Chapter 53


    [Damn it! Why is the Mountain Crawler here?]


    “Don’t worry, it’s just a kid. Focus on its weak legs and belly.”


    Jade was observing the battlefield from atop the container crane.


    He wore specially crafted goggles on his head, equipped with various features such as heat detection and long-range target magnificationmonly used by snipers. Jade invested heavily in this equipment to enhance coordination with his teammates.


    [Hey, Tin can! I’ve got its back, so aim for its legs!]


    [Are you sure?]


    [I’ll keep an eye on the bastard.]


    [Frost, I’ll provide sniper support.]


    As Jade had anticipated, his teammates quickly adapted to dealing with the Mountain Crawler. Frost rushed in to strike its legs, and when the creature retaliated, Dwayne interfered with its vision by sniping its eyes. In the meantime, Hope showered it with grenades.


    [Grrrrrr….]


    The Mountain Crawler, just a wild animal, had no choice but to sumb to the relentless teamwork of Jade’s group. The creature’s cries of anger and injustice echoed even to this distant location.


    ‘But where did it go?’


    Jade suddenly realized that he couldn’t see the creature anymore. He had overlooked its movements while concentrating on the Mountain Crawler.


    ‘It must be nearby.’


    To find the most dangerous monster that Jete had warned about, Jade manipted his goggles.


    When Dwayne first spotted the guys with Gagon, Jade ordered to kill the unidentified man first. It wasn’t a carefully consideredmand. Throughout their hunting experience, the most dangerous enemies were humans, not monsters.


    However, Jete objected to Jade’s order.


    The truly dangerous presence was not the man but the monster carrying Gagon on its head, she imed.


    As a cultist, Jete sensed a flow of psychic power from the guy that she had never encountered before. ording to her, among the psychic powers she had witnessed in her lifetime, this one was the most ferocious and majestic.


    It was the first time Jete had made such a statement, and Jade was momentarily puzzled. If he could extract the guy’s genes and transfer them to Si-hyun Yujin, she would undoubtedly be much stronger.


    ‘Capturing the guy alive would also help thedy, but…’


    However, Jade was well aware of how dangerous the unidentified psychic power could be. If the capture attempt failed, it would be a real disaster. So, he ordered Dwayne to target him first.


    ‘Though the ambush failed, we can still keep him out of our sight… Huh?’


    Strange sounds reached Jade’s ears as he searched for the guy. It sounded like the wind, and at times, like the vibrations when a levitating car approached.


    ‘Where is this sounding from?’


    Scanning around the crane revealed nothing unusual. Jade called Dwayne, who wore simr goggles.


    “Dwayne, check around the crane…”


    [New enemies!]


    [They’re supporting the Mountain Crawler.]


    [Aren’t those the guys we saw earlier? The ones with Gagon.]


    Hastening to reevaluate the battlefield, Jade spotted Blue Gagon, just as Hope had mentioned. Behind him, arge balloon, rising to thigh height, followed. A gaunt man hiding behind a container at a slight distance also came into view.


    Having found the Gagon he was looking for, Jade quickly picked up hismunication device.


    “Don’t attack Gagon! If he gets hurt, the mission is a failure.”


    [What should we do then? We agreed to deal with themter because of Gagon.]


    It wasn’t a significant problem if Gagon got hurt. As long as he didn’t die, they could somehow treat him.


    ‘The problem is that Blue Gagon can call his kin.’


    Although the Gagon in the city wasn’t the one, Jade had heard about an incident where they incurred significant losses while trying to rescue another Blue Gagon. At that time, two White Gagons and one ck Gagon appeared to save the Blue Gagon. Due to them, they suffered tremendous losses, losing ten warships.


    ‘I don’t know if it’s fortunate or not, but the guy I brought along seems unusually quiet.’


    Whether the heavens were helping Jade or not, the creature still hadn’t called its kin.


    However, they couldn’t predict how long the creature’s patience wouldst. They needed to quickly stun it and put it in the cryo-container.


    ‘…Looks like we’ll have an adventure here.’


    Determined, Jade gave orders to his teammates through themunication device.


    “…The n was to deal with them after securing the area, but we have no choice. Eliminate everyone except Gagon.”


