Under Fang Senyan's relentless spraying, after a few seconds, the incredibly tough cage was scorched with a large hole by the flamethrower. Two Elite Vespids rushed in first, shoving and pushing the Black Thorn Brainworm Demon Juice from behind.() However, it was likely that the Brainworm's movement pattern was similar to legless creatures like snakes or maggots, relying on muscular contractions to frictionally propel itself across the ground, and the Black Thorn Brainworm Demon Juice, while maintaining its psychic wall, seemed incapable of even wiggling. Seeing the danger, Fang Senyan immediately signaled everyone to rush forward to help push and support it. With the combined effort of the group, they finally managed to shove the surprisingly heavy worm out of the danger zone in time.

After escaping danger, the Black Thorn Brainworm Demon Juice completely collapsed onto the ground, looking like an enlarged black dough—soft and almost comically limp, clearly exhausted to the point of collapse. The severe acid from the pipes on either side, now without a barrier, jetted out. Acrid, foul-smelling white smoke billowed up, actively corroding the flesh-red floor into several ulcerations the size of round tables, the inner flesh walls still writhing in agony.

Just then, Fang Senyan pointed towards the entrance of the passage they had entered and shouted:

"Watch out!"

As his shout echoed, an Elite Vesper the size of a small calf silently and ferociously lunged out. Blood was oozing from both ear canals, and its entire body was covered in burns, having clearly forced its way through that series of explosions. The Elite Vesper moved with incredible speed, sweeping past like the wind, then bracing against the nearby flesh-red wall mid-air, executing a light, deft turn to cleverly dodge Bayron’s sweeping fire, before pouncing towards the Black Thorn Brainworm Demon Juice—five meters, four meters, three meters…

In half a second more, it would have violently landed on the Black Thorn Brainworm Demon Juice, tearing open its outer skin with its claws and devouring its flesh with its sharp teeth!!!

But at that moment, Morgansa pulled the trigger.

A series of "Da-da-da-da-da" sounds rang out as muzzle flashes erupted from the Golden A. Two searing bullets struck its waist, pushing the strong Vesper another two to three meters in the direction it was leaping. Immediately following, one bullet hit its extended claw, preventing it from seizing the opportunity to attack the Brainworm below. The final two bullets provided the Elite Vesper with enough momentum to carry it over the Black Thorn Brainworm Demon Juice and slam heavily into the large ulcer pit corroded by the acid behind it.

The Vesper immediately let out a sharp, miserable shriek. Even with its elite constitution, its flesh rapidly peeled away upon contact with the corrosion, and even its hard bones dissolved quickly. Finally, it thrashed desperately in the acid pool before dying. Fang Senyan roared:

"The Brainworm of the Viscous Tribe is dead! This means the only one capable of actively mobilizing troops to attack us is the Hive Mother! Judging by the Black Thorn Hive Mother's usual pattern, this means every attack we face will be limited; a relentless onslaught is out of the question."

"Adam Savage!" Fang Senyan began issuing orders.

"YE, SIR!" Adam Savage stepped forward.

"You are not participating in the ambush. Never forget we are inside the Mother Queen’s body. Your mission is destruction, destruction, and more destruction! The sooner, the better. See that pit over there? I want to see more, bigger, and deeper flesh pits appearing before us. And don't you find these damned blood vessels hanging over our heads an eyesore?"

"I guarantee your demands will be met, SIR." Adam Savage slapped his backpack and chewed his gum nonchalantly. "You have excellent taste, Sir; destruction is my specialty!"

Fang Senyan nodded:

"The rest of you, come block that entrance tunnel! Oh, and Mr. Demon Juice, you probably don't want to die at this critical juncture either, right? So your two subordinates must join the defense until we eliminate this Viscous Tribe Mother Queen."

The Black Thorn Brainworm Demon Juice appeared to have recovered its strength, its bulky body wriggling towards the corner where crystal ores were piled. Its mental transmission reached everyone's minds at that moment:

"Thank you, my allies. Your requests will be honored. Furthermore, just buy me ten minutes."

Simultaneously, the two Elite Vespids took up positions at the tunnel entrance as Fang Senyan had ordered. Five minutes later, Fang Senyan and his team annihilated five attacking Elite Vespids and one Zergling. Because these creatures were likely part of the "Royal Guard," their drop rate was quite high, yielding three blue keys—though they didn't yield anything particularly good. Looking back at Black Thorn, everyone was stunned, as the massive pile of Pandora Crystal Ore beside it was rapidly evaporating!

