Light's Dawn of Azeroth

Chapter 439, Section 48. Hero? Friend! Delicious! - Bonus chapter for "konstanzzz" [45]

"I must admit that I seriously underestimated the deterrent power of the Shadow King Beast."

After witnessing the entire battle at the Queen's palace, Garold Shadowsong remained silent for several seconds before sighing and saying:

"The Vigilant Saint did not lie to you. With this King Beast participating in the war, this war against the Mantid is truly just a 'simple mode' to familiarize you with the real battlefield."

Even if you use up your last swarm of insects, as long as the King Beast is still alive, you can still command it to crush every mantis on the battlefield.

This thing is on this battlefield
Do not!
It's practically invincible in Azeroth!
Look at its exaggerated war-specific features; even the Pit Lords of the Burning Legion would be defeated by it. Lord Agamaggan has escaped the nightmare and has chosen to respond to its millennia of suffering with even more brutal power.

Ah, I'm actually starting to look forward to seeing it appear before the Burning Legion in a completely new and powerful form.

Those demons will be terrified of it!

"But there is only one 'Leader King Beast'. No other Thunder Beast could possess such exaggerated power. Even Thunder Beasts hatched using captured cave lords as materials only have about half the power of Agamaggan."

We can't find another vengeful Wild God to serve as hatching material for the King Beast.

Anvina, however, had a different opinion, saying:
"Moreover, the King Beast cannot fly! It is said that this is because Agamaggan rejected wings, and it felt safer with its feet on the ground."

Therefore, theoretically speaking, as long as there is enough ferocious air power, it can be surrounded and killed. Although Agamaggan's eternal spirit can send it back to its hive in the Sea of ​​No Light to resurrect, you should know that the biomass and entropy energy required to re-hatch the leader beast each time is enough to create ten main swarms.

"It's worth it! No matter how powerful the Zerg swarm is, it's still just a tactical unit, but such an invincible Overlord is a true strategic weapon!"

In short, the Garodean tone is:
"Once it enters the battlefield, any defense the enemy makes will seem absurd and laughable. It is a beast that is destined to win! You must learn to control it properly."

With the King Beast here, we don't need to worry about the palace anymore; we can focus our attention on annihilating the mantis demon army.

Immediately shift your attention to Niuzhao Temple and check the situation there.

Anvina immediately complied.

Then, she and Garrod witnessed the Shadow Chaser swarm and the Mantid army fighting fiercely in the buildings of Niuzao Temple. Compared to the one-sided crushing victory when the King Beasts appeared, the fighting here was much more brutal.

Anvina's previous judgment was correct.

Faced with the war-specialized Mantid elites, the Shadow Chaser swarm needs a large number of cannon fodder to "exchange" them, with an average of seven Zerglings sacrificing to take down one Mantid warrior.

The Flying Dragon's laughable aerial combat capabilities were even more terrifying when facing the Mantis, a "nationwide air force" that had mastered the art of flight.

Garold counted them and came to a sad conclusion.

On average, it takes twelve wyverns to take down one mantis airborne raptor in the air. Against the agile, dragonfly-like mantis, the wyverns' venom balls are often difficult to hit. Apart from venom balls, the wyverns have very limited offensive options.

"The aerial capabilities of the Shadow Chaser swarm urgently need strengthening, and the Mantis is a perfect source of genetic material."

The sob of the ruler echoed in Anvina's ears.

It also observed the battlefield through the eyes of the Shadow Chaser, and it said to Anvina:
"This is part of the Lightforged's grand plan. After we receive the Mantid's 'legacy,' the Shadow Chaser swarm will be transformed once again. This is your strategic mission, Queen of Blades."

Anvina nodded.

She carefully observed the battlefield, and was very dissatisfied with the overly slow movements of the dragons, so she simply started micro-managing them herself.

She controlled an elite dragon and played a game of "Ace Combat," finally feeling satisfied after taking down a Mantis Skybreaker in an extreme dogfight, trading one for one.

