The demons are located in the southernmost part of the continent, with the Empire as their only neighbor.
The two sides appear to be sworn enemies. The fact that this race has survived for so long under the nose of such a powerful nation, even fighting multiple wars against them, is a testament to their strength.
However, with the Empire’s power developing so rapidly now, the difficulty for the demons to resist them is likely increasing by the day.
“No wonder this country hasn’t expanded northward; they must be pinned down by the demons,” Xia Jin muttered to herself.
She wasn’t sure how the war between the two was progressing, but as far as she was concerned, the more vicious the fighting, the better.
The average individual strength of the Empire was certainly higher than that of the Kingdom. Combined with their strength-enhancing potions and magic technology, they would be a difficult opponent to face.
Over the past few days, having nothing better to do, Xia Jin enjoyed taking liberties with her subordinates, such as the cute Magic Monster Eldest Princess or the beautiful elf bugs. However, the more she did it, the stranger it felt—she often felt as though she was the one being teased.
At the moment, she was sitting in a small stream, bathing while holding her own soft projection.
The projection would instinctively blush when she touched it. After all, they were both her. Even though she was used to her own body, it was still quite embarrassing when she thought about it.
While the Queen was occupied with such idle pursuits, the cocoon on the east side of the main hive had already expanded to over 80 meters in length.
As its volume increased, Xia Jin had to retreat further away with every pulse of the cocoon.
After all, the nutrient solution dripping from it was like a constant rain.
To prevent her Zerg from developing any strange misunderstandings, she had to maintain her distance and preserve her image of pure majesty.
After waiting another full day, the Carrier Bug was finally complete.
This behemoth obviously couldn't be moved to the coast by normal means. Xia Jin mobilized thousands of drones to drag the thing together, slowly bringing it to the seaside.
The massive biological carrier was finally pushed into the water.
Splash!
The moment it hit the water, liquid sprayed high into the air. After rocking a few times, the Carrier Bug finally stabilized.
“Not bad, not bad.”
At its core, a carrier was simply a takeoff and landing platform for aircraft.
Given this creature's tonnage, its production cost could never be low, but for Xia Jin, this was a groundbreaking achievement. It would allow the Zerg, who currently had limited flight ranges, to engage in combat on the open sea.
“A carrier alone isn't enough; I need escort ships.”
She hadn't expected that, as the leader of the mighty Zerg, she would end up following the path of humanity.
However, with the underwater realm full of threats, fighting at sea was even more difficult than fighting on land, so there was no other way.
Fortunately, the Sea Race had no interest in things like ships; otherwise, even setting out to sea would be impossible right now.
“Brain Bug No. 1, do you have any suggestions?”
The hardworking Brain Bug No. 1 quickly provided an answer. “Perhaps we should consider the costs and avoid building more large ships. We could simply equip Kingdom vessels with cannons or create small biological floating platforms outfitted with imported artillery.”
“That certainly saves money.”
The Zerg’s reputation for resource conservation was well-earned. In truth, designing a new type of Zerg unit wasn't a major issue.
However, manufacturing them would consume production resources that could be used for other species, which is why the brain bug didn't recommend it.
It quickly sent a proposal into Xia Jin’s mind.
It was a hundred-ton class creature that floated on the sea, propelled by jet-propulsion bugs at its rear. Essentially, it was another takeoff and landing platform that could carry flying Zerg, but it could also be equipped with cannons as the brain bug suggested.
“High numbers mean low costs. Even if they are sunk, it won't be a major loss. We could even install just a few cannons on each small biological boat.”
“That works.”
Xia Jin accepted the suggestion.
Small boats escorting a small carrier—that was the general idea.
As for the massive warships and heavy cannons, she would rely on the Kingdom’s shipyards and find a way to acquire the relevant technology from Kelu.
Several Scout Bugs had already been produced. Xia Jin dispatched them to Kelu. After releasing tiny mosquitoes and flies, these small creatures unknowingly infiltrated human living areas and even slipped into military production areas.
A few hours later, some of the insects arrived inside a shipyard.
Massive iron hulls were being used to construct large ships, some reaching over 80 meters in length.
While this was far from enough for future naval warfare, it was already quite impressive to Xia Jin.
After all, she currently had nothing.
An 80-meter length wouldn't be suitable for mounting main batteries in future naval battles. But what if they were used as escort ships specifically outfitted with anti-aircraft guns?
Calculated that way, it seemed like a good deal.
One had to consider that the Kingdom’s griffin legions were capable of brief supersonic flight. In terms of air force quality, they were clearly superior to anything from the World War II era on Earth. Therefore, when facing the Empire’s overwhelming air forces, the Zerg would not only need more scourges and mutalisks to seize air superiority but also powerful anti-air fire to protect the fragile Carrier Bug.
Once the blueprints were ready, Xia Jin sent an elf bug to the Kingdom’s shipyard to find a way to deliver the specific designs and construction methods to the engineers.
As for the production lines, establishing them was relatively easy with the help of magic.
With all this prepared, the Zerg began considering sending a fleet to sail further into the Great West Sea.
Of course, the best approach would be to obtain navigation maps beforehand to determine if there were any easily conquerable nations on the other side of the continent.
Xia Jin planned to entrust this exploration mission to Ellie.
Indeed, it was the female knight who had followed her for a long time.
The girl had been busy with the administration of the Kingdom lately and hadn't seen Xia Jin in quite a while.
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