Chapter 420
–
Wolf Thane, the jackal of the Salt Forest tribe, loved the mythology of the old gods.
The story of a heavenly horse running across the Milky Way, the legend of an eagle who became the sun in place of the lost light, etc.
My heart always beats every time I hear the stories of our ancestors who traveled between the stars and commanded the universe. Every time I heard legends and myths, I felt closer to my ancestors.
So, he was interested in the myths handed down not only from his own tribe but also from other tribes. We collected all the stories floating around in the land where she was born and raised.
Is it because of that passion? Despite his young age, Tane became the wisest Wolff in the tribe, next to the chieftain. The tribe members called her Little Sage.
If Tane were older, he would have become the leader of the tribe.
But the day they came down from the sky, everything changed.
The village where I was born and have lived until now is burning. There were charred corpses scattered on the floor.
Fire, blood, and screams engulfed young Wolf’s hometown.
They were in a place full of death. Steel demons that came down from the sky.
The moment he remembered their laughter, Tane woke up.
The first thing I saw after opening my eyes was darkness.
“This place…?”
A small murmur resonates loudly. It felt like I was in a cave-like space. The air was full of moisture and had a strangely unpleasant smell.
At that time, the sound of rushing water was heard from afar. Surprised, Tane looked at the dark curtain.
She couldn’t see anything, but she could feel it. That there is a very large and scary being here.
The sound of water splitting is heard as if a large animal is crossing the lake. Tane quickly tried to hide himself.
“urg!”
But no matter how hard I tried, my body wouldn’t move. This was because something like heavy mud was tightly binding her arms and legs.
Even as she struggled, the being got closer and closer.
At that time, I was overwhelmed with fear that felt like my heart would stop.
In the middle of the black curtain, two amber-colored lanterns lit up.
“wait for a sec.”
Along with that, a refreshing voice seeped into Tane’s head.
“Is it okay if I ask?”
Surprisingly, as soon as the mysterious voice was heard, the overwhelming presence slowly dissipated. The thing in the dark had retreated.
As the terrifying presence disappears, the flames slowly get closer.
When the size of the flame grew larger than Tane’s palm, a bright light burst out from below. As light drove out the darkness, the true nature of the amber flame was revealed.
What was there was a huge beast with a noble appearance. The beast with a white hawk’s head and warm amber eyes was looking down at her.
At that moment, Tane remembered.
The one who saved her from dying after being crushed by a collapsed house.
「You were the first to wake up.」
“….”
「I have something to ask, is it okay?」
A being who seems to embody the image of an ancestor from myth asks her.
“yes. “God.”
Of course, Tane’s answer was predetermined.
–
“I see.”
“Do you need further explanation?”
I shook my head as I heard PS-111’s words coming from the communicator.
“No, this is enough.”
“All right. Then I will keep watch in case an intruder comes in.”
While Heavenly Mother was talking to the Wolfs, I was listening to PS-111. What happened where she went to investigate.
‘The Wolf tribes of U-08 are annihilated, and the tribal leader and old Wolf are kidnapped.’
When Heavenly Mother arrived, the whole situation had already ended. The entire village she knew was reduced to ashes. The only survivors are the 10 Wolfs she brought with her.
In addition, all stone tablets and relics recording the tribe’s history were lost. In particular, it is said that the ruins were so thoroughly destroyed that no one could recognize them.
‘Are they getting rid of all the things necessary for tracking?’
The fact that Shino Group is preparing to hunt Arcane Orca is an established fact. However, even so, there is no need to erase various traces that help with tracking.
‘And yet it comes out like this….’
Perhaps it was intended to keep Heaven’s Mother, or more accurately, me, in check.
There are very few players who were active in the Arcane Orca tracking group. There were even fewer people who participated as mercenaries.
When the Mother of Heaven learned that Shino’s leader had been working as a mercenary, she vaguely guessed his identity. This will be the same for your opponent as well.
The fact that I and Heavenly Mother are together was already exposed when I fought Akira Yujin last time. The ranker who leads the Shino Group must have also heard about this.
