Chapter 38. The Monster Legion
Monsters were creatures born when wild animals mutated due to the Madness Factor.
Monsters never formed legions.
Every monster belonging to the monster kingdom fundamentally possessed “madness”.
They retained their inherent ferocity and displayed it without hesitation.
Some monsters were known to be docile, but that merely meant they would not identify others as enemies and attack first.
They did so to avoid unnecessary fights.
After all,, an injury in the wild could be fatal to one’s survival.
They refrained from attacking only because their survival depended on it.
That did not mean those monsters were friendly toward humans.
Nor did it apply only to humans.
They were not friendly toward other animals either. They even displayed aggression toward other monsters.
Therefore, monsters did not form legions.
A Legion was a group in which numerous different entities submitted to a Hive Mind and were ruled by a single leader.
A “Monster Swarm”, in which members of the same species formed a group, could exist.
However, a “Monster Legion”, in which different entities formed an enormous collective, did not exist.
With one exception—
The Six Monarchs who served the Emperor.
‘How could the Monarch of Beasts….?’
The only exception was the Monster Legion led by the Monarch of Beasts.
That was precisely—
Why I was horrified rather than merely surprised.
Of course, the soldiers could have been mistaken.
They might have seen a Monster Swarm attacking in a group and mistakenly reported it as a legion.
However, I was certain that was not the case. The evidence was the quest displayed before my eyes.
== [We Are Legion!] ==
[Details]—Defend the County from the Monster Legion.
[Reward]—Increased Affinity from the residents.
[Upon Refusal]—The downfall of White Wolf County.
The quest had explicitly called it a “Monster Legion”.
Furthermore, the penalty for refusing was severe.
That indicated the County’s current forces were incapable of stopping it.
Even with Kai and Seraphia present.
That meant there was an extremely high possibility that the Monarch of Beasts was involved in this quest.
The sudden appearance of the Monarch of Beasts—
I had never known that the Monarch of Beasts attacked the County during this period.
But now that I thought about it….
Something did not add up.
‘Could that be why the Gelu-Drake descended from the summit?’
Why had the Gelu-Drake, which rarely descended from the summit of the Northern Snowy Mountains, come down?
Why had a Dermexus native to the mountains been discovered near the County?
Why had I encountered a starving Ice Troll when I first arrived?
And finally—
Why had the monster population in the mountains declined so rapidly?
‘Was it all because of the Monarch of Beasts?’
Only now were the pieces of the puzzle falling into place.
And if the Monarch of Beasts truly was responsible—
‘I can’t win.’
There was no possible way for me to complete this quest.
The strength of a Monarch was on an entirely different level.
The Emperor had indiscriminately massacred everyone who was not a citizen of the Empire.
As though he despised life itself, he exterminated every living creature across the continent.
If he needed something, he raised it like livestock. If he did not need it, he slaughtered it.
In that sense, even the Imperial Army was merely an army “raised” by the Emperor.
Breeding or slaughter.
Any living creature that encountered the Emperor faced one of those two fates.
Yet the Emperor, a madman like that, had neither bred nor slaughtered six particular beings.
Instead, he had “acknowledged” them.
Those six beings were the Monarchs.
He had even granted them sovereignty and permitted them to govern designated regions of the continent.
The Monarchs could not even be compared to the Imperial Legion Commanders I had eliminated.
They were beings whom even the Heroes of the Coalition Forces had been unable to oppose lightly.
Seraphia had also been one of those Monarchs.
She had been the Monarch of Frost, who ruled and governed the northern region of the continent.
But not now.
After returning to the past, Seraphia was presently nothing more than a small, weak, and extraordinarily delicate woman.
With our current combat strength, we could never defeat the Monarch of Beasts, no matter what we tried.
It would be a meaningless death.
Even when I had been the Predator in my previous life, I had been unable to do anything against the Monarch of Beasts.
Moreover, compared to my strength as Predator, I did not currently possess even one-eighth of that power.
Therefore, I had to abandon this Emergency Quest.
Right here.
* * *
Beyond the horizon of the Snowfield Region stretched an overwhelming and chaotic sight.
Like an approaching tidal wave of snow, an endless white surge advanced and filled our entire field of vision.
Enormous monsters led the charge, clearing the accumulated snow and opening a path.
The comparatively smaller monsters following behind scattered in every direction and charged forward with frenzied speed.
The Monster Legion moved as though it were a single colossal organism.
As countless claws trampled across the snowfield, the ground trembled and thundered beneath their combined weight.
