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[Proofreader – Draxx]

Chapter 223

Adhai\'s growth issue is resolved, but there are still some matters left to address.

Originally, I had included the Red Gallagon in the plan to conquer Odd Grad, but that card is no longer playable.

‘So, I need to revise the plan to fight without the Red Gallagon.’

Despite her decision, it’s hard to ignore the missed opportunity.

The Red Gallagon is, both by design and in actual gameplay, a top predator more terrifying than the Sea Demon or Black Gallagon. There are very few creatures more powerful than the Red Dragons.

However, I can\'t expect such strength from the current Adhai. How much of the Red Gallagon\'s power she can wield remains uncertain, but it will definitely be weaker than the original.

‘I’ll look into that later.’

For now, there are things I need to check first. I looked up at the Mother of the Sky.

She had entered the nest herself to rescue Ham Ort. There are many things I need to ask her, like how she managed it, the size of the enemy forces, and their condition.

｢I knew you used the Divine Spectre by looking at the sky.｣

Already aware of what I wanted to ask, she slowly began to explain what happened in the dragon’s nest.

｢I debated whether I should retreat to support you, but since I can\'t fly, I thought rushing there wouldn\'t be helpful. It seemed better to attack the nest instead, so that’s what I did.｣

[ZZ (Makes sense.)]

｢I thought it was worth a try since the White Gallagons had all left the nest. Entering the nest wasn’t difficult either.｣

The black fur of the Wendigo hosts minute-sized bacteria. While these bacteria don\'t cause significant harm to other beings, they do induce temporary cognitive impairment.

The Wendigo can intentionally spread the bacteria from its body. Those who inhale or become infected experience a temporary loss of direction, confusion of the senses, and other disorienting effects.

‘A perfect ability for infiltration or surprise attacks.’

She must have known the Wendigo as well as I did, which is why she transformed into it.

For reference, this ability can only be used when transformed into a Wendigo, as the bacteria are generated from its black fur by design.

[ZZZ ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZZ (How many Gallagons were in the nest?)]

｢I couldn’t check accurately since I tried to avoid them as much as possible, but just the Green Gallagons alone seemed to number over 50.｣

[ZZZZ ZZ (That’s a lot.)]

Considering the Gallagons she didn’t see, as well as the hatchlings, the Odd Grad group likely has close to 100 members.

As far as I know, a single Gallagon group rarely exceeds 60 members. If their numbers grow beyond that, it becomes difficult for them to secure enough food.

‘Now that I think about it, when I first fought the mutant Screamer here…’

Because of its self-destruction, a fire broke out in the forest, burning many creatures alive. The Gallagons that flew in at that time were busy grabbing food rather than anything else.

Gallagons enjoy hunting live creatures. They do eat dead ones, but it’s a lower priority. Yet, the Gallagons were focused on carrying away the charred remains.

[ZZZZ ZZZ (They must be starving.)]

｢I didn’t check where the eggs were stored, but I think so. They have too many mouths to feed.｣

[ZZZ ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZZ ZZZ (Even with all those numbers, you managed to rescue Ham Ort.)]

｢It was a close call. But the situation was favorable.｣

[ZZ ZZZ (What do you mean?)]

｢Ham Ort was also waiting for the right moment. As soon as I met her and briefly explained, she understood right away. Thanks to her cooperation, we were able to minimize the fighting.｣

I was slightly surprised by her words. Indeed, it must be said that Adhai’s mother has an extraordinary sense of judgment and courage.

She explained that, thanks to the rescue target’s active cooperation, she didn’t face much difficulty escaping the nest. It was due to the Wendigo’s powerful special ability, "Spirit of Ice."

Creatures afflicted by the Spirit of Ice lose all reason due to an abnormal hunger. She used this to cause the Green Gallagons circling the nest to go berserk, diverting the enemy\'s attention.

Moreover, the cliff, which she had anticipated would be the biggest obstacle in the escape, was easily overcome thanks to Ham Ort\'s suggestion.

