There are a very small number in the Iron Legion.
It does include children and the elderly.
However...
If it were the elderly, maybe.
But it was exceedingly rare to assign dangerous tasks to children.
However.
There were a very few exceptions even among them.
—I want to fight too.
That would be her.
Lee Suyeon.
She was still only at a young age.
But due to her own strong request.
She kept fighting on all manner of dangerous battlefields.
The Ammunition Battalion recapture battle, the Vampire subjugation, the Inje County offensive, the Erosion Abyss — Dasmur, the Vimana defense, the Green Manes offensive, and so on...
She never stood out in particular because she always silently devoted herself only to battle.
But in all those battles, she always solidly did more than her share.
All the major battles that unfolded in the Legion.
Among them, there was not a single battle she missed.
Thanks to that...
[Awakened: Lee Suyeon]
[Class: Intermediate Warrior Lv.25]
Her level ranked among the upper tier in the Legion.
She even surpassed a few soldiers from the 423rd Battalion.
She was already recognized as one of the Legion’s elite.
And what began to give wings to her ability even more was none other than...
—This child...
—Has martial aptitude.
One day.
Two Beastkin whom the Corps Commander brought.
—Martial aptitude...
From another world.
It was when she met the martial instructors.
—What is that?
****
Having received the order, the 13th Squad moved as fast as possible to the location the Corps Commander specified.
And then.
"This is..."
They succeeded in discovering something there.
Traces of battle.
And.
"What on earth are these corpses..."
"It looks like there was a fight. And recently at that."
They were the corpses of monsters.
The soldiers who examined the traces of the corpses spoke.
"It is [Gowan Honmar]."
"Honmar, huh. Not exactly an easy monster if you do not know the weak point, is it?"
"I do not know. For that, these guys look like they were slaughtered one-sidedly."
"Judging by the size of the wounds, this was not done by humans."
It meant the massacre had been carried out by a monster.
It was not a particularly surprising fact.
Fights between monsters over territory are common.
The only thing that does not get attacked by monsters is about zombies.
If there was a problem...
"...The number of footprints is a bit strange."
"Hm? What do you mean?"
One of the soldiers studying the traces frowned and said.
"There are a lot of Honmar footprints, but far too few other footprints."
"What?"
"If we go by these traces, the ones that annihilated those dozens of monsters..."
A monster resembling an orangutan with one arm grotesquely huge.
[Gowan Honmar] was by no means an easy enemy.
If not for the weak point Sergeant Shin Youngjun taught them.
Even legionnaires would have a hard time. It was a rather tricky opponent.
"It comes out to one."
There was a monster that single-handedly.
And overwhelmingly, at that, massacred those dozens of monsters.
In other words...
"...Does the subjugation order mean we have to take that thing down?"
N, no way. If we go by these traces, this is not at a level we can handle."
It meant it was not an enemy a mere squad could face.
"Everyone, look at the order the Corps Commander just sent."
"Hmm. We are dispatching troops toward the military bases."
"The fact that a monster this strong suddenly appeared is one thing, and this maybe..."
"W, wait. No way."
The troops were by no means stupid.
A monster that suddenly appeared.
And the military base.
"Good grief."
"Are you saying the monsters that had taken root in the military bases have been released...?"
Grasping that correlation.
Was by no means difficult.
"Are you kidding me. The monsters that have taken root in the military bases are insanely strong."
"No matter how we have the Squad Leader, there is no way our squad alone can resolve this..."
The flustered soldiers began murmuring.
The monsters that appeared in the military bases are incomparably strong compared to other ordinary monsters.
The Legion had carried out military base subjugations a few times up to now.
But even then, it was only possible because they投入 a force close to their full strength.
"This is strange."
"For now, let us fall back. If a military base monster has really been released, at least three or four squads, plus support from armored firepower, are..."
Having a mere squad deal with such a monster.
It was a ridiculous order.
So the squad members’ judgment was by no means strange.
However.
Unfortunately.
"Good suggestion, but I do not think we can follow it."
"Ma’am?"
Squad Leader Lee Suyeon’s gaze.
Turned toward the forest near the military base.
"I do not think that thing will just let us go."
"...!"
What emerged from the brush.
Was a huge monster with a devil-like form.
