The State of the New Hive

From the final actual statistics, creatures like the heavy cannon bug, rocket bug, and scout bug were not recorded.

"It seems that bugs with more powerful functions or even higher tier variants will appear in the future."

In fact, a superior replacement for the scout bug has already appeared.

The Overlord.

Despite the imposing name, this creature is not actually suited for combat.

This is a creature capable of floating and flying through the sky, resembling a black jellyfish suspended in midair. It has a rounded head, and its lower body features several appendages that look like arthropod limbs, along with two massive and sturdy arms.

Overlords are classified as war support creatures.

They possess many functions.

First, the Overlord possesses higher intelligence. Of course, this intelligence is relative, but it allows these bugs to take over certain command authority from the primal brain bugs.

Naturally, it would be too difficult to expect these creatures to command the Swarm in complex strategies and tactics. Their role is actually more inclined toward fine control over groups of fewer than a hundred bugs. This can increase the combat effectiveness of the insects to a certain extent and allow them to better execute individual orders.

The second function of the Overlord is reconnaissance.

They can release psionic pulses to scout distant areas. Once the psionic energy is released, they can clearly sense the surrounding terrain and creatures, as well as perceive specific energy changes.

Furthermore, the Overlord's reconnaissance range is extremely long. Even a newly born Overlord can scout distances up to 100 kilometers away.

In other words, Xia Jin could produce one or two Overlords and have them hover at an altitude of ten thousand meters. By releasing psionic waves downward, they would function as a powerful reconnaissance radar, providing clear information on what is happening within their line of sight.

Naturally, this information ultimately needs to be analyzed and processed. The Overlord's brain can handle and prioritize these matters to a certain extent before relaying them to the brain bugs or the Queen.

Beyond the functions mentioned above, the Overlord's third ability is transport.

They have large bodies and can generate large, hollow shell chambers internally to transport a certain number of Zerg units.

In truth, the Zerg's aerial transport capability has always been weak, close to zero. Relying on aerial creatures like the mutalisk for transport was inherently dangerous. Moreover, as units like the ultralisk grew increasingly massive, combat Zerg became poorly suited for such tasks.

An Overlord at its current tier can transport ten bugs (fewer for larger bugs). Considering the speed and efficiency, this function is still somewhat limited.

Reality is not a game, and this method of transport could be described as very backward. However, having it is certainly better than nothing. When a large number of Overlords are deployed and suddenly release a swarm ten times their own number, the pressure generated is quite staggering.

In addition, the Overlord has one final function: it can dissolve its own organs to release creep from below. By spitting it out in a liquid form, it is no less efficient than a creep tumor. These organs can be replenished by absorbing surrounding energy, making it harmless to the Overlord.

Alongside the Overlord, the Defiler has been added.

This is a Zerg creature that looks like a scorpion with two exceptionally long, thin blades at the front. Its abilities are very unique.

This creature can release a vast swarm of tiny dark swarm bugs, creating an environment similar to a red mist that obscures vision over a large area. The dark swarm itself can withstand enemy attacks to a certain degree, protecting the Defiler within.

Their second ability is the release of bio spores. This is a terrifying biological toxin that can easily kill and dissolve enemies. Due to its immense power, this ability of the Defiler can even kill its own allies.

Just as one gains something, one must also lose something. Although the Defiler possesses these two powerful abilities, its own combat strength is very weak. Even a few enemies can easily kill them.

Furthermore, the Defiler's toxin ability has a long cooldown. After a single release, the creature enters a prolonged state of weakness. It can only recover slowly by burrowing underground to absorb soil substances, which generally takes a full day.

However, to make a Defiler combat ready more quickly, it can be allowed to devour its own kind or other Zerg to rapidly gain energy.

...

These two are the new bugs. Besides them, the lurker can now evolve into the Impaler.

This creature's appearance is similar to a lurker, but its attack style is quite different. It can only attack one target area at a time, releasing a massive tentacle spine (evolved from the hydralisk base) to kill the target in one shot from below.

Although its range is smaller than that of the lurker, its destructive power has truly skyrocketed.