A Legion Grows From My Smartphone

Chapter 35

‘It feels like I’m floating.’

An expansion and addition to her senses that she had never experienced in her life.

Kang Do-Yeon staggered, yet a smirk spread across her face.

Thanks to The Swarm directly intervening, her brain could now process the overwhelming influx of information smoothly.

During this process, her brain was stimulated, and she inexplicably felt a sense of pleasure.

[This is undoubtedly an extraordinary enemy. Estimated to be a formidable one. For now, The Swarm has instructed the Artillery-Type Soldiers to commence bombardment.]

“…!”

Dozens of spiked bones instantly tore through the air, pouring down on them.

The man at the forefront, as well as the other warriors, simultaneously raised their swords, deflecting and cutting through all the spikes.

“I guess I’ll have to step in.”

With a thunderous roar, Kang Do-Yeon pushed off the ground.

The man, leaving his subordinates behind, tilted his sword and charged toward her alone.

Among all the enemies she had encountered so far, he was undoubtedly the strongest.

“Hmph.”

Right before their collision, Kang Do-Yeon’s waist twisted in an unnatural manner.

At the same time, the sharp blade of the sword narrowly grazed past her eyes.

[His movements are disciplined, precise, and sharp. The Swarm focused every available perspective on him, engraving his movements into memory from all angles. Combat with a sword is not feasible. That is the essence of swordsmanship.]

Kang Do-Yeon countered his blade with her transcendent senses and neural responses.

Since swordsmanship couldn’t match him, she relied purely on her physical capabilities.

The sword blade continued to graze past her eyes and narrowly miss her body.

Although the opponent also displayed extraordinary physical abilities, he was slower compared to her, who manipulated her nerves through the Collective Consciousness borrowed from The Swarm.

“Not so fast!”

She dodged his sword aimed at her waist, twisting her own body to deliver a kick.

Though the kick started from an unstable posture caused by her twisted waist, her spine fractured on its own, and the muscles in her thighs tore apart, unleashing explosive power.

[Has a countermeasure been found? Of course, this is a tactic that ordinary Swarm Soldiers, not equipped with Omnipotent Cells, would find difficult to attempt.]

The opponent, unable to counter this bizarre and unconventional attack, was sent flying with a booming sound, crashing far away into the ground.

“It’s not going to end that easily, huh…”

[The remaining forces lying in wait are now moving. We will respond accordingly. The analysis is already complete.]

Kang Do-Yeon, who had already regenerated her fractured spine and torn thigh, frowned as she watched the opponent stagger to his feet.

Recognizing the danger, the enemies now began to gather in groups, and The Swarm also moved to counter them.

[Still, not all of them seem to be as skilled as their leader. The Swarm is confident that victory is achievable with our specialty in collective tactics.]

The Versatile Swarm Soldiers rushed forward, swords in hand.

Their precise coordination and seamless teamwork—a tactical feat only possible for Versatile Swarm Soldiers crafted from human and orc bases—unfolded.

Once again, Kang Do-Yeon lunged at the staggering opponent.

‘Now I can see it.’

She avoided the weakened opponent’s sword and swung her own, severing his arm.

Then, immediately after, she beheaded him.

The blue flames burning in his eyes and the markings extinguished.

“…Are you grieving?”

While the Swarm Soldiers, following their calculated and premeditated tactics, continued to overwhelm the remaining enemies, Kang Do-Yeon stared blankly at the face of the corpse, now a dried-up mummy.

*

[The last resisting enemy fell simultaneously under the assault of our allies.]

“It’s not over yet.”

“Yeah, we need to see what’s inside.”

Though The Swarm had achieved victory, it was too early to let their guard down.

Kang Do-Yeon approached the structure that the enemies had been trying to protect, under my watchful gaze.

The screen zoomed in to match her perspective.

“This really looks like a temple.”

[We will deploy a Scout first.]

One of the nearby Swarm Soldiers assumed the role of a Scout.

The massive stone gate was pushed open, and the Scout stepped inside.

This time, I shifted my perspective to the Scout.

“Is that… an enemy?!”

[No hostility detected. No, it’s not even alive, to begin with, unlike the others.]

In this expansive space, there was only one figure, seated cross-legged in the center.

A Magic Circle, seemingly drawn with blood, covered the entire floor around it.

“That person… The flow that permeated this place was circulating around that mummy.”

