A Legion Grows From My Smartphone – Chapter 100

Chapter 100

Episode 100 – Evolution, Not Corruption (8)

“Pull back until it restarts. Now, I will end this war. Even now, I will capture Menas.”

Eve, whose eyes sparkled, commanded the legion soldiers flying swiftly toward the frontline from the throne in the center of the nest.

Meanwhile, the higher species were retrieving Reina’s body, which had fallen after being struck by the Assassination Authority, and quickly escaping the scene.

The magic bombardments fired by the mages to chase them rained down, but the higher species resonated their barriers to block them and successfully left the area unhurriedly.

Eve no longer paid attention to them. After all, Reina could be revived by reconnecting her soul to her body and linking the collective consciousness.

That miraculous and absurd process was nothing more than moving a part of her own body for Eve, the Hive Mind of the Legion.

At the same time, the vast collective consciousness was reactivated once again. Countless legion soldiers were charging toward Menas, shaking the ground.

‘Sweep them all away at once.’

The plan was the same as before: mobilize all troops to sweep the entire area.

Eve knew that Menas was the core and center of the human faction, which had been the dominant species of this world, and she also knew very well that humans couldn’t move as swiftly as she could.

Moreover, Menas had already lost its defensive functions and was in a state of extreme chaos.

If such a place were obliterated, humans would fail to regroup properly and would be swept away as they were.

‘Three million medium-sized flying species capable of high-speed flight.’

The troops mobilized first as the advance party toward such a Menas numbered three million flying species.

Their overall form was based on insects, resembling giant hornets the size of bulls.

Their entire bodies were covered with a hard yet lightweight carapace, and their two pairs of wings allowed for even faster flight.

Their main weapons were long, pointed poison stingers, akin to spears for humans. Additionally, all six of their legs were equipped with sharp raptor’s talons.

‘Make them unable to think straight.’

Eve, who smirked, gave the total offensive command while watching Menas gradually come into view.

The purpose was singular: to prevent them from regrouping and mounting a proper resistance.

“Everyone..! Everyone, evacuate!”

“Flying beasts are coming!”

Menas, which had never known peace, naturally fell into great chaos.

The monsters darkening the distant sky as they flew in, after the bright full moon had risen high in the night sky, swarmed into this place where the damage from the previous attack had yet to be recovered.

“Now we must admit it. They are an army, not a mere pack of beasts, but an army with clear purpose, unit types, and tactics!”

“Reactivate the defense barriers immediately! Evacuate the people who haven’t escaped yet, hurry!”

The mages hurriedly began their response. It was exactly the reaction Eve wanted.

If they had scattered and fled without looking back, there might have been a chance. But since they resolved to face the endlessly surging troops, all that awaited them was death after a desperate fight.

Across the city, numerous magic howitzer cannon shells fired by them pierced the dark sky and struck the incoming flying species.

The flying species controlled simultaneously by Eve moved nimbly as one, minimizing damage.

From the start, they had no intention of being hit by such disorganized attacks without a fire net in place.

“…Rozes. Is it ready?”

“Y-Yes. But did a Player really use the Assassination Authority?”

“Unfortunately. But you never know. The Assassination Authority has many gaps.”

Darque, who had been watching the scene indifferently from the rooftop of the half-destroyed Council Building due to Reina’s bombardment, nodded coldly to Rozes, who had approached him with a tone filled with dry fury.

Rozes, who had briefly left and returned, swallowed nervously.

He had harbored complaints about Darque’s coercive and strange orders, but in a situation like this, even having any method at all was a miracle.

“What on earth do you plan to do with them?! They are nothing but powerless, ordinary fools!”

“Watch your words. Even if they are powerless, they have the hot blood to offer for our sake.”

Darque turned away from the battlefield.

The flustered Rozes called out to him, but he dismissed him with a single remark and left the area.

“This is no time for this.”

Rozes, who had been blankly watching his retreating figure, flinched and hurriedly headed to a different place, not the battlefield.

What mattered most to him was his own life.

“…”

Darque, having parted ways with Rozes, walked silently.

A large-scale offensive that struck the entire city.

The western part of the city, where they attacked, had already turned into a battlefield. The high population made evacuation difficult.

The evacuation procession of citizens fleeing desperately was concentrated toward the east.

There was a large training arena where people were being gathered.

