Mutated Combat Form

The Overmind turned his gaze toward the Monster Tree and voluntarily cast his will into it.

The next moment, the Overmind felt himself transform into a lush, flourishing tree. Its canopy trembled gently beneath the morning sun and breeze, while its roots spread freely through the soil.

Most crucially, as his "heart" beat again and again, a network entirely unlike the Zerg's Hive Mind enveloped him.

An even stronger sense of natural peace welled up within the Overmind, as though he had merged with the vibrant life around him...

Only after quite a while did the Overmind withdraw his consciousness from the Monster Tree.

He roughly understood now.

The supernatural power wielded by the Monster Tree emphasized interaction with the surrounding natural environment.

In other words, the richer the environment around it, the closer its connection to nature, and the stronger this supernatural power became.

Compared to a complex, layered forest ecosystem composed of dense grass, shrubs, trees, fungi, and animals, the environment controlled by the Zerg contained only monotonous Creep. Yet in terms of vitality and resistance to disaster, the Zerg ecosystem utterly crushed a forest ecosystem.

The Monster Tree, a product of the forest system, had originally been completely incompatible with the Swarm's environment. It could only watch helplessly as this abundant life failed to merge with it. Once the Overmind brought it into the Hive Mind, that barrier was broken, allowing the Monster Tree's power to unleash its true effects.

Unfortunately, the Monster Tree was still just a tree. Aside from making its heartwood beat faster to increase its output, even the Overmind could not manipulate that green supernatural power with any greater precision.

Still, this power of connecting with nature was quite suitable for the Swarm.

"See whether this tree can reproduce or propagate by division," the Overmind instructed Agatha. He did not hold out much hope, however. Even now, the Monster Tree's DNA was no different from that of an ordinary tree.

The Overmind shifted his attention back to the squirrel and resumed modifying the Mutated Combat Form.

Linking DNA, modifying genes... Hm?

Feedback came through the Hive Mind—the Creep had been damaged.

The Overmind immediately linked to Agatha and looked into the distance through her eyes.

Sure enough, at the farthest edge of the Creep, he spotted a group of boars as large as calves. Relying on their thick bristles, keratinous hides, and coats of mud, they ignored the Creep's corrosive effects and trampled across it without a care, greedily devouring its tissue.

They even called over their companions, inviting their kind to taste these "rather appetizing-looking mushrooms."

"..." They had a death wish this bad—were they worthy of being the Second Senior Brother or what?

The Overmind looked at the leading boar nearby, its body robust, its fur sleek and glossy, its four tusks imposing, then lowered his gaze to the adorably dazed Little Fierce Squirrel in his hand.

The Overmind casually tossed the squirrel aside and waited for the boar's infection to finish...

Fine-tuning the Mutated Combat Form proved simpler than expected.

All he needed was to connect it to the Creep for nutrients, find suitable genomes from the trait library that came with the Hyper-Evolutionary Virus, and insert them into the boar's genetic chain.

By noon,

that Four-Fang Boar no longer looked remotely like a pig.

A tough carapace covered its body. Its limbs had grown longer and much thicker, while its hind legs had become as thick as utility poles and developed structures resembling a cricket's hind legs. Its four tusks had become larger and sharper, and two scythe-shaped auxiliary limbs with distinct Zerg characteristics had sprouted from its back.

Come to think of it, the underlying template for most Zerg was actually six pairs of limbs. Overlords, Zerglings, Roaches, and Ultralisks all had six limbs. Even Kerrigan, after being modified, had gained a pair of "wings."

Of course, perhaps six limbs simply happened to be the optimal solution for both mobility and offense.

The Overmind possessed this structure as well, but his body was currently dormant. His auxiliary limbs remained in their Primal Essence state, awaiting activation...

Bang—

An Infected boar only half a size smaller than the Four-Fang Boar was sent flying more than ten meters away by a light toss of Four-Fang's head.

Its strength was already comparable to the humanoid Root Vine Monster that had died that morning, making it quite formidable in battle.

Even Agatha gave it high praise. "If seven or eight pig-shaped Mutated Combat Forms like this attacked together and employed some tactics, they could even take down a Zergling..."

...The Overmind decided to take that as praise.

Unlike most Mutated Combat Forms, Four-Fang's overall appearance was not particularly grotesque.

That was because most Zerg organs on Mutated Combat Forms were created by first inducing tumors in the host's original bodily tissues, then differentiating the organs from those tumors. Thus, the appearance of most Mutated Combat Forms was difficult to describe.

But that issue could be overcome with a little care. At worst, he could cut it off and grow it again. This Creep had originally formed from scar tissue; if nothing else, it was exceptionally effective at stopping bleeding and healing wounds.

Cosmetic modifications were easy. Maintaining the balance of all the host body's systems, including its hormonal, circulatory, immune, and urinary systems, was difficult. It was an extraordinarily delicate task.

Using the pig, the Overmind repeatedly tried the equivalent of adding salt when it was bland and water when it was too salty. After several rounds of experimentation, he finally found a balance where every system operated stably—but the genetic chain collapsed.

The pig might be lively and energetic right now, but it would drop dead within three days.

Agatha offered a highly professional suggestion. "You should further strengthen its adrenal glands. This will shorten its lifespan even more, but ensure it retains ample combat power until death."

Yes, that was very Zerg.

"Is there no way to make it live longer?"

Agatha did not need to answer. The Overmind already knew there was.

The Swarm did have genetic engineers responsible for evolutionary design, but they were extremely rare.

After all, for the Zerg, having tens or hundreds of trillions of individuals undergo random mutation and selection was far more reliable than training a group of experts.

The same applied to cultivating Mutated Combat Forms. Infecting hundreds of thousands or millions of boars would naturally reveal the balance between host and Zerg organs.

Of course, there was a simpler method: cultivate them from fertilized eggs, allowing the Zerg organs and boar viscera to develop in coordination. With the Swarm's adaptability, imbalance would naturally not occur.

But boars were not Little Birds.

In his previous life, even a farm needed six months to raise a meat pig, and that did not include the four months of pregnancy. Even if Zerg genes could shorten the process, without massive Zerg organs a hundred meters tall to modify them, it could not be sped up by much.

At most, the time could be reduced four or fivefold. By the time the piglets matured, the Overmind's sea of dogs might already have exploded in number.

The Overmind waved his hand. Four-Fang, still frolicking about, immediately quieted down, swayed twice, and collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.

Mycelium swiftly crawled over the boar's body, slipping into the gaps in its carapace and growing across it. In the end, it formed a thin cocoon around the boar, with the Creep supplying nutrients. The boar's various organs fell into dormancy and would awaken only when needed.

The Overmind turned his attention toward the other boars...