Chapter 33 – Legion (3)
“Huh, things are getting more serious.”
“What has happened?”
News began reaching the hobgoblin territory where my alter ego, the hobgoblin Lux, resided. Naturally, the news came from the viscount Zik’s orcland in the northwest.
While living as a sole hobgoblin, I calmly asked the murmuring hobgoblins what the news was.
“A monstrous group that attacked and took control of our city Loen has crushed the army of Viscount Zik and is invading most of the territory.”
The news spread that the demon coalition, personally led by a lord, along with many mercenaries, was completely annihilated.
Moreover, the envoys sent by Zik were desperately requesting help from nearby territories.
The impact wasn’t the same as when a small northern town was crushed. It seemed like the fact that the lord himself mobilized elite troops, which were then smashed in direct confrontation, significantly affected the perception.
This isn’t something just any ‘mana beast’ could achieve, after all.
“According to what the envoy of the viscount asserts, those monstrous creatures should be categorized as comparable to demons, and their information should be properly investigated.”
We could easily tell that the perception of us was gradually changing.
Even the official Lumon, who had been pondering over a nonexistent scheme behind us thinking we were mere mana beasts, was flustered.
“Dark fiends.”
One proof of this was that we were given a proper name. The name the mercenaries terrified by us after a proper fight gave us was an intuitive reflection of the fear they experienced upon seeing us.
It wasn’t just the overall name that was assigned.
Different classifications were also created: the standard combat units dubbed “Fallen Ones”, the assault type called “Blade Ones”, the throwing type named “Bomb Ones”, and the Alpha types categorized as upper-class beings.
“You guys are really good at making things sound convincing. And you even added a ‘special upper-class’ category for Syla, calling her ‘Lance Fiend’.”
“Pfft, ridiculous.”
When I told Syla about this news, she smirked with a cold laugh.
Many of the demon warriors were greatly shocked by Syla’s spear skills.
“Viscount Zik, in his final moments, desperately sent a desperate cry for assistance, but we don’t know how many will answer.”
“That’s right. I’m checking that right now.”
It’s a regrettable story for the envoys who are trying with all their might to bring reinforcements, but the reality is that we’ve already conquered the orc’s base.
It had proper defensive facilities with walls and defense towers, but the damage incurred before was too great.
Once we occupied the area, we restored the damage and replenished our forces, completely surrounding them in an all-out siege. It didn’t last more than a day before their stronghold fell.
Now, naturally… it’s swept clean and has become our nest without leaving a single living creature.
“Is our lord planning to help the orcs?”
“At this point, it’ll be hard to ignore it. In reality, they’re in real danger, and reportedly, Viscount Zik was so desperate he asked for help everywhere. If other estates covet their land, we won’t be able to claim it.”
When Lux, my hobgoblin alter ego, asked Lumon the administrator, he said the count might likely help them.
For me, this wasn’t bad news.
Most importantly, if the territories that don’t get along are going to fight over the crumbling estate of Zik, they won’t unite against us.
‘Go ahead, keep fighting amongst yourselves.’
The complexity of the region’s power structure continues to work in my favor.
Leaving the territory of the hobgoblin count Rudras alone and attacking and conquering only Zik’s to use it to our advantage was precisely for this reason.
‘Feels like I’ve seen enough here.’
It seemed time to reclaim my alter ego who had been diligently executing his mission thus far.
Since I’m a free citizen, I can go wherever I want, so that’s no issue.
But while thinking it would be a shame to vanish this way, I noticed something.
It was a notice recruiting new mercenary members to head to the invaded orc territory.
“Hmm.”
Looking at that gave me an idea.
I could infiltrate as a mercenary, participate in the war, and if needed, trigger sabotage from within for a more efficient victory.
“I’ve come because I saw the announcement recruiting new comrades. I wish to join you.”
“Are you serious?”
I immediately headed over to where they were, which turned out to be a tavern in the city.
True to the announcement, it was quite a large mercenary band made up of various races, including orcs, numbering in the dozens.
“Hobgoblin?”
“Our group doesn’t care much about race. So long as the skill is sufficient.”
When I approached to be recruited, one of the captains, a werewolf, smirked and began testing my abilities, challenging me to a duel.
Among the mercenaries who were laughing and cheering, a space naturally opened up, and our duel began.
Though a hobgoblin, I was still a goblin—smaller in stature compared to the werewolf, who stood over two meters tall, was a seasoned warrior who skillfully wielded his greatsword.
‘I need to fight differently.’
With dozens of eyes watching, it was impossible to freely alter my body in my usual style.
So I employed another method—my auxiliary brain, which I had repeatedly improved and enhanced to its limits.
Using computational power beyond ordinary living creatures, I replicated and countered his movements and techniques in real time.
It wasn’t that difficult. No matter how complex a technique may seem, it isn’t as intricate as a creature’s genetic information. With their limited habits and learnable skills, I could analyze and break them all down.
“T-this brat…?!”
The werewolf hesitated, clearly unnerved when he realized I, who was supposedly a lower-skilled fighter, was real-time analyzing and countering his every move.
Simultaneously, I jumped up and struck him forcefully on the head with the flat of my blade.
“That’s enough! Impressive, Lux. That level of skill is more than sufficient. Though I don’t understand why you didn’t join the estate’s knights, if you wish, you can join us.”
Kron, the leader of the mercenary band, and an orc warrior, nodded in satisfaction, signaling the end of the duel.
It was the moment my alter ego successfully infiltrated the demon mercenary band.
*
“At the moment, learning swordsmanship or magic might seem useless, but who knows… Perhaps there might come a day when it will be useful.”
Undoubtedly, magic held boundless possibilities far beyond simply possessing it.
Currently, my use of magic was limited to reinforcing my body with magic-infused cells and generating basic defenses—efforts that were far too rudimentary. However, if I were to formally learn magic, I could potentially create special Alpha types capable of spamming magic.
[The body count has reached its limit.]
“Huh, already?”
But right now, it wasn’t the time to ponder various methods of utilizing magic.
Rather, it was time to focus on the critical matter of our army’s size limitation and nutrition supply.
“Obtaining nutrients by eating, digesting, and absorbing—it’s too one-dimensional.”
No matter how many victories we achieved, acquiring huge amounts of spoils and territories rich in nutrients still left us constrained, and this was due to an inherent structural limitation.
No matter how many artificial digestive organs I created, maintaining them also consumed nutrients.
No matter how efficient the bodies I created were, energy would always be consumed.
Even the workers who gathered nutrients by harvesting plants scattered across the land consumed nutrients in the process.
Though it hadn’t been an issue before, now that our numbers had grown past a certain point, these matters have become significant. The efficiency of the spoils acquired through war is even falling.
“We need a new way to obtain nutrients.”
Plants create nutrients from the abundant light and vast land without needing to consume food.
Perhaps this is an essential issue that could decide the fate of our entire species, whether it will evolve into a higher form of life or perish.
「Physical Enhancement 5」
“How much more should I upgrade this?”
Even though I upgraded my physical enhancement to the fifth level using characteristic points, I couldn’t yet reach the desired level.
With a wry smile, I decided to search for another method.
Since I can’t yet duplicate the abilities of plants, what about a mana beast similar to plants, something we could digest and analyze?
