"Do we have to sacrifice another batch of Reaper? These Reaper are meant to protect the academicians; we can't afford to waste them in large numbers again."
"We don't need to sacrifice Reaper, not even a single one. We can use a trick of falsely issuing an imperial edict, making the Reaper act as eunuchs for a bit. We'll spread the news of the civilization fleet's invasion along the way, saying that the pursuit of the fleet is an order from the nearby Insect King. This will make these Zerg not only pursue the fleet but also spread the news further. And so on, and the Zerg swarm will be mobilized. Our actions will also become less conspicuous."
Will it work?
"I just reviewed the Zerg swarm knowledge that Academician Xiao left us, and after careful consideration, I couldn't find anything that wouldn't work. Moreover, Academician Xiao's camouflage system is simply too perfect. We were fooled by that one, which was probably around level 25. Now, if we go to find some lower-level Zerg swarms to send messages, there naturally won't be any problems."
" Little Zhuge, have you considered the impact on our defenses by stirring up chaos here? The Civilization and the Insect Race are currently maintaining a delicate balance. If we disrupt this balance, it could very well have a negative effect on the defenses."
"Don't worry, Academician. Even if we wreak havoc here, it won't affect the defense line in any way. Moreover, this chaos won't last long. The swarm will soon give up because they can't find the so-called invading fleet. Although they are intelligent, they are not good at strategy and act on instinct. This is the key to the success of our plan."
"I never imagined that Little Zhuge was not only so resourceful but also so knowledgeable. I'm truly impressed."
"Academician, I'm just cramming at the last minute, learning this knowledge before leaving. Chen Peng, let's begin, let's pass the information to the Reaper around us first."
"Yes, sir!"
The Reaper quickly relayed the new orders through contact, and a thousand Reaper broke away from the scattered formation once again, flying towards other celestial bodies. After a year of travel, they were now four thousand light-years away from the giant worm.
A Reaper arrived near a planet where trillions of insects of all sizes had gathered. The swarm did not react to the arrival of the Reaper.
"A civilized fleet has invaded! A civilized fleet has invaded! The Insect King has ordered a full-scale search. You are to depart immediately and simultaneously relay this order to the other Zerg swarms."
The Reaper circled the swarm of insects around the planet and sent out the message. Upon receiving the message, the swarm immediately rioted, leaving the planet without a doubt. Although the Reaper did not know where the Insect King was in this area, according to Academician Xiao's research, there must be an Insect King here.
The Reaper flew relentlessly toward their destination, relaying messages along the way. In truth, the Reaper were no longer needed to relay messages, as the fleet had received several messages from other Zerg swarms during the year-long voyage, reporting invasions by civilized fleets.
Trillions upon trillions of insect swarms flew through the starry sky, searching for a seemingly non-existent civilization fleet. Due to the sheer number of insects, collisions between swarms were inevitable, leading to a cannibalistic war: higher-level insects devoured lower-level insects, while lower-level insects besieged higher-level insects.
The top-tier Insect King does not interfere with this. Insects attacking and eating each other does not reduce the number of insects. Higher-level insects gain energy for action by eating lower-level insects, which is one of their energy sources. Higher-level insects that can be defeated by lower-level insects are not of much value to the insect swarm. The rule of survival of the fittest is perfectly and thoroughly executed in the insect swarm.
As they drew ever closer to their destination, the number of swarms of insects in the air increased dramatically. This chaotic situation spread across half the galaxy at an incredible speed, alarming all the Insect King in those regions. However, the Insect King were unaware that the news was false. They were too far apart to communicate with each other, and the Insect King were aloof and rarely Insect King with others. They only knew that the news of the civilization fleet's invasion had been released by another Insect King, but which Insect King was responsible was not a concern for them.
However, their desire to attack the civilized fleet kept urging the swarm to search the entire airspace. Two years passed in a flash, and the swarm had not found any trace of the fleet. Their search intensity slowed down significantly. With about 8,000 light-years away from the Matter River, at this rate, the swarm might not be able to hold out until the fleet reached the Matter River before it stopped.
This is already the central area of Insect Zone. The Zerg swarm density is several times greater than when we first crossed the Zerg line. High-level Zerg, thousands of kilometers long, are everywhere, and we've even seen several Insect King that are tens of thousands of kilometers long. All the Zerg swarms are flying in space, and the fleet's movements have not attracted the attention of the Insect King.
If the swarm calms down now and the fleet continues to advance, it will definitely attract the attention of the Insect King. There are too many Insect King here. Although Academician Xiao's disguise is perfect, as long as the Insect King investigates even slightly, the possibility of the fleet's secret being discovered is very high.
" Zhuge Xiong, think of a solution quickly!"
"Don't worry, everything is under control. The detached Reaper are about to start moving. Once Reaper find an opportunity, they will also discard their bio-armor, giving the swarm a little stimulation, and they will naturally become active again."
"You're really thoughtful."
"Of course, we anticipated that the chaos in the swarm wouldn't last long, so we took precautions."
A Reaper entered the star. After the surrounding swarm of insects passed, the Reaper's bio-armor disappeared. It cautiously emerged from the star, revealing only half of its hull. However, this small movement was immediately noticed by the passing swarm, which frantically surrounded it. Some lower-level insects could not withstand the high temperature inside the star, but a small number of higher-level insects could easily cope with the heat.
Although the lower-level insects cannot cope with high temperatures, some of them still possess long-range attack capabilities. Countless spikes, liquid clumps, and solid substances are ejected from their mouths, rushing towards the Reaper in the star.
If it weren't for the Reversed State Armor, these long-range attacks from the swarm would have inflicted fatal damage on the warship, because the information transmitted from the Reversed State Armor already showed the power and attributes of this attack, which ordinary armor would find difficult to withstand.
Thousands of high-level insects that rushed into the star had firmly taken control of the Reaper. A giant insect, 5,000 kilometers long, bit down on the Reversed State Armor Reversed State Armor with its massive, mountain-like fangs. The Reversed State Armor was 50 meters thick. Although the giant insect's teeth were powerful and its bite force was great, the back of its teeth was wide, and it could only penetrate a dozen meters before it could not go any deeper.
The Reaper and the giant worm's teeth were locked together, neither able to break free. The giant worm suddenly turned around and bit the Reaper out of the star.