Chapter 51: Legion vs. Legion (5)
“Move out! Orders have been issued!”
“What? Didn’t you say the plan was messed up? Are we still going?”
“The battle is over. Instead, move quickly!”
The stronghold was upended.
Contrary to the plan, our main force was ambushed first by enemies wielding strong and mysterious powers.
According to the reports, they managed to fend off the initial ambush successfully.
And in this unexpected situation, the planned operation was carried out.
Having been observing the Legion’s war closely, I was the first to finish preparations for departure.
“Honestly, I took another look. I was worried that as a new and young Hunter, I’d be a hindrance.”
“I’m in a bit of a rush too.”
Cox, a fellow member, chuckled while gathering his equipment.
I mumbled something in response.
The truth was that there really wasn’t time to think about anything else.
We needed to give the Legion the power to overcome the crisis as quickly as possible.
“Everyone! On fire! We’re departing!”
The Black Snake Mercenaries boarded the vehicles.
The protected target was one vehicle carrying researchers from Evolution.
Just as I was about to board, I noticed a group of people getting ready to deploy, just like us.
They were also researchers, and the ones guarding them were soldiers.
“They’re probably affiliated with a government agency,” Cox mumbled as he set his gun down beside him.
[The situation is evenly matched. The corpses of our foes may indeed serve as our nourishment, but the cost of that is high. It’s difficult to produce more troops to crush them.]
“…”
Even as we moved in the vehicle, I continued to use the app, pulling up the screen in front of me to check.
‘Will adding just a few more samples of Demons actually resolve this?’
But the more I looked, the heavier my heart felt.
The onslaught of the mutated Devouring Fungus was that fierce.
[Do what you can do. Then the Legion will find its own answers.]
The words appeared as if they had read my thoughts.
Of course, I believed in the Legion. But…
[And the Legion, while enraged, is simultaneously delighted. You should know this by now. A crisis is an opportunity for growth, and the Legion understands growth better than anyone.]
I blankly nodded.
If it had been before, I wouldn’t have fully understood this.
But it was different now. I had certainly grown.
And knowing the difference, I could understand the Legion’s obsession with growth.
“In a little while, we’ll arrive at the point! Everyone, prepare!”
At that moment, Robert’s shout rang out from the radio.
“Cox, Yan. Get to the point and take your positions. Sneaky, you’ll go against Henson.”
The mercenaries swiftly disembarked from the car and instantly moved to their designated spots.
The researchers also quickly disembarked and began their tasks.
I was supposed to stay close to Robert in the center for emergency action.
“It’s a mess.”
Robert muttered under his breath.
As he had said, the area was a mess.
The corpses of our fallen comrades were hastily gathered for later collection, while the enemies’ bodies were simply left behind.
The remnants of battle, such as bullet holes and bloodstains, were scattered everywhere.
I discreetly glanced around.
For now, the only visible corpses were those of low-grade Demons, Nol. Still, they were specimens. I needed to take photos quickly.
“Uh?”
“Captain! Come over here!”
At that time, a few team members called for Robert.
This was my chance. I discreetly pulled out my phone, ready to take a picture.
The ground was littered with corpses. I glanced around and took a photo of a Nol’s body lying beside a shattered tank.
“There was mention that they had grown stronger using bizarre techniques. It must be techniques received from players. But what we can obtain is only the genetic information of the Nol. I can’t help but think Nol is on the same level as Goblins. Would this even be effective?”
[You still do not know. Do you think what you can gain here is limited to just that?]
A thought-provoking phrase popped up in response to my murmuring.
Almost simultaneously, something sharp caught my finely honed senses, developed compared to the past.
Chilling killing intent. The killing intent of a predator.
“Dammit..! Everyone, evade!!!”
The ground shook, and I heard Robert’s command.
I instinctively jumped away from the ground.
“Ugh…”
I rolled across the floor as the ground exploded violently, and something enormous revealed itself.
“It’s an ambush!!”
“Fire at will!”
Gunfire erupted amidst a horrible scream that pierced the air.
I hurriedly got my body up.
Giant beasts, having burst from the ground, lunged at those resisting while firing their weapons.
*
[Receive it. Your player is risking his life to bring these things back. He may certainly be an average, ineffective, and weak being, but his endeavors are far from that.]
“Aargh!”
In the dim cavern, a single massive creature thrashed about, alive and kicking.
