The drone finished eating the two trees and began devouring the corpses of the magic beasts.
At her request, the knights continued to hunt for more wild monsters to bring over.
About three hours later, Xia Jin had accumulated a total of 106 units of energy.
“Your Highness, can we stop? Everyone is exhausted. Many soldiers are injured, and our potions are limited. If we continue, we might not be able to guarantee your safety.”
The knight commander knelt on one knee, his voice filled with deep worry.
His gaze fell on the drone, which was still devouring corpses. He worried if the princess was being controlled by a devil.
This terrifying bug clearly didn't belong to the human world. If the princess was being manipulated, he would have to kill it.
“Yes, let's stop. This is enough.”
Seeing that there were still three beast corpses left, Xia Jin nodded.
【Spend 100 units of energy to evolve the drone into an initial Zerg Hive?】
“Yes!”
A moment later, the drone crawled to a nearby clearing. It slowly spat out a wriggling fleshy membrane from its mouth, wrapping itself inside.
A massive, pulsing cocoon formed before their eyes.
With every pulse, it expanded in size.
“P-Princess... are you sure that thing won't threaten your safety?”
Ellie felt like she was going crazy. After entering this forest, the princess had suddenly revealed such a bizarre side.
Facing the princess, who remained perfectly calm, everyone grew increasingly tense.
In less than three minutes, with a series of bursting sounds, a massive living entity covered in countless blood vessels and a sturdy shell appeared.
The Zerg Hive was born.
Though called a structure, it was entirely a massive organism. Looking through the entrance, one could see countless surging masses of flesh inside.
The basic Zerg units were born from within it.
【Zerg Hive LV1】
【Can produce: Tier 1 drone, Tier 1 zergling】
【Production cost: drone 10 units/each, zergling 10 units/each】
【Upgrade cost: 1000 units of normal energy, 50 units of high-energy crystals.】
【Description: A nascent Zerg Hive, very primitive. It replaces the Queen as the reproductive center of the swarm.】
“Replaces the Queen? Hmm... Does that mean the Queen used to be responsible for reproduction?”
A few lines of frustration appeared on Xia Jin's forehead.
It likely referred to the Zerg's primitive state before they entered the interstellar era, similar to a queen ant.
Reality wasn't a game, after all. This Zerg was still different from those in her memory.
At least the appearance of the basic units was more hideous.
“Spend 10 units of energy to produce one zergling.”
Under Xia Jin's mental command, a larva slowly birthed onto the fleshy creep distributed around the Zerg Hive.
The warriors stood at a distance, not daring to approach. They watched as the Zerg Hive birthed a larva at a visible speed, which then transformed into a cocoon and emerged as a hideous creature over two meters long and one meter tall.
Even though the Zerg Hive was only LV1, the zergling was already quite large.
Two sharp scythes grew from its arms, and two long, sturdy, hideous spikes extended from its back. When its mouth opened, rows of terrifying teeth were revealed, looking as if they could snap a human's neck in a single bite.
With a hiss, the bug sprinted forward and, before everyone's eyes, came to a halt in front of Xia Jin.
The knight commander instinctively prepared to strike, but in the next moment, he saw the zergling kneel respectfully on the ground.
“This...”
Everyone stared blankly at the scene.
Xia Jin looked at the massive, hideous monster. Through the mental network, she could actually feel its loyalty.
Facing her, the bug that should have been frenzied showed a rare gentleness.
It was as if she were their mother.
“What should I say?”
Xia Jin exhaled and reached out. The bug lowered its head.
With a trace of subtle emotion, her hand stroked the sturdy shell. The bug immediately acted like a puppy, showing a fawning side.
“No wonder they're nicknamed puppies. It really does act like a dog.”
Xia Jin looked back at the knights and smiled. “Everyone, keep up the hard work. Continue hunting monsters. It has Tier 1 strength and doesn't fear death or exhaustion. It can fight alongside you. Just bring the kills back to the Zerg Hive.”
“Your Highness, what kind of creature is this? Do they... obey your commands?”
Facing the sanity-draining, disgusting Zerg Hive, the knight commander felt his skin crawl.
But this scene was real. The princess had summoned a larva from a small sphere, and in just a few hours, a massive fleshy organism and a hideous beast had been born.
“You don't need to ask too much. Just know that our survival depends entirely on them. And this wasn't obtained by selling my soul. These creatures are all my subordinates. They are called the Zerg, and they come from another world to serve me.”
“Another world?”
A flash of surprise crossed the knight commander's face.
Another world?
He had heard of legendary mages researching similar magic, but it seemed as if true alternate worlds didn't exist at all; no one had ever successfully communicated with one.
He hadn't expected the princess to gain the loyalty of creatures from another world.
However, their appearance was indeed quite extreme. The contrast of the beautiful, adorable princess standing with these hideous creatures was simply too great.
Rate on N.U.
