Spore Crawler

"Our existing psionic measurement system is no longer sufficient."

"Do you need me to extend it according to the human psionic standard curve?" Agatha asked.

"No." The Overmind shook his head. "Mathematical intensity doesn't mean much. What matters more is its correspondence to reality."

Psionic power clearly corresponded, to a certain extent, with the extraordinary powers of this world in terms of rank.

For example, Levels One to Three psionic power granted nothing supernatural beyond sharper hearing and sight. The minimum standard for magical beasts in this world was a soul strength of Rank Four; natural power likewise had to reach Rank Four before displaying obvious external effects.

For example, Levels Seven and Eight psionic power marked the dividing line between mental power and the "telekinesis" capable of interfering with reality. Souls in this world also underwent a qualitative transformation at Rank Eight, allowing individual strength to surpass the restraints of bloodlines.

Thus, the Overmind believed that rather than measuring them with numbers, it would be better to match them one by one with actual psionic users.

"Agatha, are there any psionic units in the Swarm whose psionic power greatly surpasses the Level Ten standard, yet falls far short of that of an Overmind or Cerebrate?" the Overmind asked directly.

Agatha pondered for a while, seemingly grasping the Overmind's train of thought, then nodded. "Yes. Me."

"You?" The Overmind froze. "Aren't you a broodmother?"

"I was the previous Overmind's Guardian Queen, responsible for caring for the larvae and eggs within the hive, while also taking on certain guard duties. Aside from the symbiotic units inside the hive and some Drones, I was not responsible for commanding troops."

"Oh, so you had that kind of ability too?"

"After my ovipositor was reconstructed, the work efficiency of the Hatchery you named Dragon Lion Territory increased by sixty percent, even while I was also overseeing the modification of Arrow Gulls. The number of units hatched also tripled... Of course, after you assigned me intelligence analysis work, the Hatchery's efficiency returned to normal." Agatha's tone was calm, without the slightest hint of complaint.

"Mm, impressive. No wonder we gathered ten thousand Zerglings so quickly back then..." The Overmind gave a dry laugh and changed the subject. "In any case, your psionic level at your peak will be Level Eleven from now on. What about stronger ones?"

"Cerebrates, broodmothers, and various high-ranking command units," Agatha replied.

Since the Queen of Blades, high-ranking commanders had no longer been limited to Cerebrates and broodmothers among the Swarm's units. Abathur, Dehaka, and Stukov all possessed the ability to command troops.

"Very good. Then they'll be Level Twelve. Anything stronger would be the previous Overmind, right?"

"No." Agatha shook her head. "The previous Overmind once said that even all the Cerebrates and Queens combined would not be Xizi's match. But Xizi was still far inferior to the previous Overmind."

"Who is Xizi?"

"A Cerebrate symbiotic with a Leviathan. Before you appeared, the previous Overmind once said that if he died in an accident, a new Overmind would be born with Xizi as its core."

The Overmind nodded. In other words, a reserve Overmind. "Then we have Levels Thirteen and Fourteen as well."

Agatha suddenly added, "When the previous Overmind first broke through the world barrier, the psionic power he unleashed far exceeded the norm. The resulting psionic wave patterns could even be detected by dozens of star systems simultaneously."

"Then add a Level Fifteen."

With that, the new classification beyond Level Ten was complete.

They were:

Level Eleven, Hero Unit Tier

Level Twelve, High-Ranking Commander Tier

Level Thirteen, Reserve Overmind Tier

Level Fourteen, Overmind Tier

Level Fifteen, Overclocked Overmind Tier

That should be enough for the time being.

Passages leading to the underground world were more common than the Overmind had imagined.

Not long afterward, Agatha identified the three nearest passages leading directly to the underground world from the minds of numerous magical beasts.

Unfortunately, all three passages lay within claimed "hunting grounds."

One was located in the nest of a group of naked mole rats, one was heavily watched by a Carnivorous Bee swarm, and the last was inhabited by five epic-level bats known scientifically as "Moonwing Beasts," along with a bat swarm numbering in the hundreds of thousands.

To this, the Overmind's response was—he wanted them all!

Bees, rats, and bats all possessed a certain degree of social behavior, and for animals that liked gathering in dense groups, disease had always been their natural enemy. As for the Overmind, he had just amassed a Venom Devourer array cluster, every unit of which was comparable to an elite structure...

Spider Crypt.

Hatchery.

For once, the Overmind was not seated upon his throne.

Instead, he sat cross-legged in an open patch of Creep covered in insect cocoons before the Hatchery.

A Hatchery built underground developed somewhat differently from one on the surface. It extended dense, broad tendrils through the earth, continuously gathering information about the surrounding strata in the form of vibration waves.

The Hatchery's main brain then integrated that information to construct a complete terrain map.

