The Octopus Battle Group glided through the dark cosmos like phantoms.
Their bodies lacked the armor-like shells of other Zerg strains; eight supple tentacles stretched and writhed freely through the void.
Massive clusters of nerve cords pulsed with deep purple energy.
“The Lord descends—stand aside, all who are idle!”
The lead octopus creature moved with particular arrogance.
Any Void Devourer that happened to block its path received a casual pulse of energy.
The Void Devourers grumbled and cursed under their breath as they made way.
Within the Zerg’s psychic network, all sorts of chaotic, garbage emotions swirled.
The Giant’s Tomb trembled faintly, and the octopus creatures finally reined in their insolence.
The Zerg’s psychic sea settled back into cold, still silence.
The lead octopus creature’s little suckers on each tentacle opened and closed happily.
Hehehe.
Clever as it was, to avoid that certain god of death lurking in the Black Domain, it had volunteered to serve as the vanguard for the assault on the Fifth Star Ring.
Surely, this time, it wouldn’t run into that great killing machine again, right?!
Come on, you ignorant, foolish humans—let me show you what true Zerg power looks like!
Offer up your flesh, bow at the feet of our Lord, and willingly become nourishment for the Zerg!
The great, unparalleled Zerg will carry your genetic fragments with them and conquer the universe.
The octopus creature was brimming with confidence, every cell screaming for vengeance, hungry to show humans the might of the Zerg’s greatest warrior!
“Hey, you octopus thing—do me a favor and let us pass.”
A familiar female voice echoed in the octopus creature’s mind.
Its massive body shuddered, and its tiny eyes seemed to open just a crack.
What the—?!
How did that god of death end up here?!
Behind the Octopus Battle Group appeared a pod of Stardust Great Sound Whales.
They circled around an enormous Ark as they cruised along, leaving trails of stardust in their wake.
The octopus creature drew in a cold breath.
It had thought the Zerg were ferocious enough, but never in its wildest dreams did it imagine that this god of death was even more brutal.
Against enemies, the Zerg never wasted a single ounce of energy or matter.
But this killing machine, perhaps just to show off her cruelty, had actually built her Ark out of the remains of juvenile Void Devourers!
Just look at that colossal Ark—how many juvenile corpses must have gone into making it?!
For the first time ever, the octopus creature shed sympathetic tears for the Void Devourers.
No successors—how utterly tragic!
The female voice in its head carried a hint of impatience: “What’s the matter? Don’t want the toast of peace, so you’re asking for the wine of punishment?”
“Wah wah wah, what’s toast of peace and what’s wine of punishment? Never had either! I don’t want any wine—please just let me go!”
Lin Xiaohe’s face darkened with exasperation. Yep, it was definitely this one.
The traitor among the Zerg.
“Move aside. I need to go rescue some people.”
“Rescue who? The humans on the Fifth Star Ring? Oh dear, that’s a tough one—our Lord won’t approve.” The octopus creature retracted its tentacles, bundling all eight of them together into a tight ball.
The lingering pain from having its tentacles forcibly severed last time still haunted the depths of its being.
Lin Xiaohe glanced briefly toward the Fifth Star Ring, then coldly looked away.
She had already defected from the Federation. What did their fate have to do with her?
“I’m only rescuing the people on Volkus Star.”
“Oh, oh! No problem at all! Please, go right ahead! Help yourself! The cosmos is wide open—take whichever path you like.”
Then came a scene that made countless jaws drop!
The Octopus Battle Group split into two columns, clearing a wide path.
Lin Xiaohe led the way, the Ark followed close behind, and the Imperial warships brought up the rear.
Their entire procession—grand, unhurried, and utterly brazen—sailed straight through the Octopus Battle Group and headed directly for Volkus Star.
Whether octopus creatures or Void Devourers, they all acted as if they were blind, completely ignoring this human fleet.
The lead octopus creature, ever cunning, deliberately slowed its battle group’s advance to give Lin Xiaohe plenty of time to complete her rescue.
“No way?! Does Lin Xiaohe really have that much sway with the Zerg?”
“Mom asked why I’m kneeling? Because I’m worshiping a living legend!”
“Haha, hilarious! The Federation high-ups are still squabbling for power in their little backyards, while Lin Xiaohe—whom they framed—has already carved out her own territory in the cosmos. Tell me, aren’t you ashamed?”
“Holy crap! My worldview is shattering—so humans can actually stand tall against the Zerg? How embarrassing for those Federation soldiers who ran away without a fight!”
“Who the hell are you implying? Was it our Sixth Star Ring’s choice to retreat? Weren’t we ordered to by the Federation?”
“If you’re so brave, why didn’t you fight to the death like the Federation soldiers on Miluo Star?”
“Heh, go ask them if they’d still want to be Federation soldiers!”
All sorts of communication channels erupted into chaotic arguments.
Suppressed emotions, like barrels of gunpowder, ignited in an instant.
But the Federation Parliament and Government had no time to worry about the surging public sentiment.
They were far more interested in one question: How did Lin Xiaohe do it?!
“Could it be the Black Domain? Besides accelerated time flow, does it hide some other secret?”
“I suspect Lin Xiaohe is in cahoots with the Zerg. We all know how savage the Zerg are—they’re mindless killing machines with no emotions. How could they possibly feel fear?! This must all be part of some grand conspiracy between the Zerg and Lin Xiaohe!”
“That’s right, just you wait. After Lin Xiaohe rescues the people of Volkos, she will definitely come to our Fifth Star Ring and request to enter the defensive line. Then, she will coordinate with the Zerg from the inside to completely tear apart our defenses!”
“Highly likely. Lin Xiaohe’s rise has been far too legendary—it defies all logic. For all we know, the whole ‘Great Sound Whales ambushed the Federation, Lin Xiaohe saved the day’ incident was staged by her own camp!”
“Lin Xiaohe hasn’t just betrayed the Federation—she’s betrayed all of humanity! Her bio-armor is fused with Zerg genes. As far as we know, she never had any contact with Zerg in her documented life. So where did those Zerg genes come from?”
In short, the Federation was never wrong.
The Federation’s punishment of Lin Xiaohe was never wrong.
It was all Lin Xiaohe’s fault—she had to be a spy sent by the Zerg or some Stardust lifeform to infiltrate the Federation!
The reason the Federation was losing ground in this war? Must be because Lin Xiaohe had leaked military secrets.
Whether anyone else believed this narrative or not, the Federation Government and Parliament chose to believe it—and that was exactly the story they fed to all the other Star Rings.
If they didn’t spin it this way, how could they possibly explain things to the Federation’s citizens?
How could they explain that the massive military, built with astronomical sums, posed less of a deterrent to the Zerg than a single Lin Xiaohe?
How could they explain that the Federation, for whatever reasons, had driven away a superpower who could have saved humanity?
Not to mention the citizens couldn’t accept such a truth—even the parliamentarians themselves couldn’t stomach it!!
Just imagining it—if only they had treated Lin Xiaohe well back then, they might have been like Wesley and his crew, walking through the cosmos and riding Great Sound Whales!
Oh, the agony! Their intestines were practically green with regret; jealousy, envy, and resentment filled their chests!
So Lin Xiaohe must be nailed to the pillar of shame! She must be blasted to smithereens by the Dead Hand System along with the Hive!
If they couldn’t have it, nobody else could!
