Chapter 342: Seizing Control

Chapter 342: Seizing Control

The Norn-Queen felt its connection to the Great Devourer weakening. One by one, the synapse-creatures below it were disconnecting from its link. The devouring power was brutally severing the connection between the Norn-Queen and its minions.

In an instant, both in the void and in the ground battle, all the Tyranid creatures were thrown into chaos. Two different voices and wills echoed in their minds. One belonged to the Great Devourer, ordering them to continue their assault on the Zerg. The other voice belonged to Kerrigan. If they had been capable of speech, they might have even shouted, "For the Queen of Blades!"

Kerrigan was not just severing the Norn-Queen's control over Leviathan; she was directly seizing control of the entire Hive Fleet, just as she had gained control of the Genestealer Cultists after devouring their Patriarch.

The allegiance of the Tyranid bio-ships in the void and the Tyranid troops on the ground was constantly changing. The Norn-Queen was desperately trying to regain control of its forces, but the Tyranid creatures had already begun to attack each other. The number of Tyranids was being reduced at an incredible rate.

The vast swarm of Tyranid creatures seemed to have split into two factions and had begun to slaughter each other. One moment they would obey the Hive Mind; the next, they would obey Kerrigan's command. Even the four Hierophants were doing the same, attacking each other with their claws and tendrils, their bio-acid cannons blasting one another. The impact from their massive bodies crashing to the ground crushed large swathes of the Zerg below.

The Imperial forces had never seen such a situation in their lives. Why were the Tyranids attacking each other? What were they supposed to do now?

Dante, however, did not dwell on it. He immediately gave the order, and the Imperium seized this opportunity to inflict as much damage as possible on all the Tyranids. The Tyranid fleet, no longer attacking the Imperial warships, had become a fleet of living targets. Lances pierced their bodies, and massive macro-cannon salvos delivered the killing blows.

Kerrigan had also sensed the Norn-Queen's location. But not only that; she had also simultaneously sensed the existence of the Tyranid "Ancient Ship" in the galaxy. At this moment, this Ancient Ship, which controlled all the Tyranid creatures in the galaxy, was lying dormant in an uninhabited system near the Segmentum Ultima. Its massive size even exceeded that of the Spear of Adun. Countless giant Tyranid bio-ships surrounded it, protecting it.

"I've found you... Father, hurry. I can feel a larger network behind it fighting against me. It's trying to take back the consciousness of the Swarmlord and the Norn-Queen, and it's trying to regain control of Leviathan! I'm doing my best to stop it. We must capture or kill that Norn-Queen! Only then can we completely sever the psychic link with the Great Devourer!"

From the current situation, it was clear that the Norn-Queen and the Swarmlord were not units that the Tyranid race could casually produce. The higher-level Hive Mind was also reacting to Kerrigan's act of seizure and consumption.

It wasn't just Kerrigan. Through the devouring power of his Xel'naga form, Lucan also sensed that higher-level Great Devourer. Although he could not make out its appearance, the impact of its endless hunger was enough to momentarily destabilize his mind. The true Hive Mind, formed by the unknown number of Tyranids from outside the galaxy, was still terrifyingly powerful.

Using the Ancient Ship as a relay, it was helping the Norn-Queen to resist. And as more of the Great Devourer's power intervened, the Tyranid forces were slowly beginning to regain their autonomy, especially the portion of the bio-fleet near the Norn-Queen's mothership.

"Hold on, Kerrigan!" Lucan voxed. "Artanis, move!"

At the same time, Lucan broadcast the coordinates of the locked-on Hive Ship to all Imperial warships. Dante and his Blood Angels also received the message.

At that moment, the Norn-Queen was letting out a piercing shriek. It knew it had been exposed. The only forces it could truly control now were the bio-ships and troops in its immediate vicinity. It had never experienced having control of its forces usurped like this. The channel to upload its consciousness was blocked. Even if the Norn-Queen wanted to abandon the entire Leviathan fleet and flee, it could not.

Seeing the human fleet approaching, the Norn-Queen began its final struggle. It began to directly consume the flesh of its own Hive Ship to produce a massive number of Tyranid units internally. Seeing the fleet pouncing on it, it knew its enemy's intent. At the same time, it also began to produce a mobile shell for itself.

The Norn-Queen not only possessed powerful psychic abilities but could also produce a physical body known as a Norn-Emissary. This was its last resort. It also gave it the ability to move. Otherwise, while connected to its spawning-sac, although its psychic power was at its strongest, it could not even move.

With its powerful psychic abilities being suppressed by Kerrigan, the Norn-Queen could only try to fight on the physical level to win a chance of survival. At the same time, it also tried to control its mothership and the Tyranid fleet it still commanded to try and escape the Cryptus System.

But Lucan and the Imperial fleet would not let it have its way.

After learning which of the Hive Ships was the Norn-Queen's, almost every warship began to charge toward it. Dante, piloting his own flagship, charged straight for the Hive Ship under the cover of the other Blood Angels' and successor chapters' warships.

And the Spear of Adun, along with all of Lucan's warp-capable warships, used their jump drives to bypass the chaotic Tyranid bio-ships and arrive at the mothership's side even faster.

After so much trouble finding the Norn-Queen's location, how could they possibly let it run away?

Countless salvos of fire swept toward the escort fleet surrounding the massive Hive Ship. The remaining bio-ships could not possibly hold back the human warships. The Spear of Adun, relying on its size and the resilience of its shields, charged directly to the mothership's vicinity. Ignoring the fire from the other bio-ships and their boarding parties, it unleashed its Solarite Beam, which directly melted through the Hive Ship's indestructible biological armor.

Ferrus, leading a portion of the Iron Hands; Artanis, leading the Protoss forces; and Damon, leading the Night Sentinels, used the massive breach opened by the Spear of Adun to pour inside, shouting, "For the Lord! Capture the Norn-Queen alive!"

This was, after all, the bargaining chip for his deal with Trazyn. If he didn't give the Norn-Queen to him, Lucan was genuinely afraid he might turn on him. To go back on a deal with what was possibly the most powerful living Necron was probably not a wise move.

Ferrus and Artanis, with their own powerful individual strengths, led their forces as they advanced. As they broke through a fleshy corridor, a duplicate of Trazyn appeared before them. Both Ferrus and Artanis could see that he was not in a very good mood. Having just lost a large number of his collectibles, he was eager to get something new to fill the empty space in his museum. He was particularly concerned about the Norn-Queen; he did not want this precious collectible to suffer any serious damage.

In his eyes, never mind the Protoss, these Astartes only knew destruction. They had no appreciation for the preservation of precious collectibles or history.