Shipping goods from the game to the World of Warhammer

Chapter 104 Breakthrough to the Lower Nest

Under Rhodes's conscious command, the worker bees quickly floated and glided towards a group of abandoned buildings at the edge of the platform.

It selected an old industrial building that was completely covered by mycelium, and the biological acid glands in its abdomen began to secrete a large amount of viscous organic matter, merging itself with the foundation of the building.

Within minutes, the red carapace began to swell and deform, cracking open to reveal the bright red muscle tissue and pulsating network of blood vessels beneath. The entire metal structure of the factory rapidly softened under the corrosive effects of the bio-acid, was engulfed by the spreading organic matter, the steel beams became the skeleton, the concrete became the nutrient substrate, and the ventilation ducts became the vessels that transported biomass.

From the outside, it still retains the general outline of the original factory, but its surface is now completely covered by a thick organic shell. Warm steam seeps from the gaps in the shell, and a dull pulsation comes from inside, like the beating of a giant heart. The roots of the hatchery are deeply embedded in the foundation of the lower nesting area, greedily absorbing all usable materials from the surrounding infected area. Waste metal and rotting organic matter are all decomposed, absorbed, and recombined.

Inside the hatchery, the first batch of larvae have already begun to wriggle in the nutrient pool.

The large number of enemy troops eliminated in the previous tunnel battle had allowed him to accumulate a considerable amount of general energy again, and he also had a great deal of freedom in the Lower Nest.

First, a few groups of swarm hosts arrive, then a dozen or so groups of Hydralisks follow.

The nutrient pool in the hatchery churned violently, and huge eggs, far larger than springtail eggs, floated to the surface from the bottom of the pool. Their surfaces were covered with a layer of oily mucus, and their enormous, coiled outlines were vaguely visible inside.

The swarm's host body is oval-shaped, with six thick, segmented limbs supporting its heavy frame, leaving deep imprints on the ground with each step. But most striking is its back, where a huge, mushroom-shaped hatching structure rises from its spine, its surface covered with countless tiny hatching holes. Inside each hole, eggs wriggle slightly, and within, the developing locust embryos can be faintly seen.

Its entire body was covered by a thick carapace, and its abdomen constantly oozed acidic secretions that dripped onto the ground, making a sizzling corrosion sound, and even burning shallow pits into the metal floor.

The hatching process of those hydralisks is much quieter, but the sense of oppression they give is no less than that of the swarm's host.

The slender body emerges from the eggshell, its carapace uneven and dark green, covered with irregular bony spines. It has no legs; its lower body is a thick, serpentine tail covered in scale-like plates, moving by the undulating contractions of its muscles. Its upper body stands upright, and the ends of its two arms are three-edged, sickle-like claws.

Hundreds of dorsal spines are neatly arranged in the grooves on both sides of their backs, each about the length of an adult's index finger, its tip gleaming with a dark purple venomous sheen. The head of the hydra is disproportionately small compared to its body, the exposed skin is a pale gray, and a large mouth filled with serrated teeth almost occupies the entire lateral line of its head.

The Hydralisks were in position quickly, while Rhodes' psionic commands were relayed to every unit through the swarm's relay network.

Go to Lift Platform No. 2.

This is currently the most heavily fortified entrance. With a constant stream of soldiers and heavy firepower, the previous mutant combatants were slaughtered there, leaving mountains of corpses and seas of blood, but they were unable to advance any further.

The swarm host walked at the front, with the remaining hydralisks following behind, and the surrounding mutated combatants automatically made way for them.

On the defensive line in front of the second elevator platform, the mixed-race officer in command was checking the ammunition supply. The continuous fighting over the past few hours had depleted a large amount of ammunition reserves, but fortunately, the offensive of those deformed monsters on the other side seemed to have finally weakened.

"Sir, the enemy attack frequency on the main passage has decreased by approximately forty percent," a gunner reported, looking up.

"Don't let your guard down, they might be preparing for another wave." The officer glanced at the wrecked passageway. "How long until the ammunition supply arrives?"

"It will be ready in twenty minutes."

The officer nodded and turned to look at the two Star Children crouching behind the defensive line. The two great warriors were covered in dark green bodily fluid, and one of them had several broken bone spurs embedded in his clothes, but they seemed to be in good spirits, their eyes still warily fixed on the depths of the passage.

