153: Chapter 153 Collapse of Faith and Assimilation by the Swarm
That hair-raising sound of chewing became the only symphony atop the ruins of this Divine Domain.
It emanated from every corner of the battlefield—dense, continuous, and converging into a wave of terror that made the Soul tremble.
It was the rustling sound of countless mouthparts tearing through metal, crushing bone, and swallowing flesh.
It was the gluttonous feast of the Zerg Swarm.
As the main force of the Thunderstorm Legion was completely wiped out, the mental defenses of the remaining ten million ordinary Orc believers within the Divine Domain utterly collapsed.
They huddled in the corners of destroyed tribes, hid behind collapsed stone houses, and stared blankly at everything outside through the cracks in the ruins.
The ground was covered with the severed limbs and broken arms of their former compatriots.
Hideous, terrifying alien monsters patrolled indifferently through the mountain of corpses and sea of blood, dragging bodies into the shadows to become part of that horrific soundwave.
The light in their eyes flickered out, bit by bit.
Their god had lost.
He lost so quickly and so thoroughly that not even a complete corpse remained.
"Oh God... why... why won't you save us..."
An elderly Orc Priest knelt on the ground, turbid tears streaming down his wrinkled face, his voice hoarse and desperate.
His cries ignited the last remaining embers of "hope" in the survivors' hearts, only to burn them completely to ash.
Countless suppressed sobs converged into a torrent, circling above the deathly silent ruins.
Just as this despair was about to consume everything, a beam of light pierced through the shadows in the sky.
Lumina took action.
The former Saintess of Light, revered by countless beings and now the Zerg Dominator of Light, floated high in the sky with a holy posture.
She spread her arms, appearing like a savior descending upon the world.
Countless ripples of soft light cascaded from her body, covering the entire land.
This light was not searing; instead, it carried a warmth that seeped into the very marrow of one's bones.
It smoothed the muscles of the survivors that were tight with fear, dissipated the scent of blood and char lingering in the air, and even brought a powerful, irresistible comfort on a mental level.
"Lost lambs, the old god is dead."
Lumina's voice did not travel through air vibrations but echoed directly in the depths of every Orc's mind.
That voice was majestic and grand, yet it carried a hint of Soul-bewitching mercy.
"Submit to the great Dominator, and you shall receive new life."
"Resistance is eternal destruction."
The extreme terror, combined with the soothing of these supernatural light waves, formed a violent mental impact.
Under this dual influence, the psychological defenses of the surviving Orcs were easily crushed.
They looked up at the sky, at that holy source of light, and then at the Zerg Swarm on the ground, which no longer seemed so terrifying under the radiance.
"Clang."
The first weapon fell to the ground.
Then came the second, and the third.
"We... we surrender!"
"We are willing to submit!"
Vast swathes of Orcs knelt to the ground like wheat being harvested.
They abandoned all resistance and offered their loyalty toward the massive Leviathan Mothership in the sky—the biological warship carrying the new Dominator.
Upon his throne, Su Chen looked down at this spectacular scene of worship through the Zerg Swarm's visual network.
A cold arc curled at the corner of his mouth.
Surrender?
What a cheap word.
"Very well."
His voice whispered within the bridge, carrying a hint of amusement.
"Since you have surrendered, then accept the gift of the Zerg Swarm."
His will was transmitted through the mental network.
He tapped his finger lightly on the armrest.
The command was instantly delivered to every corner of the battlefield.
Beneath the feet of the Orcs who had just been soothed by the light, the ground began to squirm slightly.
Dirt and gravel were pushed aside as fat, bloated creatures, shaped like giant brains stripped of their skulls, wriggled out one after another.
Infection Bugs.
Their slimy skin was covered in ravines and folds, emitting a faint, fishy-sweet scent.
They silently approached the Orcs who were kneeling in surrender, still bathed in the "Holy Light."
There was no warning.
There was no hesitation.
The backs of the Infection Bugs split open, and sharp bone spikes shimmering with an eerie green luster suddenly popped out!
Puchi—!
The bone spikes were incredibly precise, stabbing ruthlessly into the Orcs' cervical spines!
"Ah—!!!"
A brief and shrill scream erupted from the first Orc to be stabbed.
But the companions around him were still immersed in the false serenity created by Lumina, failing to even notice the movement behind them.
The Orc's scream came to an abrupt halt.
His body twitched violently, and the remaining reason and fear in his eyes were instantly drained, losing all focus.
Just one second later, an eerie, fanatical crimson refilled his eye sockets.
He slowly stood up, his movements stiff yet possessing an inhuman coordination.
He turned around to face the Infection Bug that had just modified him, and then, he bowed his head deeply.
In his field of vision—or rather, in his new cognitive network—cold streams of data were rapidly refreshing.
[Neural parasite injection successful!]
[Target cognitive network rewrite complete!]
[Congratulations, you have obtained unit: Infected Orc Miner x 1!]
[Congratulations, you have obtained unit: Infected Orc Miner x 1!]
...
The same scene played out simultaneously in every corner of the Divine Domain ruins.
The intermittent short screams were soon completely drowned out.
In just a few short hours.
The foundation of believers MacDonald had cultivated for thousands of years—over twelve million survivors—was entirely assimilated by the Zerg Swarm.
They were no longer Orcs.
They became infected biological tools that obeyed only Su Chen.
Within the final barrier of the temple.
MacDonald witnessed this hellish scene with his own eyes.
He watched his believers—the subjects who had once piously prayed to him and provided him with Power Of Faith—turn into walking corpses with fanatical eyes and unified movements.
He could feel the last threads of faith connecting him to his believers being crudely snipped away, one by one.
Faith was completely severed.
Divine Power withered along with it.
"No... no!!!"
MacDonald let out a beast-like roar as golden divine blood flowed from his seven orifices.
"What are you doing! You demon!! You... monster!!!"
He completely broke down.
He knew he no longer had any chance of turning the tables.
Death was already certain.
But even in death, he could never let this demon, who profaned the gods and toyed with life, remain unscathed!
"I'm taking you down with me!!"
MacDonald let out the most shrill and venomous roar of his life.
He made his final decision.
Incinerate the Godhead!
Boom—!
The Godhead within him, which carried all his power and insights into the Laws, shattered with a bang, turning into the most violent and primitive lightning Origin.
His body disintegrated in an instant and reassembled in another.
Flesh, bone, Soul—everything—transformed into a bolt of lightning so blinding it reached the extreme!
Within that bolt of lightning, his frenzied humanoid silhouette could faintly be seen, his hand tightly clutching the lower divine artifact, the "Thunder God's Spear."
The tip of the spear flickered with destructive arcs of electricity capable of tearing through space.
That was a demigod igniting everything he had to deliver a final, desperate strike!
Its power was enough to pierce through stars!
In the next instant, this bolt of lightning, carrying endless rage and the will to destroy, locked onto the Leviathan Mothership in the sky, locked onto Su Chen on the throne, and charged up frantically!