One day later, the swarm’s upgrade was complete.
The upgrade had consumed nearly all available resources, resulting in limited production of new bugs that day.
Even so, fifty new zerglings and twenty hydralisks were produced, bringing the total number of combat units to 620.
In contrast, the number of drones was gradually approaching sixty.
In addition to consuming captured prey, they were also responsible for gathering stones to help build a palace for Xia Jin to live in.
It was at this moment that a prompt from the hive echoed in Xia Jin’s mind.
【LV3 Zerg Hive has stabilized. Latent energy activated. Granting the Queen empowerment abilities: Overlord’s Shield, Queen’s Projection.】
【Generating data...】
【Overlord’s Shield: Links the entire swarm to draw mental energy, constructing a physical shield to block enemy attacks against the Queen. This ability can be used once per day. Duration depends on mental strength and the intensity of the enemy’s attack.】
【Queen’s Projection: Constructs a physical biological clone possessing a portion of the Queen’s abilities, controlled by the Queen herself. In the event of danger, the clone can self-destruct. Each clone cost = current tier zergling × 10 normal energy. The clone’s rank upon summoning = zergling tier + 1. The Queen’s current mental strength can maintain one clone at a time.】
“These are new abilities?”
Feeling the extra memories in her mind, Xia Jin was quite surprised.
But on second thought, it made sense. As the Queen, she couldn’t be too fragile; obtaining a defensive ability was inevitable.
The Queen’s Projection ability was also easy to understand. When she needed to do something personally, she didn’t need to use her main body; she could just use the projection.
“Since the ability is here, let’s create one.”
She had already been wondering how to sneak into the City of Darkness to gather intelligence.
The bugs certainly wouldn’t work; their appearance would definitely get them killed as monsters.
And if ordinary soldiers went in, there was a high probability they wouldn’t come out, so Xia Jin certainly wouldn’t send them.
In the end, she realized the only one she could use was herself.
A clone capable of self-destructing meant that even if she encountered some irresistible risk, it wouldn’t matter.
She could just blow it up.
With the entire swarm linked, the enemy couldn’t hope to use any mental abilities to control her unless they believed their will could overcome nearly seven hundred emotionless Zerg creatures.
Following Xia Jin’s order, the Zerg Hive immediately began allocating resources equivalent to ten zerglings—which was 500 units of normal energy—to cultivate her projection.
The appearance of the Queen’s Projection was similar to Xia Jin, but it lacked a spark of life compared to her. Or rather, it was like a lifeless doll; essentially, it was still a bug.
If one were to cut open its skin, they would find that the internal structure of the projection was different from a human’s, being entirely composed of Zerg biology.
About thirty minutes later, a young girl who looked no different from Xia Jin appeared in her line of sight.
Of course, she was currently unclothed. To prevent her subordinates from seeing everything, she had already sent the knights and soldiers away in advance.
Walking up to the projection and looking at the girl’s pure and lovely face, Xia Jin felt a bit breathless.
“She really does get prettier the more I look at her.”
This was what she looked like now.
With long silver hair and a nearly perfect figure, she looked like a goddess descended to earth.
To say she possessed breathtaking beauty was truly no exaggeration.
Even with her eyes closed and devoid of any life, she was beyond anything a commoner could compare to.
She reached out and pinched the projection’s small face.
“Not bad, it feels just like a real person... Hmm, seems a bit softer.”
Or rather, Xia Jin’s own body was just that supple and soft.
Going inside the carriage, she selected a set of princess attire similar to what she was wearing but with a longer skirt. She then attempted to link with the projection and controlled the new body to put the clothes on.
Looking at the state of her new body, Xia Jin nodded in satisfaction.
At this moment, she turned her head to look at the twenty hydralisks nearby.
Since these monsters were born, she hadn’t assigned them any tasks, so they had been standing by quietly.
Within the swarm, these were also considered low cost creatures, though their price was still much more expensive than zerglings.
This was not only because they had a larger volume but also because their internal structure was much more sophisticated.
From their appearance, a Tier 3 hydralisk was at least 2.5 meters tall. Compared to a petite girl like Xia Jin, who was 1.6 meters, they were truly oppressive.
Their massive scythe blades possessed terrifying close combat capabilities.
However, hydralisks were not creatures that specialized in melee; their primary method was ranged attacks.
They could spit out a super corrosive liquid many times stronger than sulfuric acid, melting opponents instantly.
A hydralisk’s tail was snake like, and while their upper body seemed heavy, their movements were not actually slow. The spikes covering their bodies were also exceptionally sturdy; being struck by one would be a lethal affair.
“Try it out. Attack that rock over there.”
Xia Jin pointed to a boulder thirty meters away and gave the order to the hydralisk beside her.
The creature loyally opened its mouth and spat a glob of green acid.
Like a flying cannonball, the acid hit the target instantly. Then, with a sizzle, it immediately corroded more than half of the stone.
The remaining half also quickly melted into liquid amidst the sizzling sound.
“Hiss~”
Is this even reasonable?
It truly defied logic.
A magical species indeed.
She had never heard of any chemical substance that could react so quickly. One could only say that the inherent nature of the Zerg itself was not simple.
“Well done. Go with the others and support the zerglings.”
Xia Jin patted the creature’s scythe (its head was too high to reach), and the creature immediately wagged its tail happily, heading off to execute the order with excitement.
It could only be said that only when facing the Queen herself would a hydralisk show such a side. Otherwise, its appearance alone was gruesome enough.
Rate on N.U.
