Ch.210Black and White (3)

“Hidden Kin””Bring”

[Come here when things are organized]

“Understood”

Nel Germa bowed to me respectfully, then took flight.

Originally, he was destined to be eaten and killed by Adhigh here, but plans changed. Instead of sacrificing him, I chose to save him.

With the plan changed, he moved on to his next task: gathering his scattered kin.

Most of the surviving Gallergorn are Hatchlings, and only a few Green Gallergorn remain to protect them. He seems to have judged that the safest place on this planet is near me, so he said he would bring his kin here.

‘I don’t plan to eat them right away either.’

My original plan was to obtain wings and then rescue Adhigh, not to wage all-out war with the black dragon’s group.

Since coming to this planet, I’ve fought Gallergorn only twice: once against Ham Oort alone, and once when I killed 10 Green Gallergorn. Both times I won easily because circumstances aligned well, but that was just good luck.

What if Ham Oort had subordinates? Or if there were 10 Green Gallergorn led by three or four White Gallergorn? It wouldn’t have been an easy fight.

‘Gallergorn are strong individually, but even stronger in groups.’

Just as lions in Africa form prides to hunt dangerous herbivores, Gallergorn become extremely dangerous when properly grouped. They’re like an upgraded version of the Glacier Fiend with its minions. Multiple Gallergorn groups are essentially living fighter squadrons.

‘So I need to strike quickly before they prepare.’

When they discover that the Green Gallergorn sent to pursue Ham Oort’s remnants have been annihilated, they’ll sense something is wrong. The black dragon Odd Grad is older than any Gallergorn on this planet. He’ll know how to respond when a powerful enemy appears.

In other words, I need to shake them up before they can establish a defensive posture.

‘Fortunately, Nel Germa knew a lot of useful information.’

Like Ham Oort, he had belonged to the black dragon Odd Grad’s group. So he knew exactly how many White Gallergorn were in the group.

‘There are 19 White Gallergorn in total.’

Originally there were 24, but when 4 followed Ham Oort out of the group, they became 19. Of these, 12 are young individuals who molted recently. They’re evenly split between males and females.

However, 7 are mature individuals who have spent a long time since molting. They’re not as old as Black Gallergorn, but they seem quite aged.

In the game, age differences didn’t matter, but this is reality. Experience and combat history make a significant difference.

‘Just look at Ham Oort—there’s definitely a difference.’

And those 7 are Odd Grad’s beloved companions who receive the black dragon’s care. Even Nel Germa emphasized how particularly dangerous they are. It’s best to assume they’re at least Ham Oort’s level.

‘Let’s plan to eliminate the weaker ones first.’

According to him, any White Gallergorn will work as material for Adhigh’s growth. At least, that’s what the Gallergorn who know his secret said.

‘I’ll use the first one as food, and the rest…’

I’ll gain as many traits as I can by eating them, then try to recruit the rest as allies. In other times I would eat them all, but now we need to increase our numbers.

‘I already know when they go hunting.’

The 7 always remain in the nest attending to Odd Grad. The 12 leave the nest once every three to four days to hunt for food.

‘According to Nel Germa, there isn’t much time left before they hunt again.’

They don’t yet know that the Green Gallergorn tracking team has been killed. Therefore, they’re likely to send out hunters before learning about the tracking team’s death. However, Gallergorn’s sense of time is subtly different from humans’, so I can’t rely solely on his word.

‘Surveillance and preparation. We need both.’

While monitoring the nest’s activity, I also need to prepare for battle before they emerge.

That’s what I—no, what we—need to do now.

With the information from Nel Germa, I formulated a rough plan and called everyone.

“That’s definitely a good plan. Just one change.”

[What part concerns you?]

“I’d be better than PS-111 for nest surveillance. I have better vision and more experience.”

“I must disagree. My detection system covers a 360-degree range…”

I had planned to assign nest surveillance to PS-111 for two reasons.

His psychic power detection ability and agility.

26 is our top expert on psychic power, but he moves slowly on land. If Gallergorn caught him, he’d have trouble escaping. PS-111, while inferior in detection ability, is very nimble.

‘No. Her point makes sense too.’

Sky Mother may have weaker psychic power detection, but her vision is excellent. PS-111 might disagree, but from what I’ve seen, the difference isn’t that significant.

Plus, she’s a ranker like me. She naturally has experience hunting Gallergorn.

‘The concern is that this isn’t like the game.’

Unlike PS-111, who’s rigid because he’s a machine, she has flexible judgment. Even if things go wrong, she’ll easily escape from crisis.

[You’re right. I’ll leave that part to Sky Mother]

“Got it.”

[Instead, PS-111 will move with No. 26]

“Understood.”

“Friend, trust me!”

No. 26 and PS-111 will guard the group Nel Germa brings. Though Nel Germa didn’t say it, it’s hard to believe the old black dragon sent only one tracking team.

‘There must be more Green Gallergorn tracking teams.’

If I assign No. 26 and PS-111 to Nel Germa, they can handle any tracking teams they encounter.

