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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: What He Truly Desires (4)
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Monsters crawling up from the lower levels invaded the once-peaceful ecosystem.
The cavern, a forest of mushrooms, was instantly transformed into a battlefield.
The gathered Guardian Spirits fought against these invaders from the lower strata with all their might.
[The mainstay of the new legionary type established by the Legion is an all-purpose unit based on the orc.]
"If these are orcs from before they became units, they look stronger now."
[Physically, there is no comparison, of course. Infused with the Legion's essence, all inefficient parts have been stripped away, and they have been modified solely for combat.]
Walking upright with straight backs, they stood about two meters tall, their entire bodies armed with compressed muscles designed for nothing but explosive power.
The original orcs they were based on also boasted muscular and superior physiques, but these were in a different league entirely, not to mention their appearance.
All useless internal organs had been removed, making their bodies seem almost lean, but this allowed for greater flexibility and elasticity.
[The carapace armoring their entire bodies was also created by combining the strongest shells, such as those from cave turtles, earth dragon scales, and giant beetles.]
The black armor covering their bodies glinted.
Their overall form was similar to the previous goblin-based units, but as they grew larger and their muscle mass increased, their strength more than doubled.
[The greatest advantage of the all-purpose soldiers is their ability to easily counter any form of attack the enemy might employ.]
A Legion soldier, dual-wielding swords, collided head-on with a massive wolf that charged with flames spewing from its three glowing heads.
Despite being structurally at a disadvantage, the soldier was merely pushed back.
This was possible only because a Legion soldier was not a simple lifeform, but a meticulously designed weapon.
"Graaargh..."
This all-purpose Legion soldier, having blocked the sharp fangs, extended another pair of arms from between the cracked plates of its back.
Simultaneously, with its hands now free, it pierced the defenseless Guardian Spirit's neck with sharpened claws.
[Next after the all-purpose type is the assault type. Most units belonging to this form are bestial in shape.]
The Legion's greatest strength was the seamless and relentless way its completely different unit types worked together.
As the all-purpose soldier beheaded the attacking Guardian Spirit, a large, four-legged beast charged violently past it, pouncing on another Guardian Spirit.
It was similarly armed with hard armor, but this unit possessed powerful forelegs and jaw strength.
Attacked by several of them at once, biting and tearing, even the larger opponents couldn't withstand the assault and fell one by one.
"It's over... We outnumber them, to begin with."
[We cannot be complacent. The combat capabilities of these creatures, categorized as Guardian Spirits, are certainly beyond imagination.]
"Even so, they can't compete with our production rate."
The Legion was only holding back due to calculations of efficiency and upkeep.
It could produce a force far greater than its current one at a moment's notice.
The Guardian Spirits had certainly held their ground well.
They fought tenaciously, felling countless Legion soldiers and rendering them combat-ineffective.
But that was all.
No matter how many fell beside them, the Legion advanced without pause.
Driven by the sole intent to kill.
The Guardian Spirits were being crushed by that preternaturally viscous killing intent.
[As the enemy was pushed back from the mushroom forest, the artillery-type Legion soldiers began their bombardment. The tide of battle has already turned.]
Moving beyond the initial toad-modified form, new Legion soldiers firmly planted their sturdy legs into the ground, aiming the spines that tore through their own flesh to emerge from their backs.
As their bodies grew larger, so did the size of the spines, and the force with which they could be launched increased exponentially.
[Poisonous spines flew through the air, raining down upon them. Their fragile fur cannot block them.]
"The front line... is being pushed back."
The Guardian Spirits were gradually forced to retreat.
The black tide expanded its territory accordingly.
[So, it finally makes its move.]
But at that moment, the Guardian Spirits played a hidden card of their own.
A powerful electric shock. No, something that looked like an electric shock erupted, filling the phone screen.
I squinted.
Fortunately, the flash didn't last long.
"Is that really electricity?!"
[The Legion has no knowledge of electricity of this magnitude, so it cannot be certain. However, like the first time it encountered acid or fire, this is a power it has never experienced before.]
The creature that unleashed the electric-like flash was the moth the Legion had targeted.
In a single blow, dozens of Legion soldiers fell.
However, their unmarked bodies didn't look as if they had been electrocuted.
[I covet it.]
"Yeah, of course you would."
As it always had, the Legion grew greedy.