—...Grrrk.
A body that looked nimble.
Sharp carapace covering the skin.
Claws huge and sharp like blades.
Strips of monster flesh dangled from those claws.
"...Gulp."
The oppressive force emanating from the devil-like appearance was truly immense.
Not only that, but the amount of mana it gave off was considerable.
"Damn it."
"Since we have already made contact, it cannot be helped."
There are no legion soldiers foolish enough to complain before a battle.
The soldiers quickly took up combat posture.
It is a well-known fact that the monsters rooted in the military bases are very powerful.
From the circumstances, the odds were high that this was precisely that monster.
What is more, the place they had come to was the Corps Headquarters.
There is no way the monster occupying that place would be ordinary.
"No matter how strong the Squad Leader is."
"...Winning will be hard."
The key to this battle.
Would be to somehow buy time and create an angle to flee.
...So everyone thought.
****
"Deathclaw."
It was the monster that annihilated the 12th Corps’ headquarters with only five.
And the name of the monster that now appeared before the eyes of the 13th Squad.
"Deathclaw" is a species born with the fate of a hunter.
So much so that few of its bodily systems are not specialized for hunting.
Kaaaang!
Among them, especially.
What set it in the hunter’s position was precisely this.
"What is with that carapace..."
"Our attacks are not even scratching it."
The carapace.
The Deathclaw’s carapace was abnormally hard and sturdy.
To the point that most attacks could not even leave a scratch.
This was also the reason why just five could wipe out an infantry battalion.
Now only one Deathclaw remained.
But even that was only because, when it could no longer find prey after becoming bound to the military base.
They tried to hunt each other.
Thousands of bullets and all manner of military firepower.
Had no effect on that carapace.
Normally, a carapace that hard does not protect the joints.
The [Steel Lizard] would be a representative example.
But in the case of this "Deathclaw," even that did not apply.
A carapace that perfectly covered the whole body.
And not a single gap existed in it.
A body of steel in the truest sense.
"Everyone, fall back to rear support."
Therefore.
Those who could not pierce that carapace.
Were nothing but prey.
"I will do it."
...So it would have been.
Crunch!!!
—Kraaaaaaaaak!
The monster that had always reigned from the position of a hunter, the Deathclaw.
A scream of pain rang out from the monster’s mouth.
"...It is certainly absurdly hard."
What produced that scream.
Was a human whose size looked barely half that of the Deathclaw.
"If it were not me, even scratching it would have been hard."
What she swung.
Was a halberd of unrealistically massive size.
—Grkk...!
When it first saw Lee Suyeon’s swing.
The monster only thought it laughable.
No matter how gigantic the weapon.
When it struck his carapace, the weapon breaking instead was his everyday.
But this time was different.
Crunch!
—Kieeeeek!
When the attack landed again.
The hard carapace that had withstood even bullets shattered feebly.
"Deathclaw" is a monster that is virtually invincible to enemies that cannot destroy its carapace.
But conversely speaking.
Because it had fought relying on that carapace for so long.
"...Is its combat execution ability unexpectedly not outstanding?"
It was by no means weak.
Strictly speaking, it should be said to resemble an Awakened before learning martial arts.
Even though it possessed powerful physical abilities.
Its fighting skill was on the level of a beast that had never really fought.
"If we assume there is strength to break the carapace, it is not an enemy that cannot be taken down."
Of course.
Breaking that carapace is not easy.
It was harder than those lizard scales.
"If there are ones who can break a carapace like this... probably about three in the Legion."
The Legion’s strongest warrior.
Corporal Jeon Gwangil would certainly be able to.
The Legion’s strongest.
Sergeant Shin Youngjun, Lee Suyeon thought, could do it with his pinky.
And.
The last one was precisely.
"Me."
Crunch!!!
Squad Leader Lee Suyeon.
The position of Squad Leader is by no means light.
A giant guild, the Legion.
It is a position given only to a very few whose skill is recognized even within that Legion.
—Compared to that Celestial Execution Physique, there is a bit lacking.
—Is it not impolite to compare them.
—True. This child is...
The two martial instructors who teach warriors martial arts.
Their impression upon seeing her was simple.
—A genius.
Legionnaires are given martial arts according to their aptitude and disposition.
