Chapter 42: Struggle for Survival (2)
‘What the hell.’
Screams and roars echoed continuously.
‘Until when.’
The hot heat of the battlefield showed no signs of cooling down and kept erupting.
However, in a war where two groups were fighting for each other’s lives, that scream and roar belonged to only one side.
“What are you!”
Felix, drenched in cold sweat, finally couldn’t hold back and shouted.
Even the common howls were absent.
It was the same whether it was a beheading or a stabbing.
This legion of silence repeated its attacks without hesitation or any sound, and Felix and his kin began to feel fear, slowly retreating.
‘We will never lose. There is no retreat. If we are pushed back here, it will mean our defeat.’
But he soon collected his thoughts.
He hadn’t held on so far just to be pushed back and die here.
“Narian!”
An arrow that brushed past his face pierced the enemy’s body.
Seeing her, who was aiming her powerful bow with the pattern engraved on her body glowing, he gritted his teeth.
“We will never back down!”
At his shout, the other kin also grasped their wavering hearts with all their might.
The determination and resolve to overcome fear and anxiety brought them together.
Their Player also helped them.
Gifts poured down as soon as they were available.
Even those who were still inexperienced grabbed them and shot arrows in resistance.
‘This is the struggle where we bet everything.’
Felix, who had beheaded an enemy in one stroke, suddenly laughed.
In a dire crisis, he was now convinced they were stronger than ever.
The Sacred Tree responded to him.
The power of the Sacred Tree resonating with them amplified further.
“…”
The Legion pulled back the Legionnaires.
The expression behind the mask wasn’t very pleasant.
Especially when they were certain of victory and bursting into joyous cheers, it was even more so.
[They suffered significant damage from their fierce resistance. However, if we had pressed on, we would have eventually won.]
“Efficiency.”
The Legion’s conclusion was simple.
Separating irritation and anger, they thought that pouring troops in this way would result in heavy losses to the point that victory would hold no meaning.
[Then, the answer is…]
“Endless despair and suffering.”
Of course, the Legion had already made plans.
There was only one goal. Annihilation of the opponent.
This retreat was merely part of that strategy.
“Through the war of attrition, continuous hope is given, but when true despair is presented at the end, their will will collapse.”
The Legion had already experienced this before.
The battle against the burrowing rats, which were units of another Player.
At that time, one of the conditions that allowed for victory was the self-destruction of rats, drenched in despair and fear when they felt defeat.
The corners of the Legion’s mouth twisted slightly.
The emotion they had redefined through their own exploration and thought—’despair’—was something that emerged when an overwhelming attack crushed everything they had.
That sense of powerlessness and emptiness would soon turn into despair.
[…As per your instructions, the Legionnaires that had retreated charged at them once again.]
The Legion already knew they had killed the enemy, confirming they were units.
However, it seemed the adversaries were unaware of this.
No matter how many Legionnaires armed with teeth and claws they killed, the count wouldn’t rise.
“This…! They come again!”
“We can stop them. We have to!”
Overcoming the makeshift barriers they built, they shot arrows at the incoming Legionnaires once more.
Even while exhausted and laboring, they did not despair or sit down.
Instead, the more successful their counteroffensives were after laboring hard, the more their spirit of resistance surged.
“Ugh… Hahh…”
The Legion released gas.
The gas contained tiny infectious cells based on Devouring Fungus.
However, now the infection couldn’t do much harm.
Their bodies, bolstered by the maximum power extracted from the Sacred Tree, were impervious to the small number of infectious cells.
“Hah… Hah… We won again!”
“But what about Rodison!”
They once again repelled the Legion’s attack.
There was no time to rejoice.
Casualties were still occurring gradually, and there wasn’t enough time to mourn them.
“Ugh, Uagh… They come again! Again!”
“This can’t be.”
“All raise your swords!”
Felix, with his eyes tightly shut, raised his sword once more.
No matter how many they blocked, it seemed endless.
Separate from the spirit of resistance, their mind and body were growing weary with no way to soothe it.
“Steady your hearts. There will be an end!”
Felix encouraged his fellow warriors, worn down by the relentless onslaught.
