Before long, twenty Swimmers appeared on the creep near the hive.
Because they were equipped with a terrestrial skin-breathing system, they could currently breathe normally on land.
Relying solely on two extendable fins, the Swimmers' crawling speed was extremely slow. They were a specialized breed born for underwater combat, so after they emerged, groups of idle zerglings began carrying them to the lakeside in batches.
With a gentle toss, the Swimmers fell into the water with a splash, kicking up a large amount of spray.
Seconds after hitting the water, these new insects became active, wagging their tails and beginning to swim through the depths.
Several drones followed them into the water.
The two Swimmers in the lead quickly ate two small fish to replenish their energy, then fixed their gaze on a large water fish in the distance.
With their tails swaying, they began to approach the target from the left and right.
Their movements were subtle and leisurely, so much so that the fish didn't notice them until they were within a certain distance.
Just as they reached twenty meters, the target seemed to sense the water currents. It suddenly turned around and opened its massive maw.
Two rows of sharp teeth, similar to a shark's, were revealed.
With a flick of its tail, it actually launched a vicious charge toward the Swimmers.
But...
The Swimmers were faster.
Both of them flicked their tails, simultaneously jetting high-pressure water from their rears to dodge to the side with extreme agility.
The large fish bit down, but it struck only empty water.
Before it could react, the Swimmer on its left had already swung its fins to turn rapidly, then spat an exploding needle from its mouth.
Boom—
A flash of fire erupted in the water.
The dull sound traveled quickly through the currents. The nearby water temperature was instantaneously heated to boiling, and a large number of bubbles surged up.
A small half of the fish's body was blown to shreds, and blood began to diffuse through the water.
The Swimmer nearby immediately rushed forward, opened its tooth-filled mouth, and bit down on the corpse.
With a flexible turn, much like a giant salamander, the Swimmer rushed toward the shallow water near the shore and handed the corpse over to a drone.
“Very good.”
Tier 3 against Tier 3 was essentially a total slaughter.
In contrast, using Tier 4 zerglings hadn't been nearly as effective for killing.
With the way zerglings were built, they could only do a doggy paddle underwater. If they were attacked, they couldn't even turn around in time. It was no wonder they were toyed with by the underwater creatures.
In the battle just now, although the fish was only Tier 3 and couldn't provide as many resources as a magic beast, it still yielded over 40 units of ordinary energy.
This was enough to produce another new Swimmer.
“The more they fight, the more they multiply. That's clear now.”
A team of nearly five or six hundred specialized drones had already arrived nearby, waiting for a stable underwater landing zone to be established before going down to help devour the corpses.
The good genes would be transported back to the hive.
Overall, however, genes that provided long-term improvements for the Zerg were very rare.
Xia Jin was more inclined toward those overlord-level monsters.
Something like the previous needle-spitting sphere, or that giant squid that had annoyed her so much.
“I'll use the Swimmers to test them out when the time comes. If they can't win, I'll just manufacture a high-end version.”
...
At this moment, the ten Swimmers that had entered the water began to kill enemies efficiently in the vicinity.
Though their numbers were small, they truly demonstrated ample potential through these battles.
They combined the advantages of the venomous water snake and the spherical monster, performed well in melee combat, and even knew how to cooperate with each other. All they lacked was experience in underwater warfare.
They began a rapid slaughter of the creatures near the shore.
About ten minutes later, perhaps because the scent of blood was too heavy, a new needle-spitting sphere drifted over slowly.
Three Swimmers immediately approached it. From a distance of over twenty meters, they fired exploding needles and poisonous spines directly at the target.
Boom! Boom!
Severely impacted, the sphere seemed dazed. It was knocked around several times by the turbulent water currents before it finally managed to fire its own attack.
Although it fired in all directions, the Swimmers had already dodged in advance.
By the time the distance reached thirty meters, the needles had lost most of their speed and were easily avoided.
Then, the second wave of needles was fired.
Several more explosions followed.
After the blasts, venom also began to diffuse around the creature.
Soon, the poor sphere beast, heavily injured and poisoned, died right there.
The corpse was successfully recovered.
“This sphere's strength should be at Tier 5, but unfortunately, its combat style is too specialized.”
If it couldn't kill its opponent from a distance and someone rushed up to its face, then this creature could easily end up hurting itself.
But...
This didn't mean it wasn't strong.
Rather, the Zerg's evolutionary capabilities were too incredible. They had easily found a way to counter it and kill it with ease.
The Swimmers began to charge further out.
About half an hour later, Xia Jin took a glance and found that seven had died, leaving three remaining.
“That'll do.”
Compared to the reinforcements, the losses were almost pitifully small.
According to the statistics, four were killed in ambushes, and three were killed by powerful fish during normal combat.
But combined, they had killed over thirty or forty underwater creatures above Tier 3.
Xia Jin was very satisfied with this.
At this moment, more zerglings had arrived with a hundred Swimmers and were tossing them into the water one after another.
Meanwhile, the new Queen’s Projection met a shocked Amelo nearby.
“Princess, you... you came out of that monster's belly?” he asked with a look of pleasant surprise.
If something were to happen to the Princess, he would be the one who could least afford it.
With his own army almost entirely wiped out, siding with the Princess was his only chance.
If Her Highness had been killed by the squid, would he still have a life to live?
Thus, at this moment, he let out a deep sigh of relief.
“I was rescued by the insects. I also took the opportunity to change my clothes.”
As she spoke, Xia Jin picked up a cup of white, viscous nutrient solution and took a calm sip.
As she pulled the cup away, a liquid thread trailed from her lips. Amelo's eyebrows twitched.
“What? Do you want a drink too?” Xia Jin swirled the cup.
“No, no thank you.”
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