No one dared to let their guard down. This could be the experimental lab of the Zergs that the humans had been searching for so many decades. Some people believed that they were guarded entirely by the dark ones, but they hadn"t seen a single dark one among the dead Zergs. Despite its obscure location, w.a.n.g Tong and his soldiers and came across it by luck.
After a few cautious moments, Zergs started to appear from behind the holes on the wall, only to be greeted by the human warriors" belligerent attacks. This hive was ancient, and it had never been attacked by any human forces. However, once the humans came, they wreaked havoc with abandon.
It didn"t take long for Tan Bu and Lun Duo to catch up with Yin Tianzong. The reinforcements quickly threw themselves into the battle; their injuries were too mild to hinder their ability to slaughter.
The had done this many times, so the soldiers knew exactly what to do to maximize their damage as a team. Without w.a.n.g Tong giving an order, the soldiers moved closer to the source of the Zergs and built a defense around the existence of those holes on the wall. They could not let the Zergs get close to w.a.n.g Tong and interrupt his battle with the eggs. These eggs not only appeared different than the normal ones, but they were also able to fight back. What surprised w.a.n.g Tong even more was that they also had soul energies.
The queen had sniffed w.a.n.g Tong out as soon as he stepped through the portal. However, she was quickly dealt with before she could sound the alarm. w.a.n.g Tong"s killing blows and revealed his strong soul energy and attracted the Zergs toward him. The queen had soul energy inside her, and that made w.a.n.g Tong make up his mind to kill her outright instead of using her as bait.
The queen"s death cry sounded indignant; she was so close to hatching the most terrible Zergs the humans had yet seen.
The soldiers" suspicion was right; this was one of the most important experiment labs of the Zerg. The reason they were so hidden was that they were set up in a hive, which was either in the s.p.a.ce or deep underground. This hive, for example, took the Zergs decades to create a hole deep enough to hide it. And for centuries, it had waited patiently as the queen tinkered with the genes of her next brood of hatchlings.
For five hundred years, they were able to carry out the morbid experiment undisturbed; but their days were numbered.
The battle was more intense than anyone had thought. If Yin Tianzong and his warriors hadn"t arrived in time, w.a.n.g Tong might very likely have been trapped in the hive with thousands of Zergs and the terror within the eggsh.e.l.ls. Whatever was in the egg possessed an incredible soul energy. It was the results of generations of genetic mutations and modifications. Perhaps, they were bred specifically to counter the mastery casters.
It finally occurred to w.a.n.g Tong that the pa.s.sage on the precipice which absorbed any form of energy was not prepared for the humans; it was a device used by the Zergs to absorb radiation energy to feed the eggs. Once these Zergs were hatched and arrived in the battlefield, they would be able to disrupt human warriors" soul energy output, and severely undermine the humans" defensive ability.
w.a.n.g Tong"s knee-jerk reaction was to destroy these eggs, but he was able to hold back his impulse and decided to control these unborn Zergs using his soul energy and turn the Zergs" weapon into humans" advantage.
However, it was easier said than done. These Zergs had put up fighting against w.a.n.g Tong"s restraining energy even before they had hatched. Having failed many attempts, w.a.n.g Tong was about to give up and destroy these eggs when Yin Tianzong showed up. This much-needed a.s.sistance made w.a.n.g Tong continue his taming of the Zergs with a newfound confidence.
Using soul energy wouldn"t work, so w.a.n.g Tong attempted to cover the egg with his golden soul essence. Ordinary Zergs were no different from machines, but the soul energy in these Zergs had made them sentient. At this stage, not only did they need the queen"s physical protection like all eggs would, but also required the queen to fill their sentient mind with Zergs" code of conduct. Without the poisonous preachings of the queen, these Zerg" minds were clean slates.
As the golden light glowed brighter on the surface of the eggs, some green lights were trying to pierce through the golden s.h.i.+mmer. The new Zergs had felt something was amiss—this was not their mother—and they fought back. w.a.n.g Tong was taken aback by these baby Zergs" power; if the queen were successful in her plan, these little monsters would have wreaked havoc in the human world.
Despite their powerful inborn soul energy, these baby Zergs started to falter as the green eggs started to change color from the center, slowly turning gold. Once one egg had completely turned golden, the Zerg inside joined w.a.n.g Tong and started to convert its brothers and sisters. w.a.n.g Tong was pleasantly surprised by how quickly the tables had turned. In a heartbeat, most of the eggs had become golden. He scanned the tamed eggs with his soul energy and felt the monstrous form inside. w.a.n.g Tong did not know what kind of Zergs they were going to be and thought it was very likely a brand new breed. He couldn"t help but marvel at the Zergs" skills in splicing genes. He wondered how long it took them to evolve into a gene splicing master.
As the little Zergs became more manageable, w.a.n.g Tong started to survey the battleground.
Battle Wolf was working industriously to stop the Zergs" advancement at the openings on the wall. They vented their anger and frustration from the march all on the Zergs. As the commander of the force, Yin Tianzong moved amongst the soldiers to make sure that every fire team had adequate support. Meanwhile he checked on w.a.n.g Tong from time to time, making sure he was still doing alright.
Xiao Yuyu stood behind the soldiers, constantly patching up their wounds by using the divine light spell.
Although the soldiers were holding their ground, they had no idea where they were and where should they go after this.
The battle had already been going on for an hour, and all the soldiers were still able to perform their task with the precision and consistency of a clockwork.
Xiao Libie had seen many things in his life and had also led many battles by himself, but never had he seen any team so tenacious and sharing such a deep bond. The two hundred or so soldiers worked toward one goal, and everyone was ready to sacrifice for each other.
Although, they were not the only team that had great teamwork, as were the units under Zambrotta. However, their teamwork was different; it was more than just teamwork, it was an unswerving trust in their comrades. The soldiers who charged to the front never had to worry about their exposed back even if a Zerg was about to attack them from behind. They knew that their teammates have them covered.
These soldiers acted the way they did not because they had high moral standards. Instead, it was their instinct to trust each other, look after each other, and die for each other.
After a while, the Zergs finally stopped coming in. It wasn"t because they had run out of soldiers, but because the entrance had been sealed off by the dead Zergs.
Despite the brief absence of danger, the soldiers didn"t let their guard down. w.a.n.g Tong also finished his business and landed back on the ground, next to his friends. In the emerald pool, the surface of the Zerg eggs was suffused with a faint golden gleam.
"Looks like we had entered the Zergs" hive. I think our original plan is spoiled." Guan Dongyang grimaced.
w.a.n.g Tong shook his head and then said, "Not necessarily. I had killed the queen as soon as I got here. She is the only connection of this hive with outside, so I doubt the Zergs out there would know of our existence. Even if they have noticed us, it will take a while to mobilize their forces to this G.o.dforsaken place. We just have to find a way out as soon as possible."
"A way out?" Guan Dongyang asked sarcastically as he looked at the dozen or so blocked holes. "What are you planning to do with these eggs?"
"I have no clue yet. They are a new breed that is able to interrupt with human soul energies. I thought what the heck, might as well use them if we can. At least, they could be our cannon fodder."