The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

2791. The Raid on Lago (Part 2)

The closer you get to that enormous nest, the more you can feel its immense size—hundreds of meters high, tens of kilometers in circumference—and the clear pulsation emanating from the ground, as if the entire earth is breathing.

The vein-like tissue pulsated beneath their feet, the dark purple membranes opening and closing rhythmically. Moreover, it was clear that the pulsation was getting faster and stronger, until finally, even the Protoss Zealot warriors running on it were bounced up by the intense pulsation.

Everyone had to stop and crouch down, gripping the ground tightly to prevent themselves from being bounced away like a ball.

Then, the huge nest seemed to be shrinking and twitching like a giant chrysanthemum, and then with a loud bang, countless pale green pus sprayed into the sky, and countless swarms of insects spewed out from it!

What followed was an incredibly huge blast of air! Even those several kilometers away were blown so hard they could barely stand, demonstrating the immense kinetic energy of the jet. The surrounding air even became scorching hot due to the intense friction.

The countless swarms of insects were propelled straight into the sky by that terrifying jet force, breaking through the atmosphere and rushing directly into outer space!
Clearly, the Kilik swarm on Lago is far larger than the few million previously detected. Other enormous nests, visible to the naked eye in the distance, are also spewing swarms of insects into the sky.

The spewing of insects from the nest lasted for at least five minutes, releasing an unknown number of swarms before finally stopping. Now, the nest looked completely limp, visibly softened, and much lower in height.

Then, the underground veins began to throb rhythmically once again, clearly indicating that the nest was gathering its next wave of power.

Temple Guardian Theras rose from the ground and once again led six Protoss Zealots on a frantic charge toward the lair. Darth Lilim followed closely behind on her Wheel of Fate.

However, at this moment, after the previous jet, some of the Kilik bugs that failed to escape the atmosphere fell from the sky. They also discovered the group of people and, screeching, descended from the sky and pounced on them.

These insects come in various shapes, but most retain the ability to fly. Some have wings, while others resemble balloons that can expel air, but all of them are ferocious and menacing.

The Zealot warriors were already in battle mode, wielding their lightsabers and slicing down the insects. But even more insects were spewing acid attacks from the sky, and several enormous insects, some over ten meters long, were spewing powerful bursts of plasma from their bulging abdomens!

The situation immediately became precarious. Therath led the Zealot warriors, slaying the charging insects while running at high speed on the ground to dodge the ranged attacks falling from the sky.

However, at that moment, a burst of giggles came from behind them.

All they saw was Darth Lilim completely disregarding their lives, laughing as she rode the Wheel of Fate forward at breakneck speed, her figure flashing through the gaps in the swarm of insects, heading straight for the massive nest.

Reaching the vicinity of the lair, she leaped into the air, her blood-red lightsaber flashing out and drawing a crimson streak across the sky. The massive lair was instantly cleaved open by this single strike, creating a gaping chasm over ten meters wide. Thick, green liquid gushed out, but Darth Lilim paid no heed and simply plunged inside.

However, her actions also attracted the surrounding swarm of insects, many of which abandoned Theras and the others and turned to fly towards the nest.

Surrounded, Thras managed to fight his way out and enter the lair.

The nest was dark and damp inside, with constant wriggling around it. Every now and then, a ferocious insect would burst out from the surrounding membranes, but it still couldn't stop Darth Lilim's advance.

She wielded her lightsaber, charging through the nest and leaving a trail of countless insect corpses in her wake. But these corpses were quickly carried away by tiny insects that crawled out from the corners, and even the pus on the ground was sucked up by the insects.

Later, feeling that the lightsaber wasn't fast enough, Darth Lilim swung his lightsaber, which instantly extended into a light whip. Powerful Force energy attached to it generated bolts of lightning! A single lash of the light whip shredded dozens of huddled insects to shreds!

