12: Chapter 12 The Gathering of the Gods and the Underestimated Zerg God

Su Chen's consciousness withdrew from the intelligence trading area and returned to his divine realm.

That crimson piece of intelligence was branded deep within his divine soul like a searing mark.

Poisonous Swamp.

source of ultimate toxin.

His fingertips unconsciously tapped lightly on the void, producing a dull, arrhythmic sound.

Within the divine realm, Sarah had completely taken over the Hive. A purple psionic energy flame shot into the sky, completely enveloping the massive biological structure. The vascular-like tissues on the creep pulsed frenetically at a visible rate, each contraction and expansion processing vast amounts of energy and nutrients.

The genetic sequence of the Corrupted Wyvern was being parsed, replicated, and injected into new egg sacs.

Everything was operating precisely and efficiently according to his will.

At that moment, a gentle divine beacon, carrying the fragrance of grass and trees, pierced through the divine realm's barrier and projected itself accurately before him.

The beacon unfolded in the air, transforming into an invitation woven from moonlight vines and starflowers, flowing with the runes of the Nature Pantheon.

[To the respected God of the Dawn: You are cordially invited to attend the Demigod Exchange Banquet held at the 'Hanging Gardens' in the City of Deities. — Flora, Goddess of Nature.]

City of Deities, Hanging Gardens.

It was a public divine realm carved out by the deities in the endless void, one of the centers for divine socialization, trade, and intelligence exchange.

Su Chen's gaze lingered on the exquisite invitation for less than a second.

He originally had no interest in such hypocritical and boring social gatherings.

But the four words 'Poisonous Swamp' changed his mind.

Intelligence of this level concerning a forbidden land could not possibly be held by him alone. There were bound to be many deities who wanted a share of the spoils.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.

The corner of his mouth, which had curved into a cold, predatory arc, slowly smoothed out, returning to its usual indifference.

With a slight stir of his divine sense, his divine form instantly traversed the void and descended upon that City of Deities suspended above a sea of clouds.

The moment he stepped in, it was as if he had fallen from the icy depths of space into a bustling furnace.

Splendid palace complexes floated atop misty clouds, each brick and stone inscribed with divine runes, shimmering with iridescent light. Connecting the different floating islands were rainbows constructed entirely from divine power.

The air was thick with divine power so dense it was almost viscous, mixed with the unique scent of various fermented Power Of Faiths—the fervor of holy light, the fragrance of nature, the fury of elements, the silence of death...

Su Chen paid no heed to any of this.

His destination was clear—the main hall of the banquet, the temple of Flora, the Goddess of Nature.

As soon as he entered the banquet hall, waves of even more powerful and unrestrained divine power fluctuations washed over him.

The entire hall was as vast as a plaza, with a flowing starry river for a ceiling and polished, mirror-like crystal for a floor. Over a hundred demigods of various forms gathered in small groups, their bodies wreathed in divine light, their auras clearly indicating their strength.

Behind almost every one of them, they projected images of their most prized follower races without the slightest concealment—a blatant display of strength and intimidation.

On a massive light screen, a group of giants over fifty meters tall roared, their muscles bulging, skin like granite. Every punch they threw created sonic booms that tore through the air.

"Look! These are my newly cultivated fourth-tier Titan giants, the 'Mountain Shatterers'! A single punch can shatter the walls of a mortal world!"

A burly demigod, whose divine form itself exuded a rocky texture, boasted loudly, spittle flying, his voice filled with undisguised pride.

His words immediately drew the sidelong glance of another goddess.

This goddess was clad in resplendent holy light armor, her face saintly, but a trace of haughty mockery played at the corner of her mouth.

"Hmph, barbaric."

She chuckled lightly, her voice crisp yet carrying an air of unquestionable superiority.

"Strength isn't everything. Look at my children, the Holy Light Angels. They are the perfect creation, born bathed in divine grace, possessing innate purification auras, the bane of all evil."

On the light screen behind her, a group of angels with luminous wings were chanting hymns, holy radiance showering down, filled with sanctity and majesty.

Similar displays of bragging and one-upmanship were playing out in every corner of the banquet hall.

Elves, dragons, behemoths, demons... images of various powerful and rare races vied for attention here, each representing the divine power reserves and developmental potential of a demigod.

Su Chen's appearance did not attract much notice.

His divine power aura was restrained to the extreme, his divine form shrouded in a faint gray mist, his features indistinct, appearing low-key and mysterious.

He moved like a phantom among these radiant deities, listening and observing coldly.

Just as he passed by a group of demigods, one who seemed to have met Su Chen once before casually called out to him.

"Brother Su Chen, long time no see. I heard you successfully ignited your divine spark and ascended to demigod? Congratulations. What is your core follower race? Care to show us?"

This question drew the gazes of several nearby demigods, filled with scrutiny and curiosity.

Su Chen's steps paused slightly.

He calmly uttered two words.

"Zerg Swarm."

The moment the words fell.

The previously lively and noisy atmosphere around them froze for an instant.

