More and More Bugs

Xia Jin discovered that creatures like the defilers could play a crucial role in holding back the enemy at critical moments.

The red mist strengthened defenses, and even if the acidic liquid from their mouths couldn't kill the enemy, it could create a vast forbidden zone to prevent them from approaching.

These acidic spores could persist for a long time.

Seeing how effective the two defilers were, Xia Jin sent out two more, successfully forming a perimeter that blocked the magic beasts on the other side.

The two sides stared at each other across the acid.

After some time, a group of flying magic beasts launched an attack.

However, the Zerg had prepared extensive anti-aircraft fire, and countless anti-aircraft missile bugs rose into the air.

Both sides began covering each other with long-range fire, as countless magic spells and rocket bugs collided in mid-air.

The Zerg had unprecedentedly altered the flight trajectories of some rocket bugs, making them unpredictable—the legendary "Brownian motion missiles."

However, the final test results weren't great. This was mainly because the magic beasts didn't have any interception weapons; they simply bombarded everything with large-scale magic, making the erratic paths less effective.

Due to the difference in numbers, the Orc Empire's front line was indeed struggling against the magic beasts.

But in the rear, the elf bugs had already organized millions of orcs into a massive army behind the high wall, preparing to use the structure to launch attacks on the magic beasts below.

Countless missile bugs and corresponding launch tubes were moved to the top. Once set up, they could strike enemies dozens of kilometers away.

If the magic beasts didn't want to endure constant bombardment, they would have to either withdraw from the area or launch a direct assault on the high wall.

Over 300,000 of Xia Jin's main force units were already rushing to the Orc Empire's front.

These fresh troops would provide immense help to the northern front.

...

Over the past few days, the Dawn Empire had been strangely quiet.

Although their resistance remained fierce, their strength was significantly weaker than at the start of the war.

Xia Jin didn't know exactly what the Goddess of Dawn was, but it was precisely because she was wary of that being's existence that she hesitated to make her move.

Even though she had killed the previous Tier 13-led delegation, the Zerg losses during that process had been substantial.

Losing so many swarms was one thing, but Xia Jin had also lost several of her own projections to self-destruction. It was truly a difficult situation.

Over the following days, Xia Jin gradually hatched another 300 brood hosts.

The front line finally maintained a scale of over 15 million bugs. On any front, they could quickly launch counterattacks and advance using the advantages provided by nydus worms.

The corpses of magic beasts were continuously scavenged and devoured by the bugs.

Harvests exceeded expenditures, and the Swarm grew wealthier with every battle. If not for the upcoming upgrade, Xia Jin's current insect population would surely be even larger.

But thinking about it carefully, she was now unconsciously maintaining an army of ten million on the front lines. Even though most were broodlings and locusts, it was still terrifying.

If counting from the first month, the Zerg had multiplied dozens of times every month.

Currently, it had probably been less than four months.

“Honestly, reaching for the stars within a year would have been good enough. I didn't expect it to take only a few months.”

She felt it was close.

The next level for the hive required 60 billion units of standard energy.

Recently, with the help of the Overlords and queens, the range of the creep had been expanding rapidly.

As for the front line, nearly ten million magic beasts were killed every day.

Even the lowest were Tier 5 or 6, and the resources provided by Tier 8 and Tier 9 beasts were staggering.

In reality, the total resources provided daily reached 5 billion units (including recycled Zerg corpses).

Yes, the resources provided by the magic beasts were beyond imagination.

Of course, once the war ended, the rate of resource acquisition would slow down.

But that didn't matter at all, did it? Once the hive reached the next tier, Xia Jin could prepare to unify the world and invade the Abyss.

She now had 20 billion units in reserve.

In the coming days, the intensity of the offensive on the front lines would only increase. The number of magic beasts killed would likely keep rising; this was the Zerg's war of prosperity.

She estimated that in five more days, the hive would reach the next level.

Thus, Xia Jin's true body remained hidden underwater, waiting.

The senses of her projections were identical to her own, so controlling them outside was effectively no different.

By assigning different projections as "tool people" to various battlefields, the efficiency of the front lines indeed improved significantly.

Xia Jin noticed that wherever she was present, the bugs' combat power received a mysterious boost.

“Hmm, is this a desire to perform?”

With over ten million bugs, an endless charging line, constant pincer movements, and strategic encirclements... In this process, the Zerg not only mastered many pre-interstellar tactics but even developed several of their own.

After the Second Princess of the magic monsters and several human commanders were incorporated into the Swarm, their command experience was utilized by the brain bugs.