052

Ep. 52

'It's a tough relationship.'

On the research ship, Arnold Russell tried to kill Eugene Kisaragi, but I caught him first.

Here too, a person named Jade Russell brought Gallagon for terrorism, but that Gallagon is now traveling with me.

'He must have targeted me because he saw that I was carrying Gallagon.'

Aadhai is always riding on my head, so it's no wonder my enemies think that way.

Anyway, the enemy's attack has already begun. This side must also prepare to face it.

There are a total of 4 enemies currently approaching, but the sniper will not be included among them.

'The sniper coil gun has an effective range of 1.5km. There is a high possibility that the shot was made from a building outside the district boundaries.'

Compared to a typical sniper rifle, it is difficult to say that the effective range is particularly high, but it has the advantage of very good firepower and penetration. So much so that it could easily pierce my hardest head.

So, unlike other sniper rifles, sniper coil guns shoot from a relatively close distance to take advantage of their strengths. The enemy probably shot me from high ground, about 1km away.

'The problem is that I can't even detect the exact location of the sniper.'

Four people that come to my senses at the moment, excluding the sniper. Three were relatively close together and one was far behind.

None of the approaching beings were androids, as they had no scent of artificial skin and no faint electrical signals running throughout their bodies.

Among the enemies, there was one who moved like a machine, but it was clear that they were cyborgs as their skin smelled strongly of blood instead of rubber.

'Plus, there's a cult.'

A subtle flow of psychic power is detected from those behind the enemies. The amount of power itself is slightly better than Aadhai, but it is unknown whether it will actually be weaker or not.

The reason why cult supernatural powers are so scary is because of their diversity and specificity. Cults are one of the few races that have the potential for all kinds of psychic power technologies. If you attack a cult without knowing what to do, you will be easily fooled by an unusual supernatural attack.

'In order to check your abilities, you must first check your appearance.'

The auxiliary organ integrates various factors such as smell, sound, and vibration to determine the other person's condition. It is difficult to read even the smallest details of someone's appearance, so if you are curious about someone's appearance, you have to look at them with the naked eye. In other times, we would have relied on auxiliary organizations, but in the case of a cult, it is a different story.

'Because specialized superpowers vary depending on the horn.'

Unlike humans, cults are a race where appearance is very important. This is because you can tell by looking at the horns whether the cult has an aggressive style or a style specialized for support.

In other words, horns are one of the few weaknesses of a cult that has many strengths.

Cult players are well aware of the disadvantages of horns, so they often deceive their enemies by cutting off their horns, but I was confident that their opponents would not do that.

'By design, the cult values horns.'

In a cult society, jobs are determined based on the appearance of the horn, so damaging the horn is a very serious crime. So, unless you're a player, you'll never touch the horn.

Even if the appearance of the horn is changed, it will only be at the level of decoration.

While I was hiding and analyzing the enemies, something small came flying from afar.

'Gray bullet!'

I quickly left the place. Afterwards, a strong explosion occurred where I was. Perhaps because the firepower of the explosive was so enormous, containers weighing tens of tons flew through the sky.

The other party seemed to have no intention of hiding the fact that they were wreaking havoc in this city. Otherwise, there would be no reason to fire a grenade like that, causing an explosion that would be visible outside the Earth.

'Tsk. It's going to be a pain in the ass.'

Currently, I am being chased by armed police. William is disrupting the police under my orders, but if he makes a fuss like this, he will definitely get caught.

'We have to sort it out quickly somehow.'

They are the ones who put me in danger anyway, so I have no intention of letting them live.

'The enemies detected so far are cult cyborgs, heavy weapon users, and snipers…one of them?'

There was definitely one more person, but I can't see where he went. Seeing as it is not felt by any auxiliary organs, it seems to be looking for an opportunity to attack from a distance.

'If you exclude the people who are not present, there are 4 people.'

You need to decide who to eliminate first.

'It would be better to kill the sniper first, but it is difficult under the current conditions.'

I have a total of 2 ranged attack methods. Spiny projection organs and tentacles of a monster.

The monster's tentacles cannot be used because they consume a lot of energy, and in fact, the spiny bone launcher is the only long-range weapon.

