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Chapter 109

Footprints covered the moist soil. These were traces left by pirates and walkers moving through. Since it was now morning, there were no significant problems with their movement and search, unlike the previous dawn.

However, their atmosphere had changed significantly from a few hours ago when they arrived at this place. Unfamiliar emotions filled their faces hidden behind helmets—fear. It was the fear instinctively felt by those facing danger.

“Boss, is the deputy chief still alive?”

“Shut up.”

“…Okay.”

When Dylan growled, the subordinate immediately silenced. Currently, they were using a detector to track the missing assistant chief. The assistant chief disappeared abruptly during an attack, most likely taken away by some monster.

“Damn it! If the leader finds out about this…”

The assistant chief was a person directly assigned by the leader to assist Dylan. If she finds out that he has been captured by a monster, she would not let it go unpunished. To avoid an unfortunate future, they had to capture the monster at any cost, whether alive or dead.

“Enemy detected!”

As soon as the walker operator shouted, everyone opened fire towards the creatures hiding in the trees. In a matter of seconds, one with only the lower body remaining fell to the ground.

“…Wood Devils. There are two more, so keep looking.”

Although only weak wood devils seemed to be dying since a while ago, there was no sign of the main one. It was possible that it had escaped far from this place, but Dylan was confident that it wouldn’t be the case.

“It’s a hunter.”

Moreover, a hunter capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with the most lethal predators on this continent. Until all the pirates who entered this forest were dead, it wouldn’t stop the massacre.

“Boss! Look over there!”

At that moment, one of the subordinates pointed to the trees. Expecting wood devils, Dylan raised his head, but what he saw was something worse.

“…This damn bastard.”

Hanging from every tree were stripped corpses. It was a message—either a warning that they would be made the same way or a provocation that they were not worth more than this.

Reading the meaning behind the hanging corpses, Dylan gritted his teeth.

“Sir, shouldn’t we retrieve the bodies?”

“….”

Whether it was Dylan or the pirates present, there was little consciousness among them regarding the corpses. The reason for bringing up the need to retrieve the bodies was the presence of other predators in this forest.

In the vicinity, there were no predators strong enough to threaten the pirates. However, due to the explosion and the movement of the Plant Lizards that occurred in the early morning, it couldn’t be ruled out that predators from afar might have come here. For example, the ‘Hond Gigrant.’

It is a bipedal carnivorous reptile with a body covered in scales as tough as the outer walls of a battleship, and jaw strength powerful enough to easily crush a heavy walker. Moreover, it always traveled in pairs, making it a difficult foe for the current group of pirates to confront.

“…They have a keen sense of smell.”

Surely the monster that hung the corpses knew this fact and deliberately arranged them in that way. Those who were pursuing the missing deputy chief had to pass through this place, increasing the likelihood of encountering another predator attracted by the scent of the corpses.

“Immediately pull those bodies out… No, wait.”

Dylan, who was about to order his subordinates to retrieve the bodies, closed his mouth.

“No. Would it act like that?”

It was the one who predicted the landing point of the transport ship and laid mines. The chance that such a cunning person did nothing to the corpses was slim.

“It hung the bodies low.”

In the video sent by his subordinates, the corpses were hung high for a while, but now they weren’t. It was a low enough position that even a pirate in reinforced armor could jump and grab them and pull them down.

It was as if it was tempting us to retrieve the bodies.

“Something’s off.”

Dylan aimed the purple spray gun at the bodies hanging on the trees. The violet flames spewing from the elongated barrel burned the corpses and trees.

The barely suspended body fell to the ground, and upon landing, it exploded with a loud noise.

“That bastard!”

He hid a bomb inside the corpse, which was rigged to explode upon impact. In other words, a double trap. Whether he removed the body or not, it would still be a problem.

“…Ugh, let’s get out of here as soon as possible.”

“Understood!”

Passing through the path with the bombs was certainly not a good choice, but it couldn’t be helped. It was better than drawing the attention of other predators due to the explosion.

