Fifteen thousand Green Vine Warships advanced in a vast formation toward Zhang Fan's "Second Earth" star region.
They formed a sea of green, like a forest suspended in space. Neither side exchanged a word as they faced off. The Emperor warships immediately unleashed their Origin-Energy Bombs!
Super Six-Eye and Venom Bee assumed combat formation and headed straight for the Green Vine People's command ship under Matriarch Lador's direction.
It was an almost silent battle, without explosions or fireworks, only the Green Vine People's agonized wails and the Insect Race's excited screeches.
Within moments, the Green Vine People's blood had stained both planets green. The asteroid belt blasted into existence by the Miras Cannon was littered with the bodies of Green Vine People and the Insect Race.
War General Noya stood atop Wind Sickle and charged into the Green Vine Warships as though nothing stood in her way. Any Green Vine People who encountered her withered in an instant.
Wind Sickle was a combat mount Zhang Fan had hatched specifically for Noya. It had an eagle's head with six eyes, bladed wings, a bee's body, and a scorpion's tail. Equipped with a Qi Spider and Sacred Barrier, it was three times as fast as Super Six-Eye, and its physical cutting power had reached the point where nothing could withstand it.
Aboard the Emperor command ship, Zhang Fan nodded in satisfaction as he watched Noya dart back and forth. "That little thing really fights like she has a death wish."
Lador asked, "Overlord, should we activate the Insect Fungi now?"
"All right. Noya has had enough fun, and these plant warships will be useful later."
Lador began controlling the Insect Fungi with his mind. Almost immediately, the Green Vine fleet turned on itself. Thousands of warships suddenly changed from green to purplish black, then turned around to attack the Green Vine People.
A portion of the crew aboard almost every warship began attacking their own units or comrades like madmen.
Only a little over a hundred ships managed to retreat from the battlefield, and Zhang Fan had no intention of letting them escape safely.
Watching the Plant Insect Race fleet pursue the remnants of the Green Vine forces, Zhang Fan smiled at Lador. "The Insect Fungi really are useful. From now on, I'll leave fungal cultivation to you."
"Overlord, I recommend using these fungi sparingly for now. They reproduce too quickly. Without proper controls, they could even threaten our own Insect Race."
"Powerful weapons never distinguish between friend and foe... You'll need to handle that carefully. I want you to develop a fungus that's easy to control and harmless to the Insect Race."
"Yes, Overlord."
Green Vine Star... the outer star region.
The Insect Race army led by Zhang Fan had completely surrounded the area. He had not launched an attack, not because he intended to spare the Green Vine People, but because he was waiting for Titan's seed!
An enormous black insect egg was on its way from Titan, transported by two Emperors.
From a distance, the black egg resembled a small meteorite. Pointed at the top and rounded at the bottom, it was egg-shaped overall, its shell covered in a thick layer of black, spiked rock.
Zhang Fan felt a flicker of excitement as he watched the two ships tow the Titan Egg over. This could certainly be considered the Insect Race's experimental "planet-destroying weapon."
As for its power, Zhang Fan could hardly wait to see it.
The two Emperors launched the Titan Egg toward Green Vine Star. The flames it generated as it scraped through the planet's atmosphere were bright enough to illuminate the surrounding Insect Race fleet in space.
The instant the Titan Egg struck Green Vine Star's surface, a ring of dust spread outward from the impact point.
In the blink of an eye, the dust ring had spread across the entire planet. The Titan Egg plunged deep into Green Vine Star's core.
Then it began cracking rapidly. Countless vines burst through its shell, and purple-green tendrils swiftly spread across all of Green Vine Star.
Countless small spacecraft rose from Green Vine Star. Their occupants thought they were the lucky ones who had escaped its clutches, unaware that another merciless Insect Race army awaited them.
A satisfied smile appeared on Zhang Fan's face aboard the Emperor. "How many Titan Eggs do we have?"
Duolar shook his head. "Titan reproduces very slowly. We have none left at the moment. However, Titan's parasitic fungi can supply it with energy. We can plant large quantities of them on nearby planets that support life."
"I'll leave that to you. Livina... lead the fleet and continue clearing the nearby star systems. I'm going down to modify my body."
Zhang Fan was deeply dissatisfied with his current body. The spiked shell he had believed to be incredibly tough had been easily sliced apart by Noya's sword energy.
"By the way, how is the research on those metals we brought back from Second Earth coming along?"
Matriarch Kara reported, "We've finished studying them. The high-strength chromium-bismuth alloy is extremely hard and corrosion-resistant. Our Insect Race's corrosive fluid has no effect on it whatsoever. After impact and cutting tests, we've found that only Parasitic Tick can cut it."
"Parasitic Tick?" Zhang Fan asked curiously.
Kara explained, "Everything has its counter. Parasitic Tick's mouthparts contain a decomposing enzyme. It originally evolved to paralyze hosts, but unexpectedly, it can also soften chromium-bismuth alloy."
"Use the chromium-bismuth alloy to make Noya a suit of armor and a shield. That little thing has plenty of offensive power, but not enough defense."
Livina suddenly spoke up from beside him. "Overlord, aren't you treating Noya a little too well?"
"Am I?"
Zhang Fan smiled faintly and answered his own question. "Perhaps I am. Maybe it's because my human emotions have had no outlet for the past few hundred years. I'll treat all of you the same way."
Livina watched Zhang Fan enter the modification chamber, then glanced at Noya, who stood guard beside him. A strange expression flickered across her face. She turned and left to begin clearing the surrounding star systems.
For this round of modifications, Zhang Fan selected the finest genes from various races. Still, he chose to use the original Carbon-Silicon Worm genes as his foundation. After all, their genes were highly adaptable.
When considering whether to add human genes, Zhang Fan ultimately decided against it. Humans were far too fragile in certain respects, and for the person he was now, some things were better left as memories!
After three months of modifications, Zhang Fan's new body began to take shape. He stood roughly three meters tall, his face covered in hard armor and bearing six compound eyes. He had a tiger's torso, dragon claws, two pairs of bony wings on his back, two feet, and four hands. His primary hands were five-fingered claws, while his secondary pair incorporated Noya's sword blades.
His outward appearance had not changed much. This time, Zhang Fan focused more on his internal abilities, adding venom glands, corrosive-fluid glands, and air sacs, while strengthening the Yate magic genes.
He removed the magic energy and Ice Blue Dragon cannon, because the magic he could control through the Yate people's genes already far surpassed the power of both.
The Western Universe's most powerful individual member of the Insect Race had been born. Unbeknownst to Zhang Fan, these modifications had already placed him among the Western Universe's strongest beings. What awaited him, however, were threats from even more powerful enemies.
"Overlord, we've received a signal from the Golden Frog Trade Ship fleet!"
"What? They want to trade with us again already? Lador, prepare some more Insect Fungi and Emperors."
Lador reported, "The Golden Frog Trade Ship fleet wants to invite us to attend... the Universal Combat Auction!"
"A combat auction?" After a moment's thought, Zhang Fan said, "Let's go take a look. It's time we greeted our friends out in the universe."
Before you continue