Chapter Summaries

Chloe established her authority over the knights when one hundred Zerglings bowed to her, then sent them hunting with the knights as guides. The chapter left Ymir watching the Swarm kill an Earth Bear with frightening efficiency.

• The Zerglings hatched, grew stronger by feeding, and gathered after Chloe summoned them through the Swarm network.
• The Zerglings charged into the human camp, smashed its gates, and gathered around Chloe's tent while most of her guards fled.
• Chloe stepped before the Zerglings, and they bowed to her in front of the terrified knights.
• Chloe had the knights guide the Swarm on hunts around the outskirts of Death Forest to avoid venturing near the giant worm.
• Ymir watched the Zerglings kill an Earth Bear by blinding it, severing its tendons, and swarming it with their bone blades.

Chloe watched the Swarm recover its losses through biomass recycling and learned that a Neural Thorn could ease the strain of commanding its growing numbers. After recalling why she needed power, she overcame her fear and entered the spawning pool for the transplant.

• Chloe observed that the Swarm’s hunts yielded enough biomass to recycle fallen Zerglings and rapidly hatch more, making its wars of attrition profitable.
• A new batch of a hundred Zerglings overwhelmed Chloe’s mind, and she suffered a nosebleed from connecting to too many of them.
• Chloe found that the Basic Hatchery could produce a Neural Thorn, a degraded Overlord organ that would let her connect to an additional thousand Zerg units.
• Chloe chose to transplant one short Neural Thorn among her silver hair rather than replace all of it.
• The Basic Hatchery reassured Chloe that the procedure was minor, and its explanation of the Swarm’s resolve to expand into the stars persuaded her to proceed.
• Chloe remembered the people who had died for her, removed her clothes, and stepped into the spawning pool.

Chloe completed her Zerg transplant and led a growing Swarm through Death Forest, devastating the forest and driving magical beasts toward the Border Marquisate. After ten days, she emerged from the forest and saw the marquisate, while Carl Honsos worried that she had been lost inside it.

• Chloe submerged herself in the Basic Hatchery’s nutrient solution and completed the transplant, gaining a movable strand of hair and stronger mental power.
• The Basic Hatchery raised its Zergling numbers to three hundred, and Chloe took the newly hatched Zerglings hunting while it began evolving.
• Over the next few days, Chloe led five hundred Zerglings across Death Forest, forcing magical beasts to flee toward the Border Marquisate.
• Carl Honsos worried about Chloe’s safety and prayed for her return as refugees crowded the fortresses amid disorder and a growing beast tide.
• Chloe’s Swarm attacked a giant worm, but it burrowed underground after fighting back, so Chloe marked its kind for a later hunt.
• On the tenth day, Chloe led the Swarm out of Death Forest and saw the Border Marquisate through the Zerglings’ eyes.

Chloe watched the Swarm’s Level Two Hive finish evolving and offered Neural Thorns to reward and control her knights. The Hive could now support a force of five thousand Zerglings, while Behemoth stirred in the Death Forest and began to awaken.

• Chloe anticipated returning to the Border Marquisate with the Swarm, but waited for the Hive’s second-stage evolution to finish and worried that the Overmind remained in its cocoon.
• The Swarm’s expanding hunts disrupted the Death Forest’s ecological balance and the planet’s psionic tides, stirring ancient beings as Behemoth slowly awakened.
• The Level Two Hive completed its evolution as the knights watched, and Chloe described how it would produce Swarm forces and grow stronger once rooted.
• Chloe offered the knights Neural Thorns that would let them communicate with Swarm members, but said she had only three to award to those with the greatest merits.
• Chloe planned to divide the Neural Thorns among three knights so no single knight could consolidate power and unite the others around him.

Chloe implanted a Neural Thorn in Raul and used the Swarm network to ease his pain, giving him greater psionic power and the ability to command Zerglings. After Raul demonstrated his new abilities, the astrologer Stars knelt before Chloe.

• Chloe chose the loyal knight Raul to receive the first Neural Thorn implant, and he accepted despite his fear.
• The Neural Thorn caused Raul severe pain, so Chloe used her psionics to share it across the Swarm network until the implant was complete.
• Chloe taught Raul to connect to the Swarm network, and he unleashed a psionic blast powerful enough to crater the ground.
• Chloe ordered Raul to communicate with a squad of Zerglings and lead them on a hunt.
• Stars stepped out of the crowd and knelt before Chloe.

Chloe rewarded Stars and Ymir with Neural Thorn implants, then strengthened her control over the Swarm by upgrading its Zerglings into Enhanced Zerglings. As the Swarm’s hunts spread through Death Forest, a High-Level Magical Beast squirrel survived by hiding from them.

