Yes, the new chapter is here!
There was a bit of snag with writer's block, but I got past it. However, this chapter is a lot less dramatic than I had in my head several months ago.
By the next chapter, however, we will finish off the Chaos, and then it's time to spread out into the galaxy at large.
Chapter 38
Finally, the rage and battle-lust of the Warboss boiled over beyond his fear of rebellion within the Stompa. Perhaps that was instigated by Nobz all leaving the Stompa to fight the Reavers. One of the Reavers, that had charged aheav and got itself surrounded by Nobz and Orks and Looted Tanks, was the target of the great Warboss. Two Mega Armored Nobz were smashing the shield with their Power Klaws and three Nobz were using 'Uge Hammers and Chian Axes while two Shoota Nobz were firing their Big Shootas at the Reaver. Not only that, two Looted Tanks were firing their cannons at the Hybrid. Although the Reaver's shield was formidable, it was not endless. The Reaver had already killed a Mega Armored Nob, two Nobz and eleven Slugga Boyz and one very unfortunate Gretchen that got stomped. All this fighting had almost depleted the Reaver's shield, and constantly struck by the Ork elites, the Reaver was angry.
Lashing out with rage, the Reaver skewered a Nob with its claw then flung the dead Ork crashing into the two Shoota Nobz who were knocked down by from having an Ork Nob's body of several hundred kilograms flying into them at high speed. Then, just as a Power Klaw of a Mega Armored Nob drained the last vestige of the Reaver's shield, the Reaver did a shoulder charge at that Nob before tearing the exposed head of the Nob out from its armored body. At the same time, the tentacles on the back of the Reaver's head shot out and pierced another Nob's eyes and nose, and tore through the brain. From looking at this, the Reaver was truly a mighty creature, even considering that these Orks were still far more primitive than their space-faring cousins.
It was at this moment that the great Ork joined in. Using the 'tellyporta' he was carrying, the Warboss appeared right in front of my Reaver. Now, the Reaver was a mighty creature reaching nearly 6m in height but the Warboss was mightier. The years of war against my Swarm as well as the constant battles for dominance against Orks that challenged his rule had made Bugklaw one big fucking Ork. Though his slouched form was only 5m in height, he would rise to nearly 6m when he stood up straight. In fact, he was so large that I really wondered how the Ork 'teknologee' had managed to squeeze the Warboss and the Nobz into the Stompa, which was wide but not really that tall enough to fit them in. Not only was the Warboss large and mighty in stature, he was clad from head to toe in scavenged Zerg body-parts. He was wearing a helmet made up of an Ultralisk's face studded with metal plates and sharp metal spikes. His Power Klaw was fitted with talons of hydralisks while his arms were covered in crude armor-sleeves made from Roches carapace bits. His elbows and knees were capped with grim skulls of Zerglings and his metal boots were studded with teeth of my Zerg units.
The moment after the great Warboss appeared, he swung his Power Klaw at the chest of the Hybrid Reaver. Normally, even a strike from a Power Klaw would do only a limited damage to the Reaver's chest protected by thick and hard carapace. This was evidenced by the attack of the last Mega Armored Nob that had surrounded this Reaver. The Nob's Power Klaw was strong but was not powerful enough to pierce beyond the outer most layer of the honey-comb structured carapace. The Warboss, however, was armed with a Power Klaw whose 'Klaw' part was the deadly talons of Hydralisks. Unwittingly, the Mekboyz had struck whole talons to the Power Klaw and stuck wires to them. Empowered by the Power Weapons technology of the Orks and affected by the shattered shards of the Khaydarin crystals at the base of the Hydralisk talons, the 'Klaw' became weapons capable of tearing through great thickness of heavy armor. Warboss's Power Klaw tore through the carapace with surprising ease and dark Hybrid blood gushed from the wound.
