"To think such a monster could evolve, this Gastrea Virus is stronger than I imagined."
"I just don't know how strong a Stage 5 Gastrea Virus truly is…"
Gastrea are categorized into five stages. Stage 1 can evolve into Stage 4 through growth. Stage 1 Gastrea possess the genetic factor of one type of creature, while Stage 2 has two. The higher the stage, the stronger the Gastrea's combat power.
The ultimate form of Gastrea, a Stage 5 existence, is a massive monster whose origin is unknown, and it is humanity's greatest enemy.
They are enormous, incredibly powerful, and unaffected by the magnetic fields emitted by Varanium.
Varanium is the crucial element used to construct the Monoliths.
Yang Tao flicked the cigarette butt from his hand and straightened up, watching the Gastrea retreating.
"So useless?! They retreated after less than an hour of attacking??"
It's unclear if it was due to the laser rain earlier, which might have exhausted the monster deep in the distant forest.
Regardless, the Gastrea, who clearly held the advantage, retreated.
Yang Tao looked at the situation below, his expression turning infuriated. He had gone through immense hardship to destroy the Monoliths, and they dared to retreat???
However, this battle still brought him a considerable number of souls. Although Initiators are powerful, they can still die when facing equally powerful Gastrea.
Yang Tao watched the sun nearing the horizon, took a deep breath, and turned to leave.
The Gastrea would not give up on attacking the city.
'This is good. Let those selfish people in the city taste the fear…'
Now, he felt that the souls of the Initiators were troublesome. They had been completely brainwashed, and some children even believed they were inherently sinful.
'Headache…'
Yang Tao's figure vanished from the top of the tall building.
...
Late at night.
Monday looked at Yang Tao's bird with surprise and asked, "Yang, why is your bird so big?"
Upon hearing this, Yang Tao's face showed off a boastful expression as he said, "This is natural talent. How about it? Isn't it amazing?"
"It's incredible!"
Monday stood in front of Yang Tao and cautiously asked, "Then… can I touch it?"
Hearing Monday's words, Yang Tao quickly stepped back two paces and shook his head, saying, "No, no, it can't be touched casually. If you touch it, your mind will be full of it."
At this moment, the bird spoke.
"Master, I am not that kind of casual bird anymore."
Fanatic Blue Bird
990,000 / 990,000
Blue Bird already had high HP, and after being upgraded to a Fanatic, its HP should have reached the limit for a Fanatic.
A giant macaw, over a meter tall, stood on Yang Tao's shoulder, giving an incredibly shocking impression.
"Wow! What a big bird!"
"What kind of bird is this?"
A group of lively children gathered around, chattering incessantly.
Compared to other children, those adopted by Matsuzaki were noticeably more cheerful and lively.
Monday smiled and explained to the children, "This is a parrot, but normal parrots aren't this big. Uncle Osborn just sent a lot of books, and I'll teach you some knowledge later…"
"Okay!"
The group of little ones replied in unison.
Seeing the children being led away by Monday, he led Blue Bird directly out of the base and towards the forest.
Just as he was about to search for Aldebaran, a figure in a black suit with a travel bag came into his sight.
Satomi Rentarō?
Although he didn't know where the protagonist of this world was going, Yang Tao understood that this guy was definitely up to something.
'Where is his Initiator? Did she sacrifice herself?'
That shouldn't be. He had already checked the souls of the Initiators this time, and the little girl who was with Satomi Rentarō last time wasn't among them.
Several canine-type Gastrea discovered Satomi Rentarō's tracks. Under the command of a dark red, two-headed hound, a pack of mutated hounds chased after Rentaro.
Seeing this, Rentaro immediately ran deeper into the forest, simultaneously pulling out the pistol from his Pregnant and aiming at the Gastrea relentlessly pursuing him, pulling the trigger.
Varanium bullets easily tore through the Gastrea's defenses, killing several Gastrea hounds.
'Did his master teach him this marksmanship?'
At a distance of over ten meters, twelve shots, two hits. This guy is a reinforced human with 310 HP.
Yang Tao had noticed from the beginning that Rentaro's body had undergone special modifications, but from the current situation, the modifications were completely useless.
If he were to modify him, simply installing a matrix calculator would turn Rentaro into an infallible sharpshooter.
A good tiger can't withstand a pack of wolves. Rentaro was bitten on the arm by a Gastrea hound, and the strong inertia caused him and the hound to tumble down a cliff into the turbulent river below.
However, the protagonist, with his resilient life, naturally wouldn't die like this. Rentaro struggled and grabbed a protruding boulder on the bank.
But at this moment, the Gastrea hounds pursuing him had also run to the bank.
As soon as Yang Tao descended from the air, the hounds' attention was drawn to a figure in the forest behind them.
Abandoning Rentaro, who was just one bite away from being finished off, they immediately turned and rushed towards the little girl with dual swords in the forest.
At the same time, a notification appeared in Yang Tao's vision.
[World Exploration Progress 30.55%]
[The Last Sword You Will Ever Need mod activated]
The Last Sword You Will Ever Need?! Am I invincible below the divine level?
No, no, I can probably even slay weaker gods.
In the instant he was stunned, the hounds that had made Rentaro so miserable and nearly killed him were cut into several pieces by the little girl with her dual swords in just one encounter.
Rentaro climbed out of the river and looked at the dark red, two-headed hound, quickly raising his gun and aiming at it.
But the other party only took one step, and its sole remaining head fell off.
A person wearing a smiling mask and a red suit, leading the little girl who had just killed the hounds, walked out of the forest.
"I never expected to see you here. What a coincidence, Rentaro."
Rentaro's expression, besides surprise, was more of anger. He said through gritted teeth, "You're still alive? Hiruko… Kagetane!"
Hiruko Kagetane looked at Yang Tao, who was still stunned, and asked, "Rentaro, is this your companion?"
Satomi Rentarō looked at Yang Tao, who was standing at the edge of the forest, a look of surprise in his eyes.
'This is… the man I saw the day before yesterday? How is he here?'
At this moment, the little girl who was originally standing beside Hiruko Kagetane was attracted by Blue Bird on Yang Tao's shoulder. She ran happily to Yang Tao's side and said, "Wow, big brother, your bird is so big!"
"This is a parrot, its name is Blue Bird, and my name is Yang Tao. Little girl, what's your name?"
Yang Tao, having recovered, smiled and squatted down to look at the little girl in front of him.
"I am father's daughter, Hiruko Kohina…"
Then she turned to Hiruko Kagetane and asked, "Can I cut him, Father?"
Hiruko Kagetane chuckled and said, "Don't be reckless, Kohina, come back."
Kohina's face showed disappointment, but she still ran back to Hiruko Kagetane's side.