• Stars asked Chloe for a reward, received a Neural Thorn implant, and revealed that she wanted to fulfill the prophecy and live up to her name.
• Ymir received the final Neural Thorn implant and endured the procedure less calmly than Stars.
• Inspired by the recipients’ increased strength, the knights looked to Chloe for a chance to grow stronger, while Chloe had a second Neural Thorn implanted.
• Chloe upgraded the Zerglings into Enhanced Zerglings to keep the Swarm manageable, assigning five hundred to five recipients and retaining control of two thousand herself.
• The Swarm expanded its hunts across Death Forest, hauling magical beasts to the Digestive Cavity for processing.
• A squirrel-like High-Level Magical Beast avoided fighting the Zerglings and survived by staying hidden as their hunting party passed.

As the Swarm’s slime spread through the Death Forest, intelligent magical beasts began uniting under the Legendary Beasts to survive. Their meeting ended in a fierce disagreement over whether to attack the Swarm or wait and observe, until a psionic tide shattered their shared consciousness.

• A squirrel fled the advancing slime and Zerglings, then joined a wounded wolf and other beasts as they traveled together for safety.
• Intelligent magical beasts gathered in a secluded valley, where the Behemoth, Frost Serpent, and Storm Dragonhawk arrived as their leaders.
• The magical beasts shared their fear of the Swarm, their anger over its slaughter, and their desire to survive or seek revenge.
• The Behemoth called for a Beast Tide to destroy the Swarm, while the Frost Serpent urged caution and the Storm Dragonhawk stayed neutral.
• The beasts split into factions over whether to fight or wait, and a powerful psionic tide scattered their connection and left weaker beasts twitching on the ground.

The Three Legendary Beasts decided to unleash a Beast Tide against the Swarm before Behemoth awakened, while Chloe expanded the Swarm and developed a new ranged unit. As Chloe waited anxiously for the Overmind to hatch, Zhang Han dreamed of the Swarm’s destructive history and feared what he might become.

• The Three Legendary Beasts stirred the beasts’ anger and united them to launch the most terrifying Beast Tide in Tabi Star’s history.
• Chloe oversaw the hatching of more than thirty Creep Tumors to spread creep across the Death Forest and boost the Swarm’s resources.
• The Hatchery gained enough rare elements to produce Needle Crawlers, and Chloe combined them with Zerglings to improve the Swarm’s hunting strength.
• Chloe visited the Overmind’s guarded cocoon and, feeling lonely, wished he would answer her again.
• Zhang Han dreamed of the Overminds’ memories of the Swarm devouring worlds and feared becoming a merciless monster.

Chloe woke to a massive Beast Tide charging through the Death Forest and feared the Swarm could not protect the Overmind. Reprimanded by the Level Two Hive, she resolved to stop the horde and searched Mr. Functional Consciousness’s memories for a solution.

• Chloe rested against the Overmind’s cocoon and felt reassured by its warmth.
• At sunrise, tens of thousands of magical beasts and other creatures charged through the Death Forest toward the Swarm.
• A Swarm patrol of a hundred Zerglings and Needle Crawlers fought the horde, killing many beasts before being overwhelmed.
• Chloe saw the patrol’s defeat through the Swarm Network and feared the Beast Tide would reach the Overmind.
• The Level Two Hive reproached Chloe for her fear, and she vowed to defend the Overmind.
• Chloe searched Mr. Functional Consciousness’s memories for a way to stop the Beast Tide.

Chloe studied the Swarm’s combat memories to prepare for the Beast Tide, then joined her mind with the Level Two Hive’s brain to strengthen her control. With her command range expanded, she ordered the Hatchery to unleash its stored eggs and raise a massive force.

• Chloe reviewed memories of Tube Forest defenses, a Queen’s battlefield tactics, and Abaddon’s biological warfare, learning how the Swarm could defeat stronger enemies.
• Chloe traveled to the Level Two Hive’s brain and decided to temporarily join with it rather than undergo brain modification.
• The Hatchery implanted a syringe into Chloe’s brain, causing intense pain before the Swarm Network helped her endure it.
• Chloe gained control of up to twenty thousand Zerg units and ordered the Hatchery to give her full support against the Beast Tide.
• The Hatchery released pheromones, and waves of Zerglings and Needle Crawlers emerged from its stored eggs.

Chloe prepared the Creep and its Tumors to resist the Beast Tide, then led the Swarm in a devastating flank attack. The first clash left the Beast Tide badly damaged, while Chloe realized the enemy’s magical beasts fought with surprising discipline.