As they fought with all their might, they failed to notice the Sacred Tree, whose leaves and branches were slowly wilting.
[The power they wield is related to the tree in the center. That is their Formancy. Definitely, its power is outstanding. It’s hard to compare with the phantoms of the city. Moreover, they are rapidly growing through repeated battles.]
“…Did they bet everything?”
The Legion had only one concern.
The moment they poured all their energy and lives into battle.
At that moment, they would smash it to pieces.
After all, this would allow them to break the enemy efficiently.
“I feel like I can squeeze out more.”
The Legion’s eyes clearly bore witness to the struggle of the fighters.
Every time a comrade died, they burned with rage and squeezed out all their strength to the limit.
[As commanded, the Legionnaires once again retreated. They are cheering desperately. With this, they have repelled all 32 invasions, killed 1,369 Legionnaires, and incurred 43 casualties.]
The exchange rate was close to 30 to 1.
But the value of each one was different.
The Legionnaires that died in this battle were already restored at the Nest.
On the other hand, the Moonlight Fairies’ warriors had been nurtured for decades or more.
This meant that they would not be able to recover until they faced annihilation in this battle.
Time was drawing near.
The Legion lured them toward a trap they had set in advance.
*
“W-What is this!”
“You must know.”
While preparing the final strike against the Moonlight Fairies, the Legion forcibly restrained Kang Do-yeon, rendering her immobile.
“Kuh…”
Her face paled.
She already knew what the Legion was thinking.
[…He is currently asleep.]
“Then that’s enough.”
The Legion had diligently monitored Shin Woo’s actions in advance.
What they were about to do was to lay hands on his sister.
Of course, there was no intention of killing her.
However, when he wakes up and surveys the area,
He will know nothing.
“I…”
“You’ll know on your own.”
At the Legion’s words, her mouth fell silent.
“Compassion, pity, sadness. All are harmful emotions to the Legion. You know, you held such feelings toward your prey.”
“N-No, that’s not true.”
“No, it is. We are one. You are part of me, my everything… you can see.”
The Legion proliferated and divided its cellular tissue, swiftly creating something on its hand.
It was the mask she wore.
“I don’t want this…”
“I’ll let you maintain your ego. But you will become a true Legion sword.”
It was bolder and more violent than anticipated.
Without any hesitation or mercy after calculating everything, the Legion slowly placed the mask over Kang Do-yeon’s face.
The horrified girl knew what was about to happen and yet could not refuse.
“Ugh…”
The skin of her face merged with the mask, beginning to become one.
The mask was not just for covering her face.
The cells of Kang Do-yeon, under the Legion’s control, began to engage in specific functions.
[It could have been forced without this process, but was it necessary to put the mask on her?]
“Then it has no meaning.”
The Legion genuinely sought to make her one of its arms.
Through developed and introspective results, there was a need for a variable that would provide a spark to itself.
That variable was another self within the Legion.
However, they needed to find a way to fully assimilate and loyalty to the Legion’s ideology while maintaining that self.
“Go, kill them, Legion Commander. Bloodshed and predation will bring you pleasure. That is our essence.”
“…”
Holding the mask-covered face and staggering, Kang Do-yeon slowly stood up.
The mask had already disappeared into her body.
But the moment she engaged in battle,
The mask would emerge at any time to engrave her true duty upon her.
[The Fairies began to cautiously come out to explore. Perhaps they might misunderstand that we have given up on them. Foolishly.]
“What exactly is your reason for cooperating with me and not him?”
[…What do you mean?]
“You can see everything on both sides. It should be easy to side with one of the parties if you so wish between Player and Unit.”
As Kang Do-yeon and the Legionnaires surged forward, the Legion suddenly posed a fundamental question.
[That is not for you to know.]
“…Is that so?”
A line was drawn.
However, the Legion had already grasped some sense.
Though no voice followed that, the Legion did not pay it any mind.
After all, it was not something that was harmful to itself.
[They have realized our intentions.]
‘Crush all their hope.’
As this was happening, Kang Do-yeon and the Legionnaires faced off against the enemies.
Charging with morale built up and squeezing out all their strength to break through, the Legion moved to show them the despair they had planned.