With a body resembling a long serpent on par with a dump truck, and two strong, sturdy hands attached, it was clad in solid turquoise armor.
Especially its notably strong head was resilient enough to withstand steel-cored shells fired from a tank at close range.
“Glrk…”
Confused by the sudden change of location, the creature looked around in a panic.
The only thing visible was the corpse of a Nol, half-melted into the ground.
The creature’s sensory organs quivered.
In truth, its group had leapt to the surface to detect the massive pool of blood soaked into the ground and to feed.
[Perhaps because it is a creature living beneath the earth, it tries to dig back underground.]
The creature began to claw at the earthen wall covering it with its strong front limbs and claws.
“A useful one.”
At that moment, the creature detected a sound that someone made and turned its head with a growl.
It was a small creature, roughly the size of its head.
However, the surprising part was that it hadn’t sensed any presence despite its keen sensory organs.
“It can’t help it. This entire nest is me.”
The Legion had shifted the nest.
Tentacles shot forth from the writhing walls around it, swiftly wrapping around the creature’s body.
[The power is too strong. The muscle efficiency generating from the same volume is more explosive than that of the Legion’s compressed muscle.]
“It’s getting more tempting.”
As the creature struggled, the tentacles began to snap.
At that point, different tentacles emerged this time.
Tough and coarse tentacles resembling tree branches.
“Kiieee…”
The special tentacle, imbued with a crimson energy, managed to shatter the creature’s sturdy armor and bore into its interior.
And inside it, the enhanced fungi began to be introduced.
It wasn’t only the Devouring Fungus that could learn and evolve.
The Legion had long since been strengthening its own infectivity to counter the increasingly vicious mutated Devouring Fungus.
[Indeed, it lacked the ability to withstand the toxin copied from the mutated Devouring Fungus.]
The monstrous creature from another world, having its internal organs destroyed and ravaged, ceased its movements, slowly collapsed, and eventually lay completely flat on the ground.
The nest began to douse the monstrous foe with slime, completely covering it.
‘Dragging this out until new soldiers are produced is more inefficient.’
One side of the nest, with a corpse covered by a shallow earthen wall, resembled a large tumor.
In the meantime, the Legion had quickly finished calculations.
Dragging the fight that was currently occurring was more damaging than redirecting energy to finish immediate enhancements.
[Malignant Earth Puppy: 11A1087]
As soon as the Legion completed the analysis, it initiated the remodeling of new troops and incorporated versatile cells capable of rapid growth for on-the-spot alterations.
Soon, something writhing tore through the earthen wall that had covered it, rising up.
This gigantic Earth Puppy, which had once dug tunnels to survive in the harsh and solid land known as the demonic realm, now donned an even tougher black armor and had become a greater monster with blazing red eyes.
“Go and kill them.”
This new form of soldier, connected to the Legion’s intelligence, began to shatter the ground and charge up to the next level.
[Powerful data has been acquired. Indeed, it seems that by analyzing and combining those who lived in various worlds, the completeness can be enhanced further.]
“…”
[Are you worried about him?]
“His emotions are extremely turbulent right now.”
The Legion muttered blankly.
Just feeling his emotions gave me a rough idea of his current state.
The Malignant Earth Puppy was a native creature, not just a unit.
Thanks to that, I once managed to capture it for a photo and overcome a crisis, but now that the Legion had analyzed the Malignant Earth Puppy, it knew that they lived in groups.
Only one sample per type was all that could be acquired.
Those weighing tons couldn’t be subjected to the cheat of sending them as food.
[If he dies, you die too.]
“I don’t care.”
The Legion remained completely unperturbed.
Not yet, not yet. It had not yet found a reason to live without him.
Although I had read numerous texts to accumulate knowledge, the philosophical essence humanity had built over time offered no significant change to the Legion, which was well aware of its own differences from humans.
“…You’re feeling affection once again. Why?”
However, I frowned at the emotions that were starting to change again.
At this moment, he was experiencing, after a surge of passion, a renewed fluttering sensation.
Whether the Legion’s feelings of fondness or affection were directed towards rational beings, same-sex individuals, animals, or other circumstances didn’t solely matter.
It was just that it annoyed me that it was not directed at itself.
The Legion turned around and left the area.
The mask was still the same, but unlike before, the long black hair now flowed gently.
