"Please continue with the other two. Doom wants to know what you think."
Doctor Doom nodded. Their chosen route this time would not pass through Annihilation Swarm territory, so a basic understanding would suffice.
"That's true. Although the Annihilation Swarm King is powerful, as long as we don't invade its territory, it's already too busy fighting other Broodminds." Su Ming pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and gently blew out a smoke ring. "The second type is the Extermination Swarm. They're more like bees—they enjoy construction and expansion, and the Hive Queen rules them."
"Bees again?" Susan looked like her soul had left her body. Just thinking about the photos of the hive inside Earth was enough to make her trypophobia flare up again.
Su Ming shrugged. The bugs in the Negative Zone were not his doing. If anyone was to blame, it was the Tayanans. Their spores had eventually evolved into these things.
"Actually, the Extermination Swarm is the mildest of the three Zerg factions. Even their expansion is cyclical. Their greatest hobby is building hive towers, digging hive tunnels, and carrying out planetary infrastructure projects. Only when the planets they currently control have been built full do they launch expansion wars, claiming territory outward in ever-widening circles."
They were called the Extermination Swarm because these bugs were actually quite environmentally friendly. Even in war, they only killed people and did not blow up planets.
The Mercenary flicked away some ash and crossed one leg over the other.
"But the Extermination Hive Queen is an extremely powerful Psionic. All worker bees and soldier bees have no self-awareness; they are tools and weapons remotely controlled by her. If we fight them, we need to be prepared for a prolonged war."
Just as Batwoman's classic expression was a downturned mouth, Doctor