Although Zhang Fan had his reservations about Domina's words, he had already witnessed her power. Her body, no larger than a grain of rice, could actually control the Moon Ape People aboard hundreds of warships.
That was far beyond Zhang Fan's reach. From his beginnings as Carbon-Silicon Worms to the hundreds of trillions of Insect Race creatures he commanded now, he still needed the {Matriarch}'s assistance. Nor could he control other creatures without having the Insect Race parasitize them.
If Princess Domina were a river of consciousness, Zhang Fan was merely a tiny tributary branching off that mighty river.
"Hahaha, Princess Domina, you really are impressive. One move from you, and those troublesome monkeys were dealt with."
"Overlord, we should count as having the same origin, so there's no need to stand on ceremony. Friends should help each other."
"Hahaha, true enough. Princess, come take a look at your new body first."
Having a powerful friend was better than making an enemy of her. Wasn't the strength of friends exactly what Zhang Fan needed right now?
Perhaps the Insect Race had been alone in the universe for so long that it had forgotten the importance of friends. Domina's arrival seemed to have rekindled a little of that feeling of friendship in Zhang Fan's consciousness.
{Insectified Domina} was an Insect Race body hatched using Domina's original form as a model. It had her face and pointed ears, and retained her pale blue scales. The entire body was based on a {Venom Bee}, and its wasp-like shape and slender waist also suited Krami aesthetics.
Two pairs of antennae on her head enhanced her Kelami mental control abilities. Two additional pairs of thin wings on her back allowed her to fly for brief periods, while a forked tail carried electric insect genes and could generate powerful currents as a means of defense.
The extremely hard carapace covering various parts of her body was both attractive and practical. The spikes and venom glands had been removed, however, since Princess Domina seemed quite repulsed by those two features.
{Insectified Domina} also stood two meters tall, about the same size as Noya. To the Krami People, that height made her practically a giant.
Domina emerged from the enormous egg and cried out excitedly, "I love it..."
"As long as you like it, Princess!"
Domina clapped her hands, and a two-headed wolf was brought before Zhang Fan. Its left head was white and its right head crimson, with a lion's body, a snake's tail, and wings on its back. Red and white mingled across its body. Even from several meters away, Zhang Fan seemed to feel a wave of heat.
"This is..."
"I don't know. A trade fleet caught it in a fringe star system. It's very powerful-it can breathe fire and blast ice, and it's difficult to control. The Krami only need ten people to control an {Emperor}, but this thing takes twenty priests. Pretty powerful, right?"
Zhang Fan bowed to Princess Domina. "You're too generous, Princess. I couldn't possibly accept such a valuable gift."
"It's fine. It's yours. Aren't you going to help me fight a war? Oh, right, does the Insect Race have any other good things? Let me take a few too."
Zhang Fan personally showed Domina around the Insect Race army. Looking somewhat disappointed, Princess Domina said, "The {Overlord Beasts} are too weak in combat. They're not even as good as Dodomo Beasts. The {Qi Mantises} are only average too, still a little inferior to Kadel Beasts. The Insect Race's advantage is its numbers, but its individual strength still needs improvement."
"Hahaha, I'll certainly take your advice seriously, Princess. Is this force enough to deal with the Nine Clouds Star System?"
Domina fell silent for a moment before saying, "It should be enough. I'm sure your Insect Race is still hiding most of its strength, Overlord."
"Hahaha, you think too highly of me, Princess."
Domina thought for a moment, then said, "Oh, right, I've spoken to the Western Realm Great Emperor. The Insect Race's star domain is now an ally of us Kelami too, and he's agreed to look after you."
Zhang Fan hurriedly said, "Then thank you, Princess Domina. It seems I won't have the face to return unless I wipe the Nine Clouds Star System clean."
"Hahaha, I won't keep you any longer, Overlord. I'll be waiting in the Northern Universe for your good news."
After seeing off Princess Domina and her fleet, Zhang Fan led the Insect Race army on its expedition to conquer the Nine Clouds Star System.
Zhang Fan asked {Matriarch} Shusha, "There's no problem with what I asked you to do, is there? That princess doesn't seem so easy to handle. I tried just now, and I can no longer establish a connection with those twenty {Emperors}."
Shusha smiled. "Rest assured, Overlord. Your consciousness has been concealed beneath three layers of recessive genes. Unless she unlocks all three sets at once, there's no way she can discover it. Moreover, your consciousness exists in the deepest subconscious layers of the Insect Transformation body's cells. As long as she uses that body, she remains under your control."
Zhang Fan nodded. "To put it in her words, as long as she doesn't set her sights on my Insect Race or Second Earth, I have no need to offend a powerful enemy."
The Insect Race army traveled through the universe like a swarm of locusts. Any planet it encountered was ruthlessly destroyed to expand its forces.
Even with warp jumps all along the way, reaching the border of the Southern Universe took nearly two hundred years. Looking at the vast starry expanse behind him, Zhang Fan sighed. "Five hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye. These three thousand years aren't enough."
Beside him, Shusha tallied their forces. "At present, our Insect Race has one hundred thousand {Emperors}, ten million {Heavy Overlord Beasts}, one hundred million {Overlord Beasts}, six hundred billion {Enhanced Super Six-Eyes}, and one hundred sixty trillion {Super Six-Eyes}. The remaining ground forces can only be counted in trillions."
"We're hundreds of times stronger than when we set out. That's a good rate of growth, but I keep feeling something isn't right. Princess Domina is so powerful, yet she still sent us to deal with the Nine Clouds Star System. You should do more research and proceed carefully."
{Matriarch} Yawei reported, "Overlord, we're less than ten thousand light-years from the Nine Clouds Star System."
"Have all the Insect Race search nearby for planets where we can plant {Titans}. Establish a forward camp at this distance, and send a few scattered {Venom Bees} to scout the Nine Clouds Star System. If they're discovered, they needn't come back."
The Insect Race began establishing a temporary forward base roughly ten thousand light-years from the Nine Clouds Star System. But before Zhang Fan had even sent out the {Venom Bees}, the Nine Clouds Star System already knew of their arrival.
The Nine Clouds Star System... its central planet... Proud Sun Star.
The ruler of the Nine Clouds Star System, the Proud Sun King, held a golden spear as he sat high upon the Radiant Sun Throne.
He surveyed the tens of thousands of planetary administrators from across Nine Clouds seated below him and asked with an air of imposing authority, "Our outer scouts have reported that an enormous unidentified fleet is gradually expanding through the star region ten thousand light-years beyond Nine Clouds. Tell me your views."
Kaqi, administrator of Pianyang Star, said, "Your Majesty, this fleet may simply have strayed into the Nine Clouds Star System. I suggest we send an envoy."
The administrator of Xieyang Star immediately objected. "We must not, Your Majesty. These ugly creatures began plundering nearby planets as soon as they arrived. We cannot let them off lightly. I suggest sending an army to drive them away."
The administrator of Chiyun Star laughed. "Administrator Li, evil must be rooted out completely. If we act, we should exterminate them to the last. Would driving away such savage, ugly creatures do any good?"
Lan, administrator of Hunting Cloud Star, stepped forward and bowed. "Your Majesty, I agree with Lord Kaqi. These creatures are vast in number, and perhaps they merely strayed into our territory. Though we do not fear their army, there is no need to wage a war that could be avoided entirely."
The Proud Sun King remained silent for a moment, then said, "Bring the Star Seer before me..."
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