An encounter

"I think this prophecy has harmed you. You should have been a carefree princess, with nothing to do with the throne. You could have lived in luxury, married a good husband, and had healthy children. Politics and intrigue would never have touched your life."

The middle-aged knight raised his voice. "And now? Because of this accursed prophecy, His Majesty the Emperor no longer cherishes you as a princess, and your brothers have begun to see you as a threat. Without the protection of Her Majesty the Empress, you would not even have lived to adulthood."

"Shut up, Ymir! How dare you speak of my destiny? My destiny has already been decided. I will become empress. I will become the empress of all humanity."

"My orders must be carried out. Let the wounded knights rest in camp. Tomorrow morning, everyone else will continue with me toward our destiny."

With that, Chloe rose and walked deeper into the tent. Ymir remained kneeling alone for a long while before standing and leaving.

He knew he could not defy this princess. It was all that damned prophecy's fault, turning her autocratic, obsessive, and unwilling to listen to any advice.

To fulfill the oath he had sworn before Her Majesty the Empress, he had to help the princess achieve her wish. He had no choice, whatever the cost.

The next day, Zhang Han woke just as the sun peeked over the horizon and the insects and birds began their calls. His consciousness was much hazier than yesterday, perhaps because the cocoon's hatching had reached a critical stage and was affecting his mind.

Without the Hive Mind's assistance, he could only force himself to keep directing the swarm to hunt. Fortunately, they suffered no attacks from wild beasts out in the forest. Perhaps their earlier hunts had killed all the beasts nearby.

After a night's rest, all the bugs had regained their vitality except for three Zerglings that were still injured. Their bodies were as intact as if they had just hatched.

The Roaches, in particular, were known for their regenerative abilities. Even after standing guard all night without rest, they remained full of vigor.

To obtain more biomass, Zhang Han sent the swarm farther afield.

They lacked scouting bugs, and the towering trees and dense undergrowth both obstructed their view and provided cover for the fierce wild beasts.

Because he was mentally drained, Zhang Han directed them even more cautiously this time.

The Zerglings crept along the ground like hunting dogs, advancing slowly as they searched for prey.

The bulky Roaches and Hydralisk, which were difficult to conceal, stayed a little farther away, both to avoid alarming the prey and to provide covering fire for the Zerglings.

Their luck was good this time. After passing through thick undergrowth, a Zergling discovered a lake.

Quite a few wild beasts were quietly drinking at its edge. Most were herbivores, and hunting them all would yield a considerable amount of biomass.

Without delay, the swarm used the undergrowth as cover and moved to encircle the lakeshore under Zhang Han's command.

The dozen or so Zerglings split into two groups, flanking from the left and right, while the two Roaches and one Hydralisk took the center.

The hunting plan was very simple. First, the Zerglings would attack, driving and killing the Beast Horde.

To escape, the Beast Horde would surely run toward a place without enemies. When the beasts gathered and fled through the middle, the Roaches and Hydralisks would emerge from underground and strike them with acid and steel needles.

After the sudden ambush, the more terrifying appearance and size of the Roaches and Hydralisks might frighten the Beast Horde into fleeing back the way they had come.

Then the Zerglings on either flank would converge and attack from the front and rear together with the Roaches and Hydralisks. This pincer attack would focus on killing the Beast Horde rather than driving it.

The swarm was too small to take down so many wild beasts.

Besides, if pushed too far, these herbivores had horns on their heads and considerable strength. A head-on charge against the swarm would be dangerous too. At this point, even losing a single Zergling would pain Zhang Han.

The hunt went very smoothly. The Zerglings killed quite a few beasts as soon as they appeared, and the panicked Beast Horde lost many more to the surprise attack by the Hydralisks and Roaches.

The beasts fleeing the Zerglings collided with those fleeing the Hydralisks and Roaches, trampling one another and causing further heavy casualties among the Beast Horde.

Just over a dozen bugs had wiped out nearly a hundred herbivorous beasts. The results were excellent, enough to call it a bumper harvest.

Zhang Han split the swarm into two groups, one guarding the lakeshore and the other transporting the Beast Horde's corpses. This much biomass would provide a solid foundation for the next stage of development once the hive finished hatching.

After directing a relatively intense encirclement battle, Zhang Han already felt exhausted. Leaving the Roaches and Hydralisks on watch and the Zerglings to continue transporting the Beast Horde and stones, he prepared to take a nap.

Chloe was wearing a suit of knight's armor specially tailored for her. Not only did it offer excellent protection, but it also accentuated her figure and her valiant bearing.

Around her were more than forty fully armed knights. Their numbers were rather few, which displeased Chloe greatly.

Although Ymir had carried out her orders, he had not done so completely. He had still left quite a few uninjured knights stationed at camp.

His reason was that they could protect the camp from magical beast attacks while also caring for the wounded.

Chloe had wanted to say that not all the wounded were too injured to move, so why not let those who could move do those jobs?

But after noticing the mood among the knights around Ymir, she knew she could only follow his advice. She did not want to set herself against all the knights.

If she truly angered them, her beauty would not serve as a protective charm. It would only make her fate extremely miserable.

Just then, a scout knight approached with a panicked expression. After speaking quietly with Ymir, he left.

Seeing Ymir's grave expression, Chloe also sensed that something was wrong. She asked, "What happened up ahead? Have we encountered a very dangerous magical beast?"

"Yes, Your Highness. I'm afraid this will be the most dangerous situation we have encountered. The scouting mages used Clairvoyance and discovered a group of magical beasts they had never seen before."

"They witnessed a slaughter. These magical beasts, despite their vastly different sizes, actually worked together to encircle and annihilate a herd of herbivorous magical beasts drinking by the lake, just like an army."

This was the first time since entering the Death Forest that Chloe had seen Ymir look so tense.

"Then can we go around them? If we're discovered, can we defeat these magical beasts?" Chloe could not help growing nervous too.

"Impossible. Our party is too large. Going around them completely would require a very long detour. Besides, these magical beasts are blocking our path forward, and our party needs to replenish its water supplies."

"As for whether we can defeat them, my advice is not to fight even if we can. These magical beasts are too frightening. They must be the dominant force in this area, which explains why our journey today has been so smooth, without a single battle," Ymir explained earnestly.

"Summon the astrologer. We need guidance," Chloe ordered after lowering her head in thought for a while.