Chapter 417 - 213: Arms Race, Zerg Civil War, Fleet’s Debut

Chapter 417: Chapter 213: Arms Race, Zerg Civil War, Fleet’s Debut

On the night after the decisive battle in Wu City ended, the Hai City Mother Empress, through the reconnaissance of several Cyan-winged Zergs, discovered that the human defenders originally stationed by Taihu Lake had seemingly vanished without a trace in a single day.

Its first reaction was that the defenders had exhausted their ammunition and supplies and had no choice but to retreat and regroup after the great battle.

But then a new thought arose. ’The enemy already successfully killed the Jiangbei Mother Empress. True, that fool brought it on herself, recklessly rushing to occupy Taihu Lake ahead of schedule and falling right into a human trap.’

’Therefore, the leader of the Wu City army—that human the Hai City Mother Empress utterly detested—must have successfully advanced to Tier Three through the success of his decapitation strike.’

’He now had the qualifications to challenge me head-on.’

’Even if he were stationed at the lakeside alone, he could easily annihilate a Tier Two Swarm numbering in the hundreds or thousands.’

’This might also be an elaborate trap set just for me, designed to completely wipe out the Zerg Race under my command.’

Out of caution, the Hai City Mother Empress did not send its troops to advance rashly. Instead, it continued to consolidate its forces, intending to observe for a while longer.

This sudden development put it in a dilemma. It had originally planned to retreat to Hai City Center and rely on nearby marine biological resources to restore its Swarm’s strength, but now it chose to remain in the suburban area of Hai City, feeling torn.

The Hai City Mother Empress could have used Tier Two Wind-winged Zergs to fly greater distances for detailed searches, but the Cyan-winged Zergs had both a shorter range and a limited search radius.

But the thought of the enemy deploying Genetic Warriors to set up an ambush in the skies of Wu City and using long-range cannons to launch sneak attacks on the Wind-winged Zergs made the Hai City Mother Empress dismiss the idea.

Having lost over half of its Swarm, it could no longer afford to expend vast resources to cultivate new Tier Two Wind-winged Zergs.

However, after the failure in the decisive battle of Wu City, the Hai City Mother Empress had learned a lesson from the humans. It began to Upgrade its Samurai Hunter Zergs at a minimal cost.

First, it was equipping them with a pair of Membrane Wings from the Cyan-winged Zergs, allowing the Samurai Hunter Zergs to perform short-distance aerial assaults, imitating the human Genetic Warriors.

Second was an enhancement to their Armor.

The Tier Two Giant Mandible of a single Tiger Spine Zerg was more than enough to fully arm ten Samurai Hunter Zergs. When facing a human blockade of firepower, the latter was clearly more cost-effective.

However, Tiger Spine Zergs also played an irreplaceable role in breaching enemy lines and disrupting formations.

But with the fall of the Wu City defense line, there was no longer a need for Tiger Spine Zergs to charge into the fray.

Their massive bodies were practically living targets on the battlefield, easily eliminated by focused fire. The losses simply weren’t worth the gains.

In comparison, Samurai Hunter Zergs were slender and more agile, making them an effective counter to the humans’ Tier Two Awakening Legion.

Once equipped with layered Armor and four Long Sabers of the same material, the equipment gap between the Samurai Hunter Zergs and a Tier Two Battle Group had narrowed significantly.

The next time the two sides clashed in close quarters, the Hai City Mother Empress was fully confident it could crush the humans by relying on the superior equipment and numbers of its new Samurai Hunter Zergs.

And so, while quietly upgrading the weapons and equipment of its Samurai Hunter Zergs, the Hai City Mother Empress observed the situation in the Wu City West District and organized its Swarm’s armaments, preparing for the next decisive battle of expansion.

However, on the morning two days later, as the Mother Empress controlled a Cyan-winged Zerg to fly toward the second defense line of the West District for reconnaissance, its link to the Zerg’s vision unexpectedly revealed a group of uninvited guests!

A group of Red-Armored Beetles and Black Spine Zergs had suddenly appeared in the half-ruined Wu City West District.

This group of over ten thousand Zergs brazenly appeared in human territory and even began to clear the battlefield, tearing down shattered buildings.

Surprised and suspicious, the Hai City Mother Empress focused its attention, controlling the Cyan-winged Zerg to slow down and land on a largely intact residential building.

Then, through the Cyan-winged Zerg’s olfactory organs, it began to capture the pheromones permeating the air.

It was trying to identify which colony these Zergs belonged to.

Although the Zerg Race under different Mother Empresses were nearly identical genetically, they would emit differently scented pheromones due to their different Underground Nests.

This was closely related to the genes of their respective Mother Empress, just like primitive insects on Blue Star, such as ant colonies and bee hives.

Different colonies would also compete, clash, and fight one another, and the same was true in this global competition for promotion to Tier Four among the Mother Empresses.

Without a pre-established alliance, individual Zerg from the Swarms of different Mother Empresses were naturally hostile to one another.

So now, a lone Cyan-winged Zerg hid by the edge of a roof, secretly observing this Swarm of unknown origin.

By identifying the pheromones, the Hai City Mother Empress soon caught a familiar scent.

These Low-Tier Zergs exuded the scent of the Jiangbei Mother Empress—the exact same scent brought back by the Zerg transport convoy it had sent North of the River.

’But the problem is, that fool I allied with has been confirmed dead at the hands of humans. Her soul and body are both long gone...’

’After losing their Mother Empress, this low-tier swarm of now masterless Zergs should be wandering aimlessly in the region North of the River. How did they suddenly appear in the Wu City District?’

’In human-controlled territory, no less?’

’And their movements are orderly, not at all like they’ve lost their guidance.’

’Could it be that some human Spiritual Ability Awakener is using their Superpower to control this group of Zergs?’

To facilitate a Mother Empress’s control, the Spiritual Attributes of lower-tier Zerg were crippled. The genetic sequence related to Spiritual Power was sealed off, unable to be activated.

Therefore, a Spiritual Superpower of the mind- or thought-control variety could directly control them by invading with Spiritual Power.