'If it were a spine, it could stand up to a sniper, but…'

The problem is that the enemy will be high up and I will be at a low point.

Moreover, the effective range of the spine is 500m. Compared to the weapon they are holding, the effective range is less than half, so in order to fight properly, you have to somehow narrow the distance to the sniper.

Unless the enemies are fools, they won't just leave me trying to approach them. The heavy weapons cavalry confronting me will probably try to stop it.

'I have to approach it somehow… like this.'

An auxiliary agency reported that reinforced alloy bullets fired by the enemy were pouring through the containers and towards me.

I immediately took a short leap forward. The bullet aimed at my head failed to achieve its purpose this time and only hit the floor.

'You won't be able to see me from that position, right?'

This was clearly an attack that went beyond common sense. This was because just a moment ago, he was lying face down on the ground behind the container.

To see me, you have to get close to where I am or go up high enough to see the entire port district.

'no way?'

After figuring out how the enemies read my movements, I ran forward.

Within a few seconds, two grenades landed on the container I was in. If I had stayed there even a little longer, I would have been swept away by the explosion.

As expected, the enemies are reading and linking my invisible movements. I know where this ability comes from.

'It's the cult's soul link technology.'

Among the psychic powers used by the cult, there is a technology called 'Soul Link'. It is a supernatural skill that assists by connecting the senses with a specific ally. For example, if there is a player named ABC and A links the field of view to BC, all three players share the same field of view.

In the game, a shared view effect was implemented in the form of a mini-map at the top or bottom of the screen, so it was widely used by players who enjoy supporting roles.

'If it's Soul Link, is it a supporter type?'

If so, the horns of the enemy cult would resemble the horns of a goat. If you are unlucky enough to have the shape of deer antlers, it will be difficult to guarantee your chances of winning, but that is probably not the case.

'I guess we can assume that all enemies share the same line of sight.'

Coincidentally, the effective range of Soul Link is up to a 700m radius centered on the user. When you go out, it is automatically canceled. Therefore, the sniper attacking me will also be sniping from a location that is no further than the Soul Link effective range from the cult.

'Being able to guess the sniper's location is a blessing, but…'

While running between containers, the enemies' attacks did not stop. Because of their indiscriminate attacks, the number of containers containing smuggled animals for me to eat quickly decreased.

'First, what should I do with that heavy weapons person?'

If this continues, there will be no genetic essence left for me to eat.

While I was running, I fired the spine launcher backwards. A biological bullet that looked like a sharpened ice pick flew towards the enemy's head.

The enemy is not wearing any special protective equipment. There is no way to avoid my thorns.

That's what I thought, but my expectations were wrong.

"Hehe, you can't leave it like that."

A cyborg wearing thick armor hit the spine with a hammer. More than the hardness of the hammer, I was surprised by the opponent's incredible reflexes.

'Bounce that out?'

In order for a cyborg to achieve that level of strength, most of its body would have to be replaced by machinery. It's a level that's hard to see unless you're Star Union, but I never thought I'd see it in a place like this.

'The enemy is formidable.'

I never thought I would encounter such a powerful enemy in a completely unexpected situation.

'I need time to reorganize.'

If we continue like this, we will be defeated without even a single counterattack. As I thought ominously, the enemy protected by the cyborg fired a stray bullet at me.

'…Tsk.'

Because I was one step late in dodging, I was swept away by the explosion. My outer shell is resistant to fire, but it only makes it less painful and doesn't completely cancel out the pain. I forced myself to endure the pain of my skin burning and kept moving.

"Fuck you bug bastard doesn't fucking die!"

After hearing the enemy's insults, I took cover behind another container. While he was reloading the grenade, I quickly checked my characteristics.

'It won't be easy to attack the spines because of those cyborgs and the cult. Saw blade tentacles? If you get shot while fighting, you will be incapacitated immediately. But going into close combat isn't a good idea either.'

Since it is difficult to engage in close combat with spines, the neurotoxin characteristic that is usually useful is also a seal. The wing attribute is difficult to use because there are snipers present.

'There is some way…ah.'

Suddenly an idea occurred to me. Coincidentally, the container containing 'it' is located nearby.

I moved to a large container box not far away. Since I didn't have time to leisurely open the terminal, I used my teeth and fighting arms to rip open the door.

