Chapter 166 – The Third Force (1)
To the soldiers of the Legion, emotions were the feelings of the hive mind Eve. When Eve was angry, they too would become angry; when Eve was happy, they too rejoiced, and when she was sad, they shared her sorrow.
It was simply that Eve allowed very few emotions for her Legionnaires.
The emotions Eve granted her claws and fangs were intense and destructive feelings like anger, hatred, and greed.
Thus, the Legionnaires used these feelings as tools to collectively unleash them, intimidating and freezing enemies who shared similar emotions.
“…Gah.”
Now, a green-skinned mountain goblin lay dead with its neck severed.
The one who struck down its sword and beheaded it was a black armored goblin of similar build.
This Legionnaire, once a monster of the demonic realm like the fallen mountain goblin, now part of the Legion through modifications, quietly watched the red blood dripping from the sword.
‘Northwest watchtower. Bring it down.’
‘There are archers on the cliff that resembles a barracks.’
‘A large number of them have appeared underground.’
In the mind connected by the collective consciousness, reports and directives from higher beings with high intelligence knotted together.
Naturally, it was impossible for this mere goblin with the intelligence of a unit to fully grasp those directives or reports.
Still, there was something it could confirm. It raised its sword high.
Without vocal cords, it was impossible to scream. But this explosive feeling bubbling in its chest was unmistakable.
The ‘personal’ feeling that had dominated its body moments before was not anger.
This was pleasure. The thrilling pleasure that a being who had achieved growth and accomplishment might feel. Goblins like it were not few.
‘Charge. They are coming.’
Following the command, it dashed forward. It wanted to fight more. It wanted to kill more. Shin Woo did not attempt to control the emotions of these mere Legionnaires like Eve.
Thanks to that, even low-intelligence goblin-based small Legionnaires with a sense of self exhibited wildly varying reactions that were unlegion-like.
Among them were those feeling fear or reluctant to fight, emotions that would horrify and disgust Eve.
Those unable to handle forced charges soon died anyway. Only those who survived were those deemed worthy to endure.
This was Shin Woo’s method of producing those qualified for evolution.
“Keek… I can’t believe this…”
It trampled over the corpses of its comrades and finally pierced through the Mage’s heart.
In the process, the creature lost half of its upper body, including one arm, yet it inserted the sword deeper and thrust its face, illuminated by a glint of its own eyes, into the shivering eyes of the Mage.
*
“I won.”
“There’s still much to do.”
The battlefield filled with thunderous sounds, screams, and groans had quieted down. The only ones able to speak were the highest subminds, Kang Do-yeon and Oh Yu-na, who could remove their masks.
Kang Do-yeon surveyed the devastated stronghold with indifferent eyes. The time it took for tens of thousands of troops to be slaughtered was a mere half a day.
In fact, the outcome was already determined. There were no formidable opponents among the goblins able to mark Kang Do-yeon as a strong contender, and there were no defenses that could withstand her power equivalent to that of a spaceship.
Most of the bodies rolling on the ground were green-skinned. Next was red-skinned, followed by black armored ones.
“This is the situation you wanted, right? So far, there’s been little to no damage to the higher beings. Just wounds capable of self-healing.”
With a soft rustle, Oh Yu-na took off her mask and smiled faintly as she pointed around.
Surrounding them were the few surviving Legionnaires from this battle and many red goblins who had surrendered.
“Exactly. Only the qualified strong have survived among the existing soldiers, and new soldiers have emerged.”
She nodded in agreement with Oh Yu-na’s words.
“If they don’t strike back, we will continue to attack them as planned.”
The gate opened. The destination was the nest. Kang Do-yeon commanded the captured and infected prisoners as well as the corpses lying on the ground to be moved to the nest.
In the meantime, the Legionnaires, including her, replenished their nutrients and energy. They planned to continue utilizing their advantages without rest.
‘When the main forces are focused elsewhere, we’ll rampage as much as possible to provoke the enemy’s reactions.’
