Perched on the thin branches of a tall acacia tree, Alexander struggled to maintain his balance. The slender limbs swayed with the wind, and the tiny nest he had been trying to reach for dozens of minutes seemed to slip away from him each time, tangled within the twigs. He quickly realized this wouldn't work. The nest was too high, and if he tried to climb any further, the fragile branches wouldn't be able to support his weight.
He glanced down and saw his Drones watching him eagerly. Through faint mental pulses, he conveyed his intent.
"Your turn, My little hunters."
With a few graceful movements, he descended from the tree, and the young ones began their attempt. Three Drones climbed from different branches. They were light and agile, their claws well-developed for climbing. In a short time, they had nearly reached the top of the tree. Each of them stretched their claws as far as they could toward the nest—but they only managed to brush against it.
The mother bird had built the nest on the thinnest branches of the tree. Even the young ones hesitated to step onto them.
"So, you need help… Hold tight, help is coming!"
The thought reached the three Drones in the tree as a simple wave of intent. For a brief moment, unease flickered across them, but they tightened their grip on the thicker parts of the trunk and branches, holding on.
From dozens of meters away, Alexander sprinted forward and slammed into the tree with all his momentum.
Crack!
A tremor spread through the trunk, and the thinner branches shook violently. The young ones struggled to maintain their balance. One of them trusted its footing and released one claw, reaching as far as it could toward the nest tangled in the twigs.
And it succeeded.
It slowly pulled the nest free and brought it closer. Waiting for the shaking to subside, it began clearing away the twigs with its claws and jaws until it reached the four eggs inside.
At Alexander's command, the Drones in the tree passed the eggs down one by one, carefully lowering them to their Queen below. Just as another Drone began climbing to retrieve the last egg, the mother bird suddenly returned, screeching loudly as it landed atop the nest.
Its sharp screeches were almost painful to hear, piercing the air like needles. It saw the state of its nest—disturbed, torn apart—and realized that three of its eggs were gone. Its anger immediately locked onto the Drone climbing the tree. With a sudden burst of motion, it launched itself from the nest and attacked.
Alexander reacted instantly, ordering the Drone to retreat downward while he began climbing up. The bird reached the young one and struck at it, trying to knock it off the thin branches—but failed. Again and again it slammed into the Drone, even attempting to gouge out its eye with its beak. The young one fought back, lashing out with its claws to keep the bird at a distance while desperately trying not to fall.
After several brutal exchanges, Alexander finally reached the branch. From that moment on, the bird no longer dared to approach. It could only screech from a distance.
Grabbing the Drone by the nape, Alexander descended with controlled movements back to the ground. Once there, he briefly took control of the Drone, checking for any serious injuries. Finding none, he released it and turned his attention to the eggs held in the young ones' mouths, pausing for a moment.
"Three more… good."
He took the eggs from them and swallowed each one in a single bite.
[Analysis Started] – 00.1/100
Afterward, Alexander and the swarm moved away at a relaxed pace. The past few days had been highly productive, and the Queen was in good spirits. The swarm searched everywhere they could—trees, hollows, tall grass—any place where eggs might be hidden, regardless of species.
Just moments ago, they had found a weaver bird's nest and successfully stolen its eggs. Still, this wasn't the first analysis he had initiated. Only two days earlier, Alexander had managed to hunt down a half-meter-long monitor lizard and locate its nest. While consuming its flesh to replenish his biomass reserves, he had also analyzed its eggs. Since eggs were relatively simple, primitive structures, their analysis had been completed quickly—within a single day.
In this way, Alexander consumed as many eggs from as many different species as he could find, analyzing them rapidly. Most of them came from various birds and lizards, but in some of the lakes, he had even discovered platypus-like creatures and managed to steal their eggs as well.
Of course, not all of these attempts were without danger. Poisonous snakes and the temptation of stealing ostrich eggs had pushed his ambition—and his hunger—to the limit. Unfortunately, those attempts had nearly resulted in severe injuries. The kick he had taken from an ostrich still left a dull ache in his abdomen. Fortunately, the angle had been off; otherwise, it could have caused serious internal damage.
All of this effort served a single purpose. Alexander had grown increasingly dissatisfied with the slow development of his swarm. It took nearly three months for his offspring to hatch, and even after that, it would take almost another year before they were ready to participate in large hunts. After producing his first Worker egg, this delay had become unbearable.
And so, this hunt for eggs had begun.
The swarm drank from the lake afterward and fed across the grasslands. Night had fallen, and the darkness had settled in. Alexander checked the progress of the analysis.
[Analysis Progress] – 32.4/100
This time, the analysis was progressing quite rapidly as well. He would need to find new eggs tomorrow. With these thoughts, his mind began evaluating everything it knew about the region, searching for new opportunities. After hours of deep contemplation, he lifted his head. His gaze fixed on the distant, massive mountains.
He roared.
"Wait for me, you bastard pieces of shit… I'm coming for revenge." That was the meaning of his roar.