But even the most skillful micro-management couldn't change the current predicament of the Shadowbug's arduous struggle, so Anvina asked:
"Waiting until the war is over to start gene upgrades is too slow. Can't we upgrade while we're fighting? I've already occupied an Amber Tree as a base. Send the gene masters there and let the swarm analyze the mantid's genes."

I've had enough of this red tape.

I need a stronger air force to suppress these flying mantis warriors!

The Overlord paused for a moment, seemingly calculating the risks, and after a few seconds, it replied:
“Yes, but every Swarm Gene Master is very precious. You must ensure their safety. Moreover, we have heard that among the Mantid heroes, there is a 'Gene Master' named 'Cutter Ricard'.”

Bring it here, Queen of Blades!

The swarm needs its insane intelligence, and we believe that having such a brilliant strategist with profound knowledge of the Mantid's genes join our ranks will significantly accelerate the swarm's growth.

"If we can also crack the Mantid's famous 'Amber Regeneration' technology and make Kepa Amber a strategic resource for the Shadow Chaser swarm, then perhaps by the end of this war, you will have new Swarm Warriors under your command."

"Okay, I will finish it."

Anvina agreed, then rolled her eyes and asked:
"But my mentor, the Vigilant, promised me that after I completed my war training, I would have my own 'Savior' swarm, a gift I would offer to Mother World."

What I want to know is, when my swarm was born, did the Shadow Chaser swarm share these genetic secrets with me?

It's not that I'm being lazy, but it's just that it's been too long for the original Qiraji to evolve to your current strength step by step. The World Mother is facing threats from the six realms, and she may not be able to wait that long.

Although Master Diakum is powerful and kind-hearted, he has his own Lord, and Mother World and I cannot always trouble him to come to our aid in times of emergency.

"Hmm, an ambitious and greedy mindset is a virtue that a qualified Queen of Blades should possess."

The ruler let out a subtle whimper.

it says:

"But every evolutionary secret of the Shadow Chaser swarm requires a great deal of sacrifice to acquire, and we cannot disregard the interests of the swarm and share it with another swarm for free."

As a unified consciousness, before you demand benefits from the swarm, you should first consider what you have done for it.

Alright then, Queen of Blades Anveena, we, representing the Shadow Swarm, have reached an agreement with you, the future 'savior' and leader of the Swarm.

If you can assist the Shadow Swarm in acquiring all the Swarm Legacy of the Aqir Empire, then we will share with you all the secrets extracted from that legacy.

If needed, we can even provide a group of genetic masters as evolutionary mentors and pioneers for the 'Savior' swarm.

"Okay! I agree."

Anvina nodded and said:

"Besides the mantids of Pandaria, the last line of the Aqir Empire is in Northrend, right? Once I've settled things here, I'll head to Northrend and work for you one more time."

The Overlord let out a sob, signifying the agreement's formation, and then it reminded:

"The Shadow Hunters have delivered important news; you should proceed to the next step."

"Ok?"

The Blade Girl intern temporarily withdrew her consciousness and opened her eyes under the Amber Sacred Tree, which had been taken over by Shadow Chasers. She then saw a Shadow Chaser lying on the rock in front of her.

It was flexible and its tail, with its venomous spikes, was wrapped around a letter.

Anvina took the letter, opened it, and found that it was handwritten by General Staghelm, and contained a detailed description of the important information they had gathered in the Klaxxi Council territory of the Dread Wastes.

"Well, the Mantid elders are very unhappy with the Queen's breaking of the 'Great Cycle' tradition. They have sent several heroes as assassins to take advantage of the chaos to assassinate the Great Queen Shakshir and regain control of the Mantid race."

Anvina said to Gallod:

"Being a Mantis Queen is a really 'high-risk profession.' I've heard that in the ten thousand years before Shakshir, many Queens died at the hands of assassins sent by the Elder Order."

"It's really strange that the politics of insects are so dark."

Garrod scoffed at this.

But he perfectly fulfilled his duties as a war counselor, advising Anvina:

"This is an opportunity. Send out your second Zerg hero. Malik the Unwounded is a tactical mastermind. Get him involved in this."