With tendrils embedded in her lower back, she stood quietly and looked up at the now darkening sky. The road ahead was long, and time was not plentiful.
Shin Woo, of course, also believed that the order disrupted by Eve was ready to be reestablished anew.
‘Let’s prepare to modify the bodies of the Legionnaires who have achieved successes on their own this time.’
While Kang Do-yeon paused for a moment to replenish her nutrients, the thick roots of the Legion’s nest were still burrowing into the mantle layer of the demonic realm.
This battle had granted them thousands of new soldiers. While converting these into goblin-based small Legionnaires, Shin Woo decided to turn his mad thoughts into action.
‘Through combat and reflection, we will transplant the brains of small Legionnaires who have achieved growth into the bodies of medium or large Legionnaires.’
“If successful, we can reproduce the Legion’s forces here as well.”
Kang Do-yeon bit her lip slightly. It was somewhat cruel, but this was not the time to indulge in such luxuries.
Above all, this was something they themselves desired. Having gained the feeling of accomplishment for the first time in their lives, they readily agreed to Shin Woo’s proposal of becoming stronger in new bodies.
“…”
Among them was one still leaking bodily fluids from its shattered upper body. It was the first to stumble toward the nest.
With simple intelligence, it had no fear of the collapse or departure of its self. It was enough that it would be granted the ability to fight once more.
The type of body that would apply to it was that of a large mining-type Legionnaire based on the Demonic Earth Puppy.
The only brain left intact from its melted and dissolved body in the viscous liquid was soon transplanted into a massive monster cultivated within a gigantic egg.
With a self that remained at a child’s level, it continued to merge with the new body, still holding onto its fury against enemies and thirst for power.
‘Success.’
Before long, this enormous monster broke the egg with claws that could cut steel like tofu and descended to the ground with a thud.
In this way, the Legionnaires, who enlarged and strengthened themselves, were reproduced in the hundreds. Now, the Legionnaires, who had acquired a certain semblance of Abundance, burst out of the nest.
“The creatures that hesitated for a moment are showing movements. All the goblins in the nearby stronghold are gathering.”
“If they gather, can they win?”
“If they don’t gather, then those mere goblins can’t do anything.”
Dawn broke three days after the stronghold raid. Kang Do-yeon, along with Oh Yu-na, led the Legionnaires and departed the nest, now devouring the land surrounding the caves.
Their purpose was to intercept the enemy troops approaching this way.
‘Unless I come up with a brilliant plan, we won’t lose.’
This time, she took the lead without the slightest distrust or hesitation, swiftly crossing the sky while keeping her eyes fixed ahead.
If the goblins and their players declared war on this new Legion, it could turn out to be a fatal misstep. Unlike Eve, their only way to bulk up was through absorption via combat, not through self-production.
Moreover, the goblins’ racial trait of collective behavior was perfectly antagonistic to the current Legion.
Eve did not unnecessarily develop the Legion commander and higher-tier forces. The existence of Formancy meant that it was a world where a single strong entity could ravage an army.
As long as the goblins had no means to mark her, who was an overwhelming powerhouse, more than half of the battle was already decided.
‘I see them.’
‘You’re too fast; we’ve spread out too much. Please slow down a bit.’
Kang Do-yeon spotted a massive horde of goblins gathering in her view. She scanned them but did not notice anything unusual.
‘Huh?’
However, at that moment, something glimmered and flew towards her faster than the speed of sound, grazing her cheek and slightly shattering her mask.
“…A spear?”
What had just flown was a spear charged with blue electricity. With her enhanced sight, Kang Do-yeon confirmed the figure that hurled the spear at her.
Eight goblin mages were waving their staffs in the air while reloading another spear, along with a muscular blue-furred wolf.
In that instant, despite the distance, their eyes met in midair.
‘It seems they called for support.’
Immediately afterward, the spear raced toward her chest, shared through the collective consciousness.
In a flash, the crimson barrier enveloping her thickened, and she effortlessly deflected the spear imbued with magic energy.
