The Base Is Exposed

"My Emperor... Though I'm afraid this will upset you, I still have something to say." After Ye Luo gave his orders, Ye Feng hesitated, then looked at him.

Ye Luo looked at him in confusion. "What is it?"

"I spotted those humans, but it seems they spotted us too. They're very excited, though not in the same way you are. You're excited to see members of your former people, but they... they've found a fortune."

Ye Luo's heart lurched. "What do you mean? Explain."

Ye Feng answered faithfully, "They're very likely treating us as prey..."

"Could there be some misunderstanding?" Ye Luo frowned deeply. But as soon as he said it, he knew there could be no misunderstanding... The Hatchery now stood over ten meters tall, and the towering trees around it had all been corroded by the Creep. Anyone who came near would easily notice that something was wrong here... And humans... ** was the driving force behind human progress, and humanity's greatest sin!

The emergence of a new form of life wouldn't necessarily make everyone excited and eager to accept it. Their first thought might well be whether this new thing could bring them some benefit...

"My Emperor, humans have been spotted again, one li away!" Ye Feng suddenly closed his eyes to sense their presence, then immediately reported, "One of them is carrying a Crystal Core on his weapon that's a level higher than the Demon Core Ye You devoured! There are fifty-seven of them! They're approaching rapidly. Judging by their speed and direction, I can confirm..." Ye Feng opened his eyes and looked at Ye Luo. "They're coming for us..."

Disappointment, sorrow, bewilderment... After obtaining the Zerg civilization, Ye Luo had been swept up in the excitement of being able to grow infinitely stronger. But now, he suddenly realized that he was growing ever more distant from his own people...

"My Emperor, they're only seven hundred meters away!"

"Prepare for battle!" Ye Luo sighed deeply. The resolve in his eyes swept away all his dejection. "Ye Yi, send out the Flying Ants at once!"

The only combat units Chen Feng had on hand were these eighty-six Zerglings, and no one knew what level the fifty-odd newcomers were.

By the time the Flying Ants drew near the humans, they were only a little over three hundred meters from the Hatchery. From a distance, they could already see its towering, pointed peak!

In Ye Luo's eyes, the images sent back by the ten Flying Ants were adjusted by the Overmind's neural network and brought together into a complete picture in his mind.

Fifty-six humans, with blond hair, blue eyes, and high-bridged noses, looked just like Westerners from Earth.

Their leather armor, broadswords, longswords, and shields, however, made them look like warriors from the Western Middle Ages. The two people at the front of the group stood out. One was a burly man, his muscles brimming with explosive power. More importantly, a faint energy field surrounded his body. The other was an old man. His ** was nowhere near as imposing as the burly man's, but the sharp gleam in his eyes was almost impossible to meet. A slender, five-or-six-foot wooden staff was in his hand, with a red crystal set into its tip. As a Flying Ant drew closer to the old man, he suddenly turned his head and stared intently toward its location. After looking several times and seeing nothing, he frowned and abruptly raised his staff. A burst of flame shot out from the crystal!

"Whoosh!" The Flying Ant died instantly in the flames...

"Is that... a mage?" Ye Luo's heart stirred. Thinking of the Magic Wolf he'd encountered before, he began to understand a little more about this world. A world of magic—a Western fantasy world...

"Mage Morgan, did you notice something?" The burly warrior beside the mage was clearly startled by his sudden movement.

Morgan shook his head, the wrinkles on his face folding like layers of fabric. "It's nothing, Mr. Roman. I may have been overthinking it. Let's keep moving..."

Roman nodded, gazing at the pointed tip of the Hatchery several hundred meters away. "Mage Morgan, they say mages are learned in all things. Have you ever seen a structure like that?"

Morgan shook his head, signaling for the group to stop.

Roman looked at him in confusion. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

Morgan stared at the pointed thing in the distance. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "I can sense a trace of life force coming from it. I'm worried it might not be a building at all. If it turns out to be a gigantic Demon Beast, and we stroll right up to it like this, we might never make it back out..."

Roman was shocked. "A Demon Beast? That big? The highest-level Demon Beast in the Cloudfall Forest is only level five. A level-five Demon Beast shouldn't be that enormous..."

Morgan shook his head. "Better safe than sorry. Have your warriors scout it out first. If it's a Demon Beast, be sure not to disturb it. Retreat slowly. If it isn't a Demon Beast and really is a building, don't go inside recklessly either. We need to guard against danger..."

Roman nodded in agreement and waved his right hand. "First squad, move in and scout. Remember Mage Morgan's warning. Be careful."

The first squad had six members. At the order, they slowly approached the Zerg Hive.

Three hundred meters... two hundred and fifty meters... two hundred meters... When they reached the two-hundred-meter mark, they stopped. The area within two hundred meters of the Zerg Hive was already covered with Creep, and all the other plants and animals had been devoured. Behind them were trees and undergrowth; before them stretched a vast kingdom of Creep, with the Zerg Hive plainly visible in front of them...

"Good heavens, Captain, what is this thing...?"

One of the soldiers stepped forward and tested the Creep with his foot. "Hey, it's pretty soft..."

"Hey, that's disgusting. Squad leader, why does it feel like that huge nest is breathing, rising and falling? I think we'd better hurry back and report to Lord Roman. Let him decide whether it's worth anything to us. If not, we can just burn it down. It's disgusting to look at..."

The Flying Ants relayed the soldier's words to Ye Luo, word for word. Ye Luo sighed. "Attack!"

As soon as Ye Luo spoke, more than twenty Zerglings suddenly burst out of the ground. The six warriors didn't even have time to struggle. With cries of agony, they were torn to pieces by the Zerglings!

Far away, Roman's expression darkened at the sound of the screams. Morgan, standing beside him, suddenly opened his eyes. "I sensed them. The attackers are Demon Beasts similar to Magic Wolves. They appeared out of nowhere, so they may have a special way of hiding themselves. Everyone, be careful!"

The screams had barely begun before they stopped, making it clear just how powerful the enemy was. "Mage Morgan..."

Morgan sighed. "People die for wealth, just as birds die for food. Lord Roman, launch the attack!"

"Blazing Mercenary Corps, charge with me!" Roman roared. He swung the door-sized greatsword above his head with one hand and led the charge toward the Zerg Hive!