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

The more Fang Zheng watched the combat scenario, the more annoyed he felt.

It’s not that the Galactic Empire was doing poorly, rather... no matter how he looked at it, he felt that this Taren Swarm was just a knock-off of his Swarm.

Like the Swarm, they also had a main combat unit similar to the Jumping Bug, which the Empire called the Ripping Worm. It didn’t resemble his little dogs at all; if Fang Zheng had to say, they’d look more like four-legged cockroaches. In terms of size, the two were not much different either.

Similarly, besides the Ripping Worm, there was also a creature named the Serpent Bug—that was simply a counterfeit version of the Hydralisk. Except it had fewer claws than the Hydralisk, everything else was almost identical, and it could burrow underground and use stealth just like the Hydralisk, practically making them fraternal twins.

Additionally, there was the Hydralisk’s stepbrother, the Digging Python. Though it looked like a large, enhanced version of the Hydralisk, it performed the tasks of a Burrower Bug. Fang Zheng observed for a while and finally discovered that it could only dig holes on the battlefield, lacking the Burrower Bug’s interstellar wormhole excavation capability. He simply chuckled and let it be.

Fortunately, besides these, the other Taren Insect Race units no longer gave Fang Zheng’s Swarm that similar feeling. Although their frontline troops seemed like they were cast from the same mold as the Swarm, the elite troops were something entirely different.

Among the mix of Ripping Worms and Serpent Bugs were these creatures with two legs and four arms, massive in size, capable of both long-range and close combat. The upper two claws advanced the fight, while the lower two hands wielded different weapons. Moreover, these creatures had a particularly robust physique, much tougher than those frontline bugs.

Some of these creatures carried guns, while others had cannons, but upon closer inspection, it was clear that their so-called weapons were more like miniature paranormal biologics. Considering their Swarm-like features, perhaps these weapons were also a result of their adaptations?

Of course, they also had a self-detonation unit similar to the Explosive Beetle, though these looked somewhat silly compared to Explosive Beetles. They resembled big-headed earthworms; when hit, they’d immediately stand upright, inflate, and explode on the spot. Although its power was passably adequate, the process was too cumbersome—only those who had never seen it before would fall for it.

Not at all like the ”charge bomb” bravery of an Explosive Beetle.

Of course, these were just ordinary ground forces; so far, Fang Zheng hadn’t seen any large units akin to the Thunder Beast—but he was sure they must exist.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Imperial soldiers were exchanging blows with the Taren Insect Race.

The first wave of the Taren Insect Race’s assault came from the air, spores raining down, striking everyone on the head. But the Galactic Empire wasn’t to be trifled with; having lost so many planets, they’d learned quite a bit. As the spores fell, they activated their countermeasures— a large shield generator.

This was the Galactic Empire’s newly developed Shield Deployment Device, originally intended for the new type of Star Destroyer. After facing off with the Taren Insect Race fleets, the Galactic Empire found their proud Star Destroyers were just delivering sandwiches, so they trashed everything and started anew. Naturally, the Shield Generator lost its purpose and was brought here to see if it could repel the Swarm’s air raids.

It turned out that it was effective.

The majority of air-dropped spores were blocked by the Protective Barrier, with only a few breaking through and getting chopped up by Imperial soldiers.

But this success was short-lived.

Very quickly, after the first wave of air-dropped Taren Insect Race units regrouped, the barrier’s weakness became apparent—it could manage the skies but not the underground. Thus, when the Digging Python imitated the Burrower Bug and dug in, all that remained was to hold on.

In the struggle against the Taren Swarm, the Chainsaw Sword and Cannon Handgun played a significant role. Compared to previously ineffective attempts, the Imperial Forces this time exerted more pressure, even pushing back the Taren Insect Race once—of course, this advantage ended with the appearance of the Insect Hive Warriors.

The Insect Hive Warriors, with four arms and bodies as hard as iron, were more than twice the size of Stormtroopers clad in Power Suits. They didn’t need to do anything special; a single charge could send Stormtroopers in front of them flying, crashing to the ground, then instantly torn to pieces by the Swarm lurking around.

This group of Insect Hive Warriors rampaged with no apparent opponents until their adversary arrived.

”Clang!”

Massive steel plates stood like a shield ahead, clashing directly with the oncoming Insect Hive Warrior. The Insect Hive Warrior looked up, seeing a yellowish, rectangular monster gripping a steel plate in one hand and swinging a spinning chainsaw with the other, slashing down at it. The Insect Hive Warrior hurriedly raised its hand to block the attack, but the peculiar rectangle suddenly accelerated, the spinning chainsaw slashed down the next moment, slicing the Insect Hive Warrior’s head in half.

”Hmm... not bad.”

Seeing this, Fang Zheng nodded. The Galactic Empire lacked the concept of mechs, but they did have similar tools. In reality, these entities resembling large mechs were industrial tools originally intended for lumber and stone extraction by the Galactic Empire. Requisitioned by the Empire, fitted with a few steel plates, they were sent to the battlefield.

