Recaps

Zhang Han awakened while still inside his cocoon, and his return to the Swarm Network stopped the battles against the Beast Tide. After reviewing Chloe’s memories and questioning the Hive Mind, he learned that the voice he remembered belonged to a previous Hive Mind that had truly sacrificed itself.

• As the Frost Serpent lay bound and near death, the Swarm paused when a powerful consciousness swept across every battlefield.
• Zhang Han awakened, and the Behemoth and the herd stopped resisting as the Swarm recognized the Overmind’s return.
• Zhang Han scanned the battlefields, noticed the Hatchery’s growth, and asked Chloe to send him her memories of what had happened.
• Chloe reported that the Swarm had nearly won its battle against the Beast Tide from Death Forest, and Zhang Han reviewed her memories while speaking with the Hive Mind.
• The Hive Mind explained that it was a different consciousness from the one whose voice Zhang Han remembered, confirming that the previous Hive Mind had not returned.

After seeing how Chloe had protected and developed the Swarm, Zhang Han praised her and tried to make the Frost Serpent submit. The Swarm’s collective rage killed the serpent, and Zhang Han realized its thought tides might have changed Chloe’s feelings toward him.

• Zhang Han reviewed Chloe’s memories and learned how she had developed the Swarm, endured Neural Connection, and defeated a Beast Tide of more than a hundred thousand.
• Zhang Han praised Chloe through the Swarm Network and entered the front-line battlefield to communicate with the Frost Serpent.
• The Frost Serpent rejected Zhang Han’s offer to spare it and insulted him, while Snake Eyes declared that even ants had dignity.
• A furious tide of thought surged through the Swarm Network, prompting Zhang Han and the Venomspiders to kill the Frost Serpent.
• Zhang Han recognized the Swarm Network as a collective consciousness that could influence its members and suspected it had intensified Chloe’s affection for him.

Zhang Han negotiated a ten-year Mental Contract with the Behemoth, promising to limit the Swarm’s hunting and spare the beasts. He then released the surrounding magical beasts and told Chloe that he was both the Functional Consciousness and the Overmind.

• Zhang Han projected his consciousness into a Zergling and persuaded the Behemoth to serve him for ten years in exchange for sparing the beasts and limiting the Swarm’s hunting.
• The Behemoth explained that the Swarm’s mass slaughter had stirred a rare psionics tide that would awaken Behemoth, the King of the Beasts.
• Zhang Han signed a Mental Contract with the Behemoth and learned that it planned to hide when Behemoth awakened.
• Zhang Han ordered the Swarm to escort the surrounded and domesticated magical beasts away, resisting the Swarm Network’s urge to slaughter them.
• Zhang Han pulled Chloe into his consciousness space and told her that he was both the Functional Consciousness and the Overmind.
• Chloe accepted his explanation and paid her respects to the Overmind.

Zhang Han severed Chloe’s connection to the Swarm Network, but the isolation left her terrified and desperate to reconnect. He reminded her of her goals and offered a separate network, troops, and a Behemoth to help her pursue them, leaving Chloe overwhelmed by his generosity.

• Zhang Han removed the needle from Chloe and cut her connection to the Swarm Network, leaving only the Mental Contract intact.
• Chloe’s consciousness destabilized, and she begged Zhang Han to reconnect her; he steadied her by transmitting Psionic Power through his hand.
• Zhang Han explained that he had disconnected her to preserve her freedom, but Chloe said she preferred the warmth and unity of the Swarm Network.
• Zhang Han reminded Chloe of her mother’s death and her ambition to become queen of all Tabi Star Humans, then promised support for those goals.
• Zhang Han offered Chloe five thousand Warrior Bugs, command of the Hydralisk and both Roaches, a Local Area Network, and a Mental Contract with a Behemoth, moving her to tears.

Zhang Han questioned Stars about her goals and discovered that she and her fellow Shroud followers had awaited his arrival, believing they were destined to help the Swarm rule the galaxy. Stars offered to share her people’s basic psionics theory, which she believed could help the Swarm overcome its inability to use psionics.

• Zhang Han helped Chloe connect to the new Swarm Network and sent her off to fulfill her own wishes.
• Zhang Han summoned Stars and offered her a reward for her service to the Swarm.
• Stars told Zhang Han that her people had waited for his arrival and that helping him rule the galaxy was her objective.
• Stars explained that she belonged to a group of Shroud Adherents, Apostles, and Researchers known as Exiles.
• Stars identified the Swarm’s inability to use its creatures’ psionic power as a weakness and presented Zhang Han with basic psionics theory.

