Screech!
The lightning flashing from the blade's edge sliced through the ferocious Zerg before her.
This type of Swarm creature, called a [Host], fed on energy and metal. From the very beginning of the boarding action, they had begun to madly devour the external structures of the starships, hatching large numbers of [Banelings] that launched suicidal attacks to invade the ships' interiors.
In just a few short minutes, four starships had fallen victim to these things.
This was also why Raven chose to take action personally. The bodies of the Zerg were incredibly tough, and their physical combat capabilities surpassed the vast majority of ordinary creatures in the universe. Even if they were no match for the legion's ordinary soldiers in a one-on-one or even ten-on-one fight, their numerical advantage was simply too terrifying.
The Quantum Legion's [Primordial Species] vanguard units were tied down by massive behemoths called [Ultralisks]. These [Ultralisks] were few in number, but their size and combat power were in no way inferior to a [Primordial Species]. Any lack in their offensive power was more than compensated for by the superior durability and strength of their carapaces.
For a time, the Quantum Legion's elite forces were completely unable to free themselves up to directly attack the [Hosts], which posed the greatest threat to the starships.
Under these circumstances, Raven had no choice but to enter the fray with her personal guard.
Splat!
The [Host]'s body disintegrated into a paste of flesh. The sharp longsword in Raven's hand disassembled and reconfigured, quickly becoming a large sniper rifle several meters in length.
Swoosh—
Fixing her position on the beveled edge of the starship, right beside the foul-smelling corrosive fluid, Raven raised the sniper rifle and took aim at the [Overseers] that were still rapidly approaching in the distance.
Under the cover of the [Corruptors], these "landing craft" were pouring madly into the gap that had been torn open in the fleet's defensive net!
BOOM!!!
Orange-yellow juice exploded in the void of space, and a glob of highly acidic liquid splashed outwards in all directions.
Dozens of [Overseers] were blown to pieces in mid-air.
Thud.
"Commander Raven."
A silver-gray individual of the Machine Race emerged from the narrow starship corridor.
Although the parts of his body corroded by the Zerg's acid were rapidly repairing themselves, the massive tusk from an Ultralisk that had pierced his chest was clearly not something that could be pulled out so easily.
This was Raven's second-in-command, the Higher Primordial Species, Koenigsegg.
"Koenigsegg."
Raven casually tossed a red canister toward him.
"You don't look so good."
Click-clack.
His thick mechanical arm opened up, ejecting six empty transparent canisters.
Thump.
Koenigsegg caught the [Legion (Commander) Use Concentrated Imaginary Energy Supplement] that Raven had thrown and forcefully jammed it into an empty slot on his body.
Gulp.
As the red liquid seeped in, Koenigsegg's chest cavity snapped the tusk in two.
"There are too many enemies. Their ferocity is no less than that of the Quantum Beasts."
His other arm, the one without the canister, swiftly opened. A red light that had just begun to glow instantly became a beam, incinerating the Zerglings swarming down the corridor to ash!
"The loss rate for the outer fleet has already exceeded thirty percent. We can only hold out against an offensive of this intensity for another 300 seconds at most."
Vmmm!
The sniper rifle in Raven's hand transformed back into a longsword.
A crescent-shaped arc of lightning shot from the tip of the blade, slicing the two [Mutalisks] that had intended to charge through the opening created by the [Host] into four pieces.
"Hold on a little longer. The Mechanicus Church has already constructed a Warp Matrix on Planet Five. Our reinforcements will arrive on the battlefield in 180 seconds."
"Oh." Koenigsegg's voice was somewhat muffled. "Commander Raven, you may have been enjoying the fight a bit too much."
While using his massive iron fist to smash a [Roach] that had crawled out of a crack in the wall into a meat patty, he sent the latest battle report from the planet's surface to Raven.
"Those guys may be under the Apostle's command, but they aren't exactly a proper combat unit… What I mean is, they are somewhat lacking in both numbers and experience."
The battle situation shown in the image revealed that the planned location for the Warp Matrix had already been overrun by a dense swarm of [Infestors]. The [Hive Mother] possessed a super-large-scale warp interdiction ability. To provide support via hyperspace jump, a [Warp Matrix] had to be established to enhance the spatial coordinate signal.
"Damn it!"
"When did this happen?"
Even with Raven's usual "calm," she couldn't help but curse.
"Right around the time you took out the twenty-ninth [Host]."
"Couldn't you have reported it sooner?!"
