Hello there,
I wanted to say thanks to all the readers who voted for their choices.
Honestly I am a little bit disappointed. the number of voted are just a fraction of the number of readers. Well I guess they couldn't be bothered to do so. It just takes a couple of seconds to place your votes. For you it's nothing but for me it is a big deal. Knowing that people actually care about my work here.
So, I hope that everyone participates in this, knowing that they just made the day for someone in this world.
Anyways, Enjoy the chapter and don't forget to also make some donations. :)
***
Chapter 38: Mutation
A group of Tiger Mastiffs belonging to the Zerg swarm howled towards the sky. At their feet lay the corpse of a Commander rank Single-Horned Wild Boar. After a bloody battle, most of them were covered in wounds, and the ground was littered with corpses, both of monsters and of the Zerg swarm.
A high-level Soldier rank Tiger Mastiff with injuries, limping as it walked, was devouring the flesh of the Single-Horned Wild Boar, enjoying its spoils of war.
Suddenly the body of this Tiger Mastiff stiffened. After experiencing multiple bloody battles and devouring a large amount of Single-Horned Wild Boar flesh, the genes in its body combined with those of the Single-Horned Wild Boar, undergoing a miraculous mutation
The blood in its body boiled, muscles began to swell, and bones became even stronger, as if it had absorbed some of the excellent genes of the Single-Horned Wild Boar.
It was mutating.
The Tiger Mastiff endured the pain, lowering its head to tear at the corpse of the Single-Horned Wild Boar, replenishing the energy depleted by its rapid mutation. Its body grew rapidly, skin tearing open to reveal white bones, and blood covered its entire body. The bones on its head deformed, growing a horn similar to that of the Single-Horned Wild Boar.
The process of mutation was too fast and too painful, causing the Tiger Mastiff to no longer be able to endure, letting out a painful howl, its entire body convulsing.
"This Tiger Mastiff is mutating!" Not far away, in a street where Qin Mu was honing his body technique, he was startled and immediately controlled the short spears floating behind him to kill several monsters.
A Golden Vulture descended from the sky, grabbed the mutating Tiger Mastiff, and flew it to the vicinity of the mother nest, where two worker bugs transported it to the underground garage where the mother nest was located.
As soon as it entered the underground garage, the Fungus Carpet on the ground grew tendrils to wrap around the Tiger Mastiff, providing it with energy and healing its injuries. Only then did Qin Mu let out a sigh of relief.
What had just happened to the Tiger Mastiff was a very rare case of mutation, and it was a rare beneficial mutation.
Similar situations had already occurred twice in the Zerg swarm, but unfortunately, both mutations failed. One of them was also a Tiger Mastiff. After a major battle, it devoured the corpse of a Lion Mastiff and mutated, growing another Lion Mastiff head on its body. Unfortunately, after the mutation, the genes of this Tiger Mastiff quickly collapsed, turning into a pool of blood.
The other was a Shadow Cat. After a bloody battle, it devoured the corpse of a Tiger Cat and underwent some kind of evolutionary mutation, greatly enhancing its bone and muscle strength and even growing two tails and six legs. Unfortunately, it also failed to evolve, and its genes collapsed, leading to its death.
The current Tiger Mastiff was the third Zerg unit to undergo mutation, and so far, it was the most successful one.
After careful observation, Qin Mu discovered that when Zerg units experienced continuous battles, their genetic structure became unstable. During this process, if they devoured the genes of other monsters, there was a small chance of gene fusion and mutation. This evolutionary mutation could be beneficial or malignant.
During mutation, a large amount of energy was consumed, and the outcome was extremely perilous, almost a matter of life and death.
When Qin Mu transferred his consciousness to the Tiger Mastiff, he found that every cell in its body was undergoing astonishing changes, constantly dividing, dying, and then giving birth to new, more powerful cells. Part of its genetic structure fused with the powerful genes of the Single-Horned Wild Boar, undergoing dissolution, fusion, and reconstruction.
This reminded Qin Mu of the later story when Luo Feng enslaved the Zerg Queen, and the queen proposed two ways to cultivate the Zerg race. One was normal cultivation. The other was to mass-produce weaker Zerg units, then let them engage in internal slaughter, devouring each other, with the weak dying and the strong surviving and becoming even stronger by devouring the weak. When a large group of Zerg warriors were all killed off, leaving only one, that one would be the most outstanding. This method could even cultivate incredibly brave and powerful Zerg units at the peak of the realm lord level.
