Chapter 58
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Entangled (2)
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"Gh... Gaaah..."
"It's working?"
Watching the screen, I noticed the infected creature's strange behavior.
The infected, which had been charging madly as if it were the most natural thing in the world, halted just before colliding with the far larger Legion unit and began to whimper like a puppy before its mother.
[The Ruin Fungus swarms have their own lines of communication, much like the Legion’s Hive Mind. The variant, the Great Swarm, possessed the ability to maximize it.]
A kind of telepathy. The Legion had acquired that ability wholesale.
It was similar to the situation the Legion had experienced in the past when fighting the guardian spirits influenced by the moonlight fairies.
Just as that moth, the leader of the guardian spirits, had momentarily severed the Legion's Hive Mind with a spiritual attack, the Legion was now invading and interfering with the Ruin Fungus swarm's mental network.
The whimpering Ruin Fungus infected staggered and then collapsed.
The Legion units simply dragged it away and tossed it into the nest.
[From now on, the Ruin Fungus will be unable to resist us, becoming nothing more than sustenance.]
The Ruin Fungus thrown into the nest immediately began to be digested.
The infectious power, strengthened by the fight with the variant, was now potent enough to devour a mere Ruin Fungus in an instant.
"This telepathic ability. We can use it in other ways, right?"
[As of now, there are no suitable applications, but it will certainly be possible. Telepathy based on the Legion's formidable mental power is potent. Incomparably so to the Great Swarm.]
I could see the Ruin Fungus infected charging in mindlessly.
It was the moment the Legion had acquired a new weapon and, simultaneously, a new source of nourishment.
"You'll scout first, of course?"
[Correct. I have dispatched scouts now.]
Having watched it for so long, I was well aware of the Legion's methods.
Just as I thought, the Legion immediately began to explore.
There was no reason to be lazy with reconnaissance. Simultaneous, real-time scouting using the Hive Mind could cover all the shortcomings of such activities.
The map, which had once started in a small cavern on the lowest level, was gradually expanding.
And that entire, massive map was now the Legion's body, its nest.
"What are they up to now?"
I switched the screen. Unaware that I was watching, the Legion was currently with my sister in its own body.
"I won!"
"...Again."
They were playing with something.
It was the set of cards I’d given it as a gift.
It seemed that no matter how brilliant one's opponent was, even Kang Do-yeon could hold her own in a game of chance.
"Alright."
My sister grinned, shuffled the cards again, and began to deal them out.
The light in the eyes behind the mask flickered as it examined its cards.
The way its competitive spirit flared up looked no different from when it was in battle.
[The Legion knows everything Kang Do-yeon sees and hears. It has merely blocked that information from itself for the sake of a true contest. As a being of great pride, it wouldn't resort to such tricks to win a card game against Kang Do-yeon.]
"...It seems trivial, but it's a nice sight."
[Is this the picture you wished for?]
"A madness for growth, an obsession with me. Those are all well and good, but it needs time to rest, too."
Honestly, I didn't really know. I'm no expert, nor do I have any experience.
The same went for my sister, who was right beside the Legion. But one thing was certain: I wanted to show the Legion a kind of happiness other than gluttony.
I found myself caring for it as if it were my own child. Then again, when I thought about it, it was as important to me as a child.
"Let me know if anything unusual comes up. For example, what in the world was on that upper floor that made the Ruin Fungus Great Swarm abandon its feast. Or what lies in the newly discovered passages."
With that, I turned off the screen.
Then I gathered the items the Legion had given me and went outside.
"Good morning."
"Ah... Lieutenant Yoon."
I ran into Lieutenant Yoon Soo-ah just as I was leaving the barracks.
Dressed in her military uniform, she was already fully armed.
"It's wartime. I'm a soldier, after all."
"Ah, right."
She let out a small laugh. There was no sign of nervousness.
"To be honest, I wish we'd just get to the fight. Don't you think this is dragging on for too long?"
Her eyes sparkled as she gazed in the direction of the enemy's position.
Having already heard her story, I simply nodded.
"Looks like..."
"Finally. The talk has been going around. That they might make the first move. Well then, let's make sure we see each other alive."
Just then, as if on cue, a loud siren began to blare throughout the temporary encampment.
The siren's wail was urgent and fast-paced, its red light flashing—the signal for an enemy attack.
