imitate his voice to some extent.’
After blocking Denver’s powered suit, I took out the communication device from his waist.
“Com…e… here.”
[Your majesty!]
As I imitated Denver’s voice through the small arm communication device on my chest, the knights all stopped in their tracks.
[His majesty has been captured!]
[Damn monster!]
Through the communication device, I could hear the knights exploding in anger.
Even though they were speaking as if they would devour me, none of them dared to rush towards me recklessly.
‘Oh?’
While holding Denver captive, I called out to the kids. As numbers 26 and Adhai approached me, the knights seemed uneasy.
Their reactions confirmed something to me.
This individual, Denver Eden, held quite a high position.
‘Come to think of it, he did try to negotiate with me.’
Perhaps he holds a significant position even within his family.
No, perhaps…
‘Could he be the patriarch?’
It seemed too easy to have captured him, but considering their hypersensitive reactions, it seemed likely that he was indeed the patriarch.
If Denver is the patriarch, my range of choices expands significantly.
‘Shall I stir things up a bit more here?’
Even if we achieve victory against the knights in combat, escaping the city covertly is almost impossible now that we’ve been exposed.
‘Despite winning battles, we are still at a disadvantage in this war.’
If they give up on my body and initiate artillery fire, both I and the kids will die here. Additionally, even if we somehow manage to escape and hide on a spaceship, if the warship pursues us, it’s all over.
‘But…’
That was the situation before I captured Denver.
Now that it’s confirmed he’s a valuable hostage, it seems alright to take the adventure a step further.
[…Is that monstrous fellow holding His majesty hostage right now?]
[I heard he’s intelligent, but I didn’t expect him to be at this level.]
[Since His majesty is being held hostage, let’s not act rashly]
Through the communication device, snippets of conversations among the knights could be heard.
Of course, they are unaware that I understand human speech.
‘Come to think of it, that’s how Denver reacted.’
The moment he saw me, he deemed me as a Hulk mutant.
It’s not entirely an incorrect judgment, as they still don’t know about Amorphs.
While fighting, it’s likely he already knew that my body contains genetic material from various creatures. Thus, assuming I’m similar to a creature like the Hulk mutant would be a natural deduction.
Of course, Hulk mutants, as well as Outspacers who evolve through genetic absorption, communicate in a unique wavelength shared only among their own kind, much like Number 26.
‘Normally, Hulk mutants aren’t as articulate as I am.’
That’s also a story confined to games.
‘Have you not encountered a Hulk mutant who effortlessly engaged in piracy, not just in words but also in actions?’
‘If they deem me as a Hulk mutant over there…’
How can I deceive them?
‘By design, a Hulk mutant requires advanced genetic manipulation technology to fuse genes without side effects.’
Naturally, this necessitates extensive capital and state-of-the-art equipment in laboratories dedicated to gene fusion.
‘Incorporating that aspect might be useful.’
After a brief moment of contemplation, I manipulated the channel of the small arm communication device.
“I was able to communicate with the warship… Ah, here.”
Switching to a public channel, I broke the right arm of Denver’s combat suit. As his entire body was paralyzed, he wouldn’t feel pain, but those knights wouldn’t know that.
[Your majesty!]
[You scoundrel!]
“He’s… pretending… to be… a Hulk… mutant…”
[Your majesty? Why on this channel…?]
[His majesty is being held hostage here!]
The communication device buzzed with the voices of the bewildered knights present and the subordinates awaiting on the warship. Despite their reactions, I continued speaking.
“He… is… not… a… Hulk… mutant…”
[Your majesty! Your injuries are severe! You need not speak further!]
“This… monster… from… T&C… attack!”
[No way!]
[This is absurd!]
The reactions from both the knights and the warship were fervent. Immediate responses about attacking T&C, Denver’s injury-induced confusion, and more.
However, there was no one among them suspicious of me.
‘Naturally, there’d be no reason for suspicion.’
Thanks to Denver’s reinforced suit, he stands at around 2 meters 50 centimeters tall. Given that my standing posture exceeds 3 meters, unless they approach closely to confirm, it’s difficult for them to know if I’m secretly communicating via the communication device.
Furthermore, who could dare imagine that an unknown monster flawlessly imitates the voice of the unharmed patriarch?
‘The voice is a bit different, but I’ve accounted for that.’
Due to the constraints of the transcendence system, I cannot perfectly mimic voices. There’s interference, like a malfunctioning radio, preventing me from producing a flawless voice.
Therefore, intentionally, in front of them, I caused injury to Denver. It was to stage the appearance of someone unable to speak due to pain.
‘Moreover, T&C is a suitable distraction for the enemies.’
Hulk mutants demand highly advanced technology, even causing difficulty for Prime Capital’s development.
Therefore, if they were to see someone like me, a Hulk mutant, there’s only one who could develop such a being. That would be none other than T&C, who recently announced groundbreaking achievements in genetic manipulation technology.
‘A wedge needs to be driven here.’
“The… device… that… terminates… the… system… of… Prime… Capital…”
[What are you saying?]
“Destroy… the… system… of… Prime… Capital…”
[Wait! If that happens, it’ll lead to war with T&C!]
The statement from the warship side is correct. If someone decides to check about armed conflicts at the sewage and artillery attacks at the checkpoint, it’ll only result in war.
Since the patriarch is in my grasp, they have no choice but to heed my words.
‘Perhaps my persuasiveness is still lacking.’
