Swallowed Star: The Zerg Overlord

Chapter 15: The Battle of the Swarm

"Hatching an Evolution Chamber requires consuming one worker bug and 100 energy points. After successfully analyzing a monster, we can create an identical monster through its genetic map. After further research, we can take its essence and discard its flaws to create stronger Zerg units!"

Qin Mu's face was filled with excitement. This was the core ability of the swarm.

"The swarm has discovered 872 unknown biological genes. Should they be analyzed?"

With a thought, the Nest sent back a message. Qin Mu was surprised. Where did so many biological genes come from?

After a careful investigation, Qin Mu discovered that most of them were from small insects, plants, and other such organisms. These were the biological genes absorbed by the fungus carpet when the Nest was hatching.

"Filter out all the biological genes below the beast soldier level!"

Immediately, the information in his mind became much clearer, leaving only two types. One was the Tiger Mastiff, and the other was called the Black Ring Snake.

Qin Mu was not surprised by the Tiger Mastiff, as he had killed it himself, but what about the Black Ring Snake?

Qin Mu connected his consciousness to the Nest to check its memories.

Upon seeing the memory, Qin Mu broke out in a cold sweat. It turned out that after he had fainted, night had fallen, and many nocturnal monsters began to hunt. A Black Ring Snake over five meters long, with black patterns all over its body and at the primary beast soldier level, had intruded into the swarm's territory. It was discovered by the patrolling worker bugs and torn apart by them.

"Luckily, I ordered the Nest to hatch worker bugs at full capacity to protect myself and the Nest's safety, or it would have been a shame to die like that."

Qin Mu's expression was a mix of relief and lingering fear.

"Next, we need to hatch the Evolution Chamber and analyze the monster genes."

"We currently have 54 worker bugs and 3 energy points." Qin Mu took stock of the forces at his disposal.

"54 worker bugs equivalent to the primary beast soldier level, plus my own strength at the high-level warrior rank and spirit power at the mid-level warlord rank, is enough to sweep through the villa area's monsters."

A smile appeared on Qin Mu's face. The monsters in the villa area were almost all at the primary beast soldier level, with few at the mid-level.

Although there were hundreds of them, monsters at this level were like grass before a mid-level warlord spirit master—easy to cut down.

"It's dawn! I actually slept through the entire night." The sun rose in the east, and a golden light pierced the darkness, illuminating the sky.

"Swarm! Leave ten worker bugs to protect the Nest, and the rest, assemble. Our target is the villa area."

Qin Mu waved his hand with great spirit, and under his command, the swarm quickly assembled, forming a vast team centered around Qin Mu, marching towards the villa area in a grand procession.

"This A2-grade Vanquisher Spear is too light and doesn't match my strength anymore."

Qin Mu shook his head after swinging it a few times. However, there were no other weapons at the moment, so he had to make do with it.

"I regret not considering this when preparing weapons. If I had known, I would have bought some throwing knives, short spears, or other such weapons."

The mainstream attack methods of spirit masters generally fall into two categories. One is skilled in manipulating objects for attack, known as Controllers. The other is direct soul attack, adept at mental and illusion-based attacks, known as Illusionists. Of course, there are also some other less common methods, such as Beast Taming and Potion Making.

After awakening as a spirit master, Luo Feng chose the path of the Controller.

Qin Mu didn't understand illusion attacks, but simple and brutal object manipulation was no problem for him.

"There's a way!"

Qin Mu had an idea. He wrapped his spirit power around the tip of the Vanquisher Spear and twisted it forcefully. With a "click," the spearhead was detached. The spearhead circled around Qin Mu before hovering near his right shoulder.

Qin Mu swung the spear shaft, which now lacked a head, and grinned. "The spearhead can be used for object manipulation attacks, and the shaft can serve as a staff for defense!"

Surrounded by the swarm, Qin Mu was full of vigor.

In the villa area, after a night of hunting, many nocturnal monsters, such as Shadow Cats, had returned to their nests. Another group of monsters that preferred daytime activity became lively.

As Qin Mu led the swarm closer to the villa area, he saw a group of 13 Iron-Haired Wild Boars foraging for food at the edge of the villa area. These Iron-Haired Wild Boars were sturdy, over 1.5 meters at the shoulder, with bristles like sharp thorns and two massive tusks in their large mouths, resembling small elephants.

If it were yesterday, Qin Mu would have turned and fled upon encountering a group of Iron-Haired Wild Boars, but now things were different.

"Swarm! Destroy them!"

Qin Mu waved his hand, and except for ten worker bugs protecting Qin Mu, the remaining 34 worker bugs spontaneously formed a hunting formation and charged at the Iron-Haired Wild Boars.

One Iron-Haired Wild Boar, which was lowering its head to forage, twitched its nose. Despite their clumsy appearance, their sense of smell was extremely sharp.

Suddenly, it let out a loud howl. It had discovered a group of giant ant-like monsters charging at them with no attempt to hide their strong hostility.

The alerted Iron-Haired Wild Boars reacted quickly. Several strong males rushed to the front, protecting the younger boars.

Led by the strongest Wild Boar, which had reached the mid-level beast soldier rank, the angry boars exhaled rough breaths from their snouts and charged fiercely at the worker bugs.

The Iron-Haired Wild Boars were like speeding heavy trucks, and the momentum they unleashed was no less than that of the worker bugs, which outnumbered them twofold.

Just as the two torrents were about to collide, a stream of light shot out from behind the worker bugs, piercing the head of the strongest Iron-Haired Wild Boar leading the charge.

The stream of light was none other than the spearhead.

After killing the strongest boar, the spearhead drew an arc in the air before plunging down again, piercing the heads of two more Iron-Haired Wild Boars in succession.

The remaining charging Iron-Haired Wild Boars, finding their leader dead for no apparent reason, panicked, and their originally orderly formation scattered.

In the next moment, the two torrents collided with a bang.

"Boom—"

An Iron-Haired Wild Boar lowered its head, galloped on all fours, and viciously rammed into a worker bug with its tusks. The worker bug, also in the midst of charging, was stopped in its tracks and knocked flying by the wild boar's ferocious impact, its shell shattering.

"Crack—"

The Iron-Haired Wild Boar didn't fare well either. The worker bugs were equally powerful. Although it was knocked flying due to its size, the wild boar's speed also decreased.

Without speed, the Iron-Haired Wild Boars, which were at a significant numerical disadvantage, immediately fell into crisis.

A worker bug opened its large claws and bit fiercely into the neck of an Iron-Haired Wild Boar. The boar's tough fur was torn apart by the claws, and large chunks of flesh were ripped off.

The Iron-Haired Wild Boar, driven mad by the blood and pain, thrashed its body, trying to break free. But another worker bug seized the opportunity to climb onto its body and bite furiously, causing the wild boar to emit painful cries.

Some Iron-Haired Wild Boars went berserk, their tusks like daggers, stabbing into worker bugs, throwing them into the air, and trampling them fiercely.

Both sides engaged in a frenzied and bloody battle. In just a moment, the ground was littered with severed limbs, and blood flowed everywhere.

"Whoosh—"

The sound of the spearhead piercing the air came, and one by one, the entangled Wild Boars were penetrated through the brain, dying on the spot. In just a few breaths, more than ten Iron-Haired Wild Boars were easily killed.

Before a mid-level warlord spirit master, they had no power to resist and were slaughtered with ease.

"Bring their corpses back and convert them into energy. The swarm needs to expand."