The Reaver roared in pain and by the blinding rage instilled within the creature by me. Yet, the assault of the Warboss was not over. Raising his double-barreled Dakkagun, he fired an entire clip into the gaping wound of the Reaver. The Reaver was still very much alive though. Two creature struck back at the Warboss but the Warboss blocked the attack with his Power Klaw and proceeded to grab an axe from his back and drove the blade of the axe into the Reaver's right shoulder. Then just as the Reaver stumbled, the Power Klaw did an uppercut, striking the Reaver's jaw with its crackling Klaws. The Reaver's jaw-bones cracked and crushed against the powerful for he Warboss's weapon. With a victorious roar, the Warboss pulled the Power Klaw back from where it was stuck in the Reaver's head, tearing out the Reaver's jaw before pusing his Dakkagun up at the Reaver's skull from underneath and pressing the trigger, and he let out a great roar of pleasure.
In that moment of triumphant shout, the Orks gained a temporary upper hand. They felt the immense psychic weight of the Waaagh! within their meager little souls, and they, uplifted by the exhilarating feeling of the Waaagh!, suddenly renewed their attacks with much greater vigor.
"Kill all da bugz!"
"It's time ta kill!"
"Waaagh!"
A Nob swung his 'Uge Hammer at the attacking Hydralisk, ignoring the searing pain of having a half dozen spines buried in his belly. The jagged metal bits protruding from the hammer pierced the Hydralisk carapace, not because they were sharp or encased in disruption field but because the Ork swung the hammer with such force that the carapace was simply torn through. Then, the Nob lifted up his hammer and swung down, finishing off the Hydralisk.
Next to the Nob killing the Hydralisk were three Slugga Boyz also fighting it out with another Hydralisk. One Slugga Boy fired his crude pistol at the Hydralisk just as the Zerg creature tore open a Slugga Boy with its talons. The third Boy had taken this opening, and he jumped the Hydralisk, slamming his crude but effective Choppa into the base of the Hydralisk's neck. Then as the Hydralisk roared in pain and raised its torso, the first Slugga Boy charged in and slammed a chain-choppa into the softer part just below the thick rib-cages The Hydralisk died, still screeching and roaring.
It was not just the Hydralisks that were suffering the renewed attack from the Orks. A Beetle, a variant of Roach with superior defensive carapace, had found itself surrounded by a Nob and a Mega Armored Nob. Though the Mega Armored Nob was separated from his original group and was somewhat wounded in battles against Hybrid Reavers, it was still a deadly and potent opponent. Just as the Nob slammed down his Big Choppa (Chain Axe variety), and as the whirring teeth of the Big Choppa broke the Beetle's axe-like talons, the Mega Armored Nob struck. The Mega Armored Nob was armed with a twin-barrel Big Shoota and a Power Klaw. The sheer firing rate of the Big Shoota burst through the thick and hard carapace protecting the Beetle's head, killing it.
The . roared in gleeful joy of the kill, and proceeded to kill some more of the 'Bugz'. He turned around and sprayed the area with his bullets, and while the terrible accuracy of the gun and the aim, the bullets showered three Zerglings along with a Shoota Boy. They all died in that hail of Ork bullets that simply did not care that an Ork died along with the Zerglings. The M. was just happy that it killed some more. Once he was done firing his gun, he swiftly turned around and reached forth with his Power Klaw. His deadly melee weapon managed to grab the head of a Hydralisk about to strike down at the Nob that helped M. kill the Beetle. The Nob had been busy pounding on another Roach, and did not see the Hydralisk coming up behind him. The M. roared in murderous psychotic chuckles as he pressed his Power Klaw into action. The pistons pushed and disruption field crackled between the deadly but crude claws of the weapon, and within a second, the head of the Hydralisk was crushed into tiny pieces.
"I want some more killing! Waaagh!"
