However, rather than Anubis's refusal to answer, what concerned Wood most at this moment was the Monster before his eyes, and—
Aaaaaah—!
A sudden scream erupted from the left, Wood looked toward the sound, only to witness an incredibly bloody scene!
It turned out that after the Monster swallowed the bullets, its body underwent rapid expansion, which in turn caused a mutation in the lawn, causing a Man in camouflage gear, armed with live ammunition, to instantly fall into a boundless black hole—his companions reacted quickly and rushed forward to pull him out, but what they dragged out of the black hole was only half of his body!
The Man's entire torso below the chest and ribs had been torn away, leaving ragged intestines, muscle, ribs, spine protruding from the severed wound!
Wood didn't even know if the screams were coming from the man who was now only half a body, or from the mercenaries who were terrified by the fact that their comrade had been reduced to half a body!
-----------------------
Please provide the paragraph you would like me to translate.
Author's Note: Actually, I have always felt that Western gods, demons, monsters lean towards Lovecraftian themes—unfathomable, blood sacrifices, falling into the Abyss.. Chapter 66: The Secret Treasure of Quetzalcoatl (3) Thank you to readers "Riyue Taosan Huan", "Yuan Zhong Ren De Yi Yu Zhong Li", "Lan Mei Xiao Yang", "Er Jiao", "Yue Xia Yin Cha", "Gu Lu Gu Lu", "kiki", "Bao Hao Du Shu Jiu Jin Chang Da Gong", "a", "Fish Blowing Bubblegum", "Ye Yuan", "Courage is Lifelong Reliance", "Nai Pi Nai Pi Wo Shi Cha Pian", "Li Yu", "Xiao Xiong Bing Gan Beng Tiao", "Huan Le Song Huan Le", "Qian Duo", "Meng Li Jian", "Qing Yun", "fiaaaaa", "Xi Huan De Da You Shuang Ruo Geng Xin La", "Xue Hua", "baiyulan", "Kan Ming Tian", "Quan Mei Nv Shi", "Red Heart", "moonlit", "Liu Nainai Mai Niunai", "Shan", "Yi Tuo Da Yan", "Min", "Irrigation Nutrient Solution"
Please provide the Chinese paragraph you would like me to translate.
What do we do now!
Peterson shouted.
With his extensive combat experience, he had realized the danger was approaching long before the mercenary was swallowed halfway into the Monster's body, furthermore—this was a crisis that was Impossible for them to resolve with their own strength!
“..”
Wood was somewhat flustered and at a loss.
The development of events had far exceeded his expectations, especially since the Boss's exact words were—"If the Mysterious Stone Cabinet has already cracked, then what remains inside the box is just a little trinket that can be disposed of at will. Just open it."
(To think that such a terrifying thing is considered a mere trifle with no danger in the Boss's mouth! How terrifying must the thing that escaped be!)
Wood grumbled inwardly, but on the surface, he maintained a calm and composed expression: "—The power of Set remains within your body. I have Jormungand by my side, as well as Anubis. If we work together with all our strength, we will definitely be able to solve the problem."
Set? Ah—I remember now!
Peterson shouted, gesturing for his subordinates to surround the massive, wriggling mass of Amoeba.
Don't be afraid, everyone! This thing only looks terrifying; it can be easily dealt with using human strength! Otherwise, how could it have been stuffed into the Mysterious Stone Cabinet?! It didn't even dare to escape when the seal developed cracks! In any case—New York needs our protection, we cannot retreat!
But—
But what 'but'! I have a bold plan right now, a plan with a success rate of over ninety percent! But this plan requires your cooperation! And—regardless of success or failure, you might die!
“..”
I know how you all feel right now, but—the Organization pays us such high salaries and buys us such expensive insurance, isn't it all for this very moment! If we retreat, the entire New York will become its food! When that happens, not only will we not survive, but our families, lovers, friends.. all of them will be eaten by it! Eaten! Do you understand!
While boosting morale, Peterson stepped forward toward the Amoeba monster: "—If you're afraid of death, then leave! But I will not retreat! In this battle, even if we are wiped out without a trace, even if we are completely annihilated, we will save New York!"
Boss—
Touched by Peterson's self-sacrifice, the subordinates gripped their weapons tightly and began to surround the Monster in a scattered formation.
(They..)
[Was Papa moved by them?]
A slightly cold female voice rang out in his mind. Wood looked toward the sound and saw a strange girl in a red cloak standing in the shadows where the bushes met the lawn. Half of the girl's face was covered by a hideous skull mask, while the other half was as exquisite and beautiful as an angel in a religious painting.
What shocked Wood even more was that the Black Shadow behind the Red-cloaked Girl was actually the long-lost Cain!
(Isn't he on the same side as Lilith? And then he collaborated with Boss.. why has he suddenly appeared here?)
(No! That's not right! This matter might—)
Papa! Watch out! Don't get caught in the crossfire.
Eh?
Jormungand's words brought Wood back from his trance. He saw a group of people led by Peterson launching attacks against the mysterious Amoeba Monster. Under the intense firepower of the crowd, the Monster gradually revealed its true form, which was as distorted and viscous as primordial chaos. Its body stretched continuously like a fountain, expanding like an umbrella about three meters above the ground, forming a pale cyan transparent light membrane that enveloped Peterson and the others as they attacked it.
