095. Legion never stops evolving (4)

“You bastards, have you always fought like this?”

After the cooks and wizards who came to this area first stretched out from exhaustion, the colony was now entirely mine.

I looked around at the state of the main base they had created for me, then shook my head.

“Did I tell you to trust these guys?”

“… … Well, my thoughts were short.”

“I will never trust these guys from now on.”

The appearance of the colony deserved Stalin Castro to say this.

“… … From now on, the cook will only cook.”

The colony created by the chef, by my standards, was in a state where there was no specific expression that came to mind other than the word perfect shit.

“A colony like this could be made in no time with just one legion queen seated there.”

The number of hatcheries was not too many, and the flower gardens of defense buildings planted excessively to the point of being inefficient were seen here and there, just like the personal screen of ‘Strategy Game Beginner’.

Well, aside from that, the biggest problem I found with the Cook’s Colony was the lack of units to control the battlefield.

“It’s out of balance at all.”

In order for a colony to properly extract its full power, a large number of legion queens and jellyfish are required.

The legion queen controls all production activities in the colony, and the jellyfish are an important unit that not only observes, but also transports troops to the battlefield and acts as a messenger to deliver the queen’s orders.

“There aren’t too many legion queens?”

The problem was that by creating very few of these important units, the cooks were spilling a lot of Legion power around.

Due to this inefficient method, the problem of not being able to command a lot of troops was covered with a cockroach created by a wizard, and it seems that the command was also done by borrowing his magic.

“This bastard lacked the ability to use control power, so he hit it with his own body.”

Of course, I could fully guess why the situation in the colony was going back to shit like this.

“Were you afraid of the rebellion?”

Legion Queens are the ones who have been trained from the deepest part of their essence to chew and eat the ‘orders of those weaker than themselves’.

From the moment these guys are born, they have the instinct to create a force that dominates and check other legion queens around them, so if their rivals show even the slightest weakness, they will bite them unconditionally.

Of course, the target of this challenge is not only the legion queen like herself, but also the ‘ruler’ who exercises clumsy control.

Unless you’re someone like me who can’t be touched because of a different class, anyone in the corps can be the target of a challenge.

“With my skills, how can I trust and entrust the work?”

The corps cook accidentally awakened his ESP ability after being beaten by me, and later, like the protagonist of a martial arts novel, he even got a chance, and his ability itself was at the level of the strongest human being.

However, the guy still didn’t know how to use his powers effectively, so naturally the legion queens wouldn’t have listened to such a lame guy’s orders properly.

Well, this is what the legion queens born here must think.

‘What is that human bastard? Why is a guy with weak control giving us orders?’

When this happens, the guys with power break out of the corps or challenge the ruler, and from that moment on, the entire hierarchy becomes a mess.

Simply put, Kang Jin-hyeok’s corps management skills are not much different from those of a few ordinary corps queens that can be easily found in the colony.

“Playing as a hero with this level of skill? There’s no way.”

The other day, when he saw the future through the crystal of prophecy, Kang Jin-hyeok imagined himself holding [Xcalibur] in one hand and leading a large army of legionnaires and sacred objects, crushing demons.

Of course, imagination and reality were very different, and Kang Jin-hyeok in reality was just a ‘legion queen at the level of +3’ or ‘corporate cook’.

“Still, I had some expectations… … .”

The potential of his ESP ability was already higher than that of Arachne, so it seems my expectations for that part were a bit high.

If Kang Jin-hyeok can only show this level of corps management ability, it would be a much more effective choice to send other proven control entities for this mission and just quietly fry chicken.

“Hey, that guy has a bad head, so when he learns something, he learns a little slowly. However, it has its own stubbornness and strong taste. I didn’t invest powers and items in that guy for nothing.”

Perhaps I gave too much harsh criticism, but an elderly man who was chewing chocolate next to me stood up for the cook.

Well, it’s a fact that everyone forgets, but as the elder said, Kang Jin-hyeok was recognized for his potential to become a hero and was the one who inherited the [Holy Sword], the best item at the time.

“Old man. I understand that he cares for Kang Jin-hyuk, but it’s better to just cook with this friend’s skills.”

“… … Don’t you have an answer like that?”

“Yes, there is no such answer. He probably won’t be able to beat the old demon duke class, right?”

Kang Jin-hyeok is a guy with great potential to become the ruler of the corps, but unfortunately I didn’t have the time to wait for him to develop.

“Arachne. Take charge of the colony.”

―I see, my lord.

First of all, I attached an adjutant with the highest level of proficiency to the colony, five minutes before the opening, and this guy started to take care of the delayed work in an instant.

-The ruler is watching. Queens, hurry up and plant the hatchery.

Under Arachne’s command, a large number of workers and command units poured out of the hive of the colony, and soon an enormous amount of hatcheries, a number that the cook could not handle, began to be planted.

Thousands of hatcheries that have entered the process of metamorphosis at the same time. In order to properly control this, it is necessary to divide a certain area and issue orders to the subject of the spirit that governs the area.

-What are you doing? There is no time to procrastinate. Secure as many hatcheries as possible!!!

In the process of organizing the colony, Arachne continued to strengthen her control over the entire region.

Most of the newly born legion queens obediently followed his words, but if an object that chewed his orders came out on the occasion, he would mercilessly catch it and feed it to the hatchery.

―My ruler, I will prepare an army.

After all the preparations were completed, a huge number of eggs poured out of the hatchery were immersed in the nutrient-rich mucous membrane and grew, raising expectations for the volume of the corps that would explode shortly after.

“Seniors, can you see the difference?”

“… … Well. Isn’t this what that spider guy is particularly good at?”

“Although that guy is the one with the highest rank, he still has to do at least that level in order to fight properly.”

