On the following morning, two large Zerg units, each numbering over a thousand, rushed toward the southeast. They finally reached the edge of Clearwillow Lake.
During the advance, the Allied Army gained support from even more lords.
A total of twenty nobles had brought their own legions to provide assistance.
The sheer scale of the gnolls had also been fully revealed through several large-scale decisive battles.
There had been three consecutive major battles involving tens of thousands of combatants, plus the resistance put up by various lord legions against the gnoll advance from different directions.
After these waves of combat, it was estimated that the enemy's casualties exceeded 150,000.
Of course, only half of those were killed by Xia Jin.
At present, the lords were even emptying out their reserves to cooperate with the Princess and wipe out the enemy in one fell swoop.
Although the short-term losses might be severe, as long as the gnoll race was crippled, the kingdom's lakeshore border would remain peaceful for decades.
“Princess, that is Clearwillow Lake.”
Sitting on the back of a zergling, Xia Jin looked in the direction Amelo was pointing. A lake that seemed to stretch on forever entered her vision.
“The area of Clearwillow Lake is comparable to a sea. Although it is vast, the water within is perfectly fresh.”
As Amelo spoke, some of the zerglings had already jumped into the water.
“This...”
Aren't they afraid of drowning?
Just as Amelo had that thought, he saw several zerglings swimming on the surface of the lake in a doggy paddle style.
Another group had fully submerged beneath the water.
With a thought from Xia Jin, she immediately synchronized with the vision of those zerglings.
Beneath the lake's surface, the aquatic plants were lush.
Countless schools of fish swam around. Suddenly feeling the intense current, they scattered in all directions, swimming far away before gathering into a group once more.
“It is like an ocean.”
But it was indeed a freshwater lake.
At a certain moment, several rocks covered in shimmering fluorescent particles caught her attention.
【Mithril Ore Discovered】
“Mithril?”
Looking around, she saw small particles attached to the surface of countless scattered rocks.
Although they were all small, with such a vast quantity, the total amount would likely be significant.
Xia Jin was pleasantly surprised.
“I didn't expect to find such a rare mineral so quickly. This way, I won't have to spend effort searching for it.”
Having a stable output was always better than wandering around blindly to plunder everywhere.
“Since there's ore, I naturally have to open a branch base.”
A portion of the drones began their journey toward the location.
They were tasked with mining the mithril and constructing a branch hive.
Once the surrounding gnolls were cleared out, this could be considered the safest base.
When the time came to wage war against the kingdom, it would also serve as an excellent deployment point.
Just as she was thinking this, the current in the distance suddenly churned.
Ten seconds later, a super-massive mollusk monster suddenly burst out of the water in the distance. Using the jet of water from its tail, it instantly rushed in front of a zergling.
Fearsome tentacles immediately wrapped around the zergling, then tore it apart and crushed it with terrifying force before swallowing it whole.
Xia Jin didn't even see clearly what had happened.
She immediately switched her perspective.
Finally, from several hundred meters away, she saw the scene clearly.
It was a creature similar to a squid, measuring fifty to sixty meters in length.
“Good grief, what kind of great water monster is this?”
Can such a thing even grow in fresh water?
Watching this massive existence stuff the zerglings into its mouth one by one like snacks, Xia Jin couldn't hold back anymore.
“I have to get the zerglings out of there.”
She quickly issued the order.
In reality, the brain bug had already issued the command in advance. The surrounding zerglings were all swimming toward the shore for their lives.
Seeing the insects scramble out in a mess, Xia Jin breathed a sigh of relief.
However, a second later, she could no longer smile.
Because that giant squid rushed onto the shore.
“Luuu—”
The strange cry made one's ears feel slightly dizzy.
Amelo, standing beside her, almost fell over. Fortunately, a hydralisk extended the hook on its left arm to gently steady him.
“Thank you,” Amelo said, breaking into a cold sweat as he glanced at the terrifying monster.
The giant squid began a massive slaughter along the shore.
Even though the zerglings had all reached the shore, they still couldn't match the speed of this behemoth.
After taking several consecutive bites, the monster suddenly let out an even more piercing “Luuu—” before charging straight at Xia Jin, who was several hundred meters away.
“Run!”
There was no time for hesitation.
She jumped onto the back of a zergling and began to flee at full speed.
Swoosh!
A massive squid tentacle suddenly extended several hundred meters, wrapping around Xia Jin in an instant and pulling her back.
“Ahhh, holy crap!”
In the violent rush of air, she was pulled directly in front of the squid monster, staring eye-to-eye with the massive being.
Less than two seconds later, a surge of great force struck.
Xia Jin immediately lost connection with this projection.
“I'm dead.”
Back at her main body, she was a bit silent.
She had just been about to self-destruct when she died.
Fortunately, the self-destruct still triggered, causing the monster to let out a non-lethal scream of pain.
The surrounding insects were all running, bringing along their collaborator, Amelo.
Perhaps because the distance had grown too great, the great water monster lost its interest in the chase and slowly returned to the water.
“Preliminary estimate puts its strength at Tier 8.”
With its thick hide, the zerglings' attacks could only scratch the surface, causing no real damage.
Some hydralisks had managed to damage its skin with their venom.
But the efficiency wasn't high. To kill it purely with corrosive liquid, she estimated she would lose several hundred hydralisks.
In truth, a Tier 8 monster wasn't that terrifying. Using Tier 5 insects, there was still a chance to break its defense. The biggest problem was its absurd size.
Furthermore, with that thing guarding the water, obtaining the mithril would be more than a little difficult.
Rate on N.U.
