Chapter 366: |
'Why a bomb all of a sudden?'
And not just any bomb it's from the Star Union.
The ships currently stationed around the volcano are all Cult warships. Unless it’s from the Space Dock, it’s extremely rare for the Cult to use weapons from the Cyborgs.
The core of the Cult Empire’s weaponry has always been energy-based, powered by psychic abilities. They have no real reason to be interested in the Star Union’s drone weapons.
'Of course, that’s the general assumption.'
Salman, the ruler of Asuka-44, is a Player. He isn’t bound by the Cult’s conventions, so it wouldn’t be strange for him to use Star Union weaponry.
Among the three great powers, the Star Union possesses the most formidable conventional weaponry. Beyond nanomachine bombs, they also have traditional explosives; things like nuclear warheads stockpiled in vast quantities. And their destructive power is incomparable to real-world nuclear bombs.
[ZZZZ ZZZ Z (How much explosive material?)]
"I don’t know the exact amount. But I saw them transporting a Gamma-Class antimatter bomb."
'The question is, why are they bringing that out here?'
If they were fighting another enemy, it might make sense, but a Magmasaur can’t be killed with an antimatter bomb. Like a Sky Whale that absorbs energy, the Magmasaur can absorb heat energy.
Would a Ranker planning to fight a Magmasaur really not know that? Setting off a Gamma-Class bomb here would only end up feeding the creature.
Which means this bomb was placed here for a different purpose.
'It’s not meant to kill it’s meant to put it to sleep.'
A Magmasaur’s primary food source is the energy and byproducts released when a volcano erupts. It absorbs energy through the bony plates on its body, while lava and minerals are sucked in through its massive maw.
If it consumes more than it can digest, the Magmasaur stops feeding and enters hibernation. Once dormant, its body rapidly transforms, eventually becoming a new volcano.
'This world shouldn’t be much different.'
In the game, a transformed Magmasaur was no longer considered a living creature but part of the terrain. Naturally, it didn’t drop any genetic essence.
Unless I’m lucky enough to consume it before its head fully transforms, obtaining the essence would be nearly impossible.
The same applies to Salman. Regardless of how his abilities work, he wouldn’t be able to control a giant creature that’s actively restructuring itself at a genetic level.
"This feels like a trap."
Isabel voiced her thoughts as I processed the situation.
A trap set by Salman. Given the circumstances, it’s highly likely.
Back when he took control of the researchers, Salman was actively searching for the Magmasaur. His goal was obviously to dominate a stronger creature not to put it to sleep.
For him to change his approach like this, it can only mean his objective has shifted. Instead of claiming it for himself, he’s ensuring no one else can take it.
And that someone else is me.
'He knows I’m on this planet.'
Otherwise, there’s no reason for the reconnaissance fleet to be planting bombs in a supervolcano.
If someone understands me well, they would know exactly what I’d target first upon arriving here. And they’d do everything possible to keep me from obtaining genetic essence.
If my assessment is correct, then I’m already in serious danger. If Salman has detected my intrusion, he’s likely already called for reinforcements.
For all I know, every single Ranker from the Returner faction might already be on Asuka-44.
｢Big One, are you okay?｣
At that moment, Number 26 cautiously called out from above my central head. It must have sensed the turmoil in my emotions and was worried.
'Calm down.'
My thoughts were spiraling in one direction.
Losing composure in a dangerous situation is never helpful. I need to think rationally.
'If I go over the circumstances step by step…'
One thing was certain: Salman didn’t know my exact location.
If he did, the Returner Rankers would have already swarmed me.
And yet, he planted bombs in an Apex’s territory. That meant he suspected I might be on Asuka-44.
So, what was the basis for that assumption?
'The creatures under his control.'
Using his unique trait, Beast God's Snare, he had likely turned the planet’s wildlife into living surveillance cameras. As I moved across the terrain, his spies must have reported back to their master.
