Chapter 119
Chapter 119 – Fierce Battle (9)
The bug, the Master Program, is a calamity whose true nature remains distinctly ambiguous. All that can be explained is that it exists as a kind of phenomenon or law solely to erode the world.
Whether the bugs are genuinely living creatures or not, how their precise genetics or data works is something that even the scientists on Earth, along with the artificial intelligence, engaged in a bloody struggle at this very moment, couldn’t figure out.
But one thing was certain. The one and only purpose of these enigmatic entities known as bugs is to ravage and annihilate the world, and they will stop at nothing to achieve that.
“T-this creature dares…”
“How…”
For them, altering their forms and ecology to fulfill their purpose was a trivial matter. That was the very essence of their being. And the basic method of doing so was none other than imitation.
If the enemy is stronger than they are, they mimic that strength and apply it to themselves.
The bugs, while they hadn’t fought with the villagers as fiercely in the past, evolved and grew in this manner, as if they were following a predetermined code, irrespective of its feasibility.
Be it giant variants, spiky variants, or coordinated group tactics, and now even a variant standing tall on two legs like this one.
They had instantaneously wiped out the Dwarf Kingdom, but even the Dwarf Survivors had never seen creatures like these variants. At most, they had been accustomed to thicker carapace and larger beings.
Ultimately, it was not the bugs’ own power that created these horrific variants, but the influence of the fiercely battling Arin Tribe villagers.
“Stand back!”
While Rihar was frozen in place upon seeing this variant appear before him, Rakhum instinctively felt a looming sense of dread and rushed forward.
In that moment, the bug had already drawn its weapon. Among the villagers, those warriors who could slice through massive variants wouldn’t take it on barehanded.
‘D-double swords?’
Rihar blankly thought as he saw the enemy charging at him.
The bug wielded two swords made from black carapace in both hands, looking every bit like a warrior brandishing dual blades.
“Great Warrior!”
And just then, Rakhum’s spear, wrapped in azure flames, blocked the bug’s swordsmanship.
‘Strong!’
It was a bug that had mirrored the Arin warriors who gained mana and skills with Jung-Young’s assistance, diligently training for item farming. It was no pushover. Rakhum bit his lip against the massive weight he felt from the spear.
“How dare such a monster wield a sword!”
However, he soon summoned all his strength and pushed back against the bug’s blade. He was creeped out by the realization that the creature he thought was a horrific beast felt remarkably like a genuine warrior.
Rakhum executed the spear master skill, Flame Dragon Piercing Strike. It was a significantly powerful, higher-tier skill, and thus very difficult for the villagers to learn. Rakhum could wield it with great finesse.
‘Did it get hit!?’
The spear he thrust was engulfed in rising crimson flames, writhing like a dragon as it became a single piercing point, effortlessly penetrating the enemy.
The bug tried to deflect it by crossing its two swords, but it gradually began to be pushed back, as if it could not match Rakhum’s warrior skills.
“Fell, fell!”
“The Great Warrior has won!”
Yet, as Rakhum witnessed the bug enduring his overwhelming skill, which could instantly slay even a massive beast, the bug seemed to reach its limit, as its two swords shattered and its body was split in half, falling beyond the castle walls.
The surrounding soldiers cheered and rejoiced at the sight of the victory of their commander, but Rakhum’s hands trembled. He was certain the enemy’s power was lesser than his own, but still viewed this as only the beginning.
He wasn’t wrong. It hadn’t been long since they had clashed with the “Colony-Type” bugs settled in the Northern Region, yet their evolution had already reached this point.
“Ah, the battle isn’t over yet! Everyone, focus on what’s in front of you! They will charge until all their forces are annihilated!”
He barely managed to maintain his composure and issued commands to those around him. Just as he said, the war was still ongoing, and many bugs remained to assault them.
The fortunate thing was that no unusual variants like before had appeared anymore, eliminating that variable. Those fighting together, grappling tightly, along with the fatigue-less defense turrets, finally managed to withstand the attack from monsters that outnumbered them at least two-fold.
While they were merely said to be double in number, each one weighed as much as or more than a person. Not being crushed under their oppressive appearance and merciless mass was due to thorough preparation, fierce fighting for their lives, and certainly a bit of luck on their side.
‘Oh no. I’m late.’
At that moment, Riena returned to the village and arrived at the fortress leading reinforcements.
What she saw, forcibly dragging even new recruits, was the scattered bodies of soldiers and the harrowing traces of the battlefield.
“Did you say a creature resembling a person ran around swinging a sword?”
“How… how strong could they possibly become?”
Combined with the pallid face of Rakhum providing testimony, Riena’s expression hardened. In a place where even a thousand villagers, regardless of gender or age, were deemed no easy tribe to deal with, the Arin Tribe had now become a large tribe with tens of thousands of members, but Riena was undeniably the strongest among them.
Among the few who had seen her for a long time, being referred to as the Paladin favored by the Guardian Deity carried a duty.
To become stronger than anyone, to defeat any foe that hinders her divine duty.
‘I must rise higher, I must become greater.’
The evolution of the bugs became yet another driving force for Riena, who had matured from being a naive warrior dreaming of revenge to bearing an unimaginable responsibility, engraining that sacred duty into her body and mind.
