Fang Senyan caught the subtle meaning in the words of the Mother, bowing deeply beside her. "Venerable Goddess, please forgive my intrusion. Since you all desire peace, why not engage in negotiation? My friend does not sustain life by preying upon or consuming the corpses of other beings; its survival and evolution follow an entirely different model! Like the Tree of Life, it can subsist solely on the energy from minerals for a very long time."

"If you perceive its tribe as too powerful, that is not an issue. It can reduce the scale of its base and willingly destroy its own soldiers, thereby lowering its combat capability. Believe me, the only thing they require is that specific mineral. If you could graciously grant it some room to survive, then peace will descend upon Pandora once more."

Evva was clearly deeply moved by the final sentence Fang Senyan uttered; she did not appear to be a warmonger. Evva asked, her voice laced with doubt, "Are you speaking the truth?"

Fang Senyan smiled faintly. "You may verify this with them yourself." The Black Spine Brain Bug lumbered into the air, facing the Goddess Evva from a distance. "Esteemed Spirit of Nature, every word he speaks is true. If you grant us the right to exist and reside here, I can reduce my army and shrink the boundaries of my territory. Previously, a significant portion of the energy units I acquired had to be surrendered to my Queen. Now that I have escaped her clutches, even this current deposit of minerals is sufficient for my evolution and survival for several years."

Goddess Evva genuinely seemed reluctant to initiate further conflict, as warfare was clearly not her strong suit. After conversing with the Black Spine tribe for a time, she laid down her bottom line: "Firstly: The territory currently occupied by the Black Spine tribe is the absolute limit; no further expansion will be permitted."

"Secondly: The population of the Black Spine tribe cannot exceed one thousand."

"Thirdly: The Black Spine tribe may possess its own forces for self-defense, but it cannot produce combat creatures other than Zerglings and Hydralisks. Of course, rare elite creatures with proper names, such as 'Janie,' are exempt. However, the total number of such rare elite creatures cannot surpass fifty."

Provided these three conditions were met, Goddess Evva would 'benevolently' permit the Black Spine tribe to reside there, enjoying the same rights to survival as the other native tribes.

To Goddess Evva, it was clear that this peculiar race needed that layer of slime upon which to construct their structures, thus the first condition effectively controlled the scale of their development. The second condition served to patch any oversight in the first.

In her worldview, a tribe of one thousand was merely a large tribe; even among the Na'vi, such groups were not uncommon. As for the Viperwolf packs or the Slitherer swarms, they easily surpassed this number. After all, the Black Spine tribe had deployed at least five thousand, perhaps even over ten thousand, during their previous great war! This stipulation would thus significantly decrease the threat they posed to other species.

The third condition restricted the appearance of creatures with formidable individual combat capabilities, preventing the Black Spine tribe from pursuing an elite-unit strategy. To Goddess Evva, however, she failed to recognize the true gap between herself and the Black Spine tribe—a gap rooted in the philosophy of military command. She was merely assessing the threat level based on raw biological strength. For example, in her estimation, three Zerglings were needed to defeat one Viperwolf, and two Hydralisks to overcome one Slitherer. Therefore, she simply believed that these regulations would bind the Zerg swarm to the utmost limit.

Faced with these three generous terms, Fang Senyan was ecstatic internally, and the Black Spine Brain Bug also felt the terms were acceptable. Even if Evva harbored ill intentions, with its powerful reconnaissance capabilities (the Zerg hosts were non-combatant, not counting towards population, and could fly at high speed, allowing for easy mass production), coupled with a thousand Zerglings and Hydralisks, they would have enough time to evolve higher-tier units.

However, Fang Senyan paused to consider before proposing a few additional stipulations. "Fourthly: If anyone actively attacks the Black Spine tribe, and the survival of the Black Spine tribe's main structure is threatened, these restrictions may be temporarily lifted. However, within one hour after the cessation of hostilities, the restrictions outlined in the first three points must be reinstated."

This fourth condition was the favorable leeway Fang Senyan fought for on behalf of the Zerg. The Earth Mother Evva always believed she could maintain the upper hand over the Black Spine Zerg. After a moment of hesitation, she agreed to the request. After all, the Black Spine Brain Bug had pointed out a critical flaw: What if the Earth Mother Evva broke her word and directed numerous allied tribes to attack them? Although the Earth Mother was deeply angered by this suggestion, viewing the assumption as an insult to her dignity, she conceded.