The M. 's luck did not last. With a matching roar, an Ultralisk had charged him. The sharp point of a Kaiser blade struck the M. 's gun arm, and the other Kaiser Blade came down hard. Being a creature of combat, the M. managed to catch the Kaiser Blade with his Power Klaw, and the fight between the Psi Blade encasing the Kaiser Blade and the disruption field of the Power Klaw struggled against each other in a deadly duel. Then just as the M. threw back the Kaiser Blade, a Baneling shot out from the ground in front of him and collided into the Ork. With his gun arm out of commission, the big Ork could not shoot it down before it exploded right at his chest. Though formidable, the M. 's armor was not infallible. Acid quickly ate through most of the chest armor, leaving him vulnerable, just as the Ultralisk delivered another blow, this time cutting deep into the chest.
Yet, this was the time for the Orks. The Ultralisk was already beset when it killed that M. . A Loota with Beamy Deffgun, a Shoota Nob, two Shoota Boyz, a Killa Kan with a pincer and buzz-saw, had found their target in the Ultralisk. The Killa Kan had a Gretchen sitting on top firing rokkits. The Gretchen have had placed spare rokkits around the top of the Killa Kan like a crown, but now the small creature was down to his last two rokkits. The Loota made the first strike, causing a deep burning scar on the large head armor that protected the most of the giant Zerg creature. Despite being only a glancing hit, the attack gave other Orks chance to attack. While the Ultralisk was busy stomping three Slugga Boyz around its feet, the Shoota Boyz and the Shoota Nob fired their crude Ork guns at the Ultralisk. The three Orks had been armed with not the general Shoota but the Big Shootas, allowing greater damage to the Ultralisk, enough to make the giant Zerg creature to roar in pain.
The Gretchen tied to the top of the Killa Kan fired a rokkit, which struck the Ultralisk's side, and it was lucky enough and powerful enough to make the creature bleed. Then the Killa Kan itself got into the hacking and slashing. Approaching the Ultralisk, the Killa Kan thrust its buzz-saw into the small gaping made by the rokkit. The whirring of the circular buzz-saw widened the wound and shredded the internal organs of the Ultralisk. Then, with a delighted glee, the Killa Kan plunged its pincer into the wound, grabbing and pulling anything it touched. The Ultralisk was in pain, and it showed that pain by sweeping its deadly Kaiser Blade through a Nob, a Slugga Boy, a Shoota Boy and two 'Ard Boyz and their thick metal shields. Yet, the attackers were relentless. Another shot from the Loota tore through the ligament to one of the Kaiser Blades, and the Shoota Nob dared to come closer and sprayed bullets at the Ultralisk's head.
It was not that the Zerg stopped responding. The two Shoota Boyz with Big Shootas who were firing their guns at the Ultralisk were forced to change target by the time the Killa Kan fired a rokkit. Four Zerglings and three Banelings had found the Shoota Boyz, and they had to quickly lay down heavy field of fire to kill them. Two Banelings and a Zergling had died in that storm of Ork bullets, but one surviving Baneling struck home, and killed a Shoota Boy. The other Shoota Boy was about to be overwhelmed when a Stormboy Nob landed on top of the first Zergling followed by his dozen-strong mob of Stormboyz. Stormboyz, being strong in discipline and tactical thinking compared to other Orks, often fought in tight packs. These were no different, even under the dictatorial rule of the Warboss Bugklaw. The Stormboy Nob easily crushed the Zerglings, and then led his Boyz into a frenzied killed spree against a small horde of Zerglings and Roaches that formed against a smaller group of Slugga Boys formed behind a ruined husk of a Looted Tank. Even as the Zerglings and Roaches crawled all over the destroyed Looted Tank to overwhelm the Slugga Boyz, the Stormboyz swept in with their deadly weapons.
Though formidable as the Warboss had been, the battle might have turned to Ork's favor with the Reaver killed by the hands of their Warboss. Unfortunately, not all battles could be turned around so easily. There still so many Reavers remaining on the field as well as the Hybrid Destroyers continuing to blast Orks apart with their psionic pulses from behind the wall of Hydralisks and Roaches.
"Im not dona wit ya yet! Waaagh!"
WAAAGH!