The expressions on the faces of those demigods who had looked over became a spectacle. First shock, then confusion, finally transforming into a strange, stifled amusement.

A few seconds later.

A barely suppressed snicker broke the small pocket of silence.

"Z... Zerg Swarm? Did I hear that right? Those lowly creatures that only rely on numbers, shattering at a touch?"

A demigod wreathed in flames could no longer hold back and laughed out loud.

His laughter seemed to be a signal.

"Ha! I thought it was some hidden powerful race. Turns out it's bugs? What can bugs do? They'd die too fast even as cannon fodder!"

"Don't say that. Maybe his bugs have special uses," a nearby goddess covering her mouth giggled, her eyes full of contempt, "Like, they could be used to loosen soil, do some farming? After all, they breed quickly, hahahaha!"

Unrestrained mockery and disdain surged forth like a tide.

In the eyes of these inherently noble deities who commanded powerful followers, the term 'Zerg Swarm' itself represented lowliness, cannon fodder, and unworthiness.

Facing all this, Su Chen's expression did not change in the slightest.

His divine form remained shrouded in gray mist, making his expression unreadable.

He simply stood there quietly, like a detached spectator, coldly watching these self-important 'gods' perform.

His perception, however, like the most precise radar, locked onto, encoded, and stored in the memory palace deep within his divine soul the auras of those demigods who jumped the highest and laughed the loudest.

Especially the burly demigod who had boasted about his Titan giants.

And the fiery demigod who mocked the Zerg Swarm as mere soil-looseners.

Their divine power fluctuations, their divine soul imprints, were all clearly remembered by Su Chen.

"Laugh."

A voice devoid of any emotion echoed in his heart.

"I hope you can still laugh on the real battlefield when my Zerg Swarm drowns your Titans and tears your angels apart."

At that moment, a gentle yet powerful divine power, like a spring breeze, swept through the entire banquet hall.

All the clamor and noise instantly quieted under this divine power.

The host of the banquet, Flora, the Goddess of Nature, slowly emerged from the depths of the temple.

She wore a long gown woven from leaves of life, barefoot. With every step she took, an illusory flower bloomed beneath her feet. Her aura, like a vast primordial forest, was filled with vitality and majesty.

All the demigods bowed in respect.

Flora smiled and nodded slightly, then waved her hand.

A divine light unfolded before her, transforming into a massive, tattered virtual map that hovered in mid-air.

On the map, large areas were shrouded in an impenetrable, ink-green fog. From time to time, purple lightning-like runes flickered within the mist, exuding a heart-palpitating aura of decay and ultimate toxin.

"Esteemed ones, I presume many of you have already received the news."

The Goddess of Nature's voice, gentle and clear, reached every corner of the hall.

"This is the latest dynamic map of the 'Poisonous Swamp'."

"Based on the life-risking reconnaissance by scouts of my pantheon and cross-verification from multiple intelligence sources, we can basically confirm that at the core depths of this ten-thousand-year death zone, the rules are undergoing violent anomalies. It is highly likely that the legendary 'source of ultimate toxin' exists in the core area of the ruins."

The moment the words 'source of ultimate toxin' were uttered, the entire hall instantly filled with the sound of sharp intakes of breath.

Even the Titan demigod who had been loudly boasting earlier now suppressed all expression, his eyes fixed intently on the map, his breathing becoming heavy.

That was one of the primal manifestations of the rules from the world's very birth!

Any deity, if they could absorb even a trace of it, could cause a qualitative transformation in their divine portfolio and divine power!

Su Chen's movements came to a complete halt the instant he heard those four words.

His gaze pierced through the multitude of deities, firmly locking onto that pulsating point of light representing the 'source'.

An indescribable yearning rose from the depths of his divine soul.

Sarah!

The figure of the Queen of Blades instantly surfaced in his mind. Her evolutionary path was stuck at a critical bottleneck. She possessed powerful psionic energy but lacked a definitive, destructive 'substance' capable of causing catastrophic damage.

If... if he could obtain this source of ultimate toxin and integrate it into Sarah's genetic sequence...

Then, the psionic energy she controlled would no longer be mere energy impacts.

Every strike would carry the most primal, most domineering toxin attribute!

Her lethality would increase exponentially, growing wildly!

"However," the Goddess of Nature changed her tone, her voice becoming serious, "a reminder to all. The toxicity of this swamp is extreme. According to data, non-toxin-resistant beings below the seventh tier who enter will have their divine forms eroded and dissolved in a short time, and their divine souls will also be contaminated. It is a forbidden zone for the vast majority of lifeforms."

"Therefore, only deities with follower races possessing high toxin resistance are qualified to participate in this exploration and get a share of the spoils."

Her words caused over ninety percent of the demigods present to show expressions of disappointment and frustration.

Although their follower races were powerful, facing this rule-level toxin would still be a death sentence.

Su Chen looked at the deities around him who were still loudly discussing, some excited, someupset, and in his heart, he had already passed judgment on them.

In his eyes, these so-called divine colleagues were no longer colleagues.

But nourishment for the evolution of the Zerg Swarm...

Prey.