    [Only need to be cautious with Gagon? Alright.]


    [Yeah.]


    “Hope, be careful with the grenades.”


    [Got it, Mom.]


    [Wait, there’s something wrong with that pink balloon!]


    “What?”


    Jade’s attention turned to the creature that looked like a balloon at Jete’s urgent transmission.


    The appearance of the balloon-like creature was different from earlier. Fins had appeared beneath its round body, and six long, slender tentacles sprouted from its body.


    As the monster shook its tentacles, Frost, who was confronting the Mountain Crawler, froze in ce.


    [Oh my God! Psychic power!]


    [This is insane! Is this creature also a psychic monster?!]


    [Frost!!! Get back immediately!]


    Unable to move due to the psychic power, Frost took the Mountain Crawler’s charge and was thrown far away.


    “Don’t worry! Frost has reced his skeleton with ck Silver, so he’ll be fine!”


    [That’s right! That tin can has a reinforced skeleton, so he’ll be okay!]


    [Hope! Activate the shield right away! I’ll reinforce it!]


    [I’ll switch to AP (Anti-Psychic) rounds.]


    [Hey! Gagon is about to attack!]


    “Do not attack Ggon! I repeat! Do not attack Ggon!”


    [Damn it!]


    The appearance of new enemies kept themunication busy. The whole team was in chaos due to the balloon using psychic powers, and Jade was no exception.


    So, he didn’t realize that a giant monster was pping its wings above his head.


    ***


    ‘Number 26 is putting up a good fight.’


    I watched from the sky as they battled.


    Number 26, in coordination with the Mountain Crawler, skillfully defended against the enemy’s attacks. Thanks to our shared hunting experiences, it supported the fight against the unfamiliar monsters effortlessly.


    Since Adhai was of the Gagon species, it effectively countered the enemies with psychic attacks.


    Of course, since the enemies had a cultist as their allies, they were prepared for psychic attacks. Among the enemies I encountered, their defense against psychic abilities was one of the best, if not the best.


    ‘That’s an AP round on the shield.’


    Unlike the inferior equipment brought by the armed police before, what these beings carried was a genuine shield attached to advanced reinforced armor. If it weren’t for that shield, Number 26’s massacre would have unfolded, leaving much to be regretted.


    ‘The cyborg seems to have been upgraded with ck Silver.’


    ck Silver is a metal that weakens the effects of psychic powers, and it is one of the main materials for shields. If it were another cyborg, their upper body would likely have separated due to Number 26’s psychic attacks. However, this cyborg, perhaps due to the upgrade with ck Silver, could resist psychic powers, though not move freely.


    ‘Normally, the soul link would have been nullified by cksilver as well but….’


    The enemies seemed to know about that too and had prepared countermeasures. Unlike the teammates, the cultist wore a tiara on her head instead of goggles.


    Ring of Enhancement. It’s an artifact that enhances the psychic power abilities of a psychic. Thanks to that tiara, even the cyborg with ck Silver embedded in its body could be Soul Linked


    ‘They’ve brought everything.’


    It seemed as if an experienced yer had rmended this setup to a beginner.


    ‘No way. That can’t be.’


    I brushed away my thoughts and slowly descended behind him.


    He focused only on the battlefield in front of him.


    Quietly approaching him from behind, I used one of mybat arms to block his mouth.


    “!”


    After blocking his mouth, I grabbed his right arm with another arm and twisted it. He trembled in pain, but it wasn’t over yet.


    His limbs were unnecessary for my n.


    “Ugh!”


    The creature, whose limbs were twisted in an instant, foamed at the mouth. It seemed like he wanted to scream or signal to his allies, but it was futile.


    Currently, I was holding his head, keeping it fixed in the same position as before the assault.


    Thanks to this, the enemies thought his vision was shaking, thinking he had been attacked in some way.


    ‘Soul Link is released when the subject loses consciousness or moves out of the applied range.’


    This also means that I can take advantage of enemies who are Soul linked, as long as I avoid the release conditions.


    I maintained the state of holding him and slowly descended with the crane. I mimicked the movements as if he was grabbing thedder and descending normally.


