The Black Spine Brain Bug had now granted Fang Senyan the authority to command and control all Zerg forces. Thus, under Fang Senyan’s deliberate easing of pressure, numerous Lurkers intentionally avoided attacking the enemy unit (touching it would drastically reduce or even eliminate any loot, as seen with Scar Henry). This allowed the Viper Wolf BOSS to charge directly into the Zerg base entrance, flying ferociously toward the hive entrance with sheer excitement!

However, a figure lunged out from the side; Jiao Shi immediately slammed into it head-on with his shield!

With a massive thump, both combatants were knocked tumbling away like rolling gourds. As the Viper Wolf BOSS shook its head and struggled to rise, Fang Senyan charged forward. He first hurled a Potion of Strength Curse at its head, then unleashed a savagely powerful punch.

This punch was intended for the Viper Wolf’s ear, but the creature managed to tilt its head just enough so the blow landed squarely on its muzzle. Despite the misalignment, the force of the punch was tremendous. Even the giant beast’s immense strength could not resist it; it was violently knocked sideways, crashing against the adjacent crater wall, its sharp teeth scraping against the hard stone with a grating shriek.

Yet, Fang Senyan was simultaneously struck mid-air by a swift, powerful tail lash—snap!

He managed to guard his chest with both arms, but he was still sent rolling a dozen times before regaining his footing. When he got up, a trickle of blood stained the corner of his mouth.

This lash had come without warning. It seemed the Viper Wolf BOSS had only just opened its mouth to strike when it was hit, yet its long tail arrived first, lashing across Fang Senyan’s chest like a deeply etched, painful kiss!

But the heavily struck Fang Senyan had barely stabilized himself before he sprang back into action. Any ordinary person would have suffered dozens of broken bones, but for him, it resulted only in superficial wounds. The Viper Wolf, surprisingly agile, rolled a few times and, upon rising, immediately faced a barrage of hot bullets that sent its fur flying and elicited continuous howls of pain.

Just as the Viper Wolf BOSS was about to retaliate, Jiao Shi once again blocked its path, intercepting its line of attack while letting out a furious roar! An invisible shockwave swept out, effectively halting the beast’s counter-attack momentum.

In just a few short minutes, the Viper Wolf BOSS was covered in wounds. It felt as though the enemy before it was made of iron and stone, completely impenetrable. It prepared to retreat with its tail tucked, but Fang Senyan, who had been waiting patiently, moved in like a shadow, gripping the giant beast’s gaping maw with both massive hands. With a sudden surge of strength, blood sprayed as he brutally tore the nearly two-meter-long upper and lower jaws apart, spilling viscera and blood onto the ground!

Though its fangs are sharp, how can they overcome me? If you are strong in that aspect, I will strike at your greatest strength!

The grievously wounded Viper Wolf BOSS attempted a final, dying struggle, but Jiao Shi’s black lightsaber plunged deep into its heart. After a few convulsions, it died tragically.

This was the second BOSS-level creature Fang Senyan and his team had slain, though the first one had stingily failed to drop a key.

Killing this creature yielded a black key, from which they extracted a piece of black equipment: Viper Wolf Whisker (Specialty). Origin: Avatar World Equipment Rarity: Black Slot: Neck Material: Deoxidized deoxyribonucleic acid, carbohydrate, water Weight: 8.3 grams. Length: 21.4 centimeters Usage Requirements: Strength must be 15 or higher, Agility 30 or higher Durability: 40 Equipment Effect: All attributes +1 Equipment Effect: When you suffer damage from an enemy skill, you take an additional 25% damage. Equipment Effect: Reduces your critical hit rate by 1% Equipment Effect: When you deal damage to an enemy, there is a chance to summon the soul of a Viper Wolf to attack your current target. Description: The Viper Wolf Spirit possesses the base attributes of a normal Viper Wolf plus 25% of your own attributes. Duration: fifteen minutes. The Viper Wolf Spirit has a special ability: Hindering Stride. After dealing damage to an enemy, it reduces the enemy’s movement speed by 5% for 15 seconds, stackable up to a maximum reduction of 50%. Description: A maximum of two Viper Wolf Spirits can exist simultaneously. Description: When a summoned Viper Wolf Spirit dies, your highest attribute will be temporarily reduced by 4 points for a duration of 8 hours. This negative status can stack up to 5 times. Evaluation: This is the medium the Viper Wolf King used to connect with the earth and nature. Even after being severed, it retains extraordinary power, and it could become even stronger if a suitable spirit vessel were found.

