"Let's move! We have our orders!"

"But I thought the plan changed. Are we still going?"

"The battle is over for now. We just need to move quickly!"

The base was in chaos. Contrary to the plan, the enemy, who wielded a strong and mysterious power, had attacked the main force first. From what they heard, they had managed to repel the attack for now. And in this unexpected situation, the planned operation was carried out. Having been watching the Legion's war, I finished preparing to leave faster than anyone else.

"To be honest, I was worried that you might be a bit clumsy since you're a young and inexperienced Hunter."

"I was a bit surprised too."

Cox, a fellow member, chuckled as he prepared his equipment. I mumbled a vague response. Right now, there was no need to think about anything else; the urgent truth was that I had to give the Legion the power to overcome the crisis as soon as possible.

"Everyone, get in! We're leaving!"

The Black Snake mercenaries boarded the vehicles. The vehicle they were escorting carried researchers from Evolution Corporation. As I was about to board last, I saw a group of people preparing to leave just like us. They were also researchers, and their escorts were soldiers.

"They're probably from a government agency."

Cox muttered as he sat down with his gun.

[The situation is critical. Their corpses will undoubtedly become our nourishment, but the cost is high. It's difficult to crush them by producing more troops.]

While traveling in the car, I continued to use the app to display the screen in front of me.

'Can this be solved by just adding a few more monster samples?'

The more I observed, the heavier my heart grew. The momentum of the mutated destructive bacteria was overwhelming.

[Do what you can. The Legion will find the answer on its own. The Legion is angry, yet simultaneously, they are content. You should understand this by now. A crisis is an opportunity for growth, and no one knows this better than the Legion.]

I nodded absentmindedly. Honestly, I wouldn't have grasped this before. But now, I had certainly matured. Having experienced the difference firsthand, I could understand the Legion's obsession with growth.

"Get ready, everyone! We're nearing the point!"

Robert's shout echoed through the radio at that moment.

"Cox, Yan, head to the point and secure your positions. Sneaky, position yourself opposite Henson."

The mercenaries promptly exited the vehicle and moved to their assigned spots. The researchers also disembarked swiftly and began their duties. I was tasked to stay with Robert in the center and act accordingly in an emergency.

"What a disaster."

Robert muttered under his breath.

Indeed, the area was in chaos. They had hastily retrieved the bodies of their fallen comrades, leaving the enemies' corpses strewn about. Signs of battle, such as bullet marks and bloodstains, were scattered everywhere. I quickly scanned the area.

All I could see at the moment were the corpses of low-level Nol monsters. Despite their rank, they were valuable samples. I needed to act fast and take photos.

"Hmm?""Captain! Come take a look at this!"

Several team members called for Robert. Seizing the opportunity, I discreetly pulled out my phone, ready to capture the scene. The area was littered with bodies. I quickly scanned the surroundings and snapped a photo of a Nol monster's corpse lying next to a demolished tank.

"They were said to possess powerful skills and grow stronger. It's likely a skill they acquired from a player. But all we can extract is their genetic information, and I can't shake off the feeling that Nols are merely goblin-level. Will it be effective?"

[We don't know yet. Do you think that's all we can gather from here?]

An intriguing response to my internal musings materialized.

Almost concurrently, my heightened senses detected something.

A bone-chilling murderous intent. The aura of a predator.

"Damn it..! Everyone, clear the area!"

The ground trembled, and Robert's warning reverberated.

I instinctively leaped into the air.

"Ugh..."

I tumbled onto the ground.

The earth erupted with a deafening bang, revealing something colossal.

"It's an ambush!"

"Fire!"

Gunfire resonated, punctuated by horrifying screams.

I scrambled to my feet.

The enormous beasts that had burst from the ground lunged at the resisting individuals in a flash.

*

[Take this. Your player risked their life to bring you these creatures. They may have been average and weak, but their actions were not.]

"Kraaah!"

