The parchment had warned: never venture out into the night.
The current dark creatures are far beyond what the present Overlords can handle.
However, Charles was different. He now commanded a formidable Zerg army, each unit boasting no less than a first-tier ranking.
For a mere night exploration, this force was more than adequate.
Upon hearing that they would be heading out into the night, Catherine agreed without a trace of fear. "Master, let me first produce a few Toxic Banelings to accompany us on our exploration. I think that would make our venture a bit safer."
These two days of exploration had given her a fair understanding of this world, and she wholeheartedly supported her master's ambitious drive for rapid strength.
Charles nodded approvingly. While she went to program the Toxic Banelings, he casually skimmed through the parchment.
It was now the third nightfall, and no special monster siege was expected, making the chat channel particularly lively.
[ID 6458: "After two days of hard work, one of my minions has broken through to the lower tier of the first rank!"]
[ID 4368: "What? Bro, you must have had some lucky break! My Kobolds are still stuck at zero rank. To reach the first rank, I reckon I need to explore resources for a few more days."]
[ID 1289: "I wonder what Big Boss No. 1 is up to now. We all have the same six hours of exploration time, so why is he so ahead? The first Silver Overlord in the entire server, definitely a second-tier powerhouse!"]
[Eve: "Cough, cough, rumor has it that Big Boss No. 1 sleeps during the day and wakes up at night, so…."]
[ID 4567: "Impossible, absolutely impossible! The parchment clearly states that going out at night is forbidden!"]
Charles chuckled and shook his head as he read the comments. Is it possible that the prohibition against night outings is merely part of the newbie protection phase on the Continent of Overlord?
During the day, Overlords explore resources and hunt those monsters that respond passively.
At night, they fend off dark invasions, dealing with challenges reactively.
This mode only applies in the early stages of the Overlord Continent. Later on, both dark creatures and the divine races will be in a state of rampant chaos... The true era of turmoil has yet to come.
[ID 1: "The prohibition mentioned on the parchment is directed at Overlords who have yet to form a substantial army. If you possess a legion of several hundred first-tier and a few second-tier minions, you can explore parts of the darkness."]
[ID 1: "Alright, educational session over. I'm off to hunt."]
After subtly showing off, Charles exchanged a few more flirtatious remarks with Eve before stepping back into the darkness.
This time, Charles brought along two blade bugs, ten Toxic Banelings, and twenty Zerglings.
The duo, accompanied by their Zerg squad, set out lightly equipped to avoid a potential total wipeout should they encounter any unknown dark entities. After all, this place was indeed bizarre.
"Master, is our objective still to clear out the nearby dark creatures?" Catherine asked, her tone light and cheerful, as she extended her Queen's Blades.
Charles nodded as he walked. "Yes, the main goal is to eliminate dark creatures to enhance our Zerg forces with high-end combat units and enrich our genetic database."
"Additionally, I plan to map out this area. In the days to come, we will lead our Zerg army to annihilate all the dark creatures here. Terrain intelligence is crucial."
For instance, Zerglings might not be suitable for flat terrain but could be highly effective in more chaotic landscapes. The importance of terrain cannot be overstated.
Catherine nodded thoughtfully, her eyes filled with admiration for Charles.
He was brave and wise, always handling matters with a cool head.
Externally, he was a strong yet gentle leader, and in bed, he was a dominant and powerful lover. Catherine felt she could spend her entire life under his dominion, willing to give up everything for him.
As they reached the dark river, it was noticeably quieter. Even the flocks of Four-eyed Crows feasting on carrion and insects were no longer preyed upon by The Five Venomous Toad.
Observing the almost whirlwind-like flocks of crows, Charles raised an eyebrow and directed a Toxic Baneling to attack.
A jet of deep green venom shot towards the crows with incredible speed, bridging the gap in levels, resulting in several crows succumbing to the toxic spray.
Charles estimated that if these long-range units were used for ranged attacks, fifty Toxic Banelings spitting venom could create a toxic curtain, effectively dealing with most monster groups below the second tier.