In that case, it would be natural to think that I would have figured out a tracking method by force.
‘Well, there’s nothing wrong with it except for coercion.’
In fact, I came this far thanks to her help.
‘If it had been a little later, tracking it would have been much more difficult.’
Should I call this a phone call? While I was thinking like that, Heavenly Mother approached me.
“Not everyone woke up, so I asked the children who came to their senses first. Still, I think I heard everything I needed to say.”
“Really?”
“I know who did it. “Do you know the Space Dog player who only sticks to melee weapons?”
In space survival, melee weapons don’t get a very good reputation. This is bound to happen in a world where laser and plasma weapons are rampant, and where thousands of spaceships are mobilized in a single war.
‘Still, there are quite a few enthusiasts.’
In other media dealing with science fiction, you can often see characters using melee weapons.
The same goes for space survival. There are players who favor weapons such as the Sonic Blade or the Cult’s psychic sword.
“A pirate who mainly uses melee weapons.”
As I listen to the story, a few people come to mind. Among them, if you are a ranker…
“Was it 25th? A ranker who is a pirate and mainly uses melee weapons and bombs.”
“that’s right. “Have you ever fought?”
“We fought twice right before we folded.”
Despite only using unusual weapons, his combat skills were surprisingly poor. Instead, I don’t know if it was to complement this, but I remember that the equipment used was very excellent.
“The surviving child said he saw a steel giant holding very large dual swords. “I heard he commanded other giants.”
“If it were a set of very large dual swords, it would be ‘Colossus Shot’ or ‘Sacred Fang’. “If you’re a steel giant, do you mean a reinforced suit?”
“no. “They said it’s as tall as a tree, so it’s probably a walker.”
You might be wondering if it’s a reinforced suit, but a walker and a melee weapon are not a good combination. However, considering that they insisted on using melee weapons, it is highly likely that the opponent is ranked 25th.
“The 25th person has experience participating in the Arcane Orca tracking team. “I was kicked out not long after I entered.”
“Kicked out?”
I thought it was somehow strange. I think I understand how he acquired good equipment with mediocre skills. He probably got it by taking advantage of his friendship with top rankers.
Also, the fact that pirates possess many advanced weapons from Megacorp and Star Union may have something to do with it. It makes perfect sense if you consider that it was achieved by taking advantage of a good relationship in the game.
“good. Who are the other rankers besides him? “What did the Wolfs say?”
“I asked, but there was no one other than 25th who was presumed to be a ranker. “Even those kids don’t know who is outside the planet.”
I raised my head and looked at where the Wolfs were.
“I think it would be a good idea to plant parasites and check.”
Since the ‘Scent of Shape’ was obtained, the parasite must have been strengthened in some way. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to gain information and experiment with newly enhanced parasites.
‘Or how many people are called Inmyeonchung… Wait, Inmyeonchung?’
Now that I think about it, I have people from the ruling faction and the returning faction. I’ll have to call Jason and Alshas and ask them again.
‘come out.’
The companions within the body respond to my call.
A monster with a body that looked like a combination of a praying mantis and a wasp and the face of a cult tore through the mucous membrane and jumped out.
Sky’s mother frowned slightly when she saw that.
「In-myeonchung? “To ask about number 25?”
“Yes.”
Immediately after, Jason and Alshas’s face fell down in front of us and bowed their heads.
“Did you call me?”
“Did you call me?”
“Do any of you know anything about number 25? “Not in games, but in this world.”
Alshas answered my question first.
“I don’t know because I’ve never seen it.”
“You’ve never seen it?”
“We, the returning faction, failed to secure influence in Megacorp and Star Union. That’s why I used Spy.”
“You mean Cynthia? “It’s definitely not wrong.”
As he said, the return faction has a history of forcibly recruiting weak rankers through Cynthia. He probably carried out espionage activities against the ruling faction, which was a hostile force, on several occasions.
“Cynthia? Why all of a sudden…?”
“That bitch was a spy. “You stupid bastard.”
“Yes?”
