“It’s here!”
On Su Ling’s shoulder, a fly landed.
A creation of [Truth.Second Order]
Tian Tian and the others used these creations to observe the scene around Su Ling.
As the silver-haired girl appeared, Suzuki immediately identified her through the earpiece.
“Tian Tian, what about the Great Witch from the Witch’s Hut?”
“She… didn’t respond.”
Tian Tian’s expression turned grim.
Hearing this, Suzuki grew anxious.
She knew exactly how strong this Zerg was.
At the very least, Transcendent Peak.
“Don’t panic, we’ll—!”
Suddenly, the creation’s vision was cut off.
A996 patted Su Ling on the shoulder, her movements extremely familiar.
‘Hmph, trying to fish? Interesting.’
With the feed severed, panic erupted.
Luo Qianxue rushed out immediately, only to find that Su Ling and A996 had already vanished.
“…”
She drew her sword, pointing it straight at Tian Tian.
Lilith and Qing Luan’s faces darkened at the sight.
Swords were drawn, tensions suffocating.
“This isn’t the time for infighting. Let’s find Su Ling first,” Suzuki’s voice came through the earpiece.
This sudden turn of events caught them completely off guard.
In theory, creations were extremely hard to detect.
Besides, they had already sealed off the space in this area, precisely to prevent the target from using a Space Anchor to escape.
Either the target was still in this area,
or…
Suzuki’s heart sank.
Third Shell.
Seated Great Witch.
The Zerg had a strict hierarchy; every Zerg had a chance to molt.
Each molt meant a qualitative leap in power.
Coincidentally, Zergs could theoretically molt up to four times.
Each molt corresponded to one of the four stages of a Witch.
Third Shell corresponded exactly to a Great Witch.
If it was Third Shell, then tearing through space and completely ignoring their pre-laid measures was possible.
But if it really was Third Shell, then that was the worst-case scenario.
“Damn it! Why isn’t Qianxia here yet?!”
The Great Witch of the Witch’s Hut was none other than its Oiran, Qianxia.
Tian Tian was both sealing off the area and searching for Su Ling while messaging Qianxia.
But the other side was silent—ominously quiet.
Luo Qianxue’s face was as cold as frost.
She flew into the air, surveying the terrain below, extending her Spiritual Sense.
Yet there was no trace of Su Ling.
They had vanished as if into thin air.
At home, Suzuki paced back and forth in a panic.
They had completely misjudged this time.
They thought this Zerg was at most Second Shell, and the Witch’s Hut had even sent a Great Witch—how could it not be a perfect plan?
Everyone was frantic, except for one person.
Su Yao.
She should have been the most worried, but now she was staring intently at the last frozen frame on the screen.
Silver hair, red eyes.
“A996…”
—
The Zerg Imperial Guard, from the moment they hatched, were the Empress’s most loyal protectors.
And A996 was the most special one.
She was the Empress’s childhood playmate.
“Heehee, A996, once I get the Hive’s recognition, I’ll make you my Bed Warmer Guard!”
“Your Highness, the Zerg don’t have a position like ‘Bed Warmer Guard.’”
“I don’t care! A996 is so soft and smells so good—I bet sleeping with you is super comfy!”
“That’s just my Mimicry. You know what my real body looks like.”
“Heehee, I don’t mind.”
Childhood promises seemed to fade with time.
The Princess successfully passed the Trial of the Hive and became the new Empress of the Tyranid Swarm.
She was both happy and nervous.
She remembered that old promise.
If, if she really became the Bed Warmer Guard…
‘Ah, how… how embarrassing!’
But on that day, during the Empress’s Coronation Ceremony, the Empress never looked at her even once.
The Empress seemed to have changed.
She became just like every previous Empress—cold, heartless, decisive.
‘This is the real Empress.’
She comforted herself with that thought.
Yet deep down, she felt an indescribable loss.
Later, she was recruited into the Empress’s Personal Guard.
This guard team included not only their A-Generation, but also Generation B, and even two K-Generation members.
Lucky little ones.
The war between the Zerg and the Witches never stopped.
The Empress worked tirelessly every day for the Hive’s sake.
Every time she saw the deep exhaustion in the Empress’s eyes, she felt a pang of heartache.
Whenever that happened, she always thought back to that childish promise.
Bed Warmer Guard…
But that was just a naive, childhood vow.
She was merely an Imperial Guard.
As long as she could stay by the Empress’s side, that was enough.
Yet the unexpected came so suddenly.
She was on the front lines, fighting the Witch Army, when she suddenly received word: a Great Witch had cut through the Insect Den and actually kidnapped the Empress herself.
Unbelievable.
Without the Hive Mind’s regulation, the Zerg front lines crumbled.
She rushed back to the Insect Den in a panic.
By then, it was already a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
The ground was littered with the bodies of Witches and Zerg Imperial Guards.
At the forefront stood a figure.
“Empress…”
But when that person turned around, she had a face that was only eighty percent similar to the Empress’s.
Su Bai.
The Empress’s younger sister.
“She’s gone. She abandoned us.”
Su Bai’s face was covered in blood, her voice as cold as ice.
“Impossible! She is our Empress! How could she abandon us?! It was the Witches—it must be the Witches who took her away!”
“She passed the Hive’s Trial and is already Fourth Shell. How could a mere Great Witch take her away?”
Su Bai walked slowly toward her, holding a blood-dripping sword.
“I am now the Empress of the Tyranid Swarm.”
“Now: die, or submit.”
She glared at the woman who called herself Empress.
But the other showed no sign of emotion.
Yet in the end, she silently lowered her head.
Su Bai was of the Royal Family.
With the Empress missing, she had every right to temporarily assume the Empress’s authority.
Such a transfer of power would inevitably purge the old forces.
She couldn’t die.
She had to find the Empress and learn the truth herself.
“Now, I have a mission for you.”
“Go to the First Universe and find the whereabouts of the Former Empress.”
She looked up at Su Bai.
Su Bai offered no explanation.
Watching Su Bai’s back, for the first time, she found it so lonely.
As she expected, Su Bai’s purge came swiftly.
Some Imperial Guards refused to acknowledge Su Bai and fled voluntarily to the First Universe in search of the Empress.
Another group submitted to Su Bai.
Twenty years. Still, she found no clue about the Empress.
Until a month ago.
She encountered the Witch who had kidnapped the Empress.
She went completely mad.
After twenty years of searching, there was finally hope.
But her fight with that Great Witch attracted another Great Witch.
She fled, severely wounded.
‘The Light of Hope is at the Andromeda Witch Academy. The mission has changed—go to the Witch Academy first and obtain the Light of Hope.’
While recovering with D763, A007 suddenly sent a message.
‘The material to build a Hive is a dead Light of Hope. If you get it, you know what to do.’
The Light of Hope had the power to grant one wish.
Once the wish was fulfilled, the Light of Hope would die, becoming one of the Hive’s materials.
In other words, if she obtained the Light of Hope, she could use that chance to fulfill one of her own wishes.
And her wish…
Unbidden, that childish promise echoed in her ears again.
‘Bed Warmer Guard…’