57: Chapter 57 Head-on Confrontation: The Highest-Level Second-Generation Zerg Swarm!

Along with the location information of the Salt Flats came new intelligence on the Insect Swarm.

Scouts had discovered a new squad of Insect Swarm near the Salt Flats.

Su Yang took the image drawn by the Scout to examine it.

The image showed a creature similar to a Stinger Bug, but its body structure was larger and more complex than that of a Stinger Bug.

Their limbs were sturdier, the blades used for attacking in front of their bodies were larger, and the number had increased from two to four.

Its appearance was no longer the yellowish-brown pattern of a Stinger Bug, but covered in large patches of grayish-brown markings.

However, although it had changed its appearance, Su Yang quickly confirmed that this was indeed a Stinger Bug.

But this was no longer the original Stinger Bug; it was an evolved Stinger Bug unit.

Like humans, the Xenomorphs in the Forbidden Ground, including the Insect Swarm, were constantly evolving.

The evolution of the Insect Swarm was a continuous metamorphosis at the individual level, combining with the environment to produce increasingly formidable units.

The Rank of the Insect Swarm had actually been rising before, but it wasn't very obvious.

This upgrade, however, was a qualitative leap; even their body forms had undergone a drastic transformation.

The Stinger Bugs appearing in the Salt Flats area were clearly no longer second-generation species.

Su Yang's thoughts raced; the Salt Flats area had abundant saltpeter production.

As long as he took the Salt Flats, he could directly solve the problem of gunpowder supply.

This was an important area of strategic significance, and he had to obtain more relevant intelligence!

Once the Scouts were upgraded, he would send them to the Salt Flats to conduct a comprehensive reconnaissance of enemy movements and survey the saltpeter reserves.

Before that, he still had to deal with some matters at his doorstep.

Besides the Salt Flats, the Scouts had also marked the specific locations of two second-generation insect nests.

Within the current range of the Gaze of the Abyss, these should be the last two remaining insect nests.

As a good neighbor, how could he not go and say hello?

Su Yang immediately summoned General Li Xin and ordered him to assemble his forces.

Soon, 30 Armored Elite Soldiers and 20 Armored Crossbowmen had assembled.

Led by General Li Xin, the troops set off toward the insect nest in the northeast under the cover of night.

Although it was night, there was no need to worry too much about the Insect Swarm besieging the city before the Gaze of the Abyss was upgraded.

The Insect Swarm within the current range of the Gaze of the Abyss had basically been depleted in the siege battles of the past few days.

In just these few days, even if the Mother Bug tried its hardest, it would be impossible to scrape together a decent force.

Su Yang climbed the northern city wall and watched General Li Xin and the Imperial Armor Troops leave the city.

As the troops moved, billowing steam sprayed into the sky.

The Imperial Armor Legion, with all members at Rank 2, coupled with the leadership of a hero-level unit—just the sight of this fully equipped force marching gave one a full sense of security.

Watching the troops gradually disappear into the dense forest, Su Yang couldn't help but feel that he finally had the feeling of being a lord.

With the appearance of a general-level unit like General Li Xin, he finally didn't have to rush to the battlefield in person anymore.

He only needed to give General Li Xin the general objectives, and leave the specific execution to General Li Xin to command personally.

Unless absolutely necessary, he would never take risks again until he had obtained a set of battle armor for himself.

One could say the only possibility of the territory failing now was if he were assassinated by Jing Ke.

Not long after General Li Xin led the troops out on the expedition, the two technology researches at the Thousand Mechanism Tower were completed.

With the two prerequisite technologies unlocked, Su Yang opened the Imperial Armor Camp without hesitation and upgraded the Scouts.

[command points - 4000]

After a short wait, four Scouts walked out of the Imperial Armor Camp.

The power rods located on their legs had all been changed from copper to iron.

Additionally, two new rectangular fuel tanks had been installed on both sides of the steam device on their backs.

This allowed the Scouts to carry more fuel at once, obtaining a larger search range.

In addition to the Imperial Armor upgrade, Su Yang also noticed that there was an extra armor-like device on their left arms.

Opening the lid revealed a precision instrument inside, with a needle that kept trembling in the middle; this was likely a device for detecting magnetic field anomalies.

Su Yang clicked on the Scout's panel to examine it further.

[Unit: Great Qin Thousand-Mile Scout]

[Unit Type: Reconnaissance Infantry]

[Production Requirement: Rank 3 Imperial Armor Camp]

[Description: Imperial Armor fully upgraded, exploration range greatly increased, gained iron ore and saltpeter ore exploration skills]

[Unlocking Metal Detection technology can increase the Scout's prospecting knowledge, allowing for a series of exploration activities for known minerals]

[Summoning Cost: 1000 command points]

[Consumption: 8 units of fuel/day, 8 units of concentrated water/day]

The fuel consumption had reached 8 units/day, almost catching up to General Li Xin.

However, considering the distance the Scouts traveled in a day, this was completely reasonable.

Without wasting any more time, Su Yang sent the upgraded Scout units to the Salt Flats area.

He wanted to obtain as much information about that area as possible. How large the range was, the scale of the Insect Swarm, feasible marching routes, specific distances, and so on.

Of course, besides the Salt Flats, there was also the search for iron ore.

However, having unlocked the tools for iron ore exploration, Su Yang believed that the Scouts would soon find iron ore.

Technology changes life.

It was no longer the era from the beginning where one had to rely on human labor and the naked eye to search hard.

After sending out the Scouts, Su Yang opened the Thousand Mechanism Tower again and selected Iron Smelting Technology and Gunpowder Research.

These two technologies were the prerequisites for upgrading Armored Soldiers and summoning the Skyfire Guard.

To upgrade the troops, he had to research them first.

[Technology: Iron Smelting Technology]

[Hard Stuff: Obtain the process for processing raw iron ore, obtain a series of technologies for upgrading and modifying iron equipment]

[command points: 4000]

[Time: 16h]

[Technology: Gunpowder Research]

[Dancing with Fire: Unlock gunpowder knowledge, obtain a series of combustion and explosion technologies]

[command points: 4000]

[Time: 16h]

A total of 8000 command points, each requiring 16 hours.

[command points - 8000]

[Technology: Gunpowder Research in progress...]

[Technology: Iron Smelting Technology in progress...]

After completing all this, Su Yang returned to the lords residence.

His subordinates were out exploring, fighting, or standing guard.

As the leader, it was perfectly reasonable for him to catch up on some sleep...

...Hiss——————Hiss——————Hiss——————

In the fluorescently glowing dense forest, General Li Xin led the Imperial Armor Troops as they pressed forward.

According to the location of the insect nest provided by the Scouts and the planned specific marching route, they soon arrived at the target location.

Unlike the insect nests encountered before, this insect nest was not located underground, but inside a mountain.

The hideous cave entrance was perched at the foot of the mountain, with squads of the Insect Swarm busily moving in and out.

They carried large chunks of bloody meat in their mouthparts, seemingly to feed something.

General Li Xin led his troops directly out of the dense forest and advanced straight to the entrance of the insect nest.

There was no tactical arrangement, nor was there any need for a sneak attack.

This was a fair and square direct confrontation.

The Brain Bug outside the cave entrance detected the enemy and immediately let out a sharp screech.

The Insect Swarm began to surge...