The daemons still had no idea what the Overmind's true intentions were.
They still thought this was just a routine conflict between daemons and the Zerg. The Slaaneshi Greater Daemon did know who the Queen of Blades was—the story of how his companion had been slaughtered by her last time had spread throughout the Slaaneshi realm.
"You think you can defeat me, little insect."
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"Oh~~ I love your arrogance."
Both sides were arrogant, but the Queen of Blades certainly had the capital to be. Regardless of anything else, there were over three hundred Leviathans in low earth orbit backing her up; it didn't matter who you were, you'd be arrogant too.
The Slaaneshi Greater Daemon didn't even know that the Eldar souls he had been devouring were provided by the Overmind. To capture this live Slaaneshi Greater Daemon, the Overmind had gone to great pains!
The other three Greater Daemons wouldn't escape either, but this Slaaneshi one had to be caught first. Don't ask why; it's because they were always the fastest ones to run.
The surrounding Constrictors were already prepared. As soon as the Queen of Blades blasted the Greater Daemon out of the palace, dozens of tentacles would definitely wrap around him.
Oh, tentacles and a Slaaneshi Greater Daemon—this scenario was absolutely to Slaanesh's taste.
It didn't take long. The castle wall was smashed open, and the Greater Daemon was knocked backward into the ramparts.
"Is that all you've got? You're not even as good as the last one."
"..."
The Queen of Blades strolled out from the gap, her footsteps on the rubble of the wall radiating pure dominance.
"You bastard!!!"
The power gap between the Slaaneshi Greater Daemon and the Queen of Blades was too vast. Although the Greater Daemon had the advantage in size, as a being whose psionic power was second only to the Overmind, the Queen of Blades' power far exceeded that of a typical Greater Daemon.
At this moment, tentacles flew out from the darkness. Even though the Greater Daemon sensed them immediately, the Queen of Blades abruptly raised her hand, her psionic power pinning him in place.
That hesitation allowed the Constrictors' tentacles to wrap tightly around him, while the tips of the tentacles began injecting toxins into his body.
Although the Constrictors' venom was extremely potent, Slaaneshi Greater Daemons were highly resistant to toxins. Slaaneshi daemons were known for using various drugs to indulge themselves and enhance their senses; the Greater Daemon felt nothing even when drinking enhancers like water.
"Mere insects, you think you can contain me?"
The Greater Daemon's four arms strained, pulling the Constrictor out from the darkness. The massive creature's claws dug desperately into the ground, yet it was still being dragged toward the daemon.
"You're quite strong."
But the Overmind had sent the Queen of Blades for precisely this moment. The Greater Daemon's attention was entirely focused on the Constrictor's tentacles, and he didn't notice the Queen of Blades landing on his head.
"Go to sleep for a while."
Psionic power erupted from the Queen of Blades' hands. As strong as the Greater Daemon was, he lost consciousness on the spot.
Now, even if he wanted to resist, he had no chance. The Constrictors injected more venom into his body and dragged him away.
The Queen of Blades didn't rush; she followed the Constrictors as they retreated. During this time, other Slaaneshi daemons saw their Greater Daemon being dragged away by the Swarm, but there was nothing they could do.
The waves of Roaches and Hydralisks alone were enough to keep those Slaaneshi daemons busy clearing them out, not to mention the massive Constrictors and the Queen of Blades, whose mere gaze could terrify a daemon to death.
The other two Greater Daemons hadn't noticed anything unusual.
The Lord of Change did sense something strange, but that feeling existed only for an instant before vanishing. There were over 50 billion people on this planet—all delicious souls—and his attention was entirely focused on the souls and fighting for territory.
He was completely unaware that he would be the next one to fall.
"I must keep this Slaaneshi Greater Daemon under control; he cannot be allowed to escape."
"Inject him with high-potency anesthetic toxins continuously, combined with the psionic suppression inside the Leviathan and the specialized sticky fungi of the Infested. Even an Alpha-beast wouldn't be able to move."
"Arrange a few Tyrannosaurs to stand guard. If there is any movement, suppress it immediately."
"As you command, Overmind."
Four Greater Daemons, guarded by over a dozen Tyrannosaurs—this amount of resources was manageable if they gritted their teeth.
The Tyrannosaurs' gorilla-like body structure made them more suitable for dueling super-large units than Ultralisks. The Overmind trusted the power of the Primal Zerg Tyrannosaurs, especially those that had gained better traits after mutation.
It didn't matter if it cost more resources; the priority was not to let the Greater Daemon get away.
"Next is the Lord of Change. Hopefully, he hasn't noticed anything unusual."
If the Lord of Change sensed trouble, he would likely flee immediately. However, the Swarm could still sense his power; that Tzeentchian realm exclusive to him was radiating turbulent Warp vortices.
Whenever the Swarm entered it, there was often a lag-like delay, though it hadn't reached the point of total disconnection.
Tsk, I still need to find a way to solve this high-latency problem whenever I enter the Warp.
"Overmind."
At this moment, Abathur spoke.
"In the Warp, wild Zerg individuals exist. They have adapted to the Warp. Samples obtained. The Swarm can evolve."
Wait? There are wild Zerg in the Warp?
"Yes. Learned from the memories of human captives. Individuals few, but sufficient."
The Overmind received the memories transmitted by Abathur. These were the memories of Chaos cultists Abathur had used for experiments—not the batch the Overmind had deliberately captured, but individuals who had survived and were captured normally.
From the memories, one could see the Warp region where this Chaos cultist lived. He had once seen wild Leviathans passing through their living area, but they did not attack.
Undoubtedly, this was a trait of wild Zerg: they only attacked non-Zerg units within a certain range.
This must be one of the batches of Leviathans I sent for experiments.
Previously, for research purposes, the Overmind had indeed sent a batch of Zerg units into the Warp, but they had lost contact as soon as they entered.
They actually adapted to life in the Warp?
This was good news, but a problem remained.
To obtain samples of wild Zerg individuals in the Warp, one had to enter the Warp; but Zerg units lost contact immediately upon entry, making the mission impossible.
It was a dead loop!!!
Wait, that's not entirely true.
There are Primal Zerg in the Zerg Swarm now. Primal Zerg do not disconnect, but they lack psionic adaptability and lack the Hive Mind. As pure biological organisms, they have a probability of being corrupted by Chaos.
Not to mention, Khorne and Nurgle would definitely love Primal Zerg.
"Hmm, let me think. For now, let's capture the other three Greater Daemons."
"Yes, Overmind."
The focus shifted back to capturing the Lord of Change. In the sky, Overminds repeated their previous tactics. This time, as a precaution, several massive Corruptors were brought out as a backup plan.
Even if the Lord of Change flew into the sky, the Corruptors would be able to contain him.