The appearance of the Warlock Titan brought the battle to its absolute climax!
This was the Eldar's final trump card. Should the Warlock Titan fall, Craftworld Yelank would be utterly defeated, and the entire world-ship would be devoured by the Swarm.
However, that was exactly what the Overmind desired.
†Individual strength cannot change the course of this war. The entire Craftworld shall belong to the Swarm. Now, you either flee or die.†
The Zerg Swarm's victory was merely a matter of time. The Overmind might find it difficult to eliminate the Warlock Titan quickly, but he could ensure that by the time it fell, the Titan would be all that remained of Yelank.
The Defiler's Dark Swarm (Black Fog) once again blanketed the battlefield, but this time it failed to yield results. The Warlock Titan's powerful and stable psychic presence acted like radar, enveloping the entire battlefield and transmitting enemy positions to every Eldar warrior via a telepathic link.
The Overmind was initially unaware of this, but after the Swarm engaged the Eldar forces, he noticed the anomaly.
†The Eldar seem unaffected by the Dark Swarm. Is it because of that Warlock Titan? They truly understand the applications of psychic energy.†
Psychic scanning wasn't a high-level technique, but it was incredibly effective for allies on the field. The Eldar began slaughtering Zerg units with startling efficiency. A group of Howling Banshees even charged into the Zerg lines, their prideful combat skills appearing like a lethal dance. One four-woman squad of Banshees managed to slay hundreds of Zerglings before falling—a casualty ratio the Overmind certainly did not appreciate.
Meanwhile, the Queen of Blades was locked in a psychic duel against both High Farseer Melina and the Warlock Titan. This was the most difficult battle the Queen of Blades had faced since her rebirth—and the most grueling of Melina's entire life.
The psychic pressure between them was so immense that ordinary units couldn't even approach; those who got too close had their brains and nervous systems instantly incinerated. Even Melina felt her mind beginning to overheat.
†A troublesome foe... this creature's psychic power exceeds my imagination!†
If not for the Warlock Titan's cover, Melina might already be dead.
††Kin†, you are remarkably stubborn. You are the first Eldar to survive this long against me.†
The Queen of Blades praised Melina's strength. No wonder those in Commorragh claimed their "cousins" were difficult to deal with; they were indeed tenacious.
†Kin?† Melina caught the word. †You call me kin... are you from Commorragh?†
It was only then that Melina realized the Queen of Blades' face was strikingly Eldar-like. She hadn't understood why a monster would possess such a human-like face—it seemed redundant.
(Translator's Note: Indeed, in the early 2000s, a half-human, half-insect hybrid in a swarm was "cool," but in this era, it's often seen as a narrative weakness. The Queen of Blades' arc in the later stages of StarCraft II, where she leads the swarm to improve planetary environments, felt like a collapse of the Swarm's core identity. Fortunately, this Swarm is controlled by the Overmind; as long as he lives, the Queen of Blades remains a pure Zerg weapon.)
†I have long since discarded my former identity to embrace the Overmind.†
As she spoke, a Psionic Storm capable of destroying a standard Titan erupted from her hands. The Warlock Titan's psychic shields rippled violently under the impact.
†Surrender. Join the Swarm, and you will understand the supreme majesty of the Overmind!†
†Surrender? The Aeldari bow to no race. We are an ancient and proud people!!!†
Melina launched a counterattack, but her psychic energy was suppressed by the Queen of Blades within seconds of contact.
†Even the Prince of Pleasure shall not make us yield!†
†Is that so? Then that truly is... a pity.†
The psychic energy radiating from the Queen of Blades surged again, causing the entire Craftworld to tremble.
†You do not understand. Before the might of the Swarm, even Slaanesh herself is nothing to fear. Since you refuse to submit, I shall destroy you along with that pathetic little toy behind you.†
The psychic fluctuations currently triggered by the Queen of Blades were undoubtedly on par with Malcador the Sigillite from the 30K era—perhaps even stronger. She was the type of "battery" that could keep the Golden Throne burning for a significant amount of time.
†Go to your death, along with your pride!†
It was another simple psychic blast, but this one was so powerful that the Warlock Titan immediately fired its psychic lance to intercept it. Sensing the immense pressure, the Titan actually cried out.
†YOU CANNOT DEFEAT US, BUG!†
The echoing psychic shout reverberated through the world-ship. But the Queen of Blades, drawing on her Commorragh roots, retorted: †You failed ten thousand years ago, you LOSERS!!!†
The psychic impact pushed both the Warlock Titan and Melina back hundreds of meters. They didn't even move their limbs; they were simply blown away by raw force, carving a massive trench through the residential sector of the dome.
The Warlock Titan managed to hold on, supported by its shields and the physical structure of the dome. Melina's left side was completely shattered, but she still gripped her psychic staff with her right hand, burning every ounce of her essence to resist.
†No... we carry the hope of Aeldari restoration!†
Her iron will sparked one final act of defiance. However, as she looked at the Queen of Blades again, she felt as if she were peering across the vast sea of stars to see the entity behind the curtain—the Supreme Overmind.
A massive single eye, like a burning star, stared back at her. It was so dazzling and powerful that no living thing could resist its gaze. Before it, the psychic power of Melina and the Warlock Titan seemed as insignificant as a literal insect.
Melina's hands began to shake. The Warlock Titan's psychic light flickered like a candle in the wind, on the verge of being snuffed out. Then, a single sentence from the Overmind ended the battle once and for all.
[I AM THE SWARM.]
The power displayed by this ancient being—perhaps even older than Melina herself—instantly crushed her will. The High Farseer of Yelank collapsed.
Simultaneously, the Warlock Titan's wraithbone chassis began to splinter and crack into several massive chunks. The psychic energy within its infinity circuits bled out in all directions, carrying the wails of the Farseer and countless Eldar souls as they dissipated into the void.
The Eldar had failed. Just as they had fallen to the birth-cry of Slaanesh ten thousand years ago, they had now failed again before the Swarm.
With Melina dead and the Warlock Titan shattered, the remainder of the battle turned into a tedious, hollow process of mopping up. Cleaning up the remnants of the Eldar and the Tyranids would take a long time.