I Am The Swarm

The special projectiles exploded, creating a unique gravitational wave. Other Yuntu ships without quantum communication devices quickly detected these waves and emerged from warp travel, halting their advance.

Then, more special projectiles were launched, exploded, and sent out warnings, like a domino effect, transmitting the information across the entire fleet. Most ships received the message, but a few at the forefront missed it and continued charging headlong into the trap.

Even so, the Yuntu fleet had already lost millions of ships. The losses were devastating, and what made it worse was that despite such heavy casualties, they had inflicted almost no damage on the Swarm.

However, such good fortune for the Swarm would only happen once. Even if the confederation races weren’t sure whether the Swarm truly had the ability to locate fleets in warp travel or if it was just a stroke of luck, they would undoubtedly be much more cautious in the future. At the very least, quantum communication devices would be more widely distributed.

“What’s going on? How did the Swarm know we were coming this way?” In the rear command room, the Yuntu representative initially insisted that the Swarm must have gotten lucky, intercepting them by chance. After all, the Swarm had set up over a hundred rally points in that region.

But soon, news came in that another race, the Sangqie, who were on par with the Yuntu, had also been intercepted by the Swarm.

Once could be a coincidence, but twice? Many began to doubt it was mere luck. Although the setup on the Sangqie side was similar to the Yuntu’s, few now believed it was a coincidence.

Unable to accept reality, the Yuntu representative kept asking questions, but no one in the room could provide an answer.

“Regardless, we need to notify the other fleets to be extremely cautious. If necessary, slow down their speed, but don’t let them fall into the Swarm’s trap.”

“I told you not to underestimate the Swarm. It holds secrets that even the Ji race would act on in secret. Did anyone really think it was just a fledgling civilization?”

“Indeed, we’ve had suspicions that the Swarm inherited the legacy of an advanced civilization or is even a branch of one. We must not underestimate them.”

“I personally think it’s the former. The Swarm’s technology seems to have gaps. For example, their ability to track warp paths—even the Ji race hasn’t achieved that level of technology.”

“Let’s hope so. If it’s the latter, we might as well turn back. This isn’t a war for small players like us.”

“Ha, don’t scare yourselves. Maybe it really is just a coincidence? The odds of two coincidences are low, but not impossible.”

“So, what should we do now?”

“What’s the current situation?”

“According to the latest intelligence, the Swarm has formed a large encirclement around the Yuntu fleet, which has emerged from warp travel, and is closing in. The situation with the Sangqie is roughly the same.”

“So, it’s not a coincidence after all?”

“Enough. Yuntu and Sangqie representatives, order your fleets to form defensive formations and retreat. Contact the fleets of other nearby civilizations and have them rush to support.” The speaker’s tone was commanding and left no room for argument.

Surprisingly, the representatives of the Yuntu and Sangqie, the strongest forces in the coalition, showed little resistance to this person’s orders.

Upon closer inspection, the speaker was short and stocky but had an extremely long neck and a flat head, making his overall height over two meters. He looked like a shell-less, long-necked turtle minister.

This was none other than Elder Humes of the Ji race, an old acquaintance. Upon reflection, it made sense for Elder Humes to be here, as he was responsible for daily affairs in this region and oversaw the production of the longevity serum.

As a member of the Ji race’s highest authority, Elder Humes certainly had the right to command several mid-rim civilizations.

However, Elder Humes was no fool. His instructions seemed reasonable to the other confederation races. In this situation, the cautious approach of the Ji elder actually relieved them.

They had been worried that this suddenly arrived Ji elder would issue some embarrassing or unacceptable orders without considering their feelings.

Now, it seemed they had encountered a Ji elder with a good temper and a willingness to consider others. What luck.

For the Yuntu and Sangqie fleets, which had formed defensive formations, the Swarm, despite having a numerical advantage, did not recklessly charge.

The new dark energy cannons made their debut in the war against the Swarm. A single volley turned tens of thousands of Primordial Bodies into dust. This superweapon, with greater power and range than ordinary energy cannons, made the Swarm hesitate.

Seeing the Swarm intimidated, the Yuntu fleet commander breathed a sigh of relief. Although the dark energy cannons were incredibly powerful, if the Swarm decided to fight to the death, the Yuntu fleet wouldn’t fare well either.

The earlier trap had already caused heavy losses. The commander didn’t want to lose the entire fleet before even reaching Swarm territory. Even if he managed to escape, he would face severe punishment.

The Yuntu fleet’s forward engines emitted dazzling streams of energy as the entire fleet slowly retreated in formation. The Swarm’s Primordial Bodies followed closely, maintaining pressure and intimidation.

By now, the fleets of other civilizations had received the orders and, out of caution, had already emerged from warp travel. Several mid-rim civilizations, second only to the Yuntu and Sangqie, were closest to the battlefield. After emerging from warp space, they updated their information, adjusted their flight paths, and rushed toward the standoff.

After a series of maneuvers, the current situation in the battlefield was as follows: the outer-ring civilization fleets at both ends of the front line, having just set out, turned back to defend their home territories. The central outer-ring civilization fleets and most mid-rim civilization fleets, unsure if there were Swarm traps ahead, had also emerged from warp travel and were advancing using sub-light engines.

Meanwhile, the Yuntu and Sangqie fleets were in a standoff with the Swarm forces, while several mid-rim civilization fleets were risking everything to provide support. The battlefield was divided into several parts, but without exception, their movements had stalled or slowed significantly.

The fact that the Swarm had managed to intercept the Yuntu and Sangqie was clearly not just luck. Several support fleets were forced out of warp travel by dark energy mines. Fortunately, they had been prepared, and the coalition’s reconnaissance units in the surrounding star systems had not been cleared, so the losses were not severe. However, they no longer dared to continue warp travel and could only rely on sub-light engines to reach the support points.