A Legion Grows From My Smartphone - Chapter 9: The Beings of the Lowest Floor (2)

[The legion is no longer a simple cluster of cells. It’s a force that has devoured an entire ecosystem.] The concept of territorial expansion was easy to understand.

After all, it was common for humans to expand their territories and increase their productivity after winning wars.

[The energy that devoured the 8th and 9th floors has become the cornerstone, and the legion is now occupying this area.]

“No, but this isn’t occupation…”

[This is the way of the legion.]

I clicked my tongue as I looked at the screen.

The phrase ^territorial expansion’ was overly simplistic.

The gateway linking the 9th floor to the 10th floor’s corridor was slowly being engulfed by a squirming wall of flesh. This viscous, undulating mass was the living legion and its domain. It appeared more precise to perceive it as the legion merely augmenting its size, rather than expanding its territory.

By the time dinner rolled around, the expanding flesh wall had reached the vicinity of our target.

[The small scouts have more thoroughly scouted the destination. And the legion has started producing soldiers tailored to the enemy.]

“Are they the same type of lizard…?”

[Yes. According to the data the legion currently has, it’s the most efficient and powerful entity.] It was armed with a thick black carapace, like scales, and strong jaws and long limbs.

The legion’s most advanced group tactics were still limited to those of ants and bees.

Although it was based on the strength-focused lizard, its operation was similar to that of ants.

[The new soldiers growing from the eggs will pour out by tomorrow. Then we will attack the target, slaughter it, and devour it.] “I don’t think we’ll lose.” I was sincere.

The giant blue lizard we had observed was certainly bigger than any enemy we had encountered so far.

It was an enemy worthy of being called a boss monster.

But I was confident of victory.

The legion’s power wasn’t just its soldiers, but also its nest, stored nourishment, accumulated data, and cognitive abilities. There was no way it could stop this group alone.

[The legion initiated the reconnaissance battle.]

Naturally, the legion was the first to move.

In this vast cave, amidst the dense mushroom forest, there was a creature.

The ruler of this cave. If we could suppress it, we could devour this place in its entirety.

[The scouts launched the first attack on it. Their weapon was the poisonous stinger on their tails. But the giant lizard killed three scouts with a single tail swipe. One managed to land on its back and stab it with its stinger, but the stinger broke.] “…It’s strong, huh?”

[The enraged creature spewed fire from its two heads. We have no resistance to fire. All the scouts were defeated, and a part of the legion that had stopped functioning became its prey.] The outcome was decided in an instant.

Seeing the creature, a mere lizard, roaring in victory, I froze for a moment.

This overwhelming two-headed lizard was on a different level from the small ecosystem lizards we had been dealing with.

Did we bite off more than we could chew?

I felt a moment of anxiety.

[If you’re anxious, make a choice.]

[One-time Assassination Right]

As if reading my mind, the item I had appeared on the screen.

Are they entrusting this to me here?

My heart sank for a moment.

Depending on the choice I make here, the outcome could change.

Use the One-time Assassination Right. Then the legion will easily overcome this crisis and gain the creature’s power, becoming stronger.

But what if this two-headed lizard is weak in this place?

What if a king-level entity appears?

What then?

“Hey…is there no way to back out?! Can’t we look at more reconnaissance records or something?!” I shouted at my phone.

But there was no answer. Only the ominous music continued to play.

Even the usually talkative creature was silent.

I pulled at my hair.

Why at such a crucial moment?

[You won’t use it. How about saving it, the legion isn’t a chess piece that moves as you wish. Regardless of your intentions, it will have a showdown with that lizard. If it’s too late and you use the One-time Assassination Right, the consumed energy can’t be fully recovered.]

“No, save it. We don’t know when it will be needed, so let’s hold on.”

I made my decision.

I didn’t use the One-time Assassination Right.

“Let’s save it for a bigger creature. You said to trust you. So, I will.”

[…As always, this time too.]

“What?”

[The legion is moving again. But what is it trying to do?]

“I think I need to help!”

After evaluating the creature’s power through reconnaissance, the legion prepared for the next attack.

I rushed out of my house before things got worse.

I racked my brain, which wasn’t particularly smart.

About what I could do to help right now.

[The legion had chosen to use a frontal assault tactic. The beast’s scales were impervious to both poison and fangs. Therefore, they decided to overwhelm it with sheer numbers. This was a strategy they had learned from ants.]

