Sword Demon

It was when the forces of the Beastkin Kingdom had finished reorganizing and were preparing to launch a counterattack.

To be precise, it was on the eve of Kerrigan's awakening and debut in her new form.

Begrun was called over by Grimgor, and after hearing his words, he was deeply astonished. “You want to teach me your cultivation technique? Is this true?”

Grimgor nodded. “I may not promise other things, but this is definitely no joke.”

Although Begrun was a human slave soldier, his outstanding strength and accumulated achievements had earned him decent treatment. Even so, he had never expected to receive such an offer.

Grimgor had said he would teach him his cultivation technique.

“...Why?”

Begrun could only ask directly, as he could not think of any reason no matter how much he racked his brain.

First of all, he was a human, a foreign race regarded as absolute slaves in the Beastkin Kingdom.

Furthermore, there were countless beastkin warriors standing in line under Grimgor's command, eager to receive his guidance.

“I, too, had my eyes opened only after comprehending the teachings bestowed by the God of War. In the end, the path we walk leads to a single destination, and on this path, race doesn't matter.”

Grimgor had accepted the realization that the God of War, Uria, wished to convey—that it was a realm transcending race.

Thus, Grimgor stated his position in a concise sentence. He was only teaching Begrun because the human had talent.

Hearing this, Begrun's eyes wavered.

Until now, he had still believed that he, as a human, was fundamentally different from the beastkin. Their physical structures were different, and their ways of life were different.

He had always been bound by the stereotype that even if they wielded the same sword, their ultimate paths would inevitably diverge.

Therefore, hearing Grimgor say that anyone who took up arms to train was the same kind of warrior was a massive shock to him.

Grimgor was a beastkin, not of Begrun's race, and he was the captain of the forces that had destroyed Begrun's homeland.

However, the strength Grimgor displayed was truly remarkable, and his spirit as a warrior was that of a true martial artist worthy of emulation.

Though it was a brief moment, after a fierce internal struggle, Begrun ultimately formally requested Grimgor to accept him as a disciple.

Now, before their eyes, the field was filled with the monsters known as the Great Devourers.

Just as Grimgor wished, Begrun had been struggling on the front lines, and he now felt that the urgent priority was to defeat the Great Devourers first.

“Good. I will teach you the absolute basics. I hope you can understand and master even half of it, and then create your own realm.”

Grimgor grinned, and from that moment on, his instruction began.

At the same time, a rumor began to spread: it was said that there was an unusual monster that, unlike other Great Devourers, wielded a sword.

...

“T-That's the one! The Sword Demon!”

A supply unit of the Beastkin Kingdom fell into a state of emergency. Their original mission was to transport supplies to the frontline troops.

At the edge of the vast plains, a swarm of Great Devourers was sprinting across the land at an incredible speed.

Among the swarm, which mainly consisted of highly mobile and agile mutants like gale ants, decapitating ants, and spider ants, someone sat casually atop the head of the leading gale ant.

At first glance, she looked like a female knight clad in black armor. Now, the people in this region called her the Sword Demon—it was none other than Kerrigan.

The panicked supply unit quickly prepared for battle.

Fortunately, they had ample escort forces, so there was no reason to flee immediately or give up hope.

‘She certainly knows how to make full use of herself.’

Lin Miao couldn't help but marvel as he watched Kerrigan.

Kerrigan was a queen who had evolved based on her own desire to fight on the front lines. She utilized her presence to formulate tactics and throw the enemy into panic.

This basic structure was similar to how Elise utilized Celia.

A small force with powerful combat capabilities and firepower would break through the enemy's widely deployed defenses to destroy or assassinate key facilities or personnel.

In fact, the way Elise utilized Celia was a complete imitation of the method Grimgor had used to kill Kerrigan. Thus, Kerrigan was now paying them back in kind, seeking revenge against the Beastkin Kingdom's forces led by Grimgor.

【Kerrigan has detected the enemy's defense.】

The beastkin sorcerers and human mages belonging to the logistics unit hastily deployed a barrier.

This was the standard response to protect resources and safely counterattack from within.

If the barrier was fully formed, it would require immense firepower to break.

Normally, it would take continuous bombardment from several Spore Beasts and the ramming of massive heavy-armored ants to destroy it.

“I-It's coming!”

However, before the barrier could be fully formed, there were bound to be weak points before the translucent protective film could completely fuse.

Kerrigan, who possessed highly developed senses for detecting internal energy, saw that weakness.

Without even caring that the gale ant she rode had collapsed from the impact, Kerrigan leaped high into the air, drew her sword, and slashed fiercely at the protective film.

A swirling, deep-blue power enveloped the tip of her sword, transforming into a shooting star.

With a violent impact, Kerrigan instantly shattered the protective film and broke inside.

As she stood quietly holding her longsword, her intense gaze fixed upon them, the slave soldiers and even the beastkin warriors recoiled in fear.

“Though it was slightly strange and distorted, that move just now was definitely a Thrust Slash—an attack that wraps magic power around the sword and concentrates all the force onto a single point at the tip!”

Just then, a beastkin warrior adorned in ornate decorations, with totems tattooed across his broad, muscular back, roared as he charged forward with an axe.

