Chapter Eight: The Pinnacle

The Zerg base resembled an octopus suction-cupped to the ground. It was hard to imagine it as a living organism, yet like a tree, it was rooted in place. Still, a creature of such massive proportions—and I’m supposed to go inside to inspect it? What were you thinking? Good grief, with these skinny arms and legs of mine, wouldn’t I just be digested the moment I stepped in?

Shen Yi stood at the edge of the Zerg base, agonizing over whether to enter. It was simply too repulsive. Gritting his teeth and stamping his foot, he declared, "Entering is impossible. I will never enter that thing as long as I live." He then retreated to the Terran base, muttering curses under his breath.

Long before his conversation with Wang Sheng, Shen Yi had begun scouting locations for the Zerg base. Having finally accumulated enough crystal minerals over the past few days, he was eager to begin developing his Zerg forces.

However, even with the site selected, the massive monster of a base kept beckoning him via telepathic connection to come inside and inspect its functions. The sight of insects crawling in and out at intervals was more than Shen Yi could stomach, and what was worse, viscous slime would occasionally drip from the passageways leading into its interior.

Returning to the Terran base and suppressing the urge to vomit, Shen Yi sent a mental command to the Zerg base: "Start by having six larvae morph into drones."

Zerg development was fundamentally different from the Terrans. The larvae hatched by the base carried their own genetic information and would morph into specific species upon receiving orders.

Drones possessed genetic information similar to the larvae and evolved from them. They could harvest resources or mutate into the Zerg’s foundational structures—everything in the Zerg swarm was, in essence, alive.

Wang Sheng’s first shipment of supplies was already en route, escorted by a thousand well-equipped and imposing soldiers. Wang Sheng placed great importance on this mineral transport and was overseeing the convoy himself.

Following a banquet, Wang Sheng, Dian Lu, and the Lord of Jicheng had held a secret meeting. Wang Sheng had explained the matter of the Puppet Master Commander in detail, leaving the other two in a state of profound shock.

Wang Sheng also learned from them that the Emperor was not refusing to help Ping'an City; rather, the city was merely a lure. The simple-minded orcs would never suspect that Ping'an City’s desperate resistance was merely a ploy to convince them of humanity’s current weakness. As the saying goes, a proud army is destined to fail; the orcs would never understand that the closer one is to victory, the more cautious one must be.

Even so, the Emperor of the Holy Dragon Empire was truly ruthless, sacrificing an entire city of people for a strategy of feigned retreat.

The secondary objective was to invite the Commander back to Holy Light City. With an additional force, humanity would have a better chance in the impending decisive battle. All factions were stirring.

If handled poorly, the best outcome for humanity on the Eastern Continent would be enslavement.

As Wang Sheng set off toward the Boundless Forest, he realized that the heavy transport of rare metals was significantly slowing his progress, causing considerable delays.

During this time, the orc vanguard and the main force converged at Ping'an City. In the lord’s hall, the King of the Orcs was listening to a report from his dog-headed strategist.

"Your Majesty, in the capture of Ping'an City, our vanguard losses included ten thousand Tauren, ten thousand Werewolves, eight thousand Kobolds, and two thousand from other races such as the Fox and Sheep clans—a total of thirty thousand." The strategist finished, glancing at the King in trepidation.

On the main throne sat a burly, lion-headed man. His golden fur was sleek and lustrous, and his dense, golden-toned muscles suggested he had reached the peak of the fifth level of body refinement—only a step away from the legendary sixth level. That was the realm of a creature capable of supernatural endurance.

The King’s leonine face broke into a broad smile as he boomed, "G-g-g-good, r-r-reward the t-t-three armies. And you—y-y-you are all humans. W-w-we are b-b-beasts, n-n-not humans. L-l-listen!"

"Understood, Your Majesty," the strategist replied hurriedly, anxious for his King.

"D-d-don't interrupt m-m-my speaking! Y-y-you, are you t-t-tired of living? D-d-drag him out and g-g-give him one hundred—no, one hundred military floggings!" the King roared.