    It was an impossible n for a regr human, but thanks to the body of the Amorph, which had more arms and transcendent sensespared to humans, it was possible.


    [Captain?]


    [What’s wrong? Why did youe down all of a sudden?


    Voices of perplexed teammates came from themunication device. However, The owner of themunication device was not in a position to respond.


    When I was first sniped, it was highly likely that the enemies had already prepared for our members.


    ‘One human and one Gagon, they probably assumed there was an unidentified monster.’


    If there were more humans among us, or if I were at least an intellectual being, the enemies might have questioned the current situation. Humans can be threatened to move forcibly, after all.


    But the only human among us is over there, shivering and hiding next to the Gagon.


    Therefore, they only think that their teammate is acting unpredictably, and they don’t even consider the situation where the monster is ‘holding and moving’ him without killing him.


    Of course, unless the enemies are fools, they would recognize that there’s a problem with the teammate and try to respond.


    And it’s precisely their logical actions that I’m aiming for.


    [Jade! Answer me!]


    [Dwayne! Jade is heading your way!]


    “The line of sight doesn’t reach. Check it out right away.”


    “Off…”


    The man I’m holding seems to be Jade Russell, the man who brought the Adhai to this city. I haven’t seen his face in detail yet because facing him directly would reveal my identity.


    ‘I had a feeling it was him, and it turned out to be true.’


    “Off…”


    Jade, or rather, the man, tried his best to convey this fact to his teammates, even though his limbs were twisted and he was being held by me.


    ‘I can’t just leave him like this.’


    I bit his shoulder. The neurotoxin coursing through my bodily fluids burrowed quickly into his body.


    “……”


    Startled like a goat, Jade, frozen stiff, became silent with that.


    With the doll-like limbs whimpering, I moved on to the next target.


    ‘Next is the sniper.’


    I didn’t know where he was when I was attacked earlier, but not now.


    The sniper is within the Soul Link range and at the same time positioned to shoot within Jade’s field of view, which I am holding. Calcting the enemy’s position through this narrows down the range significantly.


    ‘If I get closer, the sniper will probably show up to check up on his teammate.’


    Entering the suspected range where the sniper might be, Iid Jade on the ground next to the container. I waited for the enemies to react from outside Jade’s field of view.


    ‘It’s time to move slowly.’


    Since the sniper is likely sharing his sight with Jade, he should quickly figure out where Jade is. I focused on my auxiliary senses and continued to monitor the surroundings.


    After a few minutes, my auxiliary senses detected movement. It was an agile movement, almost mistakable for a mouse or cockroach.


    ‘It’s him.’


    Quietly, I maneuvered to avoid being caught in the agile sniper’s line of sight. Most likely, the sniper, like Jade, wears equipment that assists their vision, so I need to stay away from this spot.


    ‘This should be far enough.’


    Keeping a certain distance, I hid in the shadows and waited. The sniper approached cautiously, like a mouse aiming for a piece of cheese in a trap.


    Even though it was a distance where he would gradually be visible, his figure was not seen. Instead, I could feel through my auxiliary senses that the opponent might be wearing optical camouge gear.


    ‘Well, it won’t matter if I hit his head.’


    When he stops moving to check Jade’s condition, that would be the opportunity.


    [The Mountain Crawler is taken care of! The rest won’t be much longer!]


    Bad news came through Jade’smunication device. If the Mountain Crawler is dead, Number 26 and Adhai won’tst much longer.


    ‘…No. Let’s trust them.’


    I shook my head despite the negative thoughts.


    From my experience so far, Number 26 is not weak. He should be able to hold on until I go to help.


    I waited patiently. Negative stories continued toe through themunication Device, but I gritted my teeth and endured them.


    And finally, my auxiliary senses brought good news.


    The sniper was standing on the roof of the container in front of me.


    I aimed with the Spine Projectile Organ at his location. The target was his heart.


    Although not visible to the naked eye, the super-senses of my auxiliary system easily captured the quiet heartbeat of the sniper.


    “This is Dwayne. I’ve got a visual on Jade….”


    Before he could finish his sentence, a bone spike wasunched from my fingertips.


    As expected, Amorph’s senses didn’t betray me.


    The sniper didn’t get to finish his sentence before he crashed down into the container.


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