"Crack, crack, crack!"
This "mountain of flesh" was over several kilometers in diameter, radiating a nauseating stench and intense waves of life force and psychic energy.
Zerg were still pouring out of its countless holes, but at a clearly reduced rate.
Many newborn Zerg didn't even have time to finish hatching before they withered and fell away.
Across the surface of the Mother Nest, thick strands resembling blood vessels and nerves throbbed and spasmed violently.
It was clear that its core was suffering unprecedented pain and facing an unprecedented threat.
The Zerg Mother Empress was panicking!
She knew she couldn't hide any longer!
If she didn't show herself, the entire main body of the nest would be slowly "gnawed" away by that damn Black Hole!
She had to gather all her strength and face this terrifying enemy head-on!
However, the way she chose to "show herself" played right into Capybara's hands!
"Hahaha! Finally decided to come out? You coward!"
Capybara was delighted rather than surprised. Excitement glinted in his eyes.
"I was worried you'd hide underground forever. Digging you out would've been a pain! But you've come right to me, so this'll save me the trouble!"
His thoughts raced, and he immediately changed tactics!
"Black Hole—switch modes! Fixed-point consumption, maximum power!"
"Bzzzz!!!"
The enormous Black Hole, which had been moving forward like a bulldozer plowing through the ground, abruptly stopped.
Its rotation speed instantly surged to the limit. Its size didn't continue to grow,
but the strength of its devouring field suddenly increased severalfold!
And instead of spreading its devouring power around, it focused it all like a laser.
Every bit of it was concentrated on the enormous, revolting main body of the Zerg Hive that had just emerged from the ground!
A terrifying suction force, far stronger than before, seized every inch of the Mother Nest's "flesh" like countless invisible giant hands.
It tore and dragged at it with wild abandon!
It meant to haul the several-kilometer-wide behemoth whole into the pitch-black vortex, which was "only" one hundred and fifty meters across!
"Eeeee—!!!"
The Zerg Mother Empress let out the most piercing, most despairing shriek of her life!
With death staring her in the face, it would've been strange if she still hadn't woken up!
The entire Mother Nest shuddered violently and contracted, trying to resist the destructive pulling force.
It even threw countless elite Zerg—and some still-unhatched eggs—
at the Black Hole, using them as "cannonballs" or "shields."
It was trying to disrupt or wear down its power.
An incredibly concentrated psychic shockwave, brimming with madness and venom, shot toward Capybara again like a solid spike!
"Pathetic last-ditch struggle!"
Capybara snorted coldly as he kept the Black Hole at maximum output.
At the same time, he rallied all his psychic power and used the Soul Seal secret art to meet the psychic shock head-on!
He also ordered Little Gold, "Little Gold, clear out those pests and 'cannonballs'! Don't let them interfere with the Black Hole!"
"Roar!"
Little Gold roared and once again transformed into a golden storm, circling the Black Hole and the Mother Nest. It intercepted and pulverized every Zerg and egg hurled by the Mother Nest!
Under the Black Hole's domineering, precisely targeted devouring force, the enormous body of the Zerg Hive
began to visibly stretch and deform!
The parts nearest the Black Hole's edge were the first to be torn apart, broken down, and devoured.
The entire Mother Nest was like a giant beast caught in quicksand, dragged inch by inch toward the eternal darkness, with no hope of escape!
The scene was even more shocking and visually spectacular than when it had devoured the Thunder Dragon Emperor!
A "mountain of flesh" several kilometers across was being forcibly "eaten" by a comparatively "tiny" Black Hole!
The global livestream fell utterly silent.
Just as the enormous, revolting main body of the Zerg Hive was being twisted and deformed by the Black Hole's terrifying suction,
its surface "flesh" continuously breaking apart and peeling away, and it seemed on the verge of being completely devoured,
"Bzz—!"
A strange psychic wave suddenly erupted from the very core of the Mother Nest!
This wave was no longer filled with chaos and savagery. Instead, it carried something...
An indescribable sorrow, a plea, and a strange bewitching power that struck straight at the depths of the soul!
Then, through the largest gash torn open in the Mother Nest, a slender figure slowly "swam" out.
Yes, "swam."
She neither flew nor walked. She floated forward gracefully, as if moving underwater.
Her appearance left every human watching the livestream—including Capybara—wide-eyed and holding their breath.
She was...
A woman so beautiful she took one's breath away, yet so unnervingly inhuman.
She stood about two meters tall, her figure perfectly proportioned.
Her skin was a translucent, pale white with a faint pearlescent sheen.
Long silver hair flowed behind her like a waterfall, seemingly made of liquid energy.
It drifted gently behind her despite the lack of wind.
Her features were so exquisite they seemed sculpted by the greatest of artists.
But her eyes were a deep purple, as if they held the entire starry sky.
Her pupils were narrow and vertical. At that moment, they brimmed with tears as she gazed at Capybara hovering in midair, her eyes full of sorrow and entreaty.
What covered her body wasn't clothing.
It was a living structure of countless tiny, intricate, translucent shells and naturally grown bone spurs, like close-fitting armor.
It traced her breathtaking curves while radiating a cold, hard texture.
Behind her, three pairs of transparent wings, as thin as a cicada's wings and seemingly carved from crystal, trembled gently.
Most striking of all, in the center of her forehead
grew a dainty little horn, translucent purple like a crystal crown.
Powerful, pure psychic energy continuously radiated from that small horn.
The Zerg Mother Empress—or, more precisely, the form she was displaying at that moment—was named Irina.
"Please... please... stop..."
A soft, ethereal voice, as if it rang directly in the depths of the soul,
reached Capybara with a heartbreaking tremble.
She extended a slender, pale hand, tiny bone spurs at her fingertips.
It was as if she wanted to touch the terrifying Black Hole devouring her home, yet she was too afraid and drew her hand back.
All she could do was gaze pleadingly at Capybara with those purple eyes, brimming with "tears."
Her voice was deeply affecting, and paired with her exquisite features and sorrowful expression,
it was enough to make even the most hard-hearted creature waver.
It wasn't an act. It came from the instinctive desire of a Mother Empress to preserve her people—and her willingness to sacrifice herself for them.
The scene, broadcast live, instantly struck a chord with countless people around the world.
Especially among those who already felt grateful to and admired Capybara.
"Oh my god... she... she's the Zerg Mother Empress?"
"How can she be... so beautiful? So... pitiful?"
"She's begging for mercy... She says she's willing to submit..."
Even some of the War God Palace's councilors, watching the sorrowful, beautiful Irina on the screen,
showed a moment of dazed sympathy.
Capybara merely tilted his head slightly. A hint of amusement and wariness flickered in his dark, shining eyes.
"Oh? You finally decided to show your true form? And you're a beauty, too."
Before you continue