Ch.104Metallic Gremlin (2)

The white demons clung to the hull.

They tore at the ship with their sharp teeth.

‘It’s too late to avoid them.’

I quickly created corrosive tentacles on the outer hull. Along with bullets fired from the storm gun, my corrosive tentacles rushed at them.

“■!”

Numerous tentacles attached to the metallic gremlins, tearing off their limbs or swallowing them whole. The decay fungus batteries already installed on the outer wall also continuously spewed spores.

Adhigh Orr, who had returned to the hull, and No. 26, who was using “Terror of the Deep,” also fought against them.

Adhigh became a green lightning bolt, cutting through the gremlins, while No. 26 restrained the gremlins to match the storm gun’s firing trajectory. The black hull glistened with the silver blood spilled by the creatures.

We fiercely defended against the metallic gremlin swarm, but it wasn’t easy.

‘There are too many of them.’

I kept dismissing the text boxes that kept appearing. I was getting constant feeding effects from devouring so many metallic gremlins.

Most were either “Metal Consumption,” which I already had, or “Dwarfism,” which I didn’t need. Still, I managed to secure a few useful traits.

‘I would have appreciated this at any other time, but…’

The situation isn’t good right now.

I’d reduced their numbers by about half with my psychic breath, but hundreds still remained. There were so many that no matter how many we killed, their numbers didn’t seem to decrease.

‘And the storm gun has run out of ammunition too.’

At this rate, the best we can hope for is mutual destruction.

While we killed hundreds, hundreds more were gnawing at the hull, leaving the outer wall already in tatters.

[Zzzzz (Everyone come back)]

I can’t delay any longer.

If we wait too long, it will be difficult to use hyperspeed navigation. Hyperspeed puts considerable strain on the hull, and if the entire ship is severely damaged, it could shatter into pieces during navigation.

‘There are still many of them, but…’

More than a hundred metallic gremlins are still attached, but I have no choice.

“Big one! There are too many bad guys!”

“Enemy” “Infinite” “I” “Tired”

I checked if No. 26 and Adhigh Orr, who approached me, were okay.

Apart from looking tired from fighting non-stop, they didn’t appear to have any major injuries.

‘Now that the kids are here, let’s get ready.’

I changed the ship’s structure to make the walls as thick as possible around our room and other important facilities like the reactor.

Then I diverted the remaining energy from the reactor to the hyperspeed engine.

The light-speed engine, which had been corrupted by me into a black sphere, slowly writhed as it absorbed energy.

Even as the engine prepared for activation, the metallic gremlins’ assault continued relentlessly.

With Adhigh and No. 26 withdrawn, defending against their attacks was becoming increasingly difficult.

I tried my best to repel them with corrosive tentacles, but they eventually crawled into the ship.

The ones that invaded the interior wreaked havoc on the facilities as if they owned the place.

If there had been more of them, we would have lost the reactor before the engine could activate.

Just as they were gnawing at the reactor’s outer wall, the ship’s heart signaled that all preparations were complete.

‘Got it!’

Finally, the hyperspeed engine roared to life.

The destination was an area frequented by smugglers. Near our arrival point was a jungle-type planet inhabited by various rare creatures.

A blue light enveloped the entire ship. The distant, scattered starlight distorted strangely.

And everyone inside and outside the ship jumped across space together.

‘Ugh?!’

The moment I realized this, tremendous pressure hit my body. It was due to the shock of the ship exceeding the speed of light and entering the hyperspeed realm.

Even the escape vessel wasn’t this bad. Was it because the ship was larger? Or because it had been damaged by the metallic gremlins?

The ship, protected by solid alloy and special mucus generated for corrosion, twisted like a pretzel.

I could feel it because my body was connected to control the ship. I could tell that the pressure on the hull was not normal.

I spread my senses more closely through the mucus material covering the alloy walls to check the entire ship’s condition. A pain like my whole body was being crushed struck my mind.

“Pain Reduction activated!”

