A Legion Grows From My Smartphone

Chapter 77

"What is this? It's less than I thought..."

"Don't let your guard down, Jack. Everyone, regroup. There are still some of them left."

The knights, who had achieved victory in their first clash, gathered around their commander to reorganize their frontline. Meanwhile, the young mage, who was the key to this formation, dismounted from his horse and was inspecting something.

"What are you examining, Ares?"

"It's a bit peculiar."

"Peculiar?"

"All ancient records of the Demons of Destruction remain in visual form."

The mage stood up with a serious expression.

Then, he began recounting the old stories he had studied.

"The Demons of Destruction are said to take the form of their victims, who were tainted while alive. Of course, this includes beasts as well. But as far as I can tell, I don't think a creature like this has ever existed in this world."

He spoke as he lifted the head of one of the legion soldiers.

Indeed, the figure, covered in black carapace as if clad in a knight's armor—whether it was a beast, insect, or crustacean—was unlike anything that could be found anywhere.

For a moment, everyone fell silent. The red glow, filled with murderous intent, that had rushed toward them with all its might, flashed in their minds.

"They said the first of them appeared in the Ancient Labyrinth. There must have been some changes. There's no way we can lose to some outdated ancient creatures."

At this, the Knight Commander, who had been urging everyone to stay vigilant, let out a hearty laugh to lighten the tense atmosphere.

However, Ares, the mage from the Stas Academy, remained skeptical of his words.

"In just one single night, the whole area was attacked simultaneously. Of course, if they're merely simple beasts like these, they'll be subdued soon enough."

Being a promising member of the academy, he had heard a lot of things. Among them was the situation when countless requests for rescue flooded in through communication spheres on that fateful night.

The City Hall governing the attacked city of Rihelem, the Head of the Research Lab of the Blakel Academy branch stationed in the city, as well as the individual mages within the city, and even mages residing in nearby regions.

His senior had described the sight, where everyone was crying out in despair, as a hellish scene he had never witnessed before.

"Are they really the Demons of Destruction, which were declared extinct in the first place?"

"What is this? Everyone, stay alert!"

Just as Ares, still harboring unresolved doubts, was about to mount his horse again, something caught the Knight Commander's attention. He set his spear on the saddle and drew his sword.

"They're coming."

"The ground is shaking!"

As Ares, who sensed the trembling ground, opened his eyes wide, the knights, too, were alarmed and struggled to calm their frantically rearing horses.

They knew it was too late to escape.

All they could do was desperately hold onto the reins and endure on horseback.

"Below!"

Someone shouted about the anomaly occurring underground.

Something, twisting and writhing uncontrollably beneath the earth, was approaching them at an incredible speed.

"Damn it."

The Knight Commander's low sigh was followed by a deafening explosion, as the ground they stood on burst apart.

Ares clenched his eyes shut from the impact. Thrown into mid-air along with his horse, he soon hit the ground with a heavy crash.

In his blurred vision, still reeling from the shock, he saw horses and knights being flung even higher.

"Ugh..."

A sticky, metallic taste of blood filled his mouth.

Something emerged, casting a shadow over his body.

Half-revealed from the ground, it was another massive monster with a sturdy-looking frame.

One of its two powerful arms, used to crush bedrock and dig through the earth, raised its claws, poised to strike him down.

He needed to evade, but his aching body refused to move.

"Snap out of it!"

It was the Knight Commander, throwing himself to save him from the monster's powerful strike.

The two rolled across the ground, swept by the shockwave of the blow, and the Knight Commander relentlessly slapped Ares's cheeks to revive him.

"You are the core of this formation. If you don't pull yourself together, everyone here will die."

"Y-Yes!"

Overwhelmed by the blazing intensity in his eyes, Ares nodded desperately.

"Everyone, take your positions!"

The Knight Commander rallied the surviving knights. Gripping their swords tightly, they all stood their ground.

Another attack came flying at the forefront. However, the knights hadn't prepared their positions for nothing.

"Using the knights imbued with mana as the axis, draw the circuit. Defense Formation Eight."

As the central axis and the key, Ares broke into a cold sweat as he cast his spell.

Responding to the coordinated movements of the knights, he deployed the most powerful shield barrier a single mage could produce by utilizing them.

"Ugh!"

"We held it!"

They all stood their ground, even at the brink of death.