Dylan and the pirates swiftly moved away from the bodies.

“50 meters ahead, the deputy chief’s movement has stopped!”

Although they were getting closer to the deputy chief, Dylan felt more uneasy. He had no idea what kind of scheme that monster might be planning this time.

“Everyone, stop.”

It seems like he, who was wearing the indomitable mask, needs to inspect it personally.

“You, you, and you come with me. The rest wait.”

“Yes.”

Dylan, along with some subordinates, stepped forward. As they pushed through the dense grass, a wide clearing appeared in front of them. Beneath the trees in the clearing, the deputy chief was leaning against a tree trunk.

The reinforced armor he was wearing, whether torn apart by monsters or due to some other reason, was severely damaged. Except for the abdominal area, the rest was torn.

Dylan first scanned the surroundings with the indomitable mask. If it was concealing itself, it would appear as a violet light, but there was no sign of any creature in the vicinity.

Upon closer inspection of the deputy chief, his body was seen writhing. He was still alive.

“Damn, are you alive?”

“Uh…ugh! Ugh!”

He seemed to have suffered serious injuries, as he could only groan without being able to move. Dylan gestured to his subordinate.

One pirate cautiously approached the assistant chief.

“Deputy Chief?”

“Ugh! Ugh!”

As the pirate approached, the deputy chief’s groans became more intense.

“Huh?”

Approaching closely, the pirate noticed that something was strange with the deputy chief. His abdomen was unnaturally swollen.

As the pirate was about to touch his abdomen, at that moment, the reinforced armor burst open, and black beetles attached to the inside rushed out, attacking the pirate.

***

‘Alright.’

The hidden tooth fairies initiated their actions. Now it’s my turn.

As a metal-eating being in stealth mode, I had crawled up to the top of the tree trunk, avoiding detection by the enemies.

‘The leader over there seems to have made some calculations as well.’

Detecting the bomb trap was quite clever, but it was within my expected range. They were too focused on the corpses, and thanks to that, they didn’t notice me hiding at the top of the tree trunk.

‘It’s in the palm of my hand.’

I leaped down from the tree trunk. The target was the walker preparing for combat from the rear.

My body, now significantly heavier due to the nightmare horizon effect, descended rapidly. Unaware of me falling, the walker, charging its plasma launcher, remained oblivious.

“Huh?!”

“Ah!”

The walker I collided with toppled forward. As it fell, the charging launcher fired, turning two nearby pirates into dust.

“It’s the monster!”

A shout from inside the cockpit echoed. It was intended to wipe them out in one go, but unfortunately, it was a failure.

The thick steel gloves surrounding the cockpit were bent like a spoon due to my collision, but it seemed it wasn’t enough to kill the pilot.

Other pirates and walkers turned back in response to the pilot’s words.

I activated the Ghost Claws and reached into the cockpit. After manipulating my hand a few times, I silenced the pilot in one go and quickly leaped forward. Just in time, a plasma beam passed above my back.

[Activating Pain nullification!]

“Oh no!”

I thought I had escaped unharmed, but it wasn’t the case. The beam had destroyed the dorsal plate on my back.

Until I recovered, the Electromagnetic interference was unavailable.

Following the beam, purple flames from the Purple Spray Gun erupted towards me from all directions.

‘…It’s incredibly hot.’

The flames of psychic origin seared my outer layer. The Purple Spray Gun had formidable destructive power, and the flames, made of unrefined psychic power, wouldn’t easily extinguish. It continued to burn until a certain amount of time had passed.

Currently, I was in a state with Psychic Enhancement type, Psychic Immunity trait, and Pain Nullification trait. Thanks to these, I stopped feeling pain before it became unbearable; otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to move properly.

‘Even though I used Metal Absorption, it’s a shame.’

The transparency was useless because of the purple flames sticking to my body.

‘…But even in this state, there’s a strategy I can use.’

With the flames still on my body, I rushed towards the remaining walker. The guy charging the launcher hurriedly activated the shoulder-mounted grenade launcher as I approached.