The roar of the Warboss rallied the Orks once more. Still thousands of Ork bikers were roaming the outer endges of the battlefield chased by Zerglings and Mutalisks, while scores of Fighta Bommas and Fightas were dog-fighting against the Zerg air units. Then there were tens of thousands of Ork Boyz blindly charging into the battle against equally numerous Zerg units. In battles like this, not even a company of Space Marines would have survived since they heavily relied on their strategies, tactics and might of their super-human bodies, not massive numbers fighting a brutal close-quarter melee. Perhaps, Khorne Berserkers would find satisfaction in battles such as this.
~Well now... the Stompa seems unattended... Begin!~
At my command, the Hybrid Destroyers stopped their attacks and formed a circle, where they began to pour in their psionic energy into a single ball.
"Wot's dat lite? O! U bugz planning sumfink! I think not! Attack boyz! Waaagh!"
Yet, it was too late for the Warboss. The psionic ball exploded into a truly stupendous Mass Recall, forming about a hundred meters above the Stompa. The Mass Recall did not summon a swarm of fliers or a huge horde of Banelings that would fall like deadly acid rain. It did summon one unique creature. It summoned the Host.
I really didn't know what else to name the creature. It was an avatar of me, but the name had already been taken by the Eldar and their Avatar of Khaine. Besides, it was not a daemonic creature. It was highly physical, and although it had so much psionic power, it was an empty vessel. I had inhabit it to make it work, and it was different from any other Zerg creatures I had possessed before. It really felt like my body. For the first time in years, I could actually feel my limbs. I could actually smell the air, as foul as it was at that moment.
I floated there, held in the air by sheer willpower of the Overmind. I was massive. Standing at 8 meters in full height, I was bigger than Dreadnoughts or even Hive Tyrants of the Tyranids. I was mostly humanoid in shape, with two legs and two primary arms. I did have some extra limbs though. I actually thought I looked very much a mix of Evangelion Unit 1 in berserk mode and one of those Gundam robots with wings. I did have wings, but they were not really for flying. The wings were shaped like three Hydralisk arms stacked upon each other with feathers coming out of them in loose formation, with the 'feathers' being enlarged versions of Ultralisk Kaiser Blades. Overall, one of my wings contained 12 Kaiser Blades set upon triple jointed frame. Each of the Kaiser Blade had their own Khaydarin Crystal, thus making them crackle with deadly disruptive energy. With this alone, I could grind the Ork army into mushroom mince, but I had other weapons on me.
My primary arms were mostly human, with little more claws on the ends of the fingers and talon protruding from my forearms like that of the Batman's suit. These arms were incredibly powerful, and the claws were Warp Blades too. From the palms of these hands were same sort of explosive Phase Disruptor as the Protoss Immortals' weapons, though magnified many times. Each wave of my hands could theoretically obliterate a super heavy tanks like Baneblades. Supporting this primary arms were two sets of lesser arms. One pair was under the primary arms, and they were fitted with smaller versions of Acid Hurricanes, the anti-infantry weapon. Obviously, my body's design did have similarity with my bio-titans, particularly in the modulation of weapons. The second set of extra arms were hidden behind the base of my neck. Normally folded in a nice fashion, each of the arms was a single very long talon. Unfolded, it could reach up to 10 meters, and being multi-jointed in nature, it could strike from any angles.
It was not just the weapons that made my body stand out. It was defense, which was also formidable. Using the lessons I had learned in designing my bio-titans, and factoring in the massive psionic reserves within the body, I had two layers of shield. The first shield was the Hardened Shield, which was not much different from my bio-titans. The second layer of shield was formed around the honey-comb shaped carapace pieces. Each piece of that biological armor had Protoss shield, so in the event of my Hardened Shield failing and enemies striking me with a deadly attack, I would still have a shield that could protect me before my enemies could get to my armor.
