A Legion Grows From My Smartphone

Chapter 71

"Are you sure he's not watching?"

[Yes.]

"Then it doesn't matter."

In a secluded corner of the cavern, the Legion began by verifying the most important matter first.

Shin Woo, who was currently conversing with Chris and Cha Jiyeon, was indeed not looking at the screen.

Of course, there was a reason why someone who could observe everything through a screen invisible to others had deliberately turned it off.

"Heuh... Hkkhh..."

"Let's talk a little more."

The Legion held onto the trembling man leaning against the wall beside it and grinned slyly.

The prisoner himself couldn’t believe the situation—a monster resembling a human woman was whispering to him through the glowing eyes behind its mask.

The Legion was already well-versed in the art of interrogation.

Spreading the Infection Fungus throughout the body, it seized control and manipulated the nervous system at will.

The Legion had long since recognized that pain was an efficient tool—a sword that forced truth to emerge—and had used this method consistently.

Even the proudest of fairies, no matter how high their pride, could not endure the excruciating pain for even an hour before wanting to bite through their own tongue.

"Spill it all. Every little detail."

The Language System was different, but that was irrelevant.

With just a few clues, the Legion had mastered the human language in no time, and the pace of its learning continued to accelerate.

"Everything."

"Hkkh... Keugh..."

This was why Shin Woo had turned off the screen. The victim, overwhelmed by unimaginable agony, trembled uncontrollably, semi-conscious, and confessed everything they knew.

The Legion memorized and stored all the information.

It understood that cross-verification was necessary, but for now, it assumed the obtained information was truthful and began calculations.

'It would be ideal if I could analyze the brain and extract the information directly.'

There were shortcomings. The Legion was well aware that extracting information through torture was not a sophisticated method.

Although the Legion now possessed the ability to perfectly replicate the subject's brain cells, it still couldn’t interpret the information contained within them.

Unlike language, which could be communicated externally to gather clues, brain cell analysis yielded no useful insights at this stage.

[So, have you decided on a course of action?]

"Of course."

The Legion, having extracted all the information, stood up.

At that moment, a faint glimmer of hope appeared in the victim’s eyes, as they believed the terrible pain was finally about to end.

"Ahh... Aaaagh!"

However, the controlled Infection Fungus, now having no further use for the victim, completely consumed them, destroying their brain and obliterating their ego.

The victim, who had screamed and thrashed violently, gradually ceased all movement.

With a final tear falling from their eyes, the victim, now entirely overtaken by Black Veins, became nothing more than a lifeless chunk of flesh. Eventually, when the Legion’s Nest expanded to this area, it would assimilate the remains as Nutrient.

'It’s over now, so let’s move on, Commander of the Legion.'

The Legion, still masked, gave an order to Kang Do-Yeon, who had been standing by.

Now that it knew exactly where it was and the nature of its enemies, there was no longer any reason to stay dormant.

'I’ll devour them all.'

The calculations were complete. The Legion immediately decided to act. Conveniently, movement was detected at the entrance.

"Hey, Boris! Why aren’t you answering?"

"These guys slacked off as a group. I specifically told them to report back before the shift change..."

As twilight descended outside the cave, a group of Mages, oblivious to the events that had occurred here hours ago, entered the cavern.

They had come to take over the shift, visibly irritated. Regular reports of no anomalies were required, but not a single one of the previous workers had contacted them.

Even in a backwater post, there were basic rules to follow, if only to maintain appearances.

"...What is this?"

"Why is no one here?"

However, they were taken aback by the emptiness, devoid even of the slightest trace of life.

This cavern, established decades ago, had long since become a quiet, forgotten corner. They had never expected such an anomaly to occur here.

Hurriedly, they began checking the Crystal Spheres.

But in truth, the cavern was not completely empty.

Though the Mages were unaware, countless eyes were already observing their every move in real time.

"What the... All the connections to the Golems have been severed."

"Same here. Something seems to have gone wrong."

The Mages, upon checking the Crystal Spheres, instinctively heightened their alertness.

The atmosphere shifted in an instant. What had been a dull and chaotic workplace cluttered with desks, Crystal Spheres, papers, and books was now steeped once again in its past eerie gloom.