As expected, a huge beast was sleeping behind the iron bars installed inside the container.

It boasted a huge body of about 6 meters, including the tail, and was covered with a shell that looked like it was made of quilted metal long swords. It had six legs in total, big and thick like elephant feet.

It was the offspring of Mountain Crawler, the creature in the ledger created by Lars, the cyborg that I killed and ate the second time I came to this city.

I bent the bars with my fighting arms and went inside, activating the parasitic colony. A parasite crawled out from the fingertips and hid into the mountain crawler's ear hole.

｢Grrrrrr?｣

Mountain Crawler opened his eyes, perhaps because he felt strange due to the presence of parasites. Four large eyes darted around and then locked on me.

｢Grurr｣

I don't know if it was animal instinct or parasites, but it didn't resist me.

Its upper shell is much harder than my outer shell. Since it is still a baby, it has no armor on the lower part, such as the belly, so it is weak, but it is still safe to call it a living tank.

I ordered the guy through Parasite.

Go out and run wild.

｢Grung｣

It wasn't a metaphor; it was a roar that sounded like a moving tank, and jumped out of the curved iron cage.

As soon as it went out, reinforced alloy bullets flew in, but it was impossible to pierce the mountain crawler's incredibly hard shell.

"Fuck you! What's this?!"

"It's a mountain crawler!"

The enemies are puzzled by the beast that suddenly pops out. After making some time with the Mountain Crawler, I left the container and ran in the opposite direction.

｢Are you okay?｣

[Zuzuzu (Are you guys?)]

｢Me and the little baby are okay. The food is okay.」

[Zuzuzuzu (Thank goodness)]

While running, the waves fired by No. 26 flew by. Listening to what he said, it seemed like none of the three were attacked in any particular way.

Since the enemies came here looking for Gallagon, it seems they have put off attacking Aadhai for now.

'The problem is No. 26 and William.'

It is unlikely that the enemies will overlook anyone other than Aadhai. They'll try to kill me right after they finish me off.

Honestly, I don't know William, but No. 26 is useful to me.

In the current situation, it is not easy for me to protect No. 26. He too must come out with me and fight the enemies.

'I've grown up, so I'm sure I've become stronger.'

It's difficult to gauge what the level of No. 26 is, but it's definitely better than before.

I wish I could watch his power from a safe place, but I can't do that right now. I guess we have no choice but to test its strength through battle.

'We have to deal with that as well as the view over there.'

Even if I focus on the auxiliary organs again, I can only feel senses from three of the enemies. The sniper is far away, so even if I can't detect it, there's only one sniper.

'The person in charge of vision. It's definitely not just one person.'

The cult in charge of the link.

And one who provides a broad perspective to everyone.

Among the enemies attacking me, there are a total of two who are in charge of vision.

'Right now the sniper and three others are focusing on the mountain crawler.'

That means that the defense of the one remaining person has become weak. Of course, there is a high possibility that they are hiding some kind of trump card, but in the current situation, this is the only way.

Having made my decision, I made waves with No. 26.

[Zuzuzuzu Zuzuzuzu Zuzu (Help that guy, not me)]

｢That big kid?｣

[Zu (Yes)]

｢Big kid?｣

[Zuzuz Zuzuzuzu Zuzu (I have something to do)]

I After telling No. 26 to help Mountain Crawler, he ran toward where the enemy was hiding.

It's not difficult to guess where he's hiding. I can easily figure out where I'm hiding between huge containers, but I can't tell what I'm doing when I'm inside the container.

The enemy is looking down on us from a very high place.

And there is only one high place in this port district.

container crane.

There is someone who shares the view and looks down on the battlefield.

'You could send Aadhai and No. 26 over there…'

There's a reason why I didn't do that.

This is partly because I don't know what kind of trump card my opponent might have, but it's also because I am the one who is used to this type of battle, not them.

There were more than one enemy in the game who pushed me by sharing their line of sight in this way.

While fighting those guys, I learned one method.

How to properly educate those who depend on each other's vision.

'You're going to use Gallagon to destroy this city?'

They are terrorists who have come to bring fear and chaos to the space city.

I think we need to show them what real terrorism is.