The Truly Strong

The rocket bugs were swapped out for missile bugs. Countless projectiles, trailing tails of flame, streaked toward the intruders.

The medium and large missile bugs exceeded the speed of sound, but even so, landing a direct hit on Tier 12 powerhouses was extremely difficult.

The Brain Bug ultimately resorted to airburst tactics—detonating the missiles before they reached the target. This way, even if a direct hit was impossible, the shockwaves could still exert pressure, and with a bit of luck, catch the opponents in the blast.

Compared to the Tier 12 powerhouses, the strongest among them—suspected to be Tier 13—was truly absurd.

Hiding at the bottom of the lake, Xia Jin's true body wasn't worried about being exposed, but the enemy knew the Swarm could submerge. If they acted on a whim and dove underwater, she would be finished.

At that thought, she ordered the massive Hive to shift slightly, concealing it within dozens of meters of aquatic weeds.

The rest of the Swarm remained dormant underwater, staying out of sight.

As the Zerg Queen, she used her will to command the majority of the Swarm to surge out and intercept the invaders.

Tens of thousands of missile bugs were launched at once.

Some of the larger missile bugs carried massive payloads and could fly nearly a hundred kilometers.

This range was a significant breakthrough for the current Zerg, but it didn't mean they couldn't go further; it was simply a matter of cost and the time required to research new genes.

Besides, even if they could produce them, they weren't particularly useful.

Against enemies of this caliber, increasing range was less effective than boosting explosive power.

The Brain Bug was already adjusting genes on the fly to produce high-yield missiles.

The cost soared to 100 units of standard energy per missile, and the incubation speed was much slower.

Before the new models entered full production, countless missile bugs had already gathered in the area. Even if the rocket bugs weren't very effective, the soldiers fired them all off anyway.

Simultaneously, the powerful Zerg air force—scourges, mutalisks, and devourers—all mobilized.

Although the scourges hadn't fully completed their upgrades, there were still tens of thousands of Tier 6 bugs, supplemented by over 200,000 Tier 5 ones. In less than half an hour, the Divine Messengers saw countless black dots approaching from the distance.

“Engage!”

Weapons swung, unleashing blades of light that shredded chains of scourges in the air. Yet more pressed forward, detonating upon closing the distance.

“A bunch of Tier 5 and 6 bugs?”

Having gauged their general strength, the leader of the group smirked with disdain.

The gap was too wide.

The eleven of them began their counterattack with leisure.

Despite the numbers, a casual strike could wipe out a large swath. Even if the scourge density wasn't high, they were being swatted down by the dozens.

But as the battle raged for several minutes, they gradually realized something was wrong.

There were too many.

At this rate, they had only killed fewer than ten thousand so far.

As the mutalisks and devourers materialized in the sky, the eleven individuals exchanged glances.

Whoosh— Whoosh—

Glaive wurms and acidic corrosive spores were launched from several kilometers away.

These attacks were significantly more powerful than the scourges, clearly reaching the intensity of Tier 10.

Boom! Boom!

Two of the attacks, hidden within the swarm of scourges, struck a Divine Messenger directly. The violent explosion caused his expression to flicker.

Although he wasn't injured, the force field shield on his body's surface had indeed consumed a significant amount of energy.

Seeing the numbers in the sky grow increasingly overwhelming, the strongest among them suddenly erupted with light. He accelerated several times over, tearing through the swarms of scourges and skewering several mutalisks in a single pass.

He then began a reckless slaughter among the mutalisks and devourers; in just one minute, dozens were brought down.

Xia Jin was speechless.

These bugs were all Tier 10, yet this guy's power was simply absurd.

To minimize losses, she ordered the nearby air force to disperse, continuing the assault with only the inexpensive scourges.

As the insect density around them increased, the number of missile bugs gradually reached tens of thousands per minute. Several of the Tier 12 Divine Messengers under the most pressure were starting to buckle. One was particularly unfortunate; after being battered by a wave of thousands of scourges, a massive barrage from the devourers rained down on him.

These acidic spores seemed to cling to him, constantly multiplying and eroding, causing him immense suffering.

This resulted in a drastic decline in his combat effectiveness, followed by a concentrated volley of firepower from the Swarm.

After a collision with tens of thousands of scourges, the man plummeted from the sky.

On his way down, dozens more missile bugs struck him, blasting him into a half-dead state.

Casualties had begun.

The strongest individual suddenly let out a roar, transforming into a sphere of light. He instantly sent a large swarm of bugs flying and then charged into the rear ranks, slaughtering them indiscriminately.

Not a single bug could stop him.

Xia Jin was truly at a loss for words.

Quantity could work against Tier 12, but against Tier 13, she hadn't even broken through his defense yet.