Chapter 143
Chapter 143 – Evidence of Development (3)
Users, along with the residents of another world who are active on screen with them.
The world that began to pay attention to this upheaval was not just focused on them. Their main enemies, the Bugs, posed a threat even to those unrelated to them.
Naturally, the focus on these guys was steadily increasing.
“As known, they are monsters that are incomprehensible both in speech and common sense. We must stop them. Useless procedures will only become obstacles.”
“What kind of monsters are they? Are they aliens?”
“No one knows. Even those with mass simply turn to dust, leaving only a minuscule amount of by-products upon their death – they’re insane!”
It wasn’t just those directly associated with the Bugs, like the users, who were investigating them. In fact, the general public had to engage in more research on the Bugs due to their frequency and the ensuing damage. Many scholars and researchers, referred to as intellectuals, conducted studies on the Bugs at the behest of governments or corporations, or for personal reasons.
“According to what’s been revealed so far, it appears that Bugs swarm in each world where users reside with their people. How many worlds are there? Just looking at the known statistics globally, it exceeds a thousand. This planet is one of them.”
“However, don’t the Bugs display similar behaviors or appearances?”
“That’s precisely it.”
The Middle Eastern scholar in the video wiped his glistening head and nodded with wide eyes at the question.
“They are independent yet not independent entities. They may seem like they have a single purpose, but that’s not all there is to it. Reports coming from around the globe indicate that they are continuously evolving into forms suited for invasion.”
Evidence of competition among Bugs had already been discovered in several places. However, the competition wasn’t fierce enough to warrant outright confrontations.
Thus, those researching the Bugs reached the conclusion that another colony might exist to control the vast number of Bug swarms.
That very colony could be the true mastermind.
‘Whether they communicate with Bugs from other worlds, I do not know.’
I had watched this video live just a few days ago.
If the colony-type Bugs that tormented the residents and assault-type Bugs were merely tools of a giant swarm, it could reasonably explain the unfolding events before my eyes.
They could be collaborating to confront us, just as we share strategies and training tips against Bugs.
“First, let’s save them.”
With that thought in mind, I clenched my jaw and decided we had to save the Elves being attacked by the Bugs. If they were trying to unite, then we must do the same.
*
“There are too many of them!”
“Hold on! Reinforcements are on the way! Their will signifies our resistance!”
Leading the charge, the Arin Tribe Paladins clashed head-on with the Bugs that were occupying the village and constructing a gate.
At the forefront, Riena swung her shimmering golden sword and effortlessly slew the creatures in one stroke. She had long since grown capable of dealing with not just Glitches but also most ordinary Bugs.
“P-poison!”
A gargantuan spider with a notably large abdomen approached, spewing thick venom toward the Arin warriors who were fighting with weapons.
The powerful venom, even diluted in the air, could wither living trees and grass, burn skin, and dissolve internal organs, causing numerous soldiers to fall in an instant. Gritting her teeth, Riena summoned her strength even more. One of the Paladin’s skills—Divine Power Release.
With her power purifying the poison in an instant, the wind blowing from the sky healed their wounds and replenished their stamina. It was the assistance of a being watching from beyond the screen.
“It’s you, isn’t it?”
She decapitated the spider that was preparing to spew more poison and gritted her teeth at something she spotted amidst the swarming enemies.
Among the Bugs that resembled spiders was a highly anomalous entity.
It was not just similar to a spider, but certainly not an ordinary ant either.
Standing upright, it had thick limbs, and its entire body was encased in a carapace reminiscent of a knight in armor. Much like the Arin warriors.
‘The one Rakum and Rasen mentioned.’
She had heard of enemies similar to it. They were also continuously evolving, and among them, there were variants imitating Arin warriors.
“How dare you!”
She was enraged knowing this fact. What they had built was not just a result of mere blood and sweat; it was also intertwined with the powers given by the Guardian Deity they believed in.
The thought that those monsters were trying to steal that infuriated her.
“Lady Riena!”
Gripping her sword, Riena charged forward the moment reinforcements arrived, determined to kill the creature that must not be left alive. It was an instinctual warrior’s intuition that no enemy should survive.
“Die, you evil monster!”
As she cleaved through the advancing enemies one after another, golden flames enveloped her body. With her eyes sparkling, the colossal power she had summoned erupted from her sword in the form of a crescent slash.
The Celestial Blessings she had acquired made her mana shine brighter, and most ordinary Bugs could not withstand that power and were instantly purified.
‘A sword?’
