Became the Queen of the Legion

[Your soldiers have killed Grandel. With this, another area has become yours]

Grandel, a demonic beast classified as tier 3, is a giant chimpanzee or orangutan-like creature with an omnivorous diet.

Although its appearance is similar to a primate, being a demon realm creature, it wasn’t particularly more intelligent compared to other demonic beasts.

Unlike when we first caught Ragadon, which was tier 3, I caught Grandel relatively easily.

Because our soldiers have become much stronger and more numerous than then.

We naturally became the new rulers of the area that it had claimed as its territory, having killed the apex predator.

“…”

However, I was completely lost in other thoughts right now.

It was because of the goblins we met in the newly scouted area.

‘We couldn’t find any evidence of a player from them. In the end, they’re just a natural goblin group.’

I had the scout follow them as they were excited hunting prey, and finally discovered their nest.

The goblin-specific nest built in a forest basin, which I had seen in the game, was by no means small in scale.

About hundreds of them were living in groups and building houses. They were farming clumsily and armed with tools and weapons made from demonic beast by-products.

They also thoroughly monitored the surroundings with sturdy palisades and watchtowers made by cutting trees and digging the ground to prepare for invasions.

But that was all. If they were beings under a player’s control, things that would inevitably stand out were not visible.

If we exclude that possibility, there’s only one thing left.

The fact that they will become competitors who will hinder us later and must be crushed and killed before that.

Moreover, if we think about it differently, it’s like hundreds of prey gathered in one place. I was initially surprised when we first met them, but now I was thinking it’s rather a good opportunity.

“They’re similar to us too. The value of a single individual might be nothing, but if we compare the entire group…”

A single ordinary goblin might be hard to even include in the weakest tier 1, but when hundreds of them are grouped together, it rises to a level where tiers no longer have meaning.

‘If we wage war against them right now, can we win? We need to crush them as much as possible to maximize efficiency.’

Although low-tier, goblins are clearly demon race. It means they’re one of the intelligent beings living in the demon realm.

It could be a completely different type of battle from fighting mere beasts that were demonic beasts until now.

Although those short monsters might look ridiculous on the outside, I, who had played them directly, know the potential they have.

“Let’s hurry the combat troop reorganization we’re currently working on.”

In the end, my final decision was to prepare as much as possible and attack first.

“Classify the combat troops, which were only one type, according to their roles.”

The first modification I made was to divide the combat troops according to their roles.

It was impossible when we had no data, but we succeeded in acquiring a really diverse range of genetic information while hunting demonic beasts in the area.

As we continue consciousness enhancement, the ability to analyze them increases, and as we invest in physical enhancement, we’ve become able to actually create and produce those analyzed things through omnipotent cells.

Of course, the level wasn’t yet to the point where precise and detailed classification was possible.

What we could do now was limited to modifying the existing main combat troops to be stronger and adding one new type of combat troops that could perform different roles.

‘If it’s such a large-scale village, there will obviously be special individuals like a chieftain or something. To fight the goblins, we need tougher and stronger soldiers.’

I gave the newly added soldiers a larger, heavier, and harder body than the existing combat troops.

Those with massive bodies about the size of an SUV were designed from the start based on Retail, a tier 2 demonic beast giant scorpion.

With no trace of Black Death Worm-like appearance left, they are monsters that are chimeras from birth, created by piecing together genetic information from various demonic beasts.

In the end, only my pure genes went into these new soldiers who will become solid tanks charging from the front.

[3 days remaining until the newly designed soldiers become adults]

“If our current main soldiers are small melee fighters, these guys are medium-sized shock troops. This should be enough for goblins of this level, right?”

Much depends on one war. So we need to prepare as much as possible to avoid losses.

The newly born shock troops, combat troops with their stamina fully replenished with perfect nutrient supply, and hundreds of reserves kept in a ‘dormant’ state just before becoming adults.

I was certain that the goblins would never win if they were ambushed while unaware of our existence, unless they knew about us in advance and prepared.

“…We’re deploying. There’s no reason to waste time.”

And finally, when all those preparations were complete.

Sitting on a chair in the nest, I deployed all the troops at once to ambush before the goblins might notice our existence as we keep expanding our territory.

* * *

“Chief, recent prey shortage, hunt farther.”

“You mean the number of prey we’ve been catching in the east has decreased.”

The chieftain of the goblin village stroked his beard at his subordinate’s report.

The chieftain, who naturally came to lead the group due to his innately highest intelligence, looked down at the map crudely drawn on leather and fell into thought. The east from where their village is located is where they often went hunting.

But recently, the number of prey caught there has decreased. It was a big problem, though they didn’t know the reason.

Because their population was rapidly increasing due to their characteristic fast reproduction, they needed a means to support the growing population.

“For now, have them go hunting farther. We’ll need to come up with other methods, it seems.”

The chieftain instructed them to go hunting farther for now. Although dangerous, hunting was their main means of livelihood, so it couldn’t be helped.

‘Our village has grown strong enough at this level.’

But the goblin village doesn’t just hunt until the end.

Originally, they can’t maintain a population above a certain level with hunting alone.

A way to have more warriors. The chieftain already knew.

It’s raiding surrounding villages, using livestock and slaves, and farming on a large scale.

‘For that, we need stronger warriors. With the level of warriors I have now, we can only attack weak villages. And to get stronger warriors, we need stronger females.’

Goblins are a race led by a few special individuals like the chieftain.

Most goblins, whether female or male, have little difference in appearance, and their physical abilities and intelligence are merely at a low level suitable for low-tier demon race.

No matter how much these ordinary goblins breed among themselves, they only keep mass-producing ordinary goblins that can only be used as mere soldiers or workers.

All the intelligent and strong special individuals are born from mating between male goblins and higher-tier different species females.

These special individuals who inherited abilities, whether strength or intelligence, through different species females were the rulers of the goblin race who transcended the limits of goblins.

However, the last female the chieftain had died long ago.

It was natural for the chieftain to be in a hurry, as he could no longer mass-produce special individuals who would become the main force of the village.

“Which one should we attack first.”

The chieftain muttered while looking at the map marking other goblin villages he was aware of.

Not noticing one wave stealthily approaching his own village.

“Traces, found.”

“It’s prey!”

Rather, it was a hunting group that went out hunting that could notice that wave first.

The goblins who cheered upon discovering traces of prey on the ground hurriedly chased after the prey.

The long dragged marks were clearly from Drumo, the giant caterpillar that was their favorite slow and sluggish prey.

“Hunt… Huh?”

But the goblins who excitedly ran with weapons suddenly froze on the spot.

The caterpillar they were aiming for had long since become minced meat.

Instead, hundreds of bizarre monsters that had already secretly hidden and were watching their movements were quietly waiting for them, stiff like dolls, without making a sound.

Countless red glowing eyes gleaming from within black exoskeletons made the goblins’ bodies twitch.

Although they were clearly monsters they had never seen before, even the dumbest ones could realize what kind of trap they had fallen into now.

“Kill.”

And at that moment, a single will controlling those numerous monsters like one body revealed hostility towards the goblins.

“Kiiiek! They’re coming!”

The monsters rushed towards the goblins without a moment’s hesitation.

The goblins screamed in panic and hurriedly raised their weapons, but being outnumbered and outclassed, they were instantly buried like grains of sand swept away by waves.