Surprise attack

A sharp surge of pain jolted Zhang Han in his sleep, rousing his consciousness from deep slumber.

He had just gathered a little focus, intending to observe the situation outside through the Swarm around him.

A longsword glowing blue came slashing down, followed immediately by another stab of pain. This time, Zhang Han woke completely. When he saw what was happening before him, he was so shocked that he wondered whether he was still dreaming.

More than a dozen medieval knights in full plate armor were surrounding and attacking the Swarm protecting him. All four Zerglings were wounded. That blue-glowing sword strike had just severed a Zergling's forelimb.

The intense pain had come through that Zergling's neural link.

With no time to figure out why this was happening, Zhang Han immediately pulled himself together and began commanding the Swarm. Under his command, the four Zerglings, each surrounded separately, quickly gathered together. The lone Roach moved up front, shielding the Zerglings behind its body.

The Roach's thick hide and powerful regeneration allowed it to withstand the hacking blades for the moment. Fortunately, the nest was tucked away, making it difficult for the enemy to exploit their numerical advantage. Three burly knights tried to ram past the Roach and charge inside, but the Roach stepped back with their momentum. The three men hit nothing but air, lost their balance, and fell to the ground.

The Roach was a heavily armored, medium-range damage-dealing unit with high regeneration and health.

The Zerglings immediately rushed forward, attacking and biting at the gaps in the plate armor. The other knights tried to rush over to help, but the Roach blocked them with its body and acid. Medieval plate armor was, of course, no match for Zergling claws, which had evolved specifically to tear through individual exoskeletons of the interstellar age.

In the human knights' understanding, three fully armed knights, as well protected as tin cans, should have been able to hold out for quite some time. Yet in barely a dozen seconds, the three fallen knights were torn to pieces. Even the Zergling that had lost a claw had barely lost any fighting strength.

Looking at the blood-drenched magical beasts, Ymir muttered to himself, "These magical beasts are true monsters. Even the most frenzied magical beasts I've ever seen weren't like this. They seem born purely to kill."

If just these few magical beasts were already so difficult to handle, the ambush force stationed in the rear would be under enormous pressure and probably would not last long. They had to break through as quickly as possible.

"Mages, use your power to blast that guarding beetle beast out of the way. High-ranking knights, prepare yourselves. Once the mages succeed, charge in with me," Ymir ordered loudly.

"Mages, control your strength. Don't hurt what's inside," Chloe ordered from the rear.

Zhang Han ordered the Swarm still transporting prey to return immediately. Caught between attacks from the front and rear, these humans would crumble. But a group of knights had also blocked the returning Swarm, using simple logs to build a fence-like defensive barrier.

It seemed this attack was no accident, but had been planned for a long time.

Fortunately, the humans blocking the reinforcements were inferior in both numbers and quality to those assaulting the nest. Using their tremendous jumping power, the Zerglings soon leaped onto the fence and clashed with the human knights. The Roaches corroded the fence with acid, opening a path for the Hydralisks. Each of the Hydralisks' steel needles could pierce a knight, inflicting the heaviest casualties on the humans.

As long as his side held out a little longer, reinforcements would arrive. Looking at the Roach, half its carapace nearly hacked to pieces, Zhang Han could only hope its formidable regeneration would let it hold on a little longer.

Then he noticed that the humans who had been attacking fiercely suddenly retreated. Next, two strangely dressed humans gestured at the Roach with the wooden sticks in their hands.

Two blue energy balls appeared out of thin air and hurtled toward the Roach. Shocked, Zhang Han immediately ordered it to dodge. But the energy balls flew so fast that the Roach had only begun to move before it was blasted away.

A third of the Roach's body was scorched black by the energy balls. It struggled to stand but failed. After all, with injuries that severe, it was fortunate just to be alive.

The remaining human knights seized the opening and charged inside, splitting into two groups. One surrounded the Zerglings, while the other charged toward Zhang Han's cocoon.

The tension of the crisis spread from Zhang Han's mind throughout the entire Swarm.

Outside the Hatchery, the blocked Swarm stopped engaging the enemies before them. Willing to be slashed or killed if it meant breaking through the defensive line, they burst through the human blockade. A Hydralisk ruptured one of its own needle sacs, sending countless steel needles spraying like buckshot into the makeshift fortifications and blasting open a gap. Then every Zerg unit raced toward the nest as if crazed.

Inside the Hatchery, the surrounded Zerglings abandoned all order in their attacks. They hurled their bodies into swords, overwhelming the knights blocking them with reckless attacks and allowing the strongest Zergling to leap free.

Ymir roared, "Your Highness, hurry and synchronize mentally with the magical beast! These beasts are stronger than we expected. Once their reinforcements get back, it'll all be over!"

With that, he and two high-ranking knights drew their longswords and slashed through the air at the charging Zergling.

Green light shimmered on the three longswords, then took solid form and sealed off every path the Zergling could take.

To Ymir's astonishment, the magical beast, which should have been shredded by the high-ranking knights' sword light, avoided most of the damage with uncanny maneuverability. It lost only half its tail and one claw.

As he and the knights prepared to slash again, the magical beast kicked up a cloud of dust with its claws, then pounced on him under its cover and knocked him to the ground.

Its gaping, bloody maw snapped toward his head. He could already smell the blood in its mouth. Just as Ymir thought he was certain to die, the magical beast stopped moving, as though frozen by magic.

Wiping away the beast's saliva dripping onto his face, Ymir turned and saw that the princess's hand, glowing blue-violet, was already pressed against that hideous giant egg.

That had been close.

The surrounding magical beasts all seemed to have stopped moving, and the human knights did not dare act either. Some of the bolder ones tried to come over to help Ymir, but he stopped them.

"Everyone, stay quiet. Don't move, and don't provoke the magical beasts. Trust the princess," Ymir said, lying on the ground.

With her eyes closed and her brow furrowed, Chloe kept concentrating her mental power, communicating with what she believed to be a high-level magical beast.

"Powerful being, I mean you no harm. I won't hurt you. You're safe now. Please calm down and quell your anger." A mental message Zhang Han could understand entered his consciousness.

Experiencing this for the first time, Zhang Han involuntarily asked, "Who are you?"

Wild joy filled Chloe's heart. She had received a response from the magical beast! If it had been a beast without awakened intelligence, incapable of communication, everything would have been over.

She controlled her emotions to keep from losing her composure. When forming a Mental Contract with a magical beast, a calm, warm, approachable mental state was best.

"My name is Keluosi Nuomannuofu. I'm your best companion and friend." After considering her words, the princess sent a friendly message.