After a total of 2,000 banelings were consumed, the protective barrier finally began to tremble more violently.
However, mages immediately stepped up to fill the gaps, and a large group of laborers replaced the old magic crystals with new ones, stabilizing the barrier once again.
Xia Jin narrowed her eyes.
“Could I get my hands on this technology? After the Swarm heads into space, the Zerg’s shield technology might benefit from a reference like this.”
Since the magic-wielding elf bugs had already been created, it was not strange to add some magical power to the shields.
In the future, she could even incorporate technology from technological civilizations.
In fact, the Zerg had been borrowing technology from other civilizations in the past. For instance, there had once been a zergling variant equipped with biological chainsaws. It had been invincible in combat, capable of spraying intense radiation that caused staggering damage.
Actually, as the Hive reached a certain stage, various biological variants would appear.
At that point, the Zerg's path of genetic evolution would truly begin.
Xia Jin watched the enemy's shield and the continuous incoming shells. Realizing that breaking through the external defenses would not happen anytime soon, she turned her attention elsewhere.
Since the production of all units except scourges and mutalisks had been completely halted for the short term, the Swarm's resource reserves were increasing at a rapid rate.
Current resource reserves were approximately as follows: 80 million units of standard energy, 480,000 units of high-energy crystals, 450,000 units of gold, and 1,200 units of mithril.
The gold and mithril were already sufficient, even exceeding the upgrade requirements. Only standard energy and high-energy crystals were still lacking.
She calculated that at the current rate, it would take about three more days to gather enough.
However, the creep coverage would expand further over the next two days. In reality, it would take at most two days, provided she sent out some insects to intensify hunting in the forest.
“I wonder what the mythic magic beasts would think if they knew about my current expansion speed.”
Although she had received authorization, Xia Jin remained cautious in her actions.
At the very least, she could not be too hasty. The mythic kings were not limited to just the few she was on good terms with; there were many others. While those who agreed would more or less show some respect, there was no telling what the others would think if she went too far and displayed power beyond their imagination.
Therefore, a prerequisite for a full-scale advance was that Xia Jin's main Swarm force had to be capable of contending with the magic beasts in the depths of the forest.
But judging from the current situation, she was not sure who was stronger between the magic beasts and the Empire.
To avoid being caught in the middle like a piece of meat in a sandwich, she definitely needed to maintain a slightly better relationship with one side first.
Alternatively, a more direct way would be to start developing a massive navy and stockpile troops outside the continent once the war with the Kingdom was nearing its end.
...
Xia Jin's projection watched the battlefield the entire time.
Perhaps feeling a bit uncomfortable after being subjected to so many shellings, she retreated about a kilometer, continuing to observe the battle from outside the enemy's range.
The Swarm even specifically produced several thousand extra banelings and scourges every day just to blast open the enemy's light barrier.
After losing nearly 1,000 griffins, the Kingdom was in a difficult position.
If they did not continue sending out their air force, the mutalisks would fly close and launch continuous attacks. But as soon as they were deployed, the mutalisks would retreat, and thousands of scourges would swarm over them.
Out of necessity, the responsibility for defending the sky shifted to the mages.
Streaks of magical light flew up from the city.
Mages were everywhere on the upper levels of the massive structures.
One group would meditate and rest after exhausting their magic, only to be replaced by another. This rotation killed many banelings and significantly reduced the pressure on the city's defenses.
On the ground, the intensity of the mage unit's attacks remained at a relatively low level.
Faced with the banelings that occasionally flew over, all they could do was use magic to kill as many as possible before they landed, preventing them from striking the magical barrier.
After the battle lasted for a day and a night, the shield still had not been breached. However, many mages maintaining the magical barrier were so exhausted they needed several days of rest to recover. Some who had their mental energy drained too suddenly even suffered lifelong side effects.
“Queen, the resources for the Hive upgrade are nearly ready,” Brain Bug No. 1’s message arrived.
“Mm, proceed with the upgrade.”
At this moment, Xia Jin, who was lying next to the Hive while the little magic monster princess and several elf bugs helped her with a massage (definitely not because she wanted to snuggle with girls), finally stretched and stood up.
The Second Princess had been sent to command the northern region of the City of Darkness. She was leading 2,000 insects, attempting to attack a relatively strong magic beast lord.
Of course, “relatively strong” only meant a few thousand Tier 3 and Tier 4 magic beasts.
“Upgrade.”
Xia Jin hopped back to clear space for the Hive's upgrade.
The flesh and blood inside looked a bit terrifying. Watching the transformation, she sighed.
Glancing at the little magic monster princess's salivating expression, Xia Jin narrowed her eyes. “Don't even think about it.”
The Hive upgrade began.
The target this time was LV8.
She wondered how much it would improve.
Rate on N.U.