Black Thorn, the massive worm, lay prone on the ground, seemingly docile, but the psychic energy emanating from its head was terrifyingly substantial, creating an illusion of distortion even in one's line of sight. Under this powerful mental force, the Pandora Crystal Ores rapidly decomposed, their released energy rapidly seeping into Black Thorn Brainworm Demon Juice's body as tiny specks. Its surface quickly became smooth and plump, eventually achieving an almost translucent shimmer.

This phenomenon lasted less than a minute before Black Thorn’s surface began to harden and darken, rapidly forming a gigantic cocoon resting silently on the flesh-red ground. A circular blue halo, like a ripple from a punch, radiated from beneath the cocoon. Under the influence of this halo, Fang Senyan and the others received prompts:

"You are affected by the Zerg Black Iron Tier Lord Aura. Your Attack Speed increases by 5%, and your Attack Power increases by 5%." "Allied Zerg creatures affected by this aura will receive double the enhancement effect." "Enemy Zerg creatures affected by this aura will receive double the weakening effect."

Several more Zerg from the Viscous Tribe charged in. However, with the buffs Fang Senyan’s team gained and the enemies’ debuffs, the fighting became significantly easier. Adam Savage also scored repeated hits, and explosions echoed one after another inside the Hive Mother, causing violent convulsions and tremors throughout its interior, making Fang Senyan and the others feel as if an earthquake was occurring.

Before even ten minutes had passed, cracks began to appear on the surface of the giant cocoon formed by Black Thorn. It was forcibly attempting to upgrade at this very moment! But Fang Senyan realized this made sense. For the Brainworm of the Black Thorn Tribe, it had previously absorbed two Brainworms from other tribes during its rampages, accumulating substantial power sufficient for advancement, only to have the upgrade interrupted previously. Now, in this desperate counterattack, it had consumed the Brainworm of the Viscous Tribe, supplemented by ample Pandora Crystals for energy, naturally allowing it to break through to the next tier with pent-up force.

Soon, continuous cracking sounds emanated from the giant cocoon’s surface, revealing fragments of the black shell constantly falling away to show Black Thorn’s new form. It was still as stout as ever, pot-bellied, but its body was now covered in a layer of lustrous black carapace that appeared diamond-bright—clearly indicating a defensive increase multiple times greater than its previous plump appearance. Moreover, it had sprouted six thick, massive legs, looking quite similar to a Gargantuan Scarab Beetle magnified several hundred times, suggesting a massive improvement in mobility as well.

Under Black Thorn's command, the two Elite Vespids quickly returned to its side to devour the scattered cocoon fragments. As they consumed the pieces, the bones inside their bodies crunched audibly, undergoing rapid transformation visible to the naked eye. During the feeding, one Elite Vesper suddenly collapsed, convulsing violently. Its entire outer skin rippled and bulged, then with a crack, countless malformed bones pierced outward from its body. Sticky, pale green fluid jetted from the numerous wounds as it died, clearly having failed its genetic evolution.

The other Elite Vesper, however, continued to devour the cocoon fragments frantically, occasionally letting out a low roar from its throat. Its size rapidly expanded, its exoskeleton gradually formed, and finally, it consumed even the corpse of its evolution-failed counterpart completely. It emerged as a blood-red, bone-plated aberration, resembling an enhanced version of the Brain Bug from Starship Troopers—savage, cruel, and incomparably fierce. Its designation had also changed to Vespida Commander, suggesting it had advanced to the Legendary creature tier.

With this creature guarding the tunnel entrance single-handedly, applying ferocious suppression, the troops dispatched by the Hive Mother were met only with death, no matter how many arrived. Normal Vespids and Zergling were completely insignificant before this Commander, crushed or sent flying with a single swipe. Even Elites were smashed flat.

Once all the elite troops were dead, the common Zerg dispatched by the Hive Mother trembled in fear upon seeing the Vespida Commander, realizing only half of their innate capabilities could be utilized due to the dread it inspired. By the time Adam Savage had thoroughly wrecked the Hive Mother’s interior, the invading Zerg forces had also vanished. Clearly, the Hive Mother’s core had sustained heavy damage, forcing it into a dormant state.

Observing this situation, Fang Senyan and his team launched a counterattack outward, naturally spearheaded by the Vespida Commander. Although the Tongue Spitter Turret at the entrance was still faithfully operating, the Zerg forces of the Viscous Tribe, lacking direction from the Hive Mother and Brainworm, offered no real resistance to the powerfully enhanced Black Thorn Brainworm Demon Juice and could only flee in terror. The Tongue Spitter Turret was blasted into a spray of blood within a minute.