Standing Firm

As the coastal waters were cleared, a large group of impatient zerglings immediately arrived at the seaside, carrying the long-awaited Swimmers on their backs and tossing these aquatic species into the water.

The army of Tier 4 Swimmers once again invaded the depths.

This time, things were completely different. The zerglings launched them in continuous volleys, and in less than five minutes, the number of Swimmers below reached twenty thousand. This accounted for more than a quarter of the Swarm's current underwater population.

More importantly, another thirty thousand Swimmers were already on their way from Clearwillow Lake.

Once in the water, the Swimmers faced countless shrimp soldiers and crab soldiers. The Zerg gave their enemies no room to breathe, immediately firing off a massive barrage of exploding needles.

The needles unleashed a terrifying shockwave at close range, mixed with potent toxins. Combined with the already polluted waters, they dealt an even more brutal blow to the enemy.

In an instant, the number of dead shrimpmen and crabmen reached the tens of thousands.

Following this, the Swimmers began a forceful offensive.

Within half an hour, over twenty thousand shrimpmen and three thousand crabmen were killed. The expansion line pushed forward several kilometers, and the enemies, unable to withstand the pressure, began to retreat in defeat.

The Swimmers soon encountered the sharkmen, and a fierce battle broke out between the two sides in the open sea.

However, the Zerg's long-range needle fire represented a crushing disparity in power. Once their numbers scaled up, the sharkmen felt an immense amount of pressure.

A portion of the Zerg brought choice cuts of crab and shrimp meat to Xia Jin's projection.

Looking at the crabs and shrimp that were larger than humans, she swallowed hard. She set up a pot on the spot and began to steam them.

After a while, the meat was cooked. She cracked open a crab shell, instantly revealing the succulent meat and rich crab roe that filled the air with a delicious aroma.

"This is incredible."

She took a bite, and the flavor was so divine it sent her spirits soaring.

"How can this be so delicious?"

Xia Jin swallowed another mouthful and immediately made a decision: they would farm these.

They couldn't just fish them to extinction; delicious things had to be produced sustainably.

In theory, the Zerg could replicate the genes and produce the meat themselves, but that kind of meat always carried strong Zerg characteristics. It felt strange, like eating her own kind, and lacked the flavor of the original ecology.

Xia Jin had a massive feast right there on the shore.

The Zerg themselves didn't have such high standards; they swallowed the creatures whole, shells and all, while they were still alive.

Besides, the Zerg weren't influenced by things like taste.

Xia Jin ate a great deal in one go. Looking back at the shore after finishing, she saw more Zerg delivering large batches of Swimmers to be dropped into the depths.

Furthermore, modified locusts that could enter the water were being deployed as if they cost nothing at all.

Although the locusts' combat effectiveness on the seabed was less than half of what it was on land, their sheer numbers were overwhelming. They could pile onto and kill many enemies. In critical moments, they could help the Swimmers intercept foes or deal with weaker aquatic species without Xia Jin having to worry about the losses.

As all the Swimmers from Clearwillow Lake finished their modifications, most of them were sent to the battlefield of the Great West Sea.

Subsequently, one hive was dedicated to the mass production of underwater species.

At forty units of energy per Swimmer, which were essentially the underwater equivalent of zerglings, Xia Jin allocated two million units of standard energy per day to the task.

This was equivalent to producing fifty thousand Swimmers a day.

This rate would be maintained depending on whether the underwater front truly required that many.

With the reinforcements from Clearwillow Lake being dumped into the sea, the area within several kilometers of the coast was now a scene of total carnage.

The enemy finally experienced the true scale of the Swarm.

Of course, the sharkmen were also formidable. They directly ordered the shrimpmen and crabmen to provide even more individual support.

Soon, more shrimp soldiers and crab soldiers arrived from dozens or even hundreds of kilometers away, their numbers reaching hundreds of thousands by a rough estimate.

This staggering scale turned this patch of sea into a horrific meat grinder.

The Zerg's numbers once again fell into a disadvantage.

One hundred thousand locusts were all deployed into the water. Although their strength was reduced, their purpose was to soak up damage for the Swimmers and clear out low-tier small fish and shrimp to reduce the pressure on the main force, so it wasn't a major issue.

The brutal battle lasted throughout the entire night.

As more and more Swimmers were tossed into the fray, the intensity of the combat showed no signs of weakening.

The Sea Race was incredibly stubborn, refusing to admit defeat even as they died, turning the sea water red with blood.

Xia Jin even had many locusts swim through the water to seize corpses, bringing as many fallen combatants from both sides back to the shore for the hive and drones to absorb.

Eventually, the enemy seemed to realize the Zerg needed the corpses and began to fight for them as well.

By the time morning arrived, the surface of the water had turned crimson. Locusts could be seen constantly entering and exiting the waves, each one crawling out with a biological corpse in its mandibles.

Many locusts emerged with injuries, likely sustained from enemy interception.

But in the final calculation, it didn't seem like a loss at all.

When it came to seizing resources, the enemy was truly no match for the Zerg.

Xia Jin's projection waited quietly for a moment. Seeing that the creep was spreading more and more, she decided to double the production of Swimmers.

One hundred thousand a day.

By noon, one hundred and forty thousand new locusts and over twenty thousand newly produced Swimmers entered the water. Their arrival finally allowed the Zerg to establish a firm foothold in this coastal region spanning several kilometers.

"Hmph, send more if you've got the guts."

Xia Jin couldn't help but laugh after hearing reports of the enemy's fury from underwater.

She realized that no matter how she crunched the numbers, she was the one profiting.