I wanted to disconnect the sensory link immediately, but I had to constantly monitor the ship’s condition.

‘…It will barely hold.’

If the ship was going to break apart, it would have done so already. At this rate, it should hold until we land on the planet.

But pain is a separate issue from survival. Even with Pain Reduction activated, the crushing pain throughout my body made it hard to stay conscious.

“Big one! Hang in there!”

“Great adult!”

I could sense the encouraging waves from No. 26 and Adhigh.

Encouraged by them, I gritted my teeth again.

‘I’ve never died like this even in the game.’

If users in the community heard that I was taken down by mere metallic gremlins, no one would believe it.

Somehow maintaining my focus through the pain, I created corrosive tentacles on the outer wall.

“■■?”

The metallic gremlins were confused when tentacles sprouted from the half-broken ship. I controlled the tentacles to strike them.

‘I need to clear out as many as possible before we arrive.’

It’s difficult to dislodge the ones inside the hull, but not those on the outside.

“■■■■!”

Those hit by the tentacles on the outer wall fell somewhere into space with pitiful screams.

None counterattacked. If they moved carelessly and fell from the ship, they’d end up like their comrades hit by the tentacles.

The problem was the ones inside.

Cunningly, they stopped trying to invade the reactor once the ship entered hyperspeed navigation. They instinctively knew that if the reactor exploded mid-journey, it would be disastrous.

‘But that doesn’t mean I’ll leave them alone.’

Following the tentacles, I created small turrets throughout the ship’s interior to fire decay fungus.

“■■■!”

Those gnawing at the walls inside turned their attention to the new threat.

I cleared out the ones on the outer wall with corrosive tentacles and harassed the ones inside with fungal spores.

Hull condition monitoring, controlling tentacles, and decay fungus organs—I had so much to focus on that my head felt like it would explode.

After that intense struggle, the seemingly endless hyperspeed navigation finally ended.

‘We’ve arrived!’

Beyond the surrounding darkness, I could see a blue planet. It was a planet that pirates infiltrated to capture rare animals.

‘Good! Let’s hold on a little longer!’

I entered the planet’s atmosphere with the metallic gremlins still inside the ship. The entire outer wall heated up intensely, and strong heat penetrated inward.

“Screech!”

The metallic gremlins wailed in the intense heat.

It wasn’t because they were in pain.

Metallic gremlins exert tremendous power in space but become very weak when they enter a planet.

According to their design, metallic gremlins have almost no eyes or sense of smell but instead have organs that detect metal to find food.

Therefore, on planets with a lot of metal mixed in, their excellent metal detection ability becomes a disadvantage. They become confused when metal is detected from all around.

Also, they can only glide in a planet’s atmosphere and lack the propulsion to return to space. Once they enter a planet, they can’t leave.

The only future left for metallic gremlins trapped on a planet is to wander aimlessly until they’re eaten by other predators.

They know this, which is why they’re going wild.

“Keeeeek!”

“Kick! Keek!”

They’re making bizarre noises and trying to escape outside.

They scratched at walls closer to the outside, using their teeth and claws to try to break free.

‘Where do you think you’re going?’

I didn’t let the fleeing ones escape, swallowing them with corrosive tentacles while constantly changing the position of the space they were standing in.

Even if they broke through a wall, the position would change, so they could only continue to wander inside the ship.

Thus, I toyed with the metallic gremlins as we entered the atmosphere.

I could see the blue sea, islands dotted like points in between, and land covered with lush jungle.

With such diverse environments mixed together, the variety of creatures living there would also be diverse.

That means the range of genetic essences I can acquire will be broader.

As I was looking for a place to land, an unwelcome scene flashed before me.

“Hit by the main cannon of a Cult cruiser.”

“The hull split in two. Cannot recover.”

“The reactor exploded.”

“I died.”

‘What?’

Realizing that what just passed was a future prediction from my predator sense, I quickly turned the ship sharply to the right.