When Jiao Shi saw this item, he immediately exclaimed, “This thing is top-tier for Summoners! When a Summoner’s summoned unit deals damage to an enemy, it counts as damage dealt by the Summoner, thus triggering this special effect, and the resulting Viper Wolf Soul also benefits from the Summoner’s various ability enhancements.”

Fang Senyan pondered for a moment and then stated, “It’s also quite good for Gunners. Gunners typically have a high attack speed, which indirectly increases the trigger rate for the Viper Wolf Soul. More importantly, gaining these three extra units that can slow enemies is immensely significant for Gunners who fear being engaged in melee. If this necklace is merely gilding the lily for a Summoner, for a Gunner, it represents the fundamental difference between having no summons and possessing them!”

Hei Gelun spread his thick lips and grinned, “I strongly support the leader’s view.”

Naturally, the necklace went to Hei Gelun. In actual combat, they discovered that the skill triggered roughly every ten shots fired. Once summoned, the Viper Wolf Souls instantly materialized around the damaged target, biting and tearing ferociously. Hei Gelun immediately adored it, feeling it was a long-lost treasure, and resolved to upgrade it to Silver story-grade equipment.

Next, the trio of Fang Senyan repeated their successful tactic, killing several more Viper Wolf Elites and gaining substantial benefits. Facing the relentless area-of-effect attacks from the terrifying Lurkers buried underground, the tidal wave of Viper Wolves seemed to march straight into a meat grinder, effectively serving as free kills.

At this point, large numbers of Drone workers began teleporting in from the 'Wormholes.' More than half of them immediately commenced frenzied mining operations, while a small portion began incubating various defensive structures on the creep carpet.

With sufficient biological material supplied, the Creep Colony rapidly spread to cover an area of one square kilometer. Consequently, the defensive structures built by the Drones were not only comprehensive but also strategically positioned, laying down a very clear plan for the future development of the base.

In Zerg civil wars, the 'human wave' tactic was frequently employed.

If Pandora’s Earth Mother, Eve, had launched a beast tide assault on the base, contractors like Fang Senyan might have been reduced to tears and forced into quiet abandonment. But for a warmonger like the Black Brain Bug, dealing with such massive engagements was second nature, with fully developed defensive protocols ready to be implemented at a moment’s notice.

At this time, the Level II base Fang Senyan had initially upgraded began evolving toward Level III, clearly preparing for the eventual occupancy of a Hive Mother. During this period, 'Jiani' was also teleported in via a wormhole. This Queen had also clearly advanced her stage; although her size had decreased, her flight speed increased, and she gained abilities such as instantaneous teleportation.

When the last Viper Wolf fell dead, more than half of the entire magnetic storm area was covered by the nutrient-rich Creep Colony. Dozens of building organs were rapidly incubating, and numerous Spore Cannons and Spine Crawlers stood arrayed in formidable formation—a massive base was beginning to take shape.

At this moment, Eve’s second wave of attack arrived. Similar to when Fang Senyan and his team defended the 'Valkyrie,' this assault was primarily composed of Viper Wolves, but supplemented this time by airborne Gargantuas.

It was worth noting that just before the battle commenced, some shimmering, flaky substances drifted down from somewhere in the distant sky. These objects were about the size of a palm, somewhat resembling dandelion seeds or jellyfish floating in seawater, drifting through the air with an ethereal, leisurely grace. They looked like the paper money burned in cemeteries to commemorate the dead, possessing an especially mournful and desolate quality.

“What is this?” Fang Senyan immediately recalled, “Seeds from the World Tree. Why are they floating over here?”

Fang Senyan soon understood their purpose. The Gargantuas swooping down from the sky seemed to have eyes; they could accurately sense the location of the buried Lurkers! They dove straight toward the ground, tearing away the surface soil to drag several Lurkers out and kill them!

The World Tree seeds could detect invisible units!

Unsurprisingly, seven or eight Spore Flayers immediately flew out to try and attack the World Tree seeds. But the result was completely unexpected: when attacked, the seeds merely split in two, then into four—multiplying, even displaying a bright, momentary flare of life.

While the Lurkers’ attack power was formidable, they were also expensive and fragile units. Once exposed, they could not withstand the relentless onslaught of larger forces, and crucially, with melee aerial units like the Gargantuas available, they could easily be dug out of the ground.

Therefore, under the Black Spine Brain Bug’s command, all Lurkers immediately retreated near the Spore Cannons to consolidate their defense.

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