Zhang Han rewarded Stars for giving the Swarm Basic Psionics Theory by making her a Swarm Node and ordering her to lead a mineral survey. As Stars led the Venomspiders into the Death Forest, Chloe confronted her, and the two exchanged barbed words.

• Zhang Han absorbed Basic Psionics Theory and thanked Stars, offering her a reward without searching her memories.
• Stars chose to become a Swarm Node despite Zhang Han explaining that the Swarm Network would permanently influence her consciousness.
• Zhang Han ordered the Hatchery to genetically ascend Stars and prepared the Swarm to move from massed Warrior Bugs toward farming and construction.
• Zhang Han had six thousand Venomspiders modified for surveying and assigned Stars to lead them in prospecting for rare minerals.
• Chloe blocked the Venomspiders' path with five thousand Warrior Bugs, but her troops cleared the way as they approached.
• Chloe accused Stars of exploiting her to gain the Overmind's favor, and Stars replied that Chloe should focus on conquering her empire.

Chloe struggled with being cut off from the Swarm Network and envied Stars, who had become a true Swarm Node. After the Swarm's support helped her recognize how she could regain the Overmind's favor, she set out to complete its task and ordered her party to leave the Death Forest for Borderlands Earl County.

• Stars revealed that the Overmind had made her a Swarm Node and given her a Data Bug, and Chloe stepped aside rather than attack her.
• Chloe returned to the human camp and lay awake, distressed by the Overmind's absence from her small network.
• The combat bugs entered Chloe's tent to comfort her, and their unified advice was that she needed to prove her value to the Overmind.
• Chloe realized Stars had performed better during the Beast Tide and decided to focus on fulfilling the Overmind's instructions instead of dwelling on her rejection.
• Chloe ordered the camp to wake and begin marching, demanding that the party reach Borderlands Earl County within seven days.

Zhang Han discovered that Tabi Star contained high-energy crystals and learned from Stars’ memories how the local civilizations used them to develop magi-powered devices and weapons. The discovery revealed that the Krolan Republic had advanced into industrialization while the Altia Empire lagged behind.

• Zhang Han reviewed the Swarm’s resource surveys, directed Drones to expand the creep selectively, and found no rare resources at first.
• A Zergling uncovered a blue high-energy crystal in Chloe’s demolished camp, and the Hive Mind confirmed its nature.
• Zhang Han contacted Stars, who identified the crystal as magi-crystal and shared memories of the Krolan Republic’s uses for it.
• Stars’ memories showed the Krolan Republic using magi-crystals to power lights and develop magi-guns and magi-cannons.
• Zhang Han learned that magi-crystal technology had spread across the region, while the Altia Empire adopted it slowly and remained weak.

Zhang Han expanded the Swarm’s workforce and prepared geothermal and river-based power projects while planning for the civilization’s next stage. He then led the Swarm against a canyon tribe of Harpies and Flyers, whose first attack reached the Swarm’s defenses.

• Zhang Han ordered twenty thousand Drones, along with Zerglings and Needle Crawlers, to support construction and protect the workers.
• Zhang Han planned to gather Tabi Star’s energy resources and develop a geothermal power station beneath a volcano, while Stars oversaw efforts to obstruct a river and connect two Creep Tumors.
• Zhang Han sent Warrior Bugs into a canyon to drive out the local creatures, including twelve thousand Flyers and a tribe of Harpies.
• The Harpies led the Flyers in an assault on roughly five thousand Warrior Bugs, while three thousand Needle Crawlers formed a defensive line and Zerglings guarded its edges.
• The Needle Crawlers fired three volleys of steel needles, hitting only a few hundred attackers before the Harpies and Flyers swooped into the Swarm.

Windrider Rosesta led her Harpies against the Swarm to buy time for her tribe to retreat, but the Swarm’s disciplined formations and hidden Venomspiders turned the battle into a rout. Rosesta was wounded and fell from the sky as two Zerglings closed in to kill her.

• Rosesta led the Harpies in an aerial assault, hoping to defeat the Swarm before her tribe’s vulnerable members finished evacuating.
• The Swarm’s Zerglings and Needle Crawlers held formation and inflicted heavy casualties, breaking the Harpies’ morale.
• Venomspiders dropped webs from the Canyon cliffs, trapping Harpies and Flyers before covering them with corrosive acid.
• Rosesta was struck by steel needles, lost control of her injured wing, and crashed onto the ground.
• Two Zerglings sprang from concealment and attacked the fallen Rosesta.

