Ch.250Cradle of Monsters (1)

The snow-white planet was orbited by a lone spacecraft.

It was the vessel of Siheyon Yujin, who was secretly working to overthrow Akira Yujin, the usurper of House Yugin. Currently, Minseok Yujin, Siheyon’s butler, was serving as acting captain while his master was down on the planet.

In Siheyon’s office, Minseok was handling various duties on her behalf.

He took his eyes off the terminal pad and pressed his fingers against his temple. A report he had received hours ago was adding to his stress.

‘So they found the relic.’

They had finally received communication from the exploration team that had been out of contact due to radio interference.

Yesterday, Siheyon had recovered the relics and was currently returning to the exploration vessel. What he had thought was a foolish errand turned out to be something else entirely.

‘…I still can’t be sure.’

When pioneering new planets, objects resembling ancient relics were occasionally discovered. And none of them ever demonstrated the incredible powers depicted in media. They were simply identified as unique items destined for museums or auction houses.

So whatever Siheyon had found was likely just another auction-worthy item. If that were the case, his master had wasted considerable time on childish treasure hunting.

‘Who knew clones had such side effects.’

While Megacorp prohibits the creation of human clones, Star Union does not. Just as Megacorp modifies employees into Hulk Mutants, Star Union uses clones as materials for military bioweapons. Their cloning technology must be quite advanced.

However, Star Union’s clone cultivation technology has side effects: memory implantation issues, brain disorders, mental instability, and more.

Siheyon Yujin had tried to minimize these issues by applying Megacorp’s genetic modification techniques and the psychic power techniques she had learned from the Cult in her childhood.

In other words, the being down on that white planet—the “cloned Siheyon”—was essentially a culmination of the most advanced technologies from the most developed intelligent beings in the universe. It frustrated Minseok that such a being was distracted by strange legends and myths.

‘If I use what she left behind…’

Minseok pulled out an object from inside his coat.

The small remote control, about the size of a lighter in his hand, was something left to him by “her”—the original Siheyon Yujin.

She had given him a means to stop her clone if it deviated from the established plan.

“Sigh.”

As he was fiddling with the remote while sighing, his terminal pad suddenly lit up. It was a call from the situation room.

“This is Minseok. What’s happening?”

“W-we have an emergency! The satellites installed at the edge of the star system have detected massive warp energy!”

“What?!”

Minseok jumped to his feet at his subordinate’s urgent voice.

“Where is it coming from? Can you identify it?”

“Energy analysis indicates a 78% probability it’s Star Union’s elite fleet! Based on the energy flow, the advance force will arrive within hours!”

“Damn it! Any word from Jax-01? What the hell are they doing over there with no communication?”

“I-I’ll check right away!”

Cursing, Minseok hurried out of the office. As he ran toward the situation room, he issued orders to his subordinate.

“Forget that! Our priority now is retrieving Siheyon. Track the exploration team’s route, input the coordinates, and send a transport ship to that location. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

Siheyon had discovered the relic yesterday and was returning. Given the distance, it would take at least a week for her to return, even at top speed.

‘If Star Union catches her, she’s dead for sure!’

Though this ship had undergone several modifications and had considerable combat power, it wasn’t overwhelming enough to face an elite fleet. They couldn’t even guarantee victory against the fleet’s reconnaissance force.

By the time Minseok reached the situation room, a small spacecraft had been launched toward the white planet.

–

[Bzz Bzzz Bzzz (Anything else left?)]

In the empty cavity, I asked Adhigh Orr. He circled the cavity once on legs that looked as sturdy as a deer’s.

“That” “last” “no” “more”

After learning that the elite fleet was heading here, we hurriedly prepared to leave. While PS-111 checked the ship, Adhigh and I headed to Gallergorn’s Nest.

Upon arriving at the dragon’s nest, we went around waking up all the Gallergorn and explaining the situation. We told them that a very powerful enemy was coming and that we needed to flee.

I had rushed because I thought it would take time to persuade them, but surprisingly, the Gallergorn offered no resistance. As soon as they heard Adhigh’s words, they immediately prepared to leave.

