Seeing the web maze extended by another fifty meters, the Frost Serpent was furious enough to swear.
The Beast Horde had expended so much effort clearing a hundred meters, only for the Swarm to restore fifty meters with a single raid.
They had also inflicted massive casualties on the Beast Horde, and even had the strength to drag away corpses as trophies while fighting!
These had to be the mother insect's guards. Only the guards protecting the mother insect could possibly possess such terrifying fighting power.
The appearance of these new insects had to mean its target was already within reach.
As long as it could get past these obstructing webs, as long as it could wipe out these last insects, the nightmare would end, and peace would return to the Death Forest.
Its obsessive fixation had seriously impaired the Frost Serpent's judgment. It had already led the Beast Horde deep into the underground tunnels. This place was a deathtrap, and it dared not imagine what failure would look like.
It did not even dare imagine the consequences of being wrong. What if the Swarm actually had another enormous force? Even if it broke through the web maze and entered the Hatchery, what if it could not find the mother insect?
What if even stronger insects were waiting ahead?
Once its anger reached its limit, the Frost Serpent mobilized all the Psionics in its body. It urgently needed an outlet to vent and calm its unease.
Psionics began gathering around the serpent's body. Frost appeared in the air, and an ice storm began to blow.
Witnessing the power of a Legendary Beast, the Beast Horde retreated in fear, keeping their distance from the Frost Serpent.
The freezing storm froze most of the underground cavern and its webs. When the power of ice gathered to its limit, the Frost Serpent abruptly spat a beam of bitterly cold white light into the web maze.
Such a devastating attack took a great toll even on a Legendary Beast, and its effects were naturally astonishing. It blasted through at least a thousand meters of the web maze, leaving the tunnel walls covered in frost.
Many Venomspiders hiding within were either shattered or frozen. This strike had indeed inflicted considerable losses on the Swarm.
Panting, the Frost Serpent looked at the scene before it with great satisfaction. Its terrifying serpentine face seemed to reveal a satisfied smile. It was as though this strike had demonstrated its might and secured its victory.
But the Swarm did not let the Frost Serpent remain lost in its delusions for long. The Swarm army attacked from behind the Beast Horde.
Originally, Chloe had not wanted to launch the all-out offensive so soon.
For one thing, much of the web maze had been destroyed, and many Venomspiders hiding within had been lost. Replenishing the insects would take time. Moreover, the remaining maze was still very long and could continue wearing down the Beast Horde's fighting strength.
For another, the Beast Horde was already completely trapped in the deathtrap of the underground tunnels. There was no need for an all-out offensive; simply keeping them surrounded would trap them all until they died.
But according to the Hive Mind's calculations, launching an all-out offensive now offered a one-thousand-percent chance of an overwhelming victory.
The Hive Mind's calculations had never been wrong, and Chloe was tired of feigning weakness to lure the beasts in and going back and forth with them.
She also wanted to crush the Beast Horde completely with one heavy blow, so she issued the order for an all-out offensive through the Swarm Network.
The Swarm, too, seemed to have been holding something back, and at this moment, it all erupted.
With their bloated numbers, the Beast Horde was like a snake whose head and tail could not support each other in the underground tunnels, while the ferocious Swarm poured out of every passage to attack every part of that snake.
The sudden appearance of the Swarm army instantly shattered the Beast Horde's psychological defenses. After putting up token resistance, they no longer dared fight the Swarm.
The combination of Zerglings and Needle Crawlers became a killing machine, gnawing away at the Beast Horde's vitality bit by bit.
A single squad of a few dozen combat insects could frighten hundreds of members of the Beast Horde into panicked flight. Space in the underground tunnels was limited, and the Beast Horde fleeing for their lives began trampling one another.
They all wanted to live and get farther away from the Swarm, even if that meant trampling their companions to death.
The Frost Serpent had not expected to be proven wrong so quickly. Its expression froze. A moment ago, it had been an imposing presence, and now the insects had launched an all-out offensive.
It focused on its Psionic perception, and the truth it feared most unfolded before it.
Vast numbers of insects filled with killing intent surrounded the Beast Horde from every direction. Their numbers seemed not to have diminished at all. Everything had been a deception. The Beast Horde had been the only ones suffering devastating losses all along.
The fury of being deceived completely consumed the Frost Serpent's reason. Ignoring the fact that it had already expended a great deal of stamina, it unleashed its Psionics at full strength. It would kill all these insects. It would wash away the humiliation of being deceived.
Two purple Psionics Shocks passed through the web maze and struck the Frost Serpent like cannonballs. The shock waves from the enormous explosion set the entire underground tunnel shaking, dislodging chunks of ice and dust.
Once the smoke from the explosion dispersed, the Frost Serpent emerged in a sorry state. To stay alive, it had poured its gathered Psionics into its ice armor at the critical instant, barely withstanding the two Psionics Shocks.
Although the Psionics Shocks had not been fatal, they had still injured the Frost Serpent. The exploding Psionics slashed across its body like blades, shattering the scales on its upper body and leaving its flesh mangled and bloody.
"That was payback for your attack. Too bad it didn't kill you." Deep within the Hatchery, Chloe pursed her lips. She and Stars had launched those Psionics Shocks together.
Now, with the assistance of the Hive Swarm Consciousness, resonating with the Swarm to unleash Psionics Shocks of this magnitude had become effortless.
Without giving the Frost Serpent time to catch its breath, six thousand Venomspiders swarmed forward, rapidly weaving a new path from silk as they moved to surround it.
In the blink of an eye, they crossed the thousand-meter distance, and the lone Frost Serpent was surrounded by a dark mass of Venomspiders.
This Legendary Beast that had given the Swarm such headaches now faced its most dangerous moment.
Not a single beast or magical beast came to its rescue. After all, under the Swarm's assault, every beast in the Beast Horde was struggling to save itself. How could they rescue their leader?
Venomspiders were specialized troops created specifically to fight High-Level Magical Beasts. Killing the Frost Serpent was also part of their design purpose.
Now Chloe intended to expend all six thousand Venomspiders to wear the Frost Serpent down and kill it deep underground.
The Frost Serpent opened its jaws wide toward the sky, its upper body shaking twice as though it truly were laughing. It was so furious that it laughed. What was it? A Legendary Beast, one of the most powerful life-forms on the planet.
Now this group of weak little insects seemed to want to kill it. Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. It seemed yesterday's encirclement had failed to teach them a lesson.
Soon, they would once again discover in despair that they could do nothing against its ice armor.
At that thought, the Frost Serpent stopped laughing. It no longer conserved its stamina. It began overtaxing its own life to unleash even greater power.
It was the Winter God, the symbol of absolute cold. As its Psionics intensified, masses of glacial ice appeared around the Frost Serpent, enclosing it.
At that moment, blue wind and snow enveloped the Frost Serpent, lending it a trace of sanctity. It truly seemed like a god upon the earth.
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