Chapter 1246 Subduing the Zerg

The dissipation of the Zerg protectors caused a brief period of chaos in the Zerg swarm in the starry sky, but Liu Yang did not stop. His gaze was fixed on the largest Zerg mothership in the distance. Its hull was covered with dark purple patterns, and the energy fluctuations it emitted far exceeded those of other warships. It was clearly the residence of the Zerg Queen.

“It’s time to address the root cause.” Liu Yang’s spatial power surged, and in the next second he was teleported to the front of the mothership. He raised his hand and swung his sword at the ship’s hull. The sword energy of ice, fire and lightning instantly cleaved through the outer shell of the ship, revealing the viscous insect nest structure inside—countless tiny insect eggs were attached to the bulkhead. On the high platform in the center, a figure clad in black insect armor slowly stood up. It was the Zerg Queen.

The Queen's form resembled that of a human, yet she possessed insect-like compound eyes, and several transparent tentacles extended from her fingertips. A pale purple spiritual field surrounded her. She looked at Liu Yang, a hint of fear flashing in her compound eyes, but she did not back down: "You destroyed my protector, wrecked my warship, do you really think you can defeat the entire Zerg?"

"Whether we win or not, we'll find out after we try." Liu Yang was too lazy to waste words, and pointed the Ice and Fire Immortal Slaughtering Sword directly at the Empress. "Either submit, or be destroyed."

The Empress snorted coldly, and her fingertips suddenly sprouted tentacles that stabbed towards Liu Yang—the tentacles were coated with potent poison and shrouded in a black mist capable of corroding immortal power. Liu Yang teleported away, simultaneously releasing his immortal power domain to firmly suppress the Empress's mental field. He realized that while the Empress's physical strength was not as great as that of the previous protectors, her mental power was exceptionally strong. If they were to clash head-on, it might affect the superhumans on Earth.

"We can't delay any longer." A thought flashed through Liu Yang's mind, and he suddenly activated the Soul Control Technique from the "Meteorite Immortal Art"—a golden thread of immortal energy shot out from his fingertip, flying towards the Empress's brow. The Empress sensed something was wrong and hurriedly released her spiritual energy to block it. The purple spiritual energy and the golden immortal energy collided in mid-air, producing a sizzling sound.

“Your mental strength is strong, but it’s no match for celestial power.” Liu Yang increased his output of celestial power, and the threads of celestial power pierced through the mental field like sharp swords, finally stabbing into the Empress’s brow. The Empress trembled, the light in her compound eyes dimmed instantly, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably—the Soul Control Technique had invaded her mental core and was gradually rewriting her consciousness.

"No... I am the Queen of the Zerg, how could I submit to humans..." The Queen struggled and roared, trying to resist the soul control technique, but found that the Zerg essence within her body was merging with the immortal power. Her original hostility towards humans gradually dissipated, replaced by a kind of awe that came from her soul.

Liu Yang slowly approached, his voice carrying an undeniable authority: "If the Zerg continue to attack Earth, they will ultimately be completely destroyed. I will give you a way out—lead the Zerg to submit to me, obey my orders from now on, and I will allow you to live in the star systems surrounding Earth."

The empress's body stopped trembling, and the fear in her compound eyes transformed into submission. She slowly knelt on one knee, her voice carrying a hint of respect: "Your subordinate... greets your master."

As the Queen submitted, the Zerg army in the starry sky instantly ceased its attack—all the Star-Eating Bugs stopped charging at the ice wall, and the Motherships also put away their energy cannons, turning around to form a black protective circle around Liu Yang and the Queen's Motherships.

On the distant human alliance fighter jets, Chen Dan and the others were stunned by what they saw: "The... the leader actually subdued the Zerg Queen?!" Su Xiao clenched his fists in excitement, his eyes filled with disbelief—he had originally thought it would be a fierce battle, but he never expected that Liu Yang would control the entire Zerg race single-handedly.

Liu Yang recalled his Immortal Power Domain and ordered the Queen: "Have all Zerg retreat to the Mothership and ensure they do not harm any more humans. Also, clean up the Zerg corpses around Earth to prevent atmospheric pollution."

