Operate During the Day, Hunt at Night; Sustaining War Through War

The following morning, Charles remained in a deep slumber.

However, the Zerg army he had previously created was already tirelessly at work. The worker bees, with unwavering diligence, were continuously extracting resources from the surrounding area and hunting down any wandering monsters.

The worms were intensifying their efforts to quickly construct the Zerg nest, and within a day, they would have built a hive large enough to house all the Zerg units.

While Charles slept, Catherine, on the other hand, did not rest. Instead, she utilized her Queen's Avatar to hatch several Zerglings.

As the exploration progressed, she found that the workload for the worker bees was becoming overwhelming. Therefore, she decided to delegate the tasks of hunting and gathering to two different types of units.

As for her main body, she was engrossed in researching two distinct projects.

One was extracting the genes of the previously exterminated Five Venomous Toads to re-sequence a poisonous Zerg gene, aiming to create an effective AOE Zerg unit.

The other was researching the issue of magical adhesion. Solving this problem would allow both her and her master to ascend to the next tier.

Catherine was far from being just a pretty face. Even before entering the Continent of Overlord and being sold into the black market, she had been a highly intelligent beauty and a top student.

Of course, back then, she hadn't been as desirous of sexual experiences, merely repressed. Being sent to Charles as a birthday gift was purely the awakening of her true nature.

"Hmm, let's prioritize the sequencing of the poisonous Zerg. This is merely a matter of permutation and combination, once the master wakes up, he can see the results." she thought.

As for the matter of mastering magical energy, Catherine estimated that it would take her a few more days to fully conquer its complexities.

In the realm of the Overlords, daylight lasted a mere six hours, rendering exploration time relatively scarce. However, this limitation certainly did not apply to Charles, the Zerg Overlord.

Unlike others who raced against the six-hour clock to grow stronger, Charles would simply sleep through it, waking up at night to unleash his forces against the dark creatures.

Six hours later, Eve called him to wake up right on schedule.

[Eve: Hey, sleepyhead, time to get up. Though I still don't understand why you only wake up at night.]

But given his prowess, Eve, a bronze-tier Overlord, wasn't foolish. She even speculated that Charles might be reversing the natural order and hunting at night.

"Mmm..."

Reacting to the parchment's message, Charles slowly awoke from his sleep and smiled at Eve's reminder.

[Charles: Thank you, future Queen Eve.]

After bidding goodnight, he rose from his nest and headed outside.

He intended to survey his territory, especially since, within a kilometer radius, there were no longer any monsters to disturb him. The Zerg had completely absorbed all available genetic material and nutrients from the area.

However, as soon as he stepped out, he stood there, bewildered, rubbing his eyes in disbelief.

Where did my vast forest go?

Why is it now stripped bare?

In the end, Charles noticed the worker bees industriously gathering resources right at his doorstep, like diligent honeybees.

"Ugh, damn it!"

Charles muttered to himself as he rubbed his forehead, realizing he should have anticipated this.

Zerg, as a biological weapon, mostly lacked intelligence. Without explicit instructions, it was difficult for them to act ideally.

Fortunately, he possessed the "Heart of the Swarm" — a divine skill. In an instant, all the worker bees ceased their current tasks and flew off to distant locations.

Charles had issued a command for them to go to areas where wild monsters still existed to harvest resources, simultaneously providing some nutrition for the primary hive mat.

After dealing with the home-wrecking incident, Charles opened all the treasure chests in his "Eye of Data" and listed all the items he couldn't use at the trading center to exchange for resources.

Suddenly, Charles let out a surprised exclamation, "Huh... Zerglings, and thirty of them at that. Catherine managed to create these war machines while I was asleep."

[Zerg]

[Species: Hydralisk]

[Combat Strength: Tier 1, Mid-level]

[Skills: Rapid Assault, Venomous Bite]

"Not bad, the combat prowess is quite impressive. They can single-handedly take on a Dark Gorilla without much trouble."

Taking advantage of this lull, he took the opportunity to consolidate the data on the Zerg units currently under his command.

