Red Scourge. (2)
Of course, right after my Chimera buddies all piled out of the shuttle at the start, the settlers' reactions were exactly as I'd predicted.
As all those veteran players had drilled into me, the Demonia Empire we belonged to was basically the villain in some hero story.
Or it gave off a vibe kinda like space Nazis, making anyone not in on it go, "Uh, this is a bit much...;" and keep their distance.
Thud! Thud!
"Eek!"
"M-Mommy!"
Unlike me, who was just chilling in comfy clothes with a white lab coat thrown on, the officers had that classic Demonia uniform—packed with intimidation—complete with Chimera horns and tails.
And even though the soldiers were in military gear, they looked nothing like humans, living up to the "Chimera" name.
So yeah, the settlers freaked out at the sight of the Chimera unit leaping from the shuttle, seeing them as yet another batch of monsters on top of the Red Scourge.
Though, it was only just hitting me now, but right after that subtle reaction...
The real monsters—the Red Scourge horde—launched a massive assault, and the Chimera soldiers jumped in to protect them.
"Damn it, Demonia folks, I like you guys!"
"Mom, I wanna join Demonia!"
"Real-time new member surge incoming. Congratulations."
"You know it!"
They flipped their attitudes in a flash, like those donation reactions in internet streams.
And obviously, a planet's a big place—there was no way the settlers hit by Red Scourge were just that one group.
"Hmm, Doctor. For this scale, one officer and ten soldiers should handle it easy."
"For real?"
"Of course. No way we'd lose to these underdeveloped Red Scourge after your modifications, Doctor."
"Just leave it to us!"
"Hmmm, Illeyna, what do you think?"
"Not a bad idea. But mess it up, and it's a disaster. Stick close and coordinate organically."
"I suck at that stuff, so handle it yourselves!"
"......"
"What."
The Chimera officers—total pros—and Illeyna (my assistant cum "adjutant" cum "inspector") took charge based on the situation, letting us cruise on easy mode.
We scooped up settler groups scattered across the planet bit by bit, feasting on free wins.
And as I steadily posted updates on the攻略(?), our forum vets dove into chaos watching my play-by-play.
But soon, those rotten oil vats figured out why things were going so smoothly and chill against their predictions.
And here's why, according to the rotten oil vats.
See those soldiers? They look different from standard grunts.
Plus, the officers sprouting extra tentacles or limbs, firing beams? Total Chimeras.
Meta's different here.
What I mean is, normally, a player's combat power factors into the structure.
Our villain org setup: say branch total power is 100.
Player (or adjutant) - execs - grunts: like 50 - 10 - 1 ratio.
But one player/adjutant, 10 execs, 100+ grunts.
OvergearedMom's case? Totally different.
From what she says, her personal combat's hamster-tier trash, and she has few soldiers/officers.
But all that preserved power's dumped into them.
Chimera soldiers/officers are insanely strong early-game.
Red Scourge are dangerous, sure—but only after spreading.
At fresh-infection stage on a planet? Just claws and body-slams. Easy pickings.
Though those claws shred armor plating, bug shells block bullets—so normies turtle in ships.
TL;DR: She sacrificed her combat for soldier buffs. That's how.
Don't try if you're a one-trick player pony yelling "I can do it!"—you'll eat shit.
"Kihihit, buncha lunatics."
"Something wrong, Doctor?"
"Nah, nothing. Anyway, no way our soldiers lose to Red Scourge trash! Heh!"
"They're elite resource hogs with your personal upgrades—no surprise if they didn't mop the floor."
"Kuhuhung."
Turns out, my hamster-level body was the trade-off for uber-buffed soldiers.
So no need to fear Red Scourge—I puffed out my flat gumdrop chest and smirked in victory.
But up to here? Smooth sailing.
After rescuing all those raided settlers...
That's when major problems hit our branch.
Thanks to Chimera heroics, groups we reached in time had 90%+ survival rates and gathered up fine.
Era perks: "molecular assembler" machines whipped up food and supplies from air or dirt—no logistics woes.
I was sighing in relief, no starvation whines incoming.
Then bam.
"Doctor, issues with rallying settlers."
"Issues? What?"
"Numbers exploded—over 5,000. Chimeras can't manage alone."
"Can't use the joiners?"
"Even with them, too sudden. Can't organize properly."
"Hmm."
"Fights breaking out inside, some looting others."
Wherever humans gather, one's trash—Sensei's wisdom rang true as incidents piled up.
And if it stopped there, time would've sorted it.
But no.
"Some demand return to cities or more supplies—causing riots."
"We pull 'em from the drink, now they want the farm too."
"...Quirky phrasing. Also, massive Red Scourge biosignatures converging nearby."
"Ah."
"No more stragglers—they're massing for a wipeout."
Inside: ungrateful pricks wanting VIP treatment after rescue.
Outside: Red Scourge done with tutorials, forming encirclement hordes.
Now, how to fix this? I pondered hard.