Comparing it with the enormous Stag Beetle in the real world, he found it empty, without any psychic response at all. The black sphere was above the Stag Beetle, within the cloud of dragonflies.
Ils had been wrong. The Tyranid controlling the Stag Beetle was not the Male Bug hiding at the edge, trembling like a frightened quail, but the Queen of the Hrud.
She was probably very small, perhaps even capable of flight: an individual who was easy to conceal and possessed powerful psychic power. She had amplified her psychic power through the Mother Terminal and was remotely controlling the mighty Stag Beetle.
The bloated form she had shown while communicating with Ils and the other Norn Queens had been an illusion.
The heat waves within Thunder Hell slowly dissipated, and visibility improved. Many of the Special Operations Bosses were injured, but none had died yet.
The enormous Stag Beetle seemed to freeze for a moment, then gathered psychic power again, preparing another attack.
Suddenly, a deafening boom rang out overhead. Dragonflies fell from the sky in vast numbers, burning and screaming as they died.
At the same time, the Stag Beetle seemed affected by something. It could no longer maintain its altitude and dropped a considerable distance.
The Special Operations Bosses on the ground seized the opportunity and leaped high into the air. As the Stag Beetle tried to climb again, they grabbed its carapace and clung to its back.
Meanwhile, Little Slick remained on the ground, looking up and constantly comparing his psychic vision with reality as he searched for something.
Countless dragonflies engulfed in flames fell from the sky like meteors. Some hit the ground, while others crashed directly into the Stag Beetle.
Little Slick spotted the target he had been searching for on the Stag