Rooooooar—!!
Roars and thunderous cries erupted from every direction, making the frigid air vibrate.
I could not allow myself to die meaninglessly.
Atop the high walls protecting White Wolf County—
Seraphia involuntarily faltered and took a step backward.
“G-Good heavens!!”
....They could not handle this.
Seraphia knew it the moment she saw them.
The County could never survive a battle against the legion formed from all the monsters of the Northern Snowy Mountains and the Snowfield Region.
Seraphia bit down hard on her lower lip.
She calmly closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and repeatedly steeled her resolve.
When Seraphia finally opened her eyes again—
Her red irises were now glowing pure white.
Kiiiiing—!
A strange sound arose as razor-sharp cold energy emerged from her entire body like black ink strokes.
Just as that energy began spreading wildly and encroaching upon everything around her—
“You must not.”
Kai rushed forward like a bolt of lightning and stopped Seraphia.
The spreading strokes of cold energy faded and gathered back within her.
Only after confirming that the last trace of the cold energy had completely disappeared did Kai speak.
“You must not use your ability.”
“But—!”
“Trust the soldiers and me.”
At Kai’s words, the soldiers behind him gave firm nods.
Each soldier possessed a resolve strong enough to risk his life.
That resolve was not solely for Seraphia.
Their families, friends, and lovers all lived within the County.
The soldiers were prepared to protect them, even at the cost of their own lives.
Seraphia once again bit down hard on her lower lip.
“....All right.”
Only after receiving Seraphia’s answer did Kai turn around.
The soldiers followed him, gripping their weapons.
The Monster Legion continued drawing closer even then.
Kweeeeeeh—!!
Bestial howls and disorderly roars blended together.
The spine-chilling sounds grew closer, announcing that battle was imminent.
Haaah...! Haaah...!
The soldiers’ breathing grew ragged.
Although they had prepared themselves for death, casting aside their fear in the face of such an enormous threat required tremendous courage.
Seeing them, Seraphia reaffirmed her resolve.
If the situation became dangerous, she would use her ability without hesitation.
It was not because she did not trust Kai and the soldiers.
Seraphia simply felt the same way they did.
She was also prepared to sacrifice her life to protect the people of the County.
The monsters closed the remaining distance in an instant.
The monster at the front was a Rex, the fastest creature in the Northern Snowy Mountains.
The Rex charged ferociously with its enormous teeth and claws exposed.
Countless monsters surged behind it like a boiling mass.
They shoved against one another’s backs and shoulders as they advanced relentlessly toward the walls of the County.
“All units, prepare for battle!!!”
At Kai’s thunderous command, the soldiers atop the walls clenched their teeth.
“Come at us, you bastards!!”
“As long as I’m alive, you’ll never cross this wall!!”
Each soldier shouted to overcome his fear.
However, none of them could completely cast aside the terror buried within.
Could they survive?
Just as that despair began to spread—
“Everyone, move.”
Booooom!
A figure shot past Seraphia and the soldiers like a blur.
* * *
To be honest—
I had intended to refuse this Emergency Quest.
As I leaped down from the wall—
I seized the Rex climbing the wall and slammed it directly into the ground.
I raised my nails, strengthened by Dragon’s Claw [A], and tore out the Rex’s heart.
The Rex’s hide and flesh—
They tore apart like sheets of paper, surrendering its heart to me.
Splurt—!
Crimson blood sprayed in every direction.
The entire world was dyed red, and the first thing that entered my vision was a pair of eyes matching that color.
Seraphia’s red eyes.
They trembled violently as she stared at me.
I shoved the Rex’s heart into my mouth and looked around.
The eyes of the advancing monsters burned red.
Sticky saliva dripped from their mouths, while their entire bodies gleamed with murderous intent and madness.
However, deep inside, they were overwhelmed by fear of me.
It was the effect of the title <Master of the Snowy Mountains>.
The title terrified every monster inhabiting the Northern Snowy Mountains.
Terrified monsters suffered a [-15%] reduction to their stats.
G-Grrrr...!
Kiki, kikiek—!
Because of that, the monsters could not recklessly charge at me.
To be honest, I felt no attachment to White Wolf County.
However, I still needed the County until Ian returned.
I also still needed White Wolf County as the base of the Predator Merchant Company.
Most importantly—
There were so many Genetic Factors here for me to consume with Predation [S+].
Instead of searching throughout the Northern Snowy Mountains, they had conveniently gathered before my eyes on their own.
