Chapter 170

Chapter 170

Chapter 170

Blood flowed from the corpse, staining the snow-covered ground. Amidst the whispering of leaves, a spider-like monster sprinted forward.

The target of the creature’s pursuit was me, specifically my neck area. Somehow, it pinpointed my weakness in an instant.

Six corroding tentacles sprang forth from my back. Originally sturdy, these tentacles had become even stronger thanks to the synthetic scales covering them, spreading wide to grasp the creature in an attempt to restrain it.

The creature was roughly 4 meters in size, slightly smaller than the Mother of the Sky. While I wasn’t sure of its strength, it wasn’t enough to overcome the disadvantage posed by its size.

The collision between the creature’s six tentacles and its eight legs was accompanied by a loud clatter of metal, echoing through the forest.

The creature, considerably smaller than my corroding tentacles, twisted its legs to evade their attacks. Stained red by the black metal skeleton, it swiftly crawled onto my tentacles.

In an instant, the spider-like monster had reached my back. Its forelegs aimed for the tentacles of the creature on my neck.

「Watch out!」

I timed my movements carefully, shaking my body vigorously. The three mechanical claws at the end of its metal legs sliced through the air.

As the creature’s posture faltered, I initiated a counterattack. I twisted my tail upward, swinging the pincers at its end forcefully. The creature hastily raised its two damaged forelegs to defend itself.

Unfortunately, my pincers were strongest at the head segment, along with my carapace. A heavy cracking sound, akin to being struck by a colossal hammer, resonated as the creature’s body floated in the air.

Then, the Mother of the Sky leaped onto my combat arm. With all her might, she struck the creature’s right legs with her two forelegs.

“Argh!”

Despite being struck by the pincers while airborne, the spider-like monster managed to twist its body somehow. Unfortunately, her attack only managed to crush one of its legs.

As they crossed paths and landed in separate areas, unlike the graceful landing of the Mother of the Sky, the spider-like monster sank halfway into the ground, perhaps due to its damaged legs.

「...Tougher than expected.」

[ZZZ ZZ ZZZZ (Seems like it)]

Her blow was heavy enough to punch holes through a battleship. Yet, the creature’s legs didn’t break, let alone bend.

‘I guess it’s not going to work.’

Originally, I had intended to confirm its identity by consuming its flesh, but it proved to be a better fighter than anticipated. Time was not on our side. It wasn’t wise to prolong this any further.

I activated my reserved ‘Insight’ ability.

[Name: S-422

Species: Mass-produced by ■■■■

Status: Contains unidentifiable information.

Equipment: Contains unidentifiable information.]

‘What?’

The information revealed by Insight was unconventional. I tried using it again to see if it would change significantly, but it remained largely the same.

‘Why isn’t it a player?’

This was the first time since Muriel that ‘unidentifiable information’ had appeared.

[Leg damage status: ‘Critical’. Irreparable. Main controller ‘Pira Eleven’ unresponsive. Proceed with combat.]

While I was using Insight without moving, the creature, having adjusted its stance, launched another attack.

S-422 darted forward, its seven legs moving swiftly.

I twisted my body and swung my tail forward. The piled-up snow turned into a blizzard as it scattered.

The creature lowered its body to evade my attack while simultaneously twisting its two forelegs backward to rake underneath my tail. As scales and blunt claws were torn off, a sharp pain surged through me.

The corroding tentacles rushed to defend their master from the attack, but the creature leaped upward, anticipating it, dodging the assault.

My tentacles remained stuck to the ground, while the creature, airborne, faced the incoming attack from the Mother of the Sky.

Their collision, between her most potent weapon, the beak, and the creature’s forelegs, produced a sound akin to a fierce struggle rather than mere metal clashing against flesh.

[Left leg number 2 damaged.]

“Ugh!”

The creature’s metal legs were sliced as if by a blade. However, the Mother of the Sky wasn’t unscathed either, as the creature’s claw had cut into her side.

I crawled forward, using my combat arm to shield her while opening my mouth wide towards the creature. The acidic fungal spores located near my throat were activated, and soon, green acidic spores were ejected from my mouth.

[Acid substance detected.]

Still airborne, the creature twisted its body forcibly to avoid the incoming liquid.

However, this time, the creature couldn’t completely dodge. Greedy fungal spores that touched its body began to gnaw at the metal skeleton.

