233

Ep. 233

Shadows spread over countless branches. This is because the scattered clouds came back and blocked the sunlight.

In the cool gray light, we followed the trail of the Screamer.

The footprints that had been seen sparsely became more and more numerous. In addition to simple marks on the ground, the trees and rocks embedded in the ground were also filled with marks left by sharp alloy claws.

'It's not just one or two.'

Since the Screamer has eight legs, it was bound to leave a lot of footprints, but even taking that into account, there were too many footprints. Enough to number more than a dozen.

"How many Screamers were sent to the mission?"

I used the stored genetic information to imitate a voice and asked PS-111 a question.

"At the start of the mission, 300 units were deployed."

"300? "There are quite a few."

I was a little surprised when I heard his answer.

Considering the fact that regular screamers are almost treated as biological drones in Star Union, it is not particularly unusual for 300 screamers to be deployed. In games, when large-scale ground battles take place, thousands of screamers are often deployed.

However, this is due to the players' command. It is rare for Star Union regular troops to deploy only screamers.

Screamers have strong combat power, but have the disadvantage of lacking strategic thinking and flexibility. Therefore, we cannot respond properly when unexpected situations occur.

'Originally, there was a need for someone to fill in the missing parts, but…'

Mutant Screamer solved the shortcomings of the old model by dividing it into two categories: a general model and a commander-level model. You can tell just by looking at PS-111 that the Mutant Screamer's commander model has excellent strategic judgment.

When fighting Od Grad, he immediately recognized the signal I sent and came with a cruiser. A normal screamer would never have made that decision.

'But the good news is that the number would have decreased considerably by now.'

As the entire planet is teeming with dangerous creatures, it is unlikely that the 300 will remain intact. In fact, wasn't PS-111 also destroyed in half after being attacked by Ice Horror?

"How much is left? 200? 250?"

"It is believed that the total number has not decreased significantly from 300."

"Why?"

Although the Mutant Screamer is strong, it is not immune to Apex creatures such as Ice Horrors or Glacier Fiends.

PS-111, who was searching the trail with a detection period sticking out of his eye, answered.

"According to the data stored in my brain, the battleship of the former main controller 'Pira Eleven' is equipped with production facilities for mutant screamers."

"what?"

"As long as there is organic matter that can be used as an energy source material with a large amount of genetic information, the production of the S model screamer is possible."

Due to the setting, the Screamer is strongly perceived as an expendable item, so it is not often supported by ships. The only thing that is possible is to provide support fire to the fleet waiting in orbit after deploying the Screamer?

However, since the Mutant Screamer has higher strategic utility than the old model, it seems that a separate support ship was prepared.

"Considering the size of the Screamer production line, I think it would take a Jaxx Alpha-class battleship to accommodate the facility. "At least everything except those for ship maintenance will have to be filled with repair facilities."

"Currently, we cannot give an exact answer because the data has been lost, so this is considered a reasonable guess."

The XAX01 class battleship is named after the capital city of the Star Union. This ship, so-called Jax Alpha, is the largest and most well-armed among the Star Union warships.

Of course, in this case, it has been converted into a screamer support box, so it will be very different from the original form. All internal facilities and equipment would have been removed and replaced with screamer-related facilities. Only the minimum equipment necessary to operate the ship will remain.

"Do you remember where you landed?"

"sorry. "Cannot be confirmed due to data loss."

The overall length of the Sachs Alpha-class battleship is slightly less than 1 km. I haven't seen any traces of a ship of that huge size landing in this area.

Moreover, with a ship of that size entering the planet's atmosphere, there is no way the Gallagons would miss it. Since there are no such words, it must be assumed that it has top-level hiding abilities.

When I thought about it that way, something felt strange.

"You said your goal was to catch me, right?"

"If you are referring to Special Objective A set by former main controller 'Pira Eleven', then that is correct."

"300 Screamers capable of self-repair. "Why have they stayed quiet until now when they can produce additional products there?"