A colossal, living creature was teleported into the dark cave. Its body was long and serpentine, as large as a dump truck, and equipped with powerful, sturdy arms. The creature was covered in solid blue-green scales, especially its robust head, which could withstand a tank shell fired at close range.

"Kruk..."

Confused by the sudden change in location, the creature looked around. All it could see were the half-melted corpses of Nols on the ground. Its sensory organs twitched.

In reality, its pack had only sensed the large amount of blood in the ground and jumped out to eat their prey.

[It seems to be trying to dig back into the ground, as it's a subterranean creature.]

The creature started digging through the flesh-covered ground with its strong front limbs and claws."Quite useful."

Suddenly, the creature detected a sound and turned its head, growling. A small lifeform, only the size of its head. However, it was surprising that it hadn't noticed the presence with its sensitive sensory organs.

"It can't be helped. This entire nest is fme'."

The legion moved the nest. Tentacles shot out from the writhing flesh walls, quickly wrapping around the creature.

[Its strength is immense. The efficiency of its muscles in the same volume is more explosive than the legion's compressed muscles.]

"It's getting more and more appealing."

The struggling creature began to break the tentacles. Then, a slightly different type of tentacle was fired. A rough, sturdy tentacle resembling a tree branch.

"Kiiii..."

A special tentacle, pulsating with a potent red energy, shattered the creature's sturdy armor and burrowed inside. Once inside, it started injecting mutated bacteria. The legion had long since improved its own infectivity to counter the increasingly aggressive variant of mutated destructive bacteria, proving that destructive bacteria weren't the only ones capable of learning and evolving.

[As expected, it couldn't withstand the toxin copied from the infectivity of the variant destructive bacteria.]

The otherworldly monster's internal organs were destroyed and liquefied, causing it to cease movement. It slowly collapsed and eventually lay motionless on the ground. The nest began to envelop the massive enemy with slime, completely covering it.

‘’Producing new soldiers while stalling for time is inefficient.'

On one side of the nest, a corpse covered in a thin layer of flesh resembled a large tumor. Meanwhile, the legion quickly completed its calculations. It deduced that continuing the fight would be more costly than investing energy in immediate improvement.

[Underworld Terrain Dog: 11A1087]

Once the analysis was complete, the legion began modifying the new troops. It injected them with versatile cells capable of rapid growth and immediately started the modification process. Soon, something writhing tore through the flesh covering it and stood up.

The massive Terrain Dog, a creature that had survived the harsh and barren land of the underworld, now sported even tougher black armor. Its red eyes flashed, marking its transformation into a more formidable monster.

"Go and kill them."

The new soldier, linked to the legion's mind, immediately began burrowing through the ground, making its way to the upper floors.

[We've obtained powerful data. Indeed, analyzing and combining the experiences of those who lived in various worlds seems to make us more complete.]

CC J?

[Are you worried about him?]

"His emotions are very turbulent right now."

The legion stated blankly. Even just sensing his emotions, they could roughly gauge his current state.

The Underworld Terrain Dog was not a unit but a native creature of that place. He had once sent a photo of it to overcome a crisis, but now the legion, having analyzed the Terrain Dogs, knew that they lived in packs. Only one sample per species was allowed. Since they weighed tons, they couldn't be sent as food either.

[If he dies, you die too.]

"I don't care."

The legion remained unshaken. They still hadn't found a reason to live without him. Despite having read many books and accumulated knowledge, the philosophical essence of humanity brought no meaningful change to the legion, who knew they were different from humans.

"...We're feeling affection again. Why?"

However, they frowned at his fluctuating emotions. At the end of his passionate emotions, he felt a flutter again. It didn't matter to the legion whether the feelings of affection or goodwill were directed towards the opposite sex, the same sex, animals, or other situations. They were just bothered that it wasn't directed at them.

The legion turned and left their spot. Their face was still masked, but now their long, flowing black hair gently swayed.