On her end, the Norn Queen was already busy re-engineering her swarms to counter the Defilers' plagues. Simultaneously, she calculated her next strategic move. This creature, no smaller than a Norn Emissary and resembling a Xenomorph Queen, was physically fused with the Hive Ship, commanding almost every unit within the Hive Fleet.
Two major clashes had occurred so far, and neither the Haruspexes nor the Venomthropes had managed to gain any ground against the Zerg Swarm. In fact, the Zerg had driven the Tyranids out of the corridors and were now engaging them in their own occupied dome. If this continued, the Tyranids would soon be forced out of the sector entirely.
This was unacceptable to the Norn Queen. She began deploying new units.
On the battlefield, unique floating units gradually began to appear. The moment they were spotted, Hydralisks unleashed volleys of needle spines, only for the projectiles to be deflected by an invisible wall of psychic energy.
†So, we're ramping up the intensity now...†
These floating units were Zoanthropes. They looked like Tyranid organisms that were essentially all head, with long, spindly bodies and a few tiny vestigial limbs. The psychic power they radiated was far beyond that of a typical psyker; they possessed enough telekinetic force to turn a Rhino APC inside out like a plastic bag. Even a Roach would be detonated into a puddle of gore if struck directly by their warp-blasts.
†Tyranid Zoanthropes are actually quite similar to Zerg Cerebrates—both have brains occupying most of their body structure. Sadly, my Cerebrates can't go to the front lines.†
Zerg Cerebrates were too precious. Using their psychic power to kill enemies was a far less efficient use of their existence than having them coordinate the battlefield from the rear.
†Let me think about how to deal with these Zoanthropes. Let's try the Infestors first.†
The massive, slug-like Infestors crawled rapidly toward the front. The Overmind sent only a few as a test to see if their Neural Parasites could hijack a Zoanthrope. If it worked, he would deploy them in mass; if not, he'd find another way.
†Good timing on the Zoanthropes. My current units don't have a direct hard-counter for them. The Protoss would have a much easier time here.†
As he pondered, an Infestor reached the front, hidden amidst the vast, roiling sea of the Swarm. It was difficult to spot a single Infestor in such a crowd. Finding an opening after a Zoanthrope discharged a warp-blast, the Infestor lunged forward with its parasitic proboscis.
The range was significant, and the speed was almost a blur. In an instant, it reached the Zoanthrope—only to be halted by a shimmering psychic shield.
†Ah, as I thought. It's not going to be that easy. Infestors, fall back!†
The Infestor immediately turned to flee, its caterpillar-like body surprisingly fast. However, the Zoanthrope spotted it and channeled a massive psychic bolt. A Roach instinctively dove in to shield the Infestor, but the force of the psychic impact drove the Roach's body into the Infestor, causing the latter's bloated form to rupture and explode.
†Tsk, these Zoanthropes are tough. The Aeldari must have pampered them too much!†
Zoanthropes were a unit type the Tyranids developed after consuming Aeldari biomass. They even had stronger variants like the Neurothropes and the tyrant-class Neurotyrants. A Neurothrope possessed the psychic might of an Alpha-level psyker, acting like a living turret, while a Neurotyrant could likely pop the brain of a Space Marine Librarian with a mere thought.
†I'd love to see a Protoss Archon or Dark Archon trade shots with a Neurotyrant. But for now, let's deal with these floaters.†
The Zoanthropes hovered in the air, relentlessly bombardment the Zerg with psychic energy. This couldn't continue. Defilers weren't great against them either; they were better suited for battlefield control. While the Tyranids hadn't yet cracked the Defiler's plague, it was time for...
[Quest: Swarm vs. Swarm]
[Objective: Eliminate 10,000,000,000,000 Tyranid units (0/10,000,000,000,000).]
[Reward: Second-Generation Ultralisk (All Tech Unlocked).]
†10 trillion? That's a little meat grinder. Keep the meat grinder running today! No one is allowed to run!†
The Overmind was ecstatic. The system was finally being useful.
†Send in the Ultralisks! A mass charge! Queens in the back for healing! I don't care if you're a Zoanthrope or a Spore-mine—as long as you can't one-shot my cows, I'm not afraid of you!†
The Overmind chose the brute-force route. It was a wise decision; a psychic blast wasn't enough to instantly kill a massive Ultralisk. At most, it would blast a bloody hole in its hide. As long as the Ultralisk didn't die, the Queens' Transfusion would restore its health. This turned the Zoanthropes' high-damage output into wasted effort, providing a massive opening for other Zerg units.
†Today, I'm going to grind until I get my '8-Armor Unit'! CHARGE!!!†
Without further delay, herds of Ultralisks thundered forth, with Zerglings scurrying beneath their massive legs. In this single wave, at least fifty Ultralisks were deployed. One can imagine the sound of fifty Titan-class units running in unison.
The deck of the Craftworld groaned. The corridors—hardly spacious—shook violently. The Zoanthropes sensed the approach of massive psychic signatures long before they saw them. When the titanic forms of the Ultralisks burst from the corridors, even the Norn Queen inside the Hive Ship opened her eyes in surprise.
It was a mindless, frontal assault, but it was devastatingly effective. The Ultralisks rampaged through the streets into the Tyranid positions. Haruspexes, standing at only half their height, were tossed onto the Ultralisks' Kaiser Blades like helpless prisoners on a rack. The toxic fog from the Venomthropes couldn't even settle; the wind pressure from the Ultralisks' charge blew the poisonous mist apart. Not to mention, the Ultralisks' evolved immune systems allowed them to ignore the toxins entirely.
The Zoanthropes fired their psychic blasts, only to find the damage was insufficient. A combined volley from a dozen Zoanthropes could make a Shadowsword super-heavy tank vanish, but it couldn't one-shot an Ultralisk.
†Hoho! It seems the Ultralisk's minor psychic presence is actually useful for once.†
It appeared the Ultralisks' own latent psionic energy was partially negating the Zoanthropes' warp-blasts. However, the Zoanthropes had numbers on their side; there were hundreds on the field, with more joining every minute.
The Ultralisks didn't care. They tanked the damage while using their Kaiser Blades and massive bodies to crush everything in their path. They rampaged like mammoths; no Tyranid unit currently on the field could halt their stride.
At least, not yet.
This was why the Norn Queen was surprised. Where did this strange swarm come from? Why did they possess so many massive units?
Regardless, the Norn Queen didn't care about the size of her enemies. The bigger they were, the better. The bigger they were, the more biomass they provided.
The Norn Queen immediately ordered several cruiser-sized bio-ships to close in on the Craftworld. They were carrying the Tyranid Fleet's own Titans: the Hierophants(do not confuse with upgraded Ultralisks). She was determined to consume and digest this seemingly endless biological nightmare.