I Am The Swarm

The front forces commander underestimated the Swarm’s ambition. While he was too immersed in the battlefield to see clearly, the coalition’s reconnaissance ships outside the battlefield had a clear view of the Swarm’s intentions.

The Swarm forces that had been pursuing the coalition’s rear had now abandoned their chase of the battered front forces. Instead, they accelerated, aiming to bypass the coalition and reinforce the intercepting units at the other end.

“The Swarm’s appetite is enormous! They’re planning to trap the entire central force of the coalition?!” Difeck was incredulous. In his view, while the Swarm appeared to have numerical superiority, the individual combat power of their units was significantly inferior. Overall, the coalition’s combat strength was actually stronger.

However, the coalition’s complex and chaotic command structure made it difficult to fully utilize their combat potential. In contrast, the Swarm’s coordination was textbook-perfect.

This disparity, combined with the Swarm’s initial positional advantage, had snowballed into the current situation.

Although the coalition had suffered heavy losses, the void of space left little room for elaborate tactics. To annihilate a large enemy force, one had to rely on brute force. Therefore, the Swarm’s losses were also substantial. While the coalition no longer had the strength to launch an offensive, they could still retaliate. The two sides were still evenly matched.

But now, the Swarm was actively intercepting the coalition’s central force, aiming to completely destroy them. Given the Swarm’s current troop numbers, this seemed almost delusional.

In Difeck’s opinion, the Swarm would be better off organizing their superior force to pursue the retreating coalition, securing greater gains. After all, a routed army and one with its retreat cut off were entirely different in terms of morale and combat effectiveness.

But the Swarm’s actions must have a reason. Could it really be as Viller had speculated? Thinking this, Difeck shook his head self-deprecatingly. He must be losing his mind too. How could that be possible?

The Swarm’s somewhat reckless move was actually a boon for the coalition. It redefined the roles of attacker and defender, with the Swarm forces now in a position to be flanked.

“The flank forces, stop slacking off! While the Swarm is focused on blocking the central forces’ retreat, go in and take a few big bites!” the coalition commander ordered, directing the troops forward.

All available forces were deployed, including Viller’s disc-shaped flagship, which was assigned to a foreign fleet and sent back into the fray.

Viller had no complaints about this, though he was slightly uneasy about being grouped with a fleet of ships whose captains were barely over two kilometers in length—a far cry from his usual companions.

The Swarm’s relentless interception made their formations and movements predictable. Combined with their limited room to maneuver while being flanked, their losses were mounting rapidly.

“Let these damned Swarm taste what it’s like to be flanked!” the front forces commander shouted. They had been surrounded by the Swarm earlier, suffering nearly 80% casualties, with many comrades left behind on the battlefield.

Now, seeing the Swarm in a similar predicament, they felt a strange sense of satisfaction. Unfortunately, their position wasn’t at the forefront of the attack, and their firing angles were blocked by allied ships. They could only vent their frustration verbally and take out their anger on the few remaining pursuers.

The intensity of the battle, which had waned, now surged again. The previously routed flank forces were now fighting effectively, inflicting significant casualties on the Swarm.

In the void, ships were constantly being destroyed. Amid the flames, countless lifeboats and escape pods fled the scene, while even more Space Octopuses were torn apart by artillery fire, their biological matter scattering in all directions.

The battle was reaching its climax, with both sides rapidly depleting their forces. However, the advantage seemed to be shifting toward the coalition.

Just as Difeck was fantasizing about leading his troops to victory in the first major battle against the Swarm, securing promotions, raises, and a path to the pinnacle of his career, devastating news arrived.

“Sir, we’ve received a report from the rear. A massive Swarm force has suddenly appeared outside LKDW262! Estimated numbers exceed fifty million!”

“What?!” Difeck exclaimed. “How is that possible?”

Fifty million troops—this wasn’t ancient times. Mobilizing such a large force couldn’t be hidden. The number of troops the Swarm had dispatched from LKDW286, 287, and 288 had been meticulously recorded by the coalition’s reconnaissance ships.

There might be some discrepancies in the data, but not to the extent of fifty million. Could the Swarm have sent troops from other star systems?

Difeck immediately dismissed this idea. The coalition had deployed almost all its reconnaissance ships and devices along the border. No matter which star system or direction the Swarm moved from, they couldn’t escape such a dense surveillance network.

Unless they had launched their forces from within the Interstellar Technological Confederation itself—but how could that be possible?

That left only one possibility: the Swarm had openly dispatched their forces but changed their destination mid-journey. Troops in warp travel were already difficult to detect, and with the coalition’s internal surveillance network weakened, the Swarm could have redirected their forces without being noticed.

So, where had these troops come from? The answer was obvious. The Swarm had sent forces to the Koya Alliance, but their numbers matched the records. That left only the forces originally headed for LKDW265 and 267.

Yet Difeck was still reluctant to accept this.

To evade the coalition’s detection, the Swarm would have had to send their forces toward the original targets, then redirect them after entering coalition territory. But the distance from that point to LKDW262 would take years to traverse, even at warp speed.

As he had told Viller earlier, unless the Swarm had planned this from the very beginning—before the coalition had even finalized their plans—the timing wouldn’t add up.

But how could the Swarm dare to take such a gamble? This was a life-or-death bet. If the coalition had devised a different plan, all their efforts would have been in vain.

Could the Swarm truly foresee the future?

“Has there been any unusual activity near LKDW263?” Difeck suddenly asked.

The communications officer quickly operated the instruments. After a moment, he looked up, his eyes wide with shock. “Sir, a massive Swarm force has also appeared outside LKDW263.”

“Is that so?” Difeck’s tone was more of a statement than a question. The Swarm must have used some method to anticipate the coalition’s plans in advance. Otherwise, their actions wouldn’t be so precisely targeted.

One instance might be a coincidence, but two couldn’t be explained away so easily.

At this moment, Difeck finally realized just how terrifying the secret that had drawn the Ji race into the fray truly was. The Swarm was like a bottomless pit, continuously revealing new cards. It was impossible to predict or grasp their limits.

Perhaps their old rivals, the Koya Alliance, had been right all along.

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