This battle was much easier than expected.
However, even so, over two hundred insects were lost.
One had to remember that the strength of a zergling was Tier 4.
“Humans are indeed stronger than goblins, and this is just the weakest city-state.”
Over the next day, Xia Jin cleared out the resistance within the city, killing everyone who had reached Tier 1 strength and leaving only the powerless commoners.
These commoners were essentially dead weight to Xia Jin; their only use was to add a bit of life to her occupied territory.
After all, a Zerg swarm on its own was quite dull. How could she have a territory without anyone to cheer for the Queen?
This battle had indeed left a massive shadow over the locals.
Furthermore, the widespread death of the city’s practitioners had basically snuffed out any possibility of rebellion.
Just like that, a city-state was perfectly integrated into Xia Jin’s rule.
She summoned Ellie and several knights before her.
“I need to modify you. Once the modification is complete, your consciousness will be connected to the swarm’s mental network, making you effectively a member of the Zerg.”
After she spoke, the expressions of the knights clearly underwent a change.
But obviously, no one resisted.
“Well, the process requires you to enter that place, which might be a bit of a psychological challenge. My suggestion is... drink these nutrient solutions that can temporarily anesthetize you. That way, you can undergo the modification perfectly while asleep.”
Xia Jin smiled as she promoted her “good stuff” once again.
Exasperated looks appeared on their faces.
Out of trust, they still took the vials and forced themselves to finish the liquid despite the nausea.
“Wait a moment. You’ll lose consciousness in about a few minutes.”
Just as Xia Jin said, it wasn’t long before they collapsed one after another.
She immediately had the insects drag them into the Hive. The modification took about ten minutes before they were released.
Considering they were among the few confidants capable of communication, Xia Jin also added some magical organs to them.
Upon waking up, they could clearly feel the changes in their bodies.
“I don’t need to say more; feel it for yourselves. Next, you are to head to the newly occupied city-state immediately and select a group of capable and relatively loyal officials from there. I will set up a branch hive there specifically for the Zerg-ification modification of the locals.”
“Yes.”
Seeing them leave, Xia Jin thought for a moment and called Ellie back.
“You should stay by my side.”
“Yes.”
Realizing the Queen cared so much about her, Ellie was quite happy.
“By the way, should we call you ‘Queen’ from now on?” she asked hesitantly in a low voice.
“Emmm... ‘Princess’ is fine. I feel like calling me what you did before isn’t much of a problem.”
Xia Jin found that she had actually grown somewhat accustomed to the title “Princess.” Moreover, looking at her own aura, she was simply a natural-born princess.
If she had such a cute daughter, she would definitely never have the heart to kick her out of the palace.
“Now, we won’t divert any more troops to support the city-state region. Let them expand by plundering resources on their own. It would be best to find a way to upgrade the branch base to LV5.”
Xia Jin began to shift her focus back to her main hive.
“The elves are still in a cooperative relationship for now, so I won’t consider them. As expected, it’s better to annex the City of Darkness.”
Previously, she had to consider the reaction from the kingdom’s side, but now that her wings were growing fuller by the day, even if Duke Amelo actually reacted, she didn’t have to worry about being unable to withstand it.
Thus, with a single command, the 500 zerglings that had long been lurking nearby charged into the city once again, conducting a final purge of the Tier 1 and above powerhouses.
When it was over, fifteen loyal kingdom soldiers on Xia Jin’s side also underwent modification and were sent there to manage public security.
In this way, her territories were connected into a single whole.
It was approximately 450 kilometers long and 80 to 100 kilometers wide, with the southern side directly facing part of the Kingdom of Clear’s border.
At this time, the swarm began to gradually encroach toward the north under Xia Jin’s orders.
The speed wasn’t too fast because there were still a large number of magic beasts within the territory that hadn’t been cleared. These resources were enough for her to increase her insect count significantly.
“Suddenly, I feel quite relaxed.”
Xia Jin stretched and found a patch of grass to lie down on.
Closing her eyes and immersing her consciousness, she shifted her perspective to Linya’s side.
At this moment, Linya had just returned to Star Rain Academy with the mentors.
This massive academy had quite complete facilities, and the architectural decoration was very luxurious.
As soon as she entered the school, she almost instantly returned to a cozy academy life.
Relaxed and comfortable.
Linya had come with a mission from Xia Jin, so she didn’t stay idle. She began to investigate the detailed situation of the Kingdom of Clear and the recent state of affairs.
She went to the library, first browsing through books.
Later, under the guise of chatting with classmates, she asked the questions she wanted to know.
“Do you know if there’s been any news in the kingdom lately? The kind that could influence major historical events?”
The girl sitting across from her—her good friend—thought for a moment and whispered, “There actually is one, but I don’t know what kind of impact it will have.”
“What is it?” Linya immediately perked up.
“A Cardinal from the Dawn Empire personally visited the palace. Both sides seem to have reached some kind of missionary agreement. In short, the kingdom has started promoting the faith of the Goddess of Dawn.”
“What?” Linya opened her mouth but said nothing.
Obviously, this news was somewhat shocking.
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