Looking back, there were several opportunities for them to attack me. When he first came to the planet, when he was weakened after fighting Jason, when he was ambushed by Od Grad, etc.

But they never systematically gathered together to attack me. The fact that the commander model was deployed to compensate for the Screamer's weaknesses is in vain. The only screamers I've seen so far were the ones who were left behind.

Then there is only one answer. It means that there is a problem with Pyrrha Eleven.

The guy was silent for a moment before answering my question.

"I don't know about that part."

"You don't know?"

"This is because the memory data was corrupted during the system reboot process. But…"

The guy mechanically bobbed his head. It looked like a person was pressing their temples to force themselves to remember something they couldn't remember.

"In my last memory, Para Eleven was in a dormant state, having been greatly damaged due to some circumstances."

"It's dormant? "Were you attacked by Gallagon?"

"no. Pyrrha Eleven is…excuse me. "I was damaged by my failure to take the actions necessary to achieve my goals."

To sum up what he said, it was clear that Pyrrha Eleven had been in a situation where she could not function normally.

'Come to think of it, the guy I met when I went to catch Winter Walker said something similar.'

He clearly said that his orders were delayed. Other people who came into the forest after killing Jason said the same thing.

Looking at that, it would seem that their leader, Pyrrha Eleven, was inactive until relatively recently.

"These traces are proof that it is active again."

"It's a reasonable guess."

There was a high probability that a battle would occur, but there was no useful information. There was little to know except that there were multiple enemies we were pursuing.

'Did PS-111 say it can control lower-level entities?'

When I first met him, he said: This means that lower-level models can physically touch circuits and take control of them. It would be nice to be able to take away a commander-level object, but Pyrrha Eleven said that it was impossible because the security of the control area had been improved.

'I need to capture some of the Screamers alive.'

Then, you will be able to get the necessary information, such as where the battleship landed and their plans.

Even after the conversation was over, we continued following the trail for a while.

At first, it was full of footprints, but as time passed, other traces became noticeable. The torn remains of creatures were scattered around the area where the footprints were.

"It's about distributing energy."

"I think so."

PS-111, which has been implanted with Blood River's functions, can supply energy to the body by absorbing bioenergy in addition to consuming meat through the mouth. This one is an exception, but the original Screamer obtains nutrition by sucking small prey into an absorption tube attached to its mouth.

'The blood has hardened for a long time.'

Because it was a dry and cool place, the body pieces were still decomposing slowly. Thanks to this, I was able to guess a little bit about how they hunted.

'There are people who say they have production facilities but have remodeled them.'

Just as PS-111 upgraded its body by absorbing genes, some of the enemy screamers also changed to suit their environment.

'…For example, a means of long-distance attack.'

I pulled out a bullet as big as my finger from the pool of blood. It looked similar to a storm gun's depleted uranium bullet, but was more threatening than that.

"Do you know what this is?"

"It has a similar design to APDT's depleted uranium bomb, but looking at its internal structure, it can be seen that it has been modified into a cluster bomb."

"okay. "There are black silver pieces mixed inside."

When the crushed bullet was shaken off, a small amount of black silver alloy fragments were found inside. Although it was never a large amount, it was an amount that could pose a fatal threat to certain species.

And on this planet, there is only one type of creature that can inflict significant damage with a cluster bomb containing black silver.

'Gallagon!'

I think I know where they are aiming.

"Do you know where Od Grad's nest is?"

"yes. "This way."

"I don't have time, so get on top of me and guide me."

One o'clock was urgent, so I put down all the bodies on my back and put PS-111 on my head. And I also sang No. 26 and Aadhai.

[Zuzuzu zuzzuzuzu (I don't have time, so get on top of me)]

｢Don't you take the food?｣

[Zuzuzu zuzuz zuzuzu (Let's come back and get it later)]

No. 26 didn't ask any more questions about my serious mood and calmly asked me. climbed on top of the body No. 26 shrunk his body and was held in his small arms on his chest.

I held him tightly and called Aadhai.

