Chapter 51
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Legion VS Legion (5)
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"Let's move! We have our orders!"
"But I heard the plan went south. Are we still going?"
"The battle's over for now. But we need to move fast!"
The garrison was in an uproar.
Contrary to the plan, the main force had been ambushed by enemies wielding powerful and mysterious abilities.
From what we heard, they'd managed to fend off the attack and repel them.
And amidst this unexpected situation, the planned operation was set in motion.
Having been watching the Legion's war unfold, I finished my preparations to depart faster than anyone else.
"Honestly, I'm impressed. I was worried you'd be a hindrance, being a Hunter but still young and a rookie."
"I was in a bit of a hurry myself."
My fellow squad member, Cox, chuckled as he packed his gear.
I just mumbled something noncommittal.
The truth was, I was in a rush with no time to think about anything else.
I had to give the Legion the strength to overcome this crisis, even a moment sooner.
"Everyone, get in! We're moving out!"
The Black Snake mercenaries divided themselves among the vehicles.
The objective was to escort a single vehicle carrying researchers from Evolution.
Just as I was about to get in, I spotted another group preparing to move out, just like us.
They were researchers, too, escorted by soldiers.
"Probably people belonging to a government agency."
Cox muttered, settling into the seat next to me with his rifle.
[The situation is a stalemate. Their corpses certainly become our nutrients, but the rate of attrition is high. Overwhelming them by producing more troops is also proving difficult.]
"..."
Even as we moved in the vehicle, I kept the app open, a screen floating before my eyes.
'Can adding a few more monster samples really solve this?'
But the more I watched, the heavier my heart grew.
The mutant Ruin Fungus was just that relentless.
[Do what you can. Then the Legion will find its own answer.]
A line of text appeared, as if it had read my thoughts.
Of course, I trusted the Legion. But...
[And the Legion, while enraged, is also pleased. You know this well by now. Crisis is an opportunity for growth, and the Legion understands growth better than anyone.]
I nodded blankly.
Honestly, I wouldn't have understood before.
But not now. I had definitely grown stronger.
And knowing that difference firsthand, I could understand the Legion's obsession with growth.
"We're approaching the point! Everyone get ready!"
Just then, Robert's voice crackled through the radio.
"Cox, Yan. Get to the point and take your positions. Sneaky, you take the opposite side from Henson."
The mercenaries quickly disembarked from the vehicle and moved to their designated positions in an instant.
The researchers also got out and began their work.
My role was to stick with Robert in the center and act in case of an emergency.
"What a mess."
Robert muttered under his breath.
Just as he said, the area was a disaster.
Only the bodies of our fallen allies had been hastily recovered and left for the rear units; the enemy corpses were left as they were.
The signs of battle were everywhere—bullet holes, bloodstains, and more.
I glanced around furtively.
All I could see were the corpses of low-level Gnolls, but they were samples nonetheless. I had to take pictures quickly.
"Hm?"
"Captain! Come take a look at this!"
Just then, a few members called out to Robert.
This was my chance. I discreetly pulled out my phone, ready to take a picture.
There were bodies everywhere. I took a quick look around and snapped a photo of a Gnoll's corpse lying next to a destroyed tank.
"It was mentioned that they used some bizarre technique to get stronger. It must be a skill they got from a Player. But all we can gain is the Gnoll's genetic information, not that kind of strength. No matter how I think about it, Gnolls are goblin-tier. Will this even be effective?"
[You do not know yet. Do you think that is all that can be gained from this place?]
A meaningful phrase appeared in response to my muttering.
Almost simultaneously, something registered on my senses, which had been honed to a razor's edge compared to the past.
A chilling bloodlust. The bloodlust of a predator.
"Goddammit...! Everyone, get clear!!!"
The ground trembled, and Robert's shout echoed.
I instinctively jumped.
"Kugh..."
I rolled across the ground.
With a deafening crash, the earth exploded upwards, and something massive revealed itself.
"It's an ambush!!"
"Light 'em up!"
Gunfire erupted, accompanied by a horrifying, ear-splitting screech.
I scrambled to my feet.
The colossal beasts that had burst from the ground lunged at the men who were firing back in resistance.
*
[Receive this. It is what your Player has risked his life to acquire. He was certainly an incompetent and feeble being by average standards, but his actions were not.]
