Jiang Yun’er nodded.
"That’s right. During the stalemate in the battle to defend the Capital, the Federation’s top brass on the front lines paid a hefty sum to invite him north to provide reinforcements from a thousand miles away. At first, they just tasked him with pinning down the Southwestern Mother Empress Swarm near Yunxia Ridge to ensure the Federation’s breakout plan to the Northwest could proceed smoothly."
"But they underestimated Lin Feng’s strength, and his determination to evolve further by killing a Mother Empress!"
"Now that guy’s ambition has ballooned. He wants to take down a Tier Three Mid-stage Mother Empress and reach the Tier Three Middle Stage himself before he’ll leave the North."
"Once he returns to Jiangnan’s Jin City, that will be the day the Salvation Army reclaims all the lost territory in the Southern Federation, unifies the entire Nine Provinces of the South, and transitions from a base of operations into a formally established nation."
Jiang Yun’er was completely improvising, spinning a wild tale. But there was no crime in bluffing, and it perfectly matched Lin Feng’s ambitious persona anyway.
But in the eyes of the Eastern Mother Empress, an insatiably ambitious man was also a useful pawn to be exploited.
Even though they were opponents, the other three Mid-stage Mother Empresses in the North were also its competitors in the race to enter the Tier Three Late Stage, or even ascend to become a Tier Four King.
And among them, the Southern Mother Empress—the second to advance to Tier Three Mid-Stage Perfection right after it—was undoubtedly a thorn in the Eastern Mother Empress’s side...
It hadn’t cared about the other Mid-stage Mother Empresses before because none of them had reached Mid-Stage Perfection yet. There was still a considerable gap between their power levels and its own.
No matter how strong they were, they posed no immediate threat to its sacrificial plan.
But now, that Southern Mother Empress, after failing to conquer Yunxia Ridge, had by a strange twist of fate received a blessing in disguise...
By devouring its own kind and absorbing a masterless Swarm of over a hundred thousand, it had successfully reached the rank of a Perfection existence within the Middle Stage in just a few short days.
At the same time, on the global Mother Empress rankings, it had shot up from outside the top fifty to within the top twenty.
Its current rank was second only to its own.
’If it successfully takes Yunxia Ridge, kills and collects the flesh and corpses of Tier Three Human Awakeners, and offers them to the great Mother of Life, that thing might even advance to the Tier Three Late Stage before I do...’
’It could shoot into the global top five, or even the top three, in one fell swoop!’
’And once it advances to the Tier Three Late Stage, the first thing it will do is definitely plot to kill and annex the other three Mid-stage Mother Empresses in the North.’
’It will use our flesh and blood to pave its path to kingship!’
Thus, in the Eastern Mother Empress’s view, the real, direct threat to it wasn’t the Salvation Army leader’s plan to kill a Mid-stage Mother Empress...
...but the Southern Mother Empress, which had come with an invitation but harbored ill intentions from the very beginning.
It was just that with the defenders of Yunxia Ridge still standing and a great enemy before them, the Mother Empresses of the Multi-Emperor Alliance were constrained by their agreement and hadn’t dropped all pretenses yet.
But the Eastern Mother Empress had always been on its guard. That was why when the Salvation Army leader and his subordinates raided their Underground Hive tunnels, the Eastern Mother Empress knew that the Reproductive Armor Mecha was trying to make an example of them...
...but it had deliberately held back, slowed its pace, and let the southern one go first to probe the Salvation Army leader’s true strength.
Now that it had an inside source to relay the enemy’s plan to assassinate a Mid-stage Mother Empress, the Eastern Mother Empress had clearly devised a strategy to kill two birds with one stone.
And so, after thinking for a minute or two, under Jiang Yun’er’s nervous gaze, the Zerg Genetic Mother slowly spoke:
"That Salvation Army leader, Lin Feng... has he formulated a specific plan to assassinate a Mid-stage Mother Empress?"
Jiang Yun’er thought for a moment, then shook her head.
"Originally, he planned to place an incredibly powerful Hydrogen Bomb beneath the main battlefield on the Northwest side of Yunxia Ridge."
"That way, the Multi-Emperor Alliance’s plan to dig tunnels and outflank the Yunxia Ridge defenders from underground would mean they were digging their own graves."
"Then, as soon as a Mid-stage Mother Empress appeared, Lin Feng and his subordinates would take to the skies, detonate the pre-planted Hydrogen Bomb, and blast both you and the Southern Mother Empress into a near-death, critically injured state. He would be replicating the Mother Empress assassination plan he first successfully carried out in the Jiangnan region!"
As she spoke, even Jiang Yun’er herself felt that if this plan could be kept secret, it could perfectly achieve the desired effect and succeed in assassinating a Mid-stage Mother Empress.