“That’s too crude. Even if they win, the casualties will be enormous.”

[So, what kind of strategy should we use?] How should I know?

However, what I could offer at this moment wasn’t a powerful or unique characteristic or gene. It was a variety of complex battle methods from various creatures.

In fact, the legion had been imitating and applying the advantages of the samples I provided or the creatures they hunted in the cave.

So, if I taught them these methods, the legion would surely find the answer among them. *

[The legion quickly interpreted and accurately analyzed the newly incoming information. The new samples were Bombardier Beetles, Wasps, Praying Mantises, Rhinoceros Beetles, Cats, Woodpeckers, Magpies, Crows…]

The entire legion came to a halt.

The influx of information was so vast that it caused the entire legion to stutter.

[The legion understood the intention. More diverse tactics, strategies]

Externally, they looked the same, but the soldiers of the legion had evolved a step further.

They had established new battle methods by imitating and modifying the habits and methods of the creatures they had absorbed.

[The legion revised its grand strategy. The first thing they did was to organically mix the troops and surround the target.] The legion moved again.

Their momentum was slightly different from before.

They trampled over the native creatures blocking their path and didn’t bother chasing the ones that ran away.

[They steal the beast’s sight and aim for the gaps in its scales. They persistently cling to its vulnerable vitals.] The acquisition of simple knowledge doesn’t help oneself.

However, one can develop it by processing and combining it on their own after receiving it.

“Ugh..”

The two-headed lizard, noticing the anomaly, was taken aback.

It had never been lynched by a group like this before.

[The legion initiated the war. Their target was one thing, the beast’s vitals.] “Roar!”

The enraged two-headed lizard spewed fire.

However, the legion would rather burn to death than retreat.

Once a strategy is set, they will definitely accomplish their mission.

[The beast, surrounded, stomped and swung its tail, killing dozens in one blow. However, those who had been waiting on the ground and in the sky all attacked at once, soon covering the beast’s entire body. And in the exposed gap, the poison spike accurately pierced one of the beast’s eyes.]

From the beginning, the legion had been focusing on areas not covered by scales, such as the eyes, reproductive organs, and excretory organs.

The flustered two-headed lizard screamed, knocked down the mushrooms, shook off its body, and started to run.

[…The beast fell into the legion’s trap. This place was a trap we had set from the beginning.]

At the cave’s entrance, the beast became ensnared in the sticky spider web that enveloped its body. The ambush squad, lying in wait like a lifeless mouse, relentlessly unleashed more spider webs and toxic chemicals. A horrifying scream reverberated throughout the cave and its entire corridor.

[The beast, ensnared in the trap, was drained of its strength. It could no longer spew fire. The legion ruthlessly plunged the poison spike into the beast’s remaining three eyes. Before long, the beast’s massive body ceased all movement.]

“…Ha.”

Victory. I watched it and staggered to sit on the bench.

I wondered if it was worth running around the mountain at this late hour. [Blue Scaled Two-headed Lizard: 3a2002] “A lizard..?”

We caught a big one.

Now, it was submerged in the flesh wall.

Since they couldn’t break the scales, they decided to digest and disassemble it whole.

[This is a moment recorded in history. Your efforts were not in vain. If you hadn’t put in various samples, if you hadn’t obtained more data thanks to them, if you hadn’t achieved diversification of strategy and tactics, you wouldn’t have achieved an efficient victory.]

“…Yeah.”

[Now we can officially devour the bigger world.]

As always, the legion didn’t stop.

They were born with an endless instinct to devour the world.

I, who had been blankly looking at my phone, staggered down the mountain.

“Why does your face look like that? Where on earth have you been?”

“…A lot happened. It’s really tiring.”

Did my sister find it surprising enough to notice? I laughed it off, claiming it was just exercise, before retreating to my room and shutting the door.

My phone…was quiet for now.

The emotions that had overwhelmed me earlier in the day came rushing back. Why had I been so desperate, running around like a headless chicken? In that moment, I felt as if I was part of something bigger, a legion. It wasn’t merely the fear of my life hanging by a thread, a reason that didn’t quite resonate with me. It was something more profound, more real.

As I pondered whether to label this emotion as affection, a hollow laugh slipped from my lips.