The Journey

When Qin Mu attempted to use the Hive Mother to deduce his spear techniques and movement skills.

With the Hive Mother's powerful computational ability, it easily discovered and marked each non-standard or incorrect aspect of Qin Mu's movements.

Even with its computational power, the Hive Mother could directly pinpoint incorrect muscle engagement or distorted movement patterns.

When using mental power attacks, Qin Mu could have the Hive Mother assist with calculations, controlling weapon angles and force.

This discovery thrilled Qin Mu; it was like cheating, rapidly boosting his combat power.

Taking movement skills as an example.

Solid foundation, proficiency, and effortless execution—these were the initial three stages of movement skills.

Qin Mu's movement skills didn't even qualify as having a solid foundation, yet in less than a day, he reached the proficient level.

This improvement surpassed his training over the past month.

Immersed in his power increase, Qin Mu completely lost track of time until the Hive Mother's reminder brought him back.

"It's already evening? I need to prepare to depart."

Looking at the sky that had darkened unnoticed, Qin Mu shifted his consciousness to the Hive Mother to check the current number of Swarm units and their energy storage status.

The results brought him a small surprise. The number of Tiger Mastiffs was slightly higher than anticipated, totaling 175. As for the Worker Bugs, there were originally 126, but 5 were killed during battles with monsters, leaving 121.

The remaining energy was not much, only 1003 points.

With the efforts of these Zerg units, monsters within a ten-mile radius centered on the Villa District had almost been annihilated.

Their flesh and blood had been converted into energy for the Swarm, which was also the reason for the slightly higher number of Tiger Mastiffs than expected.

However, this was the limit of what the Villa District could develop, as there were no more monsters for the Swarm to hunt.

They could only venture deeper into the wilderness.

Because the Swarm's activities also consumed energy, if they didn't move out, the Swarm's scale would not only be unable to expand, but they would also be forced into infighting due to a shortage of food.

"Leave 50 Worker Bugs and 20 Tiger Mastiffs to guard the Hive Mother. Muster the rest of the units and prepare to head to County Town 0203."

Excluding the three Tiger Mastiff scout teams that had already departed, the remaining defensive force at the Hive Mother consisted of 125 intermediate Beast Soldier level Tiger Mastiffs and 71 beginner Beast Soldier level Worker Bugs. The group, totaling 196 Zerg, began their journey.

The entire Swarm didn't move as a single mass but, under the Hive Mother's control, dispersed. There were vanguards scouting ahead and flank guards for protection.

Qin Mu didn't drive the Off-road Pickup Truck; instead, he leaped onto a tall Tiger Mastiff.

With a shoulder height of nearly 1.5 meters, the Tiger Mastiff was much larger than many warhorses, resembling the direwolves from the monster movies Qin Mu had watched in his previous life. It could completely serve as a mount.

Necessary luggage and equipment were taken down from the vehicle by Worker Bugs and carried by them.

One Worker Bug was particularly conspicuous, its belly round and bulging, storing a large amount of high-energy liquid. Upon reaching their destination, it would hatch a new Hive Mother.

The reason for not driving was that Qin Mu did not intend to travel along the highway but rather along the paths scouted by the Tiger Mastiffs.

Having hundreds of monsters moving on the highway would be too conspicuous and could easily lead to encounters with human Warrior teams.

The Swarm was not yet ready to reveal itself.

With the Swarm's speed, advancing through the wilderness was no slower than using an off-road vehicle, and they would arrive at their destination within the estimated time.

Under the starlight, the Swarm protected Qin Mu, who was riding a Tiger Mastiff, in the center, moving forward silently.

This allowed Qin Mu, after entering the wilderness, to take in the sight of the unfamiliar wilderness at night.

The starry sky in the wilderness was beautiful. The sky was like a deep canvas, with stars twinkling faintly, and a crescent moon gently hung in the sky, casting a hazy silver light upon the land.

Under the moonlight, a gentle breeze blew, causing various vibrant flowers and plants to sway gracefully, as if one had fallen into a dream.

In the distance, unknown insects chirped, and luminous flying insects danced among the flowers and trees.

Such a beautiful scene was like a poetic and dreamlike world.

However, the roar of a Tiger Mastiff awakened Qin Mu, who was lost in the beautiful scenery. As a Tiger Mastiff scouting ahead passed by an unusually vibrant and large flower.

Something terrifying happened: the flower suddenly opened wide and swallowed the entire Tiger Mastiff.

The Tiger Mastiff couldn't even let out a cry before being tightly locked within the flower bud as it closed.