｢Originally, I planned to climb up and escape, but Ham Ort mentioned that there was water flowing below the cliff. So, we made our way out through there.｣

As they jumped off the cliff, Ham Ort used her psychic power to slow their descent. As a result, both of them landed on the water without sustaining any serious injuries.

｢If we had been even slightly slower, it would have been dangerous. Odd Grad returned while we were escaping.｣

It was a remarkable coincidence. If she had returned to the nest or if the rescue of Ham Ort had taken just a bit longer, they both would have been doomed.

After escaping through the waterway, she returned to the nest.

｢When I got back, everyone was hiding in the pits they dug in front of the nest.｣

‘So, those were the pits I saw earlier.’

They almost attacked the Mother of the Sky when they saw her transformed into a Wendigo, but thanks to Ham Ort, a fight was avoided.

｢After that, I went out for food hunting and scouting whenever I could. Just in case you brought a Gallagon back with you.｣

[ZZZ (Good job.)]

As expected of a Ranker, her situational judgment and actions were appropriate. When I praised her, the amber flames that flickered in her eye sockets swayed gently.

｢Praise has become common from you recently, Amorph.｣

[ZZZ (Should I take it back?)]

｢I’m kidding. By the way, Ham Ort also mentioned something strange about Odd Grad having a peculiar power.｣

[ZZ ZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZZ (Yes. He can predict danger.)]

｢Predict danger?｣

At my words, the Mother of the Sky scratched her black skull with her hand.

｢Are you talking about foresight? It wasn’t that great in the game.｣

[ZZZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZ ZZZZ (Not here. He can actually read the future.)]

Understanding the implications of my words, she straightened her posture. She knew as well as I did how problematic it was for a top predator like the Black Gallagon to have the ability to read the future.

｢…This won’t be easy. How far into the future can he see?｣

[ZZZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZ ZZZZ (Less than 5 minutes before a life-threatening situation occurs.)]

I couldn’t say for sure how far ahead he could see, but it was certain that he could respond to life-threatening situations.

‘Now that I think about it, Ham Ort mentioned fighting him.’

[ZZZZ ZZZZ ZZ ZZ ZZZZ ZZZZZ (You said Ham Ort told you, right? I’ll have to ask her when she wakes up.)]

｢Huh? I’m not sure if Ham Ort knows.｣

[ZZZ (What?)]

｢The ability she described wasn’t the foresight one. It was something different.｣

[ZZ ZZZ Z ZZZ (He has another ability?)]

Her words caught me off guard.

｢It’s not a combat-related ability like foresight. Actually, it’s debatable whether it’s even an ability at all.｣

[ZZ ZZZZ (What is it then?)]

｢According to Ham Ort, he possesses a mineral that has the power to deceive his own kind.｣

[ZZ (A mineral?)]

As soon as she said that, something came to mind.

‘A gemstone? Could it be?’

He was wearing a large ring with a refined gemstone set into his forepaw.

Gallagons are intelligent, but they have no concept of adorning themselves with equipment or clothing. So, I thought it was unusual when I saw his ring.

[ZZZ ZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZ (Now that you mention it, he was wearing a ring with a gemstone.)]

｢A gemstone ring. That must be it. Ham Ort said that he never separates himself from the mineral that holds this power.｣

If Ham Ort’s words are true, it explains why Odd Grad, despite having an abnormal personality for a Gallagon, could command so many of his kind. Never mind where that ring came from.

‘Whatever it is, the fact that the ring is the key to his control is crucial information.’

What if he loses the ring during battle?

His followers would be thrown into chaos. They’re already starving, and their leader is using a suspicious method to control his own kind.

If used wisely, this could be a fatal blow to Odd Grad.

I looked down at Adhai, who was rubbing her head against the back of my hand.

Seeing her gave me ideas on how to approach the battle against Odd Grad.

‘Good.’

I had gathered enough information from the Mother of the Sky. As I organized the information, I thought about what needed to be done next.

There were three tasks remaining.