After that, everything proceeded smoothly.

The Green and White Gallergorn flew to the ship carrying young Blue Gallergorn on their backs. Ham Oort, the Black Gallergorn, and I also helped transport the Blue Gallergorn.

After moving the Gallergorn, we turned to the eggs. There were over 50 eggs stored in the dragon’s nest.

Since Gallergorn eggs become impossible to hatch if exposed to cold temperatures for too long, Ham Oort and I, with our large bodies and fast flight speeds, took on the task of moving them.

Six hours had passed since we began transporting the eggs back and forth.

Now only seven eggs remained, which I was holding. I had extended all my corrosion tentacles, each firmly gripping an egg, with the last one clutched by the small arm near my chest.

[Bzz Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz (Since this is the last trip, let’s check other places too)]

“Great One” “thank you”

Adhigh expressed his gratitude as I meticulously checked for any remaining eggs.

When these eggs hatch, the Gallergorn that emerge will become part of our fighting force. With luck, some might even grow into Red Gallergorn like Adhigh.

I was being thorough because missing even one would be problematic, but he seemed to misunderstand, thinking I was being careful because I valued the Gallergorn.

‘No need to correct him, I suppose.’

After leaving the nest where the eggs were stored, we decided to split up and check the surrounding cavities.

This place, being where the eggs were kept, was located in the deepest part of the dragon’s nest. It was my first time actually coming here on foot, rather than just sensing it indirectly through the nest.

I walked along a natural passage formed by hardened minerals while carrying the eggs. Entering a nearby cave room, I found only traces of where eggs had been. Ham Oort had already been there.

‘I’ll check one more place before leaving.’

The last place to check was a large cavity even deeper than the egg storage room. As I passed through a winding passage, a brilliant light struck my eyes.

‘What’s this?’

The light was flowing from inside the large cavity. When I entered, I was startled.

There was a sea of jewels inside.

‘…This is incredible.’

How fitting for the Gallergorn, modeled after Western dragons.

This place, filled with an enormous amount of precious metals, was undoubtedly Odd Grad’s dwelling.

‘Gallergorn do love precious minerals.’

While mythical dragons collect jewels out of greed, Gallergorn gather them for slightly different reasons.

They prefer metals with special properties, like Moonsilver, which amplifies psychic power effects, or Novametal, used as a core material in Lightning God or Imperial Motherships. This behavior seems to have evolved from their vulnerability to energy deficiency when young, becoming a kind of compulsion.

Anyway, the metals in Odd Grad’s dwelling were all unrefined chunks of rare metals. Some still contained large amounts of energy, while others had been depleted and transformed into ordinary jewels.

‘If I weren’t an AMorph, this would be quite a scene.’

Selling just half of these metals would be enough to buy two or three planets with money to spare. After admiring the sea of jewels for a moment, I picked up a few chunks of metal.

‘Sky Mother will need these.’

After leaving this planet, we’re heading to a place that’s quite important for both me and Sky Mother—for my evolution and her ascension to the Incarnate stage.

‘Not until we finish what we want, though.’

Since I was carrying eggs, I couldn’t take much. I used the pincers on my tail to firmly grasp the metal chunks.

‘Now to leave… huh?’

Just as I was about to leave, something caught my eye.

A diamond-shaped stone was mixed among the jewels.

‘What’s that?’

Unlike the other precious metals, which were unrefined and rough, this stone was different. It looked as if it had undergone precise craftsmanship, appearing very clean. Moreover, its surface was densely engraved with tiny characters and patterns.

‘A monolith?’

I picked up the diamond-shaped stone, or rather, monolith. It clearly appeared to be an object touched by civilization.

‘Why would Odd Grad have something like this?’

Thinking of it as an artificial object reminded me of something else.

The ring he possessed that concealed emotions. That too was clearly not something a Gallergorn would typically have.

‘I should examine this when we get back to the ship.’

Odd Grad’s ring is currently in the sample storage on the ship. I had completely forgotten about it after taking it off when consuming the genetic sample.

After securing the diamond monolith, I left the cavity. As I exited, I heard Adhigh running through the passage beyond.