Rosesta offered the Harpy Tribe’s surrender to Zhang Han, and he accepted, sparing them from the Swarm’s slaughter. The Harpies were taken to the Hatchery to be connected to a separate network and serve the Swarm.

• Rosesta, wounded and surrounded, sent the Swarm a psionic plea offering her clan’s service in exchange for mercy.
• Zhang Han stopped the Swarm’s attack after Rosesta’s message pulled him back from the Swarm Network’s violent influence.
• Zhang Han accepted the Harpy Tribe’s surrender, and Rosesta signed a Mental Contract pledging their loyalty.
• Rosesta ordered the remaining Harpies to surrender, and the Venomspiders bound them while beast tamers controlled the Flyers.
• Zhang Han ordered the Harpies escorted to the Hatchery, where Neural Thorns connected them to a separate Small Network.

Chloe led the Swarm to Guardian Fortress to demand the Border Marquisate's submission, and the marquis surrendered before her overwhelming force. Carl saw that the prophecy had come true and followed his father to hear the Queen's decree.

• Chloe prepared to lead the Swarm out of the Death Forest and urged her Swarm Knights to finish the Overmind's task so they could return.
• Carl Honsos asked his father whether the Princess had returned with the Monsters Horde, and the marquis confirmed she was now their Queen.
• Chloe grew impatient when the marquis failed to welcome her and raised her hand to order the Swarm to attack Guardian Fortress.
• The marquis emerged with a welcoming party and knelt before Chloe, who entered the fortress on a Hydralisk's shoulder with a squad of Swarm creatures.
• The marquis told Carl to follow the Queen and warned him to abandon his former ambitions so the Monsters would not become the territory's nightmare.

Chloe ordered Marquis Hornsos to muster his troops and summon the neighboring nobles to Guardian Fortress, dismissing his fears of more Beast Tides because the Swarm had nearly wiped out the beasts. After Ymir demonstrated his new strength and Chloe intimidated a hostile knight, Hornsos agreed and asked whose authority to invoke; Chloe told him to summon the nobles in the name of the heir to the throne of the Altia Empire.

• Ymir proposed a grand banquet for Chloe, but she rejected it and ordered Marquis Hornsos to muster his troops and summon the nobles to Guardian Fortress.
• Hornsos objected that border troops could not be moved because of recent Beast Tides, and Ymir explained that the beasts had fled the Swarm's hunt and that the Swarm had slaughtered them.
• Ymir revealed his Neural Thorn and demonstrated his enhanced psionics by knocking a burly knight to the floor.
• A Hydralisk threatened the fallen knight, and Chloe warned him to watch his words.
• Hornsos agreed to carry out Chloe's orders and asked what authority to use; Chloe told him to issue the summons in the name of the heir to the throne of the Altia Empire.

Zhang Han continued expanding the Swarm’s infrastructure while Rosesta’s Harpies endured exhausting labor under the Overmind’s control. One Harpy chose to die rather than continue as a slave, and the other Harpies watched her fall without intervening.

• Zhang Han completed the Swarm’s geothermal power stations and advanced construction of the Tier Three Hatchery, where two Cerebrate cocoons began to develop.
• The Swarm completed a hydroelectric power station at the River-Damming Dam, while Rosesta’s Harpies reshaped their canyon to improve wind power generation.
• Rosesta watched the Harpies labor under the oppressive Small Network and saw that physical exhaustion and nutrient solution could not ease their despair.
• A Harpy broke formation and tried to fall to her death, but a Venomspider caught her with silk.
• The Harpy cut the silk, beat her wings toward the ground, and died on the rocks as the other Harpies watched in silence.

After a Harpy killed herself and injured members of the Swarm, Zhang Han questioned Rosesta about the cause and brought her before the Harpies to hear their concerns. The Harpies’ outspoken reaction to his kindness left Rosesta scrambling to apologize.

• Rosesta told Zhang Han that a Harpy had rebelled, hurt the Swarm, and killed herself, but Zhang Han challenged her excuses and asked whether the Harpies’ living conditions were causing distress.
• Zhang Han offered the Harpies more midday rest and asked what foods they preferred, surprising Rosesta with his response.
• Zhang Han entered the Harpy Small Network with Rosesta and used his Psionic Power to soothe the thousands of Harpies gathered there.
• Rosesta ordered the Harpies to manifest their forms and kneel before Zhang Han, who apologized for the tragedy and invited them to share their thoughts.
• The Harpies flooded the network with crude jokes and praise for Zhang Han, so Rosesta muted them and apologized for their behavior.