The advantages of these mechs were that they required no special design; after all, they were intended for large-scale, harsh industrial tasks, with no issues in defense and structure. Therefore, all the Galactic Empire needed to do was attach a few steel plates as armor or add a large chainsaw and grenade launcher as auxiliary weapons.

As a result, the mechs appearing now varied in size, from giant mechs for mountain tunneling and road building to small mechs for cutting and felling trees. Although they might not look appealing, functionality was what mattered.

The battle continued.

Two days had passed since the Taren Insect Race’s official invasion. By now, the Taren Swarm had breached the third-level inner city—considering how the Imperial Forces collapsed almost instantly before, things had improved significantly.

However, for Darth Vader, he was obviously not satisfied.

”I really didn’t expect these creatures to be so difficult to deal with.”

Staring at the battlefield outside the city wall, Darth Vader said in a low voice. They already knew that the Taren Insect Race could transform and enhance their combat power by absorbing biomass, so when designing, the Empire’s Power Suits also had a self-detonation system. Once the life signs inside the armor disappeared, it would immediately detonate.

However, what Darth Vader did not expect was that these damn bugs were so undiscriminating, they didn’t even spare the meat chunks blown into fragments, swallowing them all with a squelch! They not only devoured their enemies but also their own kind, gobbling up whatever they could find until their bellies could hold no more. Then, they would drag their bloated bodies to those tentacle-like structures on the ground outside, jumping directly into the ”pool” beside the tentacles to dissolve themselves along with everything in their stomachs...

Although Darth Vader was ruthless himself, watching this scene still made him feel... a chill in his heart.

”Yes, indeed difficult to handle...”

Fang Zheng silently nodded and then squinted his eyes.

”Order the retreat.”

”Now? Wasn’t it planned to wait until the inner city was breached?”

Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s words, Darth Vader was taken aback. According to their original plan, they were to leave only after the inner city was breached. Generally, in such an environment, once the inner city is breached, no one can escape. However, Fang Zheng was well-prepared, with a teleportation system that could instantly send everyone away, so there was no worry. It was for this reason that Darth Vader dared to stay here and observe the battlefield with Fang Zheng.

”I have a bad feeling. Let’s leave earlier.”

Fang Zheng stood on the balcony, looking gravely at the smoking city ruins in the distance. Under the attack of the Taren Insect Race, what was once a beautiful city had largely turned to ruins. However, that was not the point. The key was... the souls.

The Taren Insect Race had no souls, but humans did. Just recently, Fang Zheng discovered that the souls of the dead Imperial Forces soldiers seemed to be drawn towards the underground as if attracted by something. At the same time, a foul aura was growing stronger—if it was just occasional before, now Fang Zheng could definitely assert that this planet was abnormal!

”You all retreat first; I want to stay here and see the situation.”

”Alright, please be careful.”

Darth Vader did not try to dissuade him and quickly nodded, then looked towards his subordinates.

”Send the signal, everyone retreat to the inner city, evac in three minutes!”

”Woo......”

Soon, the sound of the horn echoed again through the speaker, three long and one short. Hearing this, the Imperial Soldiers who were fighting on the city walls quickly retreated. As they withdrew, they saw countless swarms of insects rushing in like a tide, filling the gaps they left and continuing to advance. Screaming, waving their claws, they charged at the prey ahead.

Yet, the next moment, a barrier of light suddenly appeared, followed by a flash of radiance. In less than a second, most of the soldiers who had already entered the castle area vanished without a trace. Only a few, who ran slow, not making it into the safe zone, remained and were quickly overwhelmed by the swarm accompanied by screams.

Hidden in the shadow, standing on the roof, Fang Zheng silently watched as the Taren Insect Swarm rushed into the castle, frenziedly destroying everything they could see. But that was not the focus, because Fang Zheng could feel that in a certain place beneath this castle, that mysterious foul aura was becoming stronger and stronger...

However, the Taren Insect Swarm seemed completely unaware of it.

The air began to flicker with sparks.

One after another, electric flashes and fireballs quietly appeared out of thin air, swirling madly like leaves swept in a vortex. The entire castle began to tremble and quake, even the invading Taren Insect Swarm stopped in their tracks, bewildered as they looked around, unsure of what was happening.

And then, a twisted, nightmarish radiance abruptly flashed.

The castle, standing for hundreds of years, collapsed with a roar. A murky radiance split the space, tearing through the distorted air. Then, on the ground filled with blasphemous words, accompanied by piercing screams and whispers, a group of bloated, ugly, and evil creatures emerged. They greedily stared at the world before them, emitting excited and sharp screams.

”This world, this galaxy, shall be twisted and corrupted by us wantonly! These flesh and souls shall once again become our playthings, forever!!”

Listening to the shouts filled with evil and chaos aura blowing with the wind, Fang Zheng helplessly reached out and pressed his forehead.

Why does it feel like something incredible has appeared again?