Ch.280Divine Beast and Wild Beast (1)

In the pitch-black space where darkness should reign, a pure white cloud has taken position.

When numerous metallic gremlins with silver skin gather, they typically look like that.

‘There are a lot of them.’

There are at least twice as many as the metallic gremlin horde I encountered before becoming a Subadult. Back then it was a medium-sized group, but looking at the ones flying toward us now, this is larger. A large-scale horde.

‘They must easily exceed 20,000.’

Perhaps even more. Large-scale hordes are never small in number.

Unlike medium-sized groups led by a single “Warpboy,” large-scale hordes include various types of higher species. Multiple Warpboys, combat-specialized higher species like “Wolfram Goblins,” and so on.

With members specialized for different roles, large-scale hordes move systematically. Like army ants, you could say. You can’t approach this fight the same way as battling a medium-sized group.

The infamous space plunderer legion approaches to devour Kesha Arma.

Against them, the space fortress begins its interception.

One by one, the super-large fortress cannons spew fire. Psychic heat rays as thick as my Psychic Breath cut through the sea of stars.

The metallic gremlin horde quickly disperses to avoid the attack. Some sluggish ones are hit by the heat rays and disappear without a trace.

The first volley wasn’t very effective. As the super-large fortress cannons enter a cooling period, hundreds of anti-aircraft guns designed for intercepting carrier-based aircraft fill the gap.

Meanwhile, the widely spread metallic gremlins regroup and advance toward the fortress.

Now it’s my turn to step up.

The injuries from my fight with Cynthia haven’t fully healed yet, but that doesn’t matter.

When fighting multiple enemies in space, what you need is agile maneuverability, and…

‘Long-range attack capability.’

A Psychic Breath with a spoonful of ‘Power of Deep’ mixed in more than meets those conditions.

The color of the black carapace protecting my body changes. Purple, green, and all kinds of colors mix together. Chaotic colors dance and move across the stage of my carapace.

At the end are the tentacles of a monster. The tentacles hanging like a mane from my neck and back carapace glow with an eerie color and sway. The ominous and indescribable power escaping from the tentacles condenses in front of my muzzle.

The metallic gremlins closing the distance with me haven’t detected the danger yet. The creatures that looked like tiny dust particles forming a cloud now appear almost as large as a fingernail.

I throw a bubble mass filled with chaos and malice at them. Bubbles ridiculously small compared to this universe, or even compared to me.

The sphere collides with some unfortunate plunderer. The bubble bursts like a breaking glass bottle and covers the plunderer’s body.

That was just the beginning.

“■■?!”

The Psychic Breath enhanced by the Power of Deep is an even more voracious predator than I am. Those bubbles, moved by unknown forces, never stop until they devour all nearby organic matter without a trace.

“■■■■■!”

“■■■!”

The first metallic gremlin hit was consumed by the Psychic Breath without a finger left behind. The life-devouring bubbles attached to its comrades as well.

The panicked creatures tried to shake off the bubbles, but it was useless. If they tried to brush them off with fingers, the bubbles would tear off their fingers; if they tried to remove them with teeth, the bubbles would enter their bodies and eat their internal organs first.

What started with one victim soon grew to dozens, then hundreds. Then the bodies of the creatures suffering from the bubbles began to glow with a blue light.

‘So they’re Warpboys.’

The Warpboys are trying to send their bubble-covered comrades to another space using their unique skill, “Warp Guide.” The auxiliary organs under my jaw detected strong energy emanating from two distant Warpboys.

I immediately fired a regular Psychic Breath in that direction. A massive purple flame filled the empty, zero-gravity world.

One Warpboy preparing for faster-than-light navigation canceled its Warp Guide and quickly dodged to the side. Thanks to its quick judgment, it managed to survive. The other one couldn’t dodge in time and was oxidized in the dragon’s breath along with its other comrades.

However, thanks to its sacrifice, the bubble-hit metallic gremlins disappeared somewhere in space.

“■■■■”

“■■■”

Their formation changed rapidly, just as when they avoided the fortress cannons. This time it’s shaped like a fishing net. They’re spreading out while simultaneously trying to surround both me and the fortress.

‘This is why large-scale hordes are so troublesome.’

Just as a Warpboy leads medium-sized groups, large-scale hordes also have individuals in charge of command.

‘Titaboss.’

Titaboss is specialized in supporting the horde, secreting special substances that strengthen allies. As an individual commanding tens of thousands, its intelligence is quite high.

‘I need to find it as quickly as possible.’

I don’t know when Cynthia inside the fortress might try to escape. I damaged the silos to prevent transport ships from launching, so she’s probably looking for another method by now.

I fired an enhanced Psychic Breath toward the scattered creatures. Those who saw the bubble-form breath quickly dispersed.

‘Where is it?’

In the game, Titaboss hides among its kind during battle to protect itself. To draw it out, I need to stir up the entire horde like I’m doing now.

While I was searching for the leader, they prepared to counterattack. Individuals three times larger than regular metallic gremlins, with arms dyed black, stepped forward.