With the exception of Corporal Jeon Gwangil.
Most troops usually learn B to A grade martial arts.
Those who succeeded in learning beyond that were extremely few.
Because the talent demanded by high-grade martial arts was beyond imagination.
[Martial Art]
[Great Strength Diamond Axe S+]
[Lv.2]
Squad Leader Lee Suyeon was precisely one of those few.
She succeeded in learning not just S, but S+ grade martial arts.
"It is strong... but it only knows how to swing like a beast."
The great claws of the ferocious beast were swung.
But Lee Suyeon had internalized the essence that the now-ruined world.
Had built up over a long time.
The monster’s attacks did not put so much as a scratch on her body.
"That carapace as well."
No matter that the halberd had been made by the Legion’s artisans.
Originally, breaking a harder carapace would have been impossible.
But.
[Trait - Intermediate Weapon Enhancement]
With the power of the trait she gained upon reaching level 20.
Her halberd had become harder than the Deathclaw’s carapace.
"It is hard, but that is all."
Kwooooom!
In the force of that single blow.
She did not yield at all even to Corporal Jeon Gwangil, the Legion’s best warrior.
—Grkk!
Of course.
The Deathclaw too was a tremendously powerful monster.
It was not without hidden moves.
Mana that had been coursing through the monster’s body gathered into its mouth.
It stimulated a small organ that existed there.
Then.
—Kwoaaaaaaa!
From its mouth poured fierce flame.
Flames that melt even steel.
That wide-ranging searing flame was also a reason why just five could annihilate a large unit.
However.
"Flame? In that case...!"
[Skill - Wave of Dasmur]
To counter that.
The Legion’s Squad Leader activated a skill she possessed.
[Erosion Abyss - Dasmur]
The攻略 of that dungeon had been absurdly grueling.
But those who achieved high contribution there received rewards worthy of it.
On Lee Suyeon’s left hand a single droplet of water seemed to settle.
Then, it formed a barrier made of water.
Powerful flame that ordinary water could never block.
However.
The sea where the [God of the Endless Sea] dwelled.
Even if it is now a fallen world.
The waves of the sea that had received the blessing of a god.
Paaaaak!
—Grkk...!?
To block that powerful flame.
Were more than enough.
When the flame the beast spat met the barrier of water.
Scalding steam filled the battlefield.
"Urgh!"
"Ah, hot...!"
The soldiers were flustered by the sudden steam.
But the very person who had formed that wave.
"...It is nothing much."
On Lee Suyeon’s body.
There was not so much as a tiny scratch.
—Grrrk...!
The battle was not over yet.
There was more than one reason the [Deathclaw] had been able to reign as a hunter.
[Body Acceleration]
[Joint Hyperextension]
[Explosive Spines]
[Ground Swimming]
Each was a trait with very powerful effects.
It was a monster that sought to hunt its enemy by making use of those traits.
"If you are going to come out like that, then I have a way too...!"
By coincidence.
By truly good luck.
The traits and skills that Lee Suyeon possessed.
Each and every one of them formed an almost perfect type matchup against the [Deathclaw]’s traits.
—...Grrrk.
And so, once it had spent even all of its trump cards.
The monster that had once been a hunter...
Crunch!
[You gain experience points.]
Soon enough.
Fell to prey.
****
"A, amazing, Squad Leader!"
"Our attacks did not even get through..."
After the battle ended.
The squad members cast looks of admiration toward their Squad Leader.
A Squad Leader of a young age.
At first there had been troops who held dissatisfaction, but trust had built over long operations together.
And now.
That trust had soared to the point of piercing the sky.
"A monster they said had occupied a military base got taken down without being able to do anything like that!"
However.
The very person who had accomplished that tremendous feat.
Lee Suyeon had no room to mind them because she was thinking of something else.
"How... can this be?"
The [Deathclaw] was a powerful monster.
Ordinarily, even if five Legion squads charged at it, they could not be sure they would win.
"If we go by simple force it is a foe that does not even compare to me."
But separate from that objective difference in force.
It would not be an exaggeration to call this battle a landslide victory for Lee Suyeon.
She stared blankly at her own hands and thought.
The reason this was possible.
Was only one.
"My abilities... and a type matchup close to perfect."
A hard carapace.
