Watching the two large crabs and the little one slowly leave, Ye Luo felt a little more goodwill toward the Stone Crab Clan.
"My Emperor, it's only a sea clan with ten thousand members. Wiping them out would be no trouble!" Ye Meng said cruelly.
Ye Luo smiled and shook his head. "That's true. It wouldn't take much effort to wipe them out. But why bother? We've already gotten what we wanted, and we've even gained a friendship..."
"But the mighty Zerg don't need friends..." Ye Meng murmured, completely unable to understand.
Ye Luo's expression turned serious. "Ye Yi, Ye Feng, do you feel the same way as Ye Meng?"
The two nodded in unison.
"Yes. The Zerg once stood atop the pyramid among the countless civilizations in the universe. But why 'once'? Because they were destroyed. And why were they destroyed? By the Mechanical Race and the Thal God Race? Each of those races was weaker than us on its own. So why did we lose? The root of it was that we were too powerful—so powerful that we refused to befriend any other race! We were left with nothing but slaughter, until we became the enemy of every living thing. That's why we lost! Starting today, we'll learn from the last cycle. The universe is too vast. Even at the height of our power, the Zerg had explored only a tiny fraction of it. So why shouldn't we allow other races to exist? Why shouldn't we accept their allegiance?"
Ye Meng, Ye Yi, and Ye Feng stood dumbfounded. Ye Luo's words swept through their minds like a Psionic Storm... Unseen, the seeds of an entirely new approach to war began to sprout in their hearts!
Ye Luo flicked a finger, and a Larva instantly swelled into a gigantic egg. Ten seconds later, it transformed into a Drone, which settled onto the mineral vein and began mutating into a new base. "Imagine this: we quietly establish a vast Level 9 civilization in a region of space far from the Mechanical Race and the Thal God Race. Within our dominion, diverse civilizations flourish side by side. Under our leadership, every civilization can thrive. With fair and just laws, civilized beings can enjoy the good things in life. And if an outside enemy invades, or a hostile force tries to destroy all this, we won't even need to act. The great races will unite on their own. Our Zerg civilization will be an invincible sword, and the unity of all the races will be our steadfast shield. If that day comes, even if the Mechanical Race and the Thal God Race join forces again, why should we fear them?"
"Boom!" The enormous egg exploded, revealing the brand-new Zerg Base inside.
"Boom!" Ye Meng and the others' eyes lit up. A new light shone clearly in their gazes!
"Ye Meng, stay here and protect the base. Have all Larvae mutate into Drones first. Once we have five hundred Drones, start producing five hundred Zerglings and five hundred Hydralisks. After that, produce another thousand Drones, then focus all your efforts on mining. Once the base is secure, you can return to the Smoke Mine!"
"As you command, My Emperor!"
Under the sea, the Larvae's slender legs were covered in fleshy pads, while the Drones looked like broad, flat fish. Seeing the base begin operating in an orderly fashion, Ye Luo felt at ease and led Ye Feng and Ye Yi away...
As Ye Luo was returning to the base, the Flying Ants hidden on Robert and Angelina sent back two images at the same time.
Ye Luo's heart stirred, and both images immediately appeared in his mind.
"Splash, splash... splash, splash..." Misty steam obscured the view until everything looked hazy. Ye Luo frowned. Weren't the father and daughter going to meet the Third Legion's general? What was this? Smog?
But then the Flying Ant's gaze suddenly shifted downward. A proud pair of breasts, a slender waist that could be clasped in one hand, and the forest around a mysterious triangular region all appeared before Ye Luo's eyes...
"Holy crap..." Two streams of blood gushed from Ye Luo's nose...
"My Emperor, you're injured!" Ye Yi cried in alarm, while Ye Feng cautiously searched the surroundings... But neither of them sensed any sign of danger.
Ye Luo wiped away the nosebleed, mortified, and forced himself to stay calm. "Ahem, I'm fine. I've been eating too much fried food lately. Maybe I'm just overheated. All right, let's keep moving..."
"Fried food? Overheated?" Ye Yi and Ye Feng were stunned... Of course, if Ye Meng—the big, burly one—had heard that, he might actually have believed it. But Ye Yi and Ye Feng knew it was just Ye Luo's excuse...
The Flying Ant switched to the other image, and Ye Luo's restless mind gradually settled.
"Robert, Dieter told me that this newly emerged Magic Beast Clan is bloodthirsty and savage. But your daughter was taken by those Demon Beasts for more than ten days, and she's still completely unharmed. Isn't that rather hard to believe?" In a huge command tent, a rather thin man sat high in the seat of honor, looking down at Robert, who stood before him. Beside him sat an elderly man in his sixties. He wore a black robe trimmed with gold thread, and a crescent moon was emblazoned across it.
The symbols on a mage's robe represented their rank. First through fourth rank were marked by one to four stars. Fifth-rank mages wore a crescent moon; sixth-rank mages, a crescent moon and three stars; and seventh-rank mages, a full moon surrounded by countless stars...
So these were the Third Legion's sixth-rank general and a fifth-rank battle mage? Ye Luo's heart stirred. They didn't look the part, especially the thin man. He looked less sturdy than an ordinary soldier. It was hard to imagine he was the so-called Tier 6 Diamond Warrior!
Robert frowned slightly. "Lord Warwick, are you questioning my loyalty to the kingdom?"
Warwick narrowed his eyes and said nothing.
Robert said gravely, "Angelina and I made it back alive because this Magic Beast Clan isn't as simple as we thought. They're intelligent—perhaps even more intelligent than we are. They understand that different races can live together in peace. That's why they spared our lives and sent us to convey their goodwill to you, Lord Warwick, and His Majesty the King..."
"Goodwill... living together in peace..." Warwick tapped his fingers lightly. "Robert, a race that slaughtered more than four thousand of my people, and you're actually speaking up for them like this?"
Robert replied helplessly, "That was my mistake. At the time, I thought they were just ordinary newly emerged Demon Beasts. We provoked them by trying to capture them, and sending soldiers to attack them was even more clearly our own doing. They only defended themselves. We..."
"Robert!!!" Warwick cut him off coldly. "Are you speaking up for these murderers now?"
Before you continue