"Your subordinate obeys." The Empress rose, her fingertips waving as she issued the command. The Star-Eating Insects in the starry sky began to return to their warships in an orderly fashion, and mechanical arms extended from the motherships to collect the scattered insect corpses. In just half an hour, the chaotic starry sky was restored to order, leaving only the insectoid warships hovering around Earth.

Liu Yang contacted Li Mengting through mental power, his voice carrying a hint of relief: "It's done. The Zerg have submitted, and the crisis on Earth is temporarily averted."

Inside the command center, upon hearing these words, Li Mengting's eyes instantly reddened, and she choked out into the communicator, "That's great... you're finally safe." The surrounding superhumans also erupted in cheers, everyone celebrating this victory.

Liu Yang turned to look at the Queen, his eyes sharp: "Remember, from this day forward, the Zerg must abide by my rules. You are not allowed to invade other planets at will, and you are even less allowed to harm the humans on Earth. If you violate these rules, I will personally annihilate the entire Zerg."

Sensing the killing intent in Liu Yang's words, the Queen hurriedly nodded: "Your subordinate dares not, the Zerg will certainly abide by the master's rules."

Liu Yang nodded in satisfaction and flew back to Earth. When he landed in the square of the China Safe Zone, the crowd that had been waiting there immediately surrounded him—Li Qingyue, Bai Jingjing, the Mermaid Princess… and the pregnant women in the medical pod, all smiling and looking at him.

"Welcome home, hero." Li Mengting stepped forward, gently hugged Liu Yang's arm, her eyes full of tenderness.

Looking at the people before him, Liu Yang felt a surge of warmth in his heart. He knew that although the crisis had been averted, more challenges lay ahead. However, with these people by his side, with his immense power and the subjugated Zerg, he was confident he could face any difficulty.

Cheers erupted across the square, and the setting sun cast its golden rays upon everyone's faces, reflecting happy smiles. The Earth had finally ushered in true peace.

On the third day after the Zerg crisis was resolved, the Huaxia Safe Zone was immersed in a long-awaited peace. The pregnant women in the medical pods were becoming increasingly rosy-cheeked under the nourishment of the Immortal Marrow Elixir, children were chasing and playing in the square, and the superhumans were busy repairing defensive fortifications, occasionally looking up at the starry sky—there, the Zerg mothership, like a docile behemoth, quietly floated outside the atmosphere, becoming Earth's "natural barrier".

As Liu Yang was helping Li Mengting review the post-war reports from various safe zones, a slight stinging sensation suddenly shot through his fingertips—it was the vibration of the "Special Ability Perception Ring" he had been wearing. This ring, crafted by the Human Alliance in the early days of the apocalypse, was designed to sense the energy fluctuations of all special ability users worldwide, but now it was flashing an unusual red light, and even the patterns on its surface were starting to heat up.

"What's wrong?" Li Mengting noticed his unusual behavior and asked with concern.

Just as Liu Yang was about to answer, a gasp suddenly came from outside the window. He quickly walked to the window and saw that the "Superpower Ranking Stone Tablets" all over the world lit up red at the same time. These stone tablets were originally used to record the strength ranking of superpowered individuals. At this moment, the names on the tablets seemed to come alive and flickered. Finally, all the light converged at the top, leaving only his name "Liu Yang", which emitted a dazzling golden halo.

"Something's not right." Liu Yang's heart sank, and he instantly teleported to the ranking stone tablet in the center of the safe zone. The red light on the surface of the stone tablet grew stronger and stronger, and even began to seep out a light purple mist. The mist faintly emitted unfamiliar energy fluctuations, which belonged neither to supernatural abilities nor to the immortal power of the cultivation world.

Bai Jingjing and Li Qingyue arrived quickly as well. Bai Jingjing's fox-like vertical pupils contracted slightly, and she tentatively touched the mist with foxfire flickering at her fingertips, only to be instantly repelled: "This is... the aura of a powerful being from another world! The stone tablet holds secrets we haven't discovered yet!"

Li Qingyue flipped through the Hundred Herbs Classic, the pages turning rapidly in her hands, finally stopping at a yellowed record: "Ancient books mention that in some worlds, 'filters' disguise themselves as ranking tools, specifically capturing creatures with powerful talents to refine elixirs or serve as sacrifices... Could these stone tablets be such?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the stone tablet suddenly released a strong spatial suction force—both inside and outside the safe zone, the top 100 ability users were enveloped in red light and uncontrollably flew towards the stone tablet. Li Mengting, Su Xiao, Chen Dan and the others' expressions changed drastically. They tried to resist, but found that their bodies were completely unable to move.

"Liu Yang! Save us!" Su Xiao's voice was filled with anxiety.

Liu Yang immediately released his immortal power in an attempt to block the suction force, only to find that his immortal power was instantly devoured the moment it touched the red light. He was greatly alarmed; this power far exceeded the level of the early stage of the Ascension Realm, and even reminded him of the aura of the Pill Master in the Pill Realm, yet it was even more bizarre.

"The stone tablet is absorbing the power of the superhuman!" Bai Jingjing exclaimed. "It's locking onto its target and preparing to open a spatial portal!"

Before he finished speaking, all the ranking monuments around the world simultaneously erupted with dazzling light, turning the sky blood red. Liu Yang looked up and saw a huge spatial rift appear in the blood-red sky. From the depths of the rift came an ancient and cold aura, as if a pair of eyes were watching the superhumans on Earth.

"So that's how it is... The ranking stone tablet is 'bait' from a powerful being from another world." Liu Yang finally understood that the previous ranking of superpowers was just an illusion; the real purpose was to select the strongest superpowered individuals and suck them into an unknown world. He tried to teleport to Li Mengting's side, but was firmly restrained by the suction force of the spatial rift, unable to even move his fingertips.

"Don't resist!" Liu Yang shouted at the women. "Keep your powers stable, I'll find a way to save you!"

Upon hearing his voice, Li Mengting forcefully suppressed her panic and began to use her mental abilities to protect those around her. Su Xiao and Chen Dan followed suit, concentrating their abilities on their bodies to try and reduce the damage caused by the suction force.

The suction force of the spatial rift grew stronger and stronger, and the top 100 superhumans were enveloped in red light and slowly rose into the air, flying towards the rift. Liu Yang watched Li Mengting's figure gradually approach the rift, his heart filled with anxiety, but he could only watch helplessly—the restriction formed by this powerful aura was too strong, and with his current strength, he simply could not break it.

"Wait for me!" Liu Yang roared at the women as they ascended into the air, his voice filled with resentment, "No matter where you are taken, I will find you!"

Li Mengting glanced back at him, her eyes filled with trust and reluctance, before being swept into the spatial rift by the red light. As the last superhuman disappeared, the global ranking monument instantly lost its light, turning into dust and dissipating into the air. The blood-red sky and the spatial rift slowly closed, as if they had never existed.

Liu Yang slumped to the ground, his immortal power fluctuating violently due to his emotional agitation, causing countless cracks to appear in the ground. Bai Jingjing and Li Qingyue rushed forward to support him, Bai Jingjing's eyes filled with worry: "What do we do now? They've been taken to an unknown world, and we don't even know their coordinates."

Liu Yang took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He remembered the spatial teleportation mirror he had obtained in Burning Heaven Valley and immediately took it out of his storage bag—the mirror was currently emitting a faint blue light, and the edges reflected a trace of residual fluctuations from a spatial rift.

“I have a way.” A glint rekindled in Liu Yang’s eyes. “The teleportation mirror can detect traces of spatial fluctuations. As long as we follow these fluctuations, we will definitely find the world they were taken to.”

Li Qingyue nodded and immediately took out the Gathering Immortal Pill and handed it to Liu Yang: "You should recover your immortal power first. We need to make a good plan. That powerful being can control interdimensional space, so his strength must far exceed ours. This time, we may encounter an enemy even more terrifying than the Pill Master."

Liu Yang took the Gathering Immortal Pill, crushed it, and absorbed it into his body. His immortal power slowly recovered, and he gripped the spatial teleportation mirror tightly, his eyes becoming incredibly determined: "No matter who the enemy is, I will bring them back. This time, I will never let them leave my side again."

The wind in the safe zone gradually subsided, and the Zerg mothership still hovered quietly under the starry sky. Liu Yang knew that a new adventure was about to begin, and this time, his goal was no longer to protect Earth, but to cross the world and find the person he cherished most.