Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

"The other party was able to infiltrate the entire town silently, and it's only now that the Inquisition has discovered something amiss. Rather than being exposed, it's more like there's no longer any need to hide. Perhaps those madmen in the church have already made their move and started to further guide the actions of the Terrorfish."

But after saying these words, she didn't hear any decision about action from Tomat or Gretia. Instead, she was met with three surprised looks from the three of them.

“Surprising,” Goredia said briefly.

"Wow, amazing! Our Skadi is so good at analysis. What did you eat to become so smart?" Tomart laughed.

“Don’t talk nonsense. Skadi’s analytical skills are definitely in the top three among the three of us!” Specter patted Skadi’s hat and said confidently.

“You…” Skadi herself was speechless. “…Sigh, let’s get started. I really don’t know what that Deepsea Hunter we sensed earlier was doing, that it’s made the situation like this.”

Skadi's words brought the topic back on track, and at this moment, Goredia adopted a more serious tone:

"Prepare for the worst. In times like these, the possibility of being powerless is far less than the possibility of going along with it. Perhaps that hunter has already betrayed the path he should have followed."

Specter then went straight to the point, bringing up the embarrassing history of Gladys that Skadi had told her: "...like when you joined Quintus by acting, Captain?"

Grace didn't respond, but immediately commanded the other two hunters, "Alright, let's get moving!"

[Event] Fool's Tale: Chapter Nine - People's Brain Circuits Are Not Connected

"Skadi, can you still sense where you were before?" Specter asked.

“No problem, it’s in a building not far from here.” Skadi shook the sword pouch behind her and looked towards the town.

"So prioritize finding the other party, whether they have become enemies or their actions have been delayed until now. They also have more local information than we do. Find them, 'ask' them, and make as much favorable progress as possible before the situation in the town gets completely out of control."

Although they hadn't fully penetrated the town, the deep-sea hunters realized that this operation was no longer a simple extermination mission where they could practice on the beach and casually eliminate the terror fish, but rather a combat operation that involved the entire town and was far more complex than expected.

At first, Greta thought this operation was just a completely unreliable outing and that it could be handled properly by simply entrusting everything to Tomat. However, she unknowingly entered her former "working mode".

After all, even setting aside her duty as a deep-sea hunter, and driven by personal motives, the motivation she derives from dealing with this crisis far outweighs that of writing a cleanup report for a group of troubled children.

Find companions, kill the terror fish, and eradicate the deep-sea church suspected of lurking here, while preventing these bizarrely shaped terror fish from causing a crisis that could destroy the town.

After the hunters quickly outlined their objectives, Gladys, still acting as the team leader and directing the remaining two, suddenly realized that the current situation was exactly as Thomas had predicted—

"You have the power to easily annihilate large numbers of enemies, but what if the circumstances don't allow you to use that power directly?"

"You like to destroy everything by your own power in places where there are only enemies, but what if enemies weaker than you also like to cower in places where there are more enemies?"

"Or, in an environment where caution is required, what would you do if you were facing a group of enemies who attacked indiscriminately and without restraint during battle?"

Tomat has already emphasized the importance of solid skills to them, but he also tirelessly emphasizes "how to better utilize them without being limited by the environment".

Just like the previous battle in the vehicle where the Ghost Shark was asked to reflect on its fight with the Terrorfish.

Before they came, Tomat only told them to fight the terror fish to reduce the chances of revealing their weaknesses when facing enemies who are good at playing dead, and also to train their control over their power.

But the situation they now face is "how to fight a crazed enemy in an environment full of ordinary people," and they must use their power judiciously, which is far more difficult than fighting the terror fish without any worries.

In the former case, they could still take advantage of the chaos and fight according to the Deep Sea Hunters' own preferred fighting style, but the latter directly dragged them into an environment where they had to fight according to Tomat's requirements.

Granfalo is in danger of being swallowed up by the Terrorfish at any moment. It is also home to a considerable number of natives. Isn't this the kind of environment where deep-sea hunters find it hardest to exert their strength?

Although they could also recklessly use their usual fighting methods in the city, just like Skadi before joining Rhodes Island, engaging in unrestrained battles with others in the city, ultimately bringing the city to a near standstill, Tomat would not allow them to do so now, not to mention that this is a real combat environment, not just a simulated battle with hostage elements, so there is no room for failure.

