Chapter 22: Flying Monsters
In the ruins of a residential area above Nest No. 2 in City 0203, a Shadow Cat was shuttling back and forth through an 18-story residential building, scouting. Soon, it discovered a high-level soldier rank Lion Mastiff resting on the 7th floor. Without rushing to attack, it waited for a while, and soon, a commotion came from downstairs as ten Tiger Mastiffs charged up in formation. After a series of roars and chaotic fighting, the Tiger Mastiffs dragged the dead Lion Mastiff into the underground garage.
At the edge of the residential area, more than thirty Ironclad Bulls were wandering in the green belt, surrounded by a group of Tiger Mastiffs at some point. Surprisingly, this group of Tiger Mastiffs included some Iron-Furred Wild Boars. These Tiger Mastiffs and Iron-Furred Wild Boars were living in an eerie harmony, not fighting but cooperating extremely well.
As soon as the battle began, when the Ironclad Bulls charged, the group of Iron-Furred Wild Boars fiercely counter-charged. The most brutal and bloody slaughter began, with the two tank-like teams colliding violently, causing pandemonium. The Tiger Mastiffs took advantage of the situation to kill the Ironclad Bulls one by one.
On the rooftop of a high-rise building, Qin Mu stood observing the battles within the residential area. The three types of units cooperated seamlessly, and their strength was not simply additive but multiplied geometrically.
"With the swarm's current strength, as long as we don't provoke those few Commander rank monsters, ordinary monsters won't be a match for the swarm."
Qin Mu pondered the swarm's future development. After arriving in City 0203, the number of swarm units had truly begun to surge. The resources here were too abundant, with monsters everywhere. Just this City had roughly estimated tens of thousands of monsters, which was simply outrageous. While the swarm was clearing out the monsters in the residential area, Qin Mu was not idle either. He joined the sweeping forces, killing hundreds of monsters by himself.
Thanks to the abundant energy, the Nest did not stop hatching Zerg units. Now, the number of Tiger Mastiffs in the entire Nest had exceeded 600, the number of Iron-Furred Wild Boars reached 80, and the number of Shadow Cats exceeded 100. These numbers were still increasing at an astonishing rate, and the energy stored in the Nest had exceeded 2,000 points, which could be considered a substantial reserve.
Around Nest No. 2, three Evolution Chambers had also hatched and were working at full capacity to analyze monster genes. Under the operation of the two Nests, the progress of evolving into a Level 2 Nest had reached 23%. Everything was developing in a positive direction.
"Unfortunately, there are no suitable psychic weapons, otherwise, I would have taken down that primary Commander rank Tiger Mastiff first." Qin Mu looked somewhat regretfully at a building in the eastern part of the residential area, where hundreds of wild Tiger Mastiffs were resting, ruled by a primary Commander rank Tiger Mastiff.
As a Spirit Master, not having a suitable weapon was a significant disadvantage, which further strengthened Qin Mu's determination to buy some good spirit weapons after returning to the base city.
However, this Commander rank Tiger Mastiff could not escape, because under the control of the Nest, several Tiger Mastiffs hatched by the Nest had successfully infiltrated the group of Tiger Mastiffs ruled by it.
Several horn daggers were hovering and flying around Qin Mu. These were not the original three horns but new ones. These horns, after all, were not real weapons and wore out quickly in battle.
"So, what is the swarm most lacking now?" Qin Mu pondered carefully. The swarm's gene pool now included over a dozen types of Soldier rank monsters and one type of Commander rank monster gene.
"Flap, flap, flap—" In the sky, a group of flying monsters flapped their wings and flew past with a whoosh. Qin Mu looked up, a smile appearing on his face. The current units of the swarm were all land-based and lacked aerial units.
Whether it was for combat, reconnaissance, long-distance raids, or support, flying monsters had significant advantages. Compared to land monsters, flying monsters had many advantages, and just the ability to fly made many fighters and monsters unable to compete. It should be noted that among fighters, unless they were beyond the Wargod level, they could not fly.
