The Storm Dragonhawk flew down from the sky. Its golden, slit-pupiled eyes swept over the enormous beast horde for only a moment before it found its target.
It turned gracefully into a glide and landed precisely in front of its target.
Seeing that it had been discovered, the Frost Serpent stopped hiding. It reared up and looked at the Storm Dragonhawk.
Psionics enveloped the two Legendary Beasts.
"The big guy fought a fierce battle over there and wiped out quite a few little bugs. But plenty of them still escaped. These little bugs are tougher than we imagined."
The Storm Dragonhawk, represented by green, spoke within the psionic construct.
"I told you we needed to be careful and observe more. The big guy's head is full of muscle. He charged in as soon as he saw bugs, and walked right into an ambush, didn't he? I knew those fleeing bugs were bait, trying to split us up."
Flicking its tongue, the Frost Serpent spoke in a very displeased tone.
"It's a pity you didn't see how terrifying those bugs were for yourself. You were absolutely right. Those bugs are extremely difficult to deal with. Even after losing half their bodies, they could still attack. If we couldn't suppress the horde's fear, the beasts would never have beaten them."
The Storm Dragonhawk's golden, slit-pupiled eyes revealed its deep wariness of the Swarm.
"I can imagine. Anything powerful enough to plunge the Death Forest into bloodshed certainly wouldn't be easy to deal with. How's the big guy? Was he hurt?"
Something like a smile appeared on the Frost Serpent's face. It greatly enjoyed having its wisdom acknowledged.
"Some superficial injuries, but the results were pretty good. He destroyed quite a few of those tall towers and nearly half the bugs. At first, the bugs tried to surround and devour them, but then they discovered the big guy could really fight, and they were far fewer in number than us. Once they realized they couldn't win, they ran."
The Storm Dragonhawk tried to gesture with its wings, found it too difficult, and gave up.
"Hmm, that's a rare piece of good news. But we can't let our guard down until those bugs are completely wiped out. Their nests must be somewhere deep within this slime."
Nodding its serpentine head, the Frost Serpent was also very satisfied with the results.
"Exactly, exactly. I think they're a lot like ants, or bees. Maybe they're giant mutated ants. If we find their nest and kill their broodmother, they're finished."
The Storm Dragonhawk flapped its wings excitedly.
"Then we'll have to rely on you to scout. Of the three of us, only you can fly high and see far. Without your help, we certainly couldn't win."
The Frost Serpent flattered it.
"Of course. I am the embodiment of the storm. Nothing can catch the storm or defeat it."
Clearly pleased by the flattery, the Storm Dragonhawk beat its wings and flew high into the sky.
"I'm off to scout, then. You fellows who can only use your feet can take your time crawling along the ground."
With that, the Storm Dragonhawk vanished amid a gale.
There were other flying magical beasts among the High-Level Magical Beasts, but very few had considerable combat strength. The Frost Serpent was extremely reluctant to suffer any losses among them, so it had kept them hidden deep within the horde.
That conceited dragonhawk was handling the scouting anyway. It probably wouldn't get itself killed.
As for the sea of slime before it, that could only be dealt with the crude way: burning it dry with Psionics.
The Frost Serpent actually had another method: using its own magic to freeze all the slime. But that would consume too much of its strength.
What if it exhausted itself and those cunning bugs came after it? Its life was far more precious than those of the other magical beasts.
Watching combat bugs emerge from the Hatchery one after another, Chloe was very satisfied. In just two hours, the Swarm army had been replenished to 24,000.
She commanded the main force of 20,000, while Stars commanded the remaining 4,000. Out of wariness toward Stars, she had included no Enhanced Zerglings in the reinforcements assigned to her this time.
If Stars asked, she had a ready explanation: the reserve eggs had never been prepared for enhanced units, and enhanced units were not very cost-effective anyway.
Fortunately, Stars knew how to read the situation and asked nothing.
The Swarm Network projected an image into Chloe's mind. Something had changed within the beast horde held back by the Swarm's slime.
Some magical beasts with special powers had begun burning away swathes of Creep with flames.
Chloe could no longer smile. Although the Creep's functions were exceptionally powerful, it was not without weaknesses. It was fragile, and particularly vulnerable to fire.
Casualties among the Swarm would not damage its foundations, but destroying the Creep dealt effective damage to the Swarm.
She had originally intended to use the Creep to wear down more of the horde's stamina. Now that no longer seemed possible. She would have to take the initiative and attack.
The Swarm army began moving. Beneath the Hatchery lay a transport network that extended in every direction like a spiderweb. Not only could it accommodate over 20,000 combat bugs, it could handle another 20,000 just as easily.
Soon, the Swarm army had followed the underground passages to positions around the 80,000-strong beast horde. Beyond the beasts' scouting range, several patches of Creep collapsed, exposing dark, damp tunnel openings.
The Swarm army swiftly emerged onto the surface through the openings, formed ranks, and completed its assembly.
It took only a little over ten minutes from leaving the tunnels to assembling. With such rapid organization, even if the beasts had detected them, they would not have been able to mount an effective interception.
Around two hundred High-Level Magical Beasts in the horde could release flames to burn the Creep. Taking turns, they had already cleared a large area.
The magical beasts and ordinary beasts trapped by hardened slime had all moved onto the open ground free of Creep and begun slowly removing the hardened lumps from their bodies.
The cleared ground now held ten to twenty thousand beasts. The magical beasts' flames were quite efficient at clearing Creep.
The Swarm army was divided into four square formations. Chloe planned to launch a surprise attack aimed directly at those two hundred High-Level Magical Beasts, kill them, and then retreat. She had also considered the cost: there were still plenty of eggs beneath the Hatchery.
But just as Chloe placed her hand on the map, ready to draw a beautiful line of attack, a message from Stars interrupted her.
"Honored Executor, we need not take such a risk. Just like the horde that fought us earlier, this larger horde may also have Mythical Beasts controlling it."
Stars paused to organize her words, then continued, "Fighting outside the Creep prevents the Swarm from bringing its full combat strength to bear. Without support from the Creep Tumors either, the Swarm's losses could be considerable. So I have an idea that could avoid this predicament."
"Of course, all of this is merely my suggestion. You are the Executor who carries out the Overmind's will. I will obey your orders completely." Stars's tone was both deferential and humble.
Since the fighting began, Stars had offered many suggestions, and every one had been excellent. Chloe had agreed to them all.
But her performance was simply too outstanding. Chloe now understood why her father had told her that an overly capable subordinate could also be a source of trouble.
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