Indiscriminate gluttony was one of the Legion's greatest driving forces.
The flying units, already on standby, spread their wings in unison.
[The Legion's most outstanding aerial combat ability. A reinterpretation by the Legion, added to the abilities taken from Earth's avian species.]
Their form resembled bees with feathered wings.
Hundreds of these flying units swarmed the creature at once.
[The flash erupted again, and again, dozens died. With two experiences, an anomaly was discovered. When struck by its attack, a special, unknown reaction occurs, severing all connections between individuals and shutting down the Hive Mind.]
"The Hive Mind...!"
[The more I see it, the more I know this is a power that must be acquired.]
The Legion dispatched a second wave.
In the end, it was a war of attrition that would only end when one side was exhausted.
And wars of attrition were one of the things the Legion excelled at.
[Has it lost the strength, the will, to resist any longer? If so, then this is our victory.]
The moth could no longer emit its blue flash.
Before the moth could escape, the large flying units opened their maws wide and spewed flames like flamethrowers.
"How long will the analysis take?"
[At least a day is needed.]
The Legion was victorious.
It had hunted the moth that appeared to be the leader and killed all the resisting Guardian Spirits.
All that remained was to analyze the spoils.
"Hooo..."
I put down the phone I had been watching for the past few hours and sighed.
I had thought they would win, but the tension I'd been holding onto finally released.
"The more I see it, the weirder it gets. What is that cave, anyway? Is it really natural?"
[That is not yet known.]
"There's still a lot left."
The tension was gone, but my mind was still a mess.
I already had enough to worry about in reality, and now that other world, gradually expanding, was becoming a problem too.
There was definitely something there.
"No. What does it matter?"
My serious mood shifted as I shook my head.
Either way, there was only one path.
Whatever secrets and stories that other world held, the ending was the same.
An ending where they all get devoured by us.
Because if not, it would mean our death.
[You are now able to think like the Legion.]
"Your praise doesn't exactly make me happy."
I let out a weak chuckle and left my room.
Outside, my sister and mother were watching the news with serious expressions.
It had been a while since there was any good news.
It would probably stay that way for a while.
"Cha Ji-yeon's group, Evolution... they announced they're going to cross the Gate in a joint operation with various governments. They said they succeeded in securing Gate-related technology that's been impossible to research until now. This has to be it, right?"
"...Really?"
Kang Do-yeon whispered as soon as she saw me.
I wasn't particularly surprised.
Cha Ji-yeon was a Unit, and her Player was a skilled being with advanced technology.
It was obvious she would make a move, one way or another.
"Let's be extra careful for a while."
My only concern, however, was the safety of my family.
The anxiety that had plagued me since the day I lost my father ten years ago was evolving from a vague worry and was now gradually becoming reality.
*
[The String. It is the bond that connects a Unit and a Player.]
Silence flowed through the nest.
The only movement was the occasional twitching of the fleshy walls.
But contrary to the silence, the Legion's interior was now moving more violently than ever before.
[We have certainly approached an answer. The power held by the Great Stem Guardian Spirit 4n1236, which we have just absorbed and dismantled, is not identical to the fragment of the monster, the Wraith, that we absorbed before, but it bears a resemblance.]
All of the Legion's processing power was being consumed to learn a new concept.
The result was that shocking, but the Legion, as it always had, succeeded in accepting it and making it its own.
[This... will be recorded in our history. The moment our Legion first approached the concept of a soul.]
"..."
The entire Legion pulsed.
Every Legion unit, having ceased all action at once, fell into a temporary state of shock from the electrifying sensation.
The world, their senses, their common sense—expanded.
[I can feel it clearly as well. A clearer doubt has formed about who we are, and who he is. The String has been abnormally strengthened compared to those of other Units and Players. We are many, yet one. We are different from other Units, whose String connected to their Player splits into hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of branches for each individual. We are connected to him by a single, solitary String.]
The fragment of the wraith provided the catalyst, the Guardian Spirit provided the hint.
With that, the Legion reached a conclusion.
This connection of souls they were now feeling was related to their origin.
It was a lifeline that could quench their ravenous thirst for knowledge.
[Unfamiliar emotions and strange feelings are flowing through the String. These are undoubtedly his emotions and tendencies. Can you not feel it? We have become incredibly close to him now.]
The Legion began to move again.
However, its inner self had changed, just a little.
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