Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Tandania.

Gazing at the water-blue planet outside the window, Fang Zheng squinted his eyes, sitting in a chair and watching the screen in front of him.

He didn’t go directly to that planet to set up defenses. He had already recorded and reviewed the opponent’s previous battles. This race and the Zerg have very similar strategies, both employing tactics of widespread swarm assaults. If Fang Zheng had the Swarm at hand right now, he wouldn’t mind confronting them head-on to see who truly is the authentic Swarm. After all, they both rely on biological strategies, and as the saying goes, ”Two tigers cannot share one mountain.” You’re coming to compete with me, but did you ask my permission?

However, Fang Zheng only had the little girl at his side right now, so he couldn’t proceed like this. The best way to deal with a swarm assault is to strangle it at its source.

Fang Zheng was naturally prepared for this, but...

”Do you think there’s something odd about this footage?”

Fang Zheng pointed at the screen in front of Nymph, showing footage retrieved by Fang Zheng after Little Ding Dong hacked into the surveillance system of a previously invaded planet. After notifying Darth Vader, by the time he arrived, several planets had already fallen, so Fang Zheng hadn’t clearly seen how they fought.

But now...

”What’s wrong, master?”

”Look here.”

Fang Zheng reached out to rewind the image to a busy, peaceful street. But suddenly, the street became chaotic, as if a terrorist attack had erupted. Many people began to run, hit each other, scream, and even soldiers joined the chaos. Meanwhile, a large shadow covered the sky, and numerous spore-like objects descended from the heavens, hitting the ground. Immediately, all types of creatures swarmed out, quickly transforming the world before them into hell.

”Something seems off. You see, before the arrival, these people started causing problems... I initially thought it was the work of the opponent’s spies, but it doesn’t seem like it. Look at this person; he was hitting a soldier with another person, but after taking down that soldier, they started fighting each other, and not even the arrival of these creatures stopped them. It’s as if... they’ve gone mad. In short, this doesn’t seem like a normal reaction.”

”Perhaps they’ve been released with some kind of viral genome?”

”It’s not impossible.”

Facing Little Angel’s response, Fang Zheng nodded.

”But in any case, I will not choose to fight these creatures on the ground. We must directly stop them in space from taking Tandania...”

With this, Fang Zheng reached out and pressed his personal terminal.

”Iona, how is the situation over there?”

”Everything is going smoothly, Commander. Installation is complete.”

”Good, ensure the safety of the generator.”

”Understood.”

Glancing at the planet before him again, Fang Zheng closed his eyes once more.

However, it wasn’t long before he felt a presence.

A cold shadow silently appeared, swiftly enveloping everything around, and at the same time, Iona reported in.

”Reporting to the Commander, an unknown cause of distortion has been detected in Subspace!”

”I can feel it, something is coming.”

Fang Zheng nodded, then stood up from his chair and walked to the window.

Then, Fang Zheng saw an enormous army emerging from the pitch-black depths of space.

Their appearance was almost the same as before, the front resembling a beetle, the back swaying with several long tentacles, or it could be seen as an octopus wearing a carapace. And the number of these alien warships—there were tens of thousands!

How is this possible?

Seeing this, Fang Zheng raised an eyebrow.

”Nymph, has the probe’s detection come up with results? Have they dispatched reinforcements?”

”No, the probe reports everything as normal, the opponent hasn’t dispatched any additional reinforcements.”

”Damn it, could it be that these guys can reproduce on their own...?”

At this point, Fang Zheng suddenly froze.

”Nymph, immediately show me the current state of the planets previously attacked!”

”Yes.”

As soon as Nymph finished speaking, the screen quickly displayed the state of the previously attacked planets—they were barren, the original forests and oceans almost entirely erased, and even the atmosphere seemed to be damaged...

”Damn, I knew it! Azure Fleet, launch the interceptors! VF team, get ready to deploy, all warships to battle positions!”

So Fang Zheng immediately understood what was going on.

This damn thing is also a Swarm!

Oh... I should have brought the Swarm.

Of course, this thought only flashed through Fang Zheng’s mind. He certainly wouldn’t leave the Swarm here, but seeing this strange civilization, Fang Zheng’s competitive spirit was piqued.

That’s right, Causeway Bay can only have one Hoonam, and two swarms cannot share one mountain. Then let’s see who is really qualified to call themselves the Swarm!

Thinking this, Fang Zheng immediately issued commands through the Swarm’s psychic network to the Insect Queens. After learning from Fang Zheng that there was another Swarm-like race in this universe, Mirune’s pride as the Swarm was ignited, and she insisted on leading the Swarm forces to encircle this mysterious invading army from the rear. Naturally, Fang Zheng let her do it.

Meanwhile, the fleet was already closing in on Tandania. Fang Zheng saw countless spore-like objects shooting from the warships straight down to the planet.

Damn, this is infringement, I’m telling you!

Seeing this, Fang Zheng couldn’t hold back any longer. You copied us, fine, but you dared to copy us in the presence of this Swarm Overlord? Do you really not see me as an authority?

But luckily, I anticipated this!

Thinking this, Fang Zheng chuckled, then snapped his fingers gently.

In the next moment, a fiery protective barrier suddenly appeared out of nowhere around the planet’s atmosphere. The fiercely burning Primordial Fire turned into a plastic film-like existence, wrapping the entire planet. The spores crashed into the ”film” and were quickly burned to ash.

Hehehe, thanks for the hospitality.