"Could it be that he already knew the local situation, that the entire town was covered by terror fish, and that's why he brought us here for targeted combat training, so that the hunters could master combat styles and techniques beyond annihilation warfare?"

Grace couldn't help but think of it, and felt deeply impressed by Thomas's feigned attitude in handling affairs.

Judging from his words, actions, and apparent motives, he could be described as "unserious," but in reality, he was meticulous and thoughtful, using the pretext of catching the tarantula as a pretext to prepare a rigorous training program for deep-sea hunters—truly deserving of the title of instructor.

Perhaps all of this was planned by him and the Iberian Tribunal. They had planned it all back in Saltwind City, and then used the Terrorfish in that cargo box as an opportunity to use this town as a training ground for hunters, teaching them how to better utilize their strength in a restricted environment.

The idea of ​​"integrating into the crowd and fighting" was something she, as the legion commander, had never considered for the deep-sea hunter group.

To her, deep-sea hunters should be "dangerous weapons" deployed to enemy-held areas to carry out annihilation operations, not even worthy of being called soldiers, including herself, who is also a deep-sea hunter.

There is no bloodshed or tears; all that is needed is to obey orders, participate in combat, and possess great strength.

No need to master precision techniques, just unstoppable brute force.

Thomas tried to teach them something else, which Greta initially dismissed as tantamount to using an excavator to open a bottle cap—wasting a tool that had a real purpose on something unnecessary.

But she later slowly realized that Thomas was just using the same methods he used to demand things of others.

Even though they are beings with such great power that they don't need to care about anything, or those that can more efficiently annihilate on a large scale, they still choose to refine their other technologies.

Even he believes he still has shortcomings and works hard to improve them. Compared to him, the seemingly "weak" Deep Sea Hunter has no right to think he has enough strength and doesn't need to learn more skills, or even think it's a waste.

Grandia recognized Tomat as her instructor not only because he had a lot of knowledge and skills to teach her, but more importantly because he was an unquestionable role model and never regarded them as cold weapons with only combat functions.

Therefore, after she suddenly realized that it was Tomat who had painstakingly prepared Granfalo for them, Gretia had already decided in her heart that she would live up to expectations and make sure that the hunters met Tomat's requirements in this place.

Meanwhile, Tomat was dipping his finger into the spots clinging to the soil and examining them closely, showing no intention of joining the hunters' battle meeting.

Then he reached out and made a grasping motion. The spots in the soil, like iron filings attracted by a magnet, detached from the soil and coalesced into a nearly spherical polymer in Tomat's palm.

A blue glow shimmered, and within the gel-like polymer, a kaleidoscope of colors flowed continuously.

Thomas looked at the mass of things, and as the person at the center of Goredia's mental vortex, he was now pondering:

"Since this is also a type of fish known for its fear, can it be eaten?"

[Event] Fool's Tale: Chapter 10 Thomas's Occasion

"It's not that delicious; I've tasted enough of this kind of mushy stuff."

The ball of dinosaurs in his hand had vanished. Just as he finished swallowing, Tomat frowned and gave his assessment.

“Well…” Tomart thought for a moment, “an upgraded version of Hibiscus’s nutritional porridge.”

Upon hearing this assessment, Specter stuck out her tongue and gagged, while Skadi also frowned.

Only Goredia spoke seriously:

“Dinosaurs do not exist to be eaten, nor can they be improved to be delicious like livestock. Although they will devour each other, they are actually more like feeding each other. Therefore, in order to avoid being preyed upon by other species, they basically carry dangerous toxins and a large amount of non-absorbable substances—or make themselves look less ‘worth eating’.”

"So it's no wonder it tastes bad, but I have to say your digestive and immune systems are truly amazing."

Even after Gretia finished explaining, Thomas still looked puzzled.

"Well, something just doesn't feel right... In the past, the 'fearfish' had indeed been poisonous, or some parts looked unappetizing, but they actually tasted quite good..."

"Besides, I've already processed it with gas, so any toxins or other harmful substances should be eliminated and it should taste even better."

Terrorfish cannot be eaten directly, a fact that Tomat and Skadi have already learned in Saltwind City.

If ingested directly, the powerful vitality of the dinosaur can even cause it to invade the body and control the mind, leaving the person confused and ultimately becoming a breeding ground for new dinosaurs.

However, after Tomat used the processing methods he learned from Nian, the original characteristics of these things should be eliminated, leaving only the parts that are beneficial to the body, and even the taste will be better.

