“Found it.”
The Combat Species sent a transmission to their leader.
The Broad-wing clan had excavated the core habitat planet into a labyrinth of interconnected paths. Some tunnels plunged deep underground, as intricate and gnarled as mines accumulated over centuries.
Thus, the hunt for the Sub-King turned into a massive treasure search. The Grey-wings explored one by one according to the fortification maps in their hands, updating the map versions as they went and scanning the latest completed structures.
The first "hound" to discover the prey quickly broadcast the news to all its companions and notified Sakti as requested.
The reason they hadn't successfully dragged the target out was the sudden surge of hybrid beasts, which frantically obstructed their progress.
The Broad-wing Sub-King was carrying a complete set of genetic samples.
Evidently, this "innovative" fellow intended to abandon the scorched nest entirely and find a new place to cultivate its hybrid products. Its few remaining direct descendants stood in a grim formation around it, ready at any moment to break through the Grey-wing blockade.
It didn't matter if the docking rails were blown up; there were always other fleets capable of launching, always shelters located in the fringe zones.
As long as they seized a remote planet and spent a few Great Cycles breeding the adults of these new species, there was every possibility of a comeback.
But the Core Species gave his opponent no such chance.
A tall, mutated figure blocked the evacuation passage. The particle cannon capable of easily collapsing half the underground space had been set aside; held between his claws was a small plasma sniper rifle, its components coiled around his arm like veins.
“Hello there.”
The black-scaled monster split his mouth open, revealing rows of fine secondary teeth, as he greeted the brownish-grey Sub-King that had just broken through the blockade.
A friendly light flickered within his two golden pupils.
Then, he fired a shot directly into the enemy. The thunderous impact sent earth and stone splashing, instantly burying half of the Sub-King’s team.
If the enemy could speak, they would surely have wanted to curse.
Unfortunately, all the Broad-wings were busy digging themselves out of the dirt.
Sakti fired three consecutive shots, charring a small pile of direct descendants, and then pressed the newly emerged enemy leader right back into the ground.
He was in a bit of a hurry.
The promise he had made was that he would bring two Sub-King heads to Clark.
This was only one of them.
It was like finishing the first half of a banquet and needing to rush to the second half at a different venue; the time was tight and the task was heavy. It was better for everyone if they skipped the small talk.
The massive Broad-wing, in a state of deep mutation, bit down hard on Sakti’s arm, throwing off all the rubble weighing it down.
There was a qualitative difference between the direct descendants who had once shared the remains of the Queen Mother and the ordinary Core Species. Their bodies were more massive, and their speed and strength far exceeded those of their kin.
Kleiman led the Combat Species in a retreat, forming a small circle within the narrow passage, their weapons pressed against the heads of the Broad-wing descendants who had just crawled out.
On the inner side of the encirclement were the remnants of the Broad-wing clan, who were also backing away under the pressure.
All the insects, whether intentionally or instinctively, yielded the center of the field to the two monsters rolling and grappling in the middle.
This was considered a fine old tradition of the Zerg.
A death match initiated by a subordinate against a superior often developed into a one-on-one, face-to-face slaughter with real blades and spears. No matter how advanced weapons became, this ritual, inherited from the era of the King Insects, still held its place.
The most important point was that the swarm needed a clear distinction; only the victor who slaughtered all his brothers was qualified to lead the race toward a new node, and he held the right to consume the loser’s corpse.
Like the remains of a King Insect, the carcass of a Sub-King was a rare and precious prize.
An outlier like Clark, who obtained a heart but chose to destroy it, could hardly be found even if one searched through all ten major clans.
And this opponent made Sakti taste that long-lost sense of difficulty he had felt when fighting Katla.
He finally understood what the high-ranking species meant when they warned that "those who have differentiated into Sub-Kings have all gnawed on a portion of the Queen Mother's remains; they are separated from ordinary direct descendants by a chasm."
But he had also upgraded.
The Core Species, stabilized at the peak of his prime, was in a completely different state than when he had first arrived at Ja. His deep black scales were sharp and hard, his long tail stood erect with barbs like a bone whip, and every cell clamored with the desire for strife and slaughter. Through countless battles, his mastery over his body had reached perfection.
Even for a direct descendant of a King, it was difficult to break through his defenses at his vital points in one bite.
The brownish-grey female across from him had an agile frame. With one bite, she tore away a large number of scales from Sakti’s forelimb, nearly crushing the tightly connected plasma sniper rifle.
Before the weapon was completely rendered useless, the monster with pure gold vertical pupils fired two final shots. The high-heat energy exploded against the other’s skull, burning a large hole through the Sub-King’s cheek.
Acidic blood splattered onto the ground instantly, clattering alongside the shards of the shattered weapon.
This left the massive female looking as if half her head had been melted by sulfuric acid, with half of her long, slender tongue lolling outside.
“Where is Clark?”
The opponent’s respiratory slits flickered as she hissed, moving first to shield the genetic samples behind her.
That key box employed the highest specifications of security measures; unless it took a direct hit from a particle cannon, it was very difficult to destroy the contents within.
“And where did a mongrel like you come from?”
In the Zerg lingua franca, "mongrel" wasn't entirely an insult.
It was meant literally... a hybrid, a term that could refer to any crossbred or genetically mutated insect.
“Clark is busy chasing his... partner, so I’m responsible for bringing him your head.”
His mouth moved, but his hands weren't idle. After wrenching his arm back, the black-scaled monster dragged the opponent close, his powerful tail whip strangling the Sub-King’s neck in a death grip.
“You’re that outsider who’s been so highly favored.”
However, the Broad-wing let out a cackling laugh, malice and mockery glinting in her four eyes.
