Strategy game? Then I'll have to control you properly.

"Oh dear, this is too dangerous." Lin Miao repeatedly dragged the right mouse button, urgently recalling the scouts before they were surrounded by monsters.

The unit controls are so convenient that they can be operated even when the mouse is unavailable.

Having just engaged in battle with the expeditionary force sent by Patriarch Luke and attempted a counterattack, another war broke out before the counterattack was over.

Fortunately, the main force consisted of elite troops who had been preparing for battle for a long time.

Although Lin Miao had been keeping a close eye on the tense battle for two consecutive rounds.

Even if your body is strong, your spirit is not protected; you can almost feel your blood evaporating every second.

"Based on my usual performance, I should be able to handle it," Lin Miao thought to herself.

As the defenders, they also possess meticulously constructed city walls.

Having turned the tide in a more disadvantageous situation before, they will surely win this time as well.

But this unease wouldn't go away.

It's all because of those monsters called malfunctions; who knows what unexpected forms they might take.

"I should have invested more in a desktop destructive system," a pointless worry suddenly welled up in Lin Miao's mind.

"All the outer defensive towers are level 5, and they can continue to upgrade after the battle starts," Lin Miao muttered to himself, looking at the screen.

But right now, all Lin Miao can do is use chainsaws to reduce their numbers as much as possible before the enemy arrives, and manage the defensive towers more meticulously.

The defensive towers, having grown through real-world defensive battles, are now all at level 5 or higher, possessing stone bases and magical attribute attacks.

While the residents held out, the towers would indeed continuously unleash arrows and magic.

"Should we bring Lillie back sooner?" Lin Miao glanced at another screen next to her.

In the scene, Lillie is parting ways with Attila and returning to the village with the immigrants.

Although the path leads directly to the tunnel and isn't slow, there are too many people to use the mouse to teleport.

She should be able to get back in time, but the battle will likely begin in her absence.

"They're all really coming now." Looking at the swarm of insects approaching like a black tide on the screen, Lin Miao couldn't help but sigh.

Although there were concerns that those who constantly launched guerrilla warfare and desperately attacked the defensive towers might use tricks, the Zerg swarm's large-scale siege warfare still proceeded as usual.

They used their numerical advantage to rush towards the city wall at the same time, directly climbing it and triggering a melee.

Without ladders or siege equipment, it's absurd to think they could storm the city by simply climbing the walls.

In contrast, Luke's expeditionary force couldn't even manage a few hundred city wall defenders and could only watch helplessly in the fields.

The Zhen Dan army began unleashing a hail of arrows at the enemy, thus beginning the battle.

However, the first to show their power were naturally the defensive turrets.

A giant spear, wreathed in ice, fire, and lightning, shot out, piercing and shattering the enemy in one strike.

The magical cannonballs exploded with a whoosh, knocking down a large number of enemies nearby.

"Isn't this a bit too much?" Lin Miao frowned.

The problem is that even with all the defensive turrets firing, they can't withstand the enemy's sheer numbers.

Under the relentless barrage of fire, the Zerg quickly scaled the city walls.

Although it was swept off by a hail of arrows as soon as it was pasted on the wall.

But when the firepower was temporarily focused on the larger, more resilient Zerg instead of the malfunctioning units, more enemies took the opportunity to climb up.

The city wall, built by porters with stone bricks, was long, thick, and sturdy, but much shorter than the village wall.

The villagers grabbed their spears and began to stab the men who had jumped over the wall one by one.

"But this level should be enough, right?" Lin Miao thought to herself.

Although the people fighting on the scene are fighting to the death, it is inevitable to have such a careless thought from the perspective of looking down from above.

Perhaps because the defensive wall was built in advance, no matter what tactics the insects mastered, they had to climb over the wall first to break through the defenses.

Meanwhile, friendly fire tore them to pieces.

Although there are no machine guns or cannons, there are still arrows that can pierce through an insect's body in an instant and magic that can cause an explosion.

Although there are some insectoids in the swarm that use bio-gas to launch spikes for ranged attacks, these individuals are ultimately a minority.

In order to maintain unilateral fire suppression, friendly forces prioritized sniping and eliminating these special individuals.

"Can we really win so easily?" Lin Miao's initial anxiety gradually turned into hope.

Minimizing losses is certainly a good thing.

Moreover, the defense towers can be upgraded in real time to further enhance firepower.

Even the giant insects with the hardest shells and the largest bodies could not withstand this firepower and were killed before they could even get close.

If this continues to be upgraded, the defenses will only become stronger.

"The magic effects are pretty powerful too," Lin Miao said, looking at the screen.

It's not just the defensive towers that unleash firepower.

The mages, whose numbers have increased dramatically, are also unleashing their learned skills without reservation, eliminating large numbers of enemies each time.

