Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 609

Chapter 607, Node Creatures

biopod slammed into the Zerg’s flesh carpet, sending juices splattering.

Four hatches opened, and Martins and three other soldiers, his personal guards, stepped out.

Despite his controlled strides to minimize noise, the thud of his heavy Terminator armor was absorbed by the flesh carpet, becoming muffled and drowned out by the roar of the Zerg beasts.

Martins ignored the disgusting Void Zerg structure he was treading on, a trinity of energy, digestion, and corruption. His first action was to raise his left hand and aim his undercarriage’s revolver bolter, unleashing a barrage of destructive explosives.

Countless Zergs suddenly burst forth from the cracks in the flesh carpet, from a distance. Most of them were bladeworms and spearworms.

Martins’s revolver bolter roared, each bullet a messenger of death, shredding the Zerg beasts that descended upon them. His guards, clad in Terminator armor, followed the Chapter Master’s actions and displayed astonishing fighting prowess. Under a barrage of explosives, hordes of Zerg were annihilated.

The ferocity of the battle was unimaginable, and within moments, the Zerg carcasses had piled up like a mountain.

However, these Void Zerg showed no fear. They continued their work with clear divisions. Some dragged away and devoured the corpses of their own kind, retreating to a distant place to recycle the biomass for later use. Many more, however, relentlessly continued to attack the Space Marines.

Martins and his three guards were quickly overwhelmed by the Zerg swarm.

While their firepower was formidable, their ammunition was limited. The Terminators could carry a considerable amount of ammunition, but it was no match for the sheer volume of

the Zerg. To conserve their ammunition and prevent it from being consumed all at once by the lesser Zerg, they deliberately reduced their firepower, using heavy explosives to pick off the strongest individuals among the swarm’s minions.

Some warrior Zerg, and even assassin Zerg, hid within the swarm. The latter’s carapaces are camouflaged, making them appear like ordinary, small bug soldiers.

These two types of bugs are relatively rare within the Zerg swarm, but they possess the power to threaten Space Marines’ lives.

The Assassin Bug, in particular, may have comparable direct combat effectiveness to a common Warrior Bug, but its elusive nature makes it a real headache. Detecting and eliminating them early would be ideal.

If not… well, Martins and the other three are among the Phoenix’s most elite warriors. If they were ever brought close, they wouldn’t be helpless; it would simply be a matter of using explosives, power swords, or phase swords.

As for the more numerous cannon fodder, they would be annihilated in a flash.

Even the massive Gun Bugs, aimed at them from a distance with their symbiotic weapons, wouldn’t faze them.

Those bullets pose a moderate threat to Terminator armor, and Martins and the others aren’t just standing there waiting to be targeted. Fighting at high speed, they often used the numerous approaching Bladeworms as cover. Hitting the Space Marines proved challenging.

Despite the fierce battle and the sheer number of enemies, Martins and his warriors seemed unfazed.

Their fighting was intended to create opportunities for more Space Marines to descend. Like an indestructible nail, they drove their force into the enemy horde.

Their disruption allowed them to determine the enemy’s size and distribution.

Then, drop pod after drop pod descended from the sky.

The Space Marines emerging from the drop pods included red-armored Phoenixes and black-and-gray-armored Blood Sharks.

It was a joint operation between Phoenixes and Blood Sharks.

Soon, the total number of Space Marines descended reached two hundred.

With the strength of two full companies, the Zerg swarm was being whittled down at an even faster rate.

Even a Hive Guard leading a squad of elite Warrior Zerg was caught off guard and overwhelmed by a few Blood Sharks, their power axes ripping the Hive Guard apart.

Even the Zerg’s numbers, after such a rapid and massive loss of life, had been noticeably reduced in this area, becoming visibly sparse.

The Space Marines continued to slaughter the enemy with remarkable efficiency, but the mission personally led by Martins clearly involved more than simply eliminating a few enemy manpower.

For the Zerg, the destruction of numerous mid- and lower-level minions meant little.

Dead minions, including the bodies of fallen enemies, could be devoured or dragged away by other Zerg, returned to the digestion pools or even to the flesh mats. Their bodies, along with the biomass they carried back, would be recycled by the digestive system and quickly re-hatched into Zerg.

This cycle was remarkably short. A human gestation period of ten months and growth to adulthood took ten to twenty years, and they also needed training and equipment for combat. Hatching a knife or spear worm with combat prowess comparable to that of an ordinary human militiaman took only a mere ten days. They also didn’t require the sophisticated industrial infrastructure required by humans to produce the firearms their soldiers needed. As the Zerg hatch, the symbiotic weapons that emerge with them will be able to take on the role.

Of course, recycling involves losses. Bodies that are excessively damaged in battle, as well as parts that cannot be recovered in time, will be lost.

But this mechanism alone can ensure the Zerg’s numbers.

Furthermore, if they achieve final victory over this world, with the Meat Blanket covering every inch of it and all biomass absorbed and fed into digestion tanks, living ships will eventually hatch and launch into space. These will then evolve into massive capillary towers connected to the orbiting Hive Fleet, responsible for transporting resources gathered from the planet’s surface. Finally, the newly born Hive Fleet will depart, carrying a small number of Zerg but a large amount of biomass, leaving behind a devastated and dead world.

