This exchange ratio wasn't particularly favorable for the Zerg, but given their overall disadvantage in firepower across the board and the total lack of mages, Xia Jin was satisfied enough.
The Empire, however, was in a truly foul mood.
Most importantly, after these four days of fighting, the Zerg had replenished 250,000 combat bugs. Despite losses in other directions, hundreds of thousands more bugs had emerged from the rear.
Xia Jin organized half of these new bugs into fresh units to resist the Empire forces steadily approaching from the Eastern Route.
The remaining half joined the 300,000 troops that had landed from Clearwillow Lake to intercept the main Dawn force's northward advance from the north.
On the Western Front, the Imperial army already felt their offensive losing steam.
High-intensity combat had consumed too many resources in a short time. To make matters worse, the Swarm's fierce resistance hadn't wavered for a second, and they continued to launch counter-bombardments with a never-ending stream of rockets.
Only on the Eastern Route had the Imperial army managed to enter the city states region and occupy several of the Swarm's cities.
However, the terrain there was too complex. Constant harassment and occasional attacks by tens of thousands of bugs made the region a nightmare for the soldiers.
With 300,000 new bugs rushing across the lake under Xia Jin's orders, the situation there was expected to ease significantly. She might even be able to use her advantages in mobility and intelligence to annihilate large portions of the Empire's forces.
If she could pull off a few more major victories like the one that crushed the Western Route, the Zerg would be ready to launch a full-scale counteroffensive.
Otherwise, the Dawn Empire's sheer strength would remain a massive threat to Xia Jin.
The subsequent battles unfolded exactly as she hoped. Several large-scale engagements erupted simultaneously across the front lines. The Zerg employed flexible tactics, voluntarily abandoning large areas targeted by the enemy's main force to concentrate their own strength on surrounding and annihilating smaller legions.
Small was a relative term; in actual combat, a single wave often swallowed over 100,000 men.
Southwest of Mia, the Zerg deliberately feigned an inability to withstand the enemy's assault. After retreating a hundred kilometers, they lured the enemy into a pre-prepared pocket.
Then, relying on bugs burrowed underground, they wiped out over 200,000 enemies in one go.
This battle took place right under the Empire's nose, so it lacked the advantage of a surprise attack. However, the Swarm's coordination was so flawless that they were far more efficient than the semi-encircled human soldiers. This allowed them to quickly break a large number of Dawn Empire warriors.
They had deployed 450,000 bugs for the battle, and by the end, their total losses were less than 60,000.
While the favorable battlefields were going well, the Dawn Empire still managed to annihilate Zerg forces in many other areas.
In the western part of the Gexilu United Kingdom—specifically the salient southwest of Clearwillow Lake—an encirclement battle took place. The 60,000 bugs stationed there didn't even have time to retreat into the water before they were bombarded by waves of magic fighters patrolling the coast. Subsequently, over 6,000 heavy tanks and 10,000 light tanks broke through the coastal lines and turned inward. In just one day and night, they completely slaughtered every bug in the pocket.
Yet the frenzied resistance of the Swarm in their final moments left the participating soldiers trembling with fear.
Compared to humans, these creatures were far too insane.
Even magic beasts were nothing compared to this.
They simply didn't seem like normal living beings.
While these battles raged, the Zerg on the East Continent were also suffering. Under the constant strikes of the Empire's landing forces, they had lost over half their numbers.
The Dawn Empire had deployed over 200,000 troops across the sea. The reason the number was so low was that they could only transport that many soldiers in a single wave. A round trip for the fleet took many days.
More reinforcements were expected soon, as the Imperial army there had already split the Zerg into two groups. One group fled south to Sailing, while the other retreated into the Yelu Empire.
In truth, the retreat happened because the Imperial army had already fought its way into Yelu territory.
This massive empire, with its millions of troops, was utterly incapable of defeating the 200,000 men from the Dawn Empire.
The weaponry provided an intergenerational suppression. Even without those weapons, the Dawn Empire's warriors possessed higher tiers.
Although things were difficult over there, Xia Jin couldn't afford to worry about it for now. Seeing how grueling the fight on the West Continent had become—with some Imperial legions even closing in on the Clear region—she felt it was time to launch her own counteroffensive.
“A total strength of three million... it's feasible.”
The sheer speed of reproduction made Xia Jin smile.
Two and a half weeks had passed since the war began, making this the most difficult struggle in the Zerg's history.
During these two weeks, the scale of the army the Dawn Empire had deployed to the front lines had grown to six million, with unknown numbers still being mobilized in the rear.
And that was the scale after excluding the units already lost.
Word was that they had completely wiped out the demons recently, proving that the Dawn Empire's vast rear was now secure.
Perhaps feeling a sense of urgency, the Dawn Emperor had been conscripting troops frantically. In the second week of the war with the Zerg, he initiated a general mobilization, preparing to launch a war for global unification.
He likely intended to become the ruler of the world.
Without a doubt, the most troublesome enemies were the Zerg and the magic beasts.
But currently, the Empire seemed to have placed the Zerg at the top of their list.
If both sides ended up mutually wounded, the magic beasts would undoubtedly reap the benefits. However, with the Zerg's current rate of development, even if their strength was greatly reduced after the war, they could regroup in no time. Once that happened, a mere collection of magic beasts would be no trouble at all.
Rate on N.U.
