Chapter 320
Here is the translated text:
Admitting it was not something I wanted to do, the Predator creature is formidable. Its regenerative ability, which is creepy to the point that if even a fragment of the Predator remains, it can restore its destroyed body. To completely annihilate the Predator, a powerful weapon capable of destroying the surrounding area would be necessary.
Even if there were predatory life forms in the vicinity, it would swell its body by preying on them.
Subduing it is not an easy task either. From the start, the Predator does not have a concept of a body. While the entire crimson-colored flesh mass could be considered its body, it lacks biological structures such as a head, torso, arms, or legs.
Its strength is overwhelming, and its body is flexible, making every battle challenging. It seemed to know that its form was advantageous for dominating other life forms.
But saying it seems to know is just speculation. The Predator lacks intelligence; it is a mindless life form driven solely by the instinct to prey.
I often thought that if the Predator had intelligence and a form, subduing it would have been much easier.
Every distinguishable life form has a weakness. There is no such thing as a perfect life form without any weaknesses anywhere in the universe.
Despite appearing invincible at first glance, the Predator has a weakness. If we use a powerful weapon capable of causing massive damage, we can subdue the Predator.
Even a formidable Predator has a weakness; it’s unlikely that other life forms would lack one. The more there are, the better.
The power of the grotesque creature is immense. One wonders if they could win even if everyone here charged at it head-on. So, what method can bring down such a powerful life form?
Avoid direct confrontation.
Theo, who flew through the wires, had set up wires in various places. While Crugger and I tried our best to keep the grotesque creature’s attention, the Team Leaders and all members of SpecialForce Team rushed in.
However, it was not easy to subdue this enemy even with their efforts. It was not an easy task for Crugger and me to draw its attention either.
“Crugger!”
“!”
I urgently called out to Crugger as I saw the grotesque creature quickly approaching him. As the grotesque creature forcefully entered close range, Crugger grabbed the wire he was holding onto and pulled.
Before the grotesque creature approached, Crugger had already connected the wire to the ceiling. The giant fist sliced through the air where Crugger was.
Crugger, who was lifted into the air by the wire, pressed against the ceiling. However, there was no room for complacency. The grotesque creature followed Crugger’s movement with its eyes and raised its head as if intending to chase him.
“This way, you fool!”
Since I couldn’t just stand by, I threw the wire I received from Theo and caught the leg of the grotesque creature.
“□□□-!”
The grotesque creature let out an unknown scream and fiercely kicked the leg entangled in the wire. Unable to withstand the force, I was thrown in the direction the creature kicked while still holding onto the wire.
Seeing the gap created instantly, Crugger released the wire connected to the ceiling and wrapped another wire around the grotesque creature’s arm, grabbing hold of it.
But neither Crugger nor I could overcome the strength; when the grotesque creature swung its arm, Crugger, unable to resist, was sent flying, and both of us were thrown far away, losing grip of the wire.
“Theo!”
“Use what we’ve set up!”
Flying between buildings, Theo continued to install wires everywhere. When he judged he had installed enough, he descended along the outer wall of the building and threw a wire at the grotesque creature.
Unlike me and Crugger, who could only mimic Theo’s handling of the wire until now, Theo skillfully wrapped a wire around the grotesque creature’s waist and secured it.
Realizing the wire was wrapped around its waist, the grotesque creature tried to grab the wire and pull Theo toward it. But Theo had already released the wire he had thrown earlier and activated the wire device he had previously set up.
The wire from the installed device flew toward Theo, who was suspended in mid-air, grabbed the incoming wire, and flew back between the buildings.
With wires wrapped around its arm, leg, and waist, the grotesque creature jumped into the air to chase the flying Theo but was hit in the face by Esmeralda’s mechanical arm.
“□□□□□-!”
The punch, swung with increased output, caused a strong vibration in the air, and the grotesque creature, losing balance, fell to the ground.
“Don’t you have a way?”
“Yes. We don’t have time to explain. Just wrap as much wire as possible around the creature!”
Upon hearing Theo’s report that he landed on one of the buildings, Esmeralda checked the installed wires.
“All the wires are in place?”
“Except for two spares, all are installed. You can consider there are none left.”
“Got it. Everyone heard that?”
Assuming there was a plan despite not knowing the specifics, Esmeralda broadcasted a message to everyone. Fallen soldiers began to stagger to their feet, and the Team Leaders who had engaged in a frontal battle with the grotesque creature regained consciousness.
“We have a plan. We want your cooperation to subdue the creature.”
