Chapter 114: Warhammer: What Do You Mean You Conquered the Bug Race
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Protagonist:
Lin En
Lena
Inside the temporary command post by the Forbidden Wall late at night, dim yellow light illuminated Lin En's weary face.
He leaned back in his office chair, set down the last data slate in his hand, and raised a hand to rub his brow.
Seeing this, Lena sensibly used her forelegs to massage Lin En's scalp.
The office desk was piled high with all sorts of reports and documents.
Most were unimportant, but the urgent food ration report sent by Carter from the Main Hive stood out in glaring red text.
It stated that the Governor's Mansion's food reserves could only support the Vanguard Army and the wildmen refugees for two and a half months.
Lin En looked at these reports and let out a soft sigh.
Ever since he took over as Governor of Brevis, he had been troubled by the food problem.
Fighting the Green Skins required grain and supplies, settling the wildmen required grain and supplies, "popping troops" required grain and supplies; Brevis's famine was more severe than he had imagined.
Just then, a clear and cold female voice rang out beside Lin En's ear.
Carrying a hint of cheerfulness at completing a task, and a not easily noticeable desire for credit:
"The Divine Envoy has arrived, Snow Claw and Ice Fang have both begun storing food as required, their people are very obedient."
Lin En reached up and took the little creature off his head, his fingertips gently brushing her cold carapace, his movements tender:
"Very well done, Lena."
His voice was low and gentle, with undisguised praise.
Lena seemed to enjoy this praise; the compound eyes of the Miniature Shredder Worm narrowed, and pink bubbles rose above her head.
That was her way of expressing "pleasure"; the emotion transmitted through the System Link was soft as a tuft of cotton, gently wrapping around Lin En's consciousness.
Lin En had long grown accustomed to this "Reward Mechanism" of hers; every time he praised her, she did this.
Like a cat whose chin had been scratched, docile and adorable, completely unlike the cold, bloodthirsty image of the Bug Race—truly two different "bugs."
Continuing to stroke the Shredder Worm, Lin En continued to ask:
"How is the development of new units on Lena No. 2's side?"
Lena fell into a brief silence; she synchronized consciousness with Lena No. 2, sharing the Bug Swarm's research data.
No more than two seconds passed before her voice rang out again, her tone carrying a touch more rigor:
"The gene sequence is basically stable; the development of the Ice Spine Terrestrial Beast and the wildmen genes is complete.
But the function of safely digesting Green Skin Spores is still unstable; it needs more Green Skin samples for practical testing."
Lin En nodded, a glint flashing in his eyes; this was exactly the result he wanted.
Green Skin Spores were the most troublesome problem; as long as a trace of spores remained, new Green Skin Kids would be born before long.
Even the ferocious Tyranids had these headaches.
But as long as this problem was overcome, it would mean they possessed an endless supply of biomass!
More importantly, the Bug Race's method of combat was just right for dealing with the Green Skins.
Because the Bug Race's playstyle leaned toward genes, while the Green Skins' Wo Xun Si power leaned toward physics.
The Bug Race could effectively suppress the progress of Green Skin technology, although the Bug Race had no way to utilize Green Skin genes.
This was also a layout he had planned from the very beginning.
And as for the research on new units, it did not begin with the sacrifices at Double Peak Mountain.
Ever since the Snow Claw Clan's cavalry ambushed his escort team over a month ago.
Lena No. 2 had been using the Ice Spine Terrestrial Beasts and wildmen remains recovered from the battlefield to extract their gene sequences, researching new Bug Swarm units adapted to the Ice Plains environment.
And that Double Peak Ice Mountain had never been a stage for "receiving envoys," but rather a "Divine Certification Center" he had prepared for the Lena Swarm.
The Frost Dragon was the shell, a mythic symbol used to intimidate the Ice Plains wildmen; the Bug Race was the core, the true source of power.
Using the wildmen's hands to sacrifice biomass, the Bug Swarm would produce "Divine Warriors."
Providing the wildmen with the power to fight the Green Skins was a perfect transaction, and a perfect closed loop.
But now, the operation of this closed loop was stuck on the food problem.
Lin En opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the food reports on the desk once more, and he let out a soft sigh:
"Lena, what we lack most right now is still food."
"Feeding soldiers, feeding refugees, feeding the Bug Swarm—every single one of them needs to eat."
The Miniature Shredder Worm lightly swept his fingertip with its tentacle, its clear and cold voice carrying a sense of course:
"It's very simple, just keep squeezing those Nobles, isn't that right?"
Lin En looked at the little creature in his palm and couldn't help but smile; the weariness in his eyes dissipated quite a bit.
His thoughts had long been seen through by Lena.
And he indeed planned to make a move against those Nobles, but now was not the time.
Lin En lightly tapped her little head, his voice carrying a touch of helplessness:
"I want to, but now, we have to deal with that tail first." Lin En's tone gradually turned cold.
"Taking action at the Main Hive isn't very convenient..."
Lena's compound eyes narrowed, flashing with cold killing intent; she of course knew who Lin En was talking about.
That Inquisitor hiding in the shadows, Sorin Vimlot.
She was like a restless evil spirit, always lurking near the Forbidden Wall, monitoring Lin En's every move.
Lin En sensed Lena's killing intent, continuing to stroke her carapace, soothing her emotions.
He knew Sorin was a time bomb; as long as she remained, every step of his actions had to be taken with extreme caution, without revealing a flaw.
He had to deal with this tail first before he could act against the nobles of the Nest Capital without misgivings, before he could completely resolve Brevis's grain shortage problem.
The two of them just like this exuded terrifying killing intent, thinking about how to deal with this Inquisitor.
In the afternoon at the Forbidden Wall, the wind and snow eased slightly, light filtering through the thick cloud layer, falling on the snow, reflecting a faint glow.
Lin En was sitting before the sand table at the command post, reviewing the reorganization plan for the next batch of rotating troops.
His fingers slid lightly over the sand table, sketching out the defensive positions of the Forbidden Wall, while from time to time he exchanged tactical deployments with his staff officer.
Just then, Sorin's voice suddenly rang out in his mind, carrying a trace of surprise:
"That Inquisitor has left the Forbidden Wall, heading toward the Main Hive."
Lin En's fingertip paused fiercely, his movement stopping at the Ice Plains area of the sand table, a trace of wariness flashing in his eyes.
End of Chapter
