(Ah, a minor correction—Rello is the King of Stamina, not an Assassin. Old age, my memory fails me.)

Since the Imperial Second Class Iron Cross amnesty could only be applied to a single piece of equipment, there was one item Fang Senyan currently couldn't use, and which also didn't require a specific rank: the D reward from the Golden Branch Quest, the Puppet of Seizure.

The required condition for this item was an Attribute score of no less than thirty in all areas, and Fang Senyan’s Charisma… well, you understand.

For the rest of the team, this item was rather useless because a failed filming attempt would enrage the enemy and dramatically spike aggro; thus, only Fang Senyan and Reef were suitable candidates for its use.

However, Reef faced his own problem: he was a character who needed to use skills frequently, compounded by the fact that he already possessed a powerful servant! The servant’s strength came at a cost, as using its abilities drained Reef’s MP, making his MP pool his perpetual weak point, requiring meticulous calculation for every distribution.

The Puppet of Seizure’s active ability, Filming, consumed a fixed 50 points plus 15% of the current Spirit value. This combined percentage-and-fixed cost drain was the most agonizing type of consumption.

Reef, already pulling at his hair to the point of near baldness over MP management, dared not equip this thing to add fuel to the fire. In contrast, Fang Senyan relied almost entirely on innate abilities and equipment effects, aside from occasional potion use, possessing an enviable abundance of Spirit.

Having sorted out this item, Fang Senyan went to find his teammates. They were all gathered in the team’s private space, conferring and waiting. As Fang Senyan walked in, he deliberately let his gaze linger on Zi’s voluptuous chest a few times, which provoked a mix of shyness and anger in her, causing her to shoot him furious glares before Fang Senyan composed himself, cleared his throat, and spoke:

“Well? Have you managed to discuss a viable plan?”

The Android No. 1, Old Charlie, was presently clad in a tailcoat, white gloves, and a Western top hat, perfectly embodying the image of an 18th-century British noble butler. He addressed Fang Senyan with impeccable politeness:

“Master, I have laid out all the intelligence I possess concerning the Mountain Cyclops.”

Fang Senyan nodded: “Well done. Your knowledge is crucial for me. I will immediately apply for non-combatant protection for you; you will accompany me on this world adventure. With that protection, accidents should generally be averted.”

Afterward, Fang Senyan turned to San Zai: “How about it? Are you confident?”

When the topic touched upon his area of expertise, San Zai displayed a rare, settled composure. He looked at Fang Senyan very seriously:

“With my current strength, subduing this Rank Seven creature will still be quite difficult.”

Fang Senyan was unsurprised by San Zai’s reply. After a moment’s thought, he asked: “Then what is your probability of success?”

“Around 7%,” San Zai replied. However, his expression wasn't disheartened; there was clearly more to come.

“Brother Yan, your Ukiyo-e [Floating World Painting] recorded this Cyclops’s data, which actually grants a passive form of surveillance—it’s like having a hidden camera installed on the creature. By paying a certain amount of Universal Points, we can observe it up close.”

“Through my careful tracking and observation of this Mountain Cyclops, I noticed it has a peculiar habit: it has started storing food. Specifically, it tears off the choicest meat from its kills, then dries and cures it.”

Fang Senyan’s eyes lit up: “Oh? There’s such a thing?”

San Zai nodded: “Yes. According to the data Old Charlie provided, Cyclopes are inherently lazy and clumsy creatures. They devour everything they catch, sparing even the marrow. This voracious appetite allows them to endure nearly a month of starvation, like a python, after a full meal. There is no record of them storing food. Why is the Mountain Cyclops we are monitoring behaving this way?”

“Next, I found another passage in the data: Cyclopes do not lactate, but their offspring are born with voracious appetites. Consequently, the mother chews the cured meat into a paste to feed her young. During this process, the Cyclops’ infant stage lasts only seven days, during which they experience rapid growth, transitioning into the juvenile stage capable of independent hunting.”

Fang Senyan’s eyes brightened: “You mean this Mountain Cyclops is about to give birth? That’s why it’s stockpiling fresh meat? But I don't see any outward signs of pregnancy?”