The result was the enemy's attack being deflected with a powerful impact.

"Assault formation!"

Simultaneously, the knights rearranged their positions again.

The movements, ingrained into their very bones through hundreds, no, thousands of repetitions, came to life.

This time, instead of a shield barrier, flames of mana enveloped their bodies.

"Chargeee!"

The Knight Commander led the charge, dashing forward with the enhancement still active around his body. They had to strike the enemy before the effect wore off.

"It's working!"

In the rear, Ares clenched his fist tightly.

The massive, thick armor of the monster, impervious to ordinary weapons, was sliced open, spilling blood.

With the help of his companions, the Knight Commander leaped into the air and drove his sword into the monster's head. Finally, the monster's body began to crumble.

Ares, who cheered up, quickly ran toward the knights.

"Prepare your magic. This isn't over yet."

However, the Knight Commander raised the tension even further, pointing ahead with his hand.

"What in the world..."

Ares murmured blankly without realizing it.

After the legion had grown to a certain point, they stopped mass-producing versatile soldiers for efficiency.

Instead, these versatile soldiers were further enhanced, with more resources invested, to transform them into elite legion soldiers.

The versatility trait was supplemented by their lack of firepower through formative power.

Now, three of these elite legion soldiers, standing before them, appeared after they had barely achieved victory.

Among them, the one in the center was a slender figure with short black hair that shimmered.

"Take your positions! Guardian Formation!"

The knights, unable to afford the luxury of analyzing and evaluating their opponents, swiftly moved again.

This time, they formed a formation to fight while protecting their position.

A suffocating tension and silence filled the air. The opponents began to move as well.

The elite legion soldiers on either side slowly drew their swords with their four arms.

Standing in the center, Kang Do-Yeon also drew a sword. It burned with a dark crimson glow, causing everyone to recoil.

"I'll take the initiative!"

Although there were only three of them, Ares, sensing an ominous air, cast a spell.

It was hastily prepared, but still potent.

"This can't be."

However, the blue magic lance he had launched was easily deflected by the dark crimson barrier they had generated.

As if they had taken over the turn, the elite legion soldiers began to move.

"They're coming!"

The knights braced themselves in their defensive formation to face the opponents.

The two elite legion soldiers on either side leaped forward, striking with their four swords and even their tails.

"Damn these bastards..."

The knights rushed in from all directions to punish the enemies that seemed to be drawn into their formation, swinging their swords with all their might.

But not a single strike landed. They hadn't been drawn in at all.

In a fleeting moment, the elite legion soldiers brushed past, exchanging blows with their swords and tails, leaving the knights' limbs severed and blood spraying.

"Ugh... cough..."

The Knight Commander, clutching the tail that had pierced through his chest, coughed up blood.

His body was lifted, and his eyes locked with the gleaming ones within the armor—six glowing eyes staring back at him, filled with rage, as his own life flickered away.

"He passed... surely..."

The dying man identified the true nature of the Collaborative Technique used by the intruding enemies. It was far more advanced and intricate compared to the original, but it was unmistakably the Collaborative Technique once practiced and mastered by a certain order of knights.

Of course, the Legion had no reason to resolve his doubts.

The Higher Species, judging that there was no useful information to extract from the man whose eyes had lost their light, swung its tail and flung his corpse away.

Even as he was dying and being hurled through the air, he did not let go of the sword he gripped tightly in his hand.

Now, the only one left was Ares, the wizard, who had been their original target.

"I won't die alone."

At the moment when all the knights had fallen, Ares, determined and resolute, began to chant an incantation with the intention of self-destructing.

The Higher Species, witnessing this, aimed its arm at Ares.

In an instant, a large Poisonous Thorn shot out from its forearm and embedded itself deep into Ares’s chest.

The Legion, having already suffered twice from self-destructions in the past, had devised a plan to ensure they would not fall for the same tactic a third time.

"Ugh..."

Ares's body, unable to resist the infection spreading through him from the Poisonous Thorn, collapsed forward.

The Legion retrieved his immobilized body without hesitation.

Although he was unaware of it, he would neither die nor go mad unless he cooperated, leaving him to suffer in eternal torment. Yet, he thrashed in despair, unable to accept his fate.

'Your body is no longer yours.'

Then, as if whispered directly into his mind, someone’s will, transmitted through the infection fungus that had overtaken his body, stabbed into his consciousness like a dagger.