Development

To Zhang Han's delight, the rhinoceros he had risked his life to kill provided a great deal of biomass, and the biological energy contained in it was extremely high. It increased his cocoon's hatching speed by another twenty percent.

The first day of hunting came to an end. That day, Zhang Han had led the swarm in hunting down most of the beasts nearby. The Drones had also eaten through a large stretch of woodland, opening up a clearing where a base could be built.

They encountered all sorts of beasts during the hunt, including enormous tigers, acid-spitting lizards, leopards that could turn invisible, and more.

Fortunately, these beasts were mostly solitary, and Zhang Han was more cautious in his command, so not a single bug was lost hunting them, though every one of the bugs was wounded.

These powerful beasts provided an abundance of biomass, and before nightfall, they finally gathered enough energy to hatch a Hatchery.

A Drone burrowed underground and soon formed an enormous cocoon, beginning to hatch into a Hatchery. Most of the cocoon was buried underground, while the part above ground glowed purple and began pulsing like a heart.

The Hatchery would take two days to finish hatching. Only after it hatched would it produce Creep, an important source of supplies for the swarm. For those two days, the swarm would receive no supplies and could only eat the dead Overlord to replenish their strength and heal their wounds.

Watching the swarm develop slowly, Zhang Han thought, What a shame there's no high-energy gas or high-energy crystal. With even a thousand units of high-energy crystal, the swarm could already be on the fast track to rapid development.

Although the swarm's energy conversion efficiency was already very high, biomass itself was not an energy-rich substance and fell far short of various energy minerals.

I must scout thoroughly while hunting. If I get lucky and find a mineral vein, the swarm's development can really take off.

After a day of hard work, Zhang Han felt immense fatigue in his consciousness. His body was already undergoing cocooning and hatching, and the intense work of commanding the hunt put an even greater strain on his mental energy.

"Hive Mind, keep watch tonight. I'm going to rest," Zhang Han ordered the Hive Mind in his head.

The Hive Mind did not respond. He called several times, all to no avail, as though he were shouting into empty air.

Realizing something was wrong, Zhang Han began searching the memories of the Overlord carrying him. Then he saw that devastating blue light. It turned out that the Hive Swarm Consciousness had sacrificed itself to cover its escape.

Guilt and loneliness enveloped Zhang Han's consciousness. In truth, Zhang Han had never trusted the Hive Mind completely, and falling into a deep sleep had been something he had no choice but to do.

Yet the Hive Mind had resolutely sacrificed itself to protect him, without the slightest hesitation.

Zhang Han believed he could never sacrifice his own life for any being. What the Hive Mind had done left him deeply moved and saddened.

Now, without the Hive Mind's assistance, he could rely only on himself.

Fortunately, the Hive Mind had left many precious things for him in the Overlord's memory storage: the swarm's gene bank, along with all kinds of intelligence about the Zerg and the Stellaris Council.

Zhang Han was already exhausted. He ordered the Roaches, which had the strongest regenerative abilities, to keep watch at night, then fell into a deep sleep.

Night had deepened, yet a bonfire appeared deep in the forest, where people should have been scarce. Dozens of armored knights had made camp there.

At the center of the camp stood a large, lavish tent. An argument was taking place inside.

"Your Highness, we cannot go any deeper. The Death Forest is called the Death Forest because the deeper you go, the closer you come to death." A knight who looked to be in his fifties earnestly tried to reason with the princess seated above him.

The princess was exceptionally beautiful, hailed as the pearl of the imperial capital. It was said that she was the woman of every young nobleman's dreams there.

Her beautiful silver hair shone as brilliantly as the Milky Way in the sky. Paired with her blue eyes and snow-white skin, she looked as though she had stepped out of a painting.

Her beautiful face and royal status gave her a cold, unapproachable air.

"Are you afraid of death? Were all your oaths of loyalty to me lies?" The princess's tone was condescending and overbearing.

"Of course not. But Your Highness, you must have seen it yourself. The magical beasts here are growing stronger and stronger. Many of our knights have been wounded, and the forest's interior is ill-suited to treatment. Their injuries are worsening."

"If we go any deeper, I fear our strength will no longer be enough to keep Your Highness safe." The middle-aged knight continued to explain their situation.

"Enough. Are you threatening me? Are you saying that if I insist on going deeper into the Death Forest, I will no longer be safe?" The princess's aura turned into an icy wind.

The middle-aged knight trembled slightly in the cold wind. He quickly dropped to one knee. "I would not dare. Everything I just said was out of concern for Your Highness's safety."

"You need not concern yourself with my safety. Do you still remember that prophecy?" The princess's expression softened somewhat, as though she had mentioned something that pleased her.

The kneeling knight did not answer. He simply knelt there as though the princess had asked no question.

"When the Plantagenet Dynasty faces turmoil, the aging emperor sits upon a tottering throne. His three sons spread war and death far and wide to inherit the empire, yet the one who wears the crown is the emperor's youngest daughter." The princess spoke on to herself, even rising to her feet and beginning to dance.

"The empress's power comes from the depths of the Death Forest. Magical beasts that blot out the sky help her tear all her enemies apart. The sword, the falcon, and the stag shall all bow before the broom flower." The princess grew increasingly absorbed in her dance.

"Earth, sky, and sea. Even the mighty forces of nature cannot match the empress's power, and the gods beyond the heavens deeply fear her strength."

"O silver-haired princess, humanity's only empress. You do not understand what you bring. All that awaits you is profound despair." The dance ended, and the princess finished reciting the prophecy.

She returned to her throne, now in a very good mood. "I, Keluosi Nuomannuofu, am the chosen one, the empress of the prophecy. You should count yourself fortunate that I chose you to serve me."

The middle-aged knight silently watched the princess's dance. It was so beautiful and enchanting that he could not tell whether the dance or the princess was more beautiful.

After the dance ended, he remained dazed for a full minute before coming to his senses.

Knowing he had lost his composure, he hurriedly lowered his head, hoping to cover his embarrassment with words.

"Your Highness, I have served you for eight years. My loyalty to you can withstand any kind of test. But as for that prophecy, forgive my bluntness: an Astromancer's prophecies are not necessarily correct. If everything they said was so accurate, why did they not avoid their own fate of being killed by His Majesty the Emperor?"

After speaking, the middle-aged knight regained his normal composure and looked solemnly at the princess to whom he had sworn allegiance.