Holding onto the wire wrapped around the grotesque creature’s arm, Crugger, who looked like he might fly away at any moment, approached SpecialForce Team.
Although he had regained his senses, he seemed to have forgotten to turn on the communication, leaving it on.
“What is it?”
“We’re going to wrap wires around the creature’s body. Although we’ve placed them at each position, you might find it difficult to confirm. We’ll handle the wrapping. When the wires are wrapped around the creature’s body, send a signal, and we’ll grab the wires.”
The silence on the other end of the communication conveyed Crugger’s doubt. The delayed response and the silence in between revealed their inability to trust Spacystro.
But there was no immediate solution.
“Alright. All we need to do is hold on?”
“Yeah. I’m counting on you.”
From the perspective of a hyper-human, cooperating with Spacystro was not appealing, but at this moment, eliminating a common enemy was more important than being adversaries.
“Theo! Let’s start!”
“OK.”
With a loud shout, numerous people rushed from all directions. Some retrieved wires from the installed devices, while others came empty-handed.
Everyone threw wires with the intention of subduing the grotesque creature, but it wasn’t easy.
“□□□□!”
The grotesque creature roared upon seeing the charging soldiers and threw them away by grabbing the incoming wires. Although it failed to catch one wire, our numbers were overwhelming.
“Take it easy!”
Exasperated by its overwhelming strength, I shouted and threw a wire at the grotesque creature. At the same time, Theo, who was flying in the air, caught the wire I threw.
Though I failed to wrap the initial wire, it did draw attention. The grotesque creature, instead of focusing on me, grabbed the wire Theo threw and flew into the air. During this moment, Luche and Angelique wrapped wires around the grotesque creature’s legs.
There was no time to give a gap. Before the grotesque creature could break the wires wrapped around its legs, I threw a wire into the air and wrapped it around its arm.
“□□□!”
“Ouch!”
Although I successfully wrapped the wire around its arm, the grotesque creature pulled me faster than I could release the wire I was holding. I lost balance in the air and fell toward the grotesque creature.
“One-sided advantage!”
It was much quicker for Theo, who was flying, to catch me than for me to fall toward the grotesque creature.
“Do you have wings?”
“Only in the city.”
Genuinely curious about Theo’s ability to fly between buildings like he had wings, I asked, and he shrugged his shoulders in response.
Attacking in groups at close range had its limits. There was a risk of overlapping paths with allies, and my attack could harm my own team. But long-range attacks were different.
Unlike close-range combat, where only a few could participate, long-range attacks allowed everyone to move simultaneously. Despite catching and throwing soldiers with incoming wires, the number of attacks was overwhelming.
Wires wrapped around the grotesque creature’s body, and it gradually became entangled with longer wires.
“Is this enough?”
“Let’s see.”
Theo calmly replied as he landed on the ground.
“Pull! If we don’t pull with all our might, we’ll die!”
Speaking loudly enough to hurt my ears, I relayed the message with the communication on, and everyone grabbed the wires wrapped around the grotesque creature and pulled.
“□□□□!”
The grotesque creature swung its arms to resist, but the force pulling from all sides forced its arms wide open involuntarily. The wires wrapped around its legs made walking impossible.
Although I wore a helmet, I could feel the soldiers’ expressions distort. Though it seemed effortless due to the combined pulling force, the grotesque creature’s body trembled, and the soldiers’ arms shook, indicating the tremendous effort they were putting in.
“□□□□-!”
The grotesque creature roared, as if it hadn’t expected to be subdued like this.
“Shut up. Zashya.”
I pulled the wire wrapped around the grotesque creature’s neck with all my might. When the grotesque creature’s head was thrown backward, Esmeralda and Siera, who had been holding the wire wrapped around its waist from the front, pulled.
The head was thrown backward, and the waist was pulled forward, creating a sound like metal clashing.
The grotesque creature’s rigid exoskeleton clashed, producing a strange sound. Due to the strong pulling force, the exoskeletons were scratching each other, causing minor injuries.
We had stopped the grotesque creature’s movements, but we couldn’t relax yet. It would surely recover, evolve, and throw off the soldiers holding the wires.
“Grr!”
Before I could think, the legs of some soldiers started to be dragged. Soldiers holding the arms struggled to prevent the grotesque creature from moving its arms by exerting all their strength, but the creature’s strength was increasing.
“Where are you trying to move?”
Scattered members of SpecialForce Team held onto the wires. The hyper-human exerted its full strength to pull the wires.
