Chapter 201 | Swarm: I Became a Cataclysmic Disaster

“Enemy colony detected.”

Led by Kerrigan, the queen of the migratory colony, with Celia and Lisette attending by her side, the countless armies of the Great Devourer finally began to surround the Beastkin Kingdom.

Elise witnessed all of this from her terrarium, her eyes sparkling.

“Why are there so many?!”

The soldiers of the Beastkin Kingdom gathered at the defensive line to prepare for battle were thrown into utter panic.

Those who had been forcibly conscripted as slave soldiers, along with the beastkin warriors responsible for commanding them, were all shocked by the black tide blanketing the horizon.

Until now, they had only fought against the migratory colony.

Their sworn enemy, the migratory colony, did not rely on overwhelming numbers but instead fought with rapid mobility and individual combat prowess.

Every Great Devourer of the migratory colony—even the ordinary worker ants—had more resources invested in them, possessing larger bodies and harder exoskeletons.

Having grown accustomed to the migratory colony, this was their first time witnessing the basic tactics of the main nest colony forces commanded by Elise: collective warfare relying on overwhelming numbers.

“What did you say? They appeared from the rear?!”

But that was far from all.

Gorzan, the Beastkin King, had already been tense upon hearing reports of the Great Devourer appearing at the front, but his face turned pale at this new piece of information.

The ocean had long since fallen under the control of the Great Devourer. Thanks to long-term scouting missions driven by her desire for exploration, Elise had mapped every corner of this land in her mind. She deployed a massive force across the sea to launch an attack from the rear.

“H-How is this possible? That area is clearly an inland sea surrounded by land! There's no way they could have penetrated from the east, where there are no roads!”

A human official, who was far more familiar with the local geography than the beastkin who had migrated in from the outside, broke out in a cold sweat.

Even if the Great Devourer could cross that vast ocean, it should have taken time to reach the territory of the Beastkin Kingdom.

Yet now, the Great Devourer had instantly closed the distance, closing in on what could be considered the vital heart of the Beastkin Kingdom.

【Elise is satisfied with the rapid work speed】

‘They actually dug a canal...’

The secret lay in the Great Devourer's specialty—large-scale civil engineering.

Just as Lin Miao watched in dumbfounded awe, the hastily deployed Great Devourers had carved a path through the sea, allowing their forces to be instantly funneled into the landlocked sea.

Based on the results of aerial scouting, tens of thousands of Great Devourers—both worker ants and mutants—swarmed forward. They used their mandibles to shatter rocks and excavate soil, working in the areas where construction could be completed the fastest.

When Lictor units were mobilized and cast their magic, a low mountain collapsed and vanished within a single day.

Tyrant units also used their psionic energy to deploy protective barriers, enabling underwater operations. They, too, were mobilized to clear a path on the seabed wide enough for even the colossal Leviathans to pass through.

“M-Monsters! The monsters are pouring in from the sea!”

The Leviathans entered the inland sea through the newly carved channel.

Once they established a foothold there, the small kingdoms that had surrendered to and cooperated with the beastkin would fall first, and then it would be the Beastkin Kingdom's turn.

However, these small kingdoms had absolutely no power to block the Great Devourer forces pouring into the sea like a tide.

The Leviathans' carapaces opened, and flying species swarmed out, blotting out the sun.

Countless ground forces crawled out of their gaping maws and landed on the shore, launching indiscriminate attacks on any enemies within sight.

“Their defenses aren't much to look at,” Celia muttered softly as she confirmed the shared information.

With the rear now also harassed, time was firmly on the Great Devourer's side.

Compared to the Elven Empire they had fought before, which had managed to hold its ground to some extent, the contrast now was incredibly stark.

The defensive line that the grassland beastkin had whipped their slaves to construct with so much effort appeared pathetic and fragile before the Great Devourer, which had grown to its current scale.

“Ah...”

Lisette watched as the Spore Beast beside her emitted gas. At the same time, its carapace split open, and its massive spinal column was raised like a cannon barrel.

They had crushed the elves and absorbed their technology.

The most representative of this was none other than the Great Devourer's biological artillery, the Disintegration Cannon.

Immense energy began to concentrate toward the Disintegration Cannon.

The Spore Beast used its massive body to channel the majority of its magic heart's output.

However, this energy was only used to activate the cannon; the projectile utilized a different source of power.

A bombardier ant curled into a ball and crawled inside the cannon. Once it positioned its volatile magic heart, it fused completely with the weapon.

“W-What is that?”

The soldiers of the Beastkin Kingdom could only watch from afar, their eyes filled with dread.

They had no idea what a Disintegration Cannon even was.

Even if they did, they had no way to intercept or stop it.

“Brothers! With fire and blood, we shall engrave our deeds upon this land! We will never run! We will fight until the last banner falls! Even if we die, we shall never let go of our blades!”

Just then, a beastkin Great Warrior roared with a tragic, solemn expression to rally his subordinates.

It was a passionate speech, meant for the upcoming battle which he firmly believed would be a magnificent and fierce struggle.

“Fire!”

But at that exact moment, following Elise's command, the fully charged Disintegration Cannons simultaneously unleashed their immense gathered energy.

Though it was merely a budget biological adaptation of the Prism Cannon modified by the Great Devourer in its own way, its power was more than sufficient.

“What...”

Most people were left speechless in the face of the firing light cannons.

Their meticulously prepared defensive magic and the protective barriers around their bodies were completely meaningless; before they could even scream, they were vaporized in the pouring torrent of intense energy.

It was the same for those who had received divine protection to become Great Warriors.

This was not firepower that could be withstood by mere flesh and blood alone.

Those who took a direct hit, regardless of their status or origin, died instantly and vanished completely in a show of brutal equality.

“My leg!”

Even so, those who died instantly from a direct hit were actually the lucky ones.

Those who fell outside the direct path of the bombardment but were caught in the shockwave shrieked in unison, collapsing to the ground in pools of blood.

Some shrieked in agony as parts of their bodies were pulverized by the impact.

Others, whose bodies could not withstand the sheer pressure, collapsed with blood flowing from their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths.

With just a single strike, the defensive line collapsed.

【Kerrigan complains that this is too boring】

【Elise snorts at this, believing that this is what true war is】

There was no fierce, bloody battle, no tragic struggle, and no grand duel.

The Beastkin Kingdom was completely shattered under a single bombardment from the Great Devourer's Disintegration Cannons, leaving behind nothing but indiscriminate slaughter and carnage.

While Kerrigan was dissatisfied with the lack of the battle she had anticipated, she charged forward along with the ground forces as they began their full-scale assault.