Rozes had lied, saying he would open a gate to allow them to escape, gathering about a thousand people of all ages and genders.

They trembled in anxiety, waiting eagerly to leave this place.

[The Player was momentarily flustered by the enemies’ offensive, causing some interference.]

[First, amplify the mana. Open the gate as planned and make the monsters fight each other.]

As he walked blankly along the path toward the training arena, letters shimmered before his eyes.

They were instructions from the being that had granted him rather useful power.

“Understood.”

Darque muttered blankly as he listened to the screams and shouts around him.

His Player was not particularly competent. She boasted that she was the princess of her clan and would become its leader in the future.

Even to the relatively young Darque, the Player seemed immature and inexperienced.

But her power was undeniably real. Darque believed that the only way to overcome this situation was to combine the Player’s power with his own.

The golden goblet sent as a ‘bestowed item.’ By drinking the blood contained within it, Darque inherited the Player’s power and transcended the human body.

Thanks to that, he now understood well what that power was.

“C-Chairman?! My goodness.”

“The Chairman has arrived!”

The people anxiously waiting in the training arena cheered as Darque appeared alone.

His direct appearance, given his high position, assured them that they would not be abandoned.

And above all, trust in the young and capable Darque had always been high.

‘This is… This is for the cause. It’s inevitable.’

The moment he saw those people. For the first time, the icy, cold eyes of Darque wavered.

It was a completely different look from the time he massacred those designated as units, including children.

Naturally. They were his adversaries. But the people before him now were citizens who trusted and followed him.

‘I… I’m not falling into corruption. This is the right…’

Clenching his teeth, he pulled something out from within. It was a kind of staff. This too was a bestowed item.

Its effect was to convert the power contained within blood into mana by offering it as a sacrifice.

Darque cast a spell toward the citizens, who were puzzled by his actions.

That magic was Blood Magic, a type of magic that had never existed in this world.

Dark, blood-colored mana erupted from his body, which had slumped.

*

“An intriguing power. So there was indeed a hidden trump card left for the very end?”

Eve, who was commanding the legion soldiers while Darque was in the training arena, smiled faintly.

The slaughter continued. Despite being blown apart by the mages’ magic, it was only a handful.

The medium-sized flying legion soldiers, which took less than a day to produce, were killing and capturing mages who had trained in magic for decades.

[The power of the enemy units has suddenly increased.]

“I need to capture and analyze them.”

Of course, the opponents were not easy. There had been enemy units infiltrating the battlefield for some time.

Those on the same side as Darque looked similar to the local humans in appearance. They wielded swords and used magic.

‘But their blood tasted entirely different.’

They displayed exceptional movements and fought effectively against the legion soldiers.

One enemy unit, appearing to be a knight, was captured.

Although three legion soldiers nearby immediately pierced his chest, neck, and legs with poison stingers from all directions, he swung his sword as if he didn’t feel pain or fear death, cutting down the legion soldiers.

“The entire blood is filled with dense formative power. How fascinating.”

Naturally, Eve coveted their new power.

[…An abduction attempt was made, but the target escaped.]

“The mana disappears completely from a dead body. So they must be captured alive.”

The problem was that their power was gradually growing stronger from a certain point onward.

Through this, Eve confirmed that they were connected to each other by some method. Attempts to capture them failed, as ordinary flying species without formative power had their limits.

“…It won’t be easy, will it?”

Moreover, seeing the blood-colored mana erupting explosively from the opposite side of the city, Eve sensed the defeat of the advance party.

From the whirlpool of mana, which was as fierce as a storm, a figure with silver hair fluttering flew through the air.

He cast magic. It was red and heavy, like thick blood.

The flash of light that burst forth instantly annihilated the thousands of legion soldiers that had filled the air.

It was certainly not the magic of this world that Eve knew.

‘Is rapid casting possible? Is that its maximum power?’

At that moment, Eve changed her objective. The priority was to determine the opponent’s battle power by committing all forces.

All the flying species simultaneously halted their actions and flew toward Darque.

Once again, he gathered mana and unleashed a massive explosion.

“Hurry, assist the chairperson!”

“Gather together. A path is opening!”

Those who had fallen into endless despair gained hope and gathered around her.

Despite being shocked by the overwhelming magic that defied common sense, they rallied around Darque and continued to resist.