Bruno hasn't even used his most powerful magic yet.

It seems those weaklings have already revealed all their cards; barring any unforeseen circumstances, victory is practically in their grasp.

"Tsk, so they really had a backup plan." Lin Miao's face darkened.

But if they could really stop them so easily, they wouldn't be so vigilant, and those guys wouldn't have sent troops to probe them time and time again.

[Crack formation]

As everyone fought desperately against the barrier, spatial rifts suddenly began to appear behind them.

These sporadic, random cracks are not uncommon, but they just happened to appear at this particular time.

Seeing the residents' panicked and agitated state, Lin Miao was certain that this was no coincidence.

Although the number of enemies that can be teleported in a single rift is limited, it is enough to cripple our defenses.

The opponent has clearly used their trump card to turn the tide of the battle.

"I must not lose my composure," Lin Miao silently reminded herself.

He didn't even dare to turn the defensive emplacements around, fearing that the front line would collapse as a result.

While throwing his treasured chainsaw into the crack, he hurriedly dispatched troops to defend it.

Although the residents appeared panicked, they had weathered the storm and were not yet in complete disarray.

"These cunning bastards..." Looking at the panicked residents, Lin Miao couldn't help but click her tongue in amazement at the enemy's tricks.

Although we have seen many single-dimensional spatial rifts before, none of them have ever appeared directly inside a fortress occupied by our army.

This is why people subconsciously lacked vigilance against enemies who directly invaded the fortress.

It's unclear whether they planned this all along, but it's certain that deliberately opening the rift only outside the fortress was a premeditated plan.

◆◆◆

"How is this possible! Behind us! The enemy has invaded the fortress!" a soldier shouted in terror.

"What did you say!? You've been breached!?" Mista asked sharply.

"Has the defense line been breached?!" the other soldiers shouted in panic.

While everyone was focused on what was ahead, a near-screaming roar from behind was enough to cause a huge uproar.

The small disturbance quickly escalated into a violent upheaval.

After all, they were currently engaged in a fierce battle with swarms of monsters, and enemies were appearing from behind. Anyone would feel that their defenses had been breached somewhere.

"Everyone calm down! Just like before, only a few have appeared!" Mista, pale-faced, desperately tried to reassure the soldiers.

However, this chaos will never end unless the Zerg appearing in the rear is dealt with.

"Bruno! Use your magic! And Rick, take the nearby soldiers and hold off the guys that are coming from behind," Mista ordered.

Mista realized that something was needed to steady the wavering soldiers' gaze.

And the enormous magic circle unfolding in the sky, and the enemies slaughtered by that magic—nothing could be more fitting.

Hearing his brother's urgent voice, Bruno, while conserving his strength, kept his eyes fixed on the battlefield, then picked up his staff and immediately cast a spell.

"Oh, oh!" Paul, who was not far away, couldn't help but exclaim when he saw this scene.

The great magic that had once caught them off guard and seemed utterly absurd has now become an incredibly reliable and powerful force.

Hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of enemies died on the sizzling ground, struck by burning arrows.

"No time for sighs! Look ahead! They're here again!" a soldier shouted.

"Uh," Paul said, snapping out of his daze.

But this time, Paul couldn't continue to watch Bruno's magic as before.

Because right before their eyes, the enormous monsters that had climbed the city walls were sharpening their jaws, trying to tear them apart in one fell swoop.

Paul was startled by the malfunctioning object's suddenly protruding face, almost the size of his body, and its gaping jaws.

He immediately fired a fireball, blasting the head off.

But that wasn't all; Paul, panting, hurriedly prepared for the next spell.

"These idiots..." A soldier slapped Paul hard on the back.

"W-What's wrong?!" Paul was startled.

It turned out to be a soldier with a gun. He saw that Paul was distracted by watching Bruno's magic, so he shouted at him to come back to his senses.

Upon closer inspection, Paul realized the face looked familiar.

It was the same person who had been nagging Bruno earlier.

"Don't waste your magic on random shots. Save your spells for the ones further away. That way you can kill more," the soldier said.

"What about these that have climbed over here?" Paul asked.

"We'll take care of these bastards!" the soldier said, stepping forward to block the way. His spear flashed, piercing the head of a crawling malfunctioning creature.

Paul stared at the back of the figure blocking his way, speechless for a moment.

"What kind of war is this?" Paul thought to himself.

Paul, who has undergone elite training and earned important missions through his own abilities, has a wealth of practical experience.

They have both suppressed rebellions within the kingdom and fought against raiders on the border.

But the war before him was unlike any he had ever fought.

The swarms of insects, which are called enemies, are fundamentally different from conventional enemies.

No matter how many they kill, no matter how badly they are injured, they will stubbornly crawl over the corpses of their companions to reach them—these are monsters filled with obsession and madness.