The attacks of the mutated creatures were indeed weakening. Occasionally, a few stragglers would rush up into the passage, but they were quickly dealt with by the firepower points.

But this is only temporary.

Then, a sound that had never been heard before came from deep within the passage.

A dull, rhythmic vibration, like something heavy pounding against the ground, grew closer and closer. The loosened fragments on the walls, loosened by the previous battle, began to flutter slightly in rhythm with the vibrations.

"What's that sound?" The gunner gripped the automatic cannon handle tightly.

The officer raised his binoculars and looked into the depths of the passage; the image in the lens made his pupils shrink sharply.

In the darkness at the end of the passage, several enormous silhouettes were slowly approaching.

Their bodies almost filled the width of the entire passage. Their thick shells reflected a dull luster under the emergency lights in the distance. The huge mushroom-shaped structure on their backs kept wriggling, and small creatures had begun to peek out from the dense holes.

"What the hell is that thing?!"

"Fire! Fire!"

Without a second thought, the officer gave the order. The heavy automatic cannons at the firing point simultaneously turned, unleashing a barrage of bullets that struck the leading Zerg host, sending sparks flying.

But the effect this time was completely different from when fighting the mutants before.

The projectiles from the heavy automatic cannon struck the carapace of the swarm's host, leaving only shallow craters, failing to even penetrate. That dark brown carapace was more than an order of magnitude harder than the bony appendages on the previous mutants; the caliber of the automatic cannon was simply insufficient.

Upon sensing their firepower, these monsters dug through the steel ground beneath them as easily as digging tofu, burying themselves inside. Behind them, a continuous stream of mutated combat beings surged forward, launching a new round of attacks.

"Calling for fire support! They're here again."

But the next moment, the hatching structure on the back of the swarm host buried underground suddenly opened all the hatching holes.

hum.

A dense swarm of locusts poured out of the hatching holes like a flood bursting its banks, darkening the sky as they rushed toward the defense line. Each locust was about half the size of a person.

The moment the locust swarm hit the defensive line, a gunner cried out in terror.

These tiny creatures sprayed large amounts of acid at them, corroding their armor. The remaining locusts clung to the infantry fighting vehicle's observation scope, frantically gnawing at anything they could reach with their serrated mouthparts. Individual locusts caused negligible damage, but their sheer numbers were overwhelming, densely covering every exposed surface.

The gunner was firing wildly at the locusts in front of him, but the intense pain from the corrosive acid caused his shots to veer off course.

The fire network experienced brief chaos due to the interference of the locust swarm, and those were precisely the fatal few seconds.

Just as the defensive line's attention was drawn to the swarm of locusts, several slender figures had already silently taken their positions in the shadows on both sides of the passage.

The Hydralisks did not rush to charge.

They were positioned behind a large number of mutated combatants, their upper bodies slightly leaning back, and the grooves on both sides of their backs suddenly opened, revealing hundreds of neatly arranged back spikes.

The next second, all the Hydralisks opened fire simultaneously.

A sharp, piercing sound exploded through the tunnel as hundreds of backstabs shot out at supersonic speeds, creating a series of sonic booms as they sliced ​​through the air. These backstabs possessed a penetrating power far exceeding that of the crudely made bone spurs on the mutant's body; each one was a perfectly crafted projectile, meticulously engineered through bioengineering, with its hardness, weight, and aerodynamic shape optimized to the extreme.

The effect of the first salvo was devastating.

Behind the barricade, a soldier swatting locusts suddenly had three bloody holes in his chest. A stab wound had pierced through his bulletproof vest and body from the front, embedding itself in the steel plate behind him, the end still trembling slightly. He glanced down at the wound in his chest, a mouthful of bloody foam escaped his mouth, and then he collapsed straight to the ground.

Before his companions could react, another wave of backstabs swept in, like a torrential rain across the entire defensive line.

The automatic cannons themselves were riddled with holes, and the soldiers operating the cannons fell one after another. Some were pinned to roadblocks, while others had their helmets pierced. The toxins carried by the backstabs caused the tissue around the wounds to quickly turn black and die. Even hits to non-lethal areas rendered the poisoned soldiers incapacitated within seconds, causing them to convulse and collapse to the ground.

"Take cover! Find cover—"

'

The officer's order was interrupted halfway through as a spike pierced the bulge in his right shoulder armor, pinning him to the steel plate of the roadblock. The pain and poison caused him to scream in agony.

But the elite of the Genestealers cult are not to be trifled with.