Wait for Ham Ort to wake up, and then…

‘Check Adhai’s abilities and activate my mimic scales.’

Both were related issues and could be dealt with at the same time.

[ZZ ZZZ ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZ (Let’s head back to the nest. There’s a lot to do.)]

｢Right.｣

｢Finished｣ ｢talking?｣

[ZZZ (Yes.)]

At my response, she gently lifted her head from my hand. Perhaps due to the mixture of Red Gallagon traits, she looked somewhat different.

Of course, her body had grown larger, and the color of her horns and wings had changed, but there was something fundamentally different about her.

‘Her thought waves have changed.’

Previously, her thought waves were sent in short bursts, filled with raw emotion. Now, they were much more refined, similar to how Number 26 or Odd Grad conveyed their thoughts.

[ZZ ZZZ ZZZZZ (You’ve gotten better at communication.)]

｢Is｣ ｢change｣ ｢bad?｣

[ZZ ZZZZ ZZ ZZZZ (No. Growth is a good thing.)]

Her thought waves were simple, which sometimes made them difficult to understand. This was much easier for me.

‘Though, I do feel a bit nostalgic.’

With that thought, I picked up the remaining Gallagon corpse.

As Adhai, the Mother of the Sky, Nel Germa, and I returned to the nest, we saw the Green Gallagons that had gone hunting.

They were clinging tightly to Number 26’s body, just like the Blue Gallagons had done before. The cold of this planet was something even Gallagons found hard to withstand.

‘Should I implant them with symbiotic bio-spores?’

Then, the Gallagons noticed us and detached themselves from Number 26. They approached us, lowering their wings and upper bodies close to the ground while bowing their heads.

‘What’s this?’

All of their horns were pointed toward one single being.

It was Adhai, who was perched on my back.

‘Hmm.’

This was the first time other Gallagons had reacted this way to Adhai. Although she hadn’t fully become a Red Gallagon, it seemed that the other Gallagons didn’t see it that way.

After bowing in unison, the Gallagons raised themselves and brought out the corpses they had buried in the pit, placing them in front of me. Their actions resembled servants offering food to their master.

‘No, in this case, it’s more like subjects presenting a gift to their queen.’

Adhai tilted her head in confusion, not understanding why they were doing this.

｢I’m｣ ｢full｣ ｢No need｣ ｢to give｣ ｢food｣ ｢You｣ ｢eat｣

｢Thank you｣

Only after she declined did the Green Gallagons begin to eat the food they had caught. While they ate, I attached symbiotic spores to their bodies.

Then, I gave a portion of the remaining White Gallagon remains to Number 26.

[ZZ ZZ ZZZ ZZ (Eat up. We have work to do.)]

｢What work?｣

[ZZ ZZZZ ZZ ZZZ (I need both you and Adhai.)]

｢Got it. Big baby can count on me!｣

She’s always so encouraging, never failing to say something nice.

Feeling grateful, I raised my winged arm and gently patted her. She shimmered with delight, glowing brightly.

After sharing the Gallagon corpse with Number 26, I set out from the nest with the two of them.

‘This should do.’

Stopping at a suitable clearing, I explained to Adhai and Number 26 what we would be doing here.

[ZZ ZZZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ ZZZ ZZZ (First, we’ll test the new power Adhai gained.)]

We needed to see how much of the Red Gallagon’s power she could harness.

‘The Red Gallagons use a new type of power called Dragon Power.’

Depending on how much she can wield it, our schedule might need some adjustments.

To grant psychic resistance to my mimic scales, I need to be exposed to pure psychic power attacks. Developing resistance to Dragon Power wouldn’t be useful right now.

The resistance effect provided by the mimic scales only applies to one type of energy at a time. It takes several days for the immunity to reset, so we have to be careful not to waste time.

｢Should｣ ｢I try it now?｣

[ZZZ ZZZ (Yes. As much as you can.)]

As I nodded, Adhai’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

Then, a red aura began to emanate from her body.

[Proofreader – Draxx]