Forest Bald Spot Plan

Spider Cave.

The cave relief model before the Overmind gradually settled, and a flat map appeared before it.

It was a map of the surface world.

Although the surface was no longer the Swarm's main focus for expansion, the Overmind still began carrying out the planned "Forest Bald Spot" project.

Hundreds of Overlords began rising into the skies. From above the clouds, they would fly to every corner of the world, spreading Creep and bringing patch after patch of "baldness" to the dense forests.

Research into "broad-spectrum receptor proteins" had made it possible for Zerg tissue to rapidly transform into Creep.

Overlords could rapidly generate Creep by dissolving their own internal organs, a method entirely different from the Venom Devourer's spore plasma yet capable of achieving the same effect: rapidly spreading Creep.

At the same time, the Overmind modified the Overlords' nervous systems, granting them greater control over Creep. For example, through direct neural connections, they could make Creep differentiate into Creep nodes and scouting nodes.

The close connection between the Overlords and the Overmind ensured that this Creep, isolated from the Hatchery neural network, would not mutate and begin devouring the world at a rate beyond the Overmind's plans.

These isolated Creep zones had only two tasks.

First, to actively produce and store organic matter, then transport those resources to the Swarm once the Nydus Network was established.

Second, to explore underground and search for traces of the Great Labyrinth.

A small squad of Drones slept within each Overlord's abdominal sac. Once they found an entrance to the Great Labyrinth, they would construct a Hatchery inside it.

The Overmind had calculated that, without counting the Swarm within the Great Labyrinth, as long as more than a thousand Creep patches the size of "a city's worth of land" appeared in the forests, its psionic level could reach Level Nine...

Just as the Overmind calculated how much Hatchery production capacity should be allocated to the Overlords, a warning suddenly came through the hive mind.

Agatha's voice rang out almost simultaneously beside it. "Level Ten psionic fluctuations detected! Your Swarm is under threat!"

The Overmind turned, and a three-dimensional map of the caves rose once more from the Creep. The site of the battle was precisely the cave occupied by the Moonwing Beasts.

Level Ten psionic fluctuations? That did not match the information obtained earlier!

Even with the aid of Spore Crawlers, those hundred-odd Zerg units could not possibly stand against a high-tier Epic creature. The spiders and Zerglings were expendable, but the Dragon Dogs had to be withdrawn in time—units with souls could not be resurrected by the Overmind.

Agatha issued a further warning. "Your forces are under attack."

Hurricane Cave.

The ones clashing with the Swarm were neither Moonwing Beasts nor any other bats.

It was a giant serpent with red, cockscomb-like fleshy protrusions atop its head. Its head alone occupied nearly half the cave, while its two enormous eyes, emitting dim yellow beams, swept across every Swarm unit like searchlights.

The Overmind could not help recalling the umbrella lizard once defeated by the Dragon Dogs. The membrane around its neck bore patterns almost identical to the giant serpent's eyes...

With only a moment's thought, the Overmind understood.

In theory, high-tier Epic creatures were rare in the cave layers near the upper levels of the labyrinth due to their relatively narrow confines.

But there were exceptions. High-tier Epic creatures with elongated bodies, such as snakes, centipedes, and millipedes, could appear in the labyrinth's shallower layers. Even so, their numbers were extremely scarce, and high-tier Epic creatures usually had a habit of hibernating for years on end, making them difficult to track down.

The high-frequency filamentous glands of the Spore Crawlers could clearly sense that the biological activity within the serpent was slowly rising. Evidently, it had only just awakened from hibernation.

Unlike every enemy the Swarm had faced before, this giant serpent suppressed every Swarm unit the instant it appeared.

Those two pairs of eyes radiated unknown energy fluctuations. Wherever their gaze fell, every Swarm unit was covered in a layer of grayish-white stone.

Even the biological tissue of the Swarm units began calcifying at a rapid pace.

Combined with information from Elar's memories regarding similar abilities—this giant serpent possessed the bloodline of a petrifying cockatrice.

The petrification proceeded from the outside inward. Thanks to their arthropod-like exoskeletons, the Zerglings were not immediately locked in place.

But after charging only two steps, the petrification spread to their joints, and the Zerglings completely lost their ability to move.

The Web Weavers fared even worse. To store more spore plasma, the exoskeletons on their abdomens had been replaced with highly elastic bark-like structures. Once calcified, they could not withstand the immense pressure within, rupturing and instantly losing all combat capability.

The Creep Tumors, on the other hand, relied on corrosive fluid and rapid proliferation to continuously dissolve their petrified parts, maintaining the biological state of their main bodies. However, the fungal silk webs woven by the Web Weavers were completely calcified.

Only the Dragon Dogs showed no physical changes beyond a layer of dust-like powder settling over their bodies—the magic resistance of dragonhide.

The unharmed Dragon Dogs had clearly drawn the giant serpent's attention.

The Dragon Dogs distinctly noticed that as the serpent's pupils contracted, the light shining upon them grew more than twice as intense, and their skin began to feel faintly tight.

Without another word, the Dragon Dogs decisively entered a phase-shifted state and fled into the distance in a blur.

This only stirred the giant serpent's ferocity. Its body swayed, and its massive head shot forth like lightning, snapping straight toward the Dragon Dogs.

An earnest attack from an Epic creature possessed qualities that transcended reality itself. Even the Dragon Dogs' phase shift could not evade it.

Fortunately, several concentrated acid spore clusters slammed into the giant serpent, halting its next move.

It was the Spore Crawlers. Though they too were gradually petrifying, their shells were thick enough and their bodies large enough that they had not yet calcified to the point of being unable to attack.

Upon encountering a powerful enemy, they immediately switched modes, reverting from chimneys that spewed spore dust into artillery turrets.

Spore Crawlers were the Swarm's anti-air structures. They had been created from the start to bombard steel aircraft high in the skies, clad in heavy armor and even protected by plasma shields.

The spore clusters they launched at extreme speed, capable of soaring dozens of kilometers into the air, crashed into the giant serpent. Even as a high-tier Epic creature, it was sent flying, its enormous body smashing into the cave wall and making the entire cavern tremble on the verge of collapse.

"Hiss—" Thick spore clusters slowly flowed down from the giant serpent's head and chest, wisps of blue smoke rising everywhere they passed.

It was a pity, though—the Spore Crawlers' corrosive spores were ultimately no match for the acid in Agatha's thorns.

They melted through the scales and caused the giant snake intense pain, but they still could not dissolve deep enough into a high-level magical beast's body to expose bone.

Driven mad by the pain, the giant snake lowered its body, its massive bulk directly crushing a Spore Crawler.

But immediately afterward, the corrosive spores and pathogenic spores stored inside the Spore Crawler spilled out, eating even more—and larger—bloody holes into the giant snake's body.

"Hiss—" The giant snake let out an even louder hiss, but it no longer dared approach the Spore Crawlers.

It raised its head again, and the light in its eyes shone brighter, illuminating the remaining Spore Crawlers.

The active energy in the air immediately multiplied, turning them into stone statues within a few breaths.

The giant snake cast a deep look toward the Creep-covered area on one side of the cavern—the direction the Dragon Dogs had fled—and revealed fury so intense it was almost tangible.

Yet in the end, the giant snake still did not dare crawl in that direction.

Instead, it braved the hurricane and entered the Moonwing Beasts' territory...