This is one of the secrets to the Zerg’s endless power.

This strategy is nearly impossible to stop. The only way

is to kill all the Zerg in a short period of time, preventing them from re-hatching. Simultaneously, they can rapidly destroy most of the Meat Blanket, hatching tanks, and digestion tanks… In short, the goal is to prevent the Zerg’s replenishment from keeping pace with its losses, thus enabling them to be defeated and annihilated head-on.

But this method is almost a joke.

In a battle of attrition, even the Green Orcs can’t beat the Zerg.

Unless this is done when the Zerg swarm is still very small, the probability of success is extremely low.

But the Zerg swarm also has weaknesses – perhaps not just weaknesses, but also strengths.

The Zerg swarm has no such thing as morale. When the situation is particularly bad, the Green Orcs will also collapse in morale, but the Zerg swarm will not have any of that. These beasts act only on instinct and don’t even have the ability to think, they only know how to kill and devour.

The Zerg beasts are fearless and will fight to the last man. When needed, they will cover the rear and retreat at will, and can move forward at the speed of wind.

With this benefit comes a downside.

Low-level insect beasts lack thoughts, so higher-level insect beasts naturally command and coordinate the actions of all insect swarms within an area.

These creatures are called node creatures.

Node creatures aren’t necessarily limited to a specific type of insect beast. Theoretically, any insect, even the lowest, can be a node creature. As long as they are granted node creature authority upon hatching—in other words, given a brain—they can take on this role.

They can command an insect swarm of varying sizes, acting as the collective brain of the swarm. They can communicate with higher-level node creatures, receiving orders and guidance.

When a node creature is eliminated, its swarm is like having its brain removed, losing all ability to think and becoming a disorganized mass of monsters driven solely by the instincts of devouring and killing. They will destroy all nearby non-insect units, then remain bewildered, growing increasingly hungry. They will then turn to fighting each other, eat and drink their fill, and then remain motionless again… This cycle continues, culminating in their own destruction.

Unless a new node creature emerges from the hatchery and takes over the out-of-control Zerg swarm.

Growing a brain is harder than growing a body, and creating a single node creature takes a considerable amount of time, enough for a significant portion of the Zerg to die of starvation, self-inflicted wounds, or annihilation by human armies. If the hatchery is then destroyed, and no Hive Fleet is deployed from outside, severing the Zerg’s ability to regenerate node creatures, the Zerg’s crisis will be averted.

Of course, parasites infested by the Zerg are not included in this category; they use the brains of those they infest. Eliminating them requires a different approach.

And now, Martins is leading a joint operation with Phoenix and Blood Shark, each sending a company. Their goal, of course, is not to destroy the Zerg’s active forces, but to eliminate the most central node creature on this planet called “Tingzhen IV.”

It was already not far away.

The Librarians of the two Chapters had spent the previous two weeks, combining ground intelligence with a rough determination of its location. Then, it was Martins’s decision, and two companies descended from the sky, bringing a devastating fire.

Two hundred elite Space Marines had practically cleared the heart of the Zerg swarm.

Although Zerg continued to pour in from all directions, the enemy numbers in the area had been significantly reduced for the time being.

This reduction in numbers significantly reduced the interference faced by the two Librarians as they searched for the precise location of the crucial node creature. Under

Martins’s command, the Space Marines formed a defensive formation to protect the Librarians, while others spread out to slaughter more Zerg.

The entire process was not particularly difficult. The vast Zerg swarms came in wave after wave, and the Space Marines slaughtered them in waves, leaving blood and flesh flying everywhere, and Zerg corpses strewn across the ground. As time passed, even more high-level Zerg beasts began to appear in large numbers. Swarms of warrior worms, shielded by cannon fodder, charged forward. Over twenty of them instantly surrounded a squadron of blood sharks.

But in a shower of blood and flesh, the cannon fodder, over twenty warrior worms, and even one large elite, were completely decimated. Only two of the blood sharks were killed.

Then came another swarm of sky ghost worms. These flying creatures, with wings on their backs and torsos the size of calves, blasted down with their mouthparts like machine guns.

But several blood sharks pulled out their long-barreled bolters with sniper scopes and, shot after shot, blasted the sky ghost worms.

The enemy’s variety and numbers grew, and the pressure on the Space Marines increased, leading to casualties.

However, overall, they were still far from overwhelmed.

Meanwhile, the Librarians’ search yielded results.

As soon as the report reached Martins, he immediately commanded his entire army to assault the target location.

With the Space Marines’ abilities, even with the Zerg swarm blocking their way, a charge of five kilometers would only take twenty or thirty minutes.

The direction of their attack alerted the Node creature.

It finally gave up its hesitation, abandoning the idea of destroying the Space Marines and prioritizing relocation.

Meanwhile, the flying units, previously harassing the ground, swooped down fiercely, coordinating with the ground Zerg swarm to launch an all-out assault.

The Blood Shark Librarian suddenly unleashed his power, his psychic energy radiating. An invisible wave of power swept through the air in a semicircle, sending a swarm of Zerg flying units flying.