All these physical attributes, however, was meaningless to the psionic abilities that my body contained. The fact was that as the Overmind, I could actually use every kind of psionic attack that the Swarm could use. I could just as easily send forth a Psionic Storm or cast Force Field of Protoss Sentry, or use Fungal Growth or Corrupt. I could even create the Vortex of Protoss Mothership. I also had enough to energy to cast scores of such abilities before needing a break. Also, my body was designed to spawn and maintain large number of Larvae, which means that I could easily spawn a swarm of Mutalisks to harass the fleeing enemy, or a cadre of Ultralisks to be my meat-shields.
I decided to use an ability before destroying that Stompa. I collected some psionic energy and cast the Mass Recall, though now I targeted the large pool of units I had prepared back near the Primary Hive Cluster. Suddenly there were nearly a thousand Zerg ground units floating in the air around me. This is the kind of power I wielded in this body. Even a score of Ultralisks were thrashing about in the air. Chuckling, I rained them down upon the Orks. A single Zergling could do very little damage to a Looted Tank, but if that lone Zergling was shot at the Looted Tank at the speed of a bullet, then it becomes a different sort of game. The tank nearly rolled over when the Zergling splattered on its side, causing such impact as to make huge dent. Flying Roaches and their variants were much more effective against the Orks and their vehicles, while Hydralisks were fired like arrows or javelins, and their large body was quite good against the Ork Bikers. I deliberately fired Ultralisks at the Stompa, and the body of Ultralisks being fired at such high speed had caused rather intense damage to the Stompa. Dents appeared all over the Stompa and it was now covered in leftover bits of Ultralisks. Banelings were also fired, and they caused massive damaged to infantry, both of the Orks and of my Swarm. Acid did not care who they were dissolving.
Just as the Stompa slowly moved to seek out the assailing enemy, I descended upon it. My weight was immense due to my size and the density of my cells, and my body crashing down upon its head was a devastating attack. The head of the Stompa crumbled instantly, and I think I killed several dozen Gretchens that ran the head part. I could see that the Warboss Bugklaw turning to see what was all that noise, and I smiled as I saw intense rage appearing in his face. I was going to destroy the Stompa but I wanted to enrage the Big Ork a little more. Still standing on the flattened ruin of the Stompa's ugly head, I reached down with my hands and fired up a Psionic Storm inside the Stompa. The whole thing shook as if it was in the middle of a massive earthquake. From the broken cracks of the Stompa's body, bits of cyan-colored lightning bolts excused themselves after devouring several hundred Gretchens and any remaining Orks inside. Once I was satisfied that nothing inside the Stompa was alive, I proceeded to destroy the body. Bugklaw wanted to stop me, but I redirected the Hybrids to hinder the Great Ork.
He raged in furious and destructive anger while I pulled apart the Stompa piece by piece. My claws were powerful enough to rip through the Stompa's armor and pull out large chunks of the crude machine. Also, each time my hand punched through the armor of the machine, my palm let out the Phase Disruptor of the Protoss Immortals at about ten times the scale. Thus, with each strike, the internals of the Stompa became more and more ruined. Eventually, parts of the Stompa began to collapse under its own weight as the internal support beams were broken asunder. As I destroyed the Stompa, I could literally hear the incredible roar of Bugklaw as he slew four more Hybrids to get to where I am. His assault had been devastating, and with the loss of three Reavers and a Destroyer, my Zergs lost the momentum of attack and were pushed back. In that moment, the Warboss broke through the barricade of Zerg units, and ran straight to me, followed by a dozen Nobs and M. .
I was rather satisfied that Bugklaw's large Nob mob was now reduced to this, and I jumped down from the husk of the destroyed Stompa to face the Warboss myself. Being taller than him by far, I could look down on him and gain a tactical advantage. As Bugklaw charged onward, I gave him a really nice kick. Protected by Hardened Shield and tough carapace, my right shin struck the Warboss, who had a moment to protect himself from the strong kick. Though nearly 6m in height, Bugklaw was an Ork and they usually slouch. This had meant that my shin was actually quite a large one for him. He raised his Power Klaw to block the kick, and the impact made him fly backward by nearly three meters. Then I proceeded to remove the last of his Nobz while giving orders to my Zergs to find and kill any and all Nobz or their variants. My wings flared up and slashed across the battlefield, instantly turning Nobz into smaller pieces. M. fared a little better but the large-scale Phase Disruptor from my palms tore them asunder before my claws dug out their internal organs.
