First clash

Besides hatching large numbers of the Swarm inside the Hatchery, Chloe also channeled powerful bioenergy through the Creep into every Creep Tumor, accelerating their evolution.

Limited by the Hatchery's low level, Chloe could not upgrade the Creep Tumors into that powerful forest of tubes. But she could still make them grow thick tentacles covered in sharp bone spikes within a short time.

Given the Creep Tumors' enormous size, simply swinging their massive, bone-spiked tentacles was enough to inflict terrifying damage.

Chloe's preliminary plan was to build defensive works around the Creep Tumors as strongpoints, resisting the Beast Tide's onslaught layer by layer. Through these defenses, she would gradually whittle down the Beast Horde's numbers.

The next step was to strengthen the Creep. The Creep had always been the Swarm's technological marvel, and fighting on it would multiply the Swarm's strength.

First, the Creep could release stimulant-like chemicals that greatly increased Swarm units' movement speed, attack speed, and stamina recovery.

Second, the Creep could transport energy and nutrients, allowing the Swarm units at her disposal to replenish their energy easily while on it, further enhancing the Swarm's already powerful regenerative abilities.

Third, the viscous liquid on the Creep helped the Swarm, but posed an enormous problem for enemies. Without the Swarm's special pheromones, enemies would find the viscous liquid sticking to their bodies and quickly hardening. The increasingly heavy masses of hardened slime would make even moving more and more difficult.

If the Swarm had units skilled in gene editing, they could also imbue this slime with toxins, inflicting corrosive damage on enemies that stepped onto the Creep.

Activating the Creep's various abilities consumed vast amounts of energy, so it normally maintained these three abilities at only the lowest level.

Now Chloe used the vast reserves of energy she had accumulated earlier to activate every one of the Creep's abilities to its maximum. The magical beasts would soon discover just how terrifyingly lethal the ordinary-looking Creep beneath their feet could be.

Just as Chloe finished her initial preparations, the first wave at the very front of the Beast Tide had already charged deep into the Creep. Three Creep Tumors that had just finished evolving were instantly surrounded by tens of thousands of beasts.

Of course, this did not mean three Creep Tumors could stop the Beast Horde. After leaving several hundred magical beasts and several thousand wild beasts before each Creep Tumor, the Beast Tide continued running deeper into the Creep.

Thick, enormous tentacles covered in spikes swept toward the Beast Horde before them with tremendous force and speed. Like a heavy sword that needed no edge, or supreme skill that needed no finesse, they inflicted damage through sheer size and strength. The tightly packed Beast Horde had no room to dodge, and more than a dozen were instantly smashed to death.

When the spiked tentacles rose again, all that remained on the Creep was a mangled mess of flesh and blood of every color. The magical beasts unleashed their Psionics, striking the enormous Creep Tumors with all manner of lightning, flame, and frost.

Their enormous size meant thicker carapaces and a much greater capacity to absorb damage. Those psionic attacks appeared to inflict considerable damage on the Creep Tumors, with some wounds deep enough to expose bone and red blood pouring freely from them.

But the Creep Tumors remained standing, and their attacks grew even more savage. The three spiked tentacles on each Creep Tumor lashed at the Beast Horde with greater fury, unleashing another bloody slaughter.

For the moment, the battle reached a stalemate.

Diverted by the three Creep Tumors, the enormous mass of beasts split into four streams, each numbering roughly thirty to forty thousand. Through information shared over the Swarm Network, an approximate count of the Beast Tide had been established: around a hundred and fifty thousand in total.

Ordinary wild beasts without Psionics made up the largest portion, numbering around a hundred thousand; magical beasts with Psionics numbered around fifty thousand, including five thousand High-Level Magical Beasts.

What surprised Chloe was that even more powerful beings existed among the High-Level Magical Beasts. Lacking sightings and intelligence, Chloe still did not know what they were. She could only sense that these three powerful psionic entities exerted tremendous pressure.

The rapidly hatched Swarm army raced along under Chloe's command. The Creep's stimulants doubled every Zerg unit's movement speed, far surpassing that of the Beast Tide.

"Speed is one of the most critical factors in deciding victory or defeat in war," Chloe murmured, repeating words she had learned from the Swarm's war memories.

Zerglings formed the vanguard, with Needle Crawlers providing supporting fire. An army of ten thousand Swarm units appeared like ghosts on the Beast Tide's left flank. Before the Beast Tide could react, the black Swarm cut into it like a black sword piercing flesh.

The black sword's edge was drenched in blood. Corpses formed a strip separating the Swarm army from the Beast Tide. In this brief clash of only a few minutes, both sides paid a heavy price.

The Swarm lost roughly two thousand units, while the Beast Tide suffered over six thousand casualties.

Chloe's mind briefly froze as she commanded the Swarm. She had never expected this result: a single strike had nearly crippled the Beast Tide's left flank.

The Swarm's numbers had grown so immense that detailed command was no longer possible.

So her command was extremely simple and blunt: she drew a line on the virtual battlefield formed by the Swarm Network.

Yet the results far exceeded her expectations.

The details of the battle began rapidly replaying in her mind through the Swarm Network.

First, the Swarm formed an arrowhead formation, with Zerglings holding their bone blades level around the outside and Needle Crawlers with fully charged needle sacs within.

The Swarm army chose an angle with the light behind them and charged down a high slope. The Beast Tide was running, and the Swarm was charging at full speed. Their combined speed was immense, and the two sides collided in the blink of an eye.

The Zerglings in the front ranks were physically somewhat weaker than the beasts in the Beast Tide, but they still inflicted damage with their bone blades before being rammed to death.

Protected within the Zergling ranks, the Needle Crawlers abruptly released the needle sacs on their backs. Steel needles charged to their utmost limit blasted out like buckshot, instantly inflicting terrifying damage on the Beast Horde.

After discharging their stored power, the first rank of Needle Crawlers quickly fell back. The second rank swiftly took their place and fired another volley. Repeating this in succession, they shot their way through the Beast Tide.

The surrounding magical beasts refused to be outdone, gathering their Psionics to bombard the Swarm with concentrated attacks.

The Swarm remained unmoved by the damage. Those unable to run and fight left the battle line and plunged into the Beast Tide to create chaos. Other unharmed units filled the gaps, keeping the formation intact.

Whenever a magical beast using Psionics inflicted casualties, the Needle Crawlers within the Swarm's lines concentrated their fire on it and shot it dead.

Steel needles and Psionics interwove, dealing death to each other and trading casualties. The magical beasts, which should have been a disorganized mob, were just as tenacious and resolute as the Swarm at that moment.

Chloe swallowed. Human armies could never reach such a level.

Even setting aside the Swarm, the fighting spirit displayed by the magical beasts was astonishing.

Unfortunately for them, they had encountered the Swarm, as precise and cold as machinery.