I Am The Swarm

By the 68th year of the New Era, things had been relatively calm over the past few years, at least for the Ketuo civilization, which hadn’t faced much harassment. This unexpected peace left them feeling somewhat uneasy.

During this period, reinforcements from the Interstellar Technological Confederation continued to pour in. The number of civilizations on the front lines increased from 91 to 95.

With the navigation routes cleared again, some of the bolder civilizations resