Lord: Starting with Biological Modification

A torrent of fiery Blood-sucking Vines poured into the giant serpent’s mouth, but it didn’t bring about the expected end.

CRUNCH! CRUNCH!

A series of crisp snapping sounds rang out, clearly audible even amidst the chaos of the battlefield.

The Gray Swamp Lord’s jaw and throat muscles possessed terrifying biting strength; any vines that entered its mouth were severed in the blink of an eye.

It was merely choked into a greater rage, thrashing its head wildly.

The battle reached a stalemate once again.

The giant serpent was firmly bound in the center of the basin by three sets of ballista steel cables and a living net of vines that covered its body, rendering it immobile.

But it was far from subdued. Its vigorous regenerative abilities were still wrestling against the forces that bound it.

[Winch load is steadily increasing! Cable One on the left is showing signs of metal fatigue!]

[Demon Crystal consumption is stable. Remaining reserves can last for another hour!]

’What now?’

The question surfaced in everyone’s mind. ’Do we just keep waiting it out?’

’Wait until the winches break, or the Magic Array runs out of power?’

By then, this thoroughly enraged Magical Beast would turn the entire Gray Sea Marsh into a molten hell.

Just as everyone was growing anxious, Velin issued a command.

[Barton, lead your squad. Take the injection unit and enter the battlefield.]

As the order was given...

...at the edge of the basin, Barton, who had been waiting, shot to his feet. Behind him stood six brawny soldiers.

Without a word, they worked together to lift a specially made steel pipe, about four meters long and half a meter thick.

The pipe was pitch-black. One end was fashioned into a sharp point from several triangular steel plates, while the other was connected to a complex structure of levers and presses whose purpose was unclear.

"With me!" Barton shouted, shouldering the front of the steel pipe and charging toward the giant serpent first.

The seven men, carrying the heavy steel pipe, stumbled into the basin, which was covered by a gravity field.

Their movements were somewhat sluggish under the gravitational pressure, but their steps remained firm.

All eyes were fixed on this strange squad.

"What are they going to do?" Mia asked in the matrix, completely unable to comprehend the action.

"Poke it with an iron pipe?" Ola was also bewildered. "That thing isn’t even big enough to be its toothpick!"

Roland understood even less.

At this distance, if the giant serpent broke free from even a single chain, the mere thrashing of its body would be enough to grind these men into paste.

[Ola, Winch Two on the right, reverse-release three rotations, then pull up on Reserve Cable Five with full force!]

Ola cast aside his doubts and executed the command.

Amidst a screech of metal, one of the main cables loosened slightly, while another reserve cable, already fixed to the serpent’s tail, suddenly snapped taut.

The rear half of the giant serpent’s massive body was brutally yanked off the ground by this force, its tail hovering nearly a meter in the air.

The position was extremely uncomfortable, causing it to writhe even more violently, but for the moment, it couldn’t press its body back against the ground.

The Barton Squad had already rushed underneath the serpent’s suspended body.

The Gray Swamp Lord’s attention was entirely focused on the excruciating pain and restraints on its head; it was completely unaware that a few tiny insects had appeared at the other end of its body.

Barton let go of the steel pipe, handing it to the squad members behind him, and put on a pair of heavy, refined steel gauntlets.

He pushed aside the overlapping layers of fiery Blood-sucking Vines, carefully searching for something beneath the giant serpent’s abdomen, which was covered in molten Scale Armor.

From his high vantage point, Barrett’s single eye was wide open, staring intently at Barton’s movements.

As an old mercenary with rich wilderness survival experience, he had dealt with countless large beasts.

When he saw where Barton had stopped, a ridiculously absurd thought sprang to his mind.

That spot was... the cloaca.

The opening used by all reptilian creatures for excretion and reproduction.

Barrett’s face twitched.

’No, this is too... It shouldn’t be...’

"Found it!" Barton yelled excitedly in the matrix. "This damn place is slippery as hell!"

The muscles in his arms bulged as he used his gauntleted hands to forcibly grip the normally shut orifice, pulling it apart with all his might.

"Now! Ram it in!"

The six squad members behind him let out a unified roar and, carrying the sharp steel pipe, aimed for the opening Barton had torn apart and charged forward with all their strength.

SQUELCH!

The sound of tearing soft tissue pierced the air.

For some reason, the seven squad members, including Barton, felt an inexplicable tightening in their nether regions.

Everyone on the scene who witnessed this subconsciously stood up straighter, their own bodies clenching in sympathy.

The front half of the steel pipe was completely buried inside the Gray Swamp Lord’s body.

The Gray Swamp Lord’s massive body went rigid for an instant, then erupted into an unprecedentedly violent struggle.

Its muscles spasmed uncontrollably, its enormous head shot up, and its mouth gaped open to its limit, but it couldn’t produce any sound. It was clearly in agony.

"Winches! Hold steady! Everyone hold it steady for me!" Ola frantically commanded his crew. "Fuck! This beast is going insane!"

SNAP!

A main steel cable snapped under the terrifying tension!

The broken cable, like an iron whip, sent a soldier flying!

"Quick! Quick! Lock it in!" Barton, thrown about by the serpent’s struggles, roared at a squad member beside him while clinging desperately to the metal pipe.

The squad member raised a large sledgehammer and swung wildly at the huge button on the end of the pipe.

CLANG!

With a loud bang, the button was pressed.

A series of clicks echoed from within the steel pipe as its mechanisms sprang open.

The tip of the pipe, already deep within the serpent’s body, deployed six barbed steel wings, anchoring it firmly inside, making it impossible to dislodge.

The pain doubled.

The Gray Swamp Lord’s struggles lessened in amplitude, but its body was wracked by high-frequency tremors. A large amount of foul-smelling liquid gushed from its incontinent orifice, drenching the Barton Squad.

"BLECH! BLECH!" Barton spat out the liquid that had splashed into his mouth and wiped his face. "Final step! Push the agent in!"

The squad members scrambled to bring over a long, thin metal rod. Working together, they began to force it into the back end of the steel pipe.

As everyone watched, the metal plunger was pushed, bit by bit, into the pipe.

Barton’s voice, trembling with the relief of having survived, echoed in the matrix.

"My Lord, the ultra-high concentration neuroparalytic agent has been fully administered!"

As if in response to his report, the Gray Swamp Lord’s wildly convulsing body suddenly went slack.

All the struggling, all the spasms, ceased.

Its massive body went completely limp, its heavy head dropping powerlessly to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.

The light in its golden, vertical pupils, once burning like molten lava, rapidly dimmed, leaving them pale and lifeless.

The clamor of the battlefield gradually subsided, leaving only the heavy, weak gasps of the Gray Swamp Lord.

It was utterly defeated, in a way that even made the men present feel a twinge of sympathy.