Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

"I don't think we need to worry about the town. The other three will handle these things once they find their companions. Besides, I told them beforehand to control their strength in the fight and not to make a mess of the surroundings during the battle. So let's leave things to them. I guess they'll take care of that church too."

"As for Minghen, whom you are most worried about... I have already taken care of her. Consider it a favor to them."

Tomat looked at the rocks and soil covered with necrotic marks that had been pulled out earlier. The necrotic marks had lost their deep blue color and writhing light, and now they were motionless, just like real mold.

Minghen fell into a deathly silence—or rather, a pretense.

"I'm curious whether the mastermind behind this can still 'convince' them to operate in the places I've been."

[Event] Fool's Tale: Chapter Fourteen - Simple Things

Desert creatures try to make their fur or scales as close to yellowish-brown as possible, so that as long as they remain still, they can avoid the sight of predators or become more elusive attackers.

But this is something they acquired through countless years of evolution.

Humans, on the other hand, can achieve the same effect—or even better—by using various external tools to disguise themselves.

Humans have used their wisdom to compensate for the fact that "evolution was too slow".

For dinosaurs, however, evolution is not a slow process. They can compress huge changes into two or three generations of reproduction, and even without offspring, they can undergo various specialized transformations as long as there is enough stimulation.

"The evolutionary speed of the dinosaurs surpasses the brainpower of any scientist."

This was a reflection made by Saint Carmen after witnessing firsthand the frightened fish under stress.

The evolutionary features or special abilities that take hundreds or thousands of generations for most organisms to develop can be replicated and used by humans with a little effort.

The coping mechanisms that humans rack their brains to come up with can be quickly adapted to by the dinosaurs simply by accepting them.

The fruits of wisdom transcend the evolution of nature.

But this wisdom, in turn, becomes a joke in the face of another unnatural existence.

But now... this "unnatural existence" seems to be overwhelmed by something even more "unreasonable".

As if to make itself inconspicuous and to be completely ignored, all the marks of the darkness turned the same color as the soil.

The purpose of the dinosaurs was to reproduce and evolve, and the prerequisite for all of this was survival.

Just as herbivores deliberately avoid the territory of carnivores, or remain still to avoid drawing attention when accidentally falling into their line of sight, Minghen used a direct change in its appearance to show weakness to Tomat from the food chain level.

These fish, which regard everything on land as nourishment and pose a great threat to any other creature with their unnatural characteristics, have quietly moved down one place in their ecological niche.

“Although they don’t have brains and seem stupid to be manipulated at will, they are actually quite intelligent,” Tomat said.

The Netherworld cannot comprehend or praise such things. They blindly adhere to the principle of survival, no longer wriggling or emitting light. Even though Tomat had long since concealed its aura, it still remembered something, just like the light of the three judges.

"I've encountered these seemingly mindless yet intelligently instinctive guys more than once."

Even though they didn't see all the changes, only glimpsing a corner from the excavated soil, Tomat had already made the three understand that the Minghen problem they had been worried about, a trouble that even two Iberian Tribunal armies might not be able to solve, had already been dealt with in the previous instant.

"They are not human, they have nothing that can be called reason or belief. They take survival as their ultimate goal, so of course they are afraid of the threat of death."

As they chatted, the group crossed the plaza, with Dario leading the way and the others following closely behind to the Inquisition's coastal outpost.

Tomat, who was walking at the very back, saw the old man who had greeted him earlier, and then smiled and nodded at the old man who was still in a daze.

"But we've seen them launch fearless, reckless attacks time and time again. Will they really become docile out of fear of death?"

Although Eleanor was only a junior judge, she was someone who had experienced the front lines of the battle against the terror fish.

The sight of those emotionless and irrational creatures attacking like waves made it impossible for her to associate those evil beings with the emotion of "fear."

Instead of answering her directly, Thomas asked her in return:

"Do you see an endless horde of tarantulas charging at you without regard for casualties, or one or two lone tarantulas with no ambush around, recklessly going against you?"

While Eleanor was deep in thought, Carmen answered for her:

"...Without the covert manipulation of high-ranking sea creatures or deep-sea bishops, the Terrorfish do indeed begin to riot once their numbers increase to a certain level. This is why any conflict with the Terrorfish inevitably involves large-scale battles."

"But if a lone tarantula is caught... even if it remains active, its aggressive instincts will be very low, and it will prefer to hide itself, unless..."

Carmen looked at Tomat, who then finished his sentence:

"Unless it encounters a very weak opponent, such as civilians?"

Carmen nodded in agreement.

At this moment, Elena understood why Thomas had asked that question.

The fear of fish is foolish.

But they are also shrewd enough.

Eleanor saw the fearless creatures during the massive attack by the Terrorfish.

However, they overlooked the countless monstrous fish in the ocean behind them that had not yet taken action.

They only dare to do that if they can ensure that their population will not be wiped out.

The death of a large number of individuals will not affect the survival of the entire population.