San Zai chuckled: “Though both Mountain Cyclopes and humans have ‘man’ in their name, the differences are substantial, and their methods of parturition are vastly different.”

Fang Senyan laughed too: “In that case, what is your confidence level in subduing a juvenile Cyclops?”

San Zai responded cautiously: “At least seventy to eighty percent.”

Fang Senyan nodded: “Then we have two issues to confront. First, we enter the new world in five hours, making it unlikely we can wait for the Cyclops to give birth. Second, we must figure out how to deal with a powerful Rank Seven Legendary creature—its hurled stones are no joke. I estimate Mogen Sha and Zi could be instantly put into critical condition by a single volley.”

Reef laughed heartily: “I don't think the first issue is a problem at all. Before you arrived, this Mountain Cyclops was already exhibiting strange movements, looking like it was about to begin labor. As for the second point, the Mountain Cyclops will not throw stones if someone is engaging it in close combat nearby. Its ammunition is formed using its own unique abilities; if it suffers close-range attacks during the brief period of condensation, not only will the Cyclops take extra damage, but its ability to coalesce stones will also fail.”

Zi shot Fang Senyan a look, then continued: “If the Cyclops has just given birth, its strength will be reduced. We can then use the virus to infect it, further weakening it. Finally, you two tanks, along with the Dark Gold Leech, can surround and suppress it, while Mogen Sha and I focus on ranged firepower. We should have a fighting chance.”

Fang Senyan remained somewhat hesitant, primarily because he had personally witnessed the Cyclops’s terrifying triple-throw attack—even the immensely powerful Iron Blood Arbiter had fallen victim to its hurled stones.

However, he quickly calculated that with the Dark Gold Leech and his summoned creatures covering the retreat, coupled with his upgraded innate talent, escape would be feasible even if they couldn't win. He tacitly agreed to the battle plan.

At this moment, Old Charlie, who had been silent beside them, suddenly spoke: “The labor has begun.”

The group immediately gathered around the Ukiyo-e. The holographic projection displayed on the device showed the Mountain Cyclops suddenly appearing to be in extreme agony, lying on its back, its entire body convulsing violently. Visible beneath the skin, veins and blood vessels swelled like small blue-green snakes, converging toward its abdomen.

Slowly, a basketball-sized protrusion began to form on the Cyclops’s belly. Compared to the colossal size of the Mountain Cyclops, this bulge didn't seem significant, yet all the creature's blood vessels were visibly concentrating their flow toward that spot, as if pouring all its nourishment and essence into that single point.

After a while, the basketball-sized lump began to move slowly upward, though deliberately.

When it reached the Cyclops’s throat, the creature seemed to reach its peak of suffering. Its massive fingers tried to claw at its throat, but its willpower forced them deep into the earth instead, digging a large pit nearby in a few frantic scrapes. It could only rely on muscle spasms, desperately attempting to regurgitate the obstruction.

Old Charlie narrated from beside them: “The most dangerous moment in a Mountain Cyclops’s delivery is this one. If the fetus is too large, it can block the trachea, leading to suffocation. If the fetus is too small, the mother is safe, but the resulting offspring will be developmentally impaired, similar to a human premature birth, and highly prone to early death.”

“However, over eighty percent of mother Cyclopes choose to allow the young to grow larger, accepting a higher chance of self-suffocation. Therefore, the risk to the mother during delivery exceeds thirty percent, and the chance of both mother and child perishing is no less than twenty percent.”

Everyone watched the birthing Mountain Cyclops intently. While human babies are delivered vaginally, and Cyclopes vomit the offspring out through the throat, the danger was remarkably similar.

Time flew. The Mountain Cyclops began kicking its legs furiously, churning the ground beneath it into a massive muddy hole, the displaced dirt piling up like a small hill. Yet, its condition worsened instead of improving. Fine blood vessels covered its single eye, and copious amounts of brownish fluid streamed from its mouth, emitting terrifying sounds. But the mass lodged in its throat had not moved outward by a single millimeter!

“Something seems wrong!” Zi frowned first. “She must be having a difficult labor!”

Old Charlie bowed respectfully: “It appears so, Madam.”

Zi immediately commanded: “We must summon her now! She needs help!!” (To be continued)RQ