However, just before her slash could slice through the enemy’s body, she observed it drawing out four swords with its four arms amidst the Bugs.
As it crossed the black mana-infused swords, her slash collided with a strong impact, blocking everything in front.
“That thing…”
Seeing her slash being deflected with a powerful shock, she gritted her teeth. Though the enemy staggered and lost two of its arms, it somehow managed to withstand the blow.
Moreover, it didn’t end there. Its back armor cracked open, revealing eight spider-like legs that twitched grotesquely.
It was a disgusting sight that made her cringe, but at the same time, it was proof that the evolution of the Bugs continued.
At that moment, Riena’s resolve switched from “I will eliminate it” to “I cannot let it live.”
“What on earth is that light…”
“Chieftain, we must fight too!”
While Riena and the Arin warriors battled the Bugs, the residents of the Elf village, in their haste to escape, were flustered as they alternated their gazes between the Arin Tribe rushing toward their village and the Bugs battling there.
The Arin warriors had no time to explain the situation to them.
Since Junyoung didn’t use the translation app, they couldn’t communicate, and in their urgency, Junyoung controlled them to be deployed to the battlefield one after another.
Thanks to that, the Elves found themselves in a situation they didn’t understand but had been rescued. The Arin Tribe soldiers were also extremely focused on the enemy, moving as if they had some form of free will, barely glancing their way.
It was a reaction that left the Elves bewildered.
“How on earth can humans enter this land?”
“That’s a matter for later. Right now, we must fight those monsters.”
The elder of the village muttered in disbelief at the appearance of the Arin Tribe, mostly made up of humans. However, amidst such chaos, there was someone asserting the need to gather their wits and fight right away.
A young female Elf with refreshing golden hair down to her waist.
“Fight? With humans?”
“There are only killers and the killed now. If they weren’t here, we would have already died.”
She pointed at the village turned battlefield, and her words were accurate. The Bugs that were currently engaged in a life-and-death struggle with the Arin Tribe were the very monsters that had ruthlessly slaughtered them until just moments ago.
“Ib!”
There was no time to hesitate. The one called Ib was determined to take action alone, grabbing her bow and dashing toward the village.
Fortunately, her companions, who shared the same thoughts, followed closely behind.
‘These vile monsters.’
Seeing the corpses of her kin rolling on the ground, she grit her teeth, and she and her fellow Elves joined the battlefield, shooting arrows infused with mana.
Those arrows, incomparable in power to ordinary ones, flew swiftly, shattering the Bugs’ carapaces and piercing through their bodies.
‘They fight well, thankfully. I was afraid they’d just stand around watching.’
Junyoung, who was observing the scene, smiled faintly. Fighting together fosters friendships. Thinking of that fact, it was better to fight alongside the Elves, who must eventually cooperate.
“This is worth investing in.”
He muttered as he executed Glory Tower, investing in the accumulating resources to start setting up Defense Turrets. It was a decision made from his past experience at the Northern Fortress that this place must be held as a base.
Quickly constructed and leveling up, the Defense Turrets began firing arrows and magic at the Bugs, driving them back.
Thus, with the Elves joining the Arin Tribe’s assault and the Defense Turrets being erected, the Bugs began to falter.
“They’re retreating!”
“Don’t let your guard down. Secure the rift!”
With rich battle experience against the Bugs, the Arin Tribe soldiers calmly pushed the enemy back and took control of the rift. The filthy and ominous hole, from which monsters could emerge at any moment, was closed off by Junyoung, who moved his mouse to manipulate it.
The remaining Bugs, realizing they were outnumbered, scattered and fled quickly.
‘Ah, is the translation not working?’
Of course, they had to pursue them. During this process, as Junyoung witnessed the language barrier between the Elves and the villagers, he used additional points to enable translation for the Elves.
“What… is happening? I can understand.”
“That’s because he is watching over us.”
Having started to comprehend the enemy’s language without any effort, the Elves were confused, but those who had experienced such things before remained unfazed.
“We must chase down those that escaped. Without fail.”
Amidst this, Riena caught her breath, igniting her desire to pursue. She had vowed to kill the ones who had attacked them.
“No. The deeper we go, the more there are. The ones who assaulted our village are only a fraction.”
And it was Ib who objected to that. At that moment, Riena and Ib’s eyes met for the first time.
‘Is she really human?’
Ib shuddered at Riena, whose golden eyes sparkled fiercely.
What she felt from Riena was different from all other humans. It was the power of the Celestial Blessings that Riena possessed, though Ib was unaware of that fact.