At that moment, on every Zerg-occupied planet, host after host of Overlords ascended high into the sky. Their bodies were bloated, filled to capacity with ground combat units destined for the surface, making them resemble massive hot-air balloons.

The Zerg air force also gathered in massive numbers. They converged with the Overlords, their numbers swelling until they eclipsed the sunlight, forming a dark, sprawling cloud against the heavens.

At the heart of this cloud resided the central Cerebrate of each Zerg brood.

The assembled Zerg armies on each planet ranged from a mere one hundred thousand to as many as forty or fifty million—a figure that already surpassed the initial complement of troops assigned to each Cerebrate by Yang Ying.

Once they cleared the atmosphere, they dispersed in all directions, diving into hyperspace.

As for the swarms left behind on the planets, those that did not depart with the main force were all engaged in the same activity: burrowing, submerging themselves deep underground.

The Zerg ground units were all masters of excavation. From the smallest—akin to a hound—to the largest, like the Raptor, they could bury themselves completely in moments, leaving no trace whatsoever on the surface.

Meanwhile, a structural shift had begun in the Zerg configuration some time ago. Ground structures began their migration underground. The Creep first extended downwards, establishing Zerg bases beneath the surface. Simultaneously, nutrients were siphoned back from the surface structures—some feeding the new subterranean construction, and the rest used to incubate even more vast Zerg armies.

This was a trade-off: the atrophy of surface architecture in exchange for the flourishing of the swarm and its underground strongholds. Though seemingly cumbersome, the process was efficient because the Zerg utilized nutrients with near one-hundred-percent efficiency; the losses during this exchange were negligible.

The necessity for such a massive undertaking stemmed from the reality that the United Fleet was far more powerful than the current Zerg forces. They had amassed over sixty percent of the military might from the entire Orion Arm, whereas the Zerg held territory spanning only a single star sector, and that territory had not been occupied for long. A direct confrontation with the majority of the Orion Arm offered the Zerg virtually no chance of victory.

Yet, viewed from another perspective, the Zerg completely surpassed the races of the Orion Arm in terms of reproductive speed, resilience, and adaptability—qualities determined by their perfect internal essence.

In Yang Ying's estimation, this disparity clearly dictated that the ensuing war would necessarily become one of guerrilla tactics and attrition.

In the initial stages, the Zerg would likely lose many planets, perhaps even all of their current holdings. However, the Cerebrates would lead the Zerg armies to carve out new battlefronts, opening hundreds of fronts simultaneously, carrying the flames of war into the backyard of every enemy race, forcing the United Fleet into a state of being unable to attend to everything at once.

The United Fleet was, after all, a coalition of various races. They were not unified, and internal conflicts and divergences existed. Every race harbored its own agenda. Upon learning that their homelands were under threat, a ninety-nine percent certainty arose that they would fracture.

After all, ignoring one's own species to prioritize the rescue of others within the main force was an impractical notion; virtually no race would act that way. As long as the races remained divided, dragging the war into a stalemate would not be difficult for the Zerg.

During the stagnation phase, the contest would be one of attrition, endurance, and who could convert resources into fighting power most efficiently. In this regard, the Zerg had never been weaker than any other race. They possessed perfect efficiency, and Yang Ying held absolute confidence in this.

And when the allied races were utterly exhausted, that would be the time for the great Zerg counter-offensive. By then, the Zerg numbers would not merely match the current count but would be hundreds, even thousands of times greater. The colossal swarm would be sufficient to sweep away everything.

Outside one of the Zerg-held planets, the advance element of the United Fleet jumped out of hyperspace—a fleet belonging to the Burkes, numbering around one hundred thousand vessels.

Indeed, the Burke Emperor had not enjoyed a single peaceful day since fleeing the Burke’Reck sector under the assault of the Protoss. He lived in constant dread, fearing the Protoss would find him and hunt him down to send him to his ancestors.

However, after entering the Perseus Arm, he discovered the Protoss harbored no intention of pursuing him, which brought him a measure of relief.

Later, in an effort to stabilize the situation in the Burke’Reck sector, the Protoss expelled a large contingent of nobles from the Burke Empire, most of whom took their servants and private militias with them. This was because the Protoss had no need for these destabilizing elements; they merely confiscated their assets, allowing the nobles to keep their retinue.

The Burke Emperor coveted their manpower. Through subtle, clandestine communication methods, he managed to reassemble them. Then, employing various tactics—coaxing, suppressing, and balancing—he forged them into a fleet, intending to try his luck in the Perseus Arm by seizing a planet to rebuild the Burke Empire.

Initially, the Burke Emperor had no intention of joining the United Fleet. He was preoccupied with his own survival; he sought to evade the Zerg, letting others take the brunt of the storm, so why would he willingly step into the line of fire?

