Spine Crawlers and Spore Crawlers hunkered down; once they rooted, they were there for a lifetime.
Now, even if the Tyranids sent out the stealthy Lictors, it was useless. Spore Crawlers provided detection, and even the Mawloc's burrowing would be spotted—not to mention that the Eldar Craftworld was made of wraithbone, making it impossible to tunnel through the ground.
†Just wait until I bring in two Vipers. I'll show you the power of the Fountain Hook!†
The Zerg Swarm didn't fear a war of attrition.
They feared a fortified position even less.
As for assassination attempts—pardon the expression, but with the Queen of Blades' current combat power, she wouldn't even fear a Norn Emissary.
The Norn Queen suddenly realized that this race, which looked so much like the Tyranids, seemed to have a tactical counter for almost every strategy and could adjust its tactics with startling speed.
"Both sides have stopped?"
Both swarms had eerily ceased their advance, giving Melina a bad feeling in her heart.
On Autarch Eliza's side, she had just carved a bloody path through the Zerg encirclement and retreated with her troops. She, too, noticed the anomaly between the two swarms.
"Why have they stopped fighting?"
Her forces had suffered heavy losses, but because the swarms had shifted their targets, the Eldar still retained some of their strength. However, Eliza was not optimistic about the outcome of the war.
The primary mission now was to send as many non-combatant civilians as possible to other Craftworlds before this one fell. Even sending them to Commorragh was better than waiting here to die.
In truth, both swarms were waiting—waiting for new tactical orders. The Tyranid Swarm was more passive; the Norn Queen had considered countless methods of attack, only to have each one dismissed by the potential counters the Zerg Swarm could deploy.
During this time, the Norn Queen tried to send Lictors to infiltrate the Zerg Swarm's interior.
But as stated before, the cloaked Lictors were immediately detected by Spore Crawlers and Overseers. They were swarmed by Zerg units. While Lictors possessed claws that could tear open a Dreadnought, their defensive armor was insufficient against the sheer volume of the Zerg; the Lictors were quickly torn to shreds.
†Hilarious. You think I'll let you sneak in? Who do you think you are, Zeratul?†
Don't joke—even Zeratul wouldn't dare charge into a forest of defensive sunken colonies. Zeratul relied more on his Blink ability to evade the Swarm than just stealth.
†Are you really out of tricks, Norn Queen?†
Of course, the Norn Queen had a final move, though its chances of success weren't high.
At the rear of the Tyranid Swarm, units even larger and heavier than Carnifexes appeared. However, these units did not charge the front line. Instead, they hunkered down on the floor, the massive cannon barrels on their backs glowing.
†Wait a second...†
The cannons fired. Massive shells were lobbed into the air, landing inside the Zerg Swarm's positions.
BOOM! Massive explosions erupted within the Zerg Swarm, making the Overmind want to curse.
†I've never even seen these things before! Where did they come from?!†
In fact, these things were called Dactylis. They were a rare Tyranid organism equipped with a massive super-heavy artillery piece capable of ultra-long-range bombardment. The shells they fired exploded violently like Spore Mines and would automatically seek out targets.
It was normal that the Overmind hadn't seen them; most Warhammer players haven't seen them either, as they are unconventional combat units.
†So you want to play the tank bombardment game? Just in time, my Vipers have arrived.†
The massive Vipers had spent a lot of effort squeezing through the narrow corridors of the Eldar dome sectors to reach the battlefield. Their huge bodies blotted out the sun, casting shadows over the Zerg units. Tyranid flying units immediately attacked the Vipers, but how could Gargoyles easily break through a defensive net composed of Spore Crawlers and Zerg air units?
†Come, witness my Fountain Hook!!!†
As before, a Viper extended its specially modified proboscis. Compared to that appendage, the Dactylis looked small; it was instantly snagged and yanked toward the Zerg positions.
The fate of the Dactylis needs no explanation; it was swarmed and torn apart by the Zergling sea in moments.
The Norn Queen was dumbfounded!
This was completely unreasonable! The Infestors at least had a limited range, but this thing just pulled a unit from dozens of kilometers away! Dozens of kilometers!
Where else could she retreat? Any further and she'd be back in the belly of the Hive Ships!
And this thing specifically hooked her high-value units. That Dactylis was a mini-titan-class unit, and it was just snatched away like that?!
The Norn Queen hurriedly hid her remaining Dactylis to avoid being hooked.
Clearly driven to fury by the Zerg Swarm, the Norn Queen immediately ordered all Tyranid Bio-ships to launch an assault on the Yelank Craftworld, including the ultra-large Hive Ship carrying the Norn Queen herself.
She stopped caring about tactics and prepared to produce every available Tyranid unit and crush the enemy in one go.
In short: F2A. (Select all, Attack-move).
"Here they come!"
As the commander of the Craftworld fleet, Melina immediately spotted the swarms' intentions. Although they seemed to be heading for the Craftworld itself, their flight paths were still aimed at the dome sectors.
"Fleet, move aside and wait on the flank! Let 50% of the swarm fleet pass, then immediately cut in to split them in two! Concentrate all firepower on the rear half of the swarm fleet!!!"
Divide and conquer. Melina was confident she could win against 50% of the swarm fleet. As for the other 50%, she would let them land and fight to the death with the other swarm before dealing with them.
It looked like wolves entering a sheepfold, but it was actually a "shut the door to beat the dog" trap.
Melina's decision allowed half of the Tyranid fleet to land safely on the Craftworld. They entered not just through one dome, but through other weakly defended sectors as well.
But Melina knew those domes were already empty of living Eldar, and the passages had been sealed. They could only go and fight the other swarm.
From that moment on, half of the Craftworld was occupied by the two swarms, while the Eldar concentrated their strength to guard vital areas.
Now, the true contest of the "Bug Seas" began.
The variety of Tyranid units was immense: there were Carnifexes and Haruspexes for assault, Biovores and Exocrines for ranged output, Warriors and Hive Guards for all-purpose line-holding, and Tervigons and Harpies for producing more units. Even the Mawloc family, unsuitable for Craftworld combat, joined the fray.
Furthermore, a Norn Assimilator, delivered via a specialized Mycetic Spore, smashed directly through a dome and landed in the center of the Zerg Swarm.
This ten-meter-tall Tyranid titan, like the Norn Emissary, was a war machine meticulously prepared by the Norn Queen. It was not a unit like a Hive Crone that was poor at melee; its existence was solely to steamroll enemy forces.
Its nearly infinite stamina and massive body allowed it to fight without limit. The six fleshy spikes on its chest could fire out and pierce the armor of super-heavy tanks, its razor-sharp scythe-talons could shred anything, and the pair of toxic claws below were filled with lethal venom.
Its humanoid upright form ensured it had enough mobility and flexibility to not be limited by its body structure like a Hive Crone.
The moment the Norn Assimilator appeared, it began a massacre within the Zerg Swarm.
†Oh-ho, bringing out the Norn Assimilator? Mommy bug is getting anxious.†
Good. Dealing with a frustrating opponent like the Swarm Overmind would make anyone's blood pressure soar.
Most importantly, the Norn Queen didn't want to waste any more time. She could see the Zerg Swarm was holding back, so she prepared to overwhelm them in one wave to see exactly how many trump cards both sides were hiding.