And attack power that could break it.
Powerful flame.
And a barrier of waves that could block it.
It was the same with the various abilities that appeared afterward.
All of them were things that could be resolved through traits Lee Suyeon possessed.
Even though the objective difference in force was clear.
To an extent that could chew through it...
An overwhelming type matchup difference.
"The one who told me to head here... was the Corps Commander’s message. But if that is so."
Therefore.
Lee Suyeon could not help but get goosebumps.
"The Corps Commander knew I could take this monster down... is that what this means?"
Say that the monster’s appearance could be found out somehow.
That "shaman" said to be on that mountain sometimes informed them of dangers.
The weak point as well.
If it is the Corps Commander’s "eyes."
The fact that he could grasp the weak point is not strange.
But the problem is.
"Keen insight... No. This is beyond that."
He, who is probably far away right now.
Not only determined the location where the monster would appear.
He selected Lee Suyeon as the most effective way to ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) take that monster down.
And even dispatched her.
"Prophecy..."
It went beyond admiration.
It was something that could only be met with astonishment.
"Is he really the same human?"
And.
There were others elsewhere.
Who were thinking the same thing as she was.
****
A certain unit under the 12th Corps.
—Kihihik!
There, monsters wearing mischievous smiles.
Hobgoblins had taken root.
—Human weapons. So good.
—We have gained freedom... time to go conquer the world.
Monsters with intelligence and physical ability superior to ordinary goblins.
They had figured out how to use the firearms placed in the military base.
The unit where they appeared was quite a small unit.
Hobgoblins too had not originally been that powerful a monster.
But the story changed once they seized the military base’s firearms.
Monsters who, with superior intelligence, quickly mastered even the use of complex weaponry.
They were monsters already powerful compared to humans.
Now that such monsters had even gotten their hands on the symbol of force humans had built up, military weapons.
They had become overwhelmingly threatening entities even compared to the monsters that appeared at other large units.
Click.
Click, click, click...
—Ke, kerk?
—Why is this gun not firing?
However.
—Broken? Broken?
—Human weapons, why are they so shoddy?
—No, we inspected them recently. They cannot be broken.
After gaining freedom.
The hobgoblins aimed guns at the first humans they happened to meet.
But the bullets did not fire.
"Hahahahaha!"
[Awakened: Park Gwonchang]
[Class: Lower-Grade Arsonist Lv.19]
A man who laughed loudly at that sight.
A man who had approached to take the soldiers who had once stayed at the 423rd Battalion under his wing.
But after being repelled instead, he became the Legion’s eternal standard-bearer exempted youngest.
It was Park Gwonchang.
And the trait he possessed was precisely.
[Lower-Grade Flame Interference]
"A gun is, in the end, a firearm."
—Ke, kerk?
"But flames and explosions of that level cannot escape my interference."
Hobgoblins who could not use firearms.
Were no more than a bit stronger than goblins.
"Uncle Youngest. Good work."
"Yes. I will leave the rest to the seniors."
When the legion soldiers drew weapons and charged.
An easy slaughter began.
****
Monsters freed from the military bases.
If you only looked at objective force.
It should have been normal that the troops sent to each location could not match those monsters.
Because the monsters that had taken root in the military bases were that powerful.
Nevertheless.
"S, subjugation complete."
"...Uh, good work?"
"What is this. They did not seem like foes that would fall this easily..."
Those powerful monsters.
Were one after another subjugated by legion soldiers who ought to be weaker than them.
There was one reason this was possible.
The squads and troops whom their Corps Commander had ordered dispatched.
Were in type matchups that were close to perfect against the monsters in each place.
Therefore.
The soldiers who succeeded in subjugation had no room to savor the joy of victory.
There were those who muttered as if they could not believe it.
"What on earth is the Corps Commander..."
"How did he know this..."
****
"Next, it looks like a red spotted toadstool on the outside but inside it is like a stoat’s tear mushroom..."
"You little... How am I supposed to know crap like this!"
While the soldiers were murmuring in astonishment like that.
Sergeant Shin Youngjun was groaning as he solved the riddles...
"...Ah, is it that one? If not, we are in trouble. Tsk. Whatever, it has to be. Fine."
It was a fact known only to a very small number of soldiers.
