Modification Complete

The elf bug led the Magic Beast King to the shore.

Then, before her stunned gaze, a behemoth slowly crawled out of the water.

A Zerg Hive!

Even though it was only a low-level Hive, its massive size and hideous, terrifying appearance left the Magic Beast King speechless.

“The Queen knew you couldn't go underwater, so she specifically ordered this Hive to crawl out.”

“Is she... also a biological creature?” the Magic Beast King asked, unable to believe her eyes.

Facing this thing, she nearly lost the regal composure she maintained on a daily basis.

She couldn't help it; it was too terrifying and revolting. How could such an absurd creature even exist?

She felt as though her sanity was slipping away just by looking at it.

“Phew.”

Taking a deep breath to suppress the inexplicable fear rising within her, the Magic Beast King didn't even realize that her feet were already pointed in the opposite direction.

She felt that even with her Tier 13 strength, she might be in danger.

Her subconscious was already screaming at her to flee.

“After this, we just need to proceed with the modification.”

Gurgle, gurgle!

An opening appeared in the fleshy mass. The elf bug girl said with a smile, “Please, come in.”

The Magic Beast King remained silent.

Peering inside, she saw several larvae crawling around the entrance area.

They squirmed and wriggled a few times, clearing a path.

The floor was viscous; she suspected that stepping on it would pull up long, sticky threads.

“So...”

Was this really not a joke?

“If you don't like the environment, I'll go in with you. In fact, it's just a matter of cooperation. For the survival of the magic beasts, are you sure you want to pass up this choice?”

Dammit!

As soon as she mentioned the survival of the magic beasts, the king knew the Zerg had no good intentions. They knew exactly why she had come and understood how to threaten her.

Was she really going to endure such terrifying torture for the sake of those weaklings?

“I'll accompany you. It's just a modification. The elven race underwent the same process back then to become part of the Zerg. Don't be fooled by its terrifying appearance; physically, it's just ordinary flesh.”

With that, the elf bug girl took the lead and walked inside.

Steeling her heart, the Magic Beast King followed.

Mainly, she felt some terrifying presence constantly watching her. Since she was already here, there was no point in backing down.

Once they entered the internal space, the door gurgled shut.

“See? Nothing to worry about.”

The surrounding flesh drew closer. The elf bug provided a perfect demonstration, leaning back until she was completely enveloped.

“Modification isn't uncomfortable at all.”

The Magic Beast King remained silent.

Despite her instinctive resistance, she eventually accepted the reality of the situation.

In truth, a massive dose of anesthetic was injected almost instantly. Even with the Magic Beast King's strength, she was powerless against a creature the size of a Hive.

Any claim that a Tier 13 could resist was a lie. This was a Level 10 Hive concentrated with a massive amount of energy; destroying it would require an immense effort, and she would have been anesthetized long before she could finish.

Half an hour later...

“It actually feels quite nice.”

The Magic Beast King had already sensed the existence of the Swarm network.

Most importantly, the modification process was not only painless but actually quite comfortable.

“This is the Zerg?”

It was full of wonder and power.

In this moment, she finally understood. It wasn't just the Border Forest; the Dawn Empire, the depths of the sea, the distant East Continent, and even the Abyss had already been tread upon by the Swarm.

The defeat of the magic beasts was only the beginning. Soon, the Dawn Empire would follow in their footsteps.

After the modification was complete, the Hive returned to the water.

The now-integrated Magic Beast King returned to persuade the remaining magic beasts to surrender.

This process wouldn't be entirely smooth; there would always be those who resisted. However, the Zerg were in dire need of resources, so the more rebels there were, the better.

After all, what race could be as succulent as the magic beasts? They were pure energy.

...

Xia Jin breathed a sigh of relief once the situation with the magic beasts was resolved.

The two-front war was essentially over. Although the northern army would no longer receive reinforcements, there might still be suppression battles in the future, so they wouldn't be redeployed to the southern front.

In fact, the main force on the magic beast front was now maintained at just over 2 million units. The rest relied on the brood lords and swarm hosts to produce fodder for support.

She would find ways to provoke some of the magic beasts into resisting, giving her an excuse to continue the war.

However, the surrender of the Magic Beast King brought the benefit of reduced combat intensity, allowing for the slow grind tactic.

The previous high-intensity warfare was simply too terrifying. If the magic beasts went mad and resorted to total mobilization, throwing hundreds of millions of beasts into a counter-offensive, the Zerg's northern front would never hold; it would be completely overrun.

One had to remember that the daily production of combat bugs was currently only in the hundreds of thousands.