From his arrival on the Continent of Overlord to the present, in just two days, Charles has under his command three hundred worker bees, thirty zerglings, two blade bugs, and twenty worms.

From non-tier units to Tier 2 mid-level, he had a decent stockpile.

It should be enough to clear out the early-stage darkness.

Finally, Charles decided to check on Catherine's research progress. Magic was something not recorded in the Zerg database, making it a challenging subject to study.

A slight smirk appeared on his lips as he imagined the disappointed look on his clumsy slave girl's face. Time for the master to offer some comforting!

The Zerg Queen's workstation was located within the main hive, and Charles quickly arrived there, slightly taken aback by the sight of a grotesque giant insect.

This was the Zerg Queen's insect form, a bloated killing machine.

Charles rolled his eyes and chose to head directly to Catherine. No wonder she was unwilling to transform into her Zerg form.

"Hi, my dear master, you're awake?" Catherine, having just finished her work, saw Charles and excitedly wrapped her arms around his, affectionately rubbing her cheek against him.

Charles lovingly patted her head and softly said, "You've worked hard on your research. Judging by your excited look, do you have some results to share?"

Catherine nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, Master. After a day's work, I've developed a Zerg unit capable of large-scale poison attacks — the Toxic Baneling."

Toxic Baneling?

Hearing the name, Charles recalled a unit in the gene pool known as the Baneling. Could she have drawn inspiration from that?

He nodded with keen interest, "Let's hear it."

Catherine, upon hearing his request, began to explain slowly, "This Toxic Baneling is a combination of the known Baneling from the database and the toxicity of The Five Venomous Toad. Moreover, I have added a stabilizing gene sequence."

"In terms of functionality, it can serve as a ranged poison-spitting unit or as a high-explosive melee suicide unit—a special kind of troop."

"Master, let me create one for you to see the effect."

Charles nodded in anticipation.

Based on her description, this unit could indeed serve as a trump card. Now it just depended on the specific stats.

It wasn't long before Catherine programmed a Toxic Baneling.

It was a hideous green insect, less than a meter in size, with a large poison sac on its back—clearly a lethal beast.

Charles scanned it with his "Eye of Data" and was somewhat shocked.

[Zerg]

[Species: Toxic Baneling]

[Combat Strength: Tier 1, Mid-level]

[Skills: Toxic Explosion, Venom Spit]

The data for the Toxic Explosion was impressive. Although it was a Tier 1, mid-level Zerg explosive skill, it could severely injure a Tier 2, low-level enemy!

Moreover, the most outrageous part was:

If this skill killed an enemy unit, that area would become a new source of the virus, causing another explosion. The poison and damage of the subsequent explosion would be halved, and this process could theoretically continue.

In essence, Catherine had created a monstrous unit!

However, there was one crucial issue.

Charles's tone grew serious, "This thing won't distinguish between friend and foe, will it?"

Regrettably, Catherine nodded with a wry smile, "Yes, if it uses Toxic Explosion, it won't discriminate between enemies and allies."

"However, our Zerg warriors have some level of resistance to poison, so as long as they aren't directly hit, they shouldn't be killed by friendly fire."

But that only meant they wouldn't be killed outright; the potent toxins on these Toxic Banelings would undoubtedly impact the battlefield.

Thus, these units could only be used as a last resort, primarily serving as long-range venom-spitting units most of the time.

Charles, satisfied, asked, "How many of these can you program?"

"Thirty." Catherine replied with a precise number, which only solidified Charles's preparations for what he was about to say next.

"Catherine, I have a decision I need to discuss with you." Charles said with a composed expression.

Catherine was momentarily stunned but then responded with a serious look, "Master, your command is everything. I am willing to accept it."

After all, she was the first to achieve system-recognized loyalty...

Discarding those trivial thoughts, Charles turned away and pointed toward the dark sky, "The native monsters during the day can be cleared by units like the Zerglings and worker bees."

"So, I plan to reverse our schedule compared to those other lords."

"Rest during the day, and at night, we kill and plunder, rapidly sustaining war through war!"