The Wheel of Fate finally revealed its true power, howling as it rampaged through the nest, its sharp claws capable of tearing through any obstacle, even the incredibly hard shell inside.

A terrifying chill emanated from her, turning everything in her path into a frozen wasteland. Even wriggling cavities were frozen solid, their movements halted. Insects that rushed towards her lost their footing on the smooth ice, some even slipping and falling. Some of the lucky ones that managed to get close were frozen into ice sculptures without the Wheel of Fate even needing to intervene.

Several insects tried to ambush them from behind, but the Wheel of Fate didn't even turn its head. With a flick of its tail, dozens of ice spikes instantly formed, piercing through their bodies and freezing them completely!
Even though the Wheel of Fortune had undergone Alexia Ashford's messy modifications, even though the process of her being sacrificed in the planetary temple at the time was not complete, and even though the technology that ultimately modified her, Coleman Law, had been around for 100,000 years, she was still a creation of a super civilization that called itself a god!

Coleman-Law, relying on his terrifying dark alchemy, proclaimed himself the God of Destruction, dominating even the chaotic unknown star system, and ultimately likely to be destroyed by the gods themselves. Such a terrifying being, even in its incomplete form, possesses an incredibly powerful Wheel of Fate as a dark alchemical beast.

Moreover, she was originally an incredibly powerful Force-sensitive individual.

In comparison, the Kilik swarm was like paper in front of her, utterly insignificant.

They engaged in a frenzied slaughter, first fighting their way from the bottom of the lair to the top, only to find nothing there, so they fought their way back down from the top to the bottom. Finally, Darth Lilim discovered a massive cavity leading directly underground, and so, armed with the Wheel of Fate, they fought their way down!
Once deep underground, Darth Lilim and the Wheel of Fate wreaked havoc again. In this environment, no matter how large the Kilik swarm was, they couldn't possibly encircle them. Even if they blocked off all sides, the Kilik could simply cut a hole in the floor or ceiling and escape.

They slaughtered their way through, wiping out tens of thousands of insect swarms!
After Darth Lilim's frenzied slaughter, he scattered a large swarm of insects, only to find that those surrounded by this swarm of insects were none other than the Protoss!

All that could be seen was the Temple Guardian Theras, who was invincible. His strength was even greater than that of some of the larger insects, and he was like a killing machine, hacking and slashing wildly.

However, he had to consider the other six zealots, whose strength was quite average. They were struggling against the countless swarms of insects and could not hold them off. If it weren't for Theras's valiant fight, there would probably have been casualties by now.

Now, looking at Seras again, his golden armor was completely covered in pale green pus, making him look utterly wretched. Compared to the agile Darth Lilim, the difference in their abilities was stark. "Ah! Isn't this the noble and powerful guardian of the temple?" Darth Lilim walked over and mocked mercilessly.

"You vile and depraved one! You betrayed us and used us as bait!" Theras roared, seemingly about to charge forward, but in the end, reason prevailed over everything.

Based on their current demonstrated strength, Darth Vader and Lilim are indeed far stronger than him.

“If you keep calling me a Fallen One like that, you might really not make it back to the surface alive.” Darth Lilim brandished her light whip and continued, “We’re all comrades, don’t I have a name? Why are you humiliating me like this?”

Thelas cursed under his breath in a Protoss language he couldn't understand, but desperately suppressed his anger and asked, "Then tell me, what's your name?"

“Ah, call her Grandma,” Darth Lilim replied casually.

Thelas let out a terrifying roar and swung his light blade, ready to strike. However, at the last moment, he seemed to receive some kind of communication, and his movements were forcibly stopped.

At the same time, Darth Lilim heard Severus Tann's voice on the communicator: "Regardless of any conflicts you have with Theras, your priority now is completing the mission! The lair you're in is about to erupt again. If you don't find the lair's core, the immense power of the eruption could kill you all!"

