The battlefield had barely begun to quiet. The hum of energy weapons, the groans of the wounded, the acrid scent of scorched earth—none of it had faded when the ground itself began to tremble.
A low, vibrating hum echoed beneath their feet like a heartbeat… but it wasn't human.
Sheng Long's instincts flared like a wildfire. He raised a fist, signaling the forces to regroup. "Get the wounded back. NOW."
Xiao Lin froze, eyes wide. "This… this frequency. It's not like the others."
He stumbled slightly as his mental power flared without his will, threads of silver dancing around him like warning tendrils.
From the far horizon, the earth cracked. Stone split, fire roared—and *she* rose.
A colossal shape emerged from the depths of the crater. Twice the size of a warship, her body shimmered like obsidian and bone. Wings laced with living venom, six burning eyes, a crown of bone encircling her skull.
The **Zerg Queen**.
Not a beast. A mind.
She hovered, regal and monstrous, and her voice echoed directly into their thoughts—psychic, suffocating, cold as the void.
**"Little Healer…"**
Xiao Lin clutched his head as the voice pierced into his soul. Visions slammed into his mind—his mother, a burning temple, something ancient trapped inside the Zerg Queen's heart.
**"You carry the light that can destroy me."**
Sheng Long stepped in front of him instinctively, sword glowing red-hot. "You won't touch him."
But the Queen didn't strike yet. She was waiting—testing. Her gaze swept across them all.
Then came the swarm.
From the skies, from the broken ground, from underground hives—thousands of Zerg, darker and faster than before.
"This is the real war," Sheng Long muttered, steadying Xiao Lin.
Xiao Lin's fox ears flicked up, and despite his pain, he whispered, "She's scared of something… *inside me*. I saw it. A light. A seal?"
"We'll figure it out," Sheng Long said, voice taut with control. "But right now—stay close. I *won't* let her take you."
---
At their side, Yan Shuo readied his blades. "Ready for round two?"
Lu Jian smirked. "This one might actually challenge us."
The battlefield shifted once more—this time with the Queen at its center. She did not just want victory. She wanted *Xiao Lin*.
And she would tear apart the stars to get him.