SSG 236

Episode 236

Shells pouring down like rain pounded the giant monster. The monster’s body was so huge that a considerable number of shells landed on it.

But even so, it was clear that this creature was fundamentally different from most monsters or beasts—the shells did not inflict particularly powerful damage.

The shells could not properly penetrate its hide, which was so hard it could easily be mistaken for a rock.

However, perhaps because the defenses on its heads were weaker than its body, several of its heads went silent.

‘Good!’

Yuseong clenched his fist in delight. But his eyes remained fixed on the giant monster.

‘So it can’t regenerate immediately.’

He had feared the fallen heads might regrow, a terrifying thought. But fortunately, that seemed to remain just a horrifying possibility.

Of course, if given more time, who knew what might happen? No, it would surely recover all its injuries and losses. But even the fact that it could not regenerate right away was enough for now.

After all, he was not going to give it any time to regenerate.

-Kyaaaaaa!

Perhaps it had realized that continuing to take one-sided hits like this was truly dangerous. Or maybe its rage had simply surpassed the pain.

The monster’s heads stopped screaming and began once more to unleash red beams. Their target: the robots that fired the railguns.

The robots fell silent. In that short span of time, already more than half were destroyed. Such regrettable losses.

However, those losses actually meant that victory was drawing closer.

‘If it were really unscathed, all the robots would have been destroyed in the first strike.’

Because of this, Yuseong did not have the robots withdraw down the slopes but kept them firing their railguns.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The surviving railguns kept blazing, and the monster’s damage accumulated. Once more, shells from the cannons poured upon the giant monster.

This bombardment inflicted even more damage than before. The tough hide covering its body had been peeled away by the railgun fire, exposing much of its interior.

And perhaps, as one would expect from a living creature, its interior seemed softer than its exterior. Of course, it was only relatively weaker than its outer hide.

The monster, unwilling to back down, continued to unleash its red beams. But the number of beams kept dwindling. As a result, Yuseong’s robots were nearly wiped out, but it didn’t matter.

Yuseong opened the purchase window and bought more robots and railguns. New robots appeared in rows around him.

Under the control of the strategy guide, the robots picked up the newly bought railguns and began running up the mountain. Fresh shells flew overhead toward the robots.

-Kiiiiiik!

There were only a few heads of the monster left. The number, which easily looked over a hundred, was now reduced to scarcely more than a dozen. There weren’t even enough heads left to support its body, and the monster lay pressed to the ground.

Kwa-kwakwa-kwang!

More shells rained on it. Two more heads fell off.

At that moment, the monster’s movements changed. Its heads withdrew into its body, and it transformed back into the low rocky hill that Yuseong had first seen.

Its body tilted and began to roll down the mountain.

Though its body was incredibly rugged, its generally round structure allowed it to roll down the mountain without difficulty.

‘It’s running away.’

Through the surviving cameras, the movements of the monster and the beasts also changed.

Until just a moment ago, they had prioritized grouping and evading Yuseong’s attacks.

But now, they merely charged at him, possessed only by murderous intent, with no strategy or tactics.

The intention was obvious.

‘It’s trying to stall for time by using those things as bait.’

But Yuseong had no intention of letting the monster escape.

Kwa-kwakwa-kwang!

The cannon fired. Its form had vanished from sight, so he could not specify an exact target. Thus, the shells were fired not in one spot but spread widely over a large area.

Ku-ku-ku-kung!

Distant explosions echoed. But the red beams Yuseong expected did not appear.

Since the shells were scattered so widely, the monster certainly would have seen them. But the absence of red beams meant it had given up on intercepting them.

‘It must know that firing back would reveal its location to me.’

It truly seemed intent on escaping.

‘Then I’ll have to track it.’

But Yuseong did not simply blindly send his robots in pursuit. The monster could be setting a trap, and reckless tracking could mean losing it.

First, Yuseong placed a group of robots on the highest peak near where the monster had been. With this, he could monitor the entire area.

Of course, as the monster had done, the view was restricted by the many peaks jutting up here and there. But there was a clear difference between Yuseong now and the monster before.

‘The monster must escape.’

Unlike Yuseong, who could attack from a safe place relying solely on ranged attacks, the monster had to keep moving.

If it started to climb a mountain to escape, it would be detected by the robots. That would be the end.

‘Though it probably won’t end so easily.’

It was a clever creature. It was unlikely to flee in a straight line without thinking.

