A Legion Grows From My Smartphone

Chapter 65

The Sacred Tree was the origin of the Moonlight Fairies, their everything. It had taken decades of effort to cultivate it to even that extent.

However, that Sacred Tree was now being crushed alive and collapsing.

The terrible other tree that emerged after destroying the Sacred Tree was absolutely not the Moonlight Fairies' Sacred Tree.

"...How could this happen."

The Wight muttered in despair as he looked at the mark on his body, which had lost its light.

There was no longer any meaning in resistance.

In this unreasonable war, the only thing remaining for them was death, and if they could at least choose the way they died, that would be considered fortunate.

The Wight, trembling, used his sword as a cane to stand up.

'Is this what our ancestors felt when they faced the endlessly approaching Destruction Fungus?'

Despair and resignation in the face of an unstoppable calamity.

He pointed his sword at the Enemy Commander.

All the warriors who had fought alongside him were dead. Yet, the numerous monsters surrounding him were not attacking but waiting.

"Come. So you... were the Queen of Monsters."

He had made his decision for the end.

At the very least, he wanted to inflict even a scratch on the being that seemed to be the leader of these monsters.

The enemy was strong. Faster and more powerful than any opponent he had faced before.

With one arm torn off and a hole in his stomach, it was impossible, but still, he took a step forward.

"Urgh!"

But as soon as he said that, the legion soldiers standing beside him pounced on him.

Pierced by the poison stinger of a Mid-sized Legion Soldier, which was based on a Giant Scorpion, he was lifted into mid-air. A look of frustration crossed his face, but soon the life faded from his eyes.

'Nothing can dare exist above me.'

The reason he was pitifully slaughtered without being respected in his final moments was so trivial that he would lament if he knew.

"That's too much... At least let him have his final moment..."

Kang Do-Yeon muttered in a sorrowful voice, partially removing her mask.

Even with the mask on, memories remained. Though they felt as detached as reading someone else's diary, she was aware that they were her own memories.

Because of that, she was well aware of the Wight's desperation and the Moonlight Fairies' struggle.

'This is the ecosystem, the natural way. Even mere ants can be more ruthless than us, and mere packs of wild dogs can be more brutal.'

Of course, such things were not even considerations for the Legion.

They fought to survive. The losers died, and the victors grew. That was not only the nature of the Legion but also the rule that all living beings in this world followed.

Knowing that her emotions were hypocritical, Kang Do-Yeon did not say anything further.

'Finish it.'

The Legion's final command was given.

Kang Do-Yeon, wearing her mask again, led the legion soldiers into the city that had already been conquered.

There was nothing to see but corpses, corpses, and more corpses.

Of course, even those corpses were merely equivalent masses of nutrients to the Legion. There was no need to clean them up.

After all, this space would also become the Legion's Nest, and the corpses of both the fairies and the legion soldiers would be digested as they were.

[Some legion soldiers searching the city discovered a passage leading elsewhere.]

"So this was a kind of mine?"

Amidst this, the Legion discovered a passage in the city that led elsewhere.

Through shared information, Kang Do-Yeon identified what it was.

Mining tools were scattered here and there, and shiny ores were embedded in the rocks.

It was unmistakably a mine.

[The moment they realized how those who could not freely manipulate the power of the Sacred Tree, like the Legion, had obtained the Divine Stones.]

'This is a significant harvest. A few highly concentrated Divine Stones contain more energy than several hundred kilograms of organic matter.'

One legion soldier tore an ore from the rock with bare hands. Using the Legion's detection organ in this mine, they could find more ores faintly emitting a presence.

At the end of this mine, Kang Do-Yeon discovered another series of caverns connected by the Legion breaking through the walls from the lower stratum.

The place they found was sealed by an incantation.

'There are things to take care of before this.'

Having confirmed the end, there was nothing more to see. The Legion turned its gaze.

Knowing what was about to unfold, Kang Do-Yeon tightly closed her eyes and put the mask back on.

"Kill... Kill them! Kill!!"

The Great Chief, the sole survivor, was dragged out and screamed at the top of her lungs, her pride being the last thing she held onto.

"You vile bugs of hell... You dreadful Abyssal Creatures!"

Her screams echoed throughout the city. In reality, having witnessed the Sacred Tree explode before her eyes and her comrades being torn apart, she was already half-mad.

Her tongue had long since been bitten off. It was only the Infection Fungus, pre-emptively introduced by the Legion, that was keeping her alive.

'Time to silence her.'