"Yu stop dat! Dey is ma Nobz! Waaagh!"
With his anger rising to a level where he is no longer able to consider retreat, the Warboss Bugklaw used his 'tellyporta' to make a surprise attack. He disappeared and reappeared right behind me. He then proceeded to hack at me three times before my tail, working like whip, slapped his Power Klaw to the side. He evaded the second tail attack and then fired his guns at me. My shield flared up but the damage wasn't as great as the Power Klaw. I quickly spun around, swinging my deadly clawed wings at the Warboss. It was obvious that he did not get to be the Warboss by just being big. He managed to take quick steps back to evade my attack, though the long reaches of my Warp Blade nicked him a little. Unfortunately, there was no way that he could win against me. Both physically and psychologically, he was no match for me.
He teleported once more, and he came for a kill-strike. The Warboss reappeared right in front my face and slammed his Power Klaw against my face, and even as the shield flared up, my lower secondary arms fired their deadly weapons. They were originally Acid Hurricanes, but during the fight, I had them retracted back inside my body and replaced the weapons with Phase Shock Cannon, a new weapon that I have designed to share similar working theory as the Eldar Shuriken weapons or the Tyranid Venom Cannon. A small Khydarin Crystal shard is encased in psionically reactive crystal and then fired using the impact of the Immortal Phase Disruptor. As the exterior crystal is slowly being disintegrated, the Khydarin Crystal mimics the disruptive pattern and bounces the disruption wave off the tiny shards of the exterior crystal that is falling off at alarming rate. This allowed everything in the path of the crystal ammunition to suffer catastrophic phase disruption, causing massive shock-wave. Impacted by such weapon, the Warboss was toss around like a rag doll. Though he was not directly hit with the weapon, the two cannons firing in succession had bounced him backward in a disgraceful tumble.
Before he could get back up, I was upon him.
~DIE, ORK!~
My upper secondary arms sped toward the Ork in a swift downward motion, but the great Ork was not so easily defeated.
"Tellyporta!"
Zzzap!
Once more, he disappeared, but this time, I could track him. Just as he reappeared right behind me and was about to shove his Power Klaw into my back, my tail worked its magic.
Blam!
It sounded almost like an explosion, but between my metal-tipped horns of my tail and his thick metal & Zerg carapace armor, the sound was loud.
"Wot? Wot's dis? I..."
I turned around and saw the surprise in this face.
~Die!~
Slash! Slash!
Two sharp sound of my wings slashing through the air were heard, and the tips of my wings were now buried firmly within the Warboss's jugular.
"Nah! Nah... Im da big Warboss... huh... uh... I cannot be... uhhh... Ma plans... uh... Waagh... gh... uh..."
I sneered at him as I grabbed his head and pulled. Supported by my psionic powers and the two wing tips holding his body, I pulled out his head and spine, just like how a 'Predator' would do it in the movies.
~Your Warboss is DEAD!~
Even as I shouted, the Ork horde was already in a great chaos. Few remaining Nobz and M. attempted to rally a support for their place as the Warboss, but the Orks were in such frenzied retreat that very few units rallied around the Nobz. Besides, all the Nobz were hunted by my Zergs, and even the few remaining Nobz were quickly hunted down now that there were infighting as well as fleeing. Unfortunately for the Orks, they were not going to run and live. All around the edges of the battle, thousands of Hydralisks and Roaches and Banelords appeared from beneath the ground. They worked like a cage, shooting down any runaway Orks. Those few who managed to reach the cage and broke through soon found themselves chased by Raptors and Mutalisks. Some Ork Bikers managed to reach the coast, but the coast was already taken over by my forces. One by one, those small groups of surviving Orks died under the well-directed attacks of the Swarm. By the sunset, there was no Ork left alive from Bugklaw's Waaagh!.