However, with the great increase in Lin Feng’s strength, he was now on the same starting line as a Zerg Race Mother Empress. Naturally, he could no longer rely on passively waiting for opportunities to advance.
His goal had shifted from merely surviving the Zerg Race’s onslaught to defeating them, even surpassing them, to be the first to advance to the Tier Three Late Stage and the first to make the leap to Tier Four!
Therefore, what Lin Feng wanted to do was to take the initiative and kill a Tier Three Mid-stage Mother Empress within the next two or three days!
After explaining this, Jiang Yun’er couldn’t help but add:
"He’s gotten incredibly arrogant. He thinks that with the boost from his Biological Reproductive Armor, he already has the combat power to match a Tier Three Mid-stage Mother Empress. So his plan is to kill as many Early-stage Mother Empresses as possible to weaken the Multi-Emperor Alliance, then find an opportunity to use a Hydrogen Bomb to critically injure you and the Southern Mother Empress before piloting his Biological Reproductive Armor to finish the job!"
"According to his schedule, it should happen in the next day or two!"
After hearing Jiang Yun’er’s words, the Eastern Mother Empress fell into a long, deep thought.
It was a full five minutes before it slowly spoke again:
"If that’s the case, then we should naturally cooperate with this leader to complete his plan of critically injuring a Mid-stage Mother Empress!"
"As for you, according to our previous agreement, after I help you achieve your Tier Jump Promotion, enter Tier Three, and master more complete Zerg biological technology, you will use that as a pretext. When you perform a technological Upgrade on Lin Feng’s Reproductive Armor Mecha, you are to leave a little something in the key fuselage structure—something that can cause it to briefly malfunction or crash during combat."
"Furthermore, if you get the chance, you are to secretly modify the few Hydrogen Bombs in his possession. Cut some key wires, things like that."
"The former is a must. As for the latter, as long as you don’t expose yourself, you can sabotage the spare munitions that won’t be used. That will allow the initial nuclear explosion plan to proceed smoothly..."
Jiang Yun’er nodded, feigning partial understanding, though in reality, she had already guessed the Eastern Mother Empress’s plan to be the oriole waiting in the wings, ready to swoop in and reap the benefits.
But that wasn’t her concern. To stay in character, Jiang Yun’er asked:
"Then what about me killing an Early-stage Mother Empress to get my promotion..."
The Eastern Mother Empress cut Jiang Yun’er off, explaining with a hint of impatience:
"Don’t worry. Isn’t the Salvation Army leader going to weaken the remaining Early-stage Mother Empresses first? As it happens, the three remaining Early-stage Mother Empresses are already thinking of retreating..."
"Without breaking the alliance pact, the Southern Mother Empress and I have already reached an agreement. We plan to use them to exhaust the defenders’ strength and energy as much as possible."
"When the time comes, I will secretly assist you in securing the kill."
"Go back. You’ve been out for ten minutes already. If Lin Feng discovers anything, this whole thing will be ruined..."
A long-absent smile appeared on Jiang Yun’er’s face. She nodded her thanks, closed the cockpit of her Mother Empress, and turned to leave the edge of the corpse-strewn battlefield.
Watching her receding figure disappear into the moonlit night...
...the face of the genetic body controlled by the Mid-stage Mother Empress twisted into a scowl of disgust.
In truth, no race could look favorably upon a Mixed Blood Species that had stolen its genes, let alone a mixed-blood mongrel piloting a biological machine created from the flesh and blood of its own kind.
Even if these Mixed Blood Species were powerful enough to reach Tier Three Late-Stage Perfection, their status within the race would still be incredibly low. They were at the bottom of the pecking order, with no status or dignity to speak of.
Just like the Red-Armored Beetles that had fused with Zerg Race genes.
They were stripped of their potential to advance, as well as their basic self-awareness, intelligence, and emotions, becoming nothing more than organic Slaves.
As for someone like Jiang Yun’er—a human who was a Zerg Genetic Mother—she might seem powerful and full of potential...
...but in the eyes of a noble Zerg Race Mother Empress, she was even more disgusting than the Genetic Warriors fused with the flesh of Spine Zergs.
’The genes of the great Zerg God flowing through the body of a lowly, primitive planetary native is the gravest form of blasphemy!’
For now, the Eastern Mother Empress had no choice but to tolerate her existence simply because it needed her to continue acting as a spy and informant among the humans.
And in a place Jiang Yun’er never noticed...
...one of the Zerg Eggs on the tail of the Zerg genetic body had vanished unnoticed during their conversation.
And on the fuselage of the departing Mother Empress mecha, a larva exuding the same aura had silently attached itself to a crevice in a joint, completely unnoticed.