Lord: Starting with Biological Modification

Chapter 252: Chapter 247: Living Equipment

Velin pulled his eye away from the periscope.

These were not monsters.

They were intelligent beings.

He could tell from their coordination, their equipment, their adornments.

They were a civilization, possessing a social structure, collaborative capabilities, and a unique technology.

A monster invasion was a natural disaster.

An invasion by an Alien Race, however, was war.

The two were disasters on completely different scales.

A storm of data raged in Velin’s mind.

’A single sapper, a digger, is a Level 4 Warrior.’

’Then what about their combat troops? Their commanders?’

’The size of their population, their technological systems, their social structure... I know nothing.’

And the unknown was the one thing Velin loathed most.

’To think such beings were hidden in the oceans of this continent.’

An uncontrollable thought surfaced.

’If there are octopus people under the sea, could there be bird people in the sky?’

Velin cut off his own wandering thoughts, forcing himself to refocus on the crisis at hand.

He pressed his eye to the periscope once more.

His attention focused on the tool in Melnus’s hands.

It was a trident-shaped object, its tips not sharp points, but three flat shells.

As the muscles in the user’s arm flexed, the tips of the three shells began to emit a low hum. Tiny ripples spread through the surrounding seawater, and a faint halo of light even pulsed across the shells’ surfaces.

A technological system he had never seen before.

It wasn’t pure Magic, nor did it fall into the category of Alchemy. It seemed more like a bizarre hybrid of multiple technologies.

Just then, the Warrior he was locked onto suddenly stopped moving.

He slowly turned around.

The single, horizontal pupil that stretched across its face swept over the surrounding rock walls.

Its movements were slow, filled with the characteristic wariness of a predator.

Velin’s heart clenched.

Its senses were sharp. It had detected the faint energy disturbance caused by the periscope piercing the rock strata.

Barrett and the Scouts behind him sensed Velin’s hesitation. They gripped their weapons, muscles tensing. Inside the narrow tunnel, the air crackled with the imminent threat of battle.

Melnus’s gaze lingered for several seconds on the area where Velin’s periscope was located.

Ultimately, it found nothing out of the ordinary. It turned back and resumed pulverizing the rock with its strange fork.

Velin slowly exhaled.

He shifted his focus to the creatures’ bodies.

They wore a peculiar type of armor. Its surface was uneven, covered in countless tiny conduits through which a translucent liquid flowed.

On an impulse, Velin used [Inspect].

[Name: Symbiotic Pressure Carapace]

[Level: Level 3]

[Bloodline: Abyssal Cave Crab (Silver Tier) 33%, Energy-Devouring Rock Louse (Silver Tier) 21%, Mixed Bloodline 46%]

[Abilities: Basic Magic Resistance, Water Pressure Immunity, Energy Siphon]

[Overall Evaluation: A type of biological armor. It can actively regulate external pressure, maintaining a habitable environment between the deep sea and terrestrial rock layers. The network of conduits on the carapace’s surface is a miniature ecological circulatory system, capable of filtering trace amounts of aether from the water to provide energy to the host.]

Velin was surprised, but also felt a spark of unexpected excitement.

It was the first time his ability had analyzed a piece of "equipment."

’Is it because this piece of equipment is "alive"?’

A life-support system pieced together and grafted from multiple creatures.

’What does this mean?’

’It means equipment can be "cultivated," "grafted," and even "evolved."’

A whole new technological path unfolded before his eyes.

Velin’s mind connected the dots.

’Underwater operations, living pressure armor, a self-circulating energy system...’

A logical conclusion began to form.

[Sarah, mark a new highest-priority tactical weakness.]

[Inferred target species is purely aquatic. Physiological structure cannot adapt to dry terrestrial environments. Without a water source and their pressure carapaces, their survivability will be drastically reduced.]

Sarah’s mental reply was immediate.

[Father, recorded.]

Velin retracted the periscope. The steel tube slid out of the rock wall, pulling a small gush of murky seawater with it.

He straightened up and turned to the people behind him.

"Tristan."

"Sir."

"Once you’re back on the surface, I want you to immediately pull the background files on every resident in the territory. Screen for anyone from a coastal region, anyone with sailing experience, anyone who’s been a sailor or a fisherman. I want to know about any legends or eyewitness accounts regarding a ’humanoid Sea Race with eight tentacles.’"

Tristan’s expression was grave. He nodded. "Understood."

Velin turned his gaze to Barrett.

"Barrett, what are the challenges for your Scouts?"

"Sir," Barrett’s voice was grim. "If we engage them in the tunnels, and the tunnels flood, our bows will be next to useless."

As for Ola’s situation, Velin knew without asking.

A Knight’s heavy plate armor would become a deathtrap in mud and water. Pitting them against a native aquatic race underwater would be a suicide mission.

Just as Velin was rapidly weighing his tactical options, an alert came from Sarah.

[Father! Warning! Change in vibration frequency detected!]

[They’ve accelerated! Based on the vibration frequencies from the rock strata, the enemy is digging faster!]

On the three-dimensional map in Velin’s mind, the red dot of light representing the enemy suddenly began to flash faster.

It was closing in on the mine’s subterranean caverns at a speed visible to the naked eye.

’Have they hit a softer, more easily excavated rock layer?’

’Or have they sensed something and decided to charge ahead, regardless of the cost?’

Either way, it meant their time to react was shrinking rapidly.

To wait passively, to let a force specializing in underwater combat engage them on their own turf, would be the height of folly.

Ola also sensed the approaching threat through the Hive Terminal. He breathed heavily, his grip so tight on the handle of his axe that it groaned.

"These bastards... they’re coming for us!"

Tristan’s face was pale. This was his first time facing an unknown threat from the depths of the earth, and the immense pressure made it hard for him to breathe.

Velin stared at the encroaching red dot on the map.

He calmly issued new orders.

"Change of plans."

Everyone in the tunnel heard it loud and clear.

"We’re not waiting."

"Sarah, calculate the shortest straight-line distance between us and them, as well as the weakest point in the rock strata."

[Calculating... Confirmed. Thirty meters below us, at a fifteen-degree angle to the right, there is a basalt layer only fifty meters thick. Estimated time to contact... three days.]

"Ola, Barrett."

"Sir!" the two answered in unison.

"We’re going to open a ’surprise’ exit for them." A curious glint sparked in Velin’s wine-red eyes.

"Right there. We’ll ambush them."

"Let’s see who’s superior—them, or the Lord of Gray Swamp!"

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