Chapter 272:

Chapter 272:

-

Second Command's underground banquet hall.

Normally, this space would remain vacant, but not today.

Representatives from the galaxy’s major powers—Megac orp, the Cult Empire, and the Star Union—were gathered in the hall. Each of them was dressed in luxurious attire and indulging in an equally opulent feast.

Everyone present was a key client of Montana Marcio.

Originally, the plan was to invite them to the banquet hall after the auction had begun, but the schedule had been deliberately moved forward.

This was due to an unfortunate incident that had taken place in the fortress.

Montana's business heavily relies on illicit operations, something the guests were well aware of. Should Montana falter even slightly, these representatives would immediately turn to alternative sources.

That’s why Montana had to do everything in his power to keep them appeased—at least until his subordinates resolved the issue in the underground storage.

“How is the meal, everyone?” Montana asked.

The guests responded with silent nods. Their expressions were neutral, not hostile, but far from friendly.

There had been a problem in the underground storage, where their precious goods were being kept. Because of this, the mercenaries they brought with them had already gone to the storage area to confirm the safety of the items.

The reason the guests hadn’t left immediately was because of their status. None of them truly belonged to the upper echelon of society. Instead, they served as proxies, intermediaries who handled the dirty work for their respective factions. They were responsible for overseeing illegal transactions, making them a type of high-level employee.

Naturally, if the goods were compromised and the deal fell through, they too would face consequences. While the Cult Empire might be more lenient, those working for Noble Capital or Prime Capital could face unknown repercussions.

Thus, leaving the banquet immediately wasn’t an option—not until the safety of their goods had been confirmed.

So, they stayed, trusting in Montana’s assurances. Some were hoping he would handle things smoothly, while others were frustrated by the inconvenience, and still others were calculating how they could profit from the situation. Though they smiled, intricate calculations played out behind their composed facades.

Montana was no different. He too was running endless calculations in his mind. The damage from the incident was already unavoidable. However, he wondered if he could somehow turn the crisis to his advantage, overcoming it spectacularly and cementing a favorable image in their eyes.

He had weathered many challenges before. This time would be no different.

As he convinced himself of this, one of his subordinates cautiously approached him.

"Chairman, sir..." The subordinate hesitated.

"What is it?"

"I have an urgent report. I can’t explain it here..."

Leaving the hall in front of all these guests would be an unwise move, one that Montana normally would have refused.

But then he noticed his subordinate’s hair, soaked with cold sweat.

"Haha, it seems the matter has been resolved. The main course will be served soon, so please bear with us a little longer," Montana said with feigned calm, before allowing his subordinate to guide him out of the banquet hall.

Once outside, however, his composure shattered.

“Are you telling me we’ve lost contact with all the forces sent to the military port? All of them?”

The worst-case scenario Montana had considered was a significant loss of manpower in the storage area.

But the situation had spiraled far beyond his imagination. Not only had the storage area fallen silent, but even the reserve forces stationed at the military port were now unreachable.

“We managed to get in touch with some of our guys around the port, and it’s a complete disaster down there. Monsters are running wild, slaughtering everyone they come across...”

“......”

The situation was dire. It was the greatest crisis he had faced since coming to power over the fortress.

‘There's no time to waste.’

“I’m heading to the main control room. You stay and tend to the guests.”

“Understood.”

Sending his subordinate back to the banquet, Montana took the elevator along with his security detail.

The control room was on the 10th floor. As the elevator ascended swiftly, Montana, with his heavy frame, pressed the button with a sense of growing urgency.

-

After dealing with the forces gathered at the storage area, I directed the mutated beings toward the command center. The reason I didn’t accompany them was that I had business at the military port.

‘There should be more reserve forces there.’

The pirates I attacked on the train were all heading to the station near the military port. There’s no landing space for patrol ships or hover buses around the storage area for security reasons.

So, the enemy likely gathered a large number of forces at the nearby military port, planning to deploy them incrementally based on the situation.

‘If I can turn all of them into mutants, conquering the fortress will become much easier.’