The Great Queen cannot die now, at least not at the hands of the Elders.

"And try to capture a few more Champions. These guys are a 'genetic treasure trove.' If you intend to extract more benefits for the Saviors from the Overmind, then every Champion captured alive is a bargaining chip."

"Yes!"

Anvina clenched her fist and said:
"The genetic enhancement of heroes can be used not only by Shadow Chasers, but also by our future Saviors Swarm. So, Garrod, will you be serving as a commander in the Saviors Swarm in the future?"

That's my swarm; I can freely appoint its commanders. Of course, you might need to make a little 'modification'.

"Uh, forget it. If I turn myself into an 'insect man,' my sister and wife will kill me anyway."

Garold said regretfully:
"Not at least not right now."

"sizzle"

A warrior insect guarding the hive leaped over, hissing as it swung its claws at Anvina's spirit. The Blade Intern understood, and she said to Garrod:
"The gene masters of the Shadow Chaser Swarm have arrived. I'll go take a look. The Overmind has hidden them very well; I've never seen what a gene master looks like before."

"Then I'll go take a look too."

Garrod's spirit followed Anvina into the hive. The worker bees were working very efficiently. The Mantid's Amber Tree had been hollowed out and covered with green fungal carpet. Several hatching chambers had been placed inside and were already in operation.

The worker bees continuously send "biomass" back from the battlefield to serve as nourishment for the newborn insects.

The long war in the Sea of ​​No Light has forged the Shadow Chaser swarm into a true weapon of war. Once they are in operation, every member of the swarm will strictly fulfill its mission unless it is destroyed or victorious.

Because that is the meaning of their existence.

When Anvina drifted down the fungal carpet into the insect nest, several large insects with very "unique" appearances were already busy there.

Their appearance is very uniform, without much specialization for warfare. Instead, they maintain the primitive posture of "long worms". Their lower bodies are flat with small centipede-like legs that allow them to move, while their upper bodies are supported by claws of different sizes and even shapes.

Their heads are hidden in the huge, raised "backs," and it is difficult to spot the small but agile heads without careful observation. The huge cysts on their backs are covered with strange green vesicles, and you can even see small insects hatching and growing inside them.

These are organs used by genetic engineers to experiment with gene specialization, and the sharp limbs that grow on their backs also have similar vacuoles.

This thing is less of an organ-attacking device and more of a "precision scalpel" for easily extracting genes and samples from its prey.

"Wow, looking at this thing for too long is pretty depressing."

Anvina shuddered.

Although the Shadow Chaser's interior is filled with all sorts of strange insects, these "gene masters" in front of us are definitely the most "unrefined" kind.

They seem to not care at all what they look like.

"Welcome everyone."

Anvina opened her arms in welcome, but no one paid her any attention; every genetic master was busy with their own tasks.

Some are dissecting live mantises, using strange biological toxins to keep them conscious while removing their organs to extract fresh genes; others are studying the magical Kepa amber, trying to decipher the secrets of mantis regeneration through amber.

Many more geneticists have begun extracting and evolving the advantageous genes of the mantis.

A batch of dragon eggs nearing completion were delivered here by worker bees, where genetic experts injected different gene fragments to observe the evolutionary effects. However, they were not produced using a crude "exhaustive method," but rather through strict selection and biological breeding standards. "Why aren't you saying anything?"

Anvina approached a genetic expert who was examining samples and said:
“You clearly have vocal organs.”

"Idle chat? It's a waste of time, affects efficiency, and is meaningless. It should be thrown into the jumping insect pit."

The genetic expert replied rather bluntly:

"The swarm is not perfect, far from perfect, flawed, intolerable! You are flawed too."

"you!"

Anvina was a little angry.

But she later realized that this was how these genetic masters were designed; they were tasked with the evolutionary mission of the entire swarm and were truly "evolution-driven." If they were not efficient enough, the swarm's conquest would be directly affected.

Therefore, pursuing ultimate efficiency and disliking meaningless interactions are considered virtues.

