Huang Yehao said, "183 years ago... Then the bodies controlled by Mongal-Mongal must have completely decayed by now, right? What kind of enemies will we be facing?"
Having fought his way up from an ordinary soldier, reaching the limits of humanity before joining the Fourth Legion and surpassing those limits, every word Huang Yehao spoke was in preparation for the battle to come.
"Though the flesh decays, Mongal-Mongal will preserve their basic structures. Mongal-Mongal does not wish to exist alone. Every individual it devours is its toy. Before it grows tired of playing with them, it will not allow their consciousness to dissipate. So it needs to preserve the brain, and preserving the brain requires bones, limbs to support movement, basic channels to supply the brain with oxygen, and some muscular structure to maintain mobility..." Vishal knew everything there was to know about Mongal-Mongal. "Therefore, the Xiyala people who were devoured nearly two hundred years ago are most likely mummified corpses now."
"How long does Mongal-Mongal usually play with them before getting tired?" Huang Yehao asked again.
"That is uncertain. Sometimes thousands of years, sometimes only decades," Vishal answered. "The longest case I know of was a planet that Mongal-Mongal toyed with for 1,174 years before allowing every individual on it to rot away and collapse. Its surface became a muddy swamp filled with Mongal-Mongal everywhere. During that planet's final few decades, I witnessed its decay..."
Shepard said quietly, "...I think I understand now. You have seen too many civilizations rise and fall, so the scheming among the other Korloks seems so childish, so insignificant to you..."
Vishal fell silent.
Shepard did not dwell on it any longer. Pulling herself together, she said loudly, "Without question, we are facing a desperate situation. If we do nothing, we can only perish