Border Forest, near the Zerg Hive.
The insects had brought back a massive amount of loot.
Most of the metals were of uncertain use, but Xia Jin stockpiled them anyway, thinking they might be useful in the future.
Mithril was likely the rarest among them, and the twenty units she obtained were enough to meet the requirements for upgrading the Zerg base to level 4.
At that moment, a large number of drones began converting the prey into energy with extreme efficiency.
Soon, the values on Xia Jin's system interface began to grow at a speed visible to the naked eye.
“The losses from this battle weren't small either; over a hundred zerglings actually died.”
Naturally, many more were injured, but as long as the wounds weren't fatal, they could be restored with a bit of energy.
According to the final count, the swarm had obtained approximately 70,000 units of ordinary energy from the more than 2,000 people killed.
High-energy crystals weren't found on the bodies, but they had managed to scavenge nearly 1,000 units from the warehouse.
As for the tens of thousands of animals, aside from a few that had reached Tier 1, most were just ordinary poultry and livestock, yielding only 60,000 units of energy in total.
This was the sum of their harvest.
“Still short by 70,000. I'll have to keep hunting over a thousand magic beasts.”
A Tier 1 magic beast provided about 10 points of energy.
A Tier 2 provided between 20 and 60 points.
A Tier 3 provided at least 80 points, with some reaching as high as 120.
One could say that the stronger the monster, the more energy it provided, and correspondingly, the harder it was to kill.
But calculating it out, it had only been a few days since the Zerg base was established. Xia Jin realized she didn't need to be in such a rush.
...
At this moment, the insects originally located to the east of the main hive had mostly been moved to the west.
It could be said that the number of troops guarding the direction of the City of Darkness was now very small, totaling no more than 200 units.
To the south, she had only sent 200 insects to slowly hunt wild beasts while keeping watch for any adventurers who might appear.
There was a depth of fifty kilometers from here to the kingdom's border; such a distance was more than enough for Xia Jin to prepare.
And so, over the next three days, the swarm grew at a rate of 320 units per day.
When the total reached 2,000 units, the third branch hive also took root in the surrounding area.
Xia Jin invested a portion of her resources to upgrade all the branch hives to Tier 3.
This way, a production of twenty-four insects per hour was guaranteed.
In a single day, the swarm could increase by about 500 units.
The increase in total numbers directly led to an acceleration in expansion.
During these seven days, she truly witnessed just how high the density of magic beasts was in this great forest.
They constantly encountered new wild monsters. They had run into dozens of wolf packs alone, and there was even a lord-class wolf magic beast with a clear leader among them. It possessed Tier 5 strength and commanded over 400 grey wolves in a counter-charge against the swarm.
At the time, Xia Jin, who only had thirty zerglings in that direction, was nearly caught off guard.
This wolf pack was extremely confident, actually mobilizing its main force to strike directly at her western branch base.
After they had advanced five kilometers, Xia Jin finally mobilized a main force of over 600 insects to engage in a fierce battle with these creatures, whose average strength reached Tier 2.5.
This battle thoroughly displayed the wildness and madness of the swarm.
As an outer magic beast lord, the wolf king was bewildered to find that the pack it took so much pride in was no longer powerful.
Those frenzied insects were all Tier 3; there were none too strong and none too weak. Their strength almost all reached the peak of that rank, and their vitality was incredibly tenacious.
After several dozen minutes of intense fighting, the wolf king was forced into a pathetic retreat.
But it soon discovered that it had been surrounded by the insects.
After an unprecedented battle, the swarm finally killed the Tier 5 giant wolf at the cost of nearly fifty deaths.
The price was high.
However, the corpses of the insects could be recycled and reused. Combined with the resources obtained from the wolf, they actually ended up making a profit.
The entire Zerg race was seeking out any enemy that could be slaughtered in this manner of positive production.
As of today, an area twenty-five kilometers long and ten kilometers wide had completely become territory under Xia Jin's control.
Compared to the entire forest, it was of course insignificant.
But this was the beginning of her showing her fangs.
...
Inside the carriage, she poured herself a drink looted from the City of Darkness, prepared some food, and began to savor it slowly.
The twenty subordinates who had been exiled with her were becoming increasingly respectful toward her.
She glanced at herself in the mirror.
“I really don't look like a Zerg Queen.”
If there were infinite universes, then compared to any other universe where a Zerg race might exist, her appearance was definitely the most beautiful.
It made sense; who would have thought a Zerg Queen would look so cute?
It really was incredible that she had been chosen.
The originally frenzied and hideous Zerg, after their extinction, had entrusted their future to a new queen as their Overlord.
Logically, they should have chosen a queenly type, or someone cold and heartless with grand ambitions.
But they chose her.
An ordinary young girl.
The only thing she had going for her was probably her beauty.
Well, perhaps being a transmigrator counted too. But the problem was that her pre-transmigration self was even more ordinary, completely incomparable to the noble status of a princess.
Furthermore, the Zerg couldn't have known she was a transmigrator. They had definitely chosen the peerless beauty that was the princess.
“This kind of question is too complicated. I give up.”
Yawning, Xia Jin continued to enjoy her meal.
Rate on N.U.