"I'm on my way to bring Yingjie back!"

Anvina rolled her eyes and said:

"Do you want Yingjie as a test subject? One? Or more?"

"Swish"

At this moment, all the gene masters in the entire incubation room turned their attention to Anvina.

Their small but sharp eyes were filled with longing.

Each Mantis Hero is an elite sample of this race after thousands of years of evolution, a walking gene pool of superiority.

The genetic body of "Malik the Unharmed," which was previously thrown into the Zerg hive by the Lightforgers, directly helped the Zerg swarm overcome several evolutionary hurdles. Therefore, the Genemasters naturally hoped to obtain the Elite as experimental samples.

Therefore, they would rather endure the disgusting inefficiency and complete this conversation with the "Queen of Blades" in front of them.

"Do you have names?"

Anvina asked:
"How should I address you?"

"Abathar".

The eldest genetic expert replied:

"This is the name bestowed by the Lightforgers, the original surname of the Gene Master. I am Alpha Abathur. The rest of my name is on my carapace. The Swarm has granted me precious individual consciousness, which is not for idle chatter."

Ask something useful!

"Oh, I've reached an agreement with the Overmind. Several genetic masters will be sent to the Savior Swarm as 'evolutionary pioneers'."

Anvina explained:

"I want to establish a good relationship with you beforehand to avoid any problems during the handover. So, is there anyone willing to volunteer to go into the Savior Swarm?"

"The least efficient 'Abathurs' will be optimized after this boring, low-intensity conflict ends!"

Alpha Abathur said indifferently:

"The swarm hates inefficiency. All the Abathurs that were optimized out are yours."

"Give me the worst one? Isn't that bullying? That's not fair!"

Anvina stared wide-eyed and said:
"No! I want the best!"

Several "Abathurs" discussed the matter through a peculiar mental communication, and finally Alpha Abathur waved his insect claw and gestured a "3" to Anvina.

it says:

"Three outstanding individuals can be exchanged for one high-quality one!"

"how about you?"

Anvina blinked and said:
"You seem to be the most capable. What price would you want if I wanted to trade you for someone else?"

"Not ambitious, but with excellent genes."

Alpha Abathur turned to attend to the larvae he was tending, saying without looking back:

"King Pheromones! The core secret to reproduction, impossible to synthesize artificially. Bring a live sample, and I'll go with you."

"You mean to capture the Mantis Queen alive, right?"

Anvina rubbed her hands together excitedly and said:
"Alright, I'm taking you, the most powerful Abathur,!"

------

The Holy Tree Palace of Sikvis has entered a state of true war due to the constant siege by the King Beast and the frenzied insect swarm.

To protect the Great Queen's safety, the Royal Chancellor ordered Parvatiq, the Mantis Lord who was attacking Niuzao Temple, to immediately lead his army back to reinforce the temple. However, the Mantis army was ambushed by the Shadow Chaser swarm and was blocked halfway.

Realizing that this was also a trap, the Chancellor immediately mobilized the army of the Fear Wastes to come and reinforce them.

Its original intention was to escort the Great Queen back to the safer Wasteland of Terror, but now the problem is that the King Beast is too ferocious, and the Mantis can't provoke it on the ground, so it can only go by air.

The Mutalisks of the Shadow Chaser swarm are weak in aerial combat, but their sheer numbers make up for it.

The branch base that Anvina established in the Abyss Valley is now operating at full capacity, using all biomass to produce flying dragons.

That's right!

The Mutalisks were poor at fighting, but the numerical advantage of the Zerg swarm made up for the lack of combat power in this local battlefield. Anvina made a crude and simple decision: when the gene masters determined that the quality of the Mutalisks could not be improved in a short time, then let's go for the quality!
I'll just crush you with sheer numbers!

Anyway, even if the casualty ratio is 1:50, my Zerg swarm can afford it. Can you do it?
At this moment, hordes of flying dragons surrounded the palace, almost forming a black "storm." This could not defeat the mantis-like aerial raiders, but it could prevent them from breaking through in any way.

