Chapter 20 – Choice (5)
“Our task of refining soldiers must continue.”
Even now, we’re constantly hunting or launching surprise attacks on goblin, kobold, and other low-tier monster villages, but attacking a proper ‘Faction’ is an entirely different story.
Thus, before the war, I planned a significant overhaul of our combat troops.
The higher our level rises, the more accumulated genetic data and experience we gain, and most critically, the more traits points I accumulate, the more we can consistently evolve.
[Disposing of all current and planned soldier units to produce new ones would be highly inefficient.]
“Are you crazy?”
The system misunderstood me, thinking I intended to dispose of the soldiers we’ve worked hard to produce and create new ones from scratch.
That’s insane. Even if we recycle existing soldiers entirely into nutrients, there would still be losses.
If scaled to thousands, the losses would be catastrophic.
To us, who devour everything—every animal, even the roots of plants—such losses would be a significant blow.
“We should establish a new facility to retrofit our existing soldiers this time around.”
I envisioned the development of a facility capable of retrofitting existing soldiers without killing them, which seemed feasible given our current capabilities.
“How exactly is that possible?”
“Seeing it first-hand would make it easier to understand.”
This was closely tied to my unique abilities that couldn’t be shared through the Hive Mind, so it seemed Syla couldn’t grasp what I was saying.
With a faint smile at her bemused expression, I took Syla to a site where we’d already prepared with hundreds of Workers.
Near the Nest entrance, where the remaining plants had been uprooted, leaving only blackened soil, a massive pit had been dug—large enough to accommodate dozens of people at once.
I connected a tendril drawn from within the Nest to this pit.
“By introducing my stem cells into nutrient solution and supplying them with nutrients, I’ll infinitely replicate them to fill this entire pond.”
From the tip of the tendril, a large amount of dark, sticky viscous fluid poured out.
This mixture of nutrients, water, and digested materials contained everything we needed, and it was also what I used to supply nutrients through my tendrils.
“…”
Syla shuddered at the sight, clearly finding it repulsive and unsettling.
That’s understandable. She wasn’t yet accustomed to ingesting nutrient solution like we were.
It was clear she couldn’t chew food like I could and still relied on the nutrient solution, but she hadn’t fully discarded her vampire identity yet.
‘Soon, I’ll have to adjust her mindset too.’
Although her maintained sense of self was a drawback, I didn’t think it was much of a problem. Over time, as she spent more time with us, she would inevitably assimilate.
The most important point was that her body was firmly under my control.
When I gave commands to the cells within her body, she would perceive the nutrient solution as the tastiest thing in the world and derive immense pleasure from fighting our enemies.
It would be ideal if her mind fully adapted on its own, but if that didn’t happen, I’d have no other choice but to lend a helping hand.
Sooner or later, Syla will become completely like us, whether she wishes it or not.
“Dipping soldier bodies into this complete tank of stem cells allows them to absorb the stem cells, transforming into a new form.”
By the time the undulating nutrient solution was halfway full, I slowly immersed myself in the pond, simultaneously releasing cells from my body into the liquid.
“Enough.”
The spreading cells absorbed the nutrient solution and infinitely replicated, creating a satisfyingly dark and gooey pond.
Summoning a soldier nearby, I prepared to demonstrate the process.
*
“Is this possible…?”
Since Syla joined the Legion, every day was a continuous surprise.
Restoring her shattered body and regaining her ability to use mana seemed trivial in comparison.
And today, the Queen once again defied all logic. She dipped an already fully functioning soldier into the pond and pulled out a completely transformed entity.
“This is the newly created standard soldier. I’ve concentrated its abilities on mobility and close-quarters combat.”
As Syla blankly watched, the Queen, now perched atop the new soldier’s head, smiled with red eyes.
“Definitely.”
Even to Syla, the newly retrofitted standard soldier perfectly embodied the Queen’s stated purpose.
Perhaps the most numerous of the new soldiers in the group, the body size of this new standard soldier was similar to the small-car-sized previous versions but had completely redesigned features.
Unlike the previous version, which retained traces of the Black Rot Insect, the six legs were now reduced to four.
These spider- or crustacean-like limbs were reinforced with hard exoskeletons that could also function as sharp spears for thrusting.
The main body was exceptionally thin and streamlined, comprising what appeared to be only muscle and a hard outer shell.
There was no reproductive system, excretory system, or even a digestive system. The only things attached to its head and main body were sensory organs—only the most high-performing ones derived from various Mana Beasts, ensuring optimal physical performance.
“They have no need to eat, excrete, or reproduce. Their sole purpose is one: to find and kill enemies.”
The Queen, creator of this unimaginable lifeform, calmly declared it as the most efficient form possible.
“How is this even possible…?”
Syla murmured absent-mindedly, staring at the organ on the soldier’s head resembling a helmet that could instantly fire a long venomous spike.
If it didn’t need to eat or reproduce, could it even be considered a living organism?
Living teeth and claws existing solely for the Hive.
That was the nature of the Legion’s combat soldiers.
And even more terrifying was the existence of the Queen, who could imagine and create these things.
A casual joke about adding an extra arm from the Queen now felt less like a joke.
“From now on, we’ll set up these retrofit tanks in other nests and start the process en masse. All new soldiers from here on out will be the new model. The estimated time for this is a constant 69 hours, 12 minutes, and 24 seconds. In three days, we’ll lead a force of 10,000 to attack a city, one belonging to someone unknown.”
Smirking, the Queen relayed the detailed plan to Syla.
In reality, the Queen was only a clone speaking with Syla.
Elsewhere, construction had already begun, and behind the scenes, numerous soldiers were taking turns soaking in the tanks, emerging as entirely new entities.
“We’ve been scouting for a few days now, and there’s nothing particularly unusual. The main forces appear to be Goblins, Kobolds, a few Orcs, Dark Elves, and a bit of everything else, but they’re mostly just travelers.”
Reconnaissance continued.
Through the covert eyes of stealth soldiers, the city’s data was consistently being acquired, though the scout seemed dissatisfied, sitting casually with her elbow resting on her chair.
[Higher-level intelligence warfare is required for more information.]
“I know, alright?”
She snorted at the system’s response to her grumbling.
The problem was the scout was limited by visual intelligence, gathered merely by watching.
Though identifying the enemy’s scale and characteristics through sight was possible, she wanted more detailed insights.
Specifically, exactly what kind of city this was and who ruled it.
“Maybe I should’ve gone there personally?”
To obtain the level of information her current methods allowed, the only reasonable option was for her, or her clone, with a presentable form, to venture there directly.
Syla’s face was already known to them.
However, after much thought, this hadn’t been done due to an initial lack of information making role-playing impossible.
“Fine. As long there’s no trace of Players, that’s good enough.”
She eventually dropped the thought. Currently, the intelligence from the scouts alone was sufficient.
Her main concern was the strength of the Players, but there had been no signs of anything resembling Player activity in the city.
