Chapter 59
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Tangled (3)
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"A bit strong, aren't you?"
Yoon Soo-ah forced a smile as she parried the enemy's sword.
Her power was [Severing]—literally, the ability to imbue her sword with the power to cut.
Thanks to this rather useful trait, as long as her sword touched an enemy, its offensive power had never been an issue.
The problem was that the magic cloaking her opponent was also a Form Power, just like her own ability.
None of the monsters she had fought until now had used such a power, so she was fighting on a knife's edge against a type of enemy she had never encountered before.
"Ugh."
Overpowered, she took a step back.
The problem was that with the monsters growing stronger, battles like this would become more frequent.
And she was well aware of that fact.
'I have to overcome this.'
Gritting her teeth, she kicked off the ground.
It might have been different before, but now, she could not retreat.
She blocked the swing of the massive black greatsword, ducked low, and swiftly closed the distance.
"Haaah!"
Then, before the enemy could react, she swung her sword upward, scoring a long gash across its breastplate.
The power of Severing erupted.
The enemy's breastplate began to crack and splinter along the deep cut.
"Yes!"
She felt a surge of confidence in her victory, in her potential.
Her heart pounded with excitement.
"More of them are coming!"
"Gnolls and Kobolds!"
Hearing the shouts around her, Yoon Soo-ah looked toward the glowing magic circle in the distance.
The circle was spewing out monsters relentlessly. Her confidence recharged, she charged toward the more distinct-looking ones, covered by the soldiers' supporting fire.
"The... garrison won't be breached, right?"
"I don't know. Dammit, why isn't anything going our way?"
In the heart of the garrison, where the sounds of artillery, gunfire, and shouts never ceased.
Robert, currently on standby, was chain-smoking nervously.
The other mercenaries were the same. Their expressions were grim.
It was all because of the enemy, who thwarted the allied forces' predictions at every turn.
"Forget this 'rescuing survivors' excuse. I wish we could just end it with a barrage of missiles or a nuke."
"We're this far in, and you're still talking that nonsense? Besides, I doubt that would even work now. At this point, I'd believe it if you told me those monsters could fire guns. They use weird magic, so why not?"
The anxiety grew worse with each passing moment.
And I was no different. No matter how hard I tried to calm my mind, what was scary was scary.
[Unit Summoning Ticket x1]
An image of my final ace, something only I could see, floated before my eyes.
The problem was, this was truly a last resort.
Even if I were to summon a unit here and now, considering the aftermath, it would be insane.
I couldn't use it unless I was truly on the verge of death.
Like if the garrison's defenses were breached.
"The defenses...!"
"The defenses are breached! The elite monsters are breaking through!"
And it seemed like my worst fears were always coming true.
"Fall back to the rear! Our objective is to escort the Jasa researchers!"
Robert immediately led the researchers to the rear of the garrison.
The chaos was escalating.
"Alright. Think the Apaches will wipe them all out?"
And that chaos only intensified when the scrambled combat helicopters moved forward, firing missiles and machine guns.
"..."
It reached its peak when the helicopters were all intercepted by blue beams of light fired from the enemy lines.
I gripped the handle of my rifle tighter.
[The Legion is always ready to act for you.]
"...Not now. It can't be now."
The garrison hadn't fallen yet. Borrowing the Legion's power in front of all these people was the wrong decision.
[Then you have no choice but to watch as people die.]
"Shut up."
I clenched my jaw. A compromise between reality and desire.
In the end, I didn't use the summoning ticket.
Not even when the tanks hastily blocked the path.
Not even in this very moment, as the enemies that had flanked us broke through the wavering artillery fire and closed in.
I constantly reminded myself of my primary goal. My objective, above all else, was to survive.
From the monsters, and from the Legion. Everything I was doing was for that purpose.
Drawing attention here and having things go wrong would be the worst kind of self-sabotage. I wanted to save it for a more dire, a more desperate moment.
"Looks like we're going to have to fight, too."
Robert muttered, beads of sweat trickling down his face.
A garrison housing tens of thousands of people is vast.
If the front line, where defenses had been hastily reinforced, was being pushed back, it was unlikely the defenses on the left and right flanks, where the artillery was positioned, were any stronger.