"Lieutenant!"
"Yes?!"
"If you end up fighting, be careful. Don't let your guard down for a second. You don't know what tricks they'll pull, be it magic or something else, so always stay vigilant!"
I shouted the best advice I could offer as she ran off.
I hoped she would understand and trust me.
"Move! They're coming!"
"Get over here, quick!"
I ran in the opposite direction of Yoon Soo-ah, heading to where I needed to be.
Robert, who was waiting, handed me a rifle.
"Just in case."
"I know."
I took the gun. When I first came here, I never thought I'd have to fight myself.
Of course, right now, I had more faith in the power of the ore I was rolling around in my pocket than in this rifle.
*
"Have those monsters lost their minds..."
Fury heated the air in the Federation command post.
The enemy, which they had been monitoring in real-time, had openly begun to advance from their position.
"If they keep marching like this, they'll be within range of our self-propelled artillery soon...!"
"There's no sign of them coming from any other direction. We might not even need air support, right?"
Their advance was so brazen it flustered the command staff.
But they had already been burned a few times by their own overconfidence.
"Could it be another trick?"
"For now, we're not picking up any flanking movements. Not on thermal, not on sonar!"
"...What about the detectors provided by Evolution?"
"No issues there either."
They were thoroughly prepared for a potential feint.
But it wasn't one. The monster alliance was truly marching straight for them.
"Those sons of bitches!"
Naturally, they were enraged.
Their brief hesitation had only been due to the enemy's strange technology and guerrilla tactics; the underlying assumption that they wouldn't lose a head-on fight remained.
Though they had taken some hits, the fact that they were being looked down upon by monsters was unbearable.
"They're splitting up! Right before they enter our range...!"
"It won't make a difference. Open fire, now!"
The Federation command ordered the self-propelled artillery units, their most powerful assets, to move first.
The cannons of the stationed artillerymen began to align in unison, targeting the enemy's coordinates.
"Fire!"
They opened fire without delay.
As brilliant flashes of light streaked across the sky, the monsters began to move hastily.
The firepower of a 155mm shell was a blow that would be difficult to withstand, even with their vaunted spells and equipment.
Soon, the entire screen was engulfed in explosions.
"...Results?"
"Oh, dear."
The aftermath of the first barrage subsided.
As expected, at least half of the exposed enemy forces should have been wiped out.
"So they had an ace up their sleeve!"
The commander's face contorted.
In the end, the enemy had suffered quite a few casualties, but not as many as anticipated.
"S-sir, they're charging straight ahead!"
And as it turned out, their movement was a form of feint.
The moment the initial bombardment ended, during the brief window before the next salvo, they began to charge madly toward the center.
"Is that what I think it is..."
A kobold at the head of the charge grinned, its eyes gleaming.
As soon as it was in range, a Spatial Jump Formation was cast.
A massive magic circle unfolded at the front.
A unit clad in jet-black armor charged into it.
The other side of the jump formation was just before the encampment.
Having crossed tens of kilometers in an instant, the enemy charged fiercely toward the encampment without a hint of deceleration.
"Realign and prepare to fire..."
"But they're too close! And their main force is charging straight at us without using that strange magic circle!"
"All troops, defend the encampment, now!"
The command post was in an uproar.
All waiting forces were deployed to their designated defensive positions.
"Sergeant Chung, those things..."
"Just shoot them all! Fire!"
The soldiers deployed on the field frantically unleashed a hail of bullets on the enemy that had suddenly appeared before them.
Even the creatures wreathed in black mana could be brought down by concentrated machine-gun fire.
"Ah..."
And in that chaos, uniquely powerful individuals emerged.
Mana flowing from their entire bodies, they swung flaming swords, unleashing blasts of magic that slaughtered the soldiers hiding and firing their guns.
They were enemies too small and nimble for heavy weapons to hit, yet impossible to face with personal firearms.
"Keep firing on the others. Clear the way so we can fight those ones one-on-one."
Just then, someone placed a hand on the helmet of a young corporal, who was frozen in despair at the sight of an enemy charging forward, seemingly swallowing bullets, and vaulted over him.
The Hunters, including Lieutenant Yoon Soo-ah, who had been on standby for this very situation, stepped forward, unleashing their respective abilities to engage the stronger foes.