****(POV)

Well, whatever. I don't plan on meeting him either. Let's go in the opposite direction, shall we? This is my moment to shine!...

I say that, but really I do plan to play it safe. Any sign of danger, and I will retreat. I walk slowly. I make sure to have many scouting Gus in front of me. They look like small flying ants and are great at inspecting their surroundings.

My whole body is crawling with hard-shelled centipedes for defense. They will be able to block if a wild Gu does ever make it to me.

Finally, I have rock devouring beetle as offense. They are mostly recognized as support Gus, but they can crush exoskeletons as easily as a rock when properly managed. That's the thing. These things are extremely hard to train.

There is a saying that goes: It's easier to train a pebble to kill than it is a rock devouring beetle. At least the pebble will listen to you!

It's simply because these things just love digging themselves inside any rock they see. Yes, they'll do it while you are walking. Yes, they'll do it in your walls if you have a stone house. Yes, they'll definitely do it during combat while you are dying a dog's death.

How do people cope with such a problem? The consensus is to use a technique to slowly erode their spirit and turn them into puppets.

Mines are 100% natural rock devouring beetles without any magical additive. This means that instead of taming them in a week, it took me months. Still, I succeeded. Now, they don't care that much about digging anymore.

They get really excited whenever I command them to dig, but that's about it. They aren't living just for that very reason anymore.

Centipedes for defense, beetles for offense, and flying ants for scouting. With this, I'm perfectly ready. I roam the sewers akin to a ghost, fading in the background. I'm silently lurking in the darkness in search of a good target.

Often, the Gu trainers are targeted, but in my case, the creatures quickly decide not to mess with my army. I see some wild ones looking at us in amazement, their legs shaking with the tension. They instinctively feel that there is a king in our midst.

Packs of Gus exist but are never that well organized. Well, not without a wondrous existence called a king. All of these are things we know from legends. There has never been one confirmed to exist in this continent.

I'm using our current battle formation to intimidate them on an instinctual level. That's my way of doing things. It may not be the best suited for direct combat, but it has its merits. While others are probably struggling out there, I'm just swaggering around relaxed.

Right now, my current issue is finding a good target. Sometimes there are Gus that decide to block our way. In many species, there are always some members that are courting death. They are the ones.

Well, only the weakest ones are that daring, ironically. I deal with it like a true professional Gu trainer. I throw spices at them! Is that it? Yes. That gets them fleeing.

As I travel, many species are revealed to me.

I encounter an especially shiny centipede. This one should be a mirror centipede. I feed it until it decides to follow me. At first, it eyes my bag with greed, but then it realizes how well protected it is.

Every time it tries to sneakily grab something, it gets slapped away by shrieking and hissing Gus. Eventually, it understands the concept: Work and get food. I'm just wondering if I could somehow use its bloodline to increase the strength of the centipedes I currently possess…

Later on, we stumble upon an area completely filled with mist. It is clearly a poisonous one. This instantly sends my party on edge. Even the ants can't see much through it. I know only one Gu that has such ability.

I grab a rope, one that won't get corroded by whatever is in there. Then I attach it to an ingredient before throwing it in there. After a few seconds, I drag it back. It is untouched. That rules out pork, I guess.

Then continues a guessing game with me throwing random stuff inside and bringing it back. All until I finally throw a small packet of salt, and it doesn't come back. After that, the rest is simple. I use it to bait the creature.

I keep throwing small salt grains at it, enough to whet its appetite but not to completely satisfy it. Then whenever the mist comes close to me, I stop throwing it. We keep alternating this play many times until it finally realizes that the food stops whenever the mist gets near.

It decides to turn its own ability off and appear before me a butterfly-looking creature. Well, the nightmarish version as usual.

We slowly approach while throwing it food. Eventually, it gets so comfortable that it's eating in the palm of my hand. It then joins the legion while looking a bit puzzled about why the others aren't showing any interest in the salt. It quickly forgets the issue and happily devours.

This life-of-death challenge is appearing to be a normal walk, plus getting Gus for free. At this point, I'm not stopping no matter what! Later on, I notice a small cricket in an alcove alone, in plain sight. It's not hiding, it doesn't seem worried one bit, and it's even eyeing my legion as one would a tasty snack.

But everything is under control as I use my Gu trainer knowledge, and I run away as fast as my legs can carry me! This thing is crazy strong! That's a Damned Soul Cricket! The kind that can kill just with its singing.

Against it, numbers are meaningless. Against it, the only solution is to have one strong Gu that is powerful enough to resist its ability head-on. Other than that, an assassin-type Gu could take care of it too.

But I'm not foolish enough to try and fight it. Even if I win, it would be a pyrrhic victory. I unashamedly lead my troops away. We keep going until we encounter flying death Gus. They look like big worms with wings and teeth.

Normally I'd avoid this group too since this species is extremely belligerent. They are fast and hard to defend against. But right now, I have a new trump card. I send my mist Gu right in their lair before having the rock devouring Gus produce a collapse of that specific sewers tunnel.

Trapped inside a deadly mist, their fate is sealed. I swoop in to play doctor once they are all down. Then they submit. They want to live. Me feeding them helps too.

With this new addition to my party, I keep going. But soon, I encounter something that sends signals of danger from my brain throughout my body.

What the hell is this creature?!...