I, the Supreme Overlord, Start by Enslaving the Zerg Queen
Chapter 54 - 54: A Difficult Decision

"No, no, Master, please!" Little Green stopped her playful antics the moment she heard that her master wasn't taking her along.

She immediately created a long-lasting poison domain and then hurried to follow Charles.

[Congratulations to Overlord No. 1 for spending 100 skull coins to purchase a global notification horn!]

In the regional channel:

[Charles: Everyone, I am now sharing detailed information about the returned dead. After reviewing it, I hope you will cooperate with my Zerg to swiftly eliminate these terrifying creatures!]

As the three of them walked, Charles used the opportunity to inform everyone about the situation in the Land of the Dead.

He knew that in this battle between the living and the dead, his own role was actually quite insignificant.

After all, even if his Zerg went all out to cleanse the returned dead emerging from the piles of corpses, it would be impossible to search for monsters over such a vast area as the Serene Forest.

It was simply too large.

How could one possibly search a forest with a diameter spanning several states?

Fortunately, the stance of the monsters was clear this time, and with the occurrence of the dead consuming the living, most Overlords chose to put righteousness before family, using the soul-severing technique to completely annihilate their bodies.

By the time they emerged, the returned dead had already piled up like mountains. Upon seeing Charles and his companions, they immediately shifted from idle mode to a bloodthirsty frenzy.

They launched a frenzied attack on the trio.

But before Charles and the others could react, a massive wave of Zergs had already stormed the battlefield, voraciously devouring the returned dead.

Reinforcements had arrived.

Catherine swiftly flew over on her insect wings, planting a kiss on Charles's lips and then hugging her two good sisters.

Noticing Charles's slightly puzzled expression, Catherine smiled and explained, "Earlier in the lab, a patrolling blade bug led an Overlord being chased by the returned dead to me. Even family members aren't spared by these returned dead. They devour the living. That's when I roughly understood the scale of this disaster."

"Now, each of these Zergs carries genes that inflict minor soul damage. With their large numbers gnawing away, those creatures emerging from the graves stand no chance."

Indeed, though the newly spawned Zergs were only around Tier Two, their attacks dealt real damage to the returned dead!

This is the power of a researcher!

Seeing this, Charles felt a surge of joy. Previously, in The Mysterious Space, he could use the parchment but had no way to contact Catherine, who was in a different world.

He hadn't expected her to react so quickly this time. Now he had a strategy!

"You did an excellent job, my dear. So, how many Zergs with soul attributes have you produced so far?" Charles asked curiously.

Catherine hesitated, counting on her fingers, and replied, "Before I came out, I threw the resources directly into the arsenal. I brought out about two hundred at that time, and now there are around five hundred or so?"

Time was really tight.

That's enough!

Charles breathed a slight sigh of relief, then quickly put all those Zergs up on the trading center.

This time, he adopted a rental method. A Tier Two Zerg unit required only some common materials, something every Overlord could afford.

[Charles: These are Zerg warriors I've developed specifically to address this crisis. They can replace the soul-severing technique and directly devour those monsters!]

[Charles: These Zergs are here to help with this terrifying crisis. After eliminating the dead around you, you must return them immediately so we can minimize the impact of this disaster!]

Soon, the entire channel was frantically purchasing those Zergs.

After all, they were all minor Overlords, and the soul-severing technique, even with sponsorship from high-tier Overlords, would never become widespread. Luckily, Overlord No. 1 was truly amazing!

Seeing the strings of grateful messages, Charles finally breathed a sigh of relief.

At least in that case, the events that befell the kingdom in the mural wouldn't have happened again.

"Give me back my life, Number One!"

"I'll tear you apart!"

"Why are you alive while I'm dead? I'll eat you and survive!"

Without the help of the Zergs, the continuously approaching returned dead were getting closer and closer. It looked like it wouldn't be long before this place was filled again.

Looking closely, there were also some cracks spreading death energy around here, indicating connection nodes to the Land of the Dead!

There was no time to delve into this further. Charles quickly deduced that there were likely many such nodes throughout the Serene Forest. If such a terrifying number of returned dead opened the gates to the Land of the Dead...

Holy crap!

"Little Green, you stay here and clear out the monsters at this node. Medusa, Catherine, come with me!" Charles urgently called out to Little Green, then swiftly led the two women away from there and back to the Zerg hive.

Little Green's power could easily suppress the monsters at this node, so Charles aimed to preserve as much combat strength as possible.

