Episode 71 – Recognition (1)
Capture Supreme Commander Zumun.
That was the order given to Syla and Rozalyn, who were unleashing their full power against numerous Vampire Knights and Orc Warriors.
The strength of the two, who had been remodeled by compressing all the essence the Legion had accumulated to its limit, was certainly strong enough to overwhelm most formidable opponents in one fell swoop.
Thus, the Queen had deployed these precious resources that could think and fight on their own to eliminate the most troublesome enemies.
After all, the outcome of the battle had been tipped for a long time. The plan was that when Zumun found himself in dire straits, she would mobilize his doppelgänger and Cruiger’s Mercenary Band to rescue him, thereby claiming the moral high ground.
“Sir, Commander! We can’t stop him!”
“What good-for-nothing fools.”
The initially orderly battle plan had already fallen apart. Everything was unfolding exactly as the Legion had intended.
Amidst the disarray caused by reckless charges and death-defying assaults, turning the battlefield into utter chaos, Zumun cut down another shock trooper with a powerful slash. Hearing the trembling voice of his subordinate, he clicked his tongue.
Something was rushing towards him, radiating a crimson-black mana.
‘What in the world is that?’
Lifting his crescent blade, Zumun involuntarily steadied his breath and shuddered.
The enemies who were closing in were unlike any monsters he’d ever encountered before.
Although the Legion troops were becoming more diverse, when categorized, their appearances were as identical as mass-produced items from a factory.
Any diversity that living beings naturally possess was strictly controlled by the Queen in the Legion.
This made individuals like Syla stand out even more prominently.
Because she was the only individual among the countless Legion troops who possessed a unique appearance of her own.
The same could be said for the entity now standing before Zumun.
Its body, encased in black chitin armor, resembled a Lamia—a half-humanoid, half-snake demon—with its serpentine lower body and voluptuous upper body.
However, much like how Marcela couldn’t recognize Syla as a Vampire when she saw her after her transformation, neither Zumun nor the Orc Warriors could classify the remodeled Rozalyn as a Lamia.
Rozalyn carried a massive bow in her normal two arms, while the eight sharp spider legs protruding from her back functioned as weapons, flailing about like spears or whips, indiscriminately slaughtering nearby enemies.
To them, Rozalyn was nothing more than a monstrous beast with which dialogue was impossible.
“Supreme Commander Zumun. Even as a lower rank, you are still an Orc warrior who has reached a certain level of mastery.”
Having forcibly suppressed her fear and hesitation through hormonal secretions, Rozalyn mowed down the Orc warriors charging at her with her supple main body and supplementary limbs, then took aim at Zumun.
Though she was once a Lord, a minor one at that, her prowess paled in comparison to Zumun, who often showed deference to Marcela, a Knight of a Superior Lord.
In the Demon Realm, it was the amount of power one possessed, not their innate status, that dictated their respect.
To begin with, her combat ability was insufficient to even wound Zumun.
“Khh!”
But at this moment, Rozalyn, infused with the Legion’s essence by the Queen, fired an arrow with the speed of a flash, forcing Zumun to stumble backward in shock.
“It’s poison!”
The arrows launched by Rozalyn were no ordinary arrows.
Upon striking, they unleashed a violently amplified poison fueled by mana, poisoning Zumun and the surrounding Orc warriors who had barely managed to parry the attack. This weapon was a potent combination of various beast poisons synthesized with mana.
At this pivotal moment, Syla rushed in from afar and swung her spear for the final blow.
Both Syla and Rozalyn, and indeed the Queen who was observing everything through them, instinctively sensed the impending success of their plan.
*
“I understand that we need to save the Supreme Commander, but how can we possibly confront an enemy strong enough to overpower him!?”
“Just run!”
Grashi shouted with a panicked voice. Surely, all the mercenary soldiers trailing behind us were thinking the same thing.
Even when I glanced back, they were reluctantly following but with troubled eyes.
It’s absurd. A minor mercenary unit like ours attempting to rescue one of the key figures in a Viscount-level territory?
Even Kruger, who could objectively evaluate himself, had no response to this. He simply urged us to follow him and keep running.
“Must we fight directly?”
“Their opportunity has come to an end. If they couldn’t take it, they’ll have no choice but to dance to our tune.”
And it wasn’t just the mercenaries who were skeptical.
Syla was also bewildered by my order after having just battled mighty warriors like Marcela and Zumun.
“I guess it’s time to test my double.”
But I was sincere. I truly intended to test my abilities against Syla using my doppelgänger.
It wasn’t a rash decision; it was also an experiment to gather more data.
“Rozalyn can slip away discreetly. Syla, if you fight me, the other soldiers can handle the mercenaries and rescue the wounded Zumun.”
Just before reaching our destination, I took a quick look around.
The place was a fitting depiction of Hell.
Numerous soldiers lay in pieces, slashed by the blades of Blade Demons; tens of Fallen Ones clung to and tore apart each resisting enemy warrior. People captured by airborne demons screamed as they fell from the sky, or suffocated in toxic gas bombs exploding all around.
The disordered formation only served to pile bodies on both sides.
I considered everything that was about to happen as mere retribution against them.
For not fighting properly, for not defeating us.
Though I was confident, there were still risks. No victory was guaranteed.
If the Wall Ghosts had underperformed relative to expectations, significant casualties would have been ours. If they had been more adaptable, they wouldn’t have collapsed so thoroughly.
It’s a rule of the game: losers are ravaged without mercy. They have no right to complain.
“Then let’s do it.”
“Alright, come on.”
With that, I moved my doppelgänger forward with a smirk.
At that moment, a powerful flash lit up the front lines.
“You, you’re…!”
Zumun was in a wretched state, infected by Rozalyn’s poison, vomiting blood, and suffering a grievous wound where half of his upper body had been torn off by Syla’s spear.
With all his guards wiped out, Kruger and I arrived at the frontline.
This was exactly the state I wanted him in.
“You understand that further fighting is meaningless. Give the retreat order before the remaining forces are wiped out.”
“Watch your back!”
However, the danger hadn’t ended. Syla attacked me as he warned.
As Zumun cried out, vomiting blood, I swung my sword, channeling mana, to deflect her spear.
“Powerful. As expected, my masterstroke.”
I was forced back by her strength in an instant.
But I couldn’t help but smile. Knowing that this formidable combat machine, proven even in the Demon Realm, was the product of my vision and abilities filled me with pride.
“I should put what I’ve learned to use.”
Standing tall atop the numerous corpses, Syla radiated an ethereal energy, resembling a mythological Yaksha or Asura. She was a savage killing machine devoid of any trace of emotion.
Challenging her would be a test of the skills I’ve been secretly acquiring—techniques I’ve learned from Grashi the Shaman, and Roggr the Sign Warrior.
How the demons in this world, once mere game constructs, manipulate and use their mana was something I couldn’t have dreamed of in my former life as a human—but now, my mind is as powerful and expansive as a supercomputer.
As the Legion’s Hive Mind while developing these biological weapons, I’ve been using my duplicates to study and mimic their powers and ecologies.
This is another fundamental aspect of our nature.
“Foolishness. That monster is on a different level! A mere mercenary unit cannot handle it!”
“If I can’t stop her, we’ll all die.”
I exchanged signals with Syla, ignoring Zumun’s ill-advised words.
Since we’ve come this far, failure is not an option—but we were genuinely prepared to engage her.
