I Am The Swarm

On the surface of the warship’s hull, the Space Octopuses displayed remarkable agility, their twisting, weaving movements making them perfectly suited to the environment. Their unpredictable maneuvers often caused the laser array and close-in defense cannons to miss their targets, with many shots striking their own warship instead.

While these stray hits couldn’t breach the ship’s armor, the repeated impacts were far from ideal.

Some larval bodies were shot down or even killed, but the numbers of the defensive weapons were also rapidly dwindling. The Space Octopuses, with their upgraded bio-armor for increased resilience and re-optimized tentacle strength, demonstrated destructive capabilities far exceeding expectations in close combat.

Against these biological weapons, the mechanically rigid constructs of the Daqi warships appeared utterly powerless once engaged in melee combat.

That such a scenario could even occur was a rarity, the result of a series of coincidences creating the perfect conditions.

First and foremost, the enemy had to be within close range—a critical requirement. Secondly, the enemy’s warships had to be few in number, led by a commander either unfamiliar with swarm close-quarters tactics or prone to mistakes. Additionally, the presence of an electromagnetic megastructure was indispensable. These factors were all interdependent, and the absence of any one would render the strategy ineffective.

While launching 300 meter mature bodies was not overly taxing for the electromagnetic megastructure, it could only fire one at a time, even at maximum frequency. If the enemy fleet were too numerous, a single coordinated salvo could obliterate the mature body before it ever got close. At longer distances, as seen earlier, if the enemy warships had time to fire a second volley, switching their main cannons to burst energy mode could also halt the mature body’s advance.

The presence of the electromagnetic megastructure was straightforward enough—without it, the mature bodies would lack the speed to traverse the battlefield quickly enough to reach their targets.

Take the earlier scenario, for instance. If the mature bodies had to rely on their own propulsion, they wouldn’t have been able to catch the Daqi warships. Even if the ships had remained stationary, they could have fired twenty salvos by the time the mature bodies arrived.

Finally, the inexperience or errors of the opposing commander played a crucial role. If Diallo had been more knowledgeable, he would have switched to burst energy mode during the first volley, and none of this would have unfolded.

“Forget it! Let them retreat on their own! We’re pulling back first!” Diallo barked, his voice tight with frustration as he watched the stricken warship being steadily dismantled. One of its rear thrusters was already destroyed, and the damage was rapidly escalating.

Rescue operations were out of the question. Once a Space Octopus closed in, the surrounding ships’ main and secondary cannons were rendered ineffective. Even within the range of the laser arrays and close-in defense cannons, the weapons lacked the power to make a difference.

The crew of the stricken warship faced an even grimmer fate than those forced to flee to the Riken defensive zone earlier. Diallo recalled certain descriptions from intelligence reports, opening the airlocks in such situations was tantamount to suicide. Escape was a fantasy; their only hope lay in allied rescue efforts.

Under normal circumstances, during a standoff, drones could be deployed to systematically clear the threat. However, in this time-critical scenario, there was no opportunity to spare resources for them.

The swarm, ever perceptive of its prey’s actions, sent the remaining 100 meter mature bodies swarming off the disabled warship, carrying larval bodies as they leapt onto nearby vessels.

“Intercept them! Stop them from getting close!” Diallo bellowed.

The fate of the ruined warship, lying in pieces not far away, served as a grim warning. Diallo was not about to let himself become the next casualty.

But as previously noted, launching a 300 meter mature body imposed minimal strain on the electromagnetic megastructure. In the short time since the first had landed, another had already been fired and was hurtling toward them.

“Damn it! Main cannons, target it and take it down!” Diallo roared. This larger creature posed an even greater threat and had to be neutralized immediately.

Yet, what Diallo could anticipate, the swarm had already planned for.

After the recent skirmishes, the swarm had collected comprehensive data on the Daqi’s main cannons. Every stage of the cannon’s operation—from energy accumulation to firing—had been meticulously recorded, down to the millisecond.

Meanwhile, countless types of Observer Bugs monitored the Daqi warships.

Thus, the moment the energy cannon projectile left the barrel, the Space Octopus—curled into a tight sphere—suddenly unfurled. Its dozen or so electrically charged tentacles contracted and extended with precision, propelling its body ever so slightly to one side at high speed.

The energy beam, traveling instantaneously, mostly missed its mark due to this small but calculated maneuver. Over 90% of the shots grazed past the mature body, with only two beams landing direct hits, causing explosive and burn damage.

This remarkable evasive maneuver mimicked the way a true octopus swims through water and was derived from the Space Octopus’s ancestor—the Atmospheric Organism. While Atmospheric Organisms lacked plasma propulsion organs, their swimming motion still enabled them to chase falling swarm meteors with impressive bursts of speed, demonstrating their latent power.

With this surprising display, the Space Octopus evaded the majority of the cannon fire. Although the two hits slowed it down significantly, the burst-energy-mode projectiles had limited effectiveness against bio-armor designed to withstand and absorb cosmic radiation.

Diallo hadn’t expected to kill it outright with the burst-energy rounds; his goal was simply to stall its advance. However, the results fell short of expectations.

Despite its reduced speed, the 300 meter mature body was still advancing rapidly. It wouldn’t reach the Daqi warships before the second round of cannon volleys, but the electromagnetic megastructure had already finished preheating and reached full power.

The third 300 meter mature body was launched just before the second volley could be fired!

Diallo now faced a difficult decision: which target should the second cannon volley prioritize?

If he targeted the second mature body, it would be dangerously close by the time the cannons recharged. If he failed to kill it outright, the effort would be nearly wasted.

On the other hand, if he targeted the third mature body, its ability to complete precise evasive maneuvers made him doubt the effectiveness of his volleys.

Time was running out. Diallo had to act quickly and made a compromise.

He divided his firepower: half the main cannons and secondary cannons would use penetration mode to attack the second mature body, while the remaining main cannons would employ burst-energy mode against the third one.

Scattered red beams split into two directions, streaking toward their respective targets.

The second mature body, riddled with seven or eight see-through holes, slammed into a warship’s propulsion system.

Meanwhile, the reduced barrage aimed at the third mature body allowed it to gracefully evade all incoming fire. While the evasive maneuvers slowed its approach slightly, it still advanced toward the Daqi warships at a faster pace than the second body.

The results of this volley were disastrous.

The second mature body’s back split open, releasing a torrent of smaller bodies—each less than 100 meters in size. The stricken warship, with its propulsion systems critically damaged, was doomed.

Even worse, the fourth 300 meter mature body was already on its way.

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