He was once a pawn of a certain "God" as well, used as a tool. But this time, the Overmind will not let anyone control his future.
"Hybrids..."
He looked forward to the day the Swarm could fully control the power of the Hybrids.
For now, the Swarm needs to slow its expansion slightly. The Overmind planned to turn the Tiamat system into his primary military production hub, stockpiling strength.
The four Chaos Gods in the Warp have noticed that the Zerg Swarm is different from typical swarming species. Their previous interference against the Zerg, while not damaging the Swarm's foundation, made him experience the disgusting nature of the Warhammer universe.
No matter what you do, someone always jumps out to cause trouble and tie your hands.
The Overmind didn't care; he never intended to attack Holy Terra anyway. Holy Terra is in the western part of the galaxy; as long as he stabilized his region in the Eastern Fringe and prepared his defenses, a steady stream of Tyranid Hive Fleets would deliver biomass to him.
He wouldn't refuse free resources. As for "defending the Eastern Fringe for other races," it wasn't as if he wouldn't encounter the Tyranids if he didn't stand his ground there.
Furthermore, the deal with the Eldar allowed the Overmind to test the Swarm's combat capabilities within the Warp.
The Maiden World [Wei-Moer] was a world long since occupied by the Daemons of Slaanesh. It sat within the Eye of Terror, though not in its depths, making it relatively close to realspace.
Even so, before the Queen of Blades entered the Eye of Terror, she didn't forget to release a wave of Overlords and Mutalisks for reconnaissance.
As the Overlords entered the range of Warp energy, the Queen of Blades immediately felt the connection weaken. While it didn't snap, the high concentration of Warp energy clearly hindered the Swarm's operational efficiency.
"This reminds me of those human-specific psionic devices."
The Overmind recalled the Psi Emitters and Psi Destroyers of the StarCraft 2 Terrans. Actually, those were Xel'naga technologies developed by Narud, not true human tech.
The Hive Mind's collective will relies on psionic links. Interfering with these links affects the efficiency of Zerg units, causing them to slow down, lose control, or even die.
It seems excessive Warp energy has a similar effect.
"As expected of the cesspool of cesspools. Even the Swarm loses connection when diving in headfirst. Fortunately, the concentration at the edge of the Eye of Terror isn't high enough to cause a total blackout."
The Overmind would have Abathur find gene sequences that allowed the Swarm to survive in the Warp. Logically, the Swarm had no need to enter the Warp, as its environment was meaningless for evolution.
But the Overmind knew that if he didn't deal with the Chaos Gods or claim a foothold in the Warp, those four would harass him forever.
The stronger you become, the more they annoy you.
He had to eliminate them, or at the very least, annoy them right back.
"Overmind, we have arrived. This space makes our connection to the Swarm fragile."
"It doesn't matter. Dehaka's Primal Zerg will support you."
Primal Zerg were the optimal solution. They lacked a collective psionic link, so the Warp had little effect on them.
The Overmind never "controlled" them anyway; they submitted through strength. Thus, it was most appropriate for the Primal Zerg to provide support.
"Begin."
"By your command, Overmind."
The Queen of Blades took the order. As a powerful psionicist, she could sense several formidable Greater Daemons of Slaanesh on this Maiden World, but she was fearless.
At her will, the Swarm moved. Although efficiency dropped slightly, it didn't matter in the face of absolute numbers. As long as the Zerg could move, they could destroy the enemy.
As long as they killed the enemy, they were useful Zerg.
As the Leviathans entered low orbit of Wei-Moer, the Daemons sensed the arrival of these behemoths. Ten Leviathans came this time; more would follow if needed.
The Leviathans began launching Drop Pods. Countless pods pierced the thin atmosphere. The Daemons looked up at the sky, seeing only falling stars of calamity.
The Queen of Blades' pod was the fastest. She crashed like a meteor into the heart of the Slaaneshi castle, her psionic power exploding and turning the surrounding Daemons into dust.
Elite Hydralisks surged from the pods and began the assault on the interior.
"Ah... I can feel this place enhancing my power."
The Queen of Blades' psionic potential contained genes from Warhammer's native races, and the Warp energy bolstered her strength. However, this was the Warp; the Daemons were enhanced as well.
"I can feel them too—the eyes watching me from the shadows. Why hide? Show yourselves."
"You... are not like the other bugs."
A Keeper of Secrets stepped slowly from the shadows, its movements alluring, though its half-male, half-female, half-beast form did not fit human aesthetics. The Queen of Blades sensed immense power from it.
"Are you the master here?"
"I am the master of this castle, and I shall become your master as well."
"Heh."
The Queen of Blades sneered, her yellow pupils scanning the Greater Daemon.
"The Swarm has no master. The Swarm only has the Overmind."
The battle was imminent. Though she was only two meters tall and the Keeper of Secrets stood over ten, size never determined the winner of this fight.
Zerg Drop Pods allowed Creep to spread across the Maiden World. Every pod acted as a massive Creep Tumor, turning the Daemon world into the Swarm's home turf.
But... this was the Warp.
The Overmind saw six mountain-sized Daemon portals across the planet. Every portal continuously spewed hordes of Slaaneshi Daemons, replenishing their numbers.
"Interesting. You want to match the Swarm in numbers?"
The Overmind found it amusing.
Today, I will show you what it means to be outmatched in both quantity and quality.
In the Tiamat system, on several Zerg-occupied worlds, massive numbers of larvae began morphing into cocoons—specifically, Ultralisk cocoons.
The Overmind's current tactic was simple yet effective:
[Select Larvae — Select Morph Ultralisk — Hold down the hotkey until Larvae, resources, or supply are gone.]
With the stable resource output of the Tiamat system, the Overmind could finally achieve his original dream.
Mass-producing Ultralisks like they were Zerglings.
"Do you like my Ultralisk/Zergling rush?"