The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success - Chapter 478



Only Noblemtl

Episode 478

#478. It looks like it has a tail attached.

“Hey, man!”

It was an impulsive attack.

The moment Prince Muhammad took a step forward, his figure appeared in the light, and Abbas reflexively swung his sword.

And his attacks are,

Thud!

I was caught in vain.

“Captain Abbas seems to have some psychic skills. I can tell he even resists the Siren’s Voice.”

Muhammad whispered. Abbas felt his mind becoming confused at the sound of the prince’s voice at close range.

He chewed his lip so hard that it bled. He tried to hold on to his consciousness, which was trying to move away, along with the sharp pain.

“Prince Muhammad… … .”

“Do you have anything to say?”

“Why… do you look like that… … .”

Abbas trembled as he held the sword. His eyes were distorted. His face looked as if he was about to burst into tears. He looked as if he had lost everything and would collapse at any moment.

“Why do I look like this?”

“Are you saying that because you don’t know?!”

Abbas glanced at Muhammad as he emerged from the light.

The skin was split into individual pieces like snake scales and shimmered. The skin was pale blue. The pupils had black and white sclera swapped places. The blinking eyelids opened and closed left and right instead of up and down.

“Don’t be too concerned about appearances.”

Every time he spoke, his tongue was briefly visible, split in two, and the corners of his mouth were long and slit.

The clothes were also torn and the pants barely covered the main parts, and the limbs exposed underneath were also very different from human limbs. The wide and large hands and feet and the leather on each joint reminded me of webbed feet.

Abbas cried out in agony at the sight of the miserable prince.

“If this isn’t a monster, then what is it?!”

Abbas screamed, but Muhammad just laughed.

“What about monsters? Didn’t humans evolve to become what they are today? To humans today, humans from long ago were just animals. What’s the difference between animals and monsters? I just chose a new way of evolution.”

“Evolution…? That is a phenomenon that occurs over a long period of time. But you changed in such a short period of time. How is that evolution? It is transformation. You have transformed into a monster, Prince!”

“Well, transformation doesn’t seem like an appropriate expression. No, when I think about it again, evolution is more appropriate. If that expression is awkward, let’s just say progress.”

Abbas did not understand Muhammad’s words. Evolution and progress were not important to him.

But Muhammad continued the conversation, saying that he had touched on a very important topic.

“You don’t seem to understand, so let me help you understand. Do you know what my traits are?”

Taming? Monster Friendly?

‘Honestly… I don’t know.’

The only trait of Muhammad that Abbas knew was that he could brainwash monsters and make them his servants.

Of course, it was not a perfect brainwashing, and there was the disadvantage of having to constantly manage it, but the fact that one could control the entire race by brainwashing a representative of the race like Nagawang was a great advantage that more than offset the disadvantages.

‘Although I failed in management and missed the Naga King… … .’

Muhammad continued to explain after seeing Abbas’s expression become more thoughtful.

“It’s a fairy tale, to be exact.”

“fairytale?”

“This is a trait that applies in a rather broad sense… Simply put, it means that I become assimilated into the monsters and am accepted as one of them.”

“As a member of the monsters… …?”

“I became a member of the Naga race. I was also appointed as the successor to the Naga King. Perhaps it was because of my abilities as a high-ranking hunter.”

The Naga tribe did not allow the Naga born to the chieftain to become his successor. Instead, they raised the strongest warrior or the most talented young Naga and chose them to become the next chieftain.

In that sense, an A+ rank hunter recognized as Naga would have been more than capable of becoming the chieftain of the Naga King.

‘But what does it look like now?’

If they were simply recognized and accepted as a race, they would not have turned into monsters.

Muhammad noticed Abbas’ question and answered.

“At first, I became the successor of Nagawang and brainwashed him when he let his guard down. Assimilation and brainwashing are separate abilities. However, special individuals like Nagawang had strong mental abilities. I had to keep following him and brainwash him. This is where my miscalculation of my characteristics occurred.”

“What was the mistake?”

“The fairy tale wasn’t just about making me aware of myself. It also had an effect on me. At some point, I became confused about whether I was a human or a naga.”

Abbas shouted without realizing it.

“gibberish!”

“… … .”

“It’s ridiculous to say that your appearance changes just because you’re confused!”

“Yeah. That’s ridiculous. I definitely don’t have that kind of ability in my trait.”

It has a nuance that seems to be speaking in the past tense.

For a moment, a hypothesis flashed through Abbas’ mind.

“no way…….”

“You noticed. That’s right. That thing we found here. Using that powerful power, I challenged the S-rank. During the day, as Naga’s successor, I brainwashed the Naga King to raise the race, and at night, I borrowed its power and tried to become S-rank. But you know. That S-rank wall is higher and thicker than I thought.”

His regretful eyes looked up at the sky that was blocked by the cave and could not be seen.

For a moment, Muhammad’s eyes created the illusion that he had turned from a monster to a human.

“There was a wall looming before my eyes. I thought I could get over it, but I couldn’t. I was going crazy. I was getting impatient, anxious, and going crazy. The fact that the royal family’s wishes were on my shoulders, that my father had high expectations, was a constant reminder to me every day.”

“… … .”

“The talent to become an S-rank is ultimately nothing more than a possibility. Making that possibility a reality is nothing more than a wishful thinking. I felt that deeply. I had the potential to become an S-rank, but I knew I would never become an S-rank. I despaired. Then, my traits changed. My intuition tells me that it was the cause of the change. It opened up a path for me. Should I move forward, or should I just remain stagnant?”