Annoyed by her screams, the Legion ordered the Infection Fungus, which had spread throughout her body, to act.

"Haah!"

Black veins surged across her entire body in an instant. Her eyes widened as she trembled.

She tried to scream, but no sound came out.

'You can hear me now, right? Your brain, your lungs, your heart... They are all in my hands.'

"Ah... Ah..."

'Tell me everything you know.'

The unbearable pain, caused by her entire nervous system being directly manipulated and stimulated, was beyond even the worst pain one could imagine.

The unimaginable torment brought even her half-mad mind back to clarity. Writhing in agony, she began to spill every truth and lie she could think of, just to find relief.

"S-So... the humans on the su..."

"The humans..."

'Humans?'

Through this process, the Legion learned who had dispatched the golems from the Trunk Layer.

*

"Honestly, isn't it fascinating? Just over a decade ago, when I was in university, aliens were merely the stuff of imagination and fiction. Of course, nobody could have expected that those aliens would be monsters emerging through gates."

"Back then... it was the same for everyone."

"But as you know, this universe is even broader and more complex than that."

Ji Changhyun chuckled softly as he muttered.

This was a secluded corner of the first encampment where the Main Allied Forces had retreated temporarily after suffering heavy losses in the Alpha Base battle.

I was alone with him in that place, a sort of dojo.

"There are aliens far greater than those monsters. Perhaps even more advanced than us. But I believe in us, in humans."

"In humans? I'm sorry, but it was a fellow human who harmed my younger sibling in the end."

"...That's true."

Noticing my displeased expression, he nodded in agreement.

"However, Kang Shin-Woo, you must acknowledge this. There are many good people as well. I'm not asking you to trust the entire human species. I'm asking you to trust those working for a universal cause."

"Like your Master."

"They are the ones who taught us everything. That we can do this."

He seemed extremely proud of himself.

He said he had grown stronger after becoming a Unit, receiving guidance, and opening his eyes to new possibilities.

Honestly, it was hard to believe. The idea that a Player's goal might not be limited to survival and growth.

But Ji Changhyun, his comrades, and the other Players were already acting that way.

I couldn't figure out what "species" they were grouped under. Could it actually be a true alignment?

"It's time to show the potential of humanity."

He spoke with confidence, his eyes gleaming.

At the mention of humanity's potential, I glanced away.

On a screen in one corner of my view, it displayed the Legion interrogating prisoners and finally uncovering information about humans living on the surface.

What would the Legion think of humanity?

After all, the human species could be considered my own kin. Would they take that into account?

[The Legion has found new prey. A massive and valuable prey capable of furthering their growth.]

"..."

It seemed that wasn't the case. Although they knew I was watching, they refrained from manifesting their body, but I could tell what decision the Legion was going to make.

Well, I hadn't expected anything in the first place. Even I didn't believe that a species without a Collective Consciousness would be unified simply under the name of their species.

...It seemed more methods would be necessary.

At the very least, perhaps offering more gifts.

If not, give them something they would like even more than a gift.

"Branch Manager. The Allied Forces Commander is currently…"

"Oh my, I’ll have to step out for a moment."

At that moment, Ji Changhyun left his seat, saying he would be gone briefly, leaving me behind.

That sight of him was quite unfamiliar. Of course, he was an S-Rank Hunter, someone who belonged to the upper class of society, so it wasn’t strange for him to meet high-ranking officials.

But now, he wasn’t acting as just an S-Rank Hunter but as the representative of an Organization.

An Organization established to help powerless humans who were sacrificed in the conflicts between the App, Players, and Units.

And to empower them.

In fact, Ji Changhyun’s Player, whose identity was still unknown, had reportedly instructed his Units to spread his Teachings to ordinary humans with talent.

It was an unbelievable reality, but the Organization was functioning well. No, it was being revered and called a Hero.

The fact that I doubted whether these actions were out of pure goodwill or high-level political maneuvering was evidence that I had become rather cynical in recent months.

"He must have been certain that I already knew about the App because of my connection with Cha Jiyeon. But does he dislike the App so much that he hasn’t disclosed it to the general public?"

[It’s rational. If the existence of the App becomes known, it will cause trouble for you. No matter how you view This Game, there’s no reason to disclose it unnecessarily. Even if it were revealed, what could you gain? Their anger? Being a scapegoat?]

"That’s true."

I had nothing more to say and closed my mouth.

After all, from my position, worrying about others was useless. For now, the priority was to learn the Technique Ji Changhyun had promised to teach me and grow stronger.