Although Zerg warriors were all mutated from larvae, not all of them had the same potential. Some had greater potential, while others had less. Using this most brutal method was to eliminate all those with poor potential. The peak Zerg warriors that emerged from endless slaughter were ten times stronger than ordinary Zerg warriors and could be called kings.
The current situation was somewhat similar to the second cultivation method, becoming stronger through massive battles and devouring other monsters.
In the past few days, the Zerg swarm had stirred up one battle after another in City 0203. According to the mother nest's statistics, there were originally more than 500,000 monsters in City 0203, with more than 200 Commander rank monsters.
In just a few short days, the number of monsters killed by the Zerg swarm exceeded 80,000, including more than sixty Commander rank monsters. The Zerg swarm itself also paid a considerable price, with 5,863 Zerg units dying in battle.
Almost every day, every Zerg unit was engaged in continuous combat. In such high-intensity battles, only three Zerg units underwent mutations, and two of them failed.
"I wonder if the Zerg cultivated by a Zerg queen (the original ones belonging to the world of Swallowed Star) could also consume the genes of other races, evolve and mutate like my Zerg swarm, or if it's just a simple increase in strength and proficiency in combat." Qin Mu pondered, realizing that he still knew too little about the Zerg swarm.
When Qin Mu returned to the mother nest, after a while, the mutation of the Tiger Mastiff was finally completed. It succeeded. The successfully mutated Tiger Mastiff's strength rose from high-level Soldier rank to primary Commander rank.
The shoulder height of an ordinary primary Commander rank Tiger Mastiff was only over two meters, but this Tiger Mastiff's shoulder height exceeded three meters.
Compared to the primary Commander rank Tiger Mastiffs hatched by the mother nest, its body was more than one size larger, with thicker bones, rougher skin, and a single horn growing on its head. It had the agility and bite force of a Tiger Mastiff, as well as the strong defense of a Single-Horned Wild Boar. This could no longer be called a Tiger Mastiff; it was a different species.
Qin Mu did not rush to rejoice. Although the Tiger Mastiff had successfully mutated, its true combat effectiveness could only be known through actual combat. With a thought, Qin Mu summoned a primary Commander rank Tiger Mastiff hatched by the mother nest to engage in a practical battle with the mutated one.
In the ruins of the city, a primary Commander rank Tiger Mastiff and the mutated Single-Horned Tiger Mastiff stood facing each other. In the next moment, the two Tiger Mastiffs exploded with power, lunging at each other.
The battle was decided in an instant. The Single-Horned Tiger Mastiff's strength was clearly more than one level above that of the ordinary Tiger Mastiff. The moment they collided, the ordinary Tiger Mastiff was knocked flying and was immediately pinned to the ground by the Single-Horned Tiger Mastiff, unable to move. It was a one-hit kill.
Qin Mu remained expressionless. He summoned two more primary Commander rank ordinary Tiger Mastiffs to face the Single-Horned Tiger Mastiff.
This time, the battle became more entangled. Although the Single-Horned Tiger Mastiff's strength and defense were clearly superior to those of the ordinary Tiger Mastiffs, facing the encirclement of two Tiger Mastiffs, the Single-Horned Tiger Mastiff also had to be cautious.
Unlike ordinary creatures, the coordination among Zerg units was very tacit. Once one was in danger, the other would immediately come to its aid.
However, the final result was still a victory for the Single-Horned Tiger Mastiff. Its body was covered in blood, but it won.
"This is a successful mutation." A smile finally appeared on Qin Mu's face.
The mother nest had already collected the genetic structure of this Single-Horned Tiger Mastiff and could directly hatch Single-Horned Tiger Mastiffs in the future. Hatching a Single-Horned Tiger Mastiff only required 600 energy points, just 100 points more than an ordinary Tiger Mastiff, but its combat effectiveness far surpassed that of an ordinary Tiger Mastiff.
"Indeed, war is the fastest way for the Zerg to mutate and evolve."
"Ordinary Tiger Mastiffs can be phased out."
Watching the continuous battles in the city, Qin Mu smiled.
This is the Zerg race.
Evolving continuously in battle.
War! Evolution! The Zerg yearns for war. Yearns for Evolution.
*****
If you are craving for more, and want to enjoy 10 advanced chapters, be sure to check my Patreon.
There is also one Extra Chapter for Free Members.
https://www.patreon.com/FictionForge