Chapter 57: Sacramento Defense Battle (3)

Situation over. I lowered the muzzle.

The magazine had already been changed four times, and the ground was so drenched with the blood of the bug monsters that it looked like a puddle after a rainstorm.

But we were victorious.

We successfully killed ten bug monsters.

The Armored Golem stood like a stone statue, scanning the surroundings, while I hid in a suitable spot near the Golem to rest.

“Let’s rest for a bit and then move again.”

At that moment, a beep came from the radio.

“This is Dr. Lee. Radio connection is available.”

– This is Dr. Yeon. I am currently searching the outskirts by helicopter. What is the situation over there?

It was proceeding exactly as planned.

“Killed several high-ranking monsters. Tracking the target.”

– I want to support you, Doctor, but because of the electromagnetic wave interference and some flying monsters, the helicopter won’t go into the city center. One helicopter went down earlier.

It wasn’t that there were no flying bug monsters.

The flying bugs, which were about the size of a person, were particularly troublesome.

They were reasonably fast, aggressive, and capable of fighting humans.

– The Fallen Angel’s location cannot be confirmed right now. It might be moving in your direction, so please be careful.

“Understood.”

I need to move quickly.

The Slime was more or less fine, but I wanted to avoid being chased by an irregular monster while fighting a Level 5 monster.

When I lightly tapped the Armored Golem, the Golem immediately raised its greatsword as if in response.

The bugs seemed to be planning to avoid a direct confrontation.

Only a few were standing in front of the Armored Golem.

This time, winged bug monsters were climbing the buildings and looking down at us.

I quietly spat out a curse.

“Hmph, troublesome bastards.”

Our opponent was a monster that could flip a tank with ease.

Even for a high-level Hunter, being attacked from a high vantage point or from behind means death in an instant.

However, I had a way as well.

“Ming-ming. Honey Combo.”

Ming-ming and Honey Combo appeared beside me and each transformed into their main body forms.

The Basilisk was in a state where its size had grown larger than I remembered.

“You’ve grown a bit in the meantime?2”

The two summoned beasts warily watched the surroundings.

The bug monsters were slowly but surely approaching to surround us.

It was a clash between giants, and neither side was willing to give up the first strike that could be easily blocked.

“Let’s try it.”

With those words, I dropped an insecticide can, and the Armored Golem charged forward without hesitation.

——–!

A massive sound of an explosion.

One of the large bug monsters sprayed venom at the Armored Golem, and fire magic and smoke enveloped the Armored Golem.

The flammable acidic substance splashing in all directions was a bonus.

Several more explosions followed, and even the Armored Golem faltered.

“Behind you!”

Bang-!

The enemy didn’t go down easily either.

The insect monsters approaching from behind had also changed their strategy this time, charging toward me instead of the Golem.

“Ming-ming! Honey Combo!”

At my shout, the summoned beasts immediately stood in front of me.

Ming-ming spat fire and Honey Combo spat venom toward the approaching monsters.

Thanks to them, the monsters stopped, but they did not give up and continued to rush in.

I fired several shots from the Magic Engineering Railgun and then hid behind them.

While I was catching my breath, a wasp-shaped monster charged at me at full speed, but it was killed in an instant by the pincer attack of Ming-ming and Honey Combo.

I didn’t realize it because I saw them often, but Ming-ming and Honey Combo seemed to have become noticeably stronger.

Meanwhile, the Armored Golem was in the middle of a slugfest today as well.

The greatsword was stuck in a lobster-like monster, and the Armored Golem was fighting the monsters with its fists and kicks.

It was a sight that inspired awe every time I saw it.

A scorpion-shaped bug tackled my Golem.

The Golem seemed to fall, but it flipped the bug monster over and slammed it down. Blood splattered everywhere.

The Golem threw another bug.

“Everyone should see this.”

This time, the effort put into making it was worth it.

Through trial and error, we had created a monster that could properly fight and win against the enemy, rather than just being a disposable shield.

And so, dozens more monster corpses were rolling around the vicinity.

***

This is the Sacramento Central Office, inside the building.

The path leading to the Queen’s room was filled with eggs.

Giant ant eggs the size of basketballs.

“There are so many. Did they breed this much in just a few days?”

“Ming! Ming!”

Ming-ming trampled the eggs as if they were unpleasant.

I also advanced while breaking all the nearby eggs with my bayonet.

The Armored Golem, which had been so useful, was too large to enter the stairs leading to the basement.

Because of that, I had no choice but to unsummon the Armored Golem and put it away.

“Should I have entered through the parking lot in the first place?”

I smacked my lips in regret, but since I had the summoned beasts, there wouldn’t be a problem.

I moved to the basement following the direction indicated by the compass.

“Ah, right. There was something like that too…”

Upon arriving at the underground parking lot, I could see several Queens lying there.

Even among real ant species, there are cases where there are multiple Queens in one colony.

In such cases, they have the advantage of being able to respond more flexibly to situations.

And showing this kind of appearance meant they were already adapting to Earth.

I shot one Queen with the railgun, and that served as a signal for the three summoned beasts to chase after the bug Queen monsters.

Thanks to the summoned beasts, the situation was easily settled.

Maeng-kkomi swallowed a few eggs that filled the parking lot floor.

With this, one of the three goals was finished.

Ming-ming returned to its hatchling state.

“Ming!”

“Yeah, good job Ming-ming.”

What happens to the ants if the Queen is killed?

Since the reason to fight in the city is gone, they might flee elsewhere.