‘It will likely move along the valleys.’

Looking at the map, Yuseong identified several potential escape routes and dispatched robot squads to those locations.

Bombardment continued. In any case, he had plenty of shells prepared for emergencies. There could be a lucky shot, or the monster might lose patience and try to intercept.

‘That finishes the preparations below.’

Around that time, the herd of monsters and beasts appeared in Yuseong’s sights. He ordered the nearby robots to wipe them out. He also picked up his own gun.

---

The charging monsters and beasts were soon annihilated by Yuseong and his robots. Even if a few survived, they would no longer pose a threat.

But Yuseong did not feel satisfied.

‘Where is that thing?’

He still had not found the giant monster.

Neither the robots atop the highest peak nor those watching the valleys had spotted it.

So Yuseong launched numerous reconnaissance drones, which he had previously abandoned using in the monster’s battle because they were quickly shot down by the monsters and beasts under its command.

Luckily, with the local enemies wiped out, the drones were not shot down this time, but they could not find the monster either.

Even its blood trail had stopped midway. Not only had the clue for tracking disappeared, but it was also proof the monster had healed enough to stop bleeding, so Yuseong quietly cursed.

‘Did it get away?’

Even that thought filled him with irritation and anxiety. The monster had seen all of Yuseong’s strategies.

No, more than seen—it had them painfully etched into its very being. If they fought again, it would surely be an even trickier and more dangerous opponent.

But Yuseong thought it was unlikely the monster had escaped.

‘That leaves only one possibility.’

That it was hiding nearby.

He did not know how good the monster was at camouflage. It was possible that neither Yuseong, the robots, nor even the strategy guide could detect it.

Still, Yuseong wasn’t too worried.

‘If it’s hiding, I can find it.’

And his hunch proved correct.

Yuseong looked at the mountain displayed on the monitor. It was a rocky mountain, not far from where the monster’s trail had ended.

At a glance, it looked completely ordinary.

But the monster was hiding there.

‘It buried itself in the rock mountain to hide, huh.’

There must have been quite a racket or dust cloud when it dug in, but apparently the continuous shelling had covered up the signs.

What’s more, the place where it hid was an angle unreachable by shells.

‘It thought that all up in such a short time.’

If he hadn’t had a special tool, he might really have lost track of it.

But Yuseong had a radar.

A large green dot was shining obviously from a single location on the screen.

Judging by the direction and distance, it clearly pointed to the mountain on the monitor, and the size of the dot proved it was the monster.

‘If I had not had the radar, finding it would have been tough.’

Even with a radar, until recently its range was so narrow that scanning for the monster would have required getting dangerously close.

At that kind of distance, Yuseong would likely be killed by the monster’s attacks first.

But thanks to a recently raised reputation, a product greatly extending radar range had appeared in the purchase window. Naturally, Yuseong had bought it, and was definitely seeing the benefits now.

The wide coverage now made it relatively easy to locate the monster, and the mountain standing between him and the monster acted as a shield, ensuring safety.

A perfect countermeasure against a monster crouching and waiting for safety like a cornered rat.

‘The roles have reversed.’

Before he learned about Ark, Yuseong used to cower in his hideout, just hoping no monster or beast would find him.

But look at him now.

The strongest monster he had ever faced now hid in a mountain, praying that Yuseong would not discover it.

Conversely, Yuseong now led a powerful force, seeking to take the monster’s life.

Such an ironic situation.

But Yuseong did not linger in contemplation.

Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack!

Robots with railguns began to encircle the monster, completely blocking off any avenue of escape.

Clack!

The settled robots aimed their railguns at the monster.

Bang!

-Kyaaaaaaaa!

The monster burst forth. Realizing it had been found, it was making its last stand.

But the number of heads screaming was still pitifully small.

Besides, the railguns were already trained on the monster, and it had only now stuck its heads outside.

Bang!

The railguns fired simultaneously with a great explosion. Red light began gathering in the monster’s gaping mouth, but the railgun rounds struck it even faster.

Even the few heads remaining exploded in an instant. Two barely-surviving heads fired red beams that destroyed two robots, but that wasn’t enough to change the outcome.

A second volley finished off the remaining two heads.

Complete annihilation of the monster’s heads.

But the robots did not cease fire, relentlessly bombarding the monster’s body until it was torn to pieces.

Watching the scene on the monitor, Yuseong turned his gaze to the radar.

The once bright green dot had vanished without a trace.