The Devourer, evolved from the mutalisk base, is a powerful aerial unit. It does not look much different from a mutalisk, though its size is slightly larger and its structure more complex. It possesses a thicker, more durable outer shell, meaning it is no longer as fragile as a mutalisk and can withstand far more powerful attacks.
This creature relies primarily on spitting acidic corrosive spores. Besides dealing direct damage, these spores attach to the target and multiply rapidly, continuously corroding it. Whether it is alloy, rock, or biological skin, the acidic spores possess immense destructive power. In the future interstellar era, the Devourer's abilities could even directly damage starships.
...
Excluding the new units mentioned above, the most significant change was that many Zerg had grown in size; the height of the ultralisk had reached a staggering 20 meters. Meanwhile, small units like the zergling had not changed much.
However, the zergling's Frenzy duration had been extended to 12 hours. This was an incredible boost to their combat effectiveness, as battles against the Empire were often long. Once the Frenzy state ended, a zergling's attributes would drop across the board; the extended duration could compensate for such weaknesses.
Finally, the swarm host could now produce Type II variants. The locusts they hatched were capable of flight, at the cost of a slight reduction in defense—a trade-off that was more than worth it.
If there were millions of Tier 4 locusts, the Empire forces currently on the field would likely be unable to hold out. Xia Jin could even have the locusts defeat the magic beast lords in the outer regions of the Border Forest without relying on any other Zerg species.
The magical reinforcement of the entire Swarm marked the first large-scale use of this idealist power. Although not as advanced as psionic power, it is a different system entirely. When stacked with psionic power in the future, the effect will be far greater than a simple one-plus-one.
The emergence of the hive's flight capability also seems to herald the arrival of the interstellar era.
The current hive indeed looks somewhat like a battleship, though in reality, it still appears as a terrifying, shell-clad monstrosity of flesh and blood.
"Many Zerg have increased in tier this time, but the costs have risen as well. Let's start the upgrades in stages... Meanwhile, produce a batch of Overlords to reinforce the front lines. As for the new species, evolve or produce a batch of them—ten will do."
At the current scale, upgrading was a massive undertaking.
The consumption of high-tier Zerg had more than doubled.
The command limit of a primal brain bug had surged to a staggering one million. While they can forcibly control more, efficiency drops as numbers increase. Therefore, it is best to stay within one million and not exceed two million even in desperate situations.
Xia Jin's true body waited for a while, and soon, an Overlord appeared.
Watching this floating creature, which was as large as a house, slowly drift toward her, she had to admit: the Zerg were truly hideous.
Even the harmless Overlord looked terrifying.
The Overlord floated directly over her head.
"Ugh..."
Always feeling like the creature might suddenly spray creep from below (a purely psychological effect), Xia Jin quickly stepped aside.
"Go directly to the front line from high altitude and assist the primal brain bugs there with command."
Xia Jin issued the order.
In the next moment, the Overlord slowly rose into the air and began drifting forward at a steady pace.
Though it was called slow, it was still much faster than a person walking. However, it would certainly take time to reach the front line; it was estimated to cover only 500 kilometers a day.
Not long after this creature left, a Defiler also appeared.
Xia Jin specifically found an area to test its abilities.
First was the release of the dark swarm bugs.
A large cloud of red mist was released from its back, quickly covering a one-kilometer radius.
The mist was thick, almost completely obscuring the view within, but a close look revealed countless tiny bugs swarming inside.
Xia Jin had the elf bugs prepare a rocket bug and fire it toward the area.
Whoosh—
Following a trail of exhaust, the rocket bug entered the mist. The data transmitted back showed it encountered immense resistance, and it exploded after flying only a few dozen meters.
Yet the explosion's power was confined to a ten-meter radius; it was clearly suppressed by the mist.
"Very impressive."
One had to realize that the rocket bug's entry speed exceeded 200 meters per second. Although it hadn't reached supersonic speeds due to the short distance, the fact that it could be easily obstructed proved the strength of this Zerg.
Next, the Defiler spat out bio spores, directly covering a ten-meter patch of ground.
A large pit was instantly dissolved into the ground.
Several Tier 3 locusts crawled over. In just a short moment, their shells were eaten away by the spores, and they eventually melted into a puddle of liquid.
"Not bad, not bad at all."
The energy within the acid itself could be recycled, but only after waiting a few minutes for the reaction to weaken.
A few minutes later, a drone crawled over and successfully recycled all the resources.
"Produce a batch of Defilers. Then, upgrade half of the mutalisks and one-fifth of the lurkers to deal with hardened units."
The effects of this wave of Zerg upgrades would certainly be immediate.
Especially the growth of the air force; they would no longer need to rely solely on scourges for large-scale attrition.
"Prepare a force of Zerg. We're going into the Abyss."
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