[Bzzzz (Adhigh?)]

“Great One!” “Big trouble!”

[Bzz (Yes?)]

“Little One” “here” “came”

No. 26 is here?

Just as I was about to ask what he meant, a familiar wavelength touched my monster tentacles.

“Big baby! Friend says come out quickly!”

That was definitely No. 26’s wavelength. He had come near the dragon’s nest.

‘Why so suddenly?’

Something bad must have happened. I hurried out of the nest with Adhigh.

As soon as we emerged, I saw a massive steel hulk. A huge ship hovering above the cliffs surrounding the nest.

It was the Jax Alpha-class battleship, the Screamer support ship we had seized from Pyrrha Eleven.

‘Could it be?’

There was only one reason PS-111 would urgently bring the ship here: Star Union’s elite fleet reconnaissance force had entered the star system.

‘They arrived earlier than expected!’

PS-111 had predicted the advance force would take about 18 hours, but that was completely wrong.

‘The Grand Archon!’

He must have intervened. He clearly took measures to make the elite fleet move as quickly as possible.

I flew up with Adhigh and boarded the ship. As we entered the hangar, Green Gallergorn greeted me.

[Bzz Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz (Give these eggs to No. 26)]

“Confirmed”

After handing over what I had collected to the Green Gallergorn, I quickly ran to the situation room.

Entering the situation room, I found PS-111 connected to the ship and Sky Mother waiting for me.

“What’s going on?”

“The reconnaissance force entered the system faster than I anticipated. They will surround this planet within 10 minutes.”

“Anything else unusual?”

Sky Mother answered instead of PS-111.

“They brought a warp finder.”

A warp finder is a device that can track where someone has jumped to by detecting residual energy for a short time. Even if we make a faster-than-light jump right now, they’ll catch up to us quickly.

“What’s the enemy’s scale?”

“Thirty X10-class medium destroyers, three XAX 5-class high-speed battleships, and numerous patrol ships.”

That’s large for a reconnaissance force. They must have prepared thoroughly to finish me off somehow.

‘Even if I tried to annihilate them, it would take considerable time.’

If we mobilized all the Gallergorn right now, completely destroying the reconnaissance force wouldn’t be impossible. The problem is the time it would take.

They arrived one-third faster than PS-111 had predicted. We can’t rule out the possibility that the elite fleet might also arrive much earlier than expected.

‘Perhaps they deployed that reconnaissance force as a delaying tactic.’

They know I can infect and control ships. Or they might have judged that I’ve already acquired space flight capabilities. That’s what would have happened in the game.

That’s why they deliberately assigned warp finders to the reconnaissance force, trying to lure me into fighting them. Since I can’t identify which ships have warp finders, I’d have to destroy them all to avoid being tracked.

‘That would naturally cause delays.’

Even if I annihilate the enemy force and successfully escape, if they gain enough time to track my trail, it’s still advantageous for them.

‘The maximum tracking time with a warp finder is 30 minutes.’

That’s roughly when the elite fleet will arrive.

In other words, I need to annihilate the enemies in less than 30 minutes from now to escape their tracking.

‘That would have been the plan, but…’

Their plan doesn’t account for PS-111, the mutant Screamer with an exceptional brain. Nor do they know how many Gallergorn are loaded on this ship.

I looked at PS-111.

“You said they brought warp finders?”

“Yes.”

“Can you tell which ships they’re on?”

“They’re confirmed to be on five ships.”

“Let me know before we engage them.”

“Understood.”

“You’re not planning to…?”

Sky Mother was startled, having realized what my questions implied.

[Bzz Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz (We’ll destroy those five ships as quickly as possible and leave)]

“…Won’t we run out of time?”

[Bzz Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz (We have no choice. If we don’t deal with this now, things will get worse)]

Until now, I’ve survived while being chased by time.

So I’m familiar with time-limited battles.

‘I’ll finish this in 25 minutes at most.’

The targets are the five ships with warp finders. If I destroy them within 25 minutes, it’s my victory.

With that thought, I left the situation room.

This would be the final battle before leaving the planet.