Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Legion Status and the Dawn of Farming
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There probably isn't a single person who checks their own physical condition by talking to their own hand.
"Right hand, how's your current condition?"
Aaah, condition excellent. Doing just fine.
Barring any mental issues, this sort of thing almost never happens, but for the sake of my mental health and the future of my species, I intend to live a life where I chat with my own body.
"Respond, my right hand!"
And just like that, a response came immediately to my call.
"Yes, Your Majesty. The report is ready."
Hearing Jarvis's reply, I expanded my senses. I could feel them slipping free from my main body—the pupa—crossing the plains, piercing the atmosphere, and spreading across the entire cosmos.
I sensed the legions that the original transcendent being had scattered across the surrounding star systems as it expanded its domain.
"The legion's territory spans ten star systems, including three habitable planets with Lushaka Planet as the capital."
Fortunately, it doesn't hold a vast domain yet. In the game I used to play, difficulty was balanced by having countless races start with just their capital star system, and claiming empty land first was a win—so this tiny territory screams early game.
"On the star map, our northern border touches the Deneb Federation, while the east extends to the galactic bulge's core. South and west lie neutral star systems untouched by any faction's influence."
In other words, the only nation we've diplomatically encountered so far is the Deneb Federation. That makes diplomacy with them even more crucial. We can't scout beyond their borders, and who knows what nations lurk to the south and west, or how we'll clash with them.
"The legion's forces are currently split between Solar-03 Planet and the Lushaka capital star, having been tasked with devouring the organic lifeforms in the Solar Star System."
Just as Jarvis reported, I could feel most of my legions stationed on those two planets. They'd paused their predation of Solar-03 Planet's organics due to some ripple from my reincarnation, now idling in wait.
Curious about what forces the original transcendent had deployed, I took a closer look—and sure enough, fitting the early game vibe, the variety was limited. Small flying monsters, scout monsters, transport space whales, ground troops, and general laborers. That was it.
Any creatures helpful for domestic affairs? Not a one.
Food production? Nope. They sustain themselves by invading other planets and eating the organics there.
Luxuries, consumer goods? Unnecessary. After all, these are hive-minded drones subservient to a transcendent without individual ego.
Underground resources? They're mining some. Like how low-level units in games need minerals, gases like vespene, and such, it seems the legions require a baseline of resources to maintain.
But since war is always the top priority, there's no proper infrastructure or systems—just laborers hacking away haphazardly at whatever they stumble upon.
This must be early game, where such a ragtag force composition could still conquer.
And zero investment in domestic development?
If the Deneb Federation learns about this horrific state of internal affairs, they'll suspect us immediately.
Beings who only know war, now pursuing peace? They'd scoff and never buy it. Crystal clear.
We can't look like a locust swarm that devours everything and moves on.
Setting aside this freakish military situation, nothing else stands out.
Nearly all the original organics have been eaten, no need for housing, no facilities, just a handful of living buildings on Lushaka to assist the transcendent.
To conserve food, most forces are in hibernation, the entire species dormant until the next target is set.
The lack of anything noteworthy is the noteworthy thing.
Actually, that's a good thing. Everything's running normally. If the troops had been buzzing with activity, pivoting to a peaceful path might've hit roadblocks.
No egos, no activity—easy to reassign or scrap. Excessive military spending topples nations, after all.
Part of me wants to disband them entirely and go all-in on domestic growth, but that's game logic. Dismantle everything, and if the Deneb Federation snaps and attacks? We'd crumble without a fight.
Or do we even need disarmament? Just keep them hibernating and wake them when needed. In emergencies, they're organics—like pulling emergency rations from the fridge. What a cheat-code species.
"That concludes the status report on our legions, Your Majesty."
"Good work, Jarvis."
In truth, listening to Jarvis's report is like organizing my own thoughts.
While Jarvis can't directly control the legions like I can, it can sense the entire swarm. We're seeing and feeling the exact same things.
But Jarvis condenses and verbalizes the info, making it easier for me to judge.
Actually, no such thing—I'm just a lonely monster, and having someone to talk to beats the solitude, right?
Anyway, priorities are roughly set.
Externally, aside from the Deneb Federation, no other powers exist yet, so focus solely on diplomacy with them.
Leave the hibernating forces alone. The first domestic foundation we need is food.
Even dormant, the resource-gathering laborers and capital buildings like Jarvis keep consuming organics. At this rate, our stockpiled biomass from past hunts will run dry.
What ways are there to secure organics without hunting other creatures? No need to overthink it.
Humans survived the primitive era through hunting, generation after generation. Agriculture enabled steady food supply, kickstarting civilization.
The answer is farming. Problem is, standard crops from my knowledge might not cut it.
Can a few harvests a year feed the entire legion? We'll need supplementary methods too.
But nothing sharp comes to mind right now. Plant crops for now, absorb hibernating troops to buy time, and seek alternatives.
So, farming it is—but our capital, Lushaka Planet, has brutal sandstorms and barren surface, utterly unfit for agriculture. Hell, it's barely habitable for life.
No other planets in our territory are ideal either, but luckily, we have one prime farming world within our borders.
Solar Star System's Solar-03 Planet.
In other words, Earth.
Earth is a quiet planet where natives are mostly gone, but soil, water, and natural ecosystems have been somewhat preserved for warrior habitation.
"Jarvis? Send the workers to Solar-03."
Then I recalled the genetics of plants we'd devoured on Earth. We need quantity. Taste doesn't matter. We'll just absorb them as biomass anyway.
Wheat, rice, potatoes, corn—staples from each continent came to mind first. Makes sense they'd be the most grown, right?
Quickly settled on rice. East Asia screams rice, doesn't it?
Why East Asia? Not just my Korean roots—pure logic. Europe and the Americas were already scorched, unfit for farming.
Recalling the main body's memories: during the invasion, Earth's axis faced the Atlantic toward our fleet. Americas and Europe got pulverized first by ground forces; the rest were next targets.
...Thinking it over, there might still be survivors on Earth.
Not long after the invasion began, I reincarnated, halting all military ops. Maybe edges of continents or underground bunkers still hold life.
Unfortunately, I'm no human now, and can't save them. Mercy is for those with surplus—and the legion has none.
Best we can do is wish them hardy survival.
Anyway, rice it is. Plant it first, improve as needed.
In that vein, I created one.
"Your name is Farmvis."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Farmvis resembled a downsized Jarvis.
Reduced sensory organ surface area for legion empathy, enlarged head for higher brain capacity and intelligence.
Farmvis will oversee the legion's food sector going forward.
Unlike Jarvis, its legion-sensing ability is severely limited, but it can perform basic genetic manipulations independently and issue orders to workers via hormone secretions.
In short, it'll live on Earth, developing new rice strains, researching, and boosting yields.
That wraps up domestic tasks. As a legion, we solve most issues by genetically engineering new lifeforms, so endlessly replenishing consumed biomass is our top national goal. Farming is everything. I believe in you, Farmvis.
Food's sorted for now, and it feels like the delegation's about to arrive soon.