“Did you decide to go ahead?”

“Hehehe, so it looks like this?”

What the human eye saw was an illusion.

Abbas felt a strangeness in Muhammad’s eyes as he returned to being a monster with a light smile.

Muhammad released Abbas’ sword from his grasp and spread his arms proudly as he spoke.

“The fairy tale has evolved, and I have decided to become a species that is one step higher than humans. However, I am not satisfied with my own species. I need to become a new species. I wanted to become the progenitor of a new species myself.”

“Is it really possible to get something that is so well-chosen?”

“As expected, it’s Captain Abbas. Of course, I felt like Nagaro was lacking. I wanted to resemble a dragon, but it was hard to find a mother right away. So I first got the most convenient ingredients I could find nearby. Naga, siren, giant turtle, etc. I ate them. As you saw earlier, I even gained the siren’s charm ability. Isn’t that amazing?”

“Eat a monster?”

“What a convenient ability. Evolving by eating. Selecting and acquiring the characteristics of monsters.”

“Surely you ate the heart of a Royal Guard Hunter… … .”

“That’s right. It’s the same with eating hunters. When you eat too many monsters, you sometimes become mentally confused. The monster’s instincts eat away at human reasoning. To prevent that, you need to have humans in moderation. Also, the hunter’s heart is a special part that accumulates mana, so it’s a delicacy. It’s like a health food that makes your body better every time you eat it.”

As he said this, Muhammad called a hunter and had him take out the heart. Although the heart was quite large, he was able to swallow it in one gulp thanks to his snake-like jaw joint.

Abbas felt fear for the first time in a long time. It was an emotion he had rarely felt since he had stormed the gate and subdued the monsters that had spread throughout Africa.

He realized that he was shrinking like a rat before a snake. But he could not resist at all. His hand that was holding the knife was slowly loosening. His body, consumed by fear, became stiff.

“!!”

At this moment, Abbas felt pain. His wide-open eyes looked down at his chest.

‘Before I knew it… … .’

The cold hand that had entered, tearing at his skin and breaking his bones, was clutching at his heart. Hot blood surged from his chest like a cry.

Abbas looked back and forth between his heart being slowly torn apart and the being that was Muhammad.

“Don’t look at me like that. Aren’t hunters always close to death? It’s just that death came a little early. You should be thankful that you became my food. Consider it as having contributed to the birth of a great species. I’ll tell your father about your achievements. Don’t worry about Morocco.”

It was a sweet voice. I don’t know if it was because of death or because of Siren’s skill, but it made me feel at ease.

Abbas gritted his teeth and forced his heavy eyelids to open. Then he raised his sword and stabbed Muhammad in the chest.

It was the last resistance.

But even the tip of the sword could not penetrate Muhammad’s skin, because his hand had already stopped.

Abbas prayed, his consciousness flying far away.

‘Oh God, please end my punishment on me alone.’

Morocco, its people, are without sin.

It was a belated regret.

* * *

The first to sense the strange noise in the jungle was Hyun Jeong-geon, who was at the back of the line.

‘huh?’

As he stared intently into the jungle, the mercenary next to him asked.

“What’s going on?”

“No. I just thought I heard a monster.”

Hyun Jeong-geon made excuses and moved on. The mercenary shrugged his shoulders and returned to his original guard duty.

‘The air feels strangely sticky.’

Hyun Jeong-geon, contrary to his words, was paying the most attention to the rear.

The expression “sticky” from Medusa’s head, which was not suited to the dry climate of the jungle, was a misnomer.

But he definitely felt something sticky and slimy.

It was because of the faint feeling of life.

‘It seemed like a flash of light, but it was definitely murder. It was clearly the murderous intent of a human, not a monster.’

It was easy to distinguish between the life of a Monson and that of a human.

The difference is whether there is a clear intention or not.

As a former assassin, he knew these two things very well.

‘There’s someone in the jungle.’

Hyun Jeong-geon’s instinctive response was to just let it go without saying anything, even though he had come to a confident conclusion.

‘First, we have to hide the fact that we noticed this.’

That way, if you counterattack, your response will be delayed.

‘You’re not the only ones who can ambush secretly.’

Hyun Jeong-geon grabbed Gary Dee by the scruff of his neck and stepped forward.

“What?!”

Gary Dee started to complain about the way he was being handled, but Hyun Jeong-geon didn’t care and just dragged him along.

In front was Kang Mu-hyeok and his group, who were ready to move again.

He handed Gary Dee over to Mr. Joe.

“Take it with you.”

“Why me?”

“You’re just playing.”

“Me? I have to take care of the manager and Thomas as well?”

Mr. Joe placed his palm on Thomas’ forehead and pretended to take his temperature.

“Look. Look at that high fever.”

“There is no fever.”

Thomas tilted his head back slightly. Mr. Joe noticed.

“Anyway, it’s Kang Mu-hyeok’s turn. He has no clue. Tsk.”

Contrary to what Mr. Cho said, Kang Moo-hyuk felt something strange in Hyun Jeong-geon’s attitude.

He spoke without making a sound, only moving his lips.

‘Is something going on?’

Hyun Jeong-geon read Kang Moo-hyeok’s lips. It was thanks to the lip-reading technique he had learned from Kang Moo-hyeok during his time in Titan.

Reading lips and eavesdropping on conversations in crowded places had considerable merit in gathering information, so Hyun Jeong-geon continued to use it even after leaving Titan.

Hyun Jeong-geon also answered in the same way as Kang Mu-hyeok.

‘It seems like there’s a tail attached. And it’s of the same type as me.’