A massive heat ray flew from inland and blew away the rear of the ship, where the propulsion system and situation room were located.

‘Damn!’

The ship was under my control, but I couldn’t maintain altitude flight with the propulsion system gone.

The ship carrying me and the kids began to plummet out of control.

I quickly checked what was at the point where we were crashing. It was shallow sea adjacent to land.

‘If it’s a cruiser’s main cannon, there’s a cooldown time. If we can make an emergency landing in the sea before then…’

But the mysterious enemy didn’t seem to want to let me land safely. Diamond-shaped carrier aircraft emerged from the jungle inland.

‘What’s going on?’

According to the information remaining on this ship, no other forces came here except pirates. At least, there was no record of the pirates I had eaten engaging with other forces on this planet.

‘…It’s other pirates.’

Judging by their relentless attack, they were clearly from a higher cartel than the previous owners of this merchant ship.

Of all days, other pirates had to come here the day I arrived. First a swarm of gremlins, now a swarm of new pirates—misfortunes were coming one after another.

‘Stay calm. If we lose our heads, we all die.’

Rather than lamenting my bad luck, I needed to find a way out of this crisis.

‘If we don’t land before their main cannon activates again, we’re finished.’

But the enemy’s carrier aircraft wouldn’t let me land safely. With the ship’s current damage, it could easily be destroyed by the plasma rounds fired by the aircraft.

‘At least I can survive.’

As long as the reactor doesn’t explode in mid-air, I won’t die.

But the same can’t be said for the kids with me.

‘…I need to evacuate the kids first.’

The problem is whether those aircraft will leave them alone.

If they target Adhigh and No. 26 with their fire, the kids will be in great danger.

At least Adhigh can fly and escape, but No. 26 can’t.

‘Since we’re heading for the sea, let’s send the kids ahead.’

The sea is No. 26’s home ground. Once in the water, it can escape with Adhigh on its own.

In my case, I secured a new escape method while eating the metallic gremlins earlier. So I can stay on the ship until the last moment and still escape.

‘How to draw their attention… ah.’

While pondering for a solution, an idea came to me.

The metallic gremlins causing havoc in my ship. I should use them.

I modified the ship’s structure to create a large hole in one of the walls.

The blue sea was visible through the hole, and a salty smell rushed in, filling the space.

[Zzzzz zzzzz (You go first)]

“Big one?”

“Adult?”

I changed the shape of the metal walls to wrap around No. 26 and Adhigh. Realizing what I was trying to do, No. 26 quickly sent out a wave.

“Let’s go together!”

[Zz zzz zzzz zzz zz (I’ll send you ahead first)]

“You can’t stay here! It’s dangerous!”

Without answering, I focused on how the situation outside was changing. The carrier aircraft were gradually getting closer to the ship.

‘Good.’

When the plasma launchers on the aircraft aimed at the ship, I removed some of the walls inside the ship.

The metallic gremlins inside rushed out. They glided with their momentum and attached themselves to the aircraft.

‘Now!’

I struck the metal sphere I had created to protect No. 26 and Adhigh with my tentacles. Just before the sphere separated, a thin tentacle sprouted from No. 26 and touched my auxiliary organ.

At that moment, I could feel its thoughts.

Fear of what was to come, a sense of helplessness at being unable to do anything, and a desperate plea for me not to die.

To that complex emotional message, I replied:

That I would absolutely not die.

And that we would meet again soon.

“Promise!”

The moment it shouted, the sphere separated.

The sphere encasing Adhigh and No. 26 was ejected through the pre-made hole to the outside of the ship.

I concentrated to ensure they safely fell into the sea. The aircraft, distracted by the gremlins, didn’t react at all to the falling metal sphere.

‘Done.’

I had done everything I could on the ship. After releasing the corrosive tentacles, I ran toward the hole through which the sphere had been ejected.

And I jumped out of the ship.

In the distance, I could see a heat ray coming from the jungle. The ray mercilessly penetrated the ship, and a tremendous explosion engulfed me.