The first task to confront the army sent by the Lord of Destruction was the ability to control and operate this corps, and Kang Jin-hyeok got a very good failing grade from the first task I presented.

“… … Is this your first assignment?”

“Absolutely. Expansion and battle command are the most basic of all basics. After that, if you want to fight the enemy properly, you must learn how to handle the Essence of the Legion as a second task.”

Of course, the biggest reason why the Legion can fight on an equal footing with the beasts sent by the Lord of Destruction is the ‘Remodeling of Essence’.

Growing chloroplasts in the body to obtain nutrients, as well as extracting the essences of ancient soldiers that can be incapacitated by Hellfire and transplanting them into Legion essences, or absorbing mammoths to gain resistance to cold and magical attacks. All of this can be done only if you know how to handle integers.

“… … No wait, what are you expecting from that stone head right now?”

“If he can’t handle the essence properly, he’s not qualified to take charge of the territory and command the legion.”

“… … They say at length that there is no hope.”

After hearing my words, the manager shook his head.

In fact, from my point of view, there seems to be no difference between the corps chef and the chef in terms of efficiency and the way he rolls his head… … .

In any case, the dimension that is now at war with the Lord of Ruin in this world was a very widespread situation.

So I was in a situation where I had to exert direct control while sending troops to as many places as possible, and I researched another evolution method in advance to make this process convenient.

Although it is difficult for the chef to fill my vacancy, the evolution of the army does not stop as long as I am present.

“Well, I made a plan B in advance to replace the chef.”

“… … Plan B?”

After a while, a small portal opened, and through this portal, a large, plump caterpillar crawled out.

This worm immediately settled down in the middle of the colony, and the workers began to make pupae and gradually grow in size as if they were metamorphosing into various bio-buildings.

“… … Hey, what else is that creepy looking thing? If you break that thing, won’t something like a moth come out?”

After a little while, the manager tilted his head at the unidentified bio-building with ‘the form of a long larva with a hugely developed brain’.

“What is it?”

When the chrysalis, which had been covered to protect the organization during the metamorphosis process, split open with a crackling sound, the new work I created in it finally revealed its mysterious appearance in an unfamiliar world.

The alter ego, which had rapidly grown, began to dominate surrounding units by emitting a brilliant golden aura created by the manifestation of ESP abilities.

“This is my alter ego.”

“… … What?”

“This is Plan B, in case the chef fails. These are the new Legion commanders who have drawn and put my essence into them.”

The alter ego of the Legion Ruler, created using my essence, was a very powerful governing object that was endowed with a different level of dominance from the Legion Queen, as well as a part of my mind, as materials were materials.

From now on, these alter egos would be cloned into numerous entities to expand my dominance, and were to be scattered evenly throughout the world, leading an army.

【Listen to all legion queens. Gather your troops and eliminate all enemies that appear in this world.]

Hearing the voice of my alter ego who had finished growing up, the manager looked at me blankly as if he had goosebumps.

It was because the wavelength of the Hive consciousness emitted by that alter ego was exactly the same as the wavelength I normally use, so even the voice I heard was exactly the same.

“What crazy, is that really you?”

“To be precise, it is a kind of independent unit in which I have split my mind into many pieces and put them in. These guys will now go on business trips instead of cooks.”

“Five… … .”

“No matter how much you shovel, you’re my alter ego and I’ll be much better than the cook.”

The manager opened his mouth wide in surprise when he heard the plan to utilize my alter ego.

“Jiwoo, I think this is a bit opposite… … .”

“Yes? What?”

“No, shouldn’t something like that come out first and then the queen?”

“… … No, no.”

“… … No, my name is Woo-jae, not Ah-jae.”

“… … .”

… … This gentleman is true.

Do you know that the world runs like some kind of strategy game scenario?

“Hey, but didn’t we delay our time too much? Isn’t this the death of the previous demon king?”

“Oh, that’s fine. Our hero has already dispatched.”

A hero with a hammer will buy time for the Legion troops to gather.

* * *

By the time a new evolutionary entity was added to the Legion, a hero with a hammer was advancing towards the battlefield.

On that battlefield, a pitiful race that lost its ego, consumed its life, and summoned the flames of hell, and a fierce battle between those who were once their own kind was unfolding.

These poor people’s kinsman used evil and spewed magic, and when that wasn’t enough, they threw weapons and fought tenaciously. However, the Hellfires of Ruin easily ate away the black flames they spewed out, and the thrown swords did not show much power.

If it weren’t for the knights of this dimension who were blocking all the flames in front of them with their bodies in the first place, they would have been virtually wiped out early.

“Don’t back down! Reinforcements will come soon—!!!”

A high-ranking demon who led them was still shouting and encouraging his fellow tribesmen even though he had already suffered many burns.

“You great demon king! When are they coming!”

“Soon, now soon! Just a little bit more!”

That was the moment.

“Everything out of the way—!!!”

At the same time as a woman’s sharp cry that roared across the battlefield, dozens of lightning bolts began pouring down from the air like a shower.

“You bastards—!!!”

A woman wearing a state-of-the-art exoskeleton-reinforced suit, holding a heavy hammer, ran at breakneck speed and began to slash all enemies in sight.

Flash-!!!

Quarreureung-!!!

With thunder that resounded the heavens and earth, the hammer-hit army of destruction was disintegrating in an instant on the spot.

The demon survivors, fed up with that enormous force, looked at the former demon king with a puzzled expression and said,

“Demon King… … By the reinforcements you mentioned, do you mean that human woman?”

“… … A large army of additional monsters will be coming soon… … .”

The former demon king watched a woman running around swinging a hammer like a crazy bitch on the battlefield and laughed out loud.

“It’s a scam item that player friends have been talking about, it’s really amazing.”

The former leader holding the forbidden hammer was almost the same as a one-man army.