They and the reinforcements were fighting in a frenzied, life-or-death struggle. Every second, countless flying dragons fell to the ground, mixed with the downed mantis warriors. These downed ones were then sent back to the hive by the worker bees as "biomass".

The Shadow Chaser swarm's war machine is running at full speed, like a ravenous beast; they will not rest until they have devoured enough Mantid.

In this chaotic and desperate defensive battle, even the Great Queen was starting to panic.

She has not been on the throne for long and has not yet experienced a real life-or-death war. She would be shouting at the prime minister in her palace, asking him to mobilize the army from the Kun-Lai Mountains.

Outside the palace, royal guards stood guard over the inner courtyard, preventing any mantis demons from approaching.

But they can stop ordinary soldiers, but they cannot stop heroes who have been tempered by fire.

Three Klaxxi heroes slipped into the Sacred Tree Palace amidst the chaos. They were on a dark mission: the Great Queen's tyranny had affected the Mantid race's lineage, and such scourges had to be eradicated.

“Ricard, you’d better rein in your overly enthusiastic research desires.”

Fully armed, Windbreaker Kerruk wielded two amber swords. This most elite and powerful wind assassin in Mantid history was extremely proud, and he shouted at his companion.

Ricard, the butcher who was dissecting a royal guard with a sharp amber scalpel, said without turning his head:

“Shut up! ‘Knight,’ I’m making disguise pheromones for us. You can’t get close to Shakshir without this stuff. Remember the plan.”

You launched the assassination using the terrifying "death from the sky" tactic!

If we can't finish this off immediately, we'll lure the Great Queen closer to the window, and our most elite sniper, Hissek, will deliver the 'finishing blow.'

"I will fulfill my mission and ensure that the Great Empress ends her life in a dignified manner. After all, she was a recognized leader, and all royal blood must end with the sword!"

The Windbreaker replied coldly, which drew a sneer from the Cutter.

Kerruk's lack of a sense of honor, which is not typical of an insect, makes him unpopular among the heroes. Apart from a few heroes who appreciate him, everyone else thinks he's a bit pretentious.

honor?

Honor cannot help the Mantis better carry on its legacy; honor will interfere with the battle; honor will put the warrior in a dangerous situation.

Therefore, honor is not a virtue of the swarm.

Therefore, Kerruk should not be a qualified Mantid warrior, much less a hero, but its skills are indeed deadly enough. The Windrunner's iconic "death from the sky" is one of the calamities recorded in history by the weak Pandaren historians.

This is probably the perfect example of a game with terrible mechanics but incredibly high stats.

The two heroes quickly applied pheromones for disguise.

They swaggered through the area where the royal guards were stationed, heading towards the Great Queen's bedchamber. However, as they reached a shadowy corridor, the Windbreakers suddenly reached out and stopped the Cutters.

It whispered:

"No, something's hidden here! This pheromone scent... is it the Unharmed? Wasn't it killed in the Jade Forest attack? Malik, is that you?"

"it's me."

A deep, uninjured voice rose from the shadows ahead, whimpering as it spoke:
"I'm back. My friend Kerruk has come over. I have something to tell you. It's very important."

"Don't go there!"

The Cutter picked up its biological scalpel and said coldly:
"Something's not right with this guy!"

The Windbreaker did not answer, but instead extended his well-forged arm blade. Under the gaze of the two, the monstrous Unwounded let out a helpless sound.

Two of its four claws pulled out the menacing insect blade from the weapon slot on its back.

The Demon Sword Apocalypse was hissing; it had sensed something "fun."

"The Swarm needs you!"

The unharmed creature strode heavily out of the shadows, its mutated dragon-like head spewing scorching flames. Its six eyes fixed on the two heroes before it, and then, as sharp entropy-energy bio-blades shot forth, it spoke:

"Friends, join the noble evolution! The glory of the swarm and the eternal cycle of reincarnation—we need you!"

Ps:

The Abathurs are shown in the image:

(End of this chapter)