If the Swarm Overmind didn't truly despise entering the Warp—that "cesspool of cesspools"—he wouldn't have bothered cooperating with the Eldar at all.
Waiting, however, yielded results.
The Eldar soon provided a response. An Eldar Elder and her retinue arrived before the Hive, bringing detailed intelligence regarding the Protoss.
[The Protoss were first discovered during the M31 era of the Human Calendar. This race and their home planet appeared in the galaxy as if out of thin air, entering the Eldar's field of vision with technology far surpassing average species. They engaged in small-scale skirmishes with Eldar migration fleets, causing significant Eldar casualties.]
"What a pair of star-crossed lovers... ahem, I mean, the history of the Protoss and the Eldar is quite similar."
Prosperity, decline, being targeted by a specific god—these two races were practically twins.
[Subsequently, this young race was discovered by the Imperium of Man. At that time, the Space Wolves Legion of the Imperium had some conflicts with them. The Space Wolves initially thought the Protoss were just an ordinary xenos civilization, but suffered heavy losses at the hands of these aliens.]
"Running into the 30K-era Space Wolves right off the bat? That's intense."
If the Swarm Overmind had encountered the 30K-era Wolves at the start, he might as well have typed "GG."
Thinking about the thirteen Great Companies of the Space Wolves—hundreds of thousands of Space Marines descending on his planet with a series of God-Machines, supplemented by orbital bombardment—the Overmind felt like he might faint.
Those wolf cubs would have glassed the Zerg's home world just like they did the Perfect City.
Now?
Now, if he met those wolf cubs, he'd kick them aside like a stray dog on the street.
One shouldn't compare the starting Zerg Swarm with a fully developed one. Although, even with the current Zerg Swarm, facing the entire Imperial fleet of the 30K era... he'd still be a bit hesitant.
Starting in 40K was truly a blessing; 30K was nightmare difficulty.
[Later, the Protoss had multiple conflicts with the Imperium of Man. During this period, the Emperor of Mankind once extended an invitation to the Protoss leaders, but it was rejected. The Imperium began labeling the Protoss as enemies in the name of the xenos, preparing to exterminate them in the future.]
"Theocracy, xenos, and artificial intelligence—that's the quintessential enemy in the eyes of the 30K Imperium. Who else would die if not them? The Emperor called it an 'invitation,' but he probably meant to make the Protoss his dogs."
Given the Protoss's personality, if they ever became dogs for the Imperium, their entire racial lore would be ruined.
Even in the StarCraft 2 ending, after humans and Protoss reached a peace treaty, conflicts still broke out repeatedly. When it was time to fight, they fought.
Raynor was a great hero of the Battle of Aiur, yet Selendis's fleet hadn't hesitated to pummel him either.
[Until the Protoss main fleet returned to realspace from the Warp. The powerful fleet completely suppressed the Imperial fleet and even attacked Holy Terra once, causing massive destruction.]
The Swarm Overmind fell silent.
"D*mn it, this Protoss transmigrator has the Golden Armada?!"
The Golden Armada—a background-defining existence in StarCraft 2. When the Overmind attacked Aiur in the original game, it was a lucky timing that he didn't face the Golden Armada. If he had, the outcome would have been hard to say.
In Legacy of the Void, the combined force of the Spear of Adun, the Death Fleet, and the Purifier fleet seemed impressive, right?
They were knocked offline by the Golden Armada in short order—literally, various systems were forced offline.
If the Swarm Overmind had the Golden Armada, he'd be arrogant too. Attacking Holy Terra?
He'd dare to sit directly on the Golden Throne and become the Emperor himself. Let everyone see what a Xenos Empire looks like!
[But for unknown reasons, the Protoss retreated. Their main fleet also left their home planet shortly after, heading for the unknown distance. The Imperium of Man found an opportunity, assembled a massive fleet, and attacked the Protoss home world again.]
"Oh, so it was a limited-time Golden Armada... that's more acceptable. I was wondering—I started with one planet and developed through fighting; if he started with the Golden Armada, I'd be mentally unbalanced."
[This battle was extremely tragic. The disparity in numbers between the Imperium and the Protoss reached nearly dozens to one. The first Farseer of Craftworld Ulthwé tried to assist the Protoss, inviting them to take refuge in the Webway to avoid the Imperium, but they refused.]
"I would have refused too. Although the histories of the Protoss and Eldar are similar, the Protoss aren't cowardly enough to hide in the Webway."
[In that battle, the Protoss home world was completely swallowed by the Warp and has been missing since. Some Eldar have seen a planet in the Warp unaffected by Warp energy, but its specific location cannot be determined.]
The Overmind fell silent for a moment, then asked the Eldar envoy: "Is that all?"
"Regarding the Protoss, this is all that is recorded in the Black Library."
"What about the intelligence on those humans?"
"We are still searching. Information on those humans is mixed within the Imperium of Man; we need a bit of time."
The Overmind went silent again. He could tell the Eldar were trying to fleece him, but it was also possible they were telling the truth.
Human history was undoubtedly harder to find than Protoss history.
The Overmind had infected human planets under his command, yet there was zero intelligence regarding the Terrans from StarCraft 2. Only the Tau had a tiny bit of intelligence, and it was outdated.
"Fine. I will fulfill my promise. Your efficiency was fast. Now, choose a Maiden World."
The Eldar did not hesitate. They immediately presented an Eldar device, showing star maps of several Maiden Worlds located near the Eye of Terror. The Overmind saw them and raised no objection.
"You can only choose one planet."
"I understand. This one, the Maiden World Wei-Moer."
"My daughter."
"I am here, Overmind."
"Go and take this planet. Also, have Abathur research Swarm genes that can resist Warp energy."
"By your command."
The Queen of Blades began executing the Overmind's order. A fleet of dozens of Leviathans mobilized, leading a vast Zerg fleet toward the Maiden World to open the Webway gates.
As everyone knows, the Holy Lord never keeps promises, but the Swarm Overmind keeps his. It was just one Maiden World; it served as good practice for building the Swarm's resistance to the Warp.
He couldn't let those four guys in the Warp disgust him every time without having a way to counter them.
Abathur was already researching gene sequences to strengthen the Swarm's resistance to the Warp.
"You may choose to return or stay and wait. It won't take long."
"I would like to ask... you won't give us a planet full of bugs, will you?"
"A pointless question. Those desolate, ruined Daemon Worlds are beneath the Swarm's interest for development or evolution. Do you think I don't know your Eldar past? Pathetic species—you are nothing but pawns of the Gods."
The Overmind gave the Eldar a piece of his mind. Given his personality, he had no respect for them at all.