"It seems we're short on Hunters to stop their special forces."
"...You can go if you want. I'll make sure you get paid well for it."
"Huh?"
Misunderstanding something in Cox's words, Robert gave my back a nudge.
Startled, I had no choice but to move. This was my own doing.
If I didn't step up now, the most powerful justification I had presented to the Legion would lose its meaning.
'I could probably just lie and say I did...'
Of course, I was hesitant. And since all the information the Legion received came from me, wasn't it possible to deceive it?
[Are you confident in that?]
But my weak resolve was shattered by the single line of text that appeared before my eyes.
Taking a deep breath, I kicked off the ground.
"Make sure! Make sure you tell them! The choice I made right now, and how much I hate these damn monsters!"
I ran toward the left side of the garrison, where the enemy was reportedly approaching.
I steeled my heart. This wasn't just about the Legion; the monsters were my enemies, too.
And my desire to help people wasn't just some hollow justification.
*
[He has joined with his allies to fight the attacking enemies and help people. Compared to the black-armored foes attacking the front, these ones are somewhat weaker. Their special forces using Form Power were also limited to minor enhancement spells. It seems they intentionally sent weaker units to the flanks as bait, knowing the artillery would be concentrated there.]
"He is now..."
"Oppa!? Is Oppa okay?!"
Having listened quietly to the broadcast, Kang Do-yeon finally couldn't hold back and raised her voice.
"Mmph..."
The Legion, unable to calm her, sealed her mouth.
A mask materialized over the lower half of her face, covering her jaw and mouth.
"I can interpret the torrent of emotions. Excitement, extreme excitement, relief, and then excitement again. Did he just kill an enemy?"
[Correct. He shot and killed a Gnoll that was attacking a soldier with the rifle he was holding. Now, an enemy cloaked in Form Power has charged at him.]
"The result."
[He calmly leaped backward, struck its head with the butt of his rifle, and kicked it away. He then snatched the sword the creature was holding and brought it down.]
"He fights well, but I cannot comprehend it."
Beneath the mask, the Legion frowned.
Of course, the Legion wanted him to survive, and it wanted him to fight and grow stronger for that purpose.
But he wasn't fighting to become stronger.
"Why?"
For the Legion, the only purposes of battle were growth and consumption.
Thus, the concept of fighting to save or help someone was difficult to grasp.
It was even more confusing because it could feel through his emotions that he was sincere.
"Mmph! Mmph!"
Just then, Kang Do-yeon started patting her mouth frantically.
Seeing this, the Legion released the mask.
"There's... not just one reason to fight, you know."
"To protect someone? Why? The weak are culled and consumed. That is the natural order, the law of life. And let me be clear, do not force your human values of life upon me."
"I don't know about all that, but Oppa is trying to teach you, isn't he? His way of thinking. Are you going to ignore that, too?"
She spoke cautiously.
However, the value of this new ideology the siblings were trying to teach was something the Legion could not easily understand.
[If you do not understand, then continue to watch. He fights for you, and for his own beliefs.]
"An act that contributes nothing to growth... But I do not understand. It would be faster for me to become much stronger and help him. If I consume all humans, he will have no one left to protect."
"Th-that's definitely not what Oppa would want. He would be sad."
Kang Do-yeon desperately tried to persuade and guide the Legion.
She was well aware of what her role was.
[An exceptionally strong-looking one has appeared before him as he was helping the wounded. The equipment it wears is no ordinary thing. The blade of the sword in its hand began to glow blue as energy was supplied to it. A bluish energy field projected from the device in its other hand, deflecting bullets.]
"...I do not understand the rest, but I want to chew up and swallow every last one of those primitive fur-balls someday."
The Legion was enraged.
Kang Do-yeon did not try to quell that anger. Rage and disgust toward the monsters.
The Legion was, one way or another, properly absorbing one of the things the siblings were trying to teach it.
[He used the offering you gave him. The Legion's power core, created with the power of the modified Divine Tree. It merely discharges energy, but that was sufficient. The enemy was crushed to death in the explosion, shield and all.]
"I must give him more."
At the news that he had killed a formidable foe using the weapon it had given him, the Legion grinned.
Wary of being masked again, Kang Do-yeon simply watched and held her tongue.