Two nearby werewolves immediately grabbed the strategist and dragged him out.

Once outside the hall, one of the werewolves asked, "The King said one hundred, one hundred, one hundred, one hundred floggings—how many is that?" The other replied, "The King’s word is law. He said four hundreds, so we give him four hundred!"

The strategist screamed, "Damn you two idiots! Can't you count?"

The werewolf retorted, "Better to listen to my brother and give him one hundred, one hundred, one hundred, one hundred. We'll just count them slowly!"

Inside the hall, the Lion King bellowed, "Tomorrow, the entire army moves out to slaughter our way to the I-I-Imperial City!"

The mass of beasts roared in unison, "By your command!" The sound was so thunderous that it shook the dust from the rafters.

The Lion King thought to himself, *I wasn't finished yet, but fine!*

My name is Yang Dianfeng. My father wanted a son, but since he only had me, a daughter, he gave me a boy's name. As a captain in Jin City, he was rarely home. I don't know what was so great about having a son; every day, I watched the boys in the village laugh at me! I suspected they were all idiots. My mother was a chatterbox who claimed she was once the world's greatest assassin, having killed more people than I had ever seen, and boasted about an "Invisibility Technique" that was peerless under heaven. Hmph!

I didn't believe a word of it; she was just bragging. If you're so great, why don't you show me? Hmph.

We lived in a small village not far from Ping'an City. We were the wealthiest family there, and no one dared to cross us. Then, one day, a horde of orcs burst into the village. They were terrifying—butchers who killed without blinking. Our servants were dead, our guards were dead, and there was blood and corpses everywhere. Mother clutched me and fought a path of blood, fleeing toward the Boundless Forest. Just as we were about to reach the safety of the trees, the orcs following us caught up.

As I looked back, a wave of heat sprayed across my face—an arrow had pierced through my mother’s body.

But Mother acted as if nothing had happened, continuing to run toward the forest with a determined gaze, her speed even increasing. As we fled, she was struck by two more arrows. The final one pierced her heart. With a thud, she collapsed to the ground. Why? Why did it have to be this way? I knew Mother would never get up again. Tears and blood blurred together on my face. Slowly, I crawled to her side, choked out the words, "Mama, I know now. You weren't lying. Do you hear me? Your daughter is proud of you. I'll be right behind you to join you!"

The girl, covered in blood, picked up her mother’s sword, which was stained crimson with orc blood. She held it with the tip angled toward the ground, puffed out her chest, and stared at the approaching orcs.

The setting sun cast a long shadow from her slender, blood-stained figure. Behind her lay the Boundless Forest; before her stood twenty wolf-headed warriors pausing to watch.

The lead werewolf looked at the little girl with a touch of confusion. Usually, when they were about to kill, humans would show expressions of terror and despair. He enjoyed that feeling—the sense of being a master, tormenting humans at will and watching them die beneath his scimitar. It was a beautiful sensation.

Seeing that the girl did not show the reaction he wanted, the werewolf felt bored. He walked toward Yang Dianfeng, deliberately heavy-footed, trying to crush her spirit with his sheer presence, thinking to himself, *Despair, fear—no one is coming to save you.*

Ten minutes earlier, Shen Yi had been fast asleep in the Terran base, his snoring sounding like a saw cutting through wood, keeping the nearby android soldiers awake for nights on end.

Suddenly, an electronic voice chimed: "Respected Commander, the satellite has detected humans and unidentified biological entities on the edge of the forest. Please prepare accordingly."

But Shen Yi was still sawing logs. The electronic voice continued, "Commander: It is time to eat."

The sawing sound stopped abruptly. Shen Yi sat up with a start, wiped the drool from his chin, and was just about to stretch when the electronic voice repeated the previous alert.

He walked to the command hall and looked at the satellite feed, which showed "A pack of werewolves chasing a woman, and the woman is carrying a little girl!"

"How many troops are stationed at the border village?" he asked.

"Twenty plus one attack marine, and twenty zerglings," the electronic voice replied.

"Send them all to save them!" Shen Yi commanded.