"Looking at my situation, do I seem like I was deliberately late?" Koenigsegg said, shrugging helplessly.
"How is the Apostle doing?"
After unleashing one final slash of her blade, disintegrating a squad of [Mutalisks] still stubbornly charging toward them into atoms, Raven sheathed her weapon and walked toward the tattered interior of the flagship at the forefront of the formation.
"Terrifyingly."
"I used to think the gap between a Higher Primordial Species and an Apostle was merely a matter of accumulated age and experience."
"But now it seems…"
Bang!
"Enough with the sentimentality, get to the point!"
Raven gave the massive figure, more than thirty times her size, a swift kick. Koenigsegg's enormous body perfectly reshaped a section of the super-alloy wall.
"The Apostle can hold out for a long time. But at this rate… her Imaginary energy will eventually be depleted."
"And before that happens, I'm afraid just the 'few' fish that slip through the net will be enough to completely overwhelm us."
---o---
BOOM!!!
A meteor shower of red and white streaked across the starry sky.
Like a natural chasm, it completely incinerated any of the Swarm that dared to cross its invisible barrier into ash.
A four-winged firebird, its body pure white with bright red tips on its feathers, slowly beat its wings in the deep void of space.
Hua had already entered her Collapsed State.
After eliminating the ten [Overlords] in her sector, a completely unexpected situation had arisen. From beyond the range of detectors and even the Apostle's own senses, new [Overlords] had warped directly into the battlefield.
That's right.
The [Hive Mother] was displaying an unprecedented level of control. Its ability to block FTL jumps did not affect Swarm units… This was the complete opposite of the intelligence the Empire had obtained.
The retainers of Propagation were not known for such cunning; they wouldn't hide their abilities.
In other words, just as the [Zetton] was modified into the [Hyper Zetton], it was highly likely that the Antimatter Legion had performed some sort of "upgrade surgery" on the Swarm's [Hive Mother].
This meant that until the [Hive Mother] was completely dealt with, these [Overlords] were essentially inexhaustible.
To deal with a Swarm even stronger than before, Hua had to be the first to enter her Collapsed State. With her full Star-busting level combat power, she simultaneously sniped Overlords and deployed her domain to support the Quantum Legion. In a battle of equal numbers, the Quantum Legion could completely crush the Swarm. But the numbers the enemy was now showing… the number of individuals within scanning range alone was already hundreds of times greater than the entire Quantum Legion.
What's more…
The Swarm, which continued to appear endlessly at the edge of her perception, had already flooded the display terminals of every radar in the legion with red dots.
---o---
"Hua."
Hua had already incinerated over thirty Overlords. The [Overlords] appearing now were not only two or three times larger than the previous ones, but their ferocity had also increased exponentially.
Simply put, the more Lovecraftian a Zerg looked, the stronger it was.
The Overlords Hua was facing now were all elite individuals produced by the [Hive Mother]. These creatures, with combat power comparable to [Havoc Vanguards], normally required a [Hive Mother] to consume an entire star system just to produce one or two.
Hua's Imaginary energy reserves were fluctuating wildly around the fifty percent mark.
Her body was already developing an immunity to the supplements specially developed by Mobius before her departure. Potions that could replenish energy for a "Star-busting level" combatant were rare to begin with, and Hua had been using them in large doses in a short period. It was no wonder their effectiveness was rapidly diminishing.
"Mobius?"
Mobius's voice rang in Hua's mind.
Unlike Vill-V, who, like a Newborn Species, was adept at using mechanical means for communication, Mobius's method of交流 was more in line with the habits of a "Primordial Species."
"Vill-V is a bit overwhelmed. I'll be taking over some of her command duties for the time being."
The shared mental network between the Apostles offered little privacy from one another. Since Vill-V, who always sang a contrary tune, had not raised any objections, she had basically tacitly approved of the current situation… she was likely extremely busy.
"Alright. How long until reinforcements arrive?"
Hua's communication was clean and direct.
"No, Hua. There are no reinforcements."
Mobius did not bring good news.
"You are to immediately cover the Quantum Legion's retreat to the D3 system. We are abandoning all 37 outer systems of the Vitriel Star System, including two habitable ones."
"All of them?"
"That's right," Mobius confirmed.
"Are War and Kalpas also following orders?"
"The War Legion and the Beast Extermination Swarm have already sustained over 40% losses. The supporting Mechanicus Church and Rock Heavy Armor units have also taken over 20% losses."
The situation was clearly far worse than Hua had imagined.
