Seeing this, Yevenko set aside concern for his injuries and turned his attention toward the barren planet. There, another Swarm Mother emerged from the shattered ground, half its enormous body exposed, residual flames still glowing in its vicious maw.
But this Swarm Mother didn't attempt to fly. It had only one wing remaining; the other side bore gruesome wounds, and its body was significantly thinner than the one he was fighting now.
A second Swarm Mother.
Although clearly weaker than the first, its fiery breath alone still posed a serious threat to him.
Worse still, it seemed the swarm had completely abandoned defense. Countless True Stings poured from beneath the planet's surface, forming a dense tide headed straight for Jarilo-VI.
Yet two Giant Stings and a cluster of smaller insects remained behind, clearly guarding against any attempt from Yevenko to strike at their base.
Apparently, the first swarm had belonged to the Swarm Mother he faced, while the second belonged to this crippled counterpart.
Their main objective remained unchanged: the Stellaron.
Now Yevenko understood clearly.
Although the difference between near-Emanator and full Emanator-level strength appeared minimal, in reality, it was an enormous gulf. No matter how strong the Swarm Mother was, simply seizing the Stellaron wouldn't push it over that threshold.
However, now things made sense—the Stellaron was likely intended to heal the severely wounded second Swarm Mother.
Yevenko could endure attacks from the Giant Stings while battling the first Swarm Mother, but absorbing direct hits from the second Swarm Mother's breath was out of the question.
Moreover, his milk supply was running dangerously low. He needed to finish this battle quickly.
In favorable winds, he could rely on himself; in unfavorable winds…
…He had no choice but to depend on Tom.
Thus, Yevenko echoed the words March 7th had once desperately shouted at him:
"Invincible Tom, hurry up and think of something!"
Even without communication, Tom instantly understood his master's request.
But what could one little cat really accomplish? Whacking tiny bugs with a flyswatter was easy enough—even the Giant Stings counted as insects. But the Swarm Mother, bigger than even the Giants? It barely qualified as a bug at all.
Tom leaned against Yevenko's enormous head, hand resting thoughtfully on his hip, fingers tapping rhythmically as he pondered.
Suddenly, his eyebrows danced mischievously, and a wicked grin spread across his face—Tom had a plan!
Without hesitation, Tom slid down Yevenko's body like he was on a slide, swiftly sneaking off while Yevenko reengaged in furious combat with the first Swarm Mother.
The wounded Swarm Mother on the planet spat another fiery breath, but this time, Himeko and the others above Jarilo-VI had anticipated it, firing the orbital cannon to weaken and disperse its power.
By the time it reached Yevenko, it still stung but was manageable.
However, the first Swarm Mother had now fully recovered from its earlier daze, making it impossible for Yevenko to suppress it like before.
He had no choice but to conserve strength, waiting for Tom's plan to come to fruition before launching his final, decisive strike.
Tom, meanwhile, had embarked on his stealthy quest to infiltrate the dead planet.
Tiptoeing carefully through space as if strolling on solid ground, he'd already completely forgotten his earlier swimming fantasy.
But countless True Stings buzzed dangerously close by, and Tom sensed he was about to be discovered.
Panicking slightly, Tom suddenly spotted the broom he'd casually discarded earlier. He quickly dove underneath, becoming utterly still.
The nearby bugs instantly halted, losing interest and flying off elsewhere.
After a few tense moments, Tom cautiously lifted the bristles like someone lifting their bangs, revealing his bright, wide eyes scanning the area.
Seeing no bugs nearby, a pair of legs sprouted from beneath the broom, which quietly tiptoed onward toward the dead planet.
Yet a walking broom soon caught the attention of even more curious bugs.
Tom hurriedly tossed out a small black trash can from beneath the broom. With a flash, he transferred himself from the broom into the trash can, leaving the broom floating motionless behind.
Unfortunately, this tactic couldn't fool every bug.
Some True Stings promptly devoured the broom, satisfied and flying away, but another group hovered suspiciously around the trash can.
One bug boldly peeked into the dark depths of the can—and froze as a pair of eyes suddenly glared out from within. Before it could attack, a paw darted out and yanked it inside.
Bang! Crash! Ding-Ding!
Sounds of a frantic scuffle echoed from inside the trash can before silence returned.
Moments later, Tom leapt out triumphantly, disguised beneath the bug's oversized head. The surrounding bugs gathered curiously, sensing something off about this new arrival—especially since he couldn't fly.
Seeing their suspicion, Tom quickly extended his arms, revealing a makeshift pair of insect wings crudely tied together beneath his armpits. With exaggerated flapping motions, Tom miraculously hovered in place.
Recognizing their strange comrade could indeed "fly," the True Stings dispersed immediately. Their pheromone-based senses utterly failed to identify Tom as an imposter.
With a relieved sigh, Tom stopped flapping and briskly continued toward the planet.
Yet at that moment, a particularly small but clever True Sting silently approached from behind—clearly a higher-ranking "leader" bug.
Though intelligent, even it didn't recognize Tom's true identity. Instead, it merely spotted a bizarrely long "tail" dangling from its comrade's body.
Unable to understand what it was seeing, it opened its vicious jaws and bit down hard on the white tip of the strange appendage.
Tom, deeply absorbed in stealth mode, suddenly felt intense agony shoot through his tail. His face turned beet-red, steam blasted from his ears, and he rocketed upward with a piercing shriek—
"AAAAHHHH——↑↓↑↓!!!"
—flying clear off-screen before crashing down again.
Quickly examining his poor tail, Tom found the white tip glowing bright red, hair burnt off in patches.
His expression darkened immediately, puffing up with fury as he whipped out the flyswatter from behind his back.
SLAP—!
The leader bug flattened instantly, dropping dead. Yet at the moment of its demise, it released powerful pheromones, alerting every bug nearby.
They all stared in unison at Tom, whose disguise had completely vanished after his dramatic flight.
Terrified, Tom shoved his paw into his mouth, raised both hands high above his head, and with a panicked howl, bolted madly toward the dead planet with an enormous swarm chasing closely behind.
Fortunately, he'd already made it very close to his goal.