The sound of water dripping from the stalactites echoed loudly.

"Rookie, go to headquarters immediately and report this. We’ll investigate here. Damn it, we should’ve brought the Communication Sphere, even if it meant breaking regulations."

A middle-aged Mage, seemingly a senior member of the group, gave a slightly trembling order to a younger man.

Accustomed to such treatment, the young Mage nodded urgently in response to the serious tone and quickly turned to leave.

"Wh—?"

"You cannot leave."

But just as the young Mage dashed toward the entrance, someone blocked his path—a figure whose appearance had gone unnoticed.

Draped in Black Armor over a slender, curvaceous body, the figure stood with its back to the twilight’s deepening shadows, its long jet-black hair cascading down to the hips and its Red Glow piercing through the mask.

"What in the world..."

"Fool! Get down!"

While the young Mage was caught off guard by the Legion, the senior Mage immediately grasped the gravity of the situation and summoned an Ice Awl in an instant, launching it forward.

However, the Ice Awl was blocked by a sudden emergence of a translucent, dark crimson Barrier.

For a moment, silence enveloped the scene. Amidst the stillness, the Legion raised a finger and pointed directly at them.

'Kill them.'

The Flying Legion Minions, waiting in the Lower Stratum, surged out like water gushing from a dam.

"Ugh, aaagh!"

"Deploy the shield! Now!"

Several Mages, startled by the onslaught of the massive flying creatures, failed to respond in time and fell where they stood, their blood splattered by Sharp Claws and Poison Stingers.

Since the Legion had resolved to kill them all, there was no need to bother with Infection.

A few surviving Mages huddled together, raising a Shield Barrier and casting various spells in a desperate attempt to fend off the Legion Soldiers.

'Employees of the Labyrinth Management Office, mostly Low-level Wizards.'

However, the Legion, already informed about their identities and magic through the interrogation of the prisoner, was unimpressed.

Though the new method of manipulating Formative Power was intriguing, the Legion judged that their level was unworthy of being learned.

"There are too many..."

"Please, spare me!"

The Mages, completely overwhelmed by the Flying Species, struggled to resist within the thin Shield Barrier, surrounded by the black swarm of Monsters.

But the Shield Barrier was not infinite. No one was coming to aid them.

Moreover, the ferocity of the Monsters was unlike ordinary beasts. They didn’t see humans as prey but as targets to be annihilated, pursuing this single purpose with relentless determination.

Sensing the palpable malice of the creatures, the Mages fell into panic, and the more their spirits faltered, the thinner the Shield Barrier became, until it started to crack.

'The Guild, and the City.'

As the Mages, unable to maintain the Shield Barrier, were brutally torn apart, the Legion was already contemplating the Next Plan.

According to the information obtained, there were humans in this world far stronger than these Low-level Wizards.

Their strength seemed worthy of being studied.

[How long will Nestification take?]

"It doesn’t matter."

The Legion began constructing the Legion’s Nest on the 100th Stratum.

Legion Soldiers resembling giant toads regurgitated Sticky Secretion, from which Flesh Wall and Tentacles sprouted, gradually covering the ground.

As the Nest had yet to fully consume even the 70th Stratum deep underground, for now, it only established a connection to share Nutrients with the Main Nest and created a means for the troops to assimilate and supply Nutrients here.

"There’s plenty of food. We’ll devour it all and expand our scale."

Standing at the cave entrance, the Legion spread its arms wide.

The Vast and Distant Forest stretched out endlessly, teeming with flora and fauna. In the distance, a sizable City was visible.

There was no shortage of sustenance. This was nothing like the barren Labyrinth filled with only rocks.

Everything unfolding before them could become their Energy.

The Legion stepped out of the Cave, which had been nothing more than bare rock, and set foot on the Soft Soil ground where weeds had sprouted.

Though it was the coarse foot of a Monster with Sharp Claws, it could still feel the texture beneath.

Kneeling on one knee, the Legion swept its hand across the Soil Ground and soon smirked.

An Ant, fearlessly climbing onto that hand, tilted its head curiously.