40: Chapter 40: Assembling the Sickle Cockroach Army and the Surprise Attack Plan

While waiting for Sarah to locate the ratmen lair, Su Chen was not idle.

His Overmind will was like an invisible, vast net enveloping the entire Divine Domain. Part of his consciousness followed that ghost-like special ops team, navigating through the deep and winding underground tunnels, while another part sank into the core of the Hive, handling another, more urgent matter.

The overall relocation of the Gray Dwarves tribe was not yet complete, but the efficiency-first Drone forces had already executed the highest-priority command.

The first batch of meticulously selected, high-quality 'premium obsidian' had been transported back to the Divine Domain overnight by them.

In the central plaza of the Divine Domain, the warm creep used for incubating Zerg eggs had temporarily receded to both sides, revealing the solid bedrock ground. At this moment, a small mountain piled from pure black ore rose from the earth, reflecting a cold, hard, and unusual luster under the faint bioluminescent glow emanating from the edges of the creep.

These ores were pitch-black throughout, yet their surfaces were not rough like rock; instead, they possessed a texture almost as fine as metal.

Su Chen's will manifested as an invisible hand, plucking a sharply angular sample from the ore mountain.

The ore hovered in mid-air.

His fingertip lightly traced across the sharp fracture surface, and a bone-chilling cold sensation transmitted back through the mental link. This was not a coldness of temperature, but a pure physical property capable of annihilating energy.

'Obsidian, extremely high on the Mohs scale, and inherently possessing magic-piercing properties.'

Su Chen's consciousness analyzed the essence of this ore. He could 'see' that the crystalline structure within the ore was incredibly dense. Any form of energy wave, upon contacting its surface, would be rapidly absorbed, guided, and then fall into silence.

Perfect physical defense material, and simultaneously the best nemesis for energy shields.

'Perfect.'

'The current Zerg Swarm lacks a high-mobility, armor-piercing assault unit capable of tearing through enemy fortified lines.'

Su Chen's thoughts operated at high speed, countless genetic sequences flowing through the ocean of his consciousness.

His will sank into the gene bank, that vast sea of stars composed of countless glowing genetic chains. He bypassed those high-tier, complex templates, instead precisely retrieving from it a low-tier blueprint long ago marked as 'obsolete.'

'Roach.'

In the original game setting, this was a bloated creature. Its purpose for existence was to act as a meat shield, relying on powerful regenerative abilities to absorb damage and attack by spewing corrosive acid. However, with short range and low burst damage, it had long fallen out of step with Su Chen's current pace of warfare.

Yet, within its genetic foundation, it contained unparalleled life resilience.

This was the cornerstone Su Chen needed.

'System, initiate gene editing!'

The icy command echoed within the Hive core.

'Command confirmed. Opening gene editing sequence.'

'Step one, remove the [Acid Gland] module. This biological structure is redundant; eliminate it.'

Su Chen's will became the sharpest scalpel, precisely slicing across the genetic chain representing the Roach. The fragment responsible for generating the acid gland instantly disintegrated, dissipating into useless pheromones.

'Step two, load the new gene module — [Obsidian Bone Fusion]!'

A new genetic sequence flickering with a somber glow was forcibly injected into the main stem of the Roach's genes. It spread rapidly like a virus, entangling, fusing, and recombining with the original bone generation code.

'Step three, restructure the forelimb anatomy!'

The most perfect form of killing took shape in Su Chen's mind.

'Use the mantis predatory sickle-limb as the base template, reinforce the structure. Increase bone density by three hundred percent, extend length to two meters, sharpen the terminal structure to form physical slashing sickles!'

'Step four, targeting the exoskeleton armor, fully refit with [Obsidian Composite Armor]!'

*Hum—!*

The very foundations of the Hive emitted a dull roar due to this intense genetic modification.

The base of that obsidian ore mountain located in the Divine Domain plaza began to melt. Massive amounts of ore were devoured by the creep, transformed into the purest dark matter elemental particles, and continuously injected through countless thick biological conduits into the evolution chamber deep within the Hive.

The Hive's undulations became violent, emitting crisp cracking sounds as if a giant beast were crushing bones.

Three hours later.

The Hive's vibrations gradually subsided.

Deep within the Hatchery, in a newly opened area.

*Squelch! Squelch!*

Five hundred pitch-black eggs, with a metallic sheen on their surfaces, shattered almost simultaneously.

The manner of shattering was not the usual explosion, but rather cracking open from within like crystals forming fissures, then collapsing into a pile of fragments.

This time, what emerged from the eggs were no longer those bloated, clumsy, slow-moving meat shields.

Their body shapes had been completely remolded.

Streamlined black bodies brimmed with a sense of power, surfaces covered in layers of mirror-smooth obsidian carapace that perfectly absorbed all light, leaving only a pure black silhouette.

The originally short, clumsy forelimbs had completely evolved into two massive black sickles emanating a bone-chilling cold light. The sickles were almost as long as their bodies, edges glinting with sharp, cold radiance. Just the gentle swings from their post-birth adaptive movements sliced through the surrounding air, emitting hissing shrieks.

A cold, pure killing will spread from these five hundred newborn units.

*Ding! New unit strain successfully modified!*

The icy system prompt sounded in Su Chen's mind.

[Name]: Obsidian Scythe Roach (Assault Type)

[Tier]: Tier 3 (Elite)

[Trait 1]: Rapid Assault (Movement speed increases by 200% during burst charge state)

[Trait 2]: Limb Regeneration (Obsidian bones possess memory activity. As long as the cephalic nerve center is not destroyed, any severed limb can be regenerated within ten seconds by consuming bio-energy)

[Trait 3]: Armor-Piercing Blades (Sickles composed of high-density obsidian ignore 50% of the target's physical defense. Possess annihilation properties against energy shield-type defenses, causing additional damage)

'Handsome!'

Su Chen's consciousness descended above the Hatchery, looking down upon the five hundred sharpening-their-sickles, violence-aesthetic black reapers below.

'This is what you call a real killing machine!'

A sense of satisfaction, akin to an artist appreciating their work, rose within him, originating from his role as the creator.

This unit strain was the perfect creation born to breach all defensive lines, born for blitzkrieg.

Right at this moment.

Another mental fluctuation connected to Su Chen's Overmind network. It was the Cerebrate Zaz, responsible for intelligence coordination.

'Overmind, a message from Sarah has arrived from the front lines. She has successfully pinpointed the precise coordinates of the 'Plague Walker' Divine Domain by tracking the fleeing trails of the ratmen scouts.'

'It is only four hundred kilometers from our current coordinates.'

'Excellent.'

Su Chen's will instantly detached from the satisfaction of creation, switching to the absolute calm of a wartime state.

Without any superfluous words, he directly connected his mental network to the Heavy Legion deployed and on standby at the periphery of the Divine Domain.

'Heavy Legion Commander!'

'Here!'

A low roar exploded in the mental link. It was a Ultralisk with a mountainous physique, its thick carapace covered inferocious bone spikes, each breath causing the ground to tremble slightly.

'Take these five hundred new toys, immediately proceed through the main underground passageway to support Sarah.'

Su Chen's consciousness looked far towards the southeast direction, his gaze cold as a blade.

'Tonight, I will use the blood of that false god, the 'Plague Walker,' to consecrate the banner of my Scythe Legion!'

His voice reverberated throughout the entire Zerg Swarm network, devoid of any emotion, carrying only the indisputable final verdict.

'Since we've become neighbors, don't blame me for wiping you out completely.'

'All forces, attack! Blitzkrieg, begin!'