Half a day later, the Swarm had produced 25,000 new Swimmers.
Among them were 22,000 Small Torpedo Types and 3,000 Large Torpedo Types.
These new units were gradually deployed to the front lines. Initially, they had little effect, but as their numbers grew, their firepower superiority became evident.
Occasionally, sharkmen would join the battle, but the hidden exploding needles combined with the terrifying firepower and high density of the torpedoes, along with the interference from countless locusts at the front, allowed the Swarm’s lines to advance once again.
Moreover, the pace of the advance accelerated significantly. For a time, it was impossible for the enemy to maintain any advantage relying solely on shrimpmen and crabmen. Forced into a corner, the sharkmen mobilized a large main force to engage the Swarm in a decisive frontal battle.
However, they were still hesitant to commit their true elite forces, hoping to preserve their strength.
The front lines consisted of hundreds of thousands of shrimp soldiers and crab generals plus tens of thousands of sharkmen. Even if they occasionally gained the upper hand, they were quickly routed under the steady and continuous support of the Swarm.
By evening, the fearless Zerg began a full-scale breakthrough.
Hundreds of thousands of new locusts were released into the water, swarming everywhere to bite at the retreating enemies, causing massive losses even among those trying to flee.
Finally...
The Zerg's sphere of influence on the seabed expanded to 20,000 square kilometers.
The brain bugs began modifying the creep, incorporating genes from various underwater plants like seaweed. That night, through the queen, the first creep tumor was placed on the ocean floor.
The enhancement of the Floating Hive Bugs also began. Some of the exploding needles they carried were replaced with torpedoes, and their firepower was even greater than that of the Swimmer's large torpedoes.
It was a complete transformation, like trading a musket for a cannon.
“The underwater force has finally come into its own.”
Xia Jin realized that once firepower superiority was established, the tactic of combining long-range support with melee cannon fodder resulted in very few losses. This allowed her to steadily increase the scale of the Swarm without having to ramp up underwater production numbers.
Of course, the expansion speed on the seabed remained relatively stable; she did not dare let the Swarm march into the deep sea on a massive scale just yet.
First, she did not know if there were any absurdly powerful biological groups in the open ocean. Second, the number of Zerg on her side was still insufficient.
According to the official kingdom charts, if one sailed south for several thousand kilometers—specifically reaching the western regions of Enbo and Novien—one would encounter a relatively underdeveloped island.
The resources on this island were not particularly abundant, and it lacked magic crystal mines, so it had never received much attention.
With the development of maritime trade in recent years, several countries had consciously tried to plunder the population resources from that island, leading to a few conflicts with the locals.
However, the nations led by the Empire soon discovered that there was little benefit to actually conquering the place, so they temporarily set it aside. Thus, the residents of the island were fortunate enough to avoid total destruction.
“Although it's useless to the Empire and Novien, I like it very much.”
Xia Jin felt that she needed exactly this kind of safe territory—the larger, the better.
Even the soil was a resource that could be absorbed by the creep. Furthermore, the Zerg she would breed in the future did not require high-quality living conditions; she could use the island directly as a base.
In the future, if a war truly broke out with the Empire, this would be a massive troop production base.
Of course, Xia Jin was not considering increasing the number of branch hives for now. The existing hives already made her feel the pressure of insufficient resources.
It was important to remember that upgrading a branch hive cost the same as the main hive; it wouldn't be cheaper just because it was the second one.
Perhaps these cost issues would only be resolved once they reached the space age.
“Can I open a narrow, safe waterway from the seabed to let my land-based Swarm land on that island? No... never mind. I'll just use ships.”
She had heard that the island was inhabited by primitive tribes and did not seem very strong.
“Collect some civilian vessels.”
With a thought from Xia Jin, the elf bugs located in various cities assisting in Zerg management immediately began searching for ships along the West Coast.
If they couldn't find any, they simply chopped down trees to make temporary ones.
After simple modifications and the addition of better magic drive units, the ships were ready to depart.
To make them even faster, the Swarm produced several temporary jet-propulsion bugs. These could attach to the stern of a ship, drawing in air from above and expelling it at high speed through holes in their tails.
The powerful thrust generated could accelerate a small wooden ship to 40 knots, which was equivalent to 74 kilometers per hour.
“Based on the distance estimate, we should arrive in a little over two days.”
The distance was still quite far, nearly 4,000 kilometers.
Xia Jin waited for about six hours as countless wooden ships were carried by Zerg to a coast 300 kilometers away.
The reason they didn't launch from the current sea area was mainly to avoid being noticed and destroyed by the Sea Race, as the two sides were now enemies.
But 300 kilometers away, the waters appeared calm for now.
Watching more than twenty wooden ships, each fifty to sixty meters long, and 100 small boats about ten meters long being pushed into the water, Xia Jin felt a sense of wonder.
As a final trial, these ships were loaded with 12,000 Zerglings, 200 Hydralisks, and 100 other small and medium-sized Zerg.
After producing the jet-propulsion tool bugs at a cost of 5 units of standard energy each, the fleet set off directly.
Even if they fell into the sea or clashed with the Sea Race midway, it wouldn't matter; they could simply stage a heroic sacrifice underwater.
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