I had focused on avoiding enemy ship patrols, but I hadn’t paid much attention to the eyes of wild animals. Judging by the timing of their movements, I was probably spotted while hunting the Dreadsong and Pyromancer.
'But that’s not the important part.'
Whether Salman misunderstood what his creatures saw or if it was a limitation of his ability, I couldn't be sure.
The key point was that he was acting based on incomplete information.
If my theory was correct, then the bombs were an insurance policy, triggered by the lure of the Magmasaur.
If I attempted to remove the bombs to capture the Magmasaur, that would confirm my presence.
Even if he detected me some other way, the plan was the same—detonate the bombs, put the Magmasaur to sleep, and deny me the chance to dominate an Apex. He’d lose an opportunity, but at least he’d prevent me from growing stronger.
'Next, he’ll call in reinforcements to deal with me.'
But why go through all this trouble?
The answer was simple: Salman had no allies on Asuka-44.
Alshas had mentioned before that the Returner faction members were all handling important tasks. They wouldn’t abandon their missions unless something truly urgent arose.
However, if they confirmed my presence here, they’d rush over immediately. In fact, Salman might have already requested reinforcements, and they could be en route.
'That’s all I can deduce for now.'
I explained my reasoning to Isabel. She listened in silence before giving a firm nod.
"So, what’s the plan now?"
At this point, only one thing mattered:
I had to eliminate Salman before his allies arrived.
'But he’s a cautious one.'
Whether he had already called for reinforcements or not, he must have considered the possibility that I’d attack him first. No doubt, he had laid countless traps in anticipation of my intrusion.
The Mother of the Sky and PS-111 had successfully infiltrated the base, but my situation was different. In truth, if only one of them had gone in alone, they likely would have failed. The Mother of the Sky couldn't hack machines, and PS-111 wasn’t built for stealth.
A direct confrontation wasn’t appealing either. That would mean walking straight into whatever Salman had prepared.
｢Big One, you don’t look happy.｣
｢Short one｣｢always｣｢makes me mad｣｢when I see him.｣
｢It’s because humans have bad things.｣
｢Short one｣｢body weak｣｢stick strong.｣
｢Bad humans should be hit with bad things!｣
While I was deep in thought, the others were chatting idly, clearly getting bored.
‘Wait.’
The moment I heard their conversation, an idea struck me.
'This… might actually work.'
A way to strike a fatal blow to Salman while achieving everything I set out to do.
There was only one solution something that felt almost like magic.
[ZZZ ZZZZ ZZZZ ZZ (The equipment the Mother of the Sky is trying to build.)]
"Hmm?"
[ZZ ZZZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZ (It takes about two hours to complete, right?)]
"Depends on the facilities, but yeah, that sounds about right."
[ZZ (Good.)]
Factoring in the time needed for the infiltrators to extract themselves four hours total.
Once that time was up, Salman would be finished.
---
“What’s the status of the bomb deployment team?”
A massive chamber with a dome-shaped gate on the ceiling.
Standing before a rocky mountain in the center of the space, Salman turned to his steward and asked.
"It has been four hours since installation, but no one has approached."
"He will show up there. The moment you confirm his approach, detonate the bombs."
"We have the remote control switch on our end, so there’s no need to worry."
The steward pulled out a black terminal, and Salman gave a small nod.
'I’ve followed the Empress’s orders to the letter.'
Among the Returner faction, the ones who had fought the Amorph the most were the Empress and Beom-Ho. Salman had reached out to the Empress via a communication monolith to seek advice on how to handle the situation.
She—no, he—had said that if the creature truly arrived on this planet, there were likely two main reasons.
The first was the life of a Ranker. The Amorph must have learned of Salman’s existence from the now-deceased Alshas and had come to hunt him down.
Because of that, the Empress advised him to focus entirely on survival.
The moment he received that warning, Salman had begun capturing as many wild creatures as possible, expanding his army. The ecosystem had turned into a mess because of it, but that wasn’t his concern right now.
At the same time, he had equipped himself with every usable piece of gear from the storage facility. The rest of the equipment was sealed away he had locked down the storage security system so that no one but him could access it.