• Chloe used her energy reserves to strengthen the Creep Tumors and maximize the Creep’s abilities before the Beast Tide arrived.
• Three evolved Creep Tumors fought off the Beast Tide’s vanguard, killing many beasts while enduring powerful psionic attacks.
• Chloe learned that the Beast Tide numbered around 150,000, including 50,000 magical beasts and three unidentified, exceptionally powerful psionic entities.
• Chloe sent 10,000 Swarm units against the Beast Tide’s left flank, where Zerglings and Needle Crawlers killed over 6,000 beasts at the cost of roughly 2,000 Swarm units.
• Chloe reviewed how the Swarm’s arrowhead formation and successive Needle Crawler volleys cut through the Beast Tide as both sides exchanged heavy casualties.

Chloe used the Swarm to split the Beast Tide and lure its forces into a pursuit, applying tactical kiting to inflict heavy losses while withdrawing. As the Swarm prepared to face the pursuing beasts near a defensive position, Stars unexpectedly volunteered to join the battle.

• Chloe learned from the Hive Mind that it could coordinate the Swarm but could not make decisions, and that its level limited the support it could provide.
• The Swarm broke through the beasts’ left flank, encircled and annihilated three thousand beasts, then withdrew before the larger force could catch it.
• Chloe kept five thousand Swarm creatures just ahead of roughly sixty thousand pursuing beasts, using tactical kiting despite casualties from long-range psionic attacks.
• The Swarm lured the beasts toward a defensive position formed by four Creep Tumors, where twenty-five hundred enhanced Zerglings were waiting.
• Chloe removed Ymir and the knights from command, while the humans hid in camp; Stars surprised them by proposing to join the battle.

Chloe accepted Stars's offer to help defend the Hatchery and had the Hive Mind implant Neural Thorns in her. As Chloe and Stars launched a counterattack against the Beast Tide, Stars revealed her restored body and powerful Psionics Enchantment, leaving the Swarm with a stronger chance of victory.

• Chloe agreed to let Stars share the burden of defending the Hatchery and command the enhanced Zerglings.
• The Hive Mind repaired Stars's genetic defects during the Neural Thorn procedure, restoring her youth and giving her four Neural Thorns.
• Chloe joined her Swarm army with Stars's forces and set a coordinated ambush using the Creep Tumors.
• Chloe and Stars struck the chaotic Beast Tide from two directions, inflicting at least 8,000 casualties.
• Stars used Psionics Enchantment to strengthen the enhanced Zerglings' armor, weapons, and coordination across her entire army.

Chloe redirected the Swarm’s attack after Stars identified the white gorilla as the legendary Behemoth, then used the Creep Tumors and a hidden reserve to devastate the Beast Tide’s left flank. The herd was reduced to fewer than forty thousand, and Chloe’s forces began to match it in strength.

• Stars told Chloe that the white gorilla was likely the Behemoth, prompting Chloe to abandon her plan to annihilate the herd and order a mobile battle of attrition.
• Chloe withdrew the Swarm toward the four Creep Tumors, which came under heavy assault from the beasts and the Behemoth.
• As the Creep Tumors began to falter, Chloe deployed ten thousand Swarm troops hidden beneath the Creep and sent her forces to strike the Beast Tide’s weak left flank.
• A Creep Tumor held the Behemoth back while nearly sixteen thousand Swarm troops attacked the herd from front and rear, throwing its left flank into chaos.
• The Beast Tide fell from sixty thousand to fewer than forty thousand, while the Swarm retained thirteen thousand combat troops and began closing the gap in strength.

The Swarm suffered a devastating blow when the Behemoth uprooted and hurled a Creep Tumor into its ranks, forcing Chloe to order a retreat. As the beast horde rested and struggled across the Creep, the Swarm continued to recover and grow, leaving the battle increasingly in its favor.

• The Behemoth tore up a Creep Tumor and threw it into the Swarm, killing more than two hundred units.
• Chloe ordered a swift retreat, leaving the Swarm with eleven thousand combat bugs as the pursuing beast horde fell to a little over thirty thousand beasts.
• The exhausted beasts tried to eat corpses, but many had liquefied and the Zerg units were too tough to bite through.
• Chloe sensed the beasts resting and realized the Creep would digest battlefield corpses while the Swarm hatched replacements.
• The eighty thousand beasts on the other side became trapped and slowed by the Creep's thickening slime, and some began to doubt their Beast Tide could defeat the bugs.

