"Heh, you think you can defeat me?"
The Greater Daemon of Slaanesh was exhausted, but this was the Warp—the home turf of daemons. Losing on one's own home ground would be a devastating blow to a daemon's pride.
"I know of your existence, bugs. I just didn't expect you to be so bold as to trespass into our territory!"
"Your territory? No, no, no. It belongs to us now."
Heavy footsteps echoed from outside the Chaos fortress. The Greater Daemon didn't know exactly what was happening out there, but it clearly wasn't good news.
Panicked Slaaneshi daemons scurried past him and the Queen of Blades every few moments. They were all running toward the fortress's portal, which meant they were in full retreat.
"What have you done?"
"Nothing much. Simply that the Swarm's army is about to cover this entire planet. It's as simple as that."
"Laughable. Do you have any idea how many daemons are in the Warp? An infinite number. Your little bugs are insignificant compared to the sheer numbers of the warp."
If it were a contest of total population, the Zerg were indeed outnumbered—not just by the daemons of the Warp, but even by the decaying Imperium of Man.
However, the Overmind's current maneuver was the equivalent of concentrating every Titan Legion in the galaxy onto a single planet. It was a concentration of combat power that would make even a daemon swallow hard in trepidation.
"Keep acting tough. Normally, I'd pry your mouth open to see what it's made of to be so stubborn, but I'm in a hurry. Could you please just go ahead and die?"
The Queen of Blades' words completely infuriated the Greater Daemon.
Who does she think she is, just telling him to die?
They would have to fight with everything they had to see who was truly the superior combatant.
But the Greater Daemon's resistance was futile. The Queen of Blades' power was second only to the Overmind; she was currently capable of soloing Eldar Wraithknights. A single Greater Daemon was not enough to stop her.
Minutes later, the Queen of Blades walked slowly out of the Chaos fortress, dragging the Greater Daemon's head. She casually tossed it into a group of Zerglings.
The Zerglings moved in, thinking it was a meal, but she spoke up: "Don't eat that. It'll give you diarrhea."
She truly was considerate—it seemed she had inherited some of the Eldar's deep-seated biological loathing for Slaanesh. Any other Slaaneshi daemon hearing this would likely protest: How is our meat inedible? We aren't Nurgle's lot! Our flesh and blood can even be used to brew wine!
"The battle is nearly over."
The Queen of Blades looked around and sensed the positions of the Swarm.
Most of the Maiden World was now occupied by the Swarm. A few areas remained due to difficult terrain, but clearing them was now a matter of how fast the Zerg could run, not how long the enemy could resist.
"Daemons are simply not worth mentioning in front of the Swarm."
"Well said."
The Overmind agreed. As long as these daemons didn't play tricks with Warp energy and stuck to physical combat, the Zerg had nothing to fear.
Even when given a chance, the daemons proved useless.
However, the Overmind had underestimated the tenacity of the warp. Once the Slaaneshi daemons were completely purged, the Swarm discovered a hollow cavity beneath the planet's crust. Deep within this subterranean cavern, they found a daemon portal.
This portal was not decorated with the tentacles and spikes of Slaanesh. It was covered in skulls and blood. It was clearly a Khornate portal.
And under the Overmind's watchful gaze, the portal was slowly activating.
"No way!"
The Overmind never expected a Khornate portal to be hidden beneath a Maiden World occupied by Slaanesh.
Likely even the Slaaneshi daemons didn't know it was there, or they would have torn it down long ago.
"Does this mean I have to fight a wave of Khorne's lot now?"
It didn't matter. The Overmind feared no daemon. Even if the forces of all four Gods combined, he wouldn't flinch.
Unless Khorne started mass-producing Greater Daemons as basic infantry like the Overmind did, there was no reason to worry. And if Khorne did do that, forget the Zerg—even the Protoss next door wouldn't be able to hold out.
As expected, once the Khornate portal opened, a flood of daemons surged out from the swirling vortex. These creatures, radiating a crimson aura, immediately swept away the Zerglings surrounding the portal.
"Hmph. I gave you a chance to stay away."
The Overmind had been a step too late to prevent them from emerging, but he could certainly blockade a single portal.
Urbanization might not be the Zerg's specialty, but his "forest of tentacles and tubes" was mobile!
Drones, Hydralisks, and Ultralisk herds began rushing toward the location. Due to the terrain, they couldn't all squeeze through at once, but Nydus Worms were already burrowing toward the site.
The crust of the planet vibrated violently. The Khornate daemons looked up at the ceiling of the cavern just as Nydus Worms burst through the rock, vomiting out massive quantities of Zerg units.
But the Khornate daemons seemed prepared. In the rear of their ranks, numerous daemons operating Skull Cannons aimed at the ceiling. Searing flames and twisted Warp energy dealt massive damage to the Nydus Worms; one worm had its exit point blown to bits under concentrated fire.
"Something's wrong. A typical Khornate group should be Bloodletters, some Flesh Hounds, and maybe a Bloodthirster. Why are there so many Skull Cannons?"
It was indeed strange. Beyond the daemons, the Overmind soon spotted Chaos Space Marines from the World Eaters.
What surprised the Overmind even more was that multiple Bloodthirsters appeared in succession. Eight of them emerged in the very first wave.
"Since when were Bloodthirsters so cooperative?"
Eight Bloodthirsters appearing simultaneously was highly unusual. Their presence suggested that this operation was directed by Khorne himself, and it hinted that even more Greater Daemons might follow.
"Fine. Only eight of them for now. I'll just tear down the portal. Unless Khorne manifests personally, no more daemons are getting onto this planet."
Facing a cluster of eight Bloodthirsters, the Overmind immediately dispatched the Ultralisk herd to the target area. Some Ultralisks arrived quickly via Nydus Worms, falling from the cavern ceiling and crushing a pile of Bloodletters beneath their weight.
The Zerg weren't like the Terrans, who relied entirely on ranged fire. If it was a melee they wanted, then between Ultralisks, Torrasques, and Omegaliks, this was the ultimate stage for "fighting crickets."
"Come and get some if you have the guts!"
Driven by the Overmind's will, the Ultralisk herd slammed into the ranks of the Bloodthirsters.