Then, there was the second reason the Amorph might have come to Asuka-44: the Magmasaur.
A high-tier Apex creature, the Magmasaur was something Salman coveted as well. He had been searching for it through his scouting teams for quite some time.
The Empress, knowing this, had left him with another warning. If the Amorph truly arrived, he should give up on the Magmasaur. Additionally, he was told to suspect any of his subordinates who had recently gone outside the base.
'They could be infected with parasites.'
That damned Amorph wouldn’t waste time scouring the volcano himself. Even in the game, he had always preferred turning his enemies' strategies against them. There was a high probability he would manipulate Salman’s own forces.
The Empress’s reasoning had been sound, so Salman followed the advice without hesitation.
Those who had been assigned to fieldwork or volcano scouting were all transferred to the bomb deployment fleet. If any of them were infected, they would serve as perfect bait to lure the Amorph out.
"Any issues inside the base?”
"No, Lord Salman. Everything is running smoothly."
The steward answered confidently. Hopefully, things would stay that way.
With that thought, Salman turned away from the steward and approached the rocky mountain, extending his hand to stroke its surface.
'I should check outside as well.'
Closing his eyes, he reached out with his senses, connecting to one of the creatures under his control.
When he opened them again, the rocky mountain before him was gone. Instead, all he saw was molten lava, bubbling furiously.
Salman had stationed his controlled beasts both in the skies outside the base and beneath the lava lake. Their orders were clear if they spotted black clouds or a giant monster, they were to report immediately.
Syncing with a Vulcarox hidden beneath the lava, he lifted its gaze toward the lake’s edge. A dark, cracked expanse stretched to meet an ashen sky. Nothing moved.
'Hopefully, this is just needless paranoia...'
He surveyed the area carefully but detected no approaching threats.
Just as he was about to shift his focus to the base floating above him, a sudden pillar of fire erupted from the lava. A burst of gas from beneath the ground had caused the explosion.
In that fleeting moment, the energy absorption system of the base opened to draw in the gas briefly exposing its interior.
'Hm?'
Salman tensed.
It had only been for an instant, but the fact remained: the base had been momentarily vulnerable.
Would that become a weakness in his fight against the Amorph?
Severing the link, he turned to inform his steward.
'The gas absorption system '
"Lord Salman!"
Before he could finish, the steward interrupted, his face pale with shock as he held up a communicator.
"It's from the bomb deployment fleet!"
"What?"
The steward activated the transmission, and a flood of panicked voices burst from the small device.
｢A—a monster is attacking! Over 60% of the fleet’s forces have been wiped out!｣
｢We’ve lost contact with the ground bomb crew!｣
｢D-damn it! It’s—it's coming in from outside!｣
｢Request immediate reinforcements! I repeat, we need—AARGH!—static｣
The frantic voices cut off abruptly, leaving only a cold silence.
"Detonate the bombs! Now!"
"Y-yes, sir!"
At Salman's sharp command, the steward hurriedly activated the remote control switch. A countdown appeared on the black terminal’s screen: 20.
Once it hit zero, the Gamma-Class antimatter bombs would detonate.
If that happened, the Amorph would never obtain the Magmasaur’s genetic essence.
The numbers ticked down rapidly.
At 10, a strange feeling crept into Salman’s mind.
'This is going too smoothly.'
For a creature as infamous as the Amorph, things were falling into place almost too easily.
"Steward. Can you check the bomb locations?"
"Huh? One moment."
At 5, the steward tapped the terminal’s screen.
The instant the display changed, his eyes went wide with horror.
"L-Lord Salman?"
"What is it?"
"The—the location…."
The map on the screen showed a place he knew all too well.
The bombs were inside their own base.
The countdown beside the screen read 2.
"You motherfu—! Marid!"
At Salman's desperate shout, the massive rocky mountain behind him shifted—rushing forward to shield him.
A heartbeat later, a blinding light erupted from within the base, engulfing everything.
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