Ch.5151. @%%:×/

After agreeing to save the poor and pitiful Lizardmen, I decided to dispatch monsters through underground passages and moved quickly.

In addition to two Royal Guards who would serve as commanders under Theseus, I awakened and dispatched approximately a thousand mid-tier monsters and about 30,000 low-tier monsters from stasis.

The dispatched monsters were divided into two units, each commanded by one Royal Guard, and one of these was the engineering corps.

Composed of Hive Silent Wyrms and 10,000 mining low-tier monsters, this group was busily creating tunnels beneath the jungle, establishing the foundation for the biological facilities that would be built for the subjugation of the Lizardmen.

The other unit was dispatched to drive the Orcs out of the jungle.

Since the jungle made external detection difficult, I was able to deploy full combat forces for the first time since becoming a high-tier monster, rather than just disguised units, which made their battle not just smooth but easy.

With Theseus himself moving freely throughout the jungle, a mere 500,000 Orcs stood no chance.

In just three days, all Orcs in the jungle were either driven out or killed, and around the time peace was restored to the jungle—the construction of the biological facility began.

The biological facility, specifically designed to reconstruct bodies and assimilate minds and souls into the Hive Mind, is being built at the site that was previously the Lizardmen’s temple and the Priest King’s palace.

There are three main reasons for this.

First, the Lizardmen’s temple houses the Spawning Pool where their yet-to-be-born eggs are stored, so building the facility here would allow us to ensure they are born already subjugated.

The second reason is because of the Lizardmen’s special relic that exists in a fixed state within the temple.

This massive rock, covered in intricate patterns reminiscent of magical circles, not only produces psychic energy on its own but also causes various miracles with this energy.

It can form a psychic barrier large enough to cover the entire Lizardmen capital, fire energy projectiles, or even amplify a psychic user’s abilities.

It’s almost like an out-of-place artifact that can even conceal the location of the capital where the temple is situated without consuming any energy, but it requires in-depth analysis as there’s no way to interpret it just by looking at it.

And the third and final reason is that it’s advantageous for deifying me—or more broadly, the Hive Mind.

The reconstruction process can easily be packaged as a sacred ritual with the right words, and knowing how faith affects sentient beings, there’s no reason not to use it if we can.

Therefore, I began building the biological facility in this temple, intending to make it a place where they would worship not only their ancestors but also Theseus as their savior, and beyond that, the Hive Mind as their creator.

The original temple resembled the pyramids of ancient South American civilizations like the Aztec or Inca, but objectively speaking, it was undeniably shabby no matter how I tried to dress it up.

So, referring to excellent examples from the internet, I began constructing the temple as a magnificent Aztec-style pyramid.

Ornate pillars with elaborate paintings rise on all sides, and at the top, there’s a kind of shrine housing the Lizardmen’s rock relic.

Deep inside the pyramid is the Spawning Pool where eggs are kept until they hatch, as well as facilities for reconstructing the Lizardmen.

After installing what was close to the best possible facility for now, I ordered the Priest King through Theseus to bring the other Lizardmen for reconstruction.

{‘Priest King, bring your people here.’}

[Yes, Great One.]

Yet despite giving the order myself, and despite knowing the truth of the reconstruction through my transcendent psychic abilities, I felt something strange about the Priest King’s willingness to subject his people, his family—and even himself—to reconstruction.

{‘Priest King. Do you know the truth of this “blessing”?’}

[…Yes.]

{‘Then why did you accept, without hesitation, bestowing this blessing upon your people and yourself?’}

When I asked the Priest King directly, his answer was quite unexpected.

[Because even if the blessing’s purpose is impure, it is still a true blessing for our kin and families.]

{‘…Why is that?’}

[The great being beyond that physical form strengthens our bodies, and even if our physical forms perish, our souls are recovered and reborn as new kin.

You have driven away the green barbarians (Orcs) that threatened us and are even trying to eradicate them completely. You intend to make our kind prosper and develop widely.

So, even if the Great Being doesn’t think so, it doesn’t matter. The Great Being is our savior, a divine one.]

The Priest King seemed to have a touch of madness, but at the same time, I felt something in his words—pure faith—which gave me a fresh shock.

The fact that a sentient being who could think and act on their own, not yet assimilated into the Hive Mind, would show faith and respect toward me, felt like it reinforced my existence as an essentially mental entity.

What began as simple compassion, amusement, and a desire for good long-term pawns, turned into something like a sense of responsibility the moment I heard the Priest King’s words.

If I had to compare it, this might be the feeling a god has when looking at their believers.

[@%%:×/ has been realized.]

[Currently possessing a fragment of @%%:×/ (1/3)]

‘…Huh?’

And at that moment of realization, I noticed a status window had appeared before me.

Though the window contained a word that was linguistically indecipherable, I understood its meaning as I looked at it.

@%%:×/ was one of many paths to becoming a Rank 0 monster—to put it simply, it was transcendence in a spiritual direction beyond being a monster.

※ ※ ※

But even having realized this path, nothing changes right away.

As described in the game, in the case of top-tier Rank 0 monsters, they’re grouped together as “Rank 0” simply because they’ve transcended Rank 1, even though their paths are completely different.

Naturally, unlike before when I just had to gather energy and evolve according to instinct, the methods for evolving into a Rank 0 monster differ for each individual and weren’t detailed in the game.

‘…I guess I’ll just continue as usual.’

So I set aside my aspirations for Rank 0 for now and needed to deal first with the Orcs who had retreated from the jungle to the plains.

Orcs.

Named after the green-skinned creatures from fantasy, these Ein-type monsters don’t look much different from their fantasy counterparts.

With well-developed muscles, abnormally large lower jaws and teeth, and yellowish-green skin, they give off a distinct “mob enemy” vibe similar to fantasy Orcs.

In terms of size, the average low-tier (Rank 7-9) Orc stands between 2 and 2.4 meters tall, with higher ranks growing larger—mid-tier around 3 meters, and Orc Lords reaching heights of about 5 meters.

Though it varies by region, they typically form Neolithic-level primitive civilizations. Plains-dwelling Orcs tend to be nomadic rather than settled, sustaining themselves through herding and hunting.

Their dwellings are mostly tents, and they domesticate medium-sized herbivorous monsters as mounts, displaying a lifestyle typical of nomads—similar to the Jurchen tribes of Manchuria.

Their society is a classic clan structure. Families and relatives form groups of about several hundred individuals, with the strongest Orc becoming the clan chief.

As for their combat ability… honestly, they’re ambiguous in terms of individual strength.

Compared to monsters of the same rank, they have thinner skin, slower movement due to their bipedal nature, and their strength and endurance are just average.

But this only applies when considering Orcs as individuals. When you factor in that they’re Ein-type monsters who form groups, the story changes.

While weaker than beast-type monsters, among Ein-types, Orcs rank in the upper-middle tier for combat ability.

With very few exceptions like Minotaurs, Ogres, and Trolls, Orcs have powerful physiques and fairly tough skin, and they’re known for their tenacious vitality.

They can’t regenerate severed limbs like Trolls, but if a severed part is fixed back in its original position, they can heal from most injuries on their own.

Additionally, Orcs possess psychic resistance as an entire species, a trait only a few Ein-type monsters are born with, so they don’t have to worry about being overwhelmed by other Ein shamans.

In summary, Orcs are specialized for fighting other Ein-type monsters, but… what does that matter?

‘Seri. It’s your turn.’

[Yes, understood. I will definitely annihilate those evil Orcs.]

After all, the enemies they’re facing now aren’t Ein-types.