Became the Queen of the Legion

“We don’t have time for leisurely introductions.”

I was just as curious about his identity, but in this situation, being too relaxed might give him a sense of discomfort and wariness.

I didn’t… intend to reveal my identity to him yet.

“Kuk, that’s true.”

Fortunately, because the current surrounding situation was chaos itself, he didn’t particularly doubt or guard against my words or identity. Or rather, he didn’t have the luxury to do so.

Thanks to this, I was able to escape this battlefield that had turned into a mess together with him through a path I had intentionally left open by moving my soldiers.

‘Kill all the rest.’

Of course, the path we escaped through was quickly closed again. As a result, only a lucky few, including us, managed to escape successfully.

The rest were trapped in the hell recreated on earth, dying amidst the thick poison gas and the smell of blood.

“St-stop! Their pursuit has stopped. I can’t feel any more presence.”

And when we, who had been running frantically like that, reached a forest far from the city that had become a battlefield.

He, who had been running following me, caught his breath and stopped me.

Of course, my soldiers didn’t chase us but went after others. Because I had ordered them not to come.

“I won’t deny that I survived thanks to you.”

“Is that so?”

Now that he had some leisure, he started to be wary of me again. But that wariness wasn’t very strong.

Even though it was a short time, just the fact that we had gone through a life-and-death situation together had created a gap in his mind.

“My name is Kruger. Kruger Mond.”

“Where are you from, Orc?”

“…I’m from the Bender region in the southwest.”

After catching his breath, he first revealed his name and origin. The Bender region, if I recall, is a place somewhat distant from this northeast, closer to the continent’s center, which is the core and center of the demon realm.

I certainly thought his movements were different from the Orcs in this area, and my judgment wasn’t wrong.

“But how did someone like you end up here as a mercenary?”

“There’s a story behind it. More than that, I think it’s time for me to hear about your identity.”

He sighed softly and muttered while looking me up and down. At those words asking about my identity, I slowly curled up the corners of my mouth.

* * *

“Why are you putting in so much effort? If he has the quality to withstand the colony consciousness, surely showing him just a part of it would make him one with us.”

“If you think about it, it’s not such an urgent matter?”

While my avatar was talking with Kruger.

Seira, who had finally achieved victory on the ruined battlefield, seemed perplexed by the result and asked for the reason, but I had already made up my mind.

The situation itself is different from when I accepted Seira as part of the colony. Kruger’s body wasn’t damaged like Seira’s, nor was he in a body that couldn’t reveal its identity.

At the same time, I was greatly satisfied with the high-quality information I had been collecting from the inside using my avatar, and I decided to use it a bit more.

“And even you, Seira, failed to become completely one with us in heart, so I had to take separate measures. Not everything works out by rushing things.”

“Th-that is…”

Even Seira herself couldn’t deny that her past self hadn’t become one with me in heart. It was because her self, which had lived as a vampire noble for a considerable time, was too different from our existence.

In the end, only after manipulating her body and modifying some parts could I turn her heart as well.

“I intend to hear more about him and use as much as I can use. The ultimate goal is to make him come to me on his own and say he’ll dedicate everything to me.”

Having learned through the prototype Seira how to control someone with a self within the colony, I decided to go through a more delicate process anyway, as I needed to dispatch avatars to the outside world now.

“Leave that matter be, now is the time to collect our spoils.”

The conversation with Kruger wasn’t the only thing I needed to pay attention to.

After crushing the enemy’s main force, the Gargoyles, who didn’t know what to do because they couldn’t properly perform their assigned tasks, all retreated towards their own territory.

The corpses piled up on the battlefield floor are also our spoils, but the city ahead, left undefended, is truly the biggest reward we should obtain. Anyway, when I looked inside using reconnaissance troops, there was nothing left.

“Charge.”

I moved the forces I had prepared as a follow-up to capture the city in one go. It was already an empty city with most of the residents having fled, and those who remained to resist were killed honorably without wasting time.

Immediately after that, I deployed workers to start the work. It was to create digestive organs to make nutrients to replenish the soldiers and to install production organs that could produce new soldiers. Of course, I intended to turn this city into a nest to serve as a base.

Unlike the areas I’ve conquered so far, this place, right under the noses of the surrounding territories, will serve as a kind of bait that draws attention from all directions.

While the enemies are distracted by this nest, our headquarters deep inside will increase its class while surrounding more and more area with Sun Flowers.

“By the way, what do you intend to find out from those we’ve captured alive as prisoners?”

“I have something separate to ask them.”

In the meantime, I had Seira capture some people alive.

There was something separate I wanted to ask them. Although we’ve collected a considerable amount of information through the avatar that had been operating as part of the enemy’s interior, we also needed to know news from further away that couldn’t be heard in the Hobgoblin territory.

“I need to know about news of other players. There must be quite a number in this demon realm, and by this time, there should be rumors circulating around. Surely they wouldn’t just be living while cultivating villages without doing anything.”

[The number of players participating in the game cannot be disclosed at the current point in time]

“Not needed. I’ll find out myself.”

The news I wanted to know was none other than news about other players. The only player I’ve met so far was the one raising Goblins.

Even though I’ve officially revealed myself in the area and fought large-scale wars, even dropping one territory, I haven’t yet discovered any forces suspected of being players since then.

There weren’t even any approaching me first.

Well, even if I were in their shoes, I wouldn’t think a mutant like my current self appearing in the game was a player.

“It shouldn’t be difficult to find them. Players inevitably stand out more and more as they develop. Honestly, I could recognize them instantly just from rumors.”

Like the Red Skin, a special Goblin individual, there’s no shortage of evidence that can only appear through a player’s authority. Almost every race has these special individuals. There’s no reason not to use such special units that give players an early-stage advantage.

And players’ behavior patterns are uniform. It’s inevitable since they all have the same ultimate goal.

Basically, players start from the smallest village or tribal unit and expand their influence.

If there are those who have been expanding their influence through rapid expansion recently, they are suspicious forces.

In the end, the goal of all players is to conquer this world, so compared to local forces that want to maintain the status quo, they feel distinctly different.

“Then I will interrogate them to find out such facts.”

“I’ll be watching too, so go ahead.”

Seira quickly understood my words and nodded. Anyway, since I can know what she’s doing, if she really finds any clues, I won’t miss them.

[If you notice the existence of other players in this way, what do you intend to do?]

「1. Hostility」

「2. Cooperation」

It was then that the system message asked me for a choice. I snorted at the simple options.

From the beginning, this choice was already determined for me.

“Do you think true cooperation is possible between players? It’s a game where they’re betting their own lives. Even if they cooperate, they’ll probably be ready to stab each other in the back at any time.”

Of course, it might be possible to form temporary alliances and bring down stronger enemies. In fact, when playing multiplayer, it was common to team up with other players from the beginning to work on taking down the strongest local power.

But this time, I wasn’t planning to do that.

The legion I’m leading now was a race that couldn’t coexist with any other living beings. It’s a plague-like race that devastates the area just by living.

I’ve already realized that it’s much better to crush them, devour them, and use them as nutrients rather than cooperating halfheartedly.

Even trying to find news first was ultimately with the intention of attacking them to remove potential troubles and secure nutrients, not to join hands with them.