Rustle, rustle—
A middle-aged man with a weathered face slowly stepped into the Sunset Forest.
He stood silently for a moment, gazing at the traces left behind by those who had passed before him.
Scratching his head with a sheepish chuckle, he muttered to himself, "Looks like I'm late. Haha… but nothing should've gone wrong on Star Luo's side yet."
With that, the man sprinted forward, following the group's path.
His dark blue robes flared behind him, sweeping across the faint traces of the purple-black creep clinging to the forest floor.
Back in the group, Lin Fan's eyes sharpened slightly.
"So this is Star Luo's final trump card. If it's really him... heh… then Heaven Dou might be seriously outmatched."
He was confident—because he recognized that man.
That man belonged to the number one sect on the continent!
Lin Fan had no idea what kind of offer the Star Luo Emperor had made to bring that person here, but it must have been something substantial.
After the incident years ago between Tang Hao and Spirit Hall, the Clear Sky Sect had gone into seclusion, cutting itself off from the world.
And yet now, the Star Luo Emperor had managed to mobilize him?
True, the Clear Sky Sect had always quietly supported the Star Luo Empire. But the three great sects stood as equals to the two great empires—even in secret.
The Clear Sky Sect owed nothing to Star Luo. If anything, Star Luo was the one constantly supplying them with resources and talented individuals in exchange for support.
Each year, only a fraction of the sect's promising youth would be sent to serve the empire. The true elites remained within the sect itself.
Lin Fan's gaze shifted slightly.
With this, all the hidden forces within the forest had revealed themselves to him.
Using Lin Fan's position as the center, the Zerg creep had already spread beneath the feet of every person in the area—coating the underground in all directions for several kilometers.
Nearby, hidden guards from both empires followed the group in silence.
In the distance, the old man with the staff—suspected to be a Titled Douluo from Heaven Dou—was calmly approaching the group.
And now, from another direction, the man in the blue-black robes was racing toward them.
Bzzz… Bzzz…
Subtle tremors echoed beneath their feet—but amidst the noisy footsteps and chatter, no one noticed the faint quaking underground.
As they delved deeper into the Sunset Forest, the environment began to shift. The trees grew taller, thicker—ancient giants whose canopies blocked out the sky entirely.
From the distance came the occasional rustle of soul beasts moving through the underbrush.
Lin Fan frowned.
"I can't wait any longer."
Though the drones and creep were slowly expanding the network of tunnels and Zerg wormholes, it simply wasn't fast enough for what he needed.
He closed his eyes.
Beneath the forest floor, around 30 meters down, several worker drones suddenly paused in their excavation. With a brief vibration of their scythe-like limbs, they dispersed and began rapidly carving out a vast subterranean chamber.
The creep quickly followed, corroding the earth and expanding the newly opened space.
Soon, they had cleared out an area the size of a basketball court.
One of the drones crawled to the center, curled up, and began dissolving into a pool of biomass.
From the creep, a massive organic chrysalis swelled upward—pulsing with life.
A large flesh-gate began to form—a living archway of bone and sinew.
Meanwhile, other drones were digging additional tunnels branching out to similarly large chambers. Within minutes, ten Spore Crawlers were hatched in separate zones. Two of the larger chambers had already begun growing Tier-1 Hatcheries.
The hatcheries began evolving immediately.
The central chamber now housed a pulsing, crimson wormhole gate, its surface shimmering with arcane ripples of energy.
On the surface above…
Lin Fan's eyes flashed as he gave a mental order:
"Begin deployment of Zerg forces."
[Acknowledged, my Lord.]
Buzz—
The wormhole pulsed with violet-black energy, spiraling into a vortex of shadow and light.
Far away, deep in the Star Dou Forest, a massive cavern stirred.
There, a different Zerg wormhole began to activate.
Nearby, an endless tide of Zerg units waited in eerie silence. One by one, they began pouring into the gateway like a tide of living darkness.
Back in the Star Luo Empire...
Standing beside the wormhole, Zhu Zhuyun's crimson eyes flickered with strange light. She raised a delicate hand.
Behind her, an ocean of Zerg surged forward—razor-sharp claws gleaming as they swarmed into the dimensional gate.
As she watched the chittering swarm vanish into the portal, Zhu Zhuyun's expression grew distant.
"My Lord Dominate… I return your power to you. I pray for your success…"
Fasno Province — Holy Soul Village
Old Jack stood with his hands behind his back, eyes locked on a massive wormhole that had begun to ripple before him.
A deep gleam flashed within his sunken gaze.
He slowly turned to Tang Hao, who stood nearby.
"Go," he said with a toothy grin. "Hehehe… Give Lord Dominate a little surprise. I'm sure he'll love the gift I've prepared for him."
Tang Hao nodded silently.
He reached for a violet-black biomass mask, placing it over his face. Then, without a word, he walked into the wormhole.
Behind him, an unending sea of Zerg surged forward—wave after wave disappearing into the swirling void.
Old Jack's expression didn't waver as he watched them vanish.
A faint red light flickered in his ancient eyes.
"For the rise of the Swarm… Lord Dominate, I know you'll understand. Hehehe…"
He turned slowly—and before him stood a colossal Hatchery.
If Lin Fan had seen it, even he would have been shocked.
It was a Tier-3 Hatchery.
Old Jack inhaled deeply, gazing at it with fanatical devotion—as if admiring a masterpiece.
Around them, countless spores erupted from the earth, hatching new Zerg units at a rapid pace.
These spores were slightly different from Lin Fan's—they had a faint iridescent sheen over their black exoskeletons.
Each time a new unit was born, Old Jack's pale face gained a bit more color.
He could control these Zerg with a mere thought—there was no stiffness, no lag, no resistance.
They obeyed him as if they were his own limbs.
As his forces multiplied, Old Jack's stiff body began to stretch and move, joints creaking as power surged through him.
"Hehehe… this strength... more, just a little more—"
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
****
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