Kang Do-Yeon, upon seeing it, covered her mouth with her hand.

One of the Swarm Soldiers walked resolutely over and pulled out something the mummy was clutching tightly.

“…A Vajra?”

“What’s that?”

“It’s, uh, something like that.”

Of course, it wasn’t really, but to me, it resembled a sacred artifact like a Vajra.

The Swarm Soldier twisted and detached something embedded in the center of the Vajra.

[A glowing gem adorned with peculiar markings. The markings might have similarities with the others drawn here. This peculiar flow, the source of the curse controlling the wraiths, originates from this gem.]

It was clearly no ordinary item.

Kang Do-Yeon, now holding the gem handed over to her, stared at it blankly.

“Can we use it or analyze it?”

[Not yet. More data is required.]

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem immediately usable.

“Here’s a clue. Take a look at this.”

“Yeah. This is better than those unreadable texts.”

For now, they secured the Luminous Stone, and Kang Do-Yeon moved somewhere else.

[The Swarm also showed great interest. What could those bizarre markings on the wall possibly indicate? It wasn’t long before they realized that these markings were ‘depictions’ of something.]

“…So, these are drawings. Murals, perhaps? What do they depict?”

Kang Do-Yeon shared her knowledge of murals with The Swarm, who were encountering the concept of drawings for the first time.

Immediately, The Swarm focused on all the murals drawn inside the temple.

“Look at this. Can you see, brother? This seems to be the starting point.”

At that moment, Kang Do-Yeon pointed at something.

I checked the indicated area.

Indeed, it was a mural.

Specifically, it depicted a group of people entering a cave.

They appeared to be threatened by others wielding spears.

“These people… Were they driven underground?”

My younger sibling and I interpreted it similarly.

Naturally, I examined the adjacent section.

The adjacent mural depicted a thriving underground city, centered around a lavishly adorned individual.

[Analyzing Kang Do-Yeon’s interpretation further, The Swarm concluded that, according to the mural, there seemed to be more than one such city.]

“There are numerous cities depicted here. But what’s next? One by one, these cities are disappearing.”

About halfway through the mural, peculiar elements began to emerge.

[The cities fell one by one, and the survivors fled in haste. But there was nowhere left to hide. They gathered in the last remaining city and made a resolution.]

“…They sealed the entrance themselves. And all of them participated in a ritual to protect their final bastion from being trampled. The lower floors served as a kind of outpost. A desperate attempt to find an escape route. But we know better, coming from below. There was no escape down there.”

Kang Do-Yeon muttered as she looked at the final mural.

They succeeded in uncovering part of the truth, but new questions arose as well.

[The strange monsters that drove these once-prosperous people to self-destruction—may they at least be living beings.]

Of course, The Swarm cared little for such things and merely hoped to encounter prey they could devour soon.

“What about the seal?”

[Look at the screen. The moment we broke the Vajra, the seal was already undone. The Swarm has already dispatched Scouts.]

The screen shifted.

This time, the perspective transitioned to that of a Scout cutting through mid-air.

The structures present here on the 36th Layer and the subsequent 37th Layer were also evident.

However, compared to the relatively intact state below, this place was nothing short of a ruin.

“Vegetation is alive here. So, this isn’t an isolated and sealed-off area?”

Distinctive cave flora, including mushrooms and moss, could be seen scattered around.

However, no movement from any large creature was detected or visible.

[This place is also exceptionally vast, as expected of a developed Trunk Layer. More detailed reconnaissance is necessary. Above all, we must continue the nesting process in the lower strata and explore the unexplored small caverns as well.]

The Swarm busily moved about.

Of course, by now, handling multiple tasks simultaneously had become second nature to them.

“Let me know if you find anything.”

I turned off the mobile phone there.

The Swarm, as always, was diligently working, so it was time for me to move as well.

‘Can I do it? No, that’s not the important question.’

Biting my lip, I stared at Cha Jiyeon’s message.

Other Units and Players would continue to grow stronger as time passed.

If it was dangerous to stay hidden and dangerous to act, then it was better to act.

In the end, this insane Game was akin to an ecosystem.

A merciless environment devoid of even a shred of compassion.

If you fell behind or grew weak, you would inevitably be devoured by the stronger ones and reduced to mere nutrients.

I had to keep running forward.

Once again, I checked the potion I had tucked away.

This was the item that would assist in my Perfect Crime.