"Kraaaahk!"
A massive, living creature, thrashing wildly, was teleported directly into the dim cavern.
It had a long, snake-like body the size of a dump truck, with two powerful, sturdy hands.
Its entire body was armed with hard, blue-green bone plates.
Its head was especially durable, capable of withstanding an armor-piercing round from a tank at close range without a scratch.
"Krrk..."
Unable to adapt to the sudden change in location, the creature looked around in confusion.
The only thing it could see was the corpse of a Gnoll, half-melted on the floor.
The creature's sensory organs twitched.
In truth, its pack had simply detected the large amount of blood soaking into the ground and had burst to the surface to feed.
[It lives underground. It appears to be trying to dig its way back down.]
The creature began to claw at the fleshy walls covering the ground with its powerful forelimbs, trying to dig.
"A useful one."
Just then, detecting a sound, the creature growled and turned its head.
It saw a small life form, about the size of its own head.
What was baffling, however, was that its sensitive organs hadn't detected any presence at all.
"That is to be expected. This entire nest... is 'me'."
The Legion moved the nest.
From the writhing walls of flesh, tentacles shot out, instantly wrapping around the creature's body.
[Its strength is too great. The efficiency of its muscles, for its volume, is more explosive than the Legion's compressed muscles.]
"This is getting interesting."
The creature's struggles began to snap the tentacles.
In response, a different kind of tentacle shot out.
They were hard and rough, resembling tree branches.
"Kiiieee..."
Imbued with a special power, a dark red aura, these tentacles instantly shattered the creature's tough armor and burrowed inside.
There, they began to inject a modified fungus.
The Ruin Fungus wasn't the only one capable of learning and evolving.
To counter the ever more vicious mutant Ruin Fungus, the Legion had long since enhanced its own infectious capabilities.
[As expected, it had no resistance to the toxin that copied the infectious power of the mutant Ruin Fungus.]
Its internal organs utterly destroyed and violated, the monster from another world stopped moving, slowly collapsed, and finally lay still on the ground.
The nest began to spray the massive enemy with mucus, starting to cover it completely.
'Stalling for time until new soldiers can be produced is more inefficient.'
On one side of the nest, the corpse, covered by a thin wall of flesh, looked like a giant tumor.
In that short time, the Legion had finished its calculations.
Prolonging the current battle would be a greater loss than pouring energy into an immediate modification.
[Demon World Mole Cricket: 11A1087]
As soon as the analysis was complete, the Legion began modifying its new troops, injecting pluripotent cells capable of accelerated growth for on-the-spot alterations.
Soon, a writhing something tore through the fleshy wall covering it and rose to its feet.
This giant mole cricket, which had once burrowed through the hard, barren lands of another world—a world some called the Demon World—was now an even greater monster, clad in hardened black armor with a menacing red glow in its eyes.
"Go, and kill them."
This new type of soldier, connected to the Legion's mind, instantly smashed through the ground, tunneling its way to the level above.
[Powerful data has been acquired. It seems that by analyzing and combining beings from various worlds, we can indeed become more complete.]
"..."
[Are you worried about him?]
"His emotions... they're incredibly turbulent right now."
The Legion muttered blankly.
Just by sensing his emotions, it could get a rough idea of his state.
The Demon World Mole Cricket was an indigenous creature of that place, not a Unit.
Thanks to that, he had overcome the crisis by using the one-time photo transfer, but the Legion, having now analyzed the creature, knew they lived in packs.
The sample transfer was one per species.
And since the creatures weighed tons, he couldn't use the loophole of sending them as food.
[If he dies, you die too.]
"It doesn't matter."
The Legion was completely unfazed.
Not yet. Not yet had it found a reason to live on without him.
Though it had accumulated knowledge by reading numerous books, the philosophical essence built by humanity failed to bring about any meaningful change in the Legion, which was well aware of its own otherness.
"...He's feeling that sense of affection again. Why?"
However, it furrowed its brow at the change in his emotions.
At the end of his intense turmoil, he was feeling a flutter of excitement again.
Whether this feeling of favor or affection was directed at the opposite sex, the same sex, an animal, or something else entirely was not important to the Legion.
It was only bothered by the fact that it was not directed at itself.
The Legion turned and walked away.
The mask remained, but now, unlike before, long black hair swayed gently.