We can never come back to this area near the forest. The Gallagons will continue to patrol the area.

We must try approaching the mountains from another direction, once we’re confident it’s safe.

As we escaped the burning forest, we faced a new problem.

‘Crossing the snowfield is risky.’

A black flame blooms on a world filled with white. Everyone would surely take notice of this, but crossing the ice plain without any cover would be too risky.

If my scales were white, it wouldn’t be a problem, but since they are closer to blackish-purple, they would be easily visible even from a great distance in current conditions where the snowstorm isn’t blowing.

However, using ‘Organic Evolution’ to transform into an ‘Intelligent Weakling’ and reducing my size isn’t a favorable option.

We might end up fighting unknown monsters and Gallagons. If that happens, one of the special states that can be transformed through Organic Evolution, ‘King of Monsters,’ will be the trump card, so we should save it.

“We need to go underground.”

Underneath the ice, there’s a vast underground space.

The nest I made isn’t completely enclosed by walls; it’s an open space in both directions. I’m not sure if the underground space below here is connected to the nest, but it would be safer than walking on the snow.

[ZZZZ ZZ ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZZ ZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZ (We’re going to dig through the floor. Keep an eye out for anyone coming.)]

「Got it.」

Leaving the surveillance to the Mother of the Sky, I repeated what I did yesterday. I heated my body with thermal discharge and broke the ice with my combat arms and tail.

「We should hurry.」

[ZZZ (What?)]

“Dozens of Gallagons are coming this way.”

Upon receiving the unwelcome news from above, I increased my speed. Utilizing my corrosion tentacles and split jaws, I hastily dug through the ice.

Thanks to my last effort, I managed to complete the tunnel connecting to the underground space. I hurriedly crawled out and sent the Mother of the Sky down first.

Now, the Gallagons were close enough to be visible even to my eyes. Unfortunately, they were focused on the burning forest. They picked up the corpses of the burned creatures and flew away somewhere.

While the enemies were preoccupied elsewhere, I quickly concealed the entrance of the newly made tunnel.

With all the work done, I crawled down into the ice cave. Luckily, I didn’t sense anyone catching on.

「No one’s onto us?」

[ZZZ ZZ ZZZ (I don’t know).]

Arriving in the underground space, I quickly left with the Mother of the Sky.

‘Darn.’

I didn’t expect to be in such a difficult situation because of some mass-produced monster.

‘I don’t know who it is, but....’

The one who has irritated me to this extent is truly rare. It’s as annoying as being interfered with by the Amorph Hunters back in the day.

‘Let’s find out who.’

I’ve never forgiven those who interfered with my evolution until now. In the game, I retaliated against the Amorph Hunters with every means available to me.

The one who created the ugly spider-like creature. They will follow the same path as the Amorph Hunters.

A huge underground complex spanning hundreds of meters.

Enjoying the cozy darkness while minding his own business, ‘It’ sensed a vibration. It was clear that some fool dared to act up on his territory.

Such incidents have been frequent lately.

In this vicinity, unfamiliar ‘small creatures’ often swarmed towards him, and the colorful snakes flying in the sky suddenly roamed around his territory.

Having lived countless long years, ‘It’ didn’t like to move his body much due to his lazy nature. He only roughly crushed or swallowed the ‘small creatures’ attacking him, while leaving the flying snakes alone.

However, today’s vibration was different from previous occasions. Strong vibrations shook ‘It’s’ nest.

When those arrogant creatures threatened his home, ‘It’ thought.

If these fools continue to trample his territory like this, wouldn’t even the flying snakes in the sky start to ridicule him? It meant that ‘It’ had become weak enough to not even protect his own home.

‘It’ may be lazy, but not stupid. In this harsh world, the only future left for the weak is death.

So, ‘It’ decided to show the invaders that the king of this underground was still alive and well.

Determined to move for once, ‘It’ tracked the scent of the enemies with his elongated antennae. Despite being old, the tips of his sharp antennae still caught the faint scent of two lines.

After the significant vibration, invaders entered ‘It’s’ territory. The scent of the two beasts that had entered ‘It’s’ territory reached his antennae.

Having found his prey, all that remained was to seek retribution. ‘It,’ who filled the underground complex hundreds of meters, stretched his coiled body.

It was time for the hunt after a long time.