The leader of the swarm did not hide its presence.
In the center of the sea of insects, beneath a cloud of toxic spores, Zeke saw a unit that was completely out of place among the surrounding swarm.
The Swarm Lord.
The Swarm Lord is the apex predator of the entire hive, the vanguard of the Hive Mind, possessing a massive physique and a variety of unexpected psychic powers.
Whenever the Tyranids cannot overwhelm an opponent through sheer numbers or tactical adjustments, a Swarm Lord is spawned to clean up the mess.
In terms of strength, among the people Zeke knew, a Primarch or only a few powerful Space Marine Chapter Masters like Dante could stand against it.
To conquer Baal, the swarm had actually deployed such a ruthless character. They really went all out.
Zeke knew why the Tyranids were so crazed: because hidden beneath Baal was the Blood Angels' greatest secret.
The body of Sanguinius!
The swarm dreamed of devouring Sanguinius's genes, which would make them incomparably powerful.
Coincidentally, Zeke also wanted Sanguinius's body... well, his feathers.
He needed at least one more to reserve for a future Elytra.
Zeke zoomed in with his Spyglass. The Swarm Lord seemed to sense the prying gaze and looked in Zeke's direction.
It wasn't just Zeke who noticed the Swarm Lord; Dante saw the behemoth as well.
He mobilized a squad of Blood Angels and launched a raid toward the Swarm Lord's position.
Dante's journey was incredibly smooth; the swarms they encountered seemed to be deliberately avoiding their squad.
This Swarm Lord is letting Dante in on purpose, Zeke realized.
Dante couldn't have failed to notice, but this was King against King. He could not retreat.
Zeke compared the health bars of both sides back and forth.
This fight is a bit unfair. Dante doesn't seem to understand the disparity in strength.
Zeke knew that combat was full of rapid changes. It depended not only on physical constitution but also on combat experience and improvisation.
But when the numerical difference is too vast, all the experience in the world is useless.
–
Commander Dante faced the Swarm Lord. He could feel an ancient and powerful wisdom shimmering in the Overlord's eyes, unlike any Tyranid Dante had encountered before.
Although Dante was very old, looking into those unblinking eyes, he felt like a newborn infant.
A rumble emanated from the monster's throat, and muscle fibers contracted within the crevices of its chitinous armor.
Despite its massive size, the Swarm Lord moved with astonishing speed, crystalline veins shimmering on its bone sabres.
The Swarm Lord pierced Dante's chest plate, penetrated his secondary heart, grazed his spine, and exited through the other side of his torso.
Zeke saw Sicarius roaring, trying to cut through the swarm to support Dante.
The bugs did not let him pass; countless Tyranids drowned Sicarius.
Seeing this Zeke fished a potion out of his inventory.
The color of the potion was a blinding white, looking as if a bolt of lightning had been bottled inside glass. It was the Speed 255 potion.
Should I use it here? Zeke thought for a moment, looking again at Dante facing the Swarm Lord.
The old warrior's armor was shattered, his movements sluggish. The Swarm Lord's bone sabre was poised to pierce his chest once more.
Dante was marching toward death. Countless Blood Angels were frantically trying to save their Chapter Master but were blocked by the sea of insects.
There was no hope left. All the Blood Angels began to roar in despair.
Potions are consumables anyway. I can always brew more. Saving Dante should give me an excuse to mooch a few more feathers.
…Alright, actually, I just want to feel the need for speed. Starting today, Jaghatai Khan's title as the King of Speed might just change hands.
Zeke uncorked the bottle and drained it in one gulp.
Arriving on the battlefield now is: Speed 255 Zeke!
Zeke jumped down from the Arx Angelicum. The world changed. Sound vanished—no, not vanished, but stretched.
The roar of bolters in the distance turned into long, drawn-out sighs. Every explosion was stretched into a rolling thunder that lasted a full ten seconds.
Zeke watched the firing process of a bolter to his left.
The bolt shell moved along the barrel, rotating slowly.
When it finally flew out of the muzzle, the compressed gas formed a slowly blooming flower at the tip.
Every wisp of airflow was clearly visible, like a transparent rose in full bloom.
Zeke looked further away. All the Tyranid creatures on the battlefield were frozen in place.
This was Speed 255.
The extreme enhancement of mental reaction speed made Zeke feel as if everything around him had become incredibly slow.
Only in this way could his mind match the body's speed of 255. Otherwise, moving at such supernatural velocity, Zeke would likely crash into something and kill himself.
Zeke tightened his grip on the Netherite Lance.
The lance trembled slightly in his hand, as if it too sensed the coming storm.
Spear tip forward, shaft parallel to the ground. Glancing around, Zeke aimed at the densest part of the insect sea and took a step.
The first creature the lance touched was a Carnifex.
The massive monster was five or six meters tall, with a carapace tens of centimeters thick, usually requiring continuous bombardment from heavy weapons to penetrate.
The lance merely grazed past it gently. The Carnifex's body split down the middle, instantly killed by Zeke and turned into experience points.
Then the second, the third, the fourth...
Zeke passed through the middle of the swarm, moving so fast he didn't even feel the lance hitting anything.
All Tyranids gently brushed by the lance met a singular end: DEATH.
–
Cassius was a warrior of the Flesh Tearers' 3rd Company.
At this moment, he was locked in combat with a Hormagaunt.
The Hormagaunt was a head taller than him, its six claws waving like a windmill.
Every one of its strikes was fast and vicious; Cassius could barely parry with his chainsword.
He took a deep breath, raising his chainsword again to block another attack from the Hormagaunt.
A gust of wind shrieked past him.
Cassius froze. The Hormagaunt he was fighting had vanished.
Cassius opened his mouth wide. He looked around and saw a perfectly straight channel!
The channel extended from Cassius's side into the distance, disappearing at the end of his vision.
There was nothing in the channel, only a patch of ground that was eerily clean.
Outside the empty strip, the swarms that hadn't been passed through maintained their attacking postures.
Cassius's gaze followed the extension of that channel. He saw a blurry shadow at the very end.
That shadow was moving at a speed he couldn't comprehend, so fast that his retina could only capture a fleeting afterimage.
Next to the shadow were Chapter Master Dante and a terrifying Tyranid monster.
--
Goal = 1800 (Not Complete)