The newly christened Hive-Carrier, 'The Obsidian Talon', glided through the vacuum of space with a predatory grace that its predecessor never possessed. Within its chitinous walls, the temperature was a perfect, humid 22°C, and the air tasted of the Moon-Glow Larva's purifying spores.
Lin Xuan sat on the organic throne, his mind expanded across the ship's neural network. He wasn't just steering a vessel; he was the vessel. He could feel the micro-vibrations of the thrusters and the hunger of the Scarlet Weaver as it continued to digest the old Harvester tech in the lower decks.
"Status report," Lin Xuan commanded, his voice echoing through the ship's telepathic link.
Lin Feng appeared on the bridge, her combat suit now reinforced with plates of the new Necro-Chitin. "We've cleared the asteroid belt. The Sovereign Shadows have successfully deployed the 'Stinger-Sats' around Earth's orbit. If another Seeder tries a stealth approach, they'll be turned into slag before they hit the thermosphere."
"And the other Seeders?"
"Our scouts have located Seeder-2 and Seeder-4 near the moons of Jupiter," Feng replied, a predatory grin crossing her lips. "They're currently hiding in the magnetic interference of the Great Red Spot. They think we can't see them."
The Hunter and the Hidden
Lin Xuan stood up, his eyes flashing with a violet light. "They're not hiding, Feng'er. They're feeding. Jupiter's moons are rich in raw elemental energy. They're likely building a 'Warp-Gate' to bring the main fleet in early."
[System Warning: High-Density Spatial Distortion detected near Europa.]
[Target: Seeder-2 — 'The Flesh-Gardener'.]
"Xiao Ying," Lin Xuan whispered to the Abyssal Shadow-Slayer. "Take us into the fold."
The Obsidian Talon didn't just move forward; it folded into the shadows of reality. Space around the ship rippled like black water, and in a heartbeat, they were no longer in the belt. They were drifting in the silent, frozen shadow of Europa.
Below them, the icy moon was being desecrated. Massive, bone-white drills had pierced the surface, pumping a glowing, bioluminescent fluid—Europa's hidden ocean life-force—up into the belly of a Harvester ship twice the size of the one Lin Xuan had captured.
"They are harvesting the primitives of this system to fuel their jump," the Queen of the Swarm noted, appearing in a flurry of starlight. "If that gate opens, Earth will face the full fleet in forty-eight hours, not five months."
The Sixth Path: The Void-Eater
"I won't give them forty-eight minutes," Lin Xuan said.
He felt a new prompt from the System, one that had been bubbling in the background since he stepped onto the Harvester ship.
[Requirement Met: Consumption of 8-Star Necro-Tech.]
[Unlocking Forbidden Path 600: The Void-Eater Mantis.]
[Status: Larva Stage — Requires a 'Solar-Spiritual' Catalyst.]
Lin Xuan looked at the massive energy beam connecting the moon to the Harvester ship. "There's my catalyst."
"Feng'er, take the Valkyries and disable their defensive turrets," Lin Xuan ordered. "I'm going out there myself."
"In the middle of an energy beam?" Lin Feng gasped. "Xuan'er, that's pure, raw Europa-core energy mixed with Harvester rot. Even your constitution—"
"I'm not going as a man," Lin Xuan interrupted. "I'm going as a Sovereign."
The Descent of the Mantis
Lin Xuan stepped out of the airlock, falling toward the moon's surface. As he hit the vacuum, he didn't use a thruster. He released a small, translucent green egg from his palm.
As the egg touched the stream of the energy beam, it didn't shatter. It drank.
The egg cracked, and a creature emerged that defied the laws of biology. It was a Mantis, but its body was made of refracted light and emerald glass. Its scythes weren't physical; they were tears in the fabric of space.
[Path 600: The Void-Eater Mantis — Awakened.]
[Current Skill: Space-Time Severance.]
Lin Xuan landed on the surface of the Harvester ship, the Mantis perched on his arm. The Harvester guards—monstrous, multi-limbed constructs of flesh and iron—rushed toward him.
Lin Xuan didn't even look at them. He pointed toward the massive energy drill.
"Xiao Lu, cut the cord."
The Mantis flicked its scythe. There was no sound, only a momentary distortion in the air.
The massive energy beam, miles long and thick enough to power a continent, was cleanly severed. The sudden backlash of energy caused the Harvester ship to groan as its internal capacitors began to melt.
"Intruder! The Harvest is interrupted!" a psychic roar thundered from the ship's interior.
A figure emerged from the bridge of Seeder-2. It wasn't a spindly pilot this time. It was a Harvester Executioner—ten feet of armored muscle, wielding a flail made of the skulls of extinct kings.
"You're late for dinner," Lin Xuan said, his voice cold and echoing through the void. "And I'm the one holding the check."
As the Executioner charged, Lin Xuan's four insects manifested behind him like the wings of a dark god. The battle for the solar system had officially moved from defense to total annihilation.