On the other hand, it was very troublesome. If there were multiple Queens, it meant they could have been distributed and deployed.

Then there would have been no choice but to catch them all without a proper response.

“Ming-ming. Listen.”

“Ming.”

“Let’s say the bug monster side is taken care of. From now on, we’re going to catch the Slimes. Again, avoiding the Fallen Angel as much as possible.”

Ming-ming nodded with a serious expression.

It was said they didn’t have many weaknesses, but Slimes could be caught with fire, or Maeng-kkomi could swallow them whole.

“Let’s go, guys.”

Since the bug monsters’ nest had been dealt with, from now on, we would head in the direction where the Gate was presumed to be.

The three summoned beasts, which had shrunk back to their hatchling state, followed me.

When we left the building and came outside, the streets were somewhat cleaner, perhaps because the Queen bug had been killed.

The number of bug monsters roaming around had significantly decreased.

Only a few Slimes were wandering about.

And.

“Ming.”

We arrived in front of the Sacramento Office.

The office building was completely covered in otherworldly plants.

“Dr. Yeon said the Gate would be somewhere around here.”

According to him, the Gate should be nearby.

And it certainly looked that way.

Traces of a fairly intense battle remained around the office.

All the windows of the office were broken from the explosion, and several large holes were punched into the walls.

“Since there are holes, it’ll be easy to get in.”

However, one question remained.

How did the Slimes destroy the tanks and occupy the office building? Was it simple luck?

“Right. There’s no way.”

Surely, there must be a high-ranking Slime individual somewhere.

I hid in a suitable position and used Detection magic.

Dozens of Slimes were hiding nearby…

“That’s the one.”

A monster that looked similar to a snail or an abalone. The high-ranking Slime individual was slightly larger than a person.

A black pearlescent shell was surrounded by transparent liquid, and inside the body was something like a long harpoon.

It wasn’t enough to flip tanks and destroy the city, but it was a sufficiently threatening enemy.

According to memory, they could also spray venom from a distance.

As I watched the situation from my hiding spot, several more high-ranking Slime individuals soon revealed themselves.

The newly confirmed ones had human corpses visible inside their translucent bodies.

“It looks like they ate someone not long ago.”

[High-grade Slime]

[Grade: A]

[Not a strong monster, but responding to it is troublesome. Because the jelly is imbued with mana, physical attacks do not work, and the shell buried in the jelly is not easily broken.]

[Be careful as it is poisonous.]

If you get close, it sprays venom and tries to stab you with those needle-like teeth, which will be very troublesome.

“I’ll finish it in one go.”

I raised the muzzle and aimed the trigger at the snail monster.

Bang-!

The snail monster burst as if it had exploded.

[You have discovered a new monster, the High-grade Slime.]

[Inquiry points +10.]

[130/400 until reaching Enlightenment Stage 4.]

[You have defeated a High-grade Slime.]

[Inquiry points +10.]

[140/400 until reaching Enlightenment Stage 4.]

The nearby high-grade Slimes began to hop away to escape.

It was a bizarre sight. Giant snails hopping around.

“…If it wasn’t for the state of having swallowed a person whole, it might have looked cute.”

I shot the other Slimes one by one, and now only traces of three Slimes remained.

I carefully stepped inside the building.

Ming-ming and Maeng-kkomi followed closely behind me.

The inside of the building was, as expected, full of blood and slime mucus.

It was a sight that would be hard to look at if one had a weak stomach.

Because the floor was extremely slippery due to the jumbled mess, I had no choice but to move carefully step by step.

“I refuse to die surrounded by Slimes.”

Sensing a presence, the Slimes began to swarm toward me, making squelching sounds.

I said to Ming-ming and Maeng-kkomi.

“Guys, kill them all.”

Ming-ming guarded my back, and Maeng-kkomi guarded my front.

The Tentacle Dragon was an opponent optimized for defeating Slimes.

Just looking at it swallowing Slime cores as if it were nothing proved that.

I aimed my gun at the snail monsters from a distance.

Bang-!

Once again, a high-grade Slime burst as if it had exploded.

Ming-ming also transformed into its main body form and spat fire toward the Slimes.

Strange pink flames covered the Slimes.

The Slimes seemed unable to approach past the flames.

After a few minutes had passed, no more moving Slimes could be seen.

“I wonder if a signal can be picked up?”

Half-doubting, I connected the radio again.

“Ah, ah. This is Dr. Lee. Succeeded in killing the leadership of the bug monsters. Currently clearing out Slimes in the office building.”

– Yes. We have confirmed the battle site. The bug monsters are currently scattering or fleeing. Good work.

A sigh of relief could be heard from the other side of the radio.

“Please check the Fallen Angel’s location.”

– The Black Angel is currently doing something… at the outskirts of the city. Right now, it is dismantling a tank. It seems to be showing interest in human weapons.

The Black Angels coming out of the Gate also have their own personalities, and rather than just attacking humans, they act with a certain purpose.

It was a relief that it wasn’t coming this way.

“Yes. Then I will go to deal with the Slime nest.”

– Confirmed. We are currently waiting at the outskirts of the city, and as soon as Dr. Lee makes a conclusion, we will move immediately.

With that, the radio cut off, and I walked deeper into the building while reloading the Magic Engineering Railgun.

“Ming-ming. Lead the way.”

“Ming.”

“You know where the Gate is, right?”

Ming-ming wagged its tail and nodded.

The white dragon took the lead, and we followed Ming-ming.

The next target was not far off.

Because the Sacramento Gate, the Slime’s nest, would also be inside this building.