The Norn Assimilator was a whirlwind of slaughter within the Zerg Swarm. The Norn Queen had calculated that, based on the Zerg units revealed so far, even a single Tier 2 Ultralisk would not pose a lethal threat to her champion.
Indeed, as a Tier 2 Ultralisk charged, the Norn Assimilator showed no fear. Instead, it struck first, firing its fleshy spikes to attack the Ultralisk from a distance.
However, the Ultralisk's defense was no longer what it once was. The Norn Assimilator's spikes failed to pierce the heavy armor on the Ultralisk's head, glancing off harmlessly. Only two spikes managed to sink into its legs, and even then, they failed to inflict a crippling wound.
The Ultralisk reached the Norn Assimilator, spreading its Kaiser Blades to cleave the beast in two. But the Norn Assimilator suddenly leaped—a jump several times its own height—easily evading the sweep of the blades. It then descended like a falling star, crashing onto the Ultralisk's head with enough force to collapse the beast's skeletal structure.
†It can jump that high?†
High? The Overmind likely didn't realize that in the past, three Norn Emissaries had once attempted to assassinate a Lord Solar. One had turned the command post into a river of blood before being taken out by an anti-matter bomb. The second had engaged twenty Dreadnoughts simultaneously, successfully escaping after slaughtering every single one.
The final Norn Emissary had leaped directly from a nearby mountain peak into the heart of the Lord Solar's sanctum, nearly ending his life. It was only killed after an onslaught by countless human troops and the loss of four Custodians.
The combat power currently displayed by the Norn Assimilator was perfectly consistent with the lore regarding the Norn Queen's personal guard, and theoretically, the Assimilator's stats were even higher than those of an Emissary.
It might be difficult for a single Ultralisk to take down a Norn Assimilator, but since when did the Zerg Swarm fight fair?
The moment the Norn Assimilator stepped off the Ultralisk's corpse, a Viper in the sky fired its proboscis—the same organ used to control Thors and Colossi. The Norn Assimilator reacted instantly, swinging its arm to swat the proboscis away.
The Viper missed, but dozens of Infestor parasite barbs immediately followed, determined to hijack the giant. Suddenly, a group of Gargoyles accelerated from a distance, using their bodies to block most of the barbs for the Assimilator, while the remaining few were sliced away by the beast's own claws.
†If I didn't have the Queen of Blades, this would be a bit tricky to handle. As expected, Protoss are better at fighting bugs.†
Indeed, if the Protoss deployed a few Archons, even more Norn Assimilators would be useless. In the worst-case scenario, it would just be a one-for-one trade.
†My daughter, go deal with this ant.†
"As you command."
Having rested for a long time at the rear, the Queen of Blades received her new orders and reappeared on the battlefield.
The Norn Assimilator spotted her as well. It did not rush, but kept its eyes fixed on her while casually crushing any Zerg units that got in its way. Its size was immense—standard small-to-mid-tier Titan scale—large enough to kill a Roach with a single footstep.
Yet the Queen of Blades showed no fear. On the contrary, her body was overflowing with psionic energy. Her duel with the Hive Tyrant had been a pure clash of wills, and she hadn't had her fill of actual combat yet.
"Come on, big guy. Let's see what you've got."
Her words reached the Norn Assimilator's ears. This was the first time the Tyranids had heard an enemy speak, and the Norn Queen's evaluation of this race changed once again. It seemed this was the enemy's "Commander."
To capture the swarm, one must first capture the king. Assassination was one of the Norn Queen's favorite tactics. It was a pity her Bio-ships were being intercepted by the Eldar fleet; otherwise, she would have sent several more Emissaries and Assimilators down to surround and kill the Queen of Blades.
"Go."
Before the Queen of Blades could strike, a first-generation Ultralisk launched an attack. Facing another giant, the Norn Assimilator had to respond immediately. It tried to repeat its jumping maneuver, but discovered that the Queen of Blades had already taken to the air, her hands glowing with concentrated psionic energy.
The Assimilator was forced to change tactics. As the Ultralisk charged, the Assimilator used its multiple arms to brace against the Kaiser Blades. The Ultralisk roared, pressing harder; the blades began to sink into the Assimilator's flesh, threatening to sever its arms in seconds.
The Norn Assimilator responded by plunging its toxic claws into the Ultralisk's head. As the venom was released, the Ultralisk died before it could finish the cut.
But it was enough of a distraction.
"Where are you looking?"
The voice of the Queen of Blades came from directly above the Assimilator's head. Her hands held a terrifying concentration of psionic force. A psionic shockwave slammed into the Norn Assimilator's skull. Whether it was the protection of the Shadow in the Warp or the creature's natural psionic resistance, the strike didn't pulverize its entire head—it only blew away half of it.
†You're kidding me, it's not dead?!†
The Overmind seriously suspected the Queen of Blades had been nerfed. However, if any other psyker had tried this, they likely would have been driven insane by the Shadow in the Warp long ago. With the surge in the number of Tyranid units, the Warp had become unstable; it was normal for psionic output to fluctuate when partially drawing power from such a chaotic source.
The Queen of Blades quickly followed up. The bone wings on her back acted like extra limbs, stabbing deep into the remains of the Assimilator's brain and releasing a massive burst of psionic energy. This was a move she had learned from the Eldar Farseers, and the effect was undeniably efficient.
The Norn Assimilator's legs gave out, and it collapsed to its knees. The Queen of Blades retracted her wings and flicked the blood from them.
"Not as strong as I thought."
She hopped down from the creature's back as the massive corpse hit the ground with a heavy thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Neither she nor the Overmind expected that a perfectly hidden Lictor was concealed behind the Norn Assimilator, launching an attack at that exact moment.
This specialized Lictor had enhanced its stealth capabilities. It hadn't relied on invisibility; instead, it had mimicked the skin texture and color of the Norn Assimilator's back, making it look like a part of the creature's own organs. Furthermore, it had suppressed its psionic signature to evade detection.
No unit had noticed its existence until the moment it struck. The Queen of Blades sensed the killing intent just a fraction of a second before impact. She spun around, using her bone wings to block the Lictor's claws—claws capable of piercing a Dreadnought's armor.
The tip of the claw stopped less than three fingers' width from her face, unable to advance further.
†Holy crap, these Lictors are that sneaky?!†
"You hid well. I almost didn't see you."
The Queen of Blades actually praised the Lictor's stealth, but that was all the creature could achieve. Its claws could not move another millimeter. Psionic energy flashed in her eyes, and the Lictor's body instantly exploded into a pile of meat.