Using the lower arm, I grabbed Denver’s leg and twisted it. Even though his entire body was paralyzed, there was a muffled groan coming from inside the helmet—it seemed to be quite a shock.
If this bewilders me, how would they react on the other side?
A scream erupted explosively from the communication device. I didn’t care and opened my mouth, sinking my teeth into Denver’s shoulder. The thick shoulder plate shattered, and my teeth pierced the flesh underneath.
The enraged knights roared, but I couldn’t pay attention to that fact. The spurting blood from Denver’s shoulder felt warm in my throat.
‘Tastes good.’
When I bit his neck, I sensed a hint of taste, but drinking this quantity of blood made it distinctly different. Was this the taste of a well-aged fine wine? It was slightly sweet and warm, yet had a clean aftertaste.
‘It doesn’t seem like he has been genetically modified separately.’
Could it be due to good living conditions and diet? It was a different flavor from the tastiest meals I’ve had so far, like the distinct taste of Si-hyun Yujin.
‘Not yet.’
This action now was to shake them up, not to enjoy a meal.
With regret, I withdrew the teeth embedded in the shoulder.
‘They should understand by now.’
Unless they abandon the patriarch, there’s only one action they can take.
As I anticipated, in the distance, a large warship docked at the pier slowly began to rise.
‘Phew.’
Finally, I could barely relax.
‘Honestly, I thought the chances of failure were high.’
Holding a patriarch as a hostage was a risky move.
What if the person I captured wasn’t the patriarch? Or if those aboard the warship chose to bombard me with reason?
That would seal the fate of me and the kids.
‘Fortunately, they acted according to the mentality of the MegaCorp.’
MegaCorp is a place with a bizarre hierarchy structure, allowing infinite competition despite stark disparities between the two Capitals. Consequently, losing in competition sometimes causes the families that are a part of the two capitals to drop several levels.
This phenomenon isn’t limited to lower Class but also applies to the top seven major families.
‘If Denver dies, those subordinates will all be rebuked by the new patriarch.’
Not only the knights but also those aboard the warship need to somehow save Denver to protect their lives. Hence, they have to follow the nonsensical orders from their owner.
As the warship heads towards its target, I found a ship we could use with the auxiliary device.
The distance to the pier was considerable, so I couldn’t inspect it closely, but I found several spaceships that felt promising.
‘When the warship shells the checkpoint, that’s when we’ll move.’
If the defense fleet responds to Eden’s warship, this place will turn into chaos in no time. At that moment, we’ll dash to the pier and secretly board the spaceship.
[ZZZ ZZ ZZZZ (Run when the signal comes)]
「Signal?」
It wasn’t me who responded to Number 26’s inquiry. A massive explosion erupted from the Earth’s boundaries, followed by a resounding roar throughout the harbor.
[ZZZ (Now)]
I ran while still holding onto Denver. Numbers 26 and Adhai followed behind me.
‘Number 26 is faster than I thought.’
It swiftly moved, using its fin-like appendages for propulsion and pushing forward with tentacles. Despite being a deep-sea creature, I worried about its speed on land, but it didn’t seem to slow down significantly.
As we swiftly distanced ourselves, the knights followed in confusion.
「Troublesome people are chasing us.」
[ZZZ ZZZZ ZZZ (We don’t have to catch them)]
「?」
As soon as I finished speaking, the sky distorted ominously, and black lines appeared in various places.
The holographic sky maintained by artificial suns vanished, revealing a metallic dome enclosing the city. Subsequently, shuttered gates within the dome’s inner wall opened, and steel vessels sprung out like a torrent.
[ZZZ ZZZZ ZZZ (They’ll handle it)]
「Wow!」
Warships emerging from the shielded gates near the harbor fired plasma beams towards Eden’s warship. The spectacle of numerous steel vessels shooting green beams within the colossal artificial structure was truly magnificent.
In response, a blue light burst forth from the front of Eden’s warship. It was the activation of the plasma shield, exclusive to ships of the caliber of a warship or higher.
The green beams failed to penetrate the shield protecting the warship and dissipated.
‘Normally, it wouldn’t be at this level, but it seems like they used something good for the ship carrying the patriarch.’
Numerous turrets mounted on Eden’s warship simultaneously unleashed fire. The thickness of the beams fired from the warship was more than twice that of those from T&Cs, maybe they didn’t just use a good shield.
The warships also activated their shields, but they couldn’t withstand the plasma beams from Eden. The struck warships plummeted like fireflies toward the city.
As a war erupted in the heart of the city, the atmosphere at the dock changed abruptly. Ships preparing to depart hastily made ready for departure, and screams of people reached us from afar.
“Oh my goodness!”
“How could this happen…?”
The knights chasing us seemed bewildered, witnessing Eden’s warship engaging the fleet. They stood still, seemingly forgetting about chasing us, just staring at the spectacle.
Finally, they seemed to realize the gravity of their actions.
Listening to the conversations full of dismay through the communication device, something suddenly dawned on me. When I arrived in this city not long ago, I suspected Si-hyun Yujin’s subordinates were planning a coup.
By sparing Adhai, who was at the core of the conspiracy back then, Yujin’s plot was thwarted.
‘It certainly seemed that way.’
Now, right in front of me, MegaCorp’s greatest event, an internal conflict, erupted. And it was all because of my actions.
「Wow! Amazing!」
While the knights and I were lost in our thoughts, Number 26 laughed cheerfully, watching the intertwining spectacle of green and blue lights in the sky.