Chapter 1843: Chapter 88: Subjugating the Drone Swarm (Part 2)
The command center quickly issued new orders, all the Alliance Fleet ceased attacks and began to watch the fight from the sidelines.
On the other side, after Zhang Xiaoman disappeared from everyone’s line of sight, he had already entered the interior of the Mother Nest. He was curious about what lay inside from the start, wondering why there was a continuous production of drones.
Now, he had utilized the power of the Star Pattern talent to reset the Nest Consciousness, turning it into one of his own. This meant that the drones present posed no threat to humans; they were all under Zhang Xiaoman’s control.
"Great creator, thank you for granting me rebirth. From today, you are my master, and I will serve and execute all your orders unconditionally."
A cold mechanical voice without emotion sounded in his ear, evidently the new consciousness of the Mother Nest.
"Kid, I didn’t expect you to have some skill. You’ve subdued this Immortal Artifact so quickly. Although it’s a bit ugly, its quality isn’t bad, making it quite a strong ally for you. Unfortunately, its Artifact Spirit looks a bit dumb. Your earlier refining might have damaged it, and it wasn’t replenished, so you’ll have to meticulously refine it slowly later."
Ni Yang’s voice came over, followed by a cyan figure appearing out of thin air beside Zhang Xiaoman, which was its Divine Soul projection.
"Tsk tsk, what’s this eerie place? So ugly. Kid, did you run inside the Immortal Treasure?"
Little Dragon looked around, seeing a vast black space, devoid of any building or decoration, surrounded by endless metal walls.
"This is the big black sphere called the Death Omen Star, the core of these Magic Treasures. The drones outside follow its orders; of course, now they follow mine."
Zhang Xiaoman replied, unable to help feeling a bit excited as he spoke.
Initially, he came with the thought of trying to subdue the Mother Nest, unexpectedly succeeding. How could he not be excited?
After all, this is a Death Omen Star, equivalent to a Level 7 Insect Swarm drone mother nest. With it, he could easily control those drones, and for him, it was practically an instant elevation, possessing such a swarm meant he wouldn’t have to worry about any Great Fusion issues. These drones were sufficient to protect the few planets he came into contact with.
The most crucial thing is, all this is just the beginning. Just think how many similar drone swarms are there within the Beller Star Domain? Even if similar Death Omen Stars are few, from a certain perspective, these are Zhang Xiaoman’s predetermined assets, able to collect new subordinates at any time if needed.
Currently, Zhang Xiaoman is inside the Mother Nest’s space, and honestly, it’s somewhat different from what he imagined. There’s no drone manufacturing factory, nor a drone incubator, just an empty space, appearing monotonous and quite disappointing.
"How exactly are these drones created? They can’t just appear out of thin air?"
Feeling curious about the drones’ origin, Zhang Xiaoman immediately spoke to the Nest Consciousness:
"From now on, you will be called Number 1. Show me how you generate drones."
"Yes, Master."
Number 1 responded, and the entirely dark space inside the Death Omen Star suddenly lit up, drawing Zhang Xiaoman and Ni Yang’s attention to the center position of the planet.
A deep yellow vortex suddenly appeared in their perception, accelerating quickly, soon occupying most of the inner space of the Death Omen Star.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!"
The next second, tens of thousands of drones flew out from the yellow vortex, then through the opened port of the Death Omen Star, they flew to the outside.
"I see, that must have been this Immortal Artifact’s Fire Core, using the energy from the Fire Core to create the small Magic Artifacts outside, forming a Mother-child Magical Artifact link."
Ni Yang nodded, speaking earnestly:
"I once received such a Magic Artifact from Ying Long, which could transform into countless Mother-child Magical Artifacts, but later that brat Heavenly Emperor broke it."
Listening to its explanation, Zhang Xiaoman understood how these drones came to be, originating from the Fire Core within.
But wasn’t this number a bit too small?
Thinking of the overwhelming swarm of drones outside, comparing them to the mere tens of thousands at hand, the number was indeed insufficient.
With this in mind, he attempted to instruct Number 1 to produce more drones, as the Insect Race outside hasn’t been completely defeated. Producing more drones could help eliminate those insects faster.
However, Number 1 couldn’t execute his command smoothly, as the cold mechanical voice explained the reason for the failed command.
"Sorry, Master, the Fire Core energy source is insufficient. Please supplement more Spiritual Ore to produce new drones."
Zhang Xiaoman paused, then quickly reacted, his mouth slightly ajar, but for the moment unsure of what to say.
Indeed, Number 1 was right, drone manufacturing requires Spiritual Ore materials, something he had heard before.
According to the data found on the Dark Web, the Bellier Clan would typically engage in only two activities from birth to destruction: one being combat - fighting against the Insect Race, the Spiritual Wisdom Clan, and the Demon Clan, regardless of the invader’s strength or race, treating all equally with one word - fight!
Besides combat, another activity of the Bellier Clan is collection, tirelessly gathering Spiritual Ore within their Domain like hardworking little bees, not sparing even ordinary ore devoid of Spiritual Power.
Those low-level reconnaissance soldier-level drones are too numerous, and it’s impractical to produce them all using Spiritual Ore. So many parts, apart from the core, are made from non-Dark Spiritual Material, just like the Alliance Fleet.
This is why drone manufacturing cannot do without necessary resource support. After all, drones cannot be created out of nothing, and without resources, even Death Omen Stars cannot produce new subordinates. Otherwise, they wouldn’t need to collect Spiritual Ore.
Realizing this, Zhang Xiaoman was quite speechless, discovering that this vast Death Omen Star came "empty-stomached," stopping after producing just a little.
He shook his head helplessly, then realized that initially, the idea of traversing the universe with the Death Omen Star might not be so easily achieved.
While it’s a strong combat force capable of creating many drone subordinates, it requires resources, something incredibly valuable and scarce to everyone.
Nevertheless, Zhang Xiaoman quickly set aside this worry; no matter what, his harvest from this endeavor was enormous. Even if he couldn’t build new drones due to a lack of resources, the ones outside were already sufficient.
Presently, considering the battle situation with the Desert Worms, even if they’re all eliminated, the drones should still have many remaining. Moreover, outside, there are several Godslayer-level warships, each possessing Extraordinary Level strength. Coupled with the Peak Lower God Level Death Omen Star, what more could he be dissatisfied with?