“Damn it…”
Of course, she wasn’t the only one whose head was in a whirl. Grabbing his throbbing head, Jung-Young began to pull his hair while squirming in front of his desk.
“It’s too OP.”
Mumbling absentmindedly as he examined the strength of the bugs verified through the villagers, Jung-Young reflected. As expected, while they had emerged victorious without the wall crumbling, the merciless changes and growth of the enemy stirred a feeling of nausea.
One moment of pause could mean being caught up. No, frankly, even without stopping, it felt like they would be caught up. If they got caught, they would certainly be surpassed one day.
The only outcome resulting from that would be annihilation, leaving not even a single survivor including himself.
‘Of course, the power of the Master Program is also absurd. But… but I’m limited, right?’
The strength of the Master Program, which materializes the game and program, was undoubtedly tremendous, but it didn’t come for free. In reality, it was about squeezing out tiny amounts of points distributed according to one’s achievements to the utmost limit.
‘What on earth do they eat?’
The breeding and evolution, invasion and combat of the bugs seemed to not care about the resources required at all.
Of course, seeing that the bugs moved in an efficient manner, it was clear they didn’t possess an infinite amount of resources, but even if there were limits to those resources, it was clear they had more than the villagers or Jung-Young.
‘For now, it’s certain that these Colony-Type bugs, these ants, have a commanding authority within each of their nests.’
He organized a few things based on the information he had gathered.
The bugs, with various invasion methods like fissures, nests, and erosion, and their forms varying from Colony-Type, Assault-Type, to solitary, motivated Earth’s users to actively share information about them and find ways to utilize it.
And it was the same for Jung-Young, who had yet to make his appearance. As he bit down on his lip while noting the bug information he would relay to Lee So-Yeon.
‘Even their nests seem to compete with one another. Some variants might have manifested not just due to us but from their own competition. Furthermore, since their goal remains singular, they’d willingly join forces to strike us if necessary.’
The information about the bugs that the Arin Tribe currently faced, especially concerning the Colony-Type bugs that had first appeared in the North, was gradually becoming more concrete.
They had turned out to be the most troublesome enemies he had encountered thus far.
“The Assault-Type bugs that emerged from the fissure at the rear this time looked completely different from the ant-type Colony bugs… Could it be that they exchange information among themselves?”
He sighed as he muttered absentmindedly.
The evolution stemming from the characteristics of imitation and rapid cycles was merely the overt growth seen. The truly scary point was that these bugs also accumulate experience and information.
‘No. We too must grow, we too must evolve.’
The infinite possibilities that the enemies possessed. The mere moment of imagining it pressed down on him, crushing his resolve.
However, he shook his head and forcibly brushed it off. While the villagers living within the screen might not realize it, he, who could overlook everything, trusted in the programs and games he wielded, as well as the villagers themselves.
It was undoubtedly his assistance that had turned the mere thirty escapees he ran into by chance into a large tribe equipped with towering castle walls, strong weapons, skills, and resources within such a short period.
If one were to argue, the growth of the Arin Tribe, as viewed by outside factions, had surpassed the growth shown by the Colony-Type bugs.
Moreover, they weren’t mere puppets controlled by central authority.
Sometimes, the Guardian Deity who had been revered was a genuine human capable of seeing the aspects he couldn’t and advancing on their own.
“There’s no need to worry just yet. I was shocked, but we haven’t lost yet.”
Based on that, he reassured himself. There’s no shortage of methods, so they just had to keep nurturing the villagers as they had been.
Though conventional, it was indeed the most efficient and optimal way.
‘It’s true it’s regrettable. If only a faction appearing to claim this entire grassland as the foreign mage Rihar desired, and if that were us.’
Yet, if one were to add variables to the conventional, the destructive power would double.
Jung-Young unconsciously swallowed dryly.
Despite continuously reminding himself that the villagers were real people and not NPCs from a tycoon game, the feelings stirring within him were unavoidable.
It was only natural that a war with the bugs loomed ahead, and they would need more strength to combat it.
And at the core of that strength was people, that is, talent. The cycles of the games and programs he created were also designed to discover the hidden talents of the villagers and empower them.
With more people and more resources, the war could become easier, and thankfully, numerous lands existing on his desktop provided ample opportunity to realize that.
‘Is it something that can’t be helped? What to do?’
Until now, he had taken a somewhat passive stance towards external forces. He’d merely fought against those who forced themselves upon them, subdued them, and sought vengeance. Balun had been proactive, but Jung-Young was merely respecting Balun’s choices, preferring to remain focused on the bugs.
However, right now, that mindset was shifting.
To halt the bugs, he wanted to act more proactively, spread his forces, and amplify his strength.
‘It’s not about right or wrong.’
The single most valuable aspect in regards to survival and life. For it, the simple moral dichotomy set by a mere human was meaningless. Let alone the effectiveness of someone born into another world’s values.
While the Arin Tribe treated the injured, mourned the dead, celebrated their victory, and collectively offered their thanks to the sky under the leadership of Riena and Balun,
Someone in the old, dark corner of a villa sat there, endlessly staring at the screen.