[Adhigh. You’ll come with me]

Finally, Adhigh will move with me.

For two reasons.

To train him in combat, and to feed him a new apex.

While White Gallergorn are key to his growth, we don’t know how other food might affect him. Though unlikely, it might greatly contribute to his growth.

‘Either way, it’s not a loss.’

Apex creatures contain a lot of energy, making them good food for Adhigh who just molted.

And taking him apex hunting will help him hone his abilities.

To prepare for the coming battle, he needs to fully master his abilities. Nothing helps him adapt better than fighting strong opponents.

[When Nel Germa arrives, take them to the cruiser]

“Will that be okay?”

[If we leave Blue Gallergorn outside, they’ll freeze to death. They can only survive in the cruiser]

I understand Sky Mother’s concern, but there’s no choice. Having lost the dragon’s nest, they need the warmth of the cruiser to survive.

Just then, Nel Germa returned.

“Survival””Kin””All?”

“All”

“Eggs?””Where?”

“Odd Grad””Took”

Nel Germa brought 3 Green Gallergorn and 5 Blue Gallergorn. All the White Gallergorn were killed directly by Odd Grad.

‘Not many.’

They have 19 White Gallergorn, while we have only 9 in total. Even with Adhigh, just 10. We’re hopelessly outnumbered.

Disappointing, but expected.

Adhigh, however, trembled. He stayed in the nest with the hatchlings when captured by Ham Oort. He knows better than anyone how many Blue Gallergorn died.

Normally I would comfort him, but not this time.

‘Anger helps in battle.’

It helps you exceed limits you didn’t know you had.

Of course, being consumed by anger prevents clear judgment, but that’s not an issue here. I’ll regulate his emotions.

[Ask them where they want to go]

“I’ll explain as we go. Follow me.”

“Agree””All””Move”

Everyone started moving as planned. Only Adhigh and I remained.

“Great One””I””Shocked””Young Kin””Death””Unwanted”

[Yes]

“Young Kin””Sin””None””Odd Grad””Bad”

In truth, before things turned out this way, I had planned to eat all the Gallergorn, but I didn’t mention that.

Instead, I said something else.

[You must take revenge]

“Agree””Revenge””Necessary”

[Odd Grad, who abandoned you, killed both mothers and young offspring]

“Agree”

When he encountered the monster’s tentacle-created wavelength, flames shot from his eyes. Not metaphorically—purple flames actually rose above his amethyst pupils. His latent psychic power was affected and flowed outside his body.

[Odd Grad must pay with death. His group too]

“Agree!””Odd Grad””Death””Necessary!””Necessary!”

Adhigh nodded vigorously.

With this, I can take the genetic essence of Gallergorn without damaging my relationship with him. Though it’s a bit disappointing I can’t eat the Blue Gallergorn.

‘Regardless, Odd Grad must die.’

Not just because he’ll attack me, or because I need his genetic essence.

He’s the one who abandoned Adhigh. The being who inflicted an indelible wound on someone I care about.

‘When all preparations are complete…’

Odd Grad will die by my hand.

–

The ice plains where the Snake King dwells.

Above the plains, whose ground had become unstable due to a mysterious recent earthquake, 10 creatures with green scales were flying.

They were a tracking team sent by Odd Grad, searching for the remnants serving the white queen Ham Oort.

After thoroughly examining the ice plains, the Gallergorn group determined no enemies were there. Their next destination was far from their nest—the frozen ravine beyond the plains. Though it was the Beast King’s territory, they weren’t concerned.

The Beast King might be invincible on land but cannot fly. Even if they encountered him, they could always escape.

So the Gallergorn group invaded the Beast King’s domain without hindrance.

The 10 winged dragons crossed between the deep natural ravines without worry. When they reached about halfway through the ravine, the lead Gallergorn noticed something.

Something glinted in the depths where light barely penetrated.

“Stop”

“Traitors””Found?”

“Confirm””Attempt”

Just as the lead Gallergorn approached the light…

Dozens of red lights appeared on the cliff where the light was located.

“Enemy””Att—”

Sensing danger, the Gallergorn urgently tried to emit thought waves. But his kin couldn’t hear them.

Some unknown wavelength was blocking their communication.

While they were confused by the failure of their thought waves, the red lights leaped from the cliff. Dozens of unidentified creatures with multiple legs climbed onto his body.

He tried to shake them off, but it was useless. They mercilessly tore at his wings with sharp claws and teeth.

Within seconds, his body covered in blood, he plummeted into the bottomless depths.

He hoped his kin had escaped safely while he was attacked, but reality betrayed his expectations.

All 9 of his companions were also falling into the abyss.

Above on the cliff, more red lights emotionlessly watched them fall.

“10 hostile organisms neutralized. Converting to energy supply.”

“Based on energy amount, ‘Pyrrha Eleven’ will recover to 75%. Expected to resume activity.”

“Deploying recovery and supply teams…”

Even as he fell, the red lights continued making incomprehensible sounds.

The Green Gallergorn could never understand what those sounds meant.