Heavenly Mother, who still did not like Jason, let out a wave of thoughts filled with evil emotions. The guy with a puzzled look on his face soon understood what I meant and opened his eyes wide.
“Fuck! Alshas, how dare you whore!”
“The perverted bastard saw someone and called her a prostitute. “On the subject of fucking anyone.”
“I will definitely tear you to death!”
“Damn. This is the one….”
“You two, shut up.”
At my command, the human beings all fell silent. I didn’t bring these two out to hear useless chatter.
“I understand that you are not a member of the returnee faction. Jason, don’t you have anything to say?”
“I don’t know. sorry.”
“Number 25 is a pirate and possesses a lot of high-end equipment from Megacorp and Star Union. It’s obvious that they are closely connected to the rankers, but you don’t know?”
When Heaven’s Mother sharply pointed out, Jason quickly lowered his head.
“Well, our ruling faction is made up of a few people who know each other, so there are a lot of things we don’t know about each other.”
“okay? “If you don’t know, you can’t do it.”
“wait a minute! “There was a space dog ranker working with Akira and Jubaka!”
As I was about to put it back in my body, Jason added quickly.
“This guy received a request from the two and worked to bring them the necessary items. Well, now that I think about it again, I think he was ranked 25th! “I’m sure!”
The bastard who had become a human being tried to squeeze out memories as if he didn’t want to enter my body.
“Why didn’t you tell me when I asked you before?”
“Well, it’s been a while since I’ve had any contact with that guy. I asked Zubaka, and he said he had not heard from him for a long time either. So I guess he’s already dead…”
Jason says, trembling. It seemed like he was afraid that he would get angry for saying something important now.
However, I had no intention of punishing him. This is because I know that this is the limitation of Inmyeonchung.
Even if I eat someone and make them human, that person’s memories do not become completely mine. Inmyeonchung only remembers what the original considers important or what it experienced before it died. The rest we remember inaccurately or forget altogether.
‘Just like now.’
He didn’t lie. Even when I was alive, I didn’t consider 25th place important, so I couldn’t think of it properly.
“Other than the CEO of Megacorp and the leader of Star Union?”
“As far as I know, none.”
“What are his perks?”
“Well, I don’t know because I’ve never seen it, but according to Zubaka, he’s very good at handling Yuil-class weapons. So, I heard that you have been given several requests to test new weapons.”
It is the ability to use a unique weapon. When you just listen, it’s a fairly boring skill.
‘I think it depends on the weapon’s range.’
And depending on how it is applied, it can be a very scary perk.
‘I need to be careful about this part.’
“What are the other characteristics?”
“That’s all I know.”
“good. “If you have anything else to ask, please call me.”
“yes? Now, wait a minute….”
“Si, I hate it! That hell…”
Since I had nothing more to ask, I retrieved the human face bugs.
“what do you think about it?”
“…First of all, I don’t think the Grand Leader will come here.”
I think the same as her.
Everything in Star Union revolves around the Grand Leader and the Machine Committee. It is unlikely that the Great Leader will bring out his troops just to hunt.
“Looking at the mobilization of a lot of Star Union equipment, I think the top committee members were deployed instead of the Grand Leader.”
“that’s right. If you are a member of the Supreme Council, you will be applying from outside the planet, so those children will not know.”
The mother of heaven scratching her beak with serious eyes. she asked.
“Then how will Akira get out?”
“He won’t come here.”
“why? Is it because of the defeat in the last battle?”
It’s not wrong, but the reason I’m convinced is slightly different.
“When I entered the cocoon, I saw a vision. “A fantasy about an ending mission that happened in the past.”
“What?”
“I heard it from someone I met there. “There is a ranker on Earth who knows the secret of the ending, so meet him.”
As if the words were completely unexpected, the Mother of Heaven’s eyes widened.
“I saw that Akira participated in the ending mission. He must be the one who knows the secret of the ending.”
“…Tell me more about it.”
I was planning to talk to her when I met her, but it just happened to work out.
I began to explain what the illusion and information body had said.
“Watch next episode”