What truly terrified Paul was that these monsters seemed completely devoid of emotion, as if it were perfectly normal for them.

As naturally as drinking water, eating, and breathing, they consider it their duty to tear apart other creatures on this land.

For beings whose sole purpose is killing, compassion or dialogue is simply not within the scope of consideration.

"Lord Paul!" a magician cried out in alarm.

"Give it your all, we must hold on!" Paul waved his staff, encouraging the other mages as they unleashed their strongest spells on the monsters writhing beneath the city walls.

Although we can't see the end yet, this is something we must do in order to see the end.

"Can we hold on? We can definitely hold on, right?" In the heat of battle, Mista glanced back.

Some of the personnel he dispatched are dealing with the enemy that emerged from the cracks behind them.

Although it wavered at one point, the walls remained impregnable thanks to Bruno's great magic and the rapid regrouping of the frontline soldiers.

At this moment, countless constantly upgraded defensive turrets seemed oblivious to overload, continuously spewing flames.

In the face of unexpected events, this can be considered a fairly successful defense.

"The situation is good. The cleanup in the rear is almost complete. Since the front line has held out until now without being breached, if this drags on any longer, the monsters will all die first," a soldier said excitedly.

"Don't relax too much." Mista shook his head vigorously.

Thankfully, he secretly vowed never to let his guard down in front of these strange monsters.

"Is that really all? Could they have opened up a space in the back and deployed dozens more?" a soldier asked anxiously.

But these soldiers are, after all, human beings, and their hearts inevitably waver.

He thought to himself that if the insects didn't have any hidden tricks up their sleeves, then his side would be considered to have won if they managed to hold them off.

"Push it back!" a soldier shouted.

"Look, we've already taken out more than half of them. We're going to win!" The soldiers fighting on the front lines also felt this atmosphere.

Their morale was greatly boosted, and they resisted even more fiercely.

The insects barely managed to withstand the relentless bombardment of the defensive turrets and climb onto the city wall, only to be struck down by the defending warriors and soldiers with spears, swords, and axes.

"Thankfully, the situation has stabilized?" Paul, who was supporting his teammates with magic on the front lines, also noticed this trend.

His magical shield deflected the sharp thorns that shot from below.

"It works pretty well, not even leaving scratches." A soldier grinned as he put away the spear that was dripping with the enemy's bodily fluids.

Seeing this, even Paul, whose magic was about to run out, couldn't help but chuckle.

In the life-or-death struggle, the cooperation between comrades became increasingly tacit.

"There's really only a little bit left!" a soldier shouted excitedly.

Perhaps it was the shield surrounding them that gave them confidence, or perhaps it was the high morale that was inspiring.

He mustered his last strength, raised his spear, and thrust it fiercely at the malfunctioning body that had just climbed the city wall.

"...Huh?" the soldier exclaimed in surprise.

However, the malfunctioning machine, which would have had its head pierced by the spear in an instant until now, managed to dodge the shot this time.

It gently tilted its head to avoid the spear.

Stunned, he stared wide-eyed and instinctively tried to retract his spear, only to find that he couldn't.

"We caught this guy?!" the soldier exclaimed.

The malfunctioning creature used one of its forelimbs to catch the spear.

But its leg has a rather peculiar structure. Unlike other ants with only two toes, it has four claws that can move freely.

"He's standing up?" The soldier was startled.

In that instant, only he realized that this monster was fundamentally different from its kind.

The alien, which had grabbed a spear and stood upright on the city wall, was standing on two legs just like a human.

The crimson eyes peering through the gaps in the helmet were fixed on him.

"Ugh, ughhhh!" He staggered backward, instinctively feeling fear, and frantically tried to pull back his spear.

At the same time, the monster gripping the tip of the spear suddenly loosened its grip and used the momentum to leap onto the city wall in an instant.

"No, no!" the soldier screamed in terror.

Paul watched in horror as the protective shield covering his entire body shattered in the flash of blades.

With the sound of blood and flesh splattering, the enemy stepped over the corpses that had been split in two and landed steadily on the city wall with his "legs".

A malfunction is a disaster whose nature cannot be clearly defined even by the system.

This explanation is merely "a phenomenon or law that exists to erode the world."

Whether faulty organisms are biological entities, and what their exact genetic or data composition is.

The villagers, who were fighting a bloody battle at that moment, were unaware of this.

The Earth scientists conducting various experiments at the research institute were unaware of this.

Even artificial intelligence cannot analyze it.

But one thing is certain: these unknown entities called malfunctions have only one purpose: to erode and destroy the world, and they will stop at nothing to achieve it.

"This...this guy actually dares to..." a soldier shouted angrily.

"How could this be..." the others murmured in disbelief.

For them, changing their own form and ecology to achieve their goals is simply a matter of course.

That's their essence.

The basis for this approach is imitation.