Several surrounding Tiger Mastiffs rushed forward, tearing and biting, clawing and digging at the strange flower until its leaves and branches scattered on the ground, torn to shreds.

The trapped Tiger Mastiff also struggled and broke free, furiously uprooting the flower.

In this world, not only had animals mutated and evolved, but plants had too.

What appeared to be a beautiful scene was actually full of deadly peril, with venomous insects and lurking monsters.

This jolted Qin Mu awake, instantly turning his relaxed mood into vigilance.

Fortunately, the Swarm now possessed sufficient strength, and ordinary dangers could be easily resolved without Qin Mu's intervention.

Along the way, they encountered and dealt with over a dozen monsters, which became food for the Swarm.

After traveling for several hours, the scout Tiger Mastiffs reported news: a herd of Unicorn Wild Boars had been discovered ahead.

This herd of Unicorn Wild Boars numbered over twenty. Their fur was black, resembling black steel spikes, and their heads were adorned with a sharp, dagger-like dark gray horn.

Three of these Unicorn Wild Boars had reached the advanced Beast Soldier level, while the rest were mostly at the intermediate Beast Soldier level.

If a battle were to commence, with the Swarm's current strength, Qin Mu would likely suffer significant casualties if he didn't intervene.

Not evading, Qin Mu controlled the Swarm and moved to surround them directly.

To reduce casualties among the Swarm, Qin Mu only had them surround the targets without attacking.

Surrounded by Tiger Mastiffs several times their number, the Unicorn Wild Boars were somewhat panicked. However, led by a few high-level Beast Soldier Unicorn Wild Boars, they did not fall into chaos. Instead, they confronted the Tiger Mastiffs.

Under the moonlight, Qin Mu carefully observed these Unicorn Wild Boars. They were a type of wild boar monster even more powerful than the Iron-Haired Wild Boars.

Compared to the Iron-Haired Wild Boars, they were more formidable and agile. The single horn on their heads also greatly increased their attack power.

Without hesitation, a Spearhead suspended above Qin Mu's head shot out.

"Chiu—"

The Spearhead transformed into a streak of light, charging straight towards a high-level Beast Soldier Unicorn Wild Boar.

The targeted Unicorn Wild Boar detected the anomaly, but the Spearhead's speed was too great. Although it intended to dodge, the Unicorn Wild Boar's body couldn't react in time. It could only slightly lower its head, avoiding the vital eyes.

"Crack—"

The Spearhead did not penetrate the Unicorn Wild Boar's eye socket as intended. Instead, it struck its skull head-on.

The Po Jun Spearhead, only at A2 grade, emitted a faint cracking sound, with hairline fractures appearing on its surface.

The immense kinetic energy from its super-high speed allowed the Spearhead to pierce the Unicorn Wild Boar's skull from the front.

"Hmph— Hmph—"

Enraged by the attack, the Unicorn Wild Boar let out grunts, lowered its head, revealed the horn on its head, and charged with its four hooves, resembling high-speed tanks.

Although outnumbered several times by the Unicorn Wild Boars, under Qin Mu's control, the Swarm did not directly confront the charging Unicorn Wild Boars. Instead, they opened a gap and attacked from the flank.

"The Spearhead is slightly damaged!"

The mental power attached to the Spearhead allowed Qin Mu to immediately notice the problem. It was too difficult for an A2 grade Po Jun Spearhead to directly shatter the skull of a high-level Beast Soldier Unicorn Wild Boar, which was known for its defense.

However, at this moment, Qin Mu couldn't afford to worry about that. He controlled the Spearhead to arc, taking the life of another Unicorn Wild Boar from the flank.

This time, under Qin Mu's precise control, the Spearhead pierced through the eye socket of a charging Unicorn Wild Boar and exited from the other side.

The Tiger Mastiffs beneath also began to run, not confronting the Unicorn Wild Boars head-on, but hunting and herding them!

In terms of speed and agility, the Unicorn Wild Boars were far from being a match for the Tiger Mastiffs.

While charging, a Spearhead continuously flew among the Unicorn Wild Boar herd, weaving and attacking their eyes, throats, mouths, abdomens, and other vital points.

Three high-level Beast Soldier Unicorn Wild Boars were killed one by one.

Having lost the deterrence of three Beast Soldier level Unicorn Wild Boars and being surrounded, their fate was already sealed as a tragedy.

I made some revisions to the previous chapter. I checked the calendar, and there are 8 days from July 24th until the Warrior practical assessment. Since July 2056 has 31 days, in theory, the protagonist could stay in County Town 0203 for two days.