So this is the origin of area-of-effect attacks.
The death of a few Four-eyed Crows seemed to draw the attention of the entire flock, their gaze filled with malice as they fixated on Charles and his companions below.
Quantity over quality, without a doubt.
Charles merely smiled at the sight. Using his Heart of the Swarm, he directed the Toxic Baneling to perform a toxic explosion, seizing the opportunity to test out the new unit.
The Toxic Baneling let out a fierce roar, and the toxin sacs on its back began to glow with a green luminescence. It then unfurled its wings at an extraordinary speed and darted into the flock of crows.
Boom!
A blast of bright green toxin erupted, filling the sky with a noxious gas.
As the mid-tier first-rank Four-eyed Crow, initially targeted, was blown to pieces by the toxin explosion, its fragmented flesh carried an abundance of toxic explosion factors. These factors, when splattered onto other crows, triggered secondary, tertiary, and even quaternary explosions!
Just a single Toxic Baneling's power wiped out a flock of several hundred non-tiered and a few first-tier bird-like monsters.
And all of this happened in less than half a minute.
Charles watched in astonishment as the green remains rained down from the sky. He reached out and caught the head of a Four-eyed Crow. The green toxic explosion factors began to spread onto him but were instantly neutralized by his Overlord Physique.
It must be said, the true potential and power of the Toxic Baneling are fully realized only when all surrounding units are enemies.
A mid-tier first-rank Toxic Baneling easily obliterated several hundred non-tiered Four-eyed Crows. This was simply because their highest rank was non-tiered. Even if their average rank were mid-tier first rank, Charles believed the outcome would not change.
The Eye of Data began to process the situation, and hundreds of bronze and silver chests were added to his inventory—a considerable haul.
He pulled Catherine into his arms and gave her a passionate kiss, praising her, "My silly slave girl, it seems you're truly not cut out to be a combat unit. Look at how many surprises you've given me these days!"
The Blade Bugs are already impressive on their own, theoretically, with sufficiently advanced materials, they could be fashioned into entities similar to Zerg heroes. As long as the genetic material is ample, Charles wouldn't be taken aback if Catherine managed to program something akin to a Cthulhu-like creature.
When it comes to the Toxic Banelings, their impact has been nothing short of explosive. The sheer terror induced by such a biochemical weapon, coupled with the fact that it can still be mass-produced, is absolutely mind-boggling!
Catherine, somewhat lost in the kiss, couldn't help but reach for her master's dick. Hearing his praise, she blushed, "It's all because you gave me this opportunity, Master. I was a top science student back in school. These things are like math, requiring massive calculations. Now that I'm a Zerg Queen, I can research and develop such war machines."
Praised!
After a moment of tenderness, they prepared to move on. In this tranquil forest, the dark river was merely a small branch. Their journey was still long.
They encountered countless dark creatures along the way. First-tier creatures became the norm, which Catherine and the Zerg minions handled. When a second-tier creature appeared, Charles personally took it down.
In just a few short hours, their gains far exceeded what an average person would collect from a month's worth of daytime exploration, and this was merely the tip of the iceberg in the night.
"Master, do you think once we Zerg conquer this place, we could have some wild fun here?" Catherine couldn't help but laugh as she eyed a uniquely shaped, lounge-chair-like tree.
This tree seemed to be just the right height for her to bend over and rest on while her master thrust vigorously from behind. The wild setting might even bring back the thrill she almost felt when she was nearly fucked to death in the training room back in the real world.
Charles was about to make a playful remark, but his expression changed upon seeing the tree's shape.
He immediately signaled for them to stop and directed Catherine and the Zerg minions to move into the shadows.
Catherine said nothing, merely watching to see what her master intended to do.
Charles, without uttering a word, retrieved a fire starter from his system space and tossed it over.
In no time, a group of scantily clad, terrifying serpent men appeared, frantically extinguishing the light.
They were Dark Serpent Men!