Became an Evolving Space Monster - Chapter 311
Only Noblemtl
Episode 311 – Monster Hunt (2)
‘It’s going well.’
The surprise attack a little while ago was quite successful.
Because one of the priests of the Eye of Revelation who was in charge of command was eliminated.
The guys preparing their battle lines in the common area didn’t seem to know, but there was another secret passageway beneath their feet. It was a small side road used by the slow-moving 26.
I waited until the guy who confused the enemies with his voice mimicry had escaped through the passage, then attacked them.
The human-faced insects that I called for went into battle after a long time. Many of the enemies I had fought so far were immune to the human-faced insects’ paralyzing sound waves. As a result, there were few opportunities to be active except for gathering information, but today was not the case.
Enemies who did not expect a sound attack were struck by the sound waves and incapacitated. Even the priests.
They quickly used psychic techniques to remove the paralysis, but it was already too late. One of them was hit by the acid breath shot from the head in the center and disappeared without a trace.
Immediately after achieving my goal, I retrieved the Inmyeonchung and ran away.
The priests who lost one of their comrades in an instant were running wild, but all they could do was scream. Aside from their anger, they couldn’t move rashly because they didn’t know what kind of traps might be hidden underground.
I retreated without any resistance and put my three heads on the floor. The auxiliary organs under my chin collected information about what was happening in the underground passages.
Since it has three heads, the performance of its auxiliary organs has also improved by more than three times. Thanks to this, it can easily observe the movements of enemies without having to build a nest.
‘They’re organizing their ranks.’
The enemies in the area did not move. Instead, new movement was felt from the center.
Unless they’re stupid, they’ll have information from the five surprise attacks. We’ll prepare accordingly.
‘Yeah. I’m doing well.’
Do they know that their actions were intended by me?
There are two main goals I need to achieve in this fight.
The first is to buy time.
To infiltrate the ‘Water Fortress’, you need to transform into a ‘Clever Weakling’, but the cooldown hasn’t ended yet. You have to wait at least 2 more days.
Since the discovery of the parasite, I have prepared several things to ensure that a long-term engagement with the enemy can continue. Dozens of large and small tunnels dug underground are also part of the preparations.
If it were a normal planet, it would have ended with using an imperial carrier, but this is Berzan 02. There are several cities on the ground above. In order to catch me, you will eventually have to enter the underground passage.
Also, aside from the fact that this is a cult planet, they are not used to fighting underground.
Except for the Eye of Revelation Priests who fight against the cult, most of the others have never fought underground. Even the Priests are much better at fighting above ground than underground.
So I built a complex battlefield to hold out for a long time. Me and No. 26 worked diligently to build it before they could build a siege.
The labyrinth, which spreads out like an anthill, has many passages that I can walk through, as well as holes that Adhai and the shrunken 26 can walk through. This is so that when I lead the enemies to a certain spot, they can carry out guerrilla warfare.
To be honest, it’s not hard to annihilate the enemies here right away. It’s possible with 26 and Adhai, who have my traits transplanted. Or, like I did before, you can sprinkle ‘Abyss Color’ on the nest.
The reason we go to all this trouble has to do with our second goal.
‘Providing false information to the real enemy.’
The key to playing Aimorph in the game is the traits he possesses. Using a huge number of traits in the right places to inflict unpredictable attacks on the enemy. That is Aimorph’s basic strategy.
In other words, if the opponent knows what trait you have, its effect is halved. This is because the enemy can catch the weakness of your trait and prepare for it.
So, Aimov has to hide the traits he possesses, and always come up with new ways to utilize his traits. Otherwise, no matter how strong his traits are, he will be eliminated.
Back to the topic, the cult group that I’m confronting right now is not strictly speaking my enemy. It’s more like a scout sent by my ‘true enemy’.
The cult ranker hiding somewhere up there will be diligently analyzing me. He will be meticulously examining what stage of evolution I am at, what characteristics I have, and so on.
The reason why he did not hide his characteristics and instead exposed them from time to time even though he knew that was none other than this.
To hide really important weapons and spread misinformation.
At this point, the two most powerful weapons I have are the ones who help me and the traits I get from the Transcendence system.
The first of these is something that anyone who knows me in the game would absolutely find unbelievable.
No one I’ve ever met thought that the guys I’m with had free will and followed me. Even Cynthia, who fought me last, only saw No. 26 as a pet.
Even Mother in Heaven thought it was a miracle that I was able to walk with other living creatures.
The same goes for the mysterious ranker who confronts me in Berzan 02. He doesn’t know that I have a partner. Even if he does know, he probably thinks that I am controlling him, and doesn’t know that I have become strong enough to hunt rankers on my own.
And to hide the fact that I have a colleague, I made it seem like I had a ‘special ability that allows me to freely change my body’.
For example, No. 26 and Adhai, who attacked the enemy in my stead, used the characteristics that I possessed.
First, Adhai. The guy actively used the newly transplanted special defense-related fusion trait, ‘Protective Coloration’. The effect of the protective coloration is that if you stay in one place for a few seconds, you will hide yourself by imitating the surrounding environment. It is a useful trait for Adhai, who is small and moves quickly.
Of course, the camouflage alone won’t be enough to avoid the detection system, but that’s not a big deal since No. 26 can help. No. 26, who’s hiding in the secret passage, will disable the detection equipment with his psychic powers, and then Adhai will step in.
The guy fought by protecting his body with his ‘Red Armor’ as he always did, then accelerating and ramming his enemies. The enemies were helpless in front of the Gallagon projectiles that never broke.
