Chapter 179

Chapter 179

Chapter 179

“Ha...Ha...Ha...Ha...Ha...Ha....”

Selene, a warrior of the Temple Guardians, ran across the icy passageway.

‘Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!’

The silence spread throughout the passageway spoke volumes about the fate of her comrades.

Other members of the squad had sacrificed themselves to save her, a practitioner of memory manipulation. Despite knowing that the enemy could consume souls.

‘I never imagined such monsters existed in this world!’ She recalled the sight she had just witnessed as she ran.

White skeletal structures rising several times the height of a cultist. Initially, she mistook them for giant creatures resurrected in skeletal form.

It didn’t take long for her to realize that something had flipped the bones and carapaces of giant creatures. Among the bones stood the heads of her comrades.

The first cultist she spotted was their leader, Krissian. He was impaled on the horn protruding from the monster’s head. Below, a pointed snout resembling a theropod’s was adorned with what she presumed to be the legs of a squad member, twitching.

The surreal sight left her and her comrades staring blankly. Soon, with eerie sounds, the twitching legs that struggled to escape stopped moving.

It was the sound of their comrades’ deaths that snapped her and her squad back to reality. The sharp clang of weapons being drawn echoed alongside savage cries.

It was the sound that accompanied every hunt for monsters.

The Temple Guardians had come prepared with top-of-the-line gear to capture the demon with three heads. Demolishers capable of manipulating matter to destroy it, Champion Shields combining psychic power and ether for exponential defense, Dragon Scale armors forged from the gallagon’s scales, weapons honed with White Gallagon claws, and more.

As one of the Empire’s elite forces, the Temple Guardians had the best equipment. And those who wielded that equipment? They were the best of the best.

If the enemy had been just the bone-flipped monster, they wouldn’t have fallen so easily.

There was one reason the situation unfolded differently from their expectations.

Contrary to their expectations, it wasn’t just one enemy.

As the giant monster rose to its feet, other monsters hidden beneath it emerged.

A creature with a human head and a spider’s body, and another with a slender tentacle on a pink balloon-like body.

The spider creature absorbed the Champion Shield composed of composite energy. Whenever its hooks scratched the shield, its energy dissipated in clumps.

The bone-flipped monster targeted only weakened guardians. It was incredibly agile for its size.

Whenever it moved, comrades were either impaled on horns or crushed under its massive feet.

And finally, the pink balloon monster. It didn’t move as agilely as the others, but it possessed terrifying abilities.

It was the most powerful psychic user among the many monsters she had seen.

Though not as potent as the young priest Jason, it was enough to overwhelm those present.

Communication with the outside was nearly impossible due to the pink balloon monster.

Its immense psychic power flowing through its body blocked psychic abilities such as telepathy or soul-linking.

To the cultists, psychic power was like limbs.

Even though they were Temple Guardians, it was impossible to unleash their full potential with restrictions on psychic power usage.

Her comrades struggled to avoid the monsters while attempting to counterattack.

However, such a counterattack proved futile as the number of standing members rapidly dwindled. The creatures seemed to move as if they had completely penetrated the characteristics and weaknesses of the Temple Guardians’ equipment.

The spider creature nullified the Temple Guardians’ shields, while the giant creature attacked. Whenever one tried to evade the giant creature, the pink balloon creature restricted the movement of the members.

Even when members wielding demolishers attempted to shoot, it was to no avail. The creatures always managed to avoid the demolishers, even if they endured other attacks.

They displayed a synergy beyond that of Temple Guardians who had trained for over several decades.

The result was a massacre.

Those who had always hunted monsters were now prey, slaughtered in turn.

The spider creature gouged out cultists’ entrails with its hooked claws, while the pink balloon creature levitated the members with psychic power and then tore off their limbs.

And the sight of the giant creature swallowing the still-living cultists.

Perhaps Selene would never forget that sight until her dying breath.

When the group was reduced to only five members from twelve, Selene’s comrades shouted at her. They told her to flee, being the one who had mastered memory manipulation.

To prevent the deaths of those present from being in vain, Selene had to survive at all costs. Knowing this, she abandoned her comrades and fled.

“I’ve stored all the memories. If I can just deliver these to Jason...!”

She continued to attempt telepathy as she ran. As the distance from the creature increased, its power weakened. Perhaps if she went a little further, she could transmit these memories to her comrades.

“!”