If I consumed all of them with Predation [S+], completing my ability evolutions would be effortless.
For that reason, I could not abandon this Emergency Quest.
Well, I had come up with all sorts of lengthy reasons, but the greatest reason was actually this—
“Haha....”
Joy and exhilaration were piercing through my mind.
I simply could not cast them aside.
It was an exhilaration on a completely different level from what I had felt when confronting the Gelu-Drake.
In my previous life, I had once waged war against the Monarch of Beasts.
That war had by no means been a minor conflict.
It had been so fierce that the Coalition Forces had been forced to stake their entire military strength and survival upon it.
Ian and every Hero of the Coalition Forces had fought against the Monarch of Beasts.
The Captains of every Battalion had also been mobilized.
I had been there as well.
After an intense battle in which countless lives were lost, the Monarch of Beasts finally fell.
In the end, the Monarch of Beasts dropped to his knees before Ian’s sword.
And I—
I did not consume the Monarch of Beasts with Predation.
Of course, I had known.
I knew that consuming a Monarch’s heart and absorbing its abilities would make me tremendously stronger.
Therefore, it would be more accurate to say that I had been unable to consume it.
—You must not consume a Monarch’s heart, Adrian.
That was because Ian had warned me not to consume the hearts of Monarchs.
—Adrian, your mind won’t withstand it.
His first concern had been that my mind would completely collapse.
In my previous life, I had been incapable of controlling madness.
The more I consumed with Predation, the more inevitably I descended into madness.
Even the Saintess’ miracles had been incapable of curing it.
Only Ian had been able to control me.
He did so by beating me senseless until the madness faded.
Similarly, if I consumed a Monarch’s heart, I would undoubtedly be driven mad.
Since it belonged to a Monarch, the madness within it would undoubtedly rise to unprecedented heights.
That was why Ian—
—I won’t be able to handle you.
He had feared that he would be unable to handle me afterward.
Me, after becoming vastly stronger by consuming a Monarch’s heart.
Me, rampaging after my mind had completely collapsed.
—I’m not confident that I could subdue you without killing you.
Ian had feared that he might be forced to kill me. He had been wary of the possibility that he might fail to control me.
—You must not consume the hearts of Monarchs.
That was why Ian opposed me consuming a Monarch’s heart.
I had agreed with him.
If I could not control the madness, I would become no different from a monster.
It would be the same as creating another Monarch.
Uncontrollable power was no different from a disaster.
Ultimately, I had not consumed the Monarch of Beasts.
The same had applied to the other Monarchs.
But things were different now.
I could now control and suppress madness.
Ian’s ability—Player’s Will [EX].
As long as I possessed that ability, madness could never consume me.
There was no need to fear that the madness contained within a Monarch’s heart would destroy my mind.
Ian had possessed strength far surpassing the Monarchs.
Therefore, his ability would completely suppress the madness within a Monarch’s heart.
In other words—
I could now consume a Monarch’s heart with Predation [S+].
I could now obtain the abilities and power of a Monarch that I had been unable to acquire in my previous life.
How could—
“Hahahahahaha!!”
My entire body not tremble with exhilaration?
Of course, that conclusion was based entirely on the assumption that I could defeat the Monarch of Beasts.
Naturally, my current level was nowhere near sufficient.
However, the Monarch of Beasts would not be as powerful as he had been in the past either.
Just as Seraphia had not yet displayed the true power of the Monarch of Frost, the Monarch of Beasts would be the same now that we had returned to the past.
At the very least, he would not possess the same strength he had wielded in my previous life.
If that was the case, I had a fighting chance.
If I made use of Kai and Seraphia, I might even secure fairly high odds of victory.
‘For now, I don’t see any monster that appears to be the Monarch of Beasts.’
There was only an endless procession of monsters more than worthy of being called a Legion.
And as the saying went, no one could withstand being ganged up on.
Even weaklings became troublesome when enough of them gathered.
However, the monsters gathered here were not weaklings.
Therefore, it would be unwise to waste my strength when I might still have to battle a Monarch, but—
I turned slightly and addressed Kai, Seraphia, and the soldiers gathered atop the wall.
“None of you interfere.”
This had actually worked out well.
It was the perfect opportunity to complete my ability evolutions and test the unfinished technique I had yet to perfect.
My own method of fighting—
One in which I did not fight as a human.
One in which I must not fight as a human.
◆Activating the Combination Skill Metabolic Overdrive [U]!
It was the perfect opportunity to complete that unfinished combat system.
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