“Every attack they launch is a sign of these monstrous creatures’ contempt for us.” Dario raised his lantern to dispel the mist and guide the group toward the shore, saying, “Even if will and thought don’t exist, they still instinctively believe that ‘their own kind will be the last to live.’ What a blasphemy and insult.”

The word "clever coward" suddenly popped into Enelly's mind, replacing her previous assessment of the Terrorfish as fearless.

Not afraid of death?

They simply "believe" they can win in the end.

However, the word "win" probably doesn't apply to the conflict between dinosaurs and humans.

The human side's "win" can be defined in many ways depending on the situation and purpose.

But the "win" for the dinosaurs is simply to maintain their goal of "survival".

The dinosaurs killing humans is undoubtedly a victory for them; they have gained more living space.

Even though the Terrorfish were wiped out in the battle, they were still the winners because they always did so based on the premise that "the part that was killed would not affect the survival of the species," and their survival objective itself would not be shaken.

Survival is victory.

Even if humanity wins the battle and achieves what they define as a "victory," they still suffer losses and must prepare for the next attack until they are completely annihilated.

In this bizarre win-win situation, it's clear to everyone which side is more likely to maintain its victory.

Eleanor had come to a clear understanding of the mad intelligence of the terror fish, their relentless pursuit and sacrifice, simply because their purpose had been secured from the very beginning.

Their actions are not aimed at achieving victory, but at gaining "advantages" that are harmless even if lost.

Her understanding of the swarming behavior of the tarantulas also reminded her of another experience she had witnessed.

A lone individual of the dinosaur.

"So... the one in the cathedral's basement is the same?"

Eleanor looked at Dario and voiced her doubts. She clenched her fists and readjusted her understanding of the terror fish in her mind.

This is a taboo matter that should not be mentioned to outsiders.

But at this moment, there are no taboos.

Carmen and Dario's silence was an affirmation.

Alene had never understood why the tarantulas in the basement would stay there so obediently.

It clearly has enough strength to break free of its cage, so why doesn't it launch a ferocious attack and escape like other tarantulas?

Now she understood that the thing was indeed intelligent enough to know how to be afraid of death.

It knew that once it left that basement, the judges would blast it to smithereens.

With no chance of winning—meaning no hope of survival—it would rather choose to stay in the basement.

"So, the solution to your problem is actually quite simple."

Tomat spoke in a light tone about a problem that was incredibly heavy for the Iberians.

“They attack you and compete with you for territory because they feel that the foundation of their survival is not threatened in any way, and the price they pay to test you is within their tolerance.”

The sea monster represents the foundation, while the sea monster that comes ashore represents the test.

As long as the foundation remains, the victory called survival will continue to belong to the terror fish.

Whether the trial succeeds or fails, it is simply a matter of winning or winning more.

This reality leaves the judges feeling powerless, but it does not shake their resolve.

Because they know very well how to reverse this situation.

As for the method, Tomat slowly revealed it:

"Then let's think about it from the opposite perspective—if you are powerful enough to shake the very foundation of their existence, or if the difference in strength is so great that they cannot afford the cost of testing you..."

"It doesn't need to be too complicated. Just like their incredibly simple instincts, use your strength to make them realize that provoking them means extinction. Then, will they still dare to cause you trouble with such impunity?"

[Event] Fool's Tale: Chapter Fifteen - Doing a Favor

“Every attack, whether by a group or by an individual, is carried out only after ensuring their own survival. In other words, we have been meticulously outmaneuvered by a bunch of fools.”

Granfalo's situation was not an isolated case, and what Thomas explained could be applied to all places threatened by the terror fish, in Carmen's opinion.

But he could only express his helplessness about the situation with his aged face. However, like Dario, he remained steadfast in his commitment to what he was about to do.

"They're not afraid of death because they're certain they'll survive, so all you have to do is make them fearful?" Enelly pondered Tomat's proposed "solution," then, seemingly dissatisfied with the answer, muttered under her breath, "Easy for you to say... Even a team of Grand Inquisitors might not escape unscathed from a swarm of terror fish..."

"Shouldn't we become stronger then? Change our position in their eyes instead of letting them weigh our value and test us repeatedly."

However, Tomat heard these whispered murmurs clearly.

"From 'there will be losses but we can win,' to 'they're too strong to mess with,' and then to 'fighting will lead to annihilation.' By increasing our strength, we can gradually change our status in their eyes and make them 'be smarter.' Then, won't their survival soon be something you can decide for them?"

These words make sense, but they are also very jarring.

Before even understanding this simple and easy-to-understand truth, every judge present had long ago recognized another unshakable reality.

That kind of power is not something one can possess.

“You’re joking. If we had that kind of power, we wouldn’t need you to point it out,” Carmen said. “And the fact that you say these things so casually, doesn’t it mean that these things are easy?”

"Hmm... I guess so?" "But I'm just a rough man who knows how to use force, not a strategist or a scientist. This is the only suggestion I can offer. Whether you take it or not is up to you."

“Haha…” Carmen adjusted her hat brim. “We will consider it. After all, eliminating the Terrorfish is a pipe dream. We don’t mind having more far-fetched ideas.”