"Wow, Khorne, you're playing for real?!"
Seeing eight hundred and eighty-eight Bloodthirsters actually surging out, the Swarm Overmind felt only excitement, without a hint of fear.
"Impressive. Very strong."
The Queen of Blades was still clearing the small portion of surviving Slaaneshi daemons when she suddenly felt the Overmind's will.
"Yes, I understand. I will head underground immediately. I will not let the Blood God's servants break the Swarm's line."
The scale of this battle was already far larger than the previous one on the Eldar Craftworld. The Overmind had to maintain a constant stream of reinforcements to suppress the demonic forces. Even with the Queen of Blades on-site, she could at most handle a dozen or, at most, thirty Bloodthirsters at once in her peak state. But there were eight hundred and eighty-eight of them.
"I need to find a way to get this planet out of here. If this keeps up and eight thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight show up next time, the Swarm might actually take a hit."
Only the will of Khorne could assemble so many Bloodthirsters. Since the Dark God's will had been handed down, the Overmind wouldn't be surprised even if every Bloodthirster in existence gathered here.
Thinking of the near-infinite number of Greater Daemons, the Overmind began executing his plan.
This Crone World could not remain in the Warp. The Overmind had to move the planet out before the next massive Khornate offensive.
Method one: The Overmind directly exerts his psionic power to open a massive psionic wormhole and pull the planet out.
The Overmind's psionic power was capable of this. When Aiur's coordinates were exposed, the Overmind opened a massive wormhole directly to the planet, allowing the Swarm to conquer it before the Golden Armada could return.
Method two: Using Leviathans to physically pull the planet out of the Eye of Terror, like a "Wandering Earth" scenario.
"The first way is more reliable."
The Overmind began to act. His psionic power—the strongest in the StarCraft universe next to the Xel'naga—began to manifest.
The planet's atmosphere twisted and surged under the pressure, forming a storm that blanketed the world. Zerg units burrowed into the ground to avoid the energy overflow.
With a burst of psionic energy, a beam of light shot into the sky, opening a wormhole connected to realspace.
When the other end of the wormhole opened near the Crone World Wei-Moer, the exit point was slightly off.
While it looked close to the planet to the naked eye, the actual physical distance was astronomical.
"Tch, this disgusting Warp energy."
The Overmind knew this was the Warp's interference. Since physical laws didn't exist in the Warp, his coordinates suffered a "slight error."
"Open another one?"
He decided against it. Opening another might result in an even larger deviation. Every wormhole cost a massive amount of mental energy. He used his own spirit, and overusing it led to exhaustion.
"Leviathans can pull it across that small distance. It shouldn't be a problem."
Since the Crone World was in a relatively fixed state, it could be moved. The Leviathan fleet extended thick tentacles, stabbing them deep into the planet's surface.
The Zerg Swarm was in motion. The Slaaneshi forces had completely collapsed. A portion of the Ultralisk herd camped the Slaaneshi portals, ensuring no reinforcements reached the planet.
Anything that showed its face, whether a Keeper of Secrets or a Daemonette, found a pack of Ultralisks waiting.
On the Khornate side, the fighting remained intense.
The Bloodthirster battle groups tore a hole in the Ultralisk line. When a dozen Bloodthirsters grouped together, an equal number of Ultralisks could hardly stop them.
Daemon Engines, Helbrutes, and Khornate Chaos Titans emerged from the portal. The Greater Daemons charged at the front while the engines and Titans provided heavy fire support from the rear. They bombarded the Swarm with a disregard for friendly fire.
Even an Ultralisk could be killed in under a minute when caught between a melee and a ranged unit of similar size.
The Tyrannozors held out longer. These individuals among the Primal Zerg took down several Daemon Engines before falling, their bodies covered in scorch marks and punctures.
"Tch, Khorne isn't fighting fair. Since when did you start using combined arms tactics?"
The Swarm feared nothing in pure melee, but they were at a disadvantage in this type of suppressed, coordinated warfare—especially since the battlefield was underground, making it hard for Zerg air units to support.
Otherwise, with Guardians, Mutalisks, and Leviathans providing aerial bombardment, the fight wouldn't be this difficult.
"Fine, you want to play with coordination?"
The Overmind slowed the pace of the Swarm's offensive. Some Ultralisks at the front began to pull back, leaving enough space for the Khornate daemons to set up a position.
Seeing the Zerg retreat, the Bloodthirsters roared and pounded their chests, preparing to lead their subordinates in a final charge.
But this was all part of the Overmind's plan. He deployed defensive positions behind the Ultralisk screen and waited.
"Since I can't camp your door anymore, I'll play a game of positional warfare with you."
The Khornate offensive began. The lead Bloodthirster sprinted forward, his mouth open in a roar.
He reached the first Ultralisk. Just as he prepared to swing his axe, several thick tentacles shot out from behind the Ultralisk and impaled the Bloodthirster's body.
Behind the line of Ultralisks, rows of Spine Crawlers were deployed. These massive defensive structures were slow to move, but their power was undeniable.
Their spiked penetrations were forceful enough to pierce a Bloodthirster's hide.
When the spikes retracted, the Bloodthirster was left with several bloody holes in his chest. An Ultralisk seized the opportunity to gore him, knocking him to the ground and trampling him.
In another area, a second Bloodthirster wasn't hit by a Spine Crawler. Instead, a massive spike erupted from the ground, skewering his foot.
"Who? Who is attacking me? Step out and fight me like a man!"
"I'd be an idiot to let the Lurkers come out and fight you fairly."