The Predator Zerg

Mountain Crow noticed Cloud Magpie's movements; he knew the man well, aware of his ruthless nature and lack of words. If there was an option to act, Cloud Magpie certainly wouldn't waste time talking, so Mountain Crow used his eyes to query the woman standing behind them.

In moments like this, only Snow Crow Ji could restrain these two.

Suddenly, Cloud Magpie lowered the hand resting on his blade as if sensing something, looking up in a specific direction.

"They are here."

"Wait, who's here? Make yourself clear," Mountain Crow asked, confused.

But in the next moment, the alarm echoing over the base dispelled his doubts.

"It's a zerg attack!"

Major Mondeville shouted, his resonant voice possessing a penetrating power that instantly reached every corner of the training base.

The man turned and waved his hand, beginning the pre-battle deployment with a steady expression.

The three watched as the soldiers of the entire base were mobilized immediately, hurrying to their posts in a tight, orderly fashion.

In less than two minutes, the entire outpost base had entered a state of pre-battle alert, with everyone standing ready as a murderous aura spread among the soldiers.

"These guys aren't bad," Mountain Crow remarked after coming to his senses.

"They seem to have more cohesion than your Mountain Crow group," Cloud Magpie threw back as he walked away without looking back.

He walked in the direction Mondeville had previously left, intending to use the industrial lift there to reach the command platform above.

"Regardless, let's go see," Snow Crow Ji said.

Mountain Crow shrugged and slowly withdrew his hand from his coat; if it hadn't been for the sudden zerg attack, he might have already pressed his gun to the major's head to make the man talk.

Still, was it just his imagination, or was the zerg attack just a bit too convenient?

He didn't think too much of it and quickly followed Cloud Magpie's lead.

Accompanied by a heavy thud, the doors of the industrial lift opened to reveal a broad view; exiting with the three was a military truck mounted with a close-in defense cannon, from which fully-equipped soldiers leaped down and ran toward the wall's edge.

The three reached the man's side, where they could take in the entire battlefield at a glance.

Shadows blanketed the desert, and a black line extending for several kilometers appeared on the distant horizon; if one stood higher and looked out, they would see thousands of black shadows fast approaching from behind the sand dunes.

Looking closely, one could see the large elytra overlapping on the shadows' backs and a pair of ferocious spider fangs; it was a small vanguard force of the "predator" zerg. This type of zerg most commonly appeared on the battlefields outside cities, specializing in gathering intelligence and destroying outpost facilities; their chitinous black shells were harder than armor and capable of stopping armor-piercing rounds.

A dull vibration came from the ground, and the faint sound of wings vibrating and hissing could be heard from the distance.

Observing several soldiers donning transparent combat suits over their bodies, Mountain Crow put down his binoculars. "Hey, you don't actually plan to fight those bugs head-on, do you?"

The soldiers did not answer him, merely activating the combat suits in silence; invisible barriers spread from the cores, covering their bodies in a hazy mist that was hard to detect unless one looked closely.

Afterward, those soldiers raised the blazing blades from Logic Studio in their hands, which glowed a scorching red while emitting low roars and hums.

"This is the latest combat suit developed by Dr. Klef. As for its effects, I'm sure you will see them shortly, Family Head Mountain Crow."

As Mondeville spoke, he picked up a bolt cannon as thick as a tree trunk and activated the core of the combat suit he wore; the invisible barrier expanded, disturbing the space around him. Mountain Crow stared closely, realizing that even the dust floating in the air was being kept out by this barrier.

Tens of soldiers who had changed into their combat suits rushed outside the base walls, forming a battle line to engage the first wave of zerg arriving at the perimeter.

The blazing blades hummed at a low frequency, easily slicing through the seemingly indestructible shells of the predators. Splashes of corrosive blood evaporated into the air as the soldiers cooperated with disciplined precision, clearly familiar with the zerg's attack patterns as they easily dodged claws and fangs to decapitate their foes in single strikes.

As these soldiers cycled their attacks, the first wave of over a hundred predators at the perimeter was quickly cleared out; the efficiency surprised Mountain Crow, as these ordinary soldiers without any mimicry powers were displaying such formidable combat capability.

At that moment, his keen insight noticed a shadow wriggling beneath the wall—a hidden stalker was crouching there.

Its fangs moved slowly as it faced a soldier who had his back turned, completely exposing his defenseless and fragile neck.

The hidden stalker crouched slightly, its wings snapping open as the venomous needle beneath its abdomen shot toward the soldier with a whistle; simultaneously, its sharp forelimbs crossed quickly, intending to slice the soldier's throat!

The neurotoxins injected by a hidden stalker's venomous needle could kill a full-grown elephant, not to mention that its sharp and powerful forelimbs could tear through thirty-centimeter-thick blue-scaled mithril alloy!

Just as Mountain Crow thought the soldier was doomed, something surprising happened in the next instant: the needle flying toward the soldier suddenly vanished, and the forelimbs cutting toward his neck were deflected at a subtle angle the moment they touched that barrier.

Yes, they were simply deflected.

"This is...?"

Mountain Crow thought his eyes were playing tricks on him; in contrast, the soldier spun around with a slash. The blazing blade cut through the hidden stalker from top to bottom, and as a blood-slit appeared, the zerg was cleaved neatly in half.

With the strength of a hidden stalker, it could flip a military armored vehicle and possessed a bite force of a thousand kilograms; yet, it had been deflected by that gossamer-like barrier?

Soon after, the main zerg army arrived, and the base's close-in defense cannons opened fire; shells and armor-piercing rounds poured out like a storm, and everywhere one looked, green blood splattered. The soldiers moved as if in an uninhabited region, braving the heavy fire of the battlefield as they charged into the swarm.

The light of the blazing blades cycled as they tore through the zerg lines while searching for the commander of this predator squad, their hissing echoing across the land.

"This is the result of Dr. Klef's latest research, which forms an energy barrier on the wearer's surface through the core's generator," Mondeville explained as he raised his glowing-red bolt cannon.

"Only attacks of a specific frequency can pass through this barrier. The vast majority of kinetic energy is absorbed, including but not limited to stray bullets and the force from explosions. To penetrate this barrier, an attack must be synchronized with its frequency."