Her forelimbs firmly gripped the long tail that could sever her neck, allowing the upright spinal barbs to pierce her hard scales and gash her flesh.
“You were also the one who intercepted my fleet in the Third Quadrant.”
Her massive body pressed down, nearly ramming the Core Species into the dust.
The Sub-King’s two pairs of broad wings suddenly unfurled. She leaned down in a sniffing posture, letting out a venomous hiss.
“Your wings... are quite beautiful.”
“Thanks for the compliment, and thanks for the attention.”
Dealing with a larger opponent was troublesome in this regard; it was quite easy to be pinned down.
But it had to be said that this new body was powerful enough. He didn't know which clan it originated from, but once stabilized at its peak, it was hard to suffer any major losses.
“How interesting. You chose to help the Grey-wings.”
The brownish-grey female continued to emit a rustling laughter. The respiratory slits in her abdominal cavity vibrated in unison with her mangled face, making the eerie sound rhythmic yet broken.
In an instant, they rolled through several turns. Clearly, the Core Species never allowed himself to remain in an inferior position, using both claws and teeth to tear at the opponent’s vitals.
“To think you would actually get mixed up with Clark.”
The Sub-King, having taken a mouthful of dirt, could no longer suppress herself. She let out a hoarse, long cry that sounded like a mad laugh.
“When Krisha said its brother was a fool, I couldn't believe it. I didn't think the Butcher of the Northern Battlefield would collude with humans, nor did I think he was an idiot.”
“Then the Red Tai Sui appeared in the Grey-wing habitat—human starships, with whom we share a blood feud, were escorting him.”
“And now... now your appearance confirms even the latter.”
The two beasts, each snapping at the other's throat, collided. The Broad-wing tore a substantial chunk of flesh from Sakti’s shoulder and neck.
“A pathetic fool, a pathetic traitor!”
“He extended his feelers to humans seeking cooperation, completely forgetting that our race was torn asunder by the Crimson Guillotine!”
“In just two more Great Cycles, the adults I’ve bred could gnaw through human warships. The completed Great Information Nest Krisha perfected could send the war directly into the heart of human habitats.”
“Your sacrifice will be the greatest help,” the Core Species said with total sincerity, his tail whip entangling with the opponent’s wings. The Broad-wing’s two pairs of wings were too massive to gather and tear apart in one go.
He exerted every ounce of his strength just to saw through one gap.
“Don't describe looting and pillaging in such noble terms.”
There were too many people like this in the world—lofty ideals, fiery rhetoric, "for the clan," "for the future," blah blah blah. But in summary, it was just wanting to have their cake and eat it too.
If he were the one giving the speech, he had ten thousand ways to beautify a war of aggression as a charitable act for a liberation front.
This kind of nonsense literature was something he had mastered long ago.
Several times, Sakti tried to seize the box containing the genetic samples, but the opponent’s tail tip was locked firmly around the item, even at the cost of exposing her flank to his attacks.
This actually made the black female insect look at her with a bit of newfound respect.
The Broad-wing Sub-King truly loved the "agricultural byproducts" she had created.
She was willing to endure injury, even willing to leave behind her still-fighting kin, just to take the genes of the hybrid beasts away.
The claim about "gnawing through human warships" was likely not groundless.
High-level females could bite through the armor plating of light patrol ships, but they could absolutely never damage the hull of a higher-specification warship.
The outer hull of the Red Tai Sui utilized deep-space navigation materials resistant to pressure and impact, and it came with its own defensive barriers. The same was true for the other two active starships, Gungnir and Trident; they could only be damaged when facing weapons of the same magnitude.
Below those three starships were Alpha and Omega-class warships. These two specifications of vessels would not suffer external damage from a swarm of crawling insects either.
But no one knew what the adults of this new hybrid species looked like.
“You don't understand what you're doing, which is why you want to destroy our new direction of evolution.”
She nearly twisted the other’s head off his neck, forcing the black beast to abandon his attempt to steal the box and protect his own throat. In their struggle, the Broad-wing collapsed another half of the passage. Amidst the rising debris, they tumbled down a slope into even deeper depths.
“My children... they do not fear pain, they never tire, and they can easily melt the defensive metals of humans.”
“They are the next node.”
*Then you need to die even faster, friend.*
*If you don't die, you're not a Sub-King.*
His neck pinned, Sakti heard his bones creak. His mouthparts split open into a grotesque smile.
“Being able to crush your old nest... is truly wonderful.”
He answered sincerely.
In response, the Broad-wing, whose facial wound had already healed, bared her fangs as well, forming a jagged expression of joy.
“I feel the same.”
She hissed and barked, saliva dripping.
“What could be more hilarious than seeing you and Clark mixed up together?”
“Do you two actually consider each other kin?”
“This is truly the most ridiculous duo in the universe.”
The Sub-King said.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 亚王虫 | Sub-King | A high-level Zerg rank below the King. |
| 阔翅 | Broad-wing | One of the ten major Zerg clans. |
| 灰翅 | Grey-wing | The Zerg clan Clark leads. |
| 核心种 | Core Species | Sakti's specific Zerg type. |
| 异兽杂交种 | Hybrid Beast Species | The bio-engineered creatures created by the Broad-wings. |
| 克里曼 | Kleiman | A member of the Grey-wing Combat Species. |
| 克里沙 | Krisha | A character mentioned by the Sub-King, likely a Broad-wing leader. |
| 冈格尼尔 | Gungnir | One of the three major human starships. |
| 三戟叉 | Trident | One of the three major human starships. |
| 猩红铡刀 | Crimson Guillotine | Likely a reference to a past war or a specific human weapon/event. |
| 大信息巢 | Great Information Nest | A Zerg biological/technological structure. |