Finally, I had defeated the annoying Orks.
As the horizon was dyed in bright red of sunset, a creature appeared out from the ground. It was the Bloodmaster, my agent against the forces of the Chaos Lord Judanus.
~Speak.~
"Overmind, Judanus appears to have divined that the Orks have been defeated."
I chuckled. I knew of Judanus' capabilities, but I was not aware that the Warp powers he commanded were so versatile.
~He is withdrawing his forces?~
"Yes, Overmind. He seems to think that we would strike him down, now that the Orks are no longer a thorn on our side."
That Judanus was a smart one, but not smart enough.
~That was a good guess from him. Tell me, Bloodmaster, from the memories of your host, do you know what he would do?~
"I cannot be certain, but like most of these Chaos Marines, they are cowards in the face of certain defeat. He would most likely flee through the Warp Portal."
I growled in gentle satisfaction.
~That I cannot allow. I will deal with Judanus's Warp Portal. What of the Loyalists?~
The Bloodmaster shook his head.
"The incompetency of Judanus' forces is astounding, Overmind. There are still two Space Marines remaining allusive to the forces of Chaos."
~The souls of the other Space Marines?~
"I have received them, Overmind."
He then held out two crystalline bottles holding the pale form of concentrated souls. I grabbed them and swallowed them whole.
~What of their bodies?~
"Their bodies were beyond saving, and they took out the gene-seeds."
Of course, they did. The Chaos wanted gene-seeds as well.
~We shall deal with the missing Loyalists in due time. But, first, we must finish off the humans.~
"Yes, Overmind."
Alena mused as she peered over the balcony. The Capital City was now so overcrowded that even the massive walls surrounding the city could not hold all those people, but they had to hold them. Outside the walls were roaming bands of Zerglings hunting down stray refugees who continued to arrive. Larger groups of refugees survived the scores of attacks by either fighting them off or by sacrificing some of their members. Small groups who managed to get here from small villages or towns were easily slaughtered. Nobles of outer regions marched through with hundreds of soldiers and dozens of armored and mounted knights, and they fared a little better, although there were several cases where the knights and soldiers abandoned their master in order to save their own lives. All in all, the Capital City was full.
This was ironic that this massive city was full. The city was originally designed to hold a total of 5 million people, not including the garrison space for half a million soldiers. The Capital City was a planned city, initiated by King Orlandis III, a mighty king who reigned nearly four hundred years ago. Before this, the capital was further north at the city of Garav, the once capital of the Duchy of Garav. Orlandis III was a mighty warlord, and he ruled when the planet's original inhabitants still maintained several kingdoms in the South. He gathered to him a mighty army of Imperial Guards, who numbered tens of thousands as the original Imperial Guards had passed on their legacy to their children. He quickly conquered the South, finally uniting the super-continent under a single nation. Like all great rulers, Orlandis III also had a flare of grandeur and the need to display his legacy. He began an ambitious project to build himself a new capital that better suited the size of his massive kingdom. The king's relations with the Techpriests were still very good during that time, and they designed him a mighty keep and constructed a dozen mechanical cranes.
It had taken just over a decade for the king to finally complete the massive gothic-themed keep that could house over fifty thousand 'families' with ease. It was designed to contain all the noble families of the Kingdom during decennial celebration of Imperium, a tradition that has been kept on until rather recently. It was also an impressive defensive structure also. Concrete outer walls at three meter thickness with steel plating were thought to be enough to withstand bombardments from cannons, and this had been proven during several rebellions during the history of the Kingdom. Orlandis III was not satisfied with a massive keep, however. He designed an inner sanctum where nobles could have their opulent mansions. Surrounding his keep with massive gardens, garrisons, infrastructures like blacksmith and stables, he enclosed his keep with tall and thick walls protected by wide moat. Beyond this moat were ten thousand mansions with gardens. These were mansions of the ten thousand most powerful nobles. Protecting them were the Inner Walls. While lower and thinner than the wall surrounding the keep, they were still broad enough to have archers standing comfortably in three lines with enough space for a single man to walk behind them. It also had thirty six battlements, each with three large powder cannons. It took nearly 14 years to complete the inner sanctum.
