Chapter 252 - 156: Hatching the Nest, Tier Two Zerg Eggs in the Flesh Tower
Chapter 252: Chapter 156: Hatching the Nest, Tier Two Zerg Eggs in the Flesh Tower
Just as the team was poised to take out the six or seven Tiger Spine Zergs in one fell swoop, another group of Tier Two Tiger Spine Zergs suddenly appeared further ahead of the Hive entrance.
Lin Feng immediately raised his hand, signaling the team members behind him to stop aiming their guns.
Six or seven Tiger Spine Zergs would be easy to deal with, but if their numbers doubled—or worse—a fierce surprise attack would inevitably cause vibrations, destabilizing the Wormhole’s structure here.
If the ceiling collapsed and a pile of dirt and rocks buried the entrance to the target Hive...
Then all their previous efforts would have been for nothing.
The Wormhole tunnel they were in was nowhere near as sturdy as a large, cavern-like Hive.
Moreover, a tunnel collapse meant their escape route would also be completely blocked.
Given the situation, they had to wait for one or both of the Tiger Spine Zerg patrols to leave, enter the Hive first, and then launch their attack.
The two Tiger Spine Zerg patrols met face-to-face.
Just like before, they touched their Giant Mandibles to communicate and exchange information.
After confirming that all was well, they would change shifts.
This ensured the constant security of the Underground Hive.
However, just as Lin Feng and his team were waiting patiently, a Tiger Spine Zerg suddenly left its squad, walked into the Red-Armored Beetle Swarm, and began to gently tap the Giant Red Beetle beneath it with the chelicerae on the sides of its Giant Mandible.
As if receiving some kind of signal, the Red-Armored Beetle directly excreted a pile of beige fluid from the excretory opening at the rear of its abdomen.
It was the very same food Ling Yi had controlled them to spit out for the Mother Empress!
However, fluid excreted from its rear was naturally not as good as what was regurgitated from the mouth, especially after passing through the digestive tract, as it was mixed with many impurities and toxins.
But to the Tier Two Tiger Spine Zerg, it was still a delicacy.
Because the Red-Armored Beetle raised its rear end, like an aphid secreting honeydew, the Nutrient Liquid from its excretory opening gradually formed a semicircle the size of a wok.
The Tiger Spine Zerg then turned to its side and used the mouthparts within its Giant Mandible to suck it up.
Normally, their feeding process was the same as that of Low-tier Black Spine Zergs: they simply had to enter a Biological Nest, where a transport tube would automatically insert itself and fill them up like a car at a gas pump.
But that food only provided the basic needs for survival; it offered no benefit for their own advancement.
Therefore, other than devouring the corpses of their own kind or attacking humans and other Swarms under the Mother Empress’s lead, Black Spine Zergs had no other way to advance.
The more intelligent Tiger Spine Zergs, however, would sneakily drink this concentrated Nutrient Liquid to slowly but safely raise their own Level.
Although the Mother Empress was aware of this, she wouldn’t intervene much as long as it didn’t affect the Swarm’s overall interests.
After all, the strength of the Tier Two Zerg Race also determined the upper limit of the Swarm’s combat power.
Assuming the Mother Empress didn’t readily take action herself, dealing with powerful human Awakeners fell entirely to the Tier Two Zerg Race.
However, this Tiger Spine Zerg’s secret snack was making Lin Feng and his team, who were trailing the Red-Armored Beetle Swarm, break out in a cold sweat.
Lin Feng and Shen Jie, lying at the very front, didn’t even dare to breathe, fearing the Tiger Spine Zerg would probe their back shells with its sharp chelicerae.
Their Battle Armor was made from the material of a Tiger Spine Zerg Giant Mandible, and a light tap would reveal an obvious difference.
Besides, they didn’t have the ability to squeeze out so much nutritious food for the Tiger Spine Zerg.
Fortunately, just as this rogue Tiger Spine Zerg started to feed on the third Red-Armored Beetle, its companions, who had already moved some distance away, turned back and let out a few sharp shrieks, urging it to hurry up and follow.
The still-unsatisfied Tiger Spine Zerg let out a disgruntled cry before hastily departing.
The team let out a collective, slow sigh of relief.
After both Tiger Spine Zerg Swarms had left, Lin Feng looked back at Ling Yi to ask for her opinion.
According to her Mind Sensing, this Second-Level Hive—suspected to be a Nest for hatching Tier Two Zerg Eggs—also had Tiger Spine Zerg guards at both sides of its entrance.
And there weren’t just two of them.
There were as many as five in total.
The equivalent of a small squad.
Furthermore, the entrance area was narrow, and there weren’t many Red-Armored Beetles to provide cover.
A fight would be inevitable the moment they charged in.
At that point, to deal with being attacked from both front and rear, Lin Feng and Shen Jie would have to split up to block both directions, while Ling Yi would also need to be put to use, disrupting the Swarm’s actions.
After finalizing the plan, Lin Feng briefly explained it in a low voice. However, Ling Yi, who was beside him, offered another solution:
"Don’t be in such a rush to act."
"We’re already 350 meters Underground, yet I couldn’t smell the Mother Empress’s scent drifting from that Tiger Spine Zerg Swarm that came from deeper below, nor from the food-transporting Red-Armored Beetles. This means this Swarm’s Mother Empress..."
"...isn’t Underground in this county, but is hidden in another urban area to the North."
Lin Feng was a little confused.
"So? We have more time to act?"
Ling Yi hummed in agreement and continued:
"Not only that."
"If the Mother Empress isn’t here, I can use my Mental Realm at full power... my Superpower, to control the few Tier Two Tiger Spine Zergs in the Hive. That will let us get inside safely without having to worry about being attacked from both sides."
Lin Feng’s eyes immediately lit up.
The members of the Tier Two Corps squad behind him also showed looks of shock, then gradually began to understand why their commander had insisted on bringing this seemingly fragile woman with them into the dangerous Underground Hive.
’If her Superpower can control a Tier Two Swarm, doesn’t that mean she can come and go as she pleases among the Swarms?’
’After all, it was her ability that had helped the group conceal their disguises and infiltrate deep Underground.’