Parasitic Spores and Chicken Soup for the Soul

Parasitic Spore was one of Ye Luo's three initial abilities as the Zerg Emperor: Armament, Larva Transformation, and Parasitic Spore. Though it was not an actual combat skill like Roman's Spiral Slash, it was incomparably useful to Ye Luo, who had just arrived in an unfamiliar environment.

In this battle, the Zerglings' burrowing ability, combined with the shock of those warriors seeing the Zerg Hive for the first time, had created an excellent ambush. Even so, Ye Luo had lost forty-two Zerglings!

The loss pained him deeply. One battle had wiped out an entire day's hard work...

Roman and Morgan's eyes were bloodshot. They were both Level Four fighters and mages. The Parasitic Spores could not control them forever. On the contrary, to maintain control over them, the spores had to constantly destroy their nerves! Therefore, even if Ye Luo wanted to keep them alive, they could not survive for more than an hour.

Of course, this flaw in the Parasitic Spores would gradually weaken as Ye Luo grew stronger, until it became perfect parasitism...

Besides, an hour was enough for Ye Luo to obtain some information...

First, this continent was just as Ye Luo had expected. Its power system primarily revolved around battle qi and magic. The continent was divided into four great empires and countless small kingdoms. Legend had it that the Elf Race lived in Dream Marsh Forest, the Orc Race inhabited the Red Earth Continent in the east, and the Dragon Race lived on Dragon Island in the southeastern corner of the continent!

Although no one on this continent had yet broken free of its gravity alone and entered the cosmos, the strongest among them were only one step away from achieving it!

Level Nine experts were the pinnacle of this continent. Their Level Nine was basically equivalent to Level Nine in the Zerg civilization's individual combat power standards. Therefore, Ye Luo was still far from having the capital to swagger around without fear.

Still, the good news was that although Level Nine experts existed, they were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, few enough to count on one's fingers. They all remained within the four great empires. In the kingdom where Ye Luo and the others currently were, the strongest fighter was merely a Level Six Diamond Fighter, and he was stationed in the royal capital.

"If the three of us fought a Level Four Silver Fighter head-on, could we win?"

Roman answered mechanically, "If Ye Yi launches a sneak attack and is not discovered by the Level Four Silver Fighter, there is a fifty percent chance of victory. Otherwise, the chance of victory is only ten percent!"

Ten percent. That pitiful rate made Ye Luo smile bitterly...

At that moment, huge lumps suddenly began rising across Roman's head, as though more than a dozen giant bugs were constantly crawling beneath his scalp!

Ye Luo knew Roman's body could no longer endure it and was about to burst apart. He immediately seized the time to ask, "Besides you two, does anyone else know about the Zerg Hive?"

"Yes. Rumors of the Monster Cave have already spread like wildfire throughout the borderlands. We were the first mercenary group to begin exploring it. Over the next few days, other mercenary groups from Morton Province will definitely come as well. And the more mercenaries die here, the more it will prove the value of this Monster Cave, attracting even more high-level fighters!"

"Damn it!" Ye Luo cursed. His eyes shifted as he asked again, "In your memories, are there any large mineral veins nearby?"

"Yes. Fifteen kilometers from here, at the southwestern edge of Cabo Town, is the nearest mineral vein. It is relatively small and has been occupied by Cabo Town. Its strongest combatant is also a Level Four, Rank One Silver Fighter. Farther away is Morton City..."

Bang! Before Roman could finish speaking, his entire head exploded like a watermelon.

As for Morgan, the old man's body was even weaker than Roman's. He had already exploded while describing the general state of the continent...

"The base has been exposed. A large number of powerful fighters will arrive soon. We can't just sit here and wait for death!" Ye Luo pried the crystal off Morgan's staff, held it in his palm, and converted it into streams of energy.

On the Creep, more than thirty Larvae that had received the energy replenishment immediately transformed into pulsing masses of flesh...

This crystal was Ye Luo's final pleasant surprise. The energy contained within it was enough to mutate two hundred Zerglings. Unfortunately, he had too few Larvae at the moment. Otherwise, this battle would have been pure profit instead of a loss...

"My Emperor, what should we do?" The four Ye brothers gathered again.

Ye Luo was in low spirits. Humans—his original race, the race he had so desperately wanted to grow close to—would ultimately part ways with him over interests, and they would even have to meet in battle. It made him feel miserable. He wanted to coexist peacefully with humanity and develop together. He neither wished to devour humanity's living space nor abandon his inheritance as the Zerg.

Ye Feng looked at the silent Ye Luo and said softly, "My Emperor, you need not be sad. There are far too many races in the universe. The humans on the planet where you once lived may not even be the same race as the humans on this planet. If you wish to remain friendly toward humanity, it is simple. As long as you lead our civilization off this planet and back to the pinnacle of the universe, you can protect the planet where you once lived. They will be spared the disturbances of interstellar wars and grow strong in peace... I think what you care about most is not humanity, but your homeland..."

Ye Feng's words instantly swept away the dark clouds in Ye Luo's heart. That was right. Why did he want to be close to humans? Wasn't it because he was an Earthling? Everything he cared about, everything he was concerned about, was life on Earth. Why should he grieve and sigh over this? These people had blond hair and blue eyes. At most, they could be considered Westerners. And if Westerners dared touch the interests of his Chinese compatriots, then wiping them out was only natural!

If he truly cared about Earth, then he had to become stronger. Only then could he truly protect Earth and his fellow countrymen... As for all other humans... to hell with them!

Ye Luo raised his head in relief and gave Ye Feng a grateful look. "You're right, Ye Feng. Thank you!"

"It is my honor to ease My Emperor's worries!" Ye Feng said happily.

Ye You scratched his head with a solemn expression. "Actually, I knew that too..."

Ye Luo shook his head with an amused smile. "You're just a hindsight Zhuge Liang. Enough joking around. Listen up: the base here has been exposed. To throw people off the trail, we must blow up this base and make every mercenary who comes to explore believe that someone has already beaten them to it. Of course, before that, we need to seize the mine at Kabu Town. And to avoid repeating this mistake, we will attack in human identities!"