Little Green was momentarily stunned but then seriously engaged the returned dead.

Joking aside, the master's command was so serious that no matter how playful she was, she wouldn't take it lightly.

Her delicate, white hands released a toxic explosion with every twist, killing groups of monsters instantly. It seemed there was no need to worry here.

Yes, the toxic explosion was now just Little Green's basic attack.

Charles and the others quickly returned to the Zerg hive, noticing the slightly grim expressions on the two women.

He exhaled deeply and said in a calm tone, "I've already explained the importance of this situation on the way here."

"The entire Serene Forest is riddled with cracks leading to the Land of the Dead, not just our location. So... I plan to use Observers to suppress each node!"

Little Green alone could easily handle their node, but other places were a different story.

After all, this task... is beyond the capabilities of Overlords without even the soul-severing technique!

Most likely, they would have to roam various places.

But Catherine looked puzzled and said, "Master, while I understand your concern, don't forget."

"The Serene Forest is as large as several states. Even with Observers pinpointing the nodes' locations, we can't quickly get to them for effective suppression."

"My suggestion is... to abandon the Serene Forest, split off a sub-hive from the main hive, and escape."

It was a reasonable suggestion and the best solution Catherine could think of at the moment.

The master's elf lover had some spatial items, increasing their chances of escaping together.

If the green hills are still there, there's no worry about firewood.

If they really fought to the death with the Land of the Dead, when the bone dragons and necromancers arrived, they'd all be doomed!

Medusa bit her lip and said sorrowfully, "Catherine, you're still thinking too simply. Unless we have legendary-quality spatial items, we can't get very far."

"And if the Land of the Dead descends, it will be a catastrophe for the entire Land of Turmoil. We can't outrun them on foot..."

"Then what can we do? We can't let the master fight those beings to the death!" Catherine's tone was a bit agitated. She was genuinely afraid of Charles staying there.

Even though she admired her master greatly, she knew just how terrifying the existence of the Land of the Dead was.

Seeing that Charles had yet to say anything, Medusa let out a bitter laugh, her tone tinged with a hint of desperation. "I have a way to keep the master alive... we can go to the Serpent Empire."

"As the sister of the Serpent Emperor, I am confident I can get her to protect you all!"

Medusa has leverage over her, but once she revealed it, Yggdrasil would likely stop at nothing to kill her, even if it meant everyone perishing together.

The Serpent Empire had deep enough foundations, and the royal treasury contained epic-level spatial items, enough to let them survive this crisis.

Of course, the most likely outcome was that both she and Catherine would wish they were dead, and Yggdrasil would take Charles as a sex slave to torment day and night.

Her sister was even more traditional than she was. Given how many times Charles had indirectly humiliated her, she wouldn't let him off easily even if she took revenge.

Yggdrasil was a Tier Ten entity. Her individual power was beyond Medusa's imagination.

After much contemplation, Medusa still felt that survival was paramount.

Although her imperial sister was domineering, she treated her subordinates fairly well.

As for sex partners... surely she wouldn't kill them after having her fun, right?

In truth, Medusa had been away from the Serpent Empire for so long that she wasn't entirely sure of the current state of the empress who stood at the pinnacle of power.

While the two women argued incessantly, Charles was deep in thought, trying to figure out how to resolve the situation.

Leaving the Serene Forest or heading to the Serpent Empire—he didn't want to choose either option.

Why abandon a place with potential for growth just to walk into danger?

His mind was racing with ideas, but he ultimately stuck with his initial plan.

He would negotiate with the Succubus Princess Rose, asking her to provide some spatial items and use her influence to negotiate with Serpent Emperor Yggdrasil!

Yes, although it's quite frustrating, but the best solution for now was to obtain spatial items from other factions.

As for why he couldn't directly contact the high-ranking members of the Succubus and Serpent races...

There was no way around it. He had slept with the Serpent Empress's sister, and now Yggdrasil was posting everywhere to locate him, using all sorts of means like a madwoman to find him.

The Succubus clan... with such looks and allure, if he actually went to their territory, Rose wouldn't be able to protect him!

In summary, contacting the Serpent Empire might result in Serpent Emperor Yggdrasil killing him outright.

Contacting the Succubus clan, he could go there in one piece but very likely end up in some high-ranking Succubus's private training room as a sex slave.

To put it bluntly, Charles found himself in a rather awkward situation.

The Land of Turmoil had two major factions.

And it seemed he had managed to offend both of them.