“The rumors are true. You monster, how dare you copy our sacred techniques, including the Thrust Slash!”

He angrily pointed his axe at Kerrigan. He was an elite Great Warrior who had received the divine protection of the God of War, Uria, and served as the guard captain of this supply unit.

Although she had only recently taken up the sword, Kerrigan absorbed combat data like a sponge during her frenzied battles with the enemy, growing at an explosive rate.

Now, even if several ordinary elite warriors attacked together, they would be no match for her in pure swordsmanship.

Judging that she was ready to face a Great Warrior, Kerrigan silently raised her sword and pointed it at the furious warrior.

“Y-You monster, how dare you look down on me!”

With a roar of anger, magic power flared across his entire body as he lunged forward, swinging his axe.

A Great Warrior was powerful enough to be hailed as a hero, capable of single-handedly slaying Great Devourers many times his own size and weight.

“How arrogant! How can the essence we have perfected over countless years of experience and training be so easily copied by the likes of you!”

Kerrigan's body was forced back by the impact of his axe. He bared his fangs and grinned.

Within a few short seconds, violent shockwaves erupted one after another. The sheer aftershocks shattered rocks and caved in the ground as the two clashed fiercely.

As Kerrigan's exoskeleton began to crack under the thrilling impacts, no one doubted that the Great Warrior would emerge victorious.

“As expected of a Great Warrior... Huh?”

However, at that very moment, just as the Great Warrior raised his axe to split Kerrigan's body in two from head to groin and end her life, countless terrifying slashes suddenly flew before his eyes.

‘How is this possible...’

He felt as if time had slowed down, and his eyes widened in sheer disbelief.

Kerrigan clearly held only a single sword, and that sword had already been parried and flung aside by his axe.

This meant her exposed chest and torso had absolutely no defenses left.

He had intended to decisively bring down his axe with both hands to crush the defeated Kerrigan's skull.

But in that split second, an extra pair of arms extended from Kerrigan's armpits, wielding integrated blades that resembled the forelimbs of a mantis.

This method of attack was something even the most experienced warrior had never imagined.

Those blades ruthlessly sliced into his body, which had been left completely defenseless by his final strike.

His arms and legs, severed along with his armor, fell away from his body. Before his wide eyes could even close, his neck was sliced through, and his head flew into the air.

“Hehehe.”

As his head was severed and his vision spun, he clearly heard a sound right before his death.

It was a clear, feminine laugh coming from inside the helmet of the monster that had just decapitated him.

At the same time, the Great Devourers charging madly from behind swept through the supply unit like a wave washing away a sandcastle.

Struck by the double blow of the barrier's collapse and the defeat of the Great Warrior they had relied on, the supply unit fell into utter panic. They were torn apart by the swarming Great Devourers or collapsed as venomous stingers pierced their bodies.

A gladiator ant brandished its sharp mandibles, accurately blocking a beastkin warrior's descending sword.

Simultaneously, a decapitating ant rushing from behind used its scythe-like claws to sever the head of the panicked beastkin warrior.

On the surface, this was no different from previous chaotic battles, but the outcome was vastly different.

Thanks to Queen Kerrigan's ability to analyze and study the massive amount of data accumulated in the hive mind in real time, the entire migratory colony had become familiar with the beastkin's tactics and techniques, greatly improving their adaptability.

【Elise proposes modification and improvement.】

It was Elise who had first made this suggestion.

During the period when Kerrigan had earned the moniker of the Sword Demon, sweeping through the front lines and steadily growing in strength.

Elise had proposed to Kerrigan: why not create something new based on this?

Just as she, as the colony's evolutionary queen, had created a vast number of new mutants, she believed that Kerrigan, who had embarked on the path of martial arts, should also be able to create something unique to herself.

‘Perfect replication is definitely impossible.’

Kerrigan also believed that with her current body and condition, it was impossible to “perfectly” copy the realm of Grimgor she had seen back then.

Though she was growing rapidly, she was still far from the realm Grimgor had achieved.

With conventional methods, it would be extremely difficult to catch up in a short period of time.

Therefore, Kerrigan instinctively felt that she also had to forge a new path, just as Elise had cleverly fused human genes with those of the creatures she had preyed upon.

Besides, even Grimgor's realm, which was hailed as the peak of beastkin warriors, could not be considered the final destination.

Just as Elise possessed an insatiable greed for endless knowledge and predation, Kerrigan would surely aim for even higher goals once she caught up to Grimgor.

Therefore, perfect imitation could never exist.

To copy something perfectly would only mean encountering the exact same limits.

True evolution existed precisely to transcend those limits!

【Elise remarks that it is quite useless of her to only realize this now.】

【Kerrigan replies that if she wants a duel, she is ready anytime.】

The queens, confronting each other within the hive mind, always began with healthy discussions but ended with mutual ridicule and provocation.

“...”

Elise curled her lips into a sneer, while Kerrigan pointed her finger at her.

Only Celia, caught between them, watched their expressions in silence.

“The colony will grow stronger during times like this as well.”

However, Celia was also certain that putting the queens' bickering aside, the Great Devourer colony, which shared everything through the hive mind, would become far more diverse and powerful, led by the queens who were gradually forming their own distinct personalities.