Zhang Han turned the Harpies’ demands for better lives into a system where they earned goods and privileges through work. Over the following week, their living conditions improved, and they became content with their new routine and trade with humans.

• Zhang Han lifted the Harpies’ thought restrictions, intimidated them with his Psionic Power, and demanded practical suggestions for improving their lives.
• The Harpies proposed better food, more freedom, comfortable living conditions, entertainment, and access to human males for reproduction.
• Zhang Han agreed to provide better goods in exchange for mandatory work, establishing work points and planning for the Harpies to trade Hatchery products with humans.
• Over the following week, the Harpies worked long hours, exchanged points for food and household goods, and moved into new homes on scenic cliffs.
• Every ten days, Harpies with enough points flew to the human world to trade, and the tribe stopped attacking the Swarm or attempting suicide.

Chloe tested the Swarm against Guardian Fortress’s soldiers and ordered Carl to arrange serious training with the psionic Knights. As the Empire descended into turmoil after the king’s death, the chapter ended with the First and Third Princes taking power while the Second Prince escaped the Royal Capital.

• Ymir defeated three Zerglings in training, and Chloe praised his strength while urging him to keep practicing against the Swarm.
• Chloe watched fifty Zerglings overwhelm three hundred of Marquis Hornsos’s soldiers, then ordered Carl to assemble the psionic Knights as sparring partners.
• Chloe asked Marquis Hornsos which nobles had answered her invitations; he reported that Earl Jonathan had sent Knights and planned to come in person.
• Chloe declared that nobles who refused to support her would not be allowed to choose their own sides.
• After the king died under mysterious circumstances, the First Prince took the throne and the Third Prince became prime minister, while the Second Prince fled the Royal Capital before their summons arrived.

As the First Prince and Second Prince prepared for civil war, Chloe established her dominance in the Border Marquisate and decided to seize Warrior Fortress to advance into the Empire’s heartland. She left Marquis Hornsos facing her plan to attack Duke Duke unless he surrendered.

• The Second Prince rallied his faction and declared that the First and Third Princes had murdered the old king, while rumors and the rushed coronation weakened the new king’s position.
• Chloe returned to Guardian Fortress after fighting the Beast Tide, and Marquis Hornsos told her that the kingdom was on the brink of civil war.
• Chloe had the Swarm eat envoys from both sides before the marquisate’s nobles, making them fear and obey her more than Marquis Hornsos.
• Chloe revealed a model of Warrior Fortress and declared that she would attack the stronghold to open a route into the Empire’s heartland.
• Chloe told Marquis Hornsos that she would spare Duke Duke if he surrendered but would let the Swarm eat him if he resisted, insisting she had no more time to wait.

Zhang Han taught the Harpies about the Swarm’s strengths and weaknesses, then explained that they would need to study for more useful roles. He began teaching them about interstellar civilizations and Energy Credits, leaving them confused about how energy could serve as money.

• The marquis recovered from his fear of the Princess and prepared troops and supplies to march to Duke Duke's Warrior Fortress in two days.
• Zhang Han agreed to add a psionic organ while the Overmind incubated, increasing his dormancy by two hours.
• Zhang Han taught the Harpies that ordinary Swarm units excelled at simple labor and combat but struggled with intelligence and complex tasks.
• Zhang Han's announcement that Harpies would no longer earn work points for ordinary work frightened them, so he soothed the Harpy Network and explained that study could qualify them for better positions.
• Zhang Han taught the Harpies about Tabi Star, other civilizations, and trade, then told them that civilizations used compressed Energy Credits and that their job was to collect energy.

Zhang Han developed the Siege Beast, a heavily armored Overseer modified for battlefield support and frontline combat, and began hatching ten of them. He also continued work on the Giant Cerebrate and a geothermal project to trigger the active volcano and expand the Swarm’s energy supply.

• The Harpies and Venomspiders discovered deposits of High-energy Crystals and rare metal, while the Harpies improved their construction work as Swarm Nodes.
• Zhang Han’s laboratory modified the Overseer with a Hatchery Pool, Nutrient Fluid, and strengthened combat organs, creating a unit named the Siege Beast.
• Zhang Han cut his planned Siege Beast hatch from fifty to ten because of the high cost, and Guardians would carry them to improve their mobility.
• Zhang Han continued hatching the energy-hungry Giant Cerebrate, which would process information, research technology, scan space around Tabi Star, and provide air defense.
• More than a hundred thousand Drones and thousands of Harpies excavated tunnels beneath the active volcano so magma could power additional Bio Geothermal Energy Power Generator units.
• The Cerebrate calculated the volcano’s magma flows, and Zhang Han planned to use a high-energy-crystal explosion to trigger an eruption.