They weren’t killed, a testament to the Blood Shark Librarian’s considerable experience.

Killing the enemy was a difficult task, but for air units, which were much weaker than their ground counterparts, targeted attacks could damage their wings and flight mechanisms, eliminating the threat with less effort.

Phoenixes and Blood Sharks fought side by side, the Phoenixes forming the primary thrust, strangling the enemy in large numbers. The Blood Sharks, within the formation, would sometimes charge out to slash high-threat units, and sometimes hide within, supplementing their attack with bursts of fire.

Their advance was even faster than the node creature’s escape!

Martins’s gaze was as sharp as a falcon; he could sense the node creature’s panic. The Zerg’s chaos wasn’t a chaotic frenzy, but rather a blind, headless flight. The node creature was attempting to break free from the battlefield and flee deeper into its lair.

But ultimately, the monster was intercepted.

Before the Space Marines, it revealed its true form: a massive behemoth, standing six meters tall at the shoulder. Its massive alien head, its maw open to reveal rows of fangs, and six pairs of predatory eyes scattered throughout its skull ensured its precise lock on its enemies. Its four pairs of eight forelimbs, each tipped with a different type of weapon, and its thick, recurved hindlimbs enabled it to move swiftly. Its long, barbed tail trailing behind it was also a deadly weapon.

It looked terrifying!

At this moment, the Hive Tyrant finally realized that escape was hopeless. It turned its massive body, filled with resentment and fury, and led a swarm of elite Zerg beasts towards Martins.

The Zerg swarm surged like a tide, but under the firepower of the Space Marines, they were nothing but ants sent to their doom. The Phoenixes and Blood Sharks’ coordination was impeccable, their tactics seamlessly coordinated, as if they had worked together for years and shared the same training.

In a way, this was true. The company sent by the Blood Sharks consisted mostly of new recruits collected from the Alliance’s blood tax.

Although they had already distinguished themselves within the Chapter in just over six months, demonstrating impressive prowess, that was only on the training grounds. In the Blood Sharks’ Chapter culture, no one could truly achieve anything without the baptism of life and death on the battlefield.

Martins had no such thoughts. When the Blood Sharks offered him a team like this for the joint operation, he wasn’t upset that they were only giving him a bunch of new recruits. Instead, he felt relieved.

These Blood Sharks… well, they were like a group of phoenixes, each with their own unique strengths.

Their bloodlines varied, their fighting styles and techniques varied due to their different gene-seeds, but their core spirits were remarkably unified. Fighting for the Alliance, these silent new Blood Sharks were high-spirited and willing to obey Martins’s command.

Furthermore, even though they were just “new recruits,” Martins knew their strength was undeniable, even rivaling even the Blood Sharks’ veteran companies.

If Martins were given a squad of Blood Shark veterans, they would be no match for these new recruits.

Under Martins’s command, the Space Marines took up positions to meet the enemy. Martins himself stood at the forefront, ready to take down the enemy leader.

The Hive Tyrant’s every step shook the ground, its tentacles waving as if to rend the sky. Behind it stood a swarm of ferocious, sizeable elite Zergbeasts, their eyes filled with only cold instinct and a searing desire to feed.

The two armies faced each other in a desperate struggle.

As the Space Marines battled the elite Hive Guards and warrior swarms, Martins personally engaged the Hive Tyrant. In his hand, his phaser blade gleamed with a faint green light, a blade composed of pure energy, capable of slicing through anything substantial.

The Hive Tyrant opened its maw and let out a deafening roar, but Martins remained silent, his actions speaking louder than a thousand words. He swiftly moved across the battlefield, dodging the Hive Tyrant’s every blow, each evasion met with a lightning-fast strike from his phaser blade.

The battle was fierce and brutal, each strike from the Hive Tyrant carrying devastating force, but Martins always managed to dodge it at the last moment. His swordplay was razor-sharp, each swing slicing a sliver of flesh from the Hive Tyrant.

Finally, with a precise strike, Martins’s phase sword pierced the Hive Tyrant’s shell, piercing deep into its vitals. The Hive Tyrant’s body trembled violently, its massive frame beginning to collapse. It let out a final wail before collapsing completely.

Martins stood over the Hive Tyrant’s corpse, his breathing slightly rapid.

The Hive Tyrant is no easy task. It has a track record of slaying Chapter Champions and Chapter Masters in single combat.

He also had multiple wounds on his body, the most serious being the lash from the Tyrant’s tail.

Fortunately, Martins not only possessed the strength of a Chapter Champion, but also possessed exceptionally fine equipment, and he was the ultimate victor.

With the fall of the node creatures, the Zerg swarm suddenly lost its organization and began to flee aimlessly. Fighting purely on instinct, the Zerg’s numbers remained the same, but their threat level was significantly lower than before, when they were still able to coordinate so skillfully.

This wasn’t just the case with the Zerg swarm here; the entirety of ‘Tingzhen IV’ was probably like this.

Even though there were still billions of Zerg beasts on this planet, the biggest problem had already been solved.

————

5k

still owed, 107 more.

I’ll try to finish another chapter before dawn!

(End of this chapter)