Although Orlandis III was assassinated by one of his sons before he could see the completion of the inner sanctum, Orlandis IV continued his father's vision, and he even expanded the city to the current size, though the completion of the Outer Walls would not happen for another 20 years. In the end, the ambition of a king and his successor had created a city that could contain five million people. It was truly unfortunate that the city now held eight million. With three million more people inside a city designed for five, the crime spiked sharply, and by the order of the Queen Alena, even the inner sanctum was open, although only to the lesser nobles and their families. The food was dwindling by the day, and even with every granary open and strict ration imposed, the officials concluded that the city would begin to starve within ten days. Even the Queen and the nobles were now down to one meal a day, though they did have bread while the common people had watered-down gruel. Not that Alena really cared for all that, and neither did the powerful nobles who supported the Queen. The palace was full of Alena's supporters, and though they also had one meal a day, they did not look hungry. It was as if they did not need to eat, but in their hunger, no one noticed such.
"How laughable..."
Alena quietly chuckled at the people down below. Now, all those people would die.
"My Queen."
A female servant came up to the Queen, and she seemed to shrink in the presence of four large guards.
"What is it?"
"The nobles have gathered as you have commanded, your majesty."
It was time for the endgame.
"Very well."
While she gently walked to the court, Alena pondered about her humanity. Her human days seem so far behind her that she truly did not remember much. She knew that the Overmind loved her, though not quite in human way. She also knew that her 'father' Elric, 'uncles' Hargen and Vorlan were now like her. They were no longer quite human. There was the human brain and body still floating inside special vats deep within the Primary Hive Cluster, but they merely housed her soul. Even if she dies in the current body she walks in, her soul was safe back in her human body.
"We are here, your majesty. Do you require anything, sire?"
"No, girl. You may go now."
"Thank you, your majesty."
Dismissing the servant girl, Alena momentarily thought about how that human girl would scream and die within minutes. Alena quickly dismissed the thought. She was now Zerg, and human lives mean very little to her.
The herald roared her presence.
"Her majesty, the Queen!"
She sat on the throne, with her Spyling comrades standing around the room as if surrounding the nobles who were sitting in the benches. It was her turn to lay down the final killing blow.
"Hear me, Lords of the Kingdom."
She breathed in deep and she projected her voice.
"The end is here! The Swarm is upon us, and you all shall die to feed us."
It was not a long speech or particularly powerful one. However, as soon as several of the nobles began to guess the meanings behind her strange words, the panic began to set in. Alena smiled as her clothes burned away in a fire of psionic pulse. Her human-like skill shimmered as the illusion faded. Her real, terrible form appeared, and the court was filled with the terrified screams of nobles, only to be cut off by the changing of the nobles and guards surrounding them. They were all Spylings in disguise. Even as the Spylings hacked and slashed through the nobles, Alena smiled and walked out of the court. She soon reappeared from the nearest balcony. She raised her hands into the air and focused her power.
"We are ready, Overmind."
The Overmind, in his new and terrible body, appeared in a swirling cloud of psionic energy as Alena completed her Recall ability. Still floating in the air with the Bugklaw's skull and spine in one hand, the Overmind roared.
~Die, humans. We shall feed upon your souls and flesh.~
A terrible psionic energy crackled all around the Overmind as he poured his psionic power into a single ability.
~Psionic Mega Storm.~
With a blinding flash, psionic lightnings appeared everywhere. Alena enjoyed the massive influx of human souls that slipped from the incredible suction of the Overmind. He would take a lion's share, but Alena would still receive incredible amount of souls anyway.
"It is done, then."
Elric appeared from behind Alena, bringing along Vorlan and Hargen.
"Yes, father. It is done."
Free humans were no more in this world.