"Those two themselves are fine, for the most part. But we can't see an upper limit to the Swarm yet, not to mention the Antimatter Legion has yet to show itself… We cannot continue to sacrifice our effective strength."
"For now, we can only consolidate our defenses and wait for Pontos and the others to find the Hive Mother before deciding our next move."
"…"
Time was of the essence; there was little room for hesitation.
"The Swarm will devour the star systems. It will make them even stronger."
"Correct. So, as you are evacuating, take a moment to drop the 'Depth Charges'."
After saying that, Mobius added:
"One for each star system."
---o---
"!!"
"Mobius, are you serious?"
"Of course. Detonating the stars would take too long; it's not feasible under any circumstances. And if we only destroy the planets, those bugs will still be able to feed."
"Rather than letting them be contaminated by the bugs…"
"...we'll just do it one step ahead of them."
A "Depth Charge" was no ordinary device. It was a superweapon the Empire only used to destroy World Bubbles. When faced with World Bubbles that had lost all value for salvation or use, were completely overrun by Quantum Beasts, and were not far from the surface of the Sea, the Empire would usually send them a "Depth Charge."
This thing could destroy a World Bubble in one shot.
But if used on the Tree… its power would only be a slightly larger storm for an entire star system. However, the "splash" stirred up by the bomb—that is, the Quantum energy contamination from the Sea of Quanta—would make it impossible for the Zerg to use the planet's mass-energy for sustenance.
"…"
"What about the native races living there?" Hua's voice now carried a hint of accusation.
"The evacuation order was issued the moment we received the attack report. If they truly value their lives, a few hours is enough time to escape."
"But some people don't even have the right to evacuate."
"Correct. But Hua, you need to understand: if they are overrun by the bugs, they have zero chance of survival. But with Quantum energy contamination, the Empire has ways to help those races survive."
"...A chance of less than one in ten million."
"That's quite high, and your information is a bit outdated. My latest research has increased the success rate to one in a hundred thousand."
"Most importantly… These places that were previously difficult for the Empire to manage will now become 'prime locations' within our reach."
"…"
"Is this the Monarch's order?"
Hua was still unwilling to accept it.
The Imperial Apostles were, after all, nominally of equal rank. If the order did not come from the Monarch himself, then even if she disobeyed, there wouldn't be too much…
"No, this is my directive."
Hua didn't have time to feel "relieved." Mobius's next sentence blocked off all other options—
"Do you understand now why Vill-V handed command over to me?"
"…"
"I will carry out the order."
"Good."
---o---
On the outskirts of the Vitriel Star System.
A dense swarm of Zerg filled the entire starry sky. A miniaturized Golem sat on the horn of Beluga, and the two of them journeyed together amidst the Swarm.
To be precise, they were wandering just below the surface of the Sea of Quanta.
All traces of their presence and perception were completely blocked by the boundary between the Tree and the Sea.
"Truly magnificent," Beluga's voice echoed from beneath the surface. "The number of Swarm we've observed just between the two of us is more than five times the force that invaded the Vitriel system, isn't it?"
"To be precise, it's 5.11 times," Golem corrected.
"Alright, fine."
Beluga replied with a hint of resignation, then couldn't help but ask Pontos, "When did you become so 'rigorous'?"
"I don't know either," Golem replied in the exact same resigned tone as Beluga. "It's been like this ever since I recovered all my soul fragments. Perhaps I picked up some habits from their 'previous' master?"
"...Perhaps."
This mission was dangerous.
Although the retainers of Propagation had lost their high-end combat power, the terrifying numbers of the Swarm could trap even a mighty [Emissary] and kill them through sheer attrition of Imaginary energy.
If not for their own innate talents, the two of them would never have been able to swagger so deeply into the Swarm.
"Found it."
Their conversation was merely a way to relieve tension. After a long period of silence that took up most of their time, Beluga finally sensed a massive presence distinctly different from the ordinary Swarm.
"This thing is the size of a galaxy…"
"No time for awe. The [Hive Mother] is about the same as what's in the intel. Before it spots us, let's 'deep dive' and report the coordinates—"
"Wait!"
Golem interrupted Beluga, who was just about to "dive."
"What is it?"
"This thing…"
Due to the unique nature of the changes to his soul, Pontos's perception range was far greater than Beluga's. Far beyond the Hive Mother they had already discovered, there were two more massive presences surrounded by the Swarm, standing silently in the deep void.
"There's more than one!"