143: Chapter 143 Ansevie, You Need to Understand Your Position

Although the nod was slight, and although its head with three vertical pupils looked incredibly eerie, it was indeed a gesture of gratitude!

Gradually, the Gene Primordial Bodies seemed to... start adapting to this "support."

They still lacked intelligence and coordination, but biological instinct made them realize that those "unmoving things" (referring to the turrets) and "moving little things" (referring to the drones) on the ground seemed to have no hostility and would occasionally help them solve problems.

Thus, a bizarre tacit understanding emerged on the battlefield.

The Progenitors no longer completely ignored the ground fire, occasionally even intentionally luring the Zerg into the turrets' range. In return, the base provided as much fire cover as possible, as long as the Progenitors didn't attack the shields.

Both sides fought their own battles, yet they subtly formed a complementary relationship.

"I think I get it now," Chu Xinghe lamented in the channel. "Are we... pulling aggro?"

"Pulling aggro?" Luo Lan adjusted his glasses. "It's more like playing a tower defense game—we're the defense towers, the Progenitors are auto-attacking summons, and the Zerg are the monster wave."

"Now that you mention it, it really is like that."

The battle situation temporarily stabilized.

With fire support from the base, the Progenitors' survivability significantly improved, and their kill efficiency began to rise again.

The light effects of skills in the sky became dense once more. Rain of fire, thunderstorms, vines, holy light, shadows... various area-of-effect skills intertwined, harvesting Zerg units in swaths.

Zerg corpses continued to fall like rain, the recovery system continued to run at full capacity, and essence fluid continued to be produced in a steady stream.

Everything seemed to be heading in a positive direction.

...

leviathan mothership "Star Devourer," Bio-Throne Hall.

Empress Oriana still lay upon that throne composed of living tissue. At the stump of her right leg, dense Life Divine Energy burned fiercely like green flames, struggling to regenerate the missing tissue. But every time new flesh grew a little, several tiny golden arcs of electricity would erupt from deep within the wound, charring the new tissue once more.

The lightning-attribute energy left by Prince Krol was extremely troublesome, like a maggot in the bone, constantly disrupting her regeneration process.

The Empress was in no hurry. She had lived for thousands of years and suffered far worse injuries than this; such a wound was merely a minor nuisance to her, one that could be worn away with enough time.

What she cared about was something else.

"What is the situation?" the Empress spoke slowly, her voice echoing directly in the mental sea of Queen Anserwe, who stood before the throne. "The Leviathans seem to have jumped in quite some time ago. Has Olivia been found?"

Anserwe—the most senior Queen under the Empress of the Fourth Mother Nest, with Peak Fifth Tier combat power—was currently prostrate on the ground respectfully. She possessed a near-perfect humanoid form with silver hair, purple eyes, and fair skin, with four pairs of exquisite insect wings folded on her back. Aside from those compound eyes and the carapace at her joints, she was almost indistinguishable from a human.

"Reporting to Her Majesty the Empress," Anserwe's voice carried a hint of imperceptible trembling. "According to the battle reports from the front, the Spore Pod landing operation has encountered obstacles. A group of unknown lifeforms, numbering approximately one hundred thousand and ranging from the fourth to fifth tier, has appeared on the surface of Planet G-77-3, exerting all their efforts to intercept our airborne forces. Furthermore, one Leviathan was hit by concentrated fire from xihe-class main guns while entering orbit; the Zerg Swarm's production and recovery capabilities have been severely damaged, and it has temporarily withdrawn from the combat sequence."

She paused and carefully added, "Analyzing the current situation, the Alliance of Ten Thousand Races likely... set a trap using Olivia as bait. They deployed this high-tier force on the planet's surface in advance with the aim of wearing down our effective strength."

A holographic projection unfolded before the throne, showing real-time combat footage captured from a Leviathan's perspective.

In the images, one hundred thousand Gene Primordial Bodies were slaughtering in all directions in the sky, various area-of-effect skills blooming constantly like fireworks. Zerg bio-weapons died in swaths, their corpses falling like rain. Under the support of strangely powerful ground fire, the Gene Primordial Bodies maintained a formidable output.

The Empress stared at the screen for a few seconds, a flicker of disdain crossing her golden eyes.

"Merely experimental subjects of the Holy Alliance's Gene Primordial Bodies," her voice was cold. "Stitched-together creatures with inferior talents, possessing only rank but no intelligence, let alone tactical coordination. However, there is actually a Daoyan Military Nexus talent on this planet who has managed to produce firepower nearly equivalent to a xihe-class ship in such a short time..."

With a wave of her hand, the screen switched to several highlight clips of the Zerg hunting the Progenitors. Although those Progenitors were not weak in combat power, their fighting style was laughably crude, and they were easily killed by the Queens Guard through precise coordination.

"Do you see?" the Empress said indifferently. "This is the difference between laboratory products and elites honed through actual combat. One hundred thousand fourth to fifth tiers? The number is indeed impressive, but if they truly faced your Queens Guard, how long do you think they could last?"

Anserwe bowed her head. "In a frontal confrontation, my guard would lose at most thirty percent of its strength to completely annihilate them."

"Thirty percent?" The Empress chuckled lightly. "You are being modest. With the combat intelligence of those Progenitors, your guard's losses would not exceed ten percent."

She paused, a sharp glint flashing in her compound eyes. "Anserwe."

"Your subordinate is here."

"Recall all Queens with combat talents from the various Leviathans. You will lead the team personally, commanding the Queens Guard and Tyranid Warriors to clear out this group of Gene Primordial Bodies."

Anserwe's spirits lifted. "Yes! I shall immediately—"

"Wait." The Empress interrupted her.

Anserwe immediately prostrated herself again.

The Empress slowly sat upright. Although the injury to her right leg made her movements somewhat stiff, that invisible pressure caused the air in the entire Bio-Throne Hall to solidify.

"Anserwe," the Empress's voice was soft, yet it carried an unquestionable majesty. "Mind your status. Olivia is the core interest of the Fourth Mother Nest; she is the key to this hive's rank jumping to a Root Hive. Her value... you know it well."

Anserwe's body trembled slightly.

"Some things," the Empress continued, "should not be said. Some thoughts... should not be held. You are a Zerg Queen, a part of the Zerg Swarm."

These words were like a bucket of ice water, drenching the small flame of ambition that had just ignited in Anserwe's heart.

She naturally knew what the Empress was talking about.

Olivia—the special individual who perfectly integrated Zerg evolutionary potential with the divine power characteristics of the "Mother Goddess"—was the Fourth Mother Nest's greatest hope in hundreds of years.

If she could be successfully recovered and nurtured, the Fourth Mother Nest might break through its current rank barrier and be promoted to a higher-level "Root Hive," gaining nearly infinite evolutionary potential.

And as the most senior Queen under the Empress, Anserwe had originally been the one with the most hope of inheriting the position of the next Empress.