Moreover, flying monsters were extremely fast, and the speed of the same-level flying monsters was usually several times that of land monsters, breaking the sound barrier was common, and ordinary fighter jets were no match for them. Therefore, the sky and the ocean were both forbidden zones for humans.
With a thought, Qin Mu summoned 30 Shadow Cats and 50 Tiger Mastiffs to the building he was on. He ordered them to hide well and began to wait for the flying fierce beasts passing by in the sky. After a short while, hundreds of grayish-black, with a wingspan of about a meter, sparrow-like monsters emitted sharp cries as they flew past a hundred meters above the residential area. On the rooftop, Qin Mu narrowed his eyes, carefully observing the flying monsters in the sky.
"Gray Cloud Sparrows, a common monster in the wilderness area, living in groups. Their strength is usually at the primary Soldier rank, but with their vast numbers, there are also many Commander ranks and even Horde Leader ranks existences."
"The strongest among this group of Gray Cloud Sparrows should be at the high-level soldier rank. We can take action." After careful identification, Qin Mu stared at the largest Gray Cloud Sparrow in the group, with a wingspan of just over two meters, and affirmed. Once the decision was made, Qin Mu acted decisively. The backpack behind him opened, and ten horn daggers whistled out, shooting towards the Gray Cloud Sparrows in the sky.
"Thud—" The chest of a Gray Cloud Sparrow was pierced, and it immediately let out a terrified cry, flapping its wings weakly and falling down.
The consecutive deaths of ten Gray Cloud Sparrows immediately caused an uproar in the entire monster group. All the Gray Cloud Sparrows angrily screeched in the sky, searching for the hidden enemy. Soon, some Gray Cloud Sparrows discovered Qin Mu on the rooftop, as he did not hide but stood there openly. After a few sharp cries, all the Gray Cloud Sparrows found the culprit and immediately swooped down like a dark cloud.
"They're coming." Hundreds of Gray Cloud Sparrows swooped down, as if covering the sky, a scene that was chilling.
But Qin Mu showed no fear. Twenty more horn daggers flew out from his backpack, rapidly rotating around him and shooting straight into the sky. One by one, the Gray Cloud Sparrows bled and fell from the sky. These Gray Cloud Sparrows, mostly at the primary soldier level, were fine in the sky, but getting close was suicidal.
However, there were just too many Gray Cloud Sparrows, and they all swooped down at the same time. Even with Qin Mu manipulating thirty horn daggers, there were bound to be some that got through.
A Gray Cloud Sparrow screeched, only a few meters away from Qin Mu, but Qin Mu still showed no intention of dodging. Just as the Gray Cloud Sparrow revealed its bloodthirsty fangs, a shadow darted out from the rooftop passage near Qin Mu, leaping up and accurately catching the Gray Cloud Sparrow. It was a Shadow Cat.
Feline monsters were extremely agile and fast. They usually liked to hunt these small flying monsters and were most effective against them. Thirty Shadow Cats appeared one after another from the passage, covering the entire rooftop. They continuously jumped up, fighting with the Gray Cloud Sparrows in the sky.
"Plop—" A Gray Cloud Sparrow with its wings pierced fell in front of Qin Mu. Qin Mu's eyes narrowed, and an invisible force erupted, straight into the Gray Cloud Sparrow's consciousness. The Gray Cloud Sparrow's eyes rolled back, and it fainted. Just a primary soldier monster, how could it withstand a mid-level warlord spirit master's attack?
This was a spirit attack method that Qin Mu had figured out. Although it was still crude and simple, it was no problem to deal with such a monster. Every Zerg queen was a soul master, most adept at various soul attacks, and as the master of the swarm, Qin Mu had the same talent. After just a simple attempt, Qin Mu found the knack.
"Hmm, not right? What's going on???" After continuously testing the spirit attack several times, Qin Mu suddenly noticed something strange. He seemed to have sensed the soul link of a Gray Cloud Sparrow.