Arthur learned that Chloe had returned with monsters and become a major contender in the succession struggle, while his forces remained trapped in a war against Robert. He decided to send letters proposing an alliance to Robert and offering Chloe evidence about their mother’s death.

• Arthur read intelligence about Chloe’s return to the Border Marquisate and her call for noble support in the name of the crown princess.
• Arthur recalled how he, Robert, and George had joined forces, after which the Queen and the Imperial Guard commander died and the old king made Robert regent.
• Arthur faced Robert’s larger army after their first battle, while both sides gathered strength and sought supporters.
• Arthur decided to seek an alliance with Robert, offering to pay him a hundred thousand gold coins if he withdrew his troops.
• Arthur wrote to Chloe, recalling their mother and enclosing evidence that she and their father had not died of illness.

Robert received reports of Chloe’s influence over magical beasts and raged over the threats to his throne, while George brought him Arthur’s offer of 100,000 gold coins. Robert and George weighed a temporary alliance against their strained finances and military needs as Chloe led the Swarm toward the battlefield.

• Robert smashed the furniture in his tent as he complained that prophecy and Chloe had derailed his claim to the throne.
• George entered and urged Robert to control his temper, then gave him Arthur’s letter after checking it for poison.
• Robert read Arthur’s offer and questioned why his ambitious brother wanted to cooperate despite their shared role in Empress Mother’s death.
• George advised accepting the offer for now, arguing that the 100,000 gold coins would help cover their army’s costs and strengthen their forces.
• George told Robert he was seeking expanded trade with the Auklai Empire, and Robert welcomed the prospect of gaining an advantage in the war.
• Chloe led the Swarm toward the battlefield.

Chloe marched toward Warrior Fortress with the Swarm and human troops, while Marquis Jonathan arrived with reinforcements and pledged his support. At Warrior Fortress, Duke learned of Chloe’s advance and resolved to avoid a battle by making her retreat.

• Chloe judged the human army too slow and weak as she marched toward Warrior Fortress with the Swarm.
• Raul told Chloe that Marquis Jonathan had arrived with troops to join her.
• Jonathan pledged three thousand troops and his family’s knights to Chloe, who sent him to command human soldiers under Marquis Hornsos.
• An officer reported to Duke that Chloe’s force was expected to reach Warrior Fortress in twenty days.
• Duke dismissed the threat to the fortress but decided to find a way to make Chloe retreat without fighting.

Duke prepared to negotiate with the Princess while gathering intelligence on the Monsters. In the Swarm Network, Stars and Rosesta coordinated a high-energy crystal detonation to trigger a volcanic eruption and channel its excess lava safely.

• Duke ordered an envoy sent to the Princess, assembled his army to deter her, and dispatched scouts to investigate the Monsters.
• Stars completed her eruption calculations and sent orders through an Overlord for Harpies and Drones to prepare the underground cavities.
• Rosesta dropped a high-energy crystal into the volcano, where it triggered a fission explosion and volcanic activity.
• When the eruption proved twenty percent stronger than expected, Stars and two Cerebrates devised a plan to vent the excess lava.
• Rosesta directed the Harpies and twenty thousand Drones to excavate a river channel, then prepared a second crystal to blast an outlet in the volcano.

Stars and Rosesta completed the first step of the Swarm’s geothermal power project by directing the volcanic eruption through a controlled passage. Meanwhile, Earl Jonathan and Marquis Hornsos learned that Chloe and the Swarm had left their army behind, leaving their next move uncertain.

• Stars ordered Rosesta to detonate the high-energy crystal and used the Swarm Network to help her shape a Psionics Barrier around it.
• Rosesta released the barrier at Stars’s command, directing the explosion through the mountain and allowing magma to flow into the Drones’ excavated riverbed while preserving the underground cavities.
• Stars declared the first step of the first Superproject complete as the Harpies celebrated the successful diversion of the eruption.
• Earl Jonathan and Marquis Hornsos discussed the approaching siege of Warrior Fortress and Jonathan worried that Chloe had become indifferent to life.
• A messenger told the nobles that the Swarm had left and Chloe had gone with them, apparently leaving their army behind.