Chapter 56 – The Defeated (6)
“…”
Everyone was silent. The number of survivors was now scarcely a hundred.
The weaker ones died first: regular soldiers, veteran soldiers, commanders, weak knights, and then the stronger knights.
And finally, the 100 survivors were left breathless, with all their strength expended.
‘They’re all dead. But…’
Among them was Ludras, who caught his breath and looked around. Corpses were everywhere. Not only were their allies’ bodies piled high, but the bodies of the enemies they had annihilated were also abundant.
But it was impossible to rejoice. Even with the enemy annihilated, and with nothing but an empty nest before them.
Because the time they were given only continued to dwindle.
‘They’re toying with us. If the situation was truly urgent, they’d have deployed many workers to stop us.’
Clearly, Ludras and the hobgoblins fought with all their might, risking their lives, their fiefdom, and their future. They gambled everything.
Naturally, they believed the enemy also gambled everything.
However, as time passed and more became visible, doubts started creeping into their minds. They began questioning whether the strength of the legions that had already defeated numerous lords was something they could handle.
“Lord…”
“It’s the same situation now. We have just one path.”
The subordinates were wavering, but Ludras clenched his teeth. He no longer believed they could win.
At the very least, he now hoped for mutual destruction.
“There’s no time to hesitate. Move quickly!”
Ludras rallied his subordinates to begin marching again. There were no more legion soldiers left to obstruct their path. They trembled in apprehension but it was true—there were no more enemies to stop them.
The queen had just depleted all the soldiers she had mobilized.
“Follow the path. We must find and stop their leader.”
Ludras, fueled by rage, continued his march along the path constructed by workers. There was no time to investigate the countless sunflowers clearly planted artificially, piquing his curiosity and fears.
Each time they passed a nest, filled with nothing but countless sunflowers, they yearned to burn it down, but they did not have the time.
“Lord! Over there! There is a place where all paths converge!”
How long had they been advancing, eyes fixed forward?
Finally, they discovered “that place.”
It was a nest far greater in scale than anything they had seen so far.
‘Is this where the terrifying wave of monsters originated? From such a deep place?’
They had not yet been around for a full year. They did not know how long they had been in this remote region, but Ludras instinctively felt that he was witnessing the birthplace of his enemies.
“What could they be doing in such a vast space?”
Ludras’ subordinates trembled with fear at the sight of countless workers retreating upon seeing them and the fierce sight of the nest.
Huge pools of digestive fluid, and enormous eggs being produced—an artificial womb as large as a house, clearly belonging to a giant species.
The area once a regular part of the Demon Realm’s forest had been completely razed and transformed into this place, which filled them with a sense of alienation and dread—despite them being residents of the Demon Realm.
“All of this is merely a branch. The most valuable and precious things are always hidden in the most secret places. That’s right there.”
Even in such a situation, Ludras retained his composure.
All he was focused on was one thing: the humongous cave entrance far in the distance.
“The progenitor’s cave.”
The entrance of a cave, clearly artificially widened, with countless tentacles extending out. Of course, even from a distance, the enormous cave entrance looked unusual.
“Lord, we don’t know how many enemies are inside. It’s the dungeon itself.”
“Even if that’s the case, I must see. The true nature of these creatures, the intelligence controlling these evil and cunning beasts.”
Fears were now multiplying among his ranks. But Ludras would not tolerate hesitation.
Even if they couldn’t annihilate the enemy, having come this far, they had to uncover the truth.
“Arriving here, you kind of make me feel sorry for you.”
And there was someone who had witnessed his struggles up close. Right now, the queen of the legions, lounging deep within the cave.
She smiled bitterly at Ludras’ desperate resistance.
Even if she couldn’t grant their wish for mutual destruction, she could show them a glimpse of what they sought.
[Selected Reaction Method]
“Since I’ve lured you this far, it’s only fitting that I finish this myself.”
Choosing the course of action was simple.
True to what she had been contemplating, with a grave expression, while watching Ludras’ last remaining forces prepare for their final confrontation, she stirred the enormous pool of versatile cells.
“What in the world is happening!?”
Startled by the tremors, the hobgoblins marching towards the cave faltered.
Meanwhile, the nutrient pools they had passed stirred violently as dormant omnipotent cells awoke and began clustering together, forming an enormous creature.
“This…”
Ludras was at a loss for words as a colossus of a creature, never before seen, revealed itself. It was entirely natural, as this was a one-time chimera created specifically by the queen to deal with them.
“Ssrra!”
Its form resembled that of an enormous female body encased in a rock-like shell with wriggling tentacles like hair, crawling with the help of thick arms, much like the mana beast crawler.
Intuitively seized by fear, they began attacking with magic, rituals, and arrows without any command.
“It doesn’t work! There’s a force field!”
It matched the largest combatants of the legions in size, their most enormous yet. Their flaming spheres rebounded like ping pong balls, unable to penetrate the powerful energy shield wrapped around the creature’s body in the first place.
“Aah…”
After easily deflecting their attacks, a bland face split open among the wriggling tentacles, revealing a colossal, writhing eyeball.
On closer inspection, it was not merely an eyeball, but part of its anatomy designed to help condense mana. The mana drawn into it shimmered with an obviously perilous light.
Overwhelmed by this sight, they all froze. They now saw it was impossible to escape and futile to attempt defense. They realized who they were truly up against. Creating such biological weapons wasn’t something regular beasts could do.
“Get back!”
Ludras yelled, but it was too late.
A massive stream of mana, like a laser cannon, swept the ground, obliteration them all in one go. The force overturned the ground and reverberated through the air. The scene of their gruesome deaths disappeared in a flash of light and roar. No screams could be heard.
“Ugh…”
Only a few survivors remained, capable of defending themselves. The already small band of resolute fighters had been wiped out.
“This is the end…”
Ludras, despite being one of those few survivors, had sustained a grievous wound and collapsed, out of breath. After risking everything, they had been flattened like insignificant insects by an enemy who had clearly been lying in wait.
The despair was profound. No remaining member of Ludras’ group retained any fighting spirit.
However, for some reason, the colossal monster that had obliterated them in one sweep wasn’t immediately crushing them. Its body appeared to be disintegrating gradually.
“Too hastily created to consider durability… A genuine one-time use weapon after all. This isn’t cost-effective at all.”
“You…”
And then, at that moment. From the collapsing biological weapon, resembling a crumbling sandcastle, emerged a small figure through a split in the skin accompanied by sticky mucus. The crumbling body of the monster was converting its parts in real-time to form a new body.
Slim frame, prominent curves, and black-covered flesh.
An ivory-haired woman of similar stature to Ludras stood above the corpse, crimson eyes glowing.
‘The Queen of the Legion.’
There was no need to confirm; the being before them was undeniably the mastermind behind this enormous legion and its embodiment.
This was the very truth Ludras had so desperately sought. His adversary was a sentient being capable of conversation.