The mutants would take care of reducing the enemy’s numbers on their own. Moreover, if I could seize control of the military port where their ships were docked, their means of defense would be severely diminished.

As expected, Number 26 was fighting well on its own, even without my intervention.

I extended my tentacles and injected the mutation virus into the enemies who were still alive. The pirates, screaming as bones jutted out of their thighs, fell silent as soon as they made contact with my tentacles.

They shed their weak past selves and became something new. The desire for slaughter set them free.

“Kikikikiki!”

“Groooaargh!”

The newly created mutants charged at the dismembered Hulk Mutants.

‘It would be great if I could mutate the Hulk Mutants as well, but it's a shame.’

The mutation virus wasn’t entirely ineffective, but the results had been underwhelming when I tried it on them. Perhaps it was due to their complex genetic makeup. Instead of a desirable transformation, the mutation went in a less favorable direction.

I gave up on the Hulk Mutants and focused on mutating the living mercenaries, pirates, and other humans.

By the time Number 26 had subdued the enemies, I had been busy enough that the number of mutants had grown to hundreds. I used the 'Messenger of Mass Confusion' to direct their movements.

「Little one, not that way, go over there.」

“Kikikikiki!”

Occasionally, some strayed from the group, but Number 26 would capture them one by one. Their necks or waists snapped under its power, and the survivors staggered back to join the rest of the mutants.

‘The harbor seems mostly cleared now.’

I had mutated the dozens of criminals hiding in one of the buildings and planned to merge them into the larger group.

‘Is this enough?’

As I pondered that, a sudden flash of light burst from a long cylindrical building in the distance.

A massive beam of light, intense beyond measure, shot toward us, instantly obliterating dozens of the mutants I had created. The force was so great that even I was pushed back a few meters, despite not being in the direct line of fire.

‘Damn!’

What just hit us was one of the fortress’s internal defense cannons. There are six in total, with two installed at each of the three command centers, and this one had fired from the second command center.

‘It seems the command center has realized what’s happening.’

The mutants were still on their way toward the command center. They hadn’t acted because of the mutants but rather due to the loss of communication with the military port.

‘But I didn’t expect them to fire the fortress cannon so quickly.’

The fortress cannon is only activated when the situation becomes extremely dire. It was designed for scenarios where enemies had breached the fortress itself, and its firepower is immense.

They might know about the mutants, but they don’t know about me. Their response is faster than I anticipated.

「Are you okay, big one?」

[Z ZZZ ZZ ZZ ZZ (I’m fine. I’ll shrink down again.)]

Number 26, worried about me, shrank its body back to a smaller size. It could likely deflect the fortress cannon’s beam using its psychic powers, but it would be a risky move. Since there are two cannons, blocking one might leave it vulnerable to the other, which would be fatal.

‘I’ll have to use that.’

I had planned to save it for later, but the situation leaves me no choice.

It’s time to use my latest unique trait, Complex Spectral Structure.

The second cannon at the command center would fire soon. Before that could happen, I activated my unique trait.

As the trait activated, a wave of heat shimmered above my body, like invisible mirages rising into the air. The mirages began to condense into a transparent, disk-shaped shield large enough to cover both me and Number 26 at its maximum size.

The disk-shaped mirage gradually solidified and started bending and dispersing the surrounding light. The multicolored, shining disk was similar to my appearance when in the Abyssal Hues state, though slightly different.

Whereas Abyssal Hues gives off a somewhat ominous feel, this light appeared more like something born from a natural phenomenon, similar to light refracted through a prism.

At that moment, another flash of light came from the command center.

A psychic-powered beam, far faster than a Gallagon’s breath attack, shot toward the transparent disk floating above me.

What happened next was something the enemies could never have expected.

The beam, blocked by the invisible barrier, scattered into countless rays of light, flying off in completely different directions.

The disk-shaped mirage, no, Complex Spectral Structure, had one main ability:

‘Reflect energy-based attacks.’

「So shiny and beautiful!」

The meteor shower of light illuminating the fortress and the city burning beneath it.

Just as Number 26 said, it was a truly beautiful sight.