The two purebloods reacted the instant the first wave of backstabs came. Their reaction speed far exceeded that of ordinary hybrid descendants. They crossed their four arms in front of them and nimbly dodged the backstabs aimed at them. The speed of purebloods, which has been optimized by several generations of genes, is indeed well-deserved.

One of the purebloods roared, its four legs suddenly exerting force, and its entire body charged towards the swarm of hydralisks deep in the passage like a cannonball.

Its speed was astonishing; it was almost a purplish-gray afterimage in the passage. Several locusts that didn't have time to react were blown directly against the wall by the shockwave it generated.

Fifteen meters, ten meters, and five meters away from the Hydralisk array.

Before the foremost Hydralisk could fire again, the Pureblood had already charged in front of it. Four claws lashed out simultaneously, two slashing down from above and two sweeping horizontally from the sides, creating a near-complete killing space.

The Hydralisk's three-edged scythe claws met the attack head-on, and the sound of chitin colliding echoed through the tunnel.

Close combat isn't the Hydralisk's forte, at least not against a pureblood combatant of this caliber. The pureblood's four arms provided an overwhelming strength advantage; after three heavy blows, the Hydralisk's left arm claw was severed, spurting dark green fluid from the cut. Immediately afterward, the pureblood's upper right claw pierced through the Hydralisk's exposed head, tearing its skull and half its head off.

The first hydralisk fell.

Without pausing, the pureblood turned and pounced on the second one, its claws still dripping with the bodily fluids of its previous prey.

But the second hydra did not engage; instead, it slid back two meters. At the same time, the other hydras on either side of it opened their dorsal grooves.

At a distance of less than five meters, dozens of backstabs were fired almost skimming the pureblood's armor. At this distance, even the pureblood's prized armor could not withstand the penetrating force of the supersonic backstabs.

The backstab pierced the pureblood gene stealer's body, through its breastplate and abdomen, leaving a cloud of purple blood mist behind it.

The pureblood's charge came to an abrupt halt. Its four arms hung limply at its sides, its body swayed twice, and then it collapsed to the ground with a thud. The poison on its back spikes caused its muscle tissue to spasm rapidly, and the skin beneath its carapace turned black at a visible speed.

Seeing its kin fall, the other purebred did not charge but turned and ran.

It was one of the few purebloods with relatively high intelligence, and it knew what the result would be of a head-on attack on a prepared ranged array. But it couldn't even take three steps before a swarm of locusts released by a swarm host had blocked its retreat. The dense swarm of locusts clung to its carapace, and although they couldn't bite through it, they blocked its vision and path.

In the two seconds it swung its claws to slice through the locust, two dorsal spines shot from different angles, accurately hitting the base of its carapace.

This is also the area with the lowest coverage of his already fragile body's armor.

The toxin spread rapidly from the wound, and the pureblood's movements began to slow. It struggled to take a few more steps before its limbs gave way, and it collapsed heavily to its knees on the pile of wreckage. The hydra following behind opened its jaws and bit down hard, the pressure of five thousand pounds per square inch instantly crushing its skull.

With the biggest threat on the defensive line eliminated, the rest is simple.

The swarm hosts continued their steady advance. The carapaces damaged by the heavy arrow blasts were beginning to heal slowly. Although the process was slow, they didn't need to rush as the locust swarm continued to suppress enemy fire.

The swarm of hydralisks maintained their distance, firing volleys continuously. Each volley of backstabs turned the newly reinforced defenders on the line into sieves. Although the hybrids felt almost no fear under the influence of psionic energy, this fanaticism did not bring them victory.

Ten minutes later, the defense line in front of the No. 2 lifting platform completely collapsed.

Two infantry fighting vehicles were overwhelmed by swarms of mutated combatants. The crew members, harassed by the locusts, were unable to operate their weapons effectively and were eventually dragged out by having their hatches pulled open. The heavy automatic cannons all went silent, either because the ammunition belts had run out or the gunners had fallen at their posts.

The roadblocks were smashed open by the swarm's host using its own weight, and the twisted steel plates and overturned vehicles were pushed to the sides, revealing a wide passage leading to the elevator platform.

The second lifting platform has been opened up.

At the same time, the defenders of the other passages also received news that the second platform had fallen.

The remaining guards at the other passages also met their end. A few minutes later, locusts and spines broke through their formation, and the gate leading to the central nest area was kicked open.

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