To clarify the situation underground, Xia Jin air-dropped another 100,000 insects directly onto the currently established landing zone.
This time, it was not just zerglings; she also added some other main combat units.
Especially roaches.
Flame roaches and missile-firing roaches—both could perform large-scale area-of-effect attacks, and the underground tunnels were large enough to accommodate their size.
Thus, at least 100 roaches from this batch landed on the planet's surface.
In addition, Xia Jin brought over some swarm hosts, attempting to absorb nutrients from the surrounding plants and soil to slowly produce locusts for a war of attrition against the enemy.
After half an hour of preparation, the main force was about to launch a fierce assault.
At this moment, a small number of miniature scout bugs had already penetrated deep underground.
They swaggered past the enemies, remaining undetected throughout the entire journey.
Following the interconnected underground passages to a depth of 30 kilometers from the surface, they found the ambient temperature to be only around 30 degrees Celsius.
There were not only those Muscle Wolves here but also a large number of giant multilegged earthworms.
Unlike the ones encountered on the surface, these earthworms were constantly exhaling a cold mist. They acted like air conditioners, forcibly lowering the temperature in parts of the underground space to minus ten degrees Celsius.
“Interesting.”
It was evident that the furry Muscle Wolves preferred a low-temperature environment.
Generally speaking, the deeper one went into a planet, the higher the temperature should be. To live safely in underground tunnels, this species that preferred cold environments chose to cooperate with specific giant multilegged earthworms. The earthworms were responsible for spraying cold mist, while the Muscle Wolves went to the surface to hunt various food, sharing a portion with the earthworms to achieve mutual survival.
This kind of nearly symbiotic relationship was actually not uncommon in nature.
Of course, not all earthworms could spray cold mist. Those near the surface lacked this ability, and the Muscle Wolves clearly did not welcome those incapable earthworms coming underground to affect their lives.
The scouting mosquitoes continued to burrow downward, and the deeper they went, the more alarming it became.
The numbers were truly increasing. Heaven knew how deep this went and just how many creatures like the Muscle Wolves this planet actually held.
After all, many zerglings had already encountered numerous species they had never seen before while exploring outward.
The weakest among them were at Tier 3 or 4, while the strongest could even reach Tier 13.
However, Tier 13 creatures were almost like elephants or tigers on Earth—they were considered extremely rare.
The scouting mosquitoes soon reached a depth of 45 kilometers underground.
This seemed to be the end of the line for this group of monsters.
Relying on the Zerg's current mental links technology, the simple communication between these creatures was quickly deciphered.
Xia Jin soon locked onto several particularly prominent Muscle Wolves among them.
“How do we deal with the massive number of monsters on the surface?”
“Fight. I don't believe we can't beat them.”
“Damn it, where on earth did those monsters come from?”
“The sky. I heard from the Giant Crawler that they came down from the sky.”
“The sky? Could it be... life from the universe?”
...
“Life from the universe?” Xia Jin hadn't taken it seriously at first, but the moment she heard those words, she immediately turned her attention toward them.
“Interesting. These creatures know about the universe?”
The Zerg were indeed outsiders.
And the dialogue of these fellows seemed to reveal everywhere that they knew what alien planets were and where the Zerg might have come from.
“Could they really have a connection to a cosmic civilization?”
With a thought, Xia Jin stopped waiting and immediately intensified the attack that had previously slowed down.
This time, tens of thousands of locusts led the charge.
Mixed among the locusts were a small number of zerglings and even fewer roaches.
Especially the roaches.
Once the frontline fodder units cleared a long passage, they would often face a giant underground room.
Those rooms were at least a thousand square meters in area, filled with tens of thousands of Muscle Wolves packed tightly together, sometimes accompanied by giant multilegged earthworms.
At such times, the units entering the giant room would use frantic attacks to quickly clear a safe space. Then, the flame roaches would crawl out from the back, open their mouthparts, and spray a torrent of fire toward the mass of Muscle Wolves.
Never mind that this planet had oxygen; even if it were completely lacking, the roach's flames did not need it to sustain combustion.
The intense flames could easily travel hundreds of meters. With a single horizontal sweep of their heads, large numbers of creatures would howl in agony amidst the burning fire.
The subsequent spewing was continuous. If the monsters inside wanted to survive, they either had to charge desperately to kill the roach or retreat from the room.
But... how could it be easy to kill a roach that was continuously spraying fire?
Moreover, the roach itself possessed extremely strong close-combat capabilities, and there were many zerglings nearby protecting it.
In areas where the underground structure was stable and sturdy, the roaches would also fire some miniature missiles.
In most cases, however, they exercised restraint with missiles for the sake of their own safety.
As hundreds of roaches pushed deeper underground, the enemy began to retreat steadily.
Although the underground distance was only 45 kilometers, many paths had turns, and many areas could not be disturbed as they perfectly met mechanical standards. If they tried to take a shortcut by digging a straight path, it would likely cause a collapse, making the offensive even more difficult.
“Should I just blow it up with a hydrogen bomb?” Xia Jin muttered to herself.
She thought about it and decided against it. There were so many creatures down there; once collapsed, digging it out again would be slower. Regardless, as the battle progressed, the Zerg's energy was only increasing. The gains from the slaughter alone could form a positive cycle for their military scale.
So, relying on the current mode of heavy assault, the main force reached 40 kilometers underground in just five short days.
At this point, Muscle Wolves were constantly running out from among the enemies, making gestures of surrender.
Xia Jin thought for a moment and simply had the Swarm stop its attack.
Then, a single zergling representative walked out from the middle of the formation.
It looked at the Muscle Wolves crouching on the ground, having given up resistance, and nodded with satisfaction. It attempted to speak using their method of communication: “Let your leader come out.”
Rate on N.U.