Thus, peace descended with suddenness, and the clash between the beast tide and the Zerg tide ended somewhat anticlimactically. But for Fang Senyan, whose lips curled into a subtle smile, his Golden Branch Mission was merely a brand new beginning!

The very instant the agreement was finalized, Fang Senyan suddenly received prompts from the Nightmare Imprint:

"The strength of the Black Spine Zerg has grown substantially."

"The Black Spine Zerg has officially separated from the lineage of the Queen of Blades and become an independent race on Pandora."

"Black Spine Zerg Leader: Brain Bug Black Spine's relationship with you is currently Worship."

"The Black Spine tribe has been granted the title bestowed by the Space: Unique!"

"Effective immediately, the Black Spine Zerg in all other parallel sub-spaces will suffer irreversible, devastating strikes within one hour. Except for this current space, no other Black Spine Zerg will appear in other parallel sub-spaces."

"Notice: You have established a Worship relationship with a powerful Player Character possessing the Unique title."

"Notice: Silver Milestone: Absolute Dominion initiated."

"Milestone Requirement: Establish Worship relationships with at least two powerful Player Characters possessing the Unique title."

"Milestone Progress: 1/2."

"Milestone Reward upon completion: Title - Absolute Dominion."

Fang Senyan immediately turned to Morgana and Reef, seeing the look of astonishment on their faces as well, knowing they must have received similar notifications at the same moment. He swiftly used his authority to query: "Please display the attributes of the title: Absolute Dominion."

"Querying: At your current rank, viewing the detailed information for this title requires a payment of ten thousand Universal Points, and complete data cannot be guaranteed. Do you confirm payment of Universal Points and wish to proceed?"

Seeing this prompt, Fang Senyan was pleased rather than surprised, and immediately selected 'Yes.'

"Platinum-tier Title: Absolute Dominion."

"Legend Rating +1 upon wearing."

"Bonus Attribute: Cornerstone. This bonus attribute is extremely useful in Title Synthesis."

"Due to your current insufficient rank, further data viewing is unavailable."

Even the typically composed Fang Senyan sucked in a sharp breath. He immediately shared the information he had acquired, and in the same moment, he heard the sharp intakes of breath from Morgana and Reef. They were perfectly aware of the benefits of Legend Rating! This opportunity could not be missed.

Calming his surging excitement, Reef began to ponder. After a pause, he stated, "It seems the key lies in getting a Player Character to acquire the Unique title. Think about the communication process with the Black Spine Zerg, their entire growth trajectory. Consider what actions are necessary for the Space to grant them a title."

After an intense discussion, Fang Senyan and the others summarized three points: "First, this Player Character must be sufficiently weak, a mere 'extra.' To be more specific, their starting point must be very low, essentially someone who would absolutely never intersect with the main storyline."

"Second, the subsequent growth of this Player Character must be incredibly strong. While the Black Spine Brain Bug’s combat prowess as a tribal leader lies in command, for this race, he should at least be a Tier Seven, no, very likely a Tier Eight or higher Legendary creature playing a crucial role!"

"Third, this Player Character must likely be willing to wholeheartedly leave the world they originally inhabited."

Of course, there might be other prerequisite conditions, but these three points were certainly foundational. After the discussion concluded, both Morgana and Reef fixed Fang Senyan with an intense, focused gaze, and the same two words simultaneously burst from their lips: "Mist Song Sister!! Boss!!!"

……………………

Despite the peace agreement, the Earth Mother Evva did not depart as swiftly as she arrived. She remained standing silently nearby, watching the Black Spine Zerg, confirming that it was indeed continually harvesting minerals and sustaining itself on them, before rapidly dissolving back into the ground. Fang Senyan then instigated the Brain Bug: "Buddy, it's time to initiate the sub-base pools."

Expansion and occupation were inherent to the Zerg nature. The Black Spine Brain Bug immediately became excited. "Really? Do you know of any other mineral deposits?"

Fang Senyan smiled. "Yes, but while the total mineral reserves there are astonishing, the purity of the ore is very low. Extracting crystals will likely be a very troublesome endeavor. As far as I know, the humans in this world abandoned the project because the extraction costs were too high. I wonder if you can manage the excavation?"

………………

Can anyone guess how the Black Spine Brain Bug can slyly initiate a sub-base without violating the agreement? Heh heh, old rules apply: 15 points for the correct answer.

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