At that moment, amidst her sprint, she heard a sound. She quickly activated the Champion Shield strapped to her wrist.

“Who’s there?”

Holding the faintly glowing gold Champion Shield, she looked around.

Thinking she might have misheard, the sound came again. Amidst the sound of wind blowing through the passageway, there was something mixed in.

“Damn it! Who’s there?....”

‘They must know about me.’

If they are rankers over there, it was obvious what precautions to take when fighting against Amoph.

‘It’s impossible to deceive them with parasites or faceless beings once the enemies join.’

The original plan was to lure the enemies into the joint where the Ice Horror was. The joint was so weakened that it could collapse at any moment due to extensive damage to the walls and ceiling.

My plan was to collapse the walls and ceiling there and bury all the enemies under the ice above. Even if the enemies were strong, there was almost no chance of surviving under several hundred meters thick ice.

Would a Black Gallagon-class powerhouse survive depending on what psychic power technique he possesses? If he survives, I planned to launch a coordinated attack with the children to subdue him.

‘But if they consider me an enemy...’

Since they would know that I set a trap, the chances of them moving according to my intentions are low. To deceive them, I need to think harder.

‘...It’s fortunate that I know now.’

As soon as I heard the explanation, I slightly modified the original plan and called PS-111.

“A variable has arisen. Take the children and go to the location I mentioned first.”

[Understood.]

It prepared to leave with No. 26 on his back and Adhai.

「Big one, see you later.」

[ZZZ (Got it)]

After bidding farewell to the children, I quickly moved to the nest. On the way, I didn’t forget to put the auxiliary device on the ground to monitor the movements of the enemies.

‘The distance is getting a bit tight.’

There were only a few minutes left until the remaining two groups gathered in one place. The group attacked by PS-111 and the Mother of the Sky were moving around in extreme caution, so they hadn’t joined yet.

‘If I stop by the nest and then go, it’ll be too late.’

I have to attack from behind before the enemies join.

I stopped in the middle of the passage and pressed the auxiliary device against the ice, trying to link it to the nest’s substation under my chin.

The nest was expanding on its own, and this area was already stained black. Although no spores had appeared yet, the nest’s mucus had spread here and solidified, so it was possible to send a signal at least.

‘She’ll notice it right away if it’s her.’

Feeling around the ground with the auxiliary device, I found a place to link while the stem of the nest, which had just begun to spread, touched the auxiliary device.

I felt a part of my senses pouring onto the ground, and the wide corridor began to feel like my body. It was a successful link with the nest.

‘Good.’

I detonated a few spores inside the nest. In response, two objects lying in the marsh began to react. Soon, one of the objects started moving in this direction with the other.

The Mother of the Sky, who captured prisoners, must have read the signal I sent.

While maintaining the link, I double-checked the passages in this underground space. There was no sign of movement from the enemy player and his group.

While keeping an eye on them, the Mother of the Sky appeared. She was holding a female cultist in her beak.

The lower part of the cultist’s neck, where I had broken the bone when capturing her, showed no movement. The Mother of the Sky must have known that the Imperial armor had life support functions, so she took such measures.

I carefully avoided the cultist’s gaze so as not to be detected. If No. 26 were present, it would be different, but without him, I had to be cautious with the soul link.

「What happened? This wasn’t part of the plan, was it?」

[ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZ (The plan changed)]

I explained to her the things I heard from the faceless beings. Flames shot from her pumpkin-colored eyes as she understood my wavelength.

「He’s here?」

[ZZZ (Yes)]

「...We can’t afford to miss him.」

[ZZZ ZZ (Of course)]

We can’t just let a player, especially one who knows about me, go like this. We must capture him by any means necessary.

「What are we going to do?」

[ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZZ (First, take care of the subordinates)]

The subordinates brought by the player are armed with weapons made from Demolishers and Gallagon’s claws. They are formidable enemies who can inflict fatal injuries on me, so I cannot afford to be complacent.

Dealing with them becomes extremely difficult if they are directly commanded by the player.

‘So, we need to strike before they gather.’

I looked down at the cultist captured as a prisoner.

Originally, I planned to use the cultist to instill fear by stripping her skin in front of the enemy. But the situation has changed, so I might need to slightly change the plan.

‘If they’re players, they won’t fall for it naturally.’

What about those who haven’t joined yet?

I reached out to the paralyzed cultist.