Now, it was a contest of who would break first.
Gaurik was no fool. A greenskin who could reach the rank of Warboss might have a violent temper, but he certainly had a functioning brain.
As the Boss, he hadn't personally joined the fray yet, but he knew these bugs didn't just appear out of thin air. They had to have a nest.
"FIND DEM BUG NESTS! BURN 'EM ALL UNTIL DERE'S NUFFIN' LEFT!!!"
This line of thinking was identical to how the Golden Armada dealt with the Zerg. The Swarm truly feared high-altitude orbital bombardment, and before their own fleet reached critical mass, enemy fleets were extremely difficult to handle.
Ork scout fliers began repeatedly probing the areas occupied by the Swarm. Zerg anti-air units and fliers constantly shot them down, but their intentions were becoming too obvious.
†What are these little planes looking for? Looking for the Hive? Is the enemy panicking?†
The Overmind wasn't entirely sure of their objective, but if they were looking for the Hive, it meant the enemy wanted to use a "decapitation strike" to end this endless combat.
†The Orks are getting impatient.†
Orks were naturally short-tempered, but for a Boss to lose his cool after only four or five days was beyond the Overmind's expectations.
†Zasz, do not let a single plane get near the Hive.†
No matter how much of an "ace" a pilot was, when facing the Zerg Swarm's air force, they would only become a "dead-ace."
The elusive Mutalisks and the missile-like Scourges formed an absolute no-fly zone. As long as it wasn't a capital-class ship, nothing could break through the Zerg air cover.
The battle for the Central Continent was now a pure meat grinder. However, over the past few days, the Creep had reclaimed most of the area—only a few small zones were still bare due to the extreme intensity of the fighting.
†I have the Creep, what do I have to fear? Let's keep grinding. My "farming-style" is different from Tyranid "scavenging-style"! The Great Devourer's fleets even fight among themselves, but my Swarm is united as one. The Holy Khala—er, wait—the Holy Hive Mind connects us!†
The biggest problem on the Central Continent remained that Landship.
†I need to find a way to take out that Landship.†
The Landship was too massive to be destroyed by conventional means. Even an Ultralisk looked ridiculously small in comparison and would be crushed under its treads.
If only I had a Protoss Colossus. According to the lore, they are hundreds of meters tall; a single Colossus could easily wipe out a low-level civilization.
†In the end, the ultimate combat power of the Zerg is still me. Too bad I can't personally step onto the field.†
At every moment, the munitions fired from that Landship were staggering—missiles, flamethrowers, lasers, machine guns, and cannons. These attacks dealt massive damage to the Zerg. If it weren't for the Landship's agonizingly slow movement speed, the Zerg casualty count would be uncontrollable.
Likely, only the firepower of a Leviathan could crush this Landship, but warping a Leviathan into a cluster of Ork ships would be like Kerrigan walking into a Maw—a one-way trip.
†However, the time is right. That ship is almost at the target location.†
At the edge of the Landship's firing range, an Ultralisk was soaking up fire while moving at a specific, moderate pace.
Anyone familiar with the Zerg would have realized this Ultralisk's behavior was abnormal, but the greenskins lacked that capacity. The Landship chased the Ultralisk and quickly reached the trap prepared by the Overmind.
Suddenly, in front of the Landship, the earth trembled violently. The ground collapsed downward, and a massive sinkhole appeared right in its path. The entire Landship couldn't stop in time and slid into the trench!
†I've been digging this for three days! Hope you like the grave I prepared for you!!!†
This giant pit had taken a long time to complete and was large enough to swallow the entire Landship.
Unfortunately, the Landship was too heavy; only the front half fell in, while the rear end tilted high into the air, preventing it from fully submerging. Even so, this was a massive victory. The Landship's engines weren't powerful enough to back it out.
†Nydus Worms! GO!!!†
Hundreds of Nydus Worms erupted from the soil on both sides of the pit, slamming into the Landship's armor. Their sharp mandibles tore through the hull, successfully burrowing inside.
†BEGIN BOARDING!!!†
Another boarding tactic. The Zerg Swarm was becoming accustomed to this primitive yet effective strategy.
Countless Zerg units rushed through the Nydus Worms before the Orks could destroy them, flooding into the Landship's interior.
What followed was a battle for control of the vessel. Various stations within the ship came under internal attack, and its external firepower began to wane—a virtuous cycle for the Swarm. This ship, which had killed at least ten million Zerg, was now being consumed from the inside.
As for "Infesting" it, that might be difficult. Not because of any genetic or technological locks, but simply because greenskin tech only works for them because of the WAAAGH field. If any other race tries to use it, it usually blows up.
Try to use their guns, the barrel explodes. Use their planes, the engine explodes. Use their night-vision goggles, your head explodes. The failure rate was higher than the scrap-guns used by Hive World gang members.
†Hahaha, let's see you stop this.†
The Overmind watched the Roaches and Hydralisks trade with the Orks inside the ship at a nearly 1:1 ratio, feeling happier than ever. Once the internal Orks were mostly cleared, the casualty ratio would drop. Only a few Gretchin and Snotlings remained, putting up minor resistance until not a single shell was fired from the Landship.
†Phew. One major threat down. The rest will be much simpler.†
There were still Stompas on the battlefield, but the Ultralisks now outnumbered them. Although over a hundred—nearly two hundred—Ultralisks had been lost in this battle, it was worth it. With the fall of the last Stompa, the Ultralisks would temporarily be invincible on this field.
†Have the Changlings transform into Gretchin and find the Ork factories. We can't let another Stompa be built. Those multi-turret tanks don't matter as much. Roaches and Banelings, steamroll them!†
The Zerg front finally surged past the greenskin lines. Even though countless Ork drop pods were still falling from the sky, it was futile. The surviving Ultralisks were something the other greenskin units simply couldn't contend with. Even if there were some Ork Bosses mixed in, they couldn't stand against an Ultralisk.
They were just Bosses, after all, not Warbosses.
The Changlings searched for the Ork factories. Just as the Overmind expected, more Stompas were being built in the rear—over a dozen were already nearing completion.
But the Orks were too late.
Once Zasz confirmed the factory locations, he controlled a dozen Overlords carrying Ultralisks to dive through the clouds. An Overlord only had enough capacity for one Ultralisk, but that was enough.
A dozen Ultralisks raided the factories. The newly-minted Stompas scrambled to attack, but the chaos made further production impossible, effectively signing the death warrant for the greenskins' ground armor divisions.