Fang Zheng smiled while collecting firewood, watching the alien fleet before him. Occupying a planet inevitably requires the deployment of paratroopers; the Zerg use Leviathan for air drops, and it should be about the same design here. Indeed, for standard air defenses, Zerg air drops are almost unstoppable due to sheer numbers, like scattering a handful of sand that you could never shoot each grain.

And as long as half of those grains reach the ground, the ensuing development becomes just a matter of time.

However --- Fang Zheng wouldn’t give them that chance!

The enemy seemed to be unprepared for such a strong defense outside the planet, so after launching the first wave of spores they were immediately dumbfounded. Seizing this opportunity, Fang Zheng quickly issued an order.

”Disengage stealth! Begin combat!”

”Reveal, all torpedoes fire!”

At the very moment Fang Zheng gave the order, the team of thousands of stealth bomber ships already positioned rose from the pitch black space, like blades directly piercing into the invading fleet. Torpedoes quickly launched, directly striking the octopus-like warships, triggering chains of explosions and flashes.

”-------!!”

The armored octopuses also sensed the presence of invaders. Fang Zheng saw the bat-like swarm wrapping their bodies suddenly moving toward the Hidden Strike Team. Meanwhile, these creatures opened their mouths and released green energy balls, with their long tentacles rapidly reaching for the bombers.

However, other warships had also been deployed.

Beams burst forth mercilessly, slicing through the invading fleet from all directions. The Paladin Rank ships unleashed firepower, attempting to set everything before them ablaze.

Yet the enemy was clearly no pushover. Faced with this sudden ambush, they quickly took action. Soon, creatures resembling Flying Dragons emerged in droves, darting toward the Azure Fleet.

”VF Fighter squadron and drones prepare!”

”Copy.”

Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s command, Anya in the cockpit whispered a reply, then activated communications.

”First escort squad ready, proceed.”

”Finally, our turn!”

Asuka excitedly gripped the joystick, watching the battle unfold outside.

”Top student, don’t hold me back!”

”Understood.”

Rei Ayanami replied quietly, without saying much else. Soon, the lights on the deck before them flickered twice and then stretched all the way to the end.

”Go!”

Led by Anya, three VF fighters with pink, red, and blue paint jobs shot out of the hangar. Behind them, thousands of VF fighters formed triangular formations, swiftly departing from carriers, moving with drone swarms to confront the shadowy clouds ahead.

Very soon, both sides clashed into chaos.

Warships savored the protection of VF Fighter squads and drones, harvesting the invaders before them. The stealth bombers fired and fled, speeding up to evade pursuit, then stealthily returned to strike when the opportunity arose. During this period, the invading fleet attempted multiple air drops on Tandania, but all were intercepted by Fang Zheng’s Primordial Fire Barrier.

Fang Zheng knows the weaknesses of Zerg well --- as long as it’s space warfare, their threat is halved. The elite Zerg units need the ground to fully conduct operations, which they lack in space. Therefore, preventing Zerg from occupying the surface minimizes the threat.

Sure enough, after several failed breakthroughs, the fleet began to show impatience, hastily redirecting their air drop to Tandania’s satellite; however......

”I guessed you’d try this move, deploy Doomsday.”

”Understood.”

Just as the invaders set foot on the satellite, without having time to celebrate with singing and dancing, a golden radiance suddenly erupted from a distance, striking squarely in the satellite’s center. This moon-sized satellite lasted barely five seconds before it was pierced by the beam, shattering into pieces that scattered all over --- and those heading toward the planet’s surface were naturally incinerated by the Primordial Fire.

After several failed attacks, the fleet seemed increasingly agitated. Fang Zheng watched as a warship rivaling Leviathan suddenly charged toward the Primordial Fire Barrier.

Oh oh oh, their recklessness is just like the Zerg.

But unfortunately..... pleasant thought, harsh reality.

Under Fang Zheng’s gaze, the massive armoured octopus collided with the Primordial Fire Barrier’s surface. The Primordial Fire swiftly ignited, soon fully engulfing this armoured octopus, as if drenched in gasoline, turning to ash before long.

But this didn’t deter the other armoured octopuses. Soon, hundreds of similar massive creatures charged at the Primordial Fire Barrier --- only to be turned into charcoal without exception.

”Hmm, thanks for the treat.”

Fang Zheng gave a nod with hands together. Indeed, if it were an ordinary energy barrier, such large-mass impact might have caused some instability. But Primordial Fire is Primordial Fire... offering it up for burning only strengthens it, not weakens it.

Hmm, Fang Zheng would hope this fleet is foolish enough to keep it up, allowing him to earn firewood while lying down.

However, contrary to his hopes......

”Master, problem on Tandania’s surface.”

”.......Hmm?”

Fang Zheng turned around, seeing Nymph raise her hands to reveal the screen before him. Quickly, Fang Zheng saw on the screen, creatures resembling a mix of horses and monkeys, with lizard faces and four arms, were attacking Tandania’s defense forces and cities, with defenses seemingly overwhelmed.

”......Where did these guys come from? Nothing should’ve breached our line, right?!”

Fang Zheng was certain that, after activating the Primordial Fire Barrier, not even a mosquito could get through.

”They launched an assault from underground, appearing to have been entrenched here for quite some time.”

”Alright, credit where it’s due.”

Faced with such calculation from the enemy, Fang Zheng had no choice but to surrender.

”Then send the Third Legion, those little girls dream of fighting all day, finally giving them a chance to quench ground conflict.”

”Yes.”