“Oh.” Darth Lilim responded with an “oh,” then looked at the ever-vigilant Thras and said with little interest, “Well then, let’s cooperate for now, Temple Guardian. You lead the way, and I’ll clear the path… how about that?”

"Just follow me." Seras said this, looked around, and then slashed the ground with his light blade. The thick ground was instantly cut open, revealing a fleshy membrane several meters thick underneath, from which a foul-smelling slime gushed out.

Beneath the membrane layer, rocks were clearly visible!
Having been on Lago for so long, this was the first time they had ever seen stones.

Then, Seras roared and slammed his fist down, smashing countless cracks into the rock layer, but the rock layer remained incredibly hard and could not be broken through.

At that moment, the Wheel of Fate crawled over, exhaling an extremely cold breath that froze the rock layers, then turned to look at Darth Lilim. Lilim recalled, transformed her light whip back into a lightsaber, and then plunged it down fiercely!
With a series of crisp cracking sounds, the several-meter-thick rock layer shattered instantly, and everyone jumped down.

This was an enormous underground space, with countless massive, blood vessel-like cavities extending from all directions and sinking deep into the ground. These cavities were constantly writhing and their temperature was incredibly high, clearly absorbing the planet's geothermal energy!

Clearly, this is why the planet was completely devoured by the swarm of insects! The swarm continuously absorbed geothermal energy, then multiplied and split, eventually engulfing the entire planet.

Moreover, a significant portion of geothermal energy originates from planetary revolution and the deformation caused by the gravitational pull of stars, making this energy source virtually inexhaustible. If this continues, the Kylik swarm will become an endless population!

This ability is clearly just the tip of the iceberg of the immense power that allowed the Kylik swarm to dominate the Milky Way. This isn't simple heat absorption; it's a very direct mass-energy conversion! This alone is a miracle of biological evolution!

Before Darth Lilim and the others could even get their bearings, countless swarms of Kilik insects attacked them from all sides!

Therath charged forward fearlessly once more, wreaking havoc among the swarm. With him leading the charge, Darth Lilim and the Wheel of Fate were able to unleash their full power, and under the onslaught of lightning whips and icy claws, the swarm was slaughtered in droves.

During the battle, some of the writhing cavities were ripped open, and incredibly hot gas spewed out from them! If the cavities hadn't quickly repaired themselves, this place would probably have become a deadly sauna in no time.

Seeing this, Darth Lilim and his companions had to restrain themselves and try to avoid the cavities. They became hesitant, but fortunately, Seras found the right direction in time.

He pointed to one of the tubes and said, "Follow this direction!"

Another frenzied slaughter ensued, and two of the fanatic warriors who had come with them were also killed in the battle. They finally fought their way into a natural hall.

The entire hall was covered by a sturdy biological shell, and in the center was a cocoon over ten meters tall. At the bottom of the cocoon, countless roots and blood vessels stretched deep into the ground, while at the top, a thick, ever-moving tube connected the two.

"Is this the mastermind behind those swarms?" Darth Lilim frowned and stepped forward.

Without a word, Seras raised his light blade and slashed down. The cocoon split open, and Seras's light blade was bounced back by what was below.

That was clearly a barrier of primal force!
This barrier was extremely powerful, even visible to the naked eye. Behind the barrier, a figure slowly emerged. He was completely naked, half of his head was swallowed by a biological cavity, and his left hand, starting from his shoulder, had become a mutated tentacle.

The person's head was caught in the tube and suspended in mid-air, motionless.

Seeing this, the Wheel of Fortune suddenly acted strangely. She let out a terrifying scream, and a chilling aura instantly spread, even freezing the shells surrounding the hall!
The Kilik swarm sensed the danger, and countless insects swarmed towards them, attacking them relentlessly.

The wheel of fate had gone mad, but thankfully countless insects remained. She charged forward recklessly, ignoring all commands! Her eyes were bloodshot, and frost spread like a spiderweb beneath her feet—nothing but slaughter! (End of Chapter)