Chloe’s Swarm rebuilt its forces and surrounded the beast horde, but the beasts began burning away the vulnerable Creep, forcing her to consider an attack. Stars warned her that fighting beyond the Creep could be costly and proposed another approach, leaving Chloe to weigh the advice of her increasingly capable subordinate.

• The Storm Dragonhawk and Frost Serpent discussed the Swarm’s strength, the battle’s outcome, and the need to find its nest while the dragonhawk agreed to scout from the sky.
• Chloe replenished the Swarm army to 24,000, dividing command between herself and Stars without giving Stars any Enhanced Zerglings.
• Chloe saw that the beasts were using flames to destroy the Creep and decided the Swarm could no longer rely on it to wear down the horde.
• The Swarm army traveled through underground tunnels and assembled beyond the scouting range of the 80,000-beast horde.
• Chloe prepared a surprise attack on the two hundred High-Level Magical Beasts burning the Creep, but Stars urged her to avoid the risky fight and offered an alternative.

Chloe allowed Stars to attempt a dangerous Psionics Shock using the Swarm Network’s mental power, while the Hive Mind offered to interfere with Stars. Stars successfully struck the beasts, killing several High-Level Magical Beasts and forcing the survivors to hide.

• Stars proposed using Psionics Resonance to channel the Swarm Network’s mental power into a Psionics Shock, despite the risk of backlash.
• Chloe challenged Stars to cast the spell herself, and Stars accepted and began gathering power from the four thousand combat bugs under her command.
• The Hive Mind offered to eliminate Stars because it sensed Chloe’s wariness, but Chloe ordered it to help Stars instead.
• Stars completed the spell and launched a Psionics Shock that destroyed everything within a twenty-five-meter radius, killing several High-Level Magical Beasts and many ordinary magical beasts.
• The surviving High-Level Magical Beasts concealed themselves among the ordinary beasts, and the others hid to avoid being hit by another attack.

After Stars exhausted herself using a long-range Psionics Shock, the Hive Mind offered to replicate her attack through Chloe, and Chloe prepared an ambush. The Frost Serpent’s forces found the Swarm’s bugs and began fighting them, but the Swarm’s precise tactics and the beasts’ mucus-coated bodies gave the outnumbered bugs a favorable exchange rate.

• Stars survived her Psionics Shock but needed at least three hours to recover, and the Hive Mind told Chloe it could replicate the attack if she controlled its release.
• Chloe accepted the Hive Mind’s plan, hid part of the Swarm underground beneath Creep, and left the main force waiting in the passage.
• The Frost Serpent sent scouts to search for the source of the Psionics Shock, then ordered High-Level Magical Beasts to burn away the Creep slowly.
• Needle Crawlers and Zerglings emerged from the mucus, and the Frost Serpent directed the horde into separate groups to fight them.
• The Swarm’s smaller units inflicted heavy casualties through precise coordination, while Creep mucus slowed the beasts and limited their advantage in numbers.

Chloe and the Swarm launched a night raid against the beasts after the Frost Serpent let down its guard, using Psionics Shock and an ambush by Enhanced Zerglings to devastate them. As the battle continued, the Swarm exploited gathered combat data to target the beasts’ weaknesses, while the Hive Mind paid a cost to support Chloe’s attack.

• The Frost Serpent ordered the High-Level Magical Beasts to burn the Creep and later let its beasts eat and rest after night fell.
• Chloe marked five crowded positions on the Hatchery network map and used the Hive Mind to unleash Psionics Shock across them.
• Enhanced Zerglings burst from underground as the perimeter Swarm army attacked the stunned beasts.
• The Zerglings and Needle Crawlers overwhelmed the beasts, taking down even a giant mammoth by exposing its belly to steel needles.
• Chloe saw that one of the four subsidiary brains had melted away by a fifth after the attack.
• The Swarm used combat data stored in the Hive Mind to target the beasts’ weaknesses as red dots vanished from the map.

Chloe identified the Frost Serpent as the legendary beast behind the Swarm’s losses and ordered a pincer attack to draw it out. The Frost Serpent halted the Swarm’s right flank, and Chloe redirected the surrounding troops to hunt it and study its weaknesses.

• The Frost Serpent unleashed a blizzard that battered the Swarm, prompting Chloe to identify it and order a retreat from the storm.
• Chloe used the Swarm Network to assemble troops on both flanks and launch a pincer attack that broke the beasts’ battle line.
• The Frost Serpent charged into the Swarm’s right flank, inflicting heavy casualties and stopping its advance.
• Chloe ordered the Swarm to surround the Frost Serpent, hunt it, and gather data on its weaknesses.
• A squad of Zerglings slipped past the Frost Serpent’s breath and latched onto its ice-armored body.