Now he tried the same method, but got a different result, which could not help but confuse him.

"I only know that in terms of nutrition... the value of the Terrorfish is undeniable. After all, their flesh and blood have indeed concentrated a large amount of nutrients through predation. These nutrients are either needed for their own evolution or stored as reserves to feed other Terrorfish that urgently need nutrition to evolve. But ultimately, they are only nutrients that exist to continue the species, and it is impossible to consider the taste at all."

“They are indeed not suitable for consumption, so I am very curious how you came to the conclusion that ‘dinosaurs are actually delicious’ back in Saltwind City.”

Goredia continued to emphasize that although she and Tomat and the others were in Saltwind City that time, they had completely missed the opportunity to eat the Terrorfish because they had been staying in Quintus. Therefore, she did not entirely believe Tomat and Skadi's account.

“Those things were indeed delicious.” Tomat didn’t prove much, but glanced at the spotted dinosaurs still shimmering in the pit with his already lost interest, and then, as if trying to explain himself, he said, “Maybe these dinosaurs are just exceptions. Anyway, there can’t be only one kind. I’ll go look around the area again and meet up with that judge. You guys go do your own thing.”

The two groups of people embarked on different paths.

Skadi sensed the presence of her companions coming from within the town, while Tomat noticed three distinct presences approaching from the fortress.

A little thought revealed that the latter must be one of the Grand Inquisitor's men, so Thomas headed in that direction, while the hunters began searching for their companions.

Although Granfalo was somewhat desolate, it was at least better than Saltwind City. In addition, the tail of Tomat did not make the locals regard him as a strange Agor and avoid him. So when walking on the road, you could still see quite a few people.

"There are quite a few people with strange auras."

Perhaps due to the scarcity of Originium due to its coastal location, there are no people here who are weakened by Oripathy; most are in good health—though their auras seem slightly low and lacking in vitality.

But among them, there were occasionally some oddballs that Tomat found strange.

Those people possessed a slightly stronger aura than ordinary people, and it seemed that there was another living being emanating an aura within them.

This reminded Tomart of the time in Saltwind City when the residents, after eating food containing gas energy, had their dinosaurs bursting out of their throats.

These people appeared perfectly lucid, showing none of the muddled state of the residents of Saltwind City.

Skadi once said that the Church of the Deep Sea had conducted experiments to transform people into terrifying fish. It seems that the experiments here are much better than those in Saltwind City, so that no one can tell from the outside that something is wrong.

Tomath didn't know whether the residents here were like those in Saltwind City, who had been tricked and unknowingly become the shells of the Terrorfish, or like Quintus, that inexplicable person, who had actively merged with the Terrorfish. Therefore, he did not act rashly when he noticed anything unusual.

It's better to leave the matters of the Deep Sea Church to Skadi and the others.

Tomat arrived at the town's central square, where a stone pillar of unknown origin stood.

He made a temporary stop here because, judging from the movement of the aura, the three people who came from the fortress would arrive here soon. Even if they hadn't planned it in advance, they would still be able to meet in a public place.

The fountains around the stone pillars had long since ceased functioning, with only a small spring, beginning to stink and covered in floating duckweed, reflecting the sky.

Thomas sat on the edge, watching the sparsely populated square as he waited for the three to arrive.

"...Tourists?"

"Ok?"

A slightly aged voice sounded from the side. Tomat turned his head and saw an elderly man named Liboli with a full head of white hair.

The old man was wearing an apron commonly seen in factory work, with an old tool bag wrapped around his waist and a gleaming hammer in his hand, looking as if he had been busy just a few minutes ago.

"Ah, yes."

Thomas gave the frowning old man a friendly look, then looked around and continued:

"However, this town doesn't look very prosperous."

"It's rare to have tourists, please excuse the poor visitor."

Upon hearing this answer, the old man's wariness lessened considerably, and he too revealed a smile etched on his wrinkled face.

But his tightly furrowed brows remained furrowed, as if some grudge lingered in his heart and could not be dispelled—though it was still clear that this grudge had nothing to do with the young man in front of him.

"I knew there was a new face here. Looks like I'm still thinking straight. I really haven't seen you before."

“Granfalo used to be a great place, but it still has places worth visiting. Welcome, young man.”

The old man's gaze followed Tomat's and looked around at the surrounding buildings.

At that moment, a kind of vibrant light seemed to flicker in his cloudy eyes.