Tactical kiting

Still finding it hard to believe that the Swarm could maintain such precise coordination, Chloe asked in her mind, "Hive Mind, are you helping me command them?"

"Yes, Executor. To better carry out your orders, I have unified the thoughts of the Swarm army and coordinated their movements." The Hive Mind's voice was devoid of emotion, stating this as a matter of course.

"I didn't realize you were so capable. In that case, can I leave the coming battle to you?" With such a capable assistant available, Chloe was happy to hand over command. Though she had some theoretical knowledge, her lack of experience was still obvious.

"My deepest apologies, Executor. I cannot perform the work you have entrusted to me. I am merely an auxiliary function of the Swarm and cannot make decisions." Seeing Chloe's confusion, the Hive Mind continued its explanation.

"A Swarm generally consists of two supreme consciousnesses. One is an auxiliary consciousness called the Hive Mind, whose job is to handle the Swarm's daily operations. The other is a decision-making consciousness that determines the direction of the Swarm's development. They differ from one another, each with their own characteristics. They may be Queens, Infestors, Cerebrates, and so on."

"However, they must all be authorized by the Overmind. We also call these individuals authorized by the Overmind to command the Swarm Executors."

After hearing the Hive Mind's explanation, Chloe had another question. "There's still something I don't understand. In the consciousness the Overmind left me, I saw the battle memories of those... Executors. The battlefields and enemies they faced were far larger and more complex than mine. Did they really command all of that by themselves?"

"Of course not. Beneath the Executors are node consciousnesses, and almost all the details of the Swarm's operations are handled by the Hive Mind on their behalf. But that requires a high-level Hive Mind. I am only level 2 at present and do not have such powerful support functions."

Letting out a long sigh, Chloe understood more and more why the Hatchery was the core of the Swarm. Unfortunately, because the Overmind was asleep, Chloe did not have permission to upgrade the Hatchery further.

She could only hope the Overmind would awaken soon.

While Chloe and the Hive Mind communicated in the mental realm, the Swarm army had already punched through the Beast Horde on the left flank. A small force of roughly three thousand beasts had been cut off, which was precisely why Chloe had chosen to attack the left flank.

The Swarm army swiftly changed formation, taking a defensive stance on the side facing the main force of the Beast Horde and attacking toward the smaller force. They had created a local numerical advantage.

Just as this advantage took shape, the virtual battlefield in Chloe's Swarm Network changed. The second force, forty thousand beasts beside those on the left flank, was turning toward the Swarm army's flank. Among this second force was a powerful psionic entity that made Chloe wary.

Unfortunately for the Beast Horde, though they reacted quickly, the Swarm was faster. Seven thousand Swarm creatures charging three thousand beasts with superior numbers produced an overwhelming result.

On the virtual battlefield in the Swarm Network, Chloe traced four attack routes with both hands, and the Swarm immediately split into four forces. Once again, Zerglings formed the vanguard, with Needle Crawlers providing support.

Only this time, they moved to encircle and annihilate rather than punch through and break out.

Seen from above, the three thousand beasts resembled a multicolored cake, while the Swarm was like a black chainsaw, swiftly cutting the cake into pieces, devouring and eating it.

Of course, the Beast Horde was not entirely helpless. The horns and hooves of wild beasts, along with the psionics and physical strength of magical beasts, could threaten the Swarm army and inflict casualties.

In the end, after losing another two thousand creatures, the Swarm army completely annihilated the three thousand members of the Beast Horde. This was a battle of annihilation fought after breaking into the enemy formation, with enemies in front and behind.

Because of its enormous size, the second force of the Beast Horde could not turn very nimbly. By the time they reached the battlefield, the remaining five thousand Swarm creatures had long since disengaged and retreated deep into the creep.

In this probing attack, the outnumbered Swarm had charged a numerically superior Beast Horde. After inflicting nearly twelve thousand casualties on the Beast Horde, half the Swarm had still managed to withdraw.

The results were nothing short of astonishing.

Most importantly, the Beast Tide's left flank had been fully drawn into motion, with roughly sixty thousand members of the Beast Horde pursuing five thousand Swarm creatures.

With the creep's stimulant boost, the Swarm should have quickly shaken off the pursuing Beast Horde. But Chloe deliberately held their speed in check, keeping the Beast Horde behind them just close enough to continue the chase.

This method, too, was something she had learned from the memories. It was called tactical kiting.

Tactical kiting was not without its cost. Among tens of thousands of members of the Beast Horde, there were always some exceptionally powerful high-level magical beasts. Their mastery of psionics had reached extraordinary heights, allowing them to inflict some casualties on the Swarm even across enormous distances.

A massive fireball hurtled toward them like an artillery shell. Unified through the Swarm Network, the Swarm army immediately responded. The Zergling targeted by the fireball stopped at once, while the Swarm creatures running around it immediately gave it space and circled past.

The fireball struck the ground, raising a small mushroom cloud amid the Swarm. The shock wave and the noise made it sound as though considerable destruction had been wrought.

The high-level magical beast using psionics might have thought it had achieved a decent result, but Chloe and the Swarm knew that the seemingly tremendous explosion had killed only two or three Zerglings.

Paying a small price to tie down so many members of the Beast Horde was still worthwhile. The Beast Horde had been divided into two forces, with a great distance separating them.

Kite and split the enemy, then isolate and eliminate them bit by bit. Chloe was quick to grasp the idea.

The Swarm army, numbering close to five thousand, lured the sixty thousand members of the Beast Horde behind them to a defensive position formed by four Creep Tumors.

The original twenty-five hundred enhanced Zerglings had long been waiting there.

Chloe stripped Ymir and the others of their command authority. On a battlefield like this, the human knights were as worthless as dust.

Communication with the knights through the degraded Neural Thorns went quite smoothly. When Chloe projected the sight of tens of thousands of the Beast Horde charging into their minds, even Ymir, the bravest of them, was so frightened that his legs went weak.

All the humans were now hiding in the crude camp, trembling.

To Chloe's surprise, however, Stars proposed another plan: she wanted to join the battle. When she conveyed her idea, not only the knights but Chloe as well looked at her as though she were a monster.

These feelings showed very clearly in the Swarm Network. Those who had only just joined the network had not learned to hide their thoughts at all. Stars was telling the truth; this was what she thought and wanted.

But the enemy was a frenzied Beast Horde of well over a hundred thousand beasts, with magical beasts and high-level wild beasts everywhere among them.

This was a force that could make every human nation tremble. Avoiding such a battle was a matter of human survival instinct, yet Stars actually wanted to take part.