Episode 72 – Being Recognized (2)
‘I never imagined it would come to this.’
The Queen of the hive is, at this very moment, the central control mechanism itself, expanding and nurturing the growing swarm while ruling over the entire faction.
Thus, she cultivated exceptional individuals who could maintain their sense of self while merging with the swarm’s consciousness, investing vast resources to train them as the hive’s knights, specialized in combat.
But one thing the Queen overlooked was the fact that she could never afford to rest for even a moment, nor could she ever stop learning and growing.
The only creature with a brain capable of commanding the massive swarm with such immense computational power is the Queen.
Even someone as talented as Syla or Rozalyn are, in the end, what were once mere demons.
To face the transcendent beings ahead, not only did she need a powerful physique and a multitude of soldiers, but also a systematic and innovative new system that those soldiers could utilize, requiring constant development and learning.
[Achievement Unlocked: Another Path (1), Reward: 1 Skill Point granted]
The system indirectly supported her judgment.
And she herself embarked on an educational journey to develop that new software.
Using the guise of a human slave, she began learning everything she could about how demons wielded and utilized their magical power in combat.
Of course, until now, all she had observed and learned came from mercenaries of the frontier, deemed incompetent by many.
However, she possessed a transcendent brain connected to her main body and a versatile power structure fundamentally different from other creatures, enabling her to process and adapt this knowledge.
“Impossible. They said she was the strategist of a mere mercenary band…”
Even Z zun, a trusted subordinate of Count Agor, known to have achieved a certain level of mastery, momentarily lost his composure at the sight.
Her skirts swirled as she twisted her body, her hair fluttering in an instant. A series of azure strikes shot out, deflecting Syla’s lances in quick succession.
Clearly, these were basic sword techniques used by novices, yet Z zun could recognize their immense power and skill.
A level of swordsmanship so calculated and swift, no ordinary individual could imitate.
“Who is this human woman?”
“She’s my ally.”
Thanks to this, Z zun didn’t protest as Cruiger pulled him to safety and retreated to the rear.
“Was she concealing a talent of this magnitude? The rumors of her arrogance made sense now…”
In truth, more than just Z zun, even the mercenaries under Cruiger were left dumbfounded, witnessing her unexpected strength, which they had assumed to be merely average.
Everyone watched in silence as she single-handedly blocked a terrifying monster, slaughtering their strongest in succession.
“I’m good to continue.”
“Oh, no. That’s enough.”
Of course, what the others couldn’t hear was a completely different conversation happening on the legion’s internal network.
Syla’s attacks were all genuine, using full force, and the Queen’s avatar had truly countered them, drawing upon the entire capacity of her clone.
But the fundamental gap was apparent.
While Syla, crafted from the best elements of the legion, still had strength remaining despite continuous combat, the Queen’s avatar had exhausted all of its mana from a mere couple of clashes, dripping blood and wobbling.
The Queen eventually decided to halt the duel with Syla, merely for testing purposes.
“The experiment was successful enough. There are still some remaining enemies resisting, so go and eliminate them. Besides, Agor’s orc army is retreating anyway.”
“Understood.”
Following the Queen’s command, Syla turned away from finishing off the wavering Queen avatar and ran off to vent her remaining frustration elsewhere.
“Ria!”
Subsequently, Cruiger, leaving Z zun to his subordinates, rushed over puzzled and helped the faltering Queen avatar.
Though the Queen could manipulate every cell in her body to prevent any discomfort, she naturally frowned and leaned on Cruiger.
“You seem lucky. Even though you sustained a major injury that renders you battle incapable, rescuing the general commandant will justify a proper retreat, no?”
“Of course. The general commandant has already issued a retreat order.”
In reality, as Cruiger stated, the orc army, now in panic, was already retreating.
As Z zun had anticipated, due to the chaotic retreat, there were more casualties, but they still desperately scrambled for their lives.
‘Sending some survivors away is better. The fear they spread will freeze others in their tracks.’
With a faint smile, the Queen guided her soldiers, who had fully entered hunting mode, to cruelly hunt down the enemy without aiming to annihilate them all.
“If we survive and return, we may be called upon quite a bit.”
In such a situation, if Cruiger’s mercenary team successfully returns with Z zun, how would Agor treat them?
Cruiger looked bewildered, but she smiled with an expression that suggested everything was following the plan.
*
“Fewer than one in ten of the enemy’s mobilized hundred thousand soldiers will make it back alive.”
“They’ve wiped out all the troublesome ones.”
Syla removed her mask, revealing a flushed face.
The battlefield now littered with corpses. Watching one of our flying creatures rip an orc soldier in half, I chuckled.
“When word of this spreads, it’ll surely come as a shock.”
The orc army of Agor was merely one of the forces mobilized by the Lords.
Against their expectations, not only did we not fail, but we succeeded in wiping out the majority of their forces while preserving more than half of ours.
This was not a victory secured solely by overwhelming power or resources.
The enemies also possessed forces capable of defeating us.
In the midst of this, the new soldiers’ efforts, the accomplishments of Syla and Rozalyn, and the contributions of my avatar within the enemy ranks have all combined to secure this victory.
“The laborers will come to clean up the battlefield and make the captured region ours. You should leave here and move immediately to another front.”
After victory, claiming spoils is a natural right.
Including the amassed corpses, all resources in this now occupied territory will become our nourishment.
At the same time, I deployed Syla and Rozalyn, who had proven their worth here, to the next battlefield.
That place also had plenty of choice prey for them to exploit.
“The enemy’s plans have been shattered. With this… ”
“Our chances of winning keep getting better. So now, we should plan for what comes next.”
Unfortunately, we are not in the position to celebrate a great victory or pop champagne bottles.
There are still many and daunting mountain ranges left to conquer before us.
Even after defeating and absorbing the current lords, we’ll still face far stronger Superior Lords.
For us to confront the true monsters that make Marcela and Z zun seem like mere grunts, there’s still much we lack.
“To achieve that, I’ll continue to improve the status and achievements of my avatars.”
“I’m not so sure if that method of extracting power and information from their inner circles will work. As demons grow stronger, especially upper-level demons, they can become insidiously evil to protect their power.”
“Then if they try anything, it’ll be even easier to exploit them.”
Syla questioned my infiltration into the demon world, but I was already confident.
In reality, though just beginning, the information gained there has already offered clear results.
If all goes as planned, it will become the sharpest and most painful spear capable of threatening them.
“But certainly, it’s becoming harder for my mercenary group to keep up with my soldiers.”
Of course, realistic problems do exist.
The core issue lies with the level of Cruiger’s mercenary band. Unlike me, who can rely on the power of the hive, the majority of them being frontier mercenaries is evident, with even the strongest among them, Cruiger, finding it difficult to keep up with my ever-improving soldiers.
That won’t do. I want to integrate them all into a single faction. That way, it’ll explode with immense power in the final moments.
“What should I do?”
It’s impossible to substantially strengthen a mercenary band in a short time through conventional methods.
Even in Demon Realm, individuals must grind and gather experience for personal achievements.
“Should I supply them with special potions?”
Nevertheless, breaking those conventional molds could render it possible.
And I, as the ruling Queen of the hive, am most skilled at doing just that.