[Zuzuzu Zuzuzu Zuzuzu (I'm going to fly. Get ready)]

"Where are you going?"

[Zuzuzu Zuzuzu Zuzuzu (I'm going to Od Grad's nest)]

I spread out my folded wings. A huge membrane spread and my body rapidly soared upward. Adhai chased after me as I flew up, smashing the branches.

｢Nest｣｢Is it dangerous?｣

[Zuzuzu (probably)]

"You can just go straight in this direction."

Adhai also became very nervous when he heard that the nest might be in danger. I flew at full speed in the direction PS-111 was leading.

During the flight, I kept watch below with an auxiliary device in case screamers might shoot from the forest. Even when the shadows of Aadhai and I passed by, no reaction was felt from below.

'…the situation is not good.'

There must have been hundreds of screamers milling around somewhere in that forest, but it was extremely quiet. I don't know what the plan was, but it was never a good thing.

As a result of flying for nearly half a day while maintaining tension, the cliffs where the dragon's nest that PS-111 had mentioned was located began to be visible.

There were no screamers or other creatures roaming around the cliff.

'Wait a minute you can't see anything?'

By now, Adhaj's representative, Nell Germa, has already returned. As we get closer to the nest, one or two gallagons should make an appearance.

｢Big adult｣｢Something｣｢Strange｣｢A crowd｣｢Border｣｢Nothing｣ A

thought wave flowed, wondering if Aadhai felt the same way as me.

Gallagons always keep a guard station in their nest due to natural enemies such as Skywhale. Green Gallagons and White Gallagons take turns guarding the nest, as it may be attacked unexpectedly at any moment.

If not, something is definitely wrong.

I was about to warn Aadhai to be careful when my auxiliary system detected movement below the forest.

The forest, which had been quiet until just now without any feeling, began to move at once. Numerous movements occurred simultaneously, like a swarm of ants.

Realizing what that meant, I quickly sent a message to Adhai.

[Zuuuu zuz zuzuz (Aadhai! Use your power!)]

｢!｣

As soon as I fired the wave, a huge number of bullets came pouring out of the forest.

The rain of death, blacker than the dark clouds above, comes down to take Aadhai's life. I maneuvered my body underneath Aadhai, protecting No. 26 with my fighting arms.

The black and silver cluster bombs that flew in so densely that they completely blocked my vision hit my entire body. Since I am not a psychic creature, I do not take much damage from those anti-psychic bullets.

Moreover, cluster bombs with low penetrating power cannot pierce my carapace and scales.

'But not them.'

Their shots didn't hurt me at all, but Adhai and No. 26 were a different story. No. 26, who relies heavily on psychic power, will be completely incapable of combat if hit by a black silver cluster bomb.

The situation is better for Aadhai, who can use the absolute defense technique 'Red Armor', but he can still only protect his head and part of his front paws, so he cannot block their attacks.

[Zuzzuzuzu (Are you all okay?)]

"I'm fine."

"Thanks to you," "I avoided it."

Fortunately, No. 26 and Aadhai were not harmed because I became a shield.

"I was hit by a few bullets, but the injuries were minor."

The only exception was PS-111, which was a good target because it was above my head, but it took a few hits.

"I'll feed you some good food later."

"Has confirmed."

After a short reload time, shooting resumed on the ground. Even if they couldn't kill me, they were shooting like crazy, as if they were planning to finish off Adhaina No. 26.

'It's not good to fight here.'

[Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu zzuz zuz zuzz zuzu (Aadhai follows closely on top of me)]

I flew toward the nest, getting hit by the screamer's bullets. Aadhai followed along, almost clinging to my back.

And I landed appropriately in the place where they were. As soon as I came down, the trees shook eerily.

Hordes of screamers are chasing us.

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

Support the Translation! 🌐✨

20 Advanced Chapters are currently available in Patreon, make sure to visit and support our team.

patreon.com/Immortal_author

https://ko-fi.com/immortalauthor

https://discord.gg/KscfBegBPT