The wires, made of sturdy metal, felt as if they were about to snap due to the tension.
“Does the plan exist?”
Gold, who was holding the wire from behind, asked with a voice filled with tension.
There was no time to respond. This might be the last chance if I didn’t act now with all my might.
“Nuna!”
I called out loudly to Esmeralda and climbed onto the immobilized grotesque creature’s shoulder.
“An annoying little thing!”
A gap appeared in the grotesque creature’s exoskeleton. Pulling so tightly that the exoskeletons were clashing meant the opposite side had gaps opening up.
Just as I was about to thrust the sword into the grotesque creature’s chest, the gap in the exoskeleton hardened.
The sword, intended to pierce, struck the grotesque creature’s skin with a metallic sound.
“This guy.”
“Aaah!”
Just before I could curse, I turned my head at the shout from beside me. Luche swung a scythe, and Siera, riding on top, flew at high speed.
Siera, wielding two swords in both hands, flew at high speed and stabbed them into the grotesque creature’s chest.
Unable to resist the impact of the flying force, Siera was thrown behind the grotesque creature after stabbing, but this was enough.
“Haahaaaaaa!”
One of Theo’s thrown wires caught the sword Siera had stabbed. Crugger also grabbed the sword with the wire he received from Theo, and both pulled simultaneously, tearing the sword apart.
“□□□□□-!!”
With a crackling sound, the inner exoskeleton broke from the inside out. Exoskeleton pieces fell to the ground, and a dark red liquid poured out.
And when we had sufficiently made gaps in the grotesque creature’s body with the sword, I jumped off the shoulder and ran away with full force.
“Leave the finishing blow to me!”
“Target confirmed.”
Esmeralda, aiming her mechanical arm at the grotesque creature from mid-air, used her targeting system to accurately aim at the gap under the creature’s chest.
“Charge complete. Fire!”
A thin beam shot out and precisely hit the gap. In an instant, the small beam turned into a massive flash and engulfed the grotesque creature.
“□□□□□!!!!”
Protected by its robust exoskeleton, the internal structure was attacked. The grotesque creature screamed as it was swept by the relentless electronic pulse.
As the connected wires started to break one by one due to the electronic pulse, the grotesque creature remained motionless. The sound of burning was clearly audible, and we couldn’t look away from the burning grotesque creature in the bright light.
“Grr!”
Esmeralda’s expression twisted. The long-duration electronic pulse emitted from the large mechanical arm was incredibly hot, almost unbearable. But she didn’t stop firing. Eventually, the electronic pulse from the depleted energy of the mechanical arm ceased, leaving behind a charred grotesque creature.
“□……. □□□□…….”
It seemed to be speaking again. Although I couldn’t understand, the grotesque creature was undoubtedly speaking, and its body started to twitch.
“Will this not work?”
This was not unexpected. After attacking from within, I had considered the possibility of the grotesque creature recovering. Of course, I had hoped it wouldn’t happen, but the grotesque creature slowly recovered and collapsed.
“What is this?”
The massive body was still twitching, but there was no sign of movement.
“It’s shrinking.”
Thinking it was recovering, the grotesque creature’s body started to shrink instead. The giant, over 3 meters tall, reduced to about 2 meters, changing its skin color and appearance entirely.
“This person…”
I had seen this man before. It was a fleeting moment, but I was certain. The impression of the person he was with was so strong that I remembered this man too.
“Dynames?”
In the quiet street, a familiar voice echoed among the soldiers.
Drask, who had not fled and observed the entire battle, approached when the situation stabilized.
The fallen man, who was an unknown grotesque creature just moments ago, was a member of Team Endurance from Team Guerrilla—Dynames.
“You… Why are you…”
Drask, whose voice trembled, stepped in front of Dynames as he approached.
“Don’t come closer. Safety hasn’t been confirmed yet.”
“What?”
He seemed disoriented. His eyes were shaking violently.
“Oh… This isn’t right.”
Turning my head at the unfamiliar tone of voice that didn’t fit the current situation, everyone noticed a man sitting on a half-broken streetlight simultaneously.
Although the atmosphere was strange, I knew his voice and appearance.
Seeing the exact image I had anticipated, I frowned.
“…Gainesboro.”
Gainesboro, part of Team Guerrilla, was watching the scene with a smile on his face, seemingly amused.
“No, should I call him Vido?”
“Hmm?”
Hearing a name that most people here didn’t know, Gainesboro narrowed his eyes and smiled.