The name of those large monsters is Wolfram Goblin. As they raised their black arms, rock-like objects were fired from the tips. The breath I shot exploded mid-air after being hit by the flying rock chunks.

‘…Tsk.’

Wolfram Goblin is a higher species of metallic gremlin responsible for long-range suppression. Those rock chunks they just fired are excrement from digesting ships they’ve eaten.

Don’t underestimate them just because they’re excrement. Those rocks are extremely hard and full of microorganisms that corrode ships.

‘It doesn’t matter to me, but it’s still annoying.’

Thanks to Titaboss’s intelligent response, my enhanced Psychic Breath was neutralized.

They seem intent on close combat, as they’ve greatly increased their flying speed.

Befitting monsters that devour ships, metallic gremlins have hard and sharp teeth. One or two biting me would only leave scratches, but tens of thousands is a different story.

‘This won’t work. I’ll have to use that.’

The trait that transforms my body into a giant monster: “Bone Beast.”

It was a card I was saving for unexpected situations during the fortress assault.

‘Now is the time to use it.’

The metallic gremlin horde pounces on me.

Hideous mouths reminiscent of lampreys, without eyes or noses, stuck to my carapace like suction cups. They hung from me like hungry mosquitoes, sinking their teeth into my body.

I grabbed a few clinging to my back with my combat arms. When the “Feeding Leech’s Hand” effect activated, the metallic gremlins’ bodies shriveled like mummies.

Despite seeing their comrades turn into mummies, they stubbornly continued to chew on me. They probably believed I would eventually stop breathing if they kept at it. Indeed, the wounds on my carapace were visibly increasing.

But that was a wrong judgment.

‘Good.’

Thanks to the Feeding Leech’s Hand, I gathered enough energy. Feeling a strange sense of fullness, I activated Bone Beast.

“■?!”

“■■!”

“■!”

They say if you flex a muscle where a mosquito is sucking blood, the blood rushes in at once and the mosquito bursts. I’ve never tried it so I don’t know what it looks like, but I think I understand the feeling now.

Because that’s exactly what happened to the metallic gremlins clinging to my body.

My body grows rapidly. The thickness of the carapace, the length of the tail, wings and arms, head carapace, tentacles. All elements constituting an AMorph expand several times over.

“■■■■!”

Seeing me transform, they try to retreat. Having completed my transformation in an instant, I grabbed the fleeing creatures.

No, “grabbed” isn’t the right expression. The corrosive tentacles protruding from my back merely swung through the air like someone waving a hand at flying insects.

But the destructive power created by the 3-meter-thick corrosive tentacles was truly enormous. Only unrecognizable pieces of flesh remained where the tentacles had passed.

The metallic gremlin horde hastily retreated at the gruesome death of their comrades. Tens of thousands of space plunderers were now tense at the sight of just one of me.

Of course, anyone would react that way if a 25-meter creature suddenly transformed into an 80-meter giant monster.

‘It’s been a while since I used this.’

When I fought Jason before, I exceeded 300 meters, but I’m not that big now. Back then I used “King of Monsters” together with Bone Beast, but this is the normal transformed state of Bone Beast.

Seeing me suddenly grow enormous, Titaboss seems to have decided it needed to move carefully. The creatures not attacking the fortress changed positions. The metallic gremlins maintained their distance from me, while the Wolfram Goblins came to the front.

‘Do they think they can win by fighting from a distance?’

It’s not just my body that’s grown larger. The power of my breath increases proportionally as well.

As I was about to unleash my Psychic Breath, suddenly the Wolfram Goblins’ heads were crushed. Then other creatures’ heads and bodies began to crumble as if placed in an invisible compactor.

“■■■!”

“■■■■■!”

‘What’s this?’

As the confused Wolfram Goblins wailed and retreated, something small flew to my side.

“You look like you’re having trouble. Need some help?”

The owner of amber eyes containing the contradictory emotions of playfulness and fighting spirit sent a thought wave.

Why does it sound so welcome despite not seeing her for just a few hours? I replied to her briefly.

[Does this look difficult to you?]

“Why else would you use Bone Beast if it wasn’t difficult?”

Since she wasn’t wrong, I changed the subject.

[What about you? Are you alright? You just finished your stage advancement.]

“Don’t worry. I’m overflowing with power.”

Griffon, Sky Mother said that while spreading her brilliant wings flowing with agate colors. The jewel-like light gently swaying along her feathers reminded me of desert sand scattered by the wind.

Those mystical wings that weren’t there before were proof that she had reached the upper level of Incarnate stage.

‘That’s a relief.’

With her by my side, there’s no way we could lose.

Slightly nodding my giant head carapace, I turned my attention back to the metallic gremlins.

Despite the appearance of a new enemy, they show no signs of retreating.

‘Good posture, but…’

A leader responsible for many lives should know when to retreat when necessary.

Toward the foolish creatures, the monster’s tentacles once again spewed flames.

Now for round two.