However, precisely because of his precarious situation, he could not refuse the demands of the allied races. The Burke military contribution to the expeditionary force was at the bottom rung; the former glory of the ninth-largest race in the Orion Arm had dimmed considerably.

The Burkes, now, were perilously close to being completely consumed by any minor misstep.

The Burke Emperor was acutely aware that this vulnerability stemmed from their retention of their old foundation: cutting-edge technology commensurate with a ninth-largest Orion Arm power. Races ranked twentieth or thirtieth in the Orion Arm coveted this technology fiercely.

"What are the scan results for that planet?" the Burke Emperor demanded coldly.

He could have enjoyed VIP treatment at the expeditionary force's rear base. But in his view, the fleet under his command was not yet stable enough. He trusted none of the noble private armies, and the true troops loyal to him had been mostly annihilated by the Protoss, with only a few survivors. If he were not personally present to command the fleet, it was highly likely to mutiny.

The suspicious Burke Emperor trusted no one, convinced that only he could truly control this fleet, and that this fleet should only be subject to his authority.

"Your Majesty, the surface of the planet before us shows significant organic matter readings—that should be our target. However..." the Chief of Staff hesitated.

"However, what?" the Burke Emperor snapped severely.

The Chief of Staff broke out in a cold sweat. "However... the numbers show a deviation from the previous intelligence. It seems their surface structures are far fewer. Moreover, the combat unit count is only one or two percent of what the intelligence indicated."

"So few?" The Burke Emperor frowned. "There must be a plot here."

After a moment's thought, the Burke Emperor issued his orders: "Report the situation to the United Fleet Command immediately. The main fleet arrives in one hour. We must make haste. Dispatch several mechanized units to land and probe the planet. Take plenty of remote sensors along."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The Chief of Staff relayed the command, and soon, dozens of landing craft detached from the Burke fleet, flying towards the surface from various directions under the escort of thousands of fighter craft.

The entry into the atmosphere proceeded flawlessly, without any interception.

However, as they descended to low altitude, several clusters of Hydralisks and Banelings suddenly materialized from an unknown location, numbering roughly equal to the Burke fighter complement. They charged directly toward the Burke fighter formation.

The Burke fighters immediately engaged. The two sides quickly became entangled.

The Hydralisks’ Corrosive Bile possessed the ability to rebound and strike again after the initial impact, allowing it to target multiple foes—a significant advantage in mass combat. Pale yellow-green fluid sprayed from their mouths, bombarding the Burke fighters repeatedly.

The speed of these projectiles rivaled that of missiles. Each successful hit triggered an explosion, after which the projectile leaped to a nearby Burke fighter to explode again, repeating this five or six times before dissipating.

Although the Burke fighters were equipped with energy shields, the offensive power of the Corrosive Bile was exceptional. After being struck several times, the shields' energy would deplete rapidly. Soon, many Burke fighters were shot down from the air.

The Banelings’ destructive power was even more potent. A single Baneling ramming into a Burke fighter would invariably breach its shield, blasting the fighter into dust.

The mixed force of Hydralisks and Banelings quickly broke through the Burke fighter defense and reached the inner layer of landing craft. While the landing craft possessed some weaponry, it was far inferior to that of the fighters, leaving them utterly defenseless against the Hydralisks and Banelings.

All they could do was open their hatches and deploy a massive quantity of automated probes, varying in size from basketballs down to mere eggs. Upon exiting the craft, these probes instantly morphed their external appearance and scattered in all directions.

The Hydralisks immediately unleashed Corrosive Bile upon them. However, the sheer number of automated probes was substantial. Although the Hydralisks destroyed the majority, a small fraction managed to slip through.

This aerial engagement lasted about five minutes before concluding. The reconnaissance force dispatched by the Burke Emperor was annihilated. The Hydralisks lost just over eighty units, the Banelings nearly two hundred, while they managed to destroy close to a thousand fighters and dozens of landing craft.

"Damn these despicable low-level creatures!" The Burke Emperor, witnessing his forces being suppressed by an equal number of Zerg air units on his screen, was teetering on the brink of explosion, while simultaneously gripped by anxiety over the current predicament of the Burkes.

The Zerg combat capability far exceeded his expectations. Purely biological entities were easily defeating Burke fighters. Had the Burkes truly degenerated to a point where even "low-level creatures" could bully them?

What he failed to grasp was that the designation "low-level creature" was wholly inapplicable to the Zerg. The technological power condensed within the Zerg far surpassed the current technological level of the Burkes. If a comparison of "low-level" had to be made, it was the Burkes who deserved that title.

"Dispatch the second wave of reconnaissance! Send ten times—no, a hundred times more!" the Burke Emperor roared.

"Your Majesty, the probes that escaped the first wave are sending back signals," the Chief of Staff interjected.

"Quickly, put it on the main screen, I want to see!" The Burke Emperor immediately commanded.