‘How foolish.’

The grenade, packed with concentrated plasma energy, hit my head and bounced off. The rebounded grenade landed in front of the pirates pouring psychic flames at me.

“What the…!”

Ignoring the thunderous explosion from behind, I charged towards the walker. Unlike the walker helplessly attacked during the dawn, this one tilted his body to let my charge slide off.

Though the horn left an elongated mark on the external armor of the cockpit, it didn’t pierce through. Dodging my horn, the walker kicked me and pushed me away.

Focused on the charge, I was greatly pushed back by the walker’s kick.

‘But it doesn’t matter.’

Despite the walker aiming the launcher at me, his intention couldn’t be fulfilled.

“Ugh…ughhh!”

This was because the psychic flames engulfing my body had transferred to the walker.

As the cockpit was engulfed in purple flames, the pilot hastily escaped from inside.

‘Where are you going?’

I swung my tail at him as he attempted to flee.

Hit by the tail covered in sturdy scales, he flew far away and collided with a tree. The moment he collided with the tree, he turned into a mosquito-like shape, squashed against the palm of my hand.

“Shoot! Shoot and kill that thing!”

The pirate leader who had gone ahead for reconnaissance was now back, screaming. The auto-plasma gun on his shoulder was precisely aiming and shooting at me. I turned my head, aimed my arm, and blocked the incoming plasma bullets. It stung a bit, but it was still endurable.

‘Should I change my position?’

Avoiding the psychic flames and plasma bullets, I leaped into the midst of the pirates. The Purple Spray Gun doesn’t discriminate between friend and foe. Pirates wielding flamethrowers hesitated and stopped shooting.

“These idiots! Shoot him now!”

The cunning pirate leader shouted, but it was already too late. I pulled out all the weapons from my combat arm.

First, I struck the head of a pirate with a bone axe who seemed unsure of what to do.

“Kek!”

While his brain matter scattered, a blood-red blood-sucking tentacle grabbed another pirate’s leg.

“Ugh?!”

The pirate entangled by the blood-sucking tentacle turned into a 1.9m-long club, used to beat down other pirates.

“Kkeuk!”

“Ah!”

Even for a pirate wearing sturdy reinforced armor, the club made from a pirate in the same attire was unbearable. Like bowling pins hit by a bowling ball, the pirates fell over.

Perhaps realizing their comrades were being abandoned, the other pirates once again attempted to activate the Purple Spray Gun.

I opened my mouth wide towards them.

A pouch with malicious fungi from the internal organs of my throat was expelled outward. The black masses flew in an arc and landed behind the pirates with flamethrowers. With the sound of bursting water balloons, the wicked fungi were released, clinging to the pirates.

“K…kyak!”

“A…agh…aghhh!”

The pirates screamed in a strange manner as they writhed. Thanks to the enhanced infection trait, the effects of space bacteria and contamination fungi were even more potent.

The contaminated fungi, now much more malicious than before, rapidly consumed the pirates’ bodies.

“Th…this damn… Retreat! Retreat!”

The walkers were wiped out, and the remaining pirates had significantly dwindled.

At the retreat order from the pirate leader, other pirates turned around and started to run away.

I didn’t chase after them. Instead, I gathered around the pirates who were still alive in the vicinity.

“S…stop… Kkek!”

‘I should recover before chasing them.’

I carefully chewed on the head of a struggling pirate. The dorsal plate, which activates the jamming trait, was damaged, and the entire body suffered burns due to psychic flames.

Rather than hastily pursuing the enemy, it was preferable to recover from wounds and replenish energy before moving.

“I’ve already eliminated all the walkers and flamethrower troops anyway.”

The one who seemed to be the leader was armed only with the Purple Spray Gun and an auto-plasma gun. In this perilous forest, they were like wounded deer.

‘Now, I’m the pursuer.’

It’s a bit disappointing that I won’t be using the traps I had prepared, but it’s okay. I love a good pursuit.