Chapter 244 | Swarm: I Became a Cataclysmic Disaster

“On the Second Pioneering Zone, Cradion, the enemy forces are rapidly collapsing.”

Having already taken root and begun Tuning on the Second Pioneering Zone, Gaia shared the information about the rapidly collapsing resistance forces with the colony.

Countless vast sensory organs and root-grown antennae scouted the expansive land in real time, gathering this information.

In truth, the resistance was already over.

It wouldn't be long before another world was in their grasp.

“Gaia, what is the total mobilizable combat power of the colony?”

Elise instructed Gaia to compile and report all the results she had calculated so far.

At present, Gaia had fully taken root in three worlds—Terra, Cadia, and Cradion—and was actively interfering with the planets' energy flows.

“Interference with planetary energy flows has increased significantly. The total projected resources are expected to increase more than threefold after integrating the Second Pioneering Zone. The harvestable resources have increased by approximately 3.52 times compared to before, with an estimated production unit count of 513,298,468.”

Without stopping, Gaia also provided a more detailed analysis of the three devoured planets.

This included the multi-fold increase in resources and the corresponding multi-fold growth in the colony's total population.

It was an unbelievable rate of growth.

If not for their immense productivity and adaptability, it would have been absolutely impossible to devour an entire planet and harness its energy and nutrients in just a few months.

“Not enough.”

Yet, even after hearing this report, Elise still declared it wasn't enough.

It wasn't just about the holy civilizations they were devouring one by one through their war with the Goddess of Light Association.

The space civilization they had encountered this time was also a fragment of a higher world, one that demanded an extremely high level of resources and technology.

Elise could not simply be satisfied with acquiring technology and preying on targets.

To maximize the utility and efficiency of the absorbed technology and prey data, the colony first had to increase the total amount of energy it absorbed and utilized.

Again?

Lin Miao sensed Elise's ambition and couldn't help but marvel.

They had grown from merely consuming organic matter like ordinary beasts to extracting nutrients from energy sources like magic stones.

At that level alone, they had defeated all competitors in the contested zone of Terra to become its sole rulers.

Not only that, they had also expanded into new worlds, learned to harness a portion of immense planetary energies through Gaia, and mastered the creation of holy power. Even though these plans were already underway, Elise still felt it was insufficient.

True, time isn't unlimited.

Lin Miao glanced at the Divine Net forum.

Now, the Great Devourer had made enemies of not just the Goddess Hestia, but new deities as well.

The one active under the alias “Azure Silver Construct” was one of the Goddess Hestia's allies.

That entity, who had been watching from the sidelines until now, could no longer focus solely on earning money as a mercenary after its own servants suffered direct losses.

A declaration of war against the deities of the Divine Net had already begun.

Both Lin Miao himself and the Great Devourer were like passengers on a train with no brakes.

Though it had always been this way, they would soon be classified as genuine threats to the order of the Divine Net, making the situation even more dire.

They might have to clash with the regular military forces of the Goddess of Light Association's home planet.

They might have to fight proper warships instead of armed merchant vessels.

To survive that, they had to hunger for new food and knowledge even more fiercely and desperately, constantly evolving and growing stronger.

Strong enough that even if they were suppressed by a multitude of deities, they could endure it and suppress them in turn.

【Elise desires more knowledge】

Lin Miao looked at Elise on the screen.

She sat proudly in her palace within the terrarium, commanding the otherworld units through the hive mind as easily as moving her own limbs.

With the help of capable Legion Commanders like Celia, she unleashed her evolutionary greed without restraint, hungering for endless knowledge and food.

To Lin Miao, Elise had always been a trustworthy colony mind from the very moment she awakened as the Queen.

Therefore, I can see things she cannot.

He intended to help his servants in his own way.

The Divine Net and the Divine Net forum were his ultimate sandbox and playground.

Useful information regarding the power structures, alliances, disputed territories, and political situations of the deities practically overflowed there.

[Azure Silver Construct: Is the Iron Arbiter still making a fuss? They're all bark and no bite. I bet they don't even dare to actually start a war.]

From this information, he also learned about a region where his newly discovered deity, the “Azure Silver Construct,” was currently in a dispute with another deity.

As expected of a high-tier deity, the Construct claimed several planets as its domain, commanded countless servants, possessed a massive presence, and was frequently embroiled in conflicts with other deities.

What if I have the Great Devourer attack that disputed territory? That deity is already my enemy anyway. Will their opponent in that conflict take advantage of this, or will they just ignore it?

To test the idea popping up in his mind, Lin Miao continued to observe the deity forum.

[Blazing God of War: Is there really no way to punish that evil god, the Lord of Decay? He actually attacked my Pioneering Zone while I was busy fighting an Outer God!]

[Lord of Judgment: That place is a notoriously disputed territory. Doesn't this sort of thing happen all the time? You should have deployed more defensive forces.]

He quickly found a similar case.

Due to a sudden attack on their territory by an Outer God, a deity had been unable to tend to a contested area, and their competitor had seized the opportunity to conquer and fully annex the region.

Surprisingly, the other deities held the attitude that since the region had been declared a contested zone, whatever happened there was entirely on you, showing complete indifference.