Next is number 26. He uses his ‘mutant tentacles’ and ‘mimetic tentacles’ to clean up the wounded.
In the game, my ‘mimetic organ’ was like my identity. I often did things like mimicking voices and appearances to lure enemies and kill them.
There’s no way a ranker wouldn’t know that both camouflage and mimicry are traits I’ve used often. They’d probably think it was me who did it.
Perhaps a few would think that I have gained the ‘ability to adjust body size’ or ‘the ability to transform into another form’.
‘It’s not that they don’t have similar characteristics, though.’
At least, it is far from what the enemy imagines. As these illusions pile up, the probability of them making a fatal mistake increases.
‘It’s already like that now.’
The enemy ranker made a wrong decision.
If I had fought against them, I would have used the Imperial Carrier at least after the second attack. But the enemy did not do that and continued to send troops underground.
It may be a decision made out of a desire to find out more about my specs, but the important thing is that he is underestimating me.
In his eyes, I am constantly exposing my characteristics and running away. Not to mention that I haven’t built a nest. But I’m not trying to lure you into a trap. If that was the intention, would the 200 or so cultists who came underground still be alive today?
Any ranker who has fought Aimov will know what this means.
It’s just that I’ve only been on this planet for a short time and I’m not ready to fight.
Even if I’m a notorious opponent, wouldn’t it be worth a try in this condition?
‘I guess that’s what you’re thinking.’
If the enemy makes fun of me, I’m grateful. I didn’t come to this planet to fight them.
I lifted my head off the floor, hoping the enemy would see me as vulnerable.
They’re still busy reorganizing. It looks like it’ll take at least an hour.
In the meantime, I have work to do. If I succeed in this, I can buy myself quite a long time.
I moved back into the wide open passageway.
–
Watching Alshas diligently exchanging messages through the communicator, Nern recalled his nightmare.
I have seen a similar sight before.
‘The three-headed demon… .’
A legendary demon who destroyed the Imperial Carrier and Carrier Fleet in the Holy Land Route 08.
The monster appeared in the footage recorded by the punitive force.
‘It looks different, but it’s definitely the same guy.’
The head shape that was seen at the time when it was captured by the Imperial Carrier’s camera was quite different from its current appearance. The number of horns had increased since then. Furthermore, its size had also decreased to an incomparable degree.
Although the guy was hiding his body with only his head sticking out, Nern quickly realized that the guy was his enemy.
Nern told Alshas about this. She took action immediately, as she was the only person in this place, or rather on this planet, who had witnessed the monster firsthand.
When the knowledge managers compared the records related to him with those of the punitive force, his words were proven to be true. The knowledge managers estimated that he was likely the same entity as the demon that caused the Saigil 08 disaster.
The commanders were in an uproar when they learned that the enemy underground was a three-headed demon.
The only good thing is that it appears to have been weakened. It has shrunk in size and doesn’t have the powerful breath that burned down the entire carrier fleet.
If the enemy had the same specs as the ones previously seen, those who went underground would have already died.
Alshas calmed the commanders by pointing out this fact. Meanwhile, he requested the dispatch of the Temple Guardians, who were monster experts, and the fully armed Eye of Revelation Priests, and the recall of the Imperial Carriers stationed on other planets.
The motion to recall the Imperial Carrier was rejected as it was not possible to conduct an orbital bombardment on one of the five wealthiest planets in the Empire, but all other motions were accepted.
The elite troops of the Temple Guardians who have received the request for support are currently on their way to Berzan 02. The Eye of Revelation Priests have also dispatched priests with outstanding military power, such as their vice-captain, to the underground. The fully armed priests have already headed to the Street of Glory, so they will soon join the punitive force.
Seeing Alshas making good use of his position as an advisor, Nern felt fortunate, but also felt a slight sense of unease.
It is true that the demon has become weaker. However, it is questionable whether it will be defeated so easily.
For example, the thing showed its head four times during the five raids. Three of those times, it resembled the monster Nern had seen: the head that breathed acidic breath was the central head, and the heads on either side that shot flesh-corroding shards.
But the pink hair that mimicked the cult’s voice felt different. Its appearance was clearly identical to the head in the center, but it felt foreign. It was like a different creature.
What if there’s more than one guy? What if he has helpers, or other monster subordinates?
Currently, the punitive force and Alshas are focusing their strategy solely on one of the three-headed demons. However, if there are more than one, they could suffer a great defeat.
‘… No, it doesn’t matter anyway.’
This is Berzan 02. It is impossible for him to survive here, one of the Empire’s core planets. Even if it were to increase from one to two, it would only waste more time. He would die here.
The only regret is that he can’t kill the bastard himself.
He would have liked to join the punitive force, but Alshas would not let him go. His beloved junior wanted him to watch his enemy die in a safe place.
‘But if there is a chance…’
At that time, while I was chewing on my regrets and thinking about such things.
A message appeared on the terminal pad on his wrist. His eyes widened as he saw the message.
‘What?’
The sender of the message was Minseok Eugene, the butler who serves Sihyeon Eugene.
His master and Layla Chamberlain ran outside as soon as they saw the footage sent by the punitive force.
‘Why on earth?’
It is true that Shi-Hyeon promised to help him with his revenge. It is also true that he explained to her in detail about the target of his revenge, the three-headed demon.
But it’s a different matter to watch the video and take action right away. The bastard’s appearance was also very different from what he described.
But what does it mean that he moved so immediately?
‘no way?’
That was a reaction only someone who knew the guy well could show. Just like Nern.