If the enemy is stronger than oneself, then replicate that strength exactly.

Although not as intense as it is now, the malfunctioning entities that have been fighting the villagers for a long time have indeed evolved in this way.

Whether possible or not, it continues to grow like executing predetermined code.

Whether it's a gigantic variant, a spike-launching variant, or a group tactic used in formation.

And this bipedal variant, without exception.

Those who wiped out the isolated and helpless dwarf kingdom in an instant were creatures that even the dwarf survivors had never seen before.

At most, it's just that its carapace is thicker and its body size is larger.

Ultimately, it was not the Zerg's own power that gave rise to these terrifying mutants, but the influence of the Aurora inhabitants who fiercely clashed with them.

"Get back!" Just as Paul and the others froze in shock at the appearance of the mutant, Mista rushed over.

Meanwhile, the Zerg have already revealed their weapons.

After all, these residents, who imitated the ability to instantly kill giant mutant warriors, could not possibly fight with their bare hands.

"Double...double swords?" Paul stared blankly at the enemy charging towards him, thinking in a daze.

His posture as he charged forward, wielding two swords made of black armor, looked exactly like a warrior wielding two swords.

"Great Warrior Captain!" everyone exclaimed.

The Mista Spear, wreathed in blue flames, blocked the man's dual sword technique.

"So powerful!" Mista gritted his teeth, feeling the heavy pressure coming from the gun.

This is a Zerg race that borrows magic and skills from Lin Miao, and constantly trains to improve its proficiency in order to collect equipment, imitating the warriors of the Sun.

They are by no means easy opponents.

"How dare a mere monster wield a sword!" Mista immediately unleashed his full power, knocking the insectoid's sword away.

When he realized that the enemy, whom he had thought was just a terrifying monster, had suddenly displayed the qualities of a true warrior, he got goosebumps all over and swung his spear with all his might.

Mista's skill "Fire Dragon Piercing the Sun" after changing jobs to Gunner.

This is a very powerful high-level skill, and it is extremely difficult for ordinary residents to learn.

Mista was already able to control it at will.

"Did it hit?!" everyone asked nervously.

His thrusting spear transformed the rising crimson flames into a writhing dragon, its tip piercing through the enemy in an instant like a drill.

The Zerg attempted to defend with their crossed swords, but ultimately fell short against the superior strength of their elite warriors and began to be gradually suppressed.

"He's fallen! He's fallen!" a soldier shouted.

"The Great Warrior Captain has won!" the crowd cheered.

However, when the Zerg force withstood Mista's attack, which was capable of instantly killing a giant monster, it was shocked. Suddenly, its two swords broke, and its body was cut in two and fell off the city wall.

The surrounding soldiers cheered and jumped for joy at the victory in this duel between generals.

Mista's hands trembled uncontrollably.

Although his opponent was clearly weaker than him, he knew this was just the beginning.

This is the fact.

They had only been fighting the "swarm-type" Zerg entrenched in the north for a short time, yet the enemy had already evolved to this extent.

"The battle isn't over yet! Everyone stay alert! Those guys will charge to the last man!" Mista issued the order, forcing himself to stay alert.

As mentioned, the war is raging, and the Zerg hordes continue to surge like an endless tide.

Fortunately, no more special mutants like the one from before have appeared, and the situation is still under control.

Gritting their teeth and fighting in shifts, they, along with the tireless defensive turrets, finally withstood an attack from monsters that outnumbered their own forces by more than twice.

They say it's twice the size, but each of those creatures weighs as much as or even more than a human.

To avoid being devoured by their repulsive appearance and overwhelming mass requires not only meticulous preparation and a desperate struggle, but also a considerable amount of luck.

"Oh no... we're too late." Just then, Lillie, who had returned from the village, arrived at the fortress with reinforcements.

This commander, who forcibly conscripted even new recruits, saw only soldiers collapsed after the battle and the horrific traces of the battlefield.

"A monster that can wield a sword and attack like a human?" Lillie asked Mista.

"Those guys... we have no idea how strong they'll get," Mista replied, her face pale.

With Mista's testimony added to the mix, Lillie's expression froze completely.

In this place, where there were only a thousand or so people under its command, yet it was already considered a powerful tribe, the Zhen Dan had grown into a large tribe with tens of thousands of people.

But Lillie is still the strongest among them.

In the eyes of those who have followed her for a long time, she is known as a paladin favored by the guardian deity, and she bears a mission.

We must become stronger than anyone else, and we must crush all enemies that stand in the way of our sacred mission.

"I must climb higher and go further," Lillie made up her mind.

For Lillie, the evolution of the malfunction is nothing short of another lash, transforming her from a naive female warrior driven by emotions and dreaming of revenge into an existence that engraves sacred duties in her heart and mind and bears unimaginable responsibilities.