That Guy—
It prepared to envelop these people within its body, digesting and dissolving them like bullets into a part of itself.
“..”
[Peterson had discerned its feeding patterns in an incredibly short amount of time. He intentionally led the team to attack it, attempting to provoke it into swallowing him—so that he could then use Set's power from within to strike this gluttonous fellow from the inside, gaining a higher chance of success for our subsequent attacks.]
Anubis explained Peterson's plan to Wood.
[He is a respectable guy, even though he has the Set's Power within him that I hate most!]
So, what should we do now?
Wood asked Anubis.
Do not waste his sacrifice—do the right thing at the most critical moment.
As soon as the words fell, the Monster's body had expanded into a transparent semicircle, three meters in diameter, shimmering with multicolored light like a soap bubble under the intense glare, trapping Peterson firmly within it.
Peterson looked up, staring at the translucent body of the Monster that had stretched thin as a cicada's wing while completely sealing him in, shouted, "You're planning to eat me, aren't you?"
The Monster could naturally not answer Peterson's question, as the translucent substance enveloping Peterson turned into thick, heavy droplets that slowly fell.
Drip—drop—
Every drop that fell onto the ground would leave a small, smoking hole in the lawn, while those that fell on a person would transform into a thin film, clinging to the body and rapidly expanding until it completely enveloped them.
This scene.. reminds me of how a Paramecium eats..
Wood muttered in a low voice.
After all, That Guy is a low-level organism similar to an Amoeba—to be precise, the power that created it intentionally designed its body to resemble an Amoeba, yet it possesses a high level of intelligence that an Amoeba does not.
Why? Why can such a primitive physical structure possess such high intelligence?
Wood felt it was hard to believe.
Common sense dictates that intelligence originates from neural brain cells, only lifeforms that have evolved complex brains possess intelligence.
[Because the glial cells that make up That Guy's body are the same substance as human neural glial cells—humans always use themselves as the standard to measure other organisms, yet they forget that the standards established by humans only apply to the current human civilization system; they cannot even represent other types of lifeforms naturally nurtured by Earth that have not been included within the scope of human cognition, let alone—this mass of matter comes from an Outer Civilization~]
Outer Civilization?
Wood was shocked and blurted out, "What do you mean by Outer Civilization? Cthulhu?"
You could understand it that way, but they aren't actually the same kind of matter.
Jormungand spoke nonchalantly, his massive body suddenly releasing Wood, whom he had been tightly enveloping, before lunging forward!
Anubis also strode forward, his life-reaping Scythe slashing toward the Monster that had already crawled all over Peterson!
Wood watched with trepidation.
..
Because his body contained a small amount of Set's Power, Peterson did not die or melt immediately after being enveloped by the Monster's gelatinous body—driven by his determination to save New York with his life and through sheer stubbornness, he forced the Set's Power within him to erupt amidst the narrow gap between life and death!
The Monster felt the sweetness of Set's Power and wrapped itself greedily around Peterson, enveloping his body in layers. Like a hummingbird sucking nectar, it frantically squeezed the encased Peterson, attempting to dissolve him into its own kind.
Peterson pushed himself to the limit time and again, turning Set's Power into flames that erupted from his pores, scorching the Gelatinous Monster.
Before my death, no power can make me surrender! Oh God! Lend me your strength! Help me kill this Demon!
Peterson, having once again torn through the Gelatinous Monster's body from the inside, shouted loudly.
He was reaching his limit.
His entire body was covered in blood and wounds, his legs had already begun to corrode and melt—
—I don't know if your god heard your voice, but I—I heard it!
As if in response to his shout, Jormungand opened his massive mouth of the Abyss and took a powerful breath—
Sizzle! Sizzle!
The Monster, along with Peterson who was entangled and wrapped by the Monster, rushed toward Jormungand's mouth.
At the same time, Anubis swung his Scythe, slashing toward the lawn where the Monster had once lurked!
Boom!
The ground was instantly sliced open by Anubis's Scythe, creating a massive hole, a staggering amount of soil flew into the air, all of it entering Jormungand's mouth.
Wood, watching from the sidelines, was completely stunned.
Such combat methods—
Really..
Won't it cause an upset stomach?
And Peterson.. Peterson, he..
As if hearing Wood's thoughts, Jormungand, who had swallowed the Monster, Peterson, a massive amount of mud contaminated by the Monster, turned his head, his golden eyes looking at Wood with sadness.
[Papa, this is the result Peterson craves—those possessed by Set are destined not to live past three years, let alone the fact that he has already made his decision.]
But..
[To be able to die for the sake of protecting the world he loved most, he felt proud and happy..]
“..”
Wood fell silent.
At this moment, rather than contemplating the meaning of death and sacrifice, more important things were confirming that the Monster was dead, that Jormungand had not been contaminated, and—
Track the mysterious escapee!
We cannot let Peterson's sacrifice become a joke.
Wood said heavily, "Even though New York is a hellish city rife with sin, still—even a maggot-like vagrant has the right to live, until God is displeased!"
..
..
After a simple and thorough physical examination, Wood confirmed that Jormungand's body was currently perfectly healthy, but considering he was a mythological creature, Wood never dared to let his guard down.
“What if.. what if you get an upset stomach? Should I send you to a pet hospital.. well, even an elephant hospital probably wouldn't have the right medical equipment for you.. or maybe a whale clinic.. does such a place even exist in this world?”