At this moment, the Overmind had also ordered the Hatchery to control the Creep and use its growth to form a reverse mold of the caverns, creating a three-dimensional "mini-map."

"So they're here now?" The Overmind reached out and pointed at a lower section of the "molded maze."

"Yes. Based on the memories of underground creatures, Moonwing Beasts possess 'the power of hurricanes' and actively create cyclones within their nests. This location happens to be one of the airflow entrances." Agatha stood beside the Overmind, clearing away insect eggs placed outside the Hatchery as she replied.

Underground.

The junction of a massive Y-shaped cavern.

The violent hurricane howled, letting out an endless wail like the shrieks of vengeful ghosts.

Dragon Dog led several hundred Zerglings, each one bracing its forelimbs against the ground as they escorted ten Zerg units shaped like chimneys, yet sporting sharp insect legs, through the hurricane with great difficulty.

These were the Swarm's anti-air and stealth-detection units: Spore Crawlers.

Since they both used liquid substances as their means of attack, much of their prerequisite technology overlapped with that of Roaches. Now that Roaches could be put into production, Spore Crawlers were nearly ready as well. Furthermore, ever since the Shadow Spiders had appeared, the Overmind had added "High-Wave Filamentous Glands" to the research queue.

Since they did not require building-type units to provide developmental essence, they had even appeared slightly earlier than the first Roach.

The Web Weaver spiders accompanying the army secreted fungal filaments all the way, spreading Creep across the route to this place.

At the Overmind's command, the Spore Crawlers' six radially symmetrical legs and the giant, fang-lined maws growing from their undersides dug into the ground at once, burying themselves underground.

That was right. The chimney-shaped Spore Crawlers actually had mouths beneath them—or rather, that was their true mouth. After burrowing underground, the Creep would continuously deliver nutrients into their mouths. Once processed through their digestive tracts, it would then be pulled... no, fired out from the "chimney mouth" above.

As a purely "weaponized" organism, Spore Crawlers lacked the Venom Devourers' ability to modify genes and produce targeted pathogenic spores.

However, the organs that produced their acidic spore clusters could continuously replicate pathogenic spores taken from Venom Devourers.

A Spore Crawler's normal method of attack was to launch concentrated acidic spherical slurry, but as everyone knew, anywhere that could "dump waste" could naturally also "vent gas."

Once the Spore Crawlers had anchored themselves to the ground, they began releasing yellow smoke like actual chimneys.

Those visibly filthy spore particles were swept into the cave by the hurricane. They would spread through the "Bat Cave" at the fastest possible speed.

The same thing was happening in the "Naked Mole Rat Cave" and the "Carnivorous Bee Cave."

However, neither of those species cared much for wind, and their nests had no hurricanes. On the contrary, because they were accustomed to building their nests at the lowest points, the heat generated by their concentrated populations produced rising air currents. The spores deployed against them had therefore been modified to be larger and heavier.

Overall, though, the Bat Cave was still the most troublesome case.

Naked mole rats and Carnivorous Bees were both eusocial creatures, with reproduction within their populations concentrated in the hands of a few "old mothers." As a result, their epic-tier individuals were generally enormous, making it difficult for them to move freely through caves—just like the burrowing spiders.

Moonwing Beasts were different. They were predators. They had no "queen," nor any "bat mother." They merely liked to cluster together due to the traits of bat-like creatures. Five Moonwing Beasts of both sexes would even often fight over mates.

Likewise, they were not as massive as Spider Mothers. Even if every bat became infected, they could still move about freely.

To put it bluntly, once the virus broke out, the epic-tier queens of the naked mole rats and Carnivorous Bees would struggle even to leave their nests. The Moonwing Beasts, however, might band together and launch a surprise attack on the Swarm's Hatchery.

Therefore, while the Spore Crawlers began continuously spewing yellow smoke, the Web Weavers also actively used Creep to construct webs and seal off the caves.

A massive, winding bundle of fungal tissue rolled forward, forming a living Creep Tumor amid the many Spore Crawlers. It not only provided the Spore Crawlers with more abundant nutrients, but also reinforced the Web Weavers' Creep network.

Once the Roaches were ready for production, they would also be sent in batch by batch as follow-up forces. They were not purely long-range units; their acid spray did not have much range, but it was more than sufficient for anti-air combat in a cave environment.

If the Moonwing Beasts launched a surprise attack, this would be the first place where an interception battle took place...

Yet none of the Zerg units noticed that the drifting spores were not only being swept by the hurricane into the Moonwing Beasts' territory. Some also sank into deeper caves.

Far beyond the Spore Crawlers' sensory limits, they were drawn into two cave openings concealed among the rocks.

Crack—

Amid the sound of shattering stone, a pair of snake eyes glowing dim yellow slowly emerged...

For now, the psionic power level will be expanded to level fifteen.

If you have a different opinion, feel free to point it out in the comments.