I Am The Swarm

While larval bodies are among the most basic of the Swarm’s space combat units, they are still formidable space soldiers, far superior to many ground forces.

To the Riken armed soldiers now facing them, the larval bodies—each over ten meters long—were towering giants. Combined with their unique physiology, the Rikens’ small-caliber energy weapons had a negligible impact on them.

Especially within the confines of a warship, where the use of heavy weaponry was restricted, the Rikens were at a significant disadvantage.

Chaos reigned as the larval bodies barreled through. In the cramped corridors, their sheer mass alone caused catastrophic injuries to the Rikens.

Blue blood spattered the walls of the passageways, mingling with severed limbs and broken bodies. Cries of pain, curses, and screams filled the air.

But the larval bodies didn’t pause to finish off their victims. Instead, they split up, each following different routes deeper into the ship, causing as much damage as possible without lingering in one spot.

Seventeen larval bodies had infiltrated the ship. They rampaged down corridors, smashing equipment and wreaking havoc, never remaining in any one area for long.

The ship’s commander urgently ordered all bulkhead doors sealed to contain them. Yet the larval bodies, being soft-bodied creatures, were undeterred. Despite their massive size, they could squeeze into ventilation shafts as narrow as half a meter in diameter.

While their progress slowed significantly in the ducts, and their agility was reduced, the ventilation system offered them a critical advantage: it was a blind spot in the ship’s defenses.

Inside the ducts lay numerous critical cables and pipelines. The larval bodies didn’t bother discerning their purposes; they simply yanked them apart.

Sparks flew, and electrical surges crackled as high-voltage lines were severed. For most creatures, this might have been fatal, but the larval bodies thrived on electromagnetism. The current caused minor burns but replenished their energy reserves.

The Riken warships, mass-produced under tight deadlines, had standardized designs. The Swarm had long since obtained their blueprints through Lieutenant Colonel Cross.

The larval bodies’ seemingly haphazard paths were anything but random. Their chaotic behavior was a deliberate smokescreen to avoid suspicion after the fact. If they headed directly for key systems from the start, it could raise unnecessary questions.

Luo Wen understood that in wars between advanced civilizations, even the smallest details could provide valuable intelligence.

Of the seventeen larval bodies, fifteen truly roamed aimlessly, while two began to subtly converge on the ship’s energy core.

The Rikens quickly noticed the two larval bodies approaching the core. Knowing its critical importance, they dispatched a large contingent of armed soldiers to intercept them.

The larval bodies engaged in brief skirmishes before retreating to the corridors, where they emitted silent, ultrasonic screeches.

This was a new capability added after earlier Swarm units had encountered setbacks.

Ultrasound waves traveled swiftly through the ship’s ducts, summoning their nearby brethren, who promptly reversed course to assist.

The Swarm orchestrated these events like a carefully choreographed play. The intent was to mislead the Rikens into believing the energy core was a key objective.

If the larval bodies had moved too precisely and decisively, the Rikens might have questioned how the Swarm could have known their ship’s layout without prior infiltration. Such knowledge would have raised alarm bells.

By feigning disorganization and then rallying toward a plausible target, the Swarm maintained the illusion of cunning intelligence without omniscience.

Outside the energy core, the Riken soldiers struggled to hold their ground. Their energy weapons, while effective against some targets, fared poorly against the larval bodies, which possessed high resistance to such attacks.

Conversely, the confined corridors worked to the larval bodies’ advantage.

The Swarm units lined up in a single file, forming what could only be described as a living train.

The larval body at the front bore the brunt of the Riken firepower. Despite its resilience, it was quickly torn apart, its limbs shattered and much of its body evaporated by concentrated fire.

But the “train” consisted of 17 “cars.” When the lead unit fell, the next one seamlessly took its place, carrying the momentum forward.

Such coordinated sacrifice would require elite discipline in an individualistic species. For the Swarm, it was merely standard procedure.

The “train” accelerated, barreling through the Riken defenses. Even before the second unit was fully incapacitated, the line smashed into the Riken soldiers and breached the energy core.

Once inside, the larval bodies unleashed a storm of destruction. They smashed, tore, and dismantled everything within reach. The Riken soldiers arriving in support found themselves unable to fire for fear of further damaging the core.

The energy core, central to the ship’s operations, began to destabilize as the destruction continued. Small explosions erupted intermittently, signaling the reactor’s imminent failure.

The ship’s captain, watching the chaos unfold through surveillance feeds, realized the situation was irreparable. With no options left, he issued the order to abandon ship.

The crew, including the soldiers who had tried to defend the core, scrambled to evacuate. Whether they reached escape pods depended on how quickly they moved.

In the midst of the chaos, the injured were left behind.

A brilliant explosion lit up the void as the ship reached its breaking point. The blast originated from the energy core, tearing the vessel apart from the inside out.

Fragments of the ship scattered in all directions, accompanied by escape pods, gunboats, and transport craft.

Most of the fleeing vessels survived the explosion, though many sustained damage. Some unfortunate pods lost propulsion and drifted aimlessly, carried by the shockwave of the blast.

Nearby rescue ships deployed grappling cables to secure these drifting vessels, but the survivors faced a new dilemma.

The destruction caused by a mere 17 larval bodies highlighted the vulnerability of Riken warships to internal sabotage. These relatively basic Swarm units had proven devastating once inside.

Worse yet, the Rikens had seen how the larval bodies infiltrated their ship. Though their escape pods now hovered in space, no Riken warship dared open its doors to bring them aboard.

As the survivors hesitated, the Swarm’s third wave—over 500 Primordial Space Octopuses—arrived on the battlefield.

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