Psionics Shock

"Let's hear it." Although Chloe intended to suppress Stars, the Swarm Network had a memory, and she did not want any poor conduct of hers recorded for the Overmind to see.

That was completely unacceptable to Chloe, so however unwilling she felt, she still did not dare suppress useful contributions from Stars.

"My suggestion is to activate Psionics Resonance. Our connection to the Swarm Network allows us to connect to and use the Swarm's mental power. For psionics, mental power is what matters most. The Swarm's vast, coordinated mental power is our greatest strength."

Stars's voice grew both excited and low.

"A mind pushed to its utmost will warp reality. Use a violent Psionics Shock to tear apart those beasts that dare offend the great Swarm."

Chloe had indeed considered using the Swarm Network's mental power to launch an energy blast. But that was easier said than done.

Using psionics was inherently fraught with risk. It meant using one's own mental power to influence reality, producing effects such as explosions, defense, and flight.

It sounded simple, and in theory, anyone could master psionics, but in reality, those who could wield it remained few and far between.

Every year at the mage academy, there were fools who burned out their own brains after making mistakes. Levering the energy of reality with a fragile mind was impossible without a powerful brain and precise control of one's will.

Although the strength of a mage's mental power determined their strength, mages struggled even to control their own mental power. Only power that could be effectively brought to bear counted as power.

Chloe had drawn on the Swarm's mental power before, and it had indeed made her psionics exceptionally powerful. But back then, she had only dared draw on a little, while the Swarm now numbered in the thousands upon thousands!

She now strongly suspected that Stars was trying to get her killed. Controlling such a terrifyingly vast amount of mental power could cause a backlash with a single misstep.

Even the slightest backlash, on the scale of the Swarm Network, would turn her brain to mush.

"Stars, you should know that the greater the power you wield, the greater the price. The Swarm Network's mental power is strong, but controlling that much mental power to drive psionics is like placing a boulder on an ant's shoulders. It can only end with the ant being crushed to death."

Chloe's words carried a reproachful tone.

"There is a risk, but esteemed Executor, with coordination from the Hive Mind and precise control from the caster to construct the psionic model, creating the simplest possible Psionics Shock is possible."

Clearly, Stars was unwilling to abandon her plan.

"Then would you dare construct the spell yourself?" Chloe dispensed with courtesy and shot straight back.

Through the Swarm Network, Chloe could observe Stars from every angle.

Stars was still riding an enhanced Zergling, still clad in that somewhat damaged suit of chitin armor. Her red eyes were indeed filled with surprise.

But that surprise lasted only an instant before determination replaced it.

"If this is your command, Executor, I will obey. The Overmind's will shall be carried out." With that, Stars bowed to Chloe through the Swarm Network and began activating Psionics Resonance.

Although she only resonated with the four thousand combat bugs under her command, the scale of the psionics was still staggering.

Purple psionic energy gathered around Stars. The storm it generated swept her blond hair loose, sending the strands whipping wildly in the wind.

More and more mental power was drawn from the Swarm Network, gathering around Stars until it condensed into a small purple sun that looked immensely imposing.

But Chloe knew it only looked imposing. Control over psionics was measured in the minute increments of time within the mental world. A single instant of failed control would bring all that effort to nothing.

As long as the spell remained unfinished and the psionic energy unreleased, failure was possible at every instant.

"Could she really succeed?" Chloe murmured to herself.

Just then, the Hive Mind's voice entered her mind. "Executor, do you need me to interfere with her mind?"

"You... why would you say that?" A trace of guilty unease entered Chloe's voice. She did indeed feel tremendous pressure from Stars, and a tiny part of her did hope Stars would fail and have her head blown apart by psionic backlash. But she had never told the Hive Mind any of that.

"I can sense your wariness toward the Stars node, Executor. If a Swarm Node attempts to threaten the Executor's position, I am obligated to eliminate that node. I am a support consciousness. I exist to maintain the Swarm's stability." There was not a trace of emotion in the Hive Mind's words.

After some thought, Chloe still rejected the Hive Mind's proposal. Envying the worthy and resenting the capable was something only a foolish ruler would do. She was a Queen who would unite humanity. How could she be so small-minded?

"Do not interfere with her. Do everything you can to help her coordinate the Swarm Network's mental power," Chloe ordered.

Without outside interference, Stars truly did complete the spell successfully. She constructed an unstable Psionics Shock and hurled it out.

The enormous purple Psionics Shock shot into the air like a meteor, tracing a beautiful arc across a great distance before landing among the Beast Horde.

Its aim was somewhat off. Rather than striking squarely among the High-Level Magical Beasts, it only hit the edge of their group. But its power was beyond question. The purple, oval-shaped explosion annihilated everything within a twenty-five-meter radius.

Several High-Level Magical Beasts and a large number of ordinary magical beasts were reduced to ash.

The Psionics Shock was so fast that the magical beasts had no time to react, and its explosion was impossible to withstand. Chloe swore she had never seen a psionic attack on such a scale. It exceeded every current psionic power rating.

"Stars really did it," Chloe could not help murmuring to herself.

The explosion also terrified the Beast Horde. They had no idea where the attack had come from. All they had seen was something purple streaking across the sky.

In the blink of an eye, it exploded among them. The High-Level Magical Beasts were still focused on burning the Creep when that purple thing vaporized them in an instant.

The casualties inflicted by this Psionics Shock were indeed not enormous, since the magical beasts were not all packed together, but the panic it caused proved highly effective.

The High-Level Magical Beasts no longer dared burn the Creep openly. The more intelligent a creature was, the more it valued its life.

They concealed themselves within the vast mass of beasts. Some even shut off their innate psionic abilities to disguise themselves as ordinary wild beasts.

Seeing the High-Level Magical Beasts scatter, the ordinary magical beasts naturally had no desire to become targets for that purple sphere either. They followed suit and began hiding themselves.