“Pain Reduction activated!”

‘Ugh!’

In the burning flames, I spread all my combat arms and tail wide.

This was to use “Gliding Membrane,” one of the traits I had acquired from eating the metallic gremlins.

“Gliding Membrane: Helps you glide stably from high altitudes.”

A long membrane connecting my combat arms to the middle of my tail spread out, and my body rose, riding the flow of air.

The gliding membrane mimicked the gliding form of a wingsuit or flying squirrel, but few would associate this with an AMorph with four arms and a long tail.

As I glided through the sky, reducing my falling speed, the carrier aircraft chased after me.

Plasma rounds fired by them grazed my head and back.

I quickly folded the membrane attached to my arms. My body fell rapidly, and the aircraft followed in a steep dive.

‘Got you.’

I spread the gliding membrane again to close the distance with the diving aircraft and used another trait I had acquired from the metallic gremlins.

“Signal Interference: Emits waves that cause temporary malfunctions in electrically operated devices.”

That trait was “Signal Interference.”

I had acquired signal interference, one of the components of hijacking, earlier.

From the double-ridged plates on my back, waves that could damage machines flowed out and enveloped the nearby aircraft.

The aircraft’s power went out, and they began to fall helplessly.

Before they fell, I could see the pilots behind the reinforced glass, not knowing what to do in the face of this unexpected situation.

After neutralizing the aircraft, I quickly flew into the jungle using the gliding membrane.

‘The signal interference effect doesn’t last long.’

If they were skilled pilots, they would quickly regain control of their aircraft.

As I expected, one of the falling aircraft quickly took flight again, while the rest crashed into the forest.

The aircraft tried to chase me, but I had already approached the forest full of giant trees.

Folding the membrane, I fell into the jungle, breaking trees as I went.

After toppling numerous giant trees, I managed to land safely. As soon as I landed, I hid my body under a pile of fallen trees.

When a pursuing aircraft was about to pass by, mistaking me for a rock, I used Gaze of Terror on the pilot.

‘Where do you think you’re going?’

The aircraft that had been flying smoothly suddenly changed direction and crashed into a tree. With its wing half-destroyed, the aircraft spun in place before crashing to the ground.

Two pilots crawled out of the crashed aircraft. One had horns, clearly a Cult, while the other was human.

Dazed from the impact of the crash, they began to flee as soon as I revealed myself.

‘You dare to run?’

I sent out corrosive tentacles to catch them.

“W-wait! P-please wait!”

“S-save us!”

The captured pilots struggled.

Normally, I would have used parasites or something else to exploit them, but right now I wasn’t in the mood.

It had been a while since I was truly angry.

“G-gaaaah!”

“S-stop! Aaaagh!”

I slowly devoured the human from the feet up with corrosive tentacles, and I grabbed the Cult’s arms and legs with two tentacles and pulled.

‘You really messed with the wrong person.’

First, the rare metallic gremlin swarm event, which is less likely than being struck by lightning twice.

Then, just when I thought I’d avoided that, a Space Dog appears.

And then they blow up the ship I had obtained with such difficulty with their main cannon.

‘And they almost got Adhigh and No. 26 killed too.’

For these reasons, my mood is extremely poor right now.

‘You dare to provoke me in a jungle area?’

My most confident battlefield isn’t a spaceship or a space city.

After I annihilated four clans on a jungle-type planet in the past.

Even the rankers of Space Survival would rather commit suicide than fight me in the jungle.

In other words, guerrilla warfare in the jungle is what I do best.

“Gaaak!”

The Cult, held by two tentacles, screamed loudly until his upper and lower body were separated, and then he finally went quiet.

“G-guh, ugh…”

The other one emitted a faint moan before being crushed to death by the tentacles.

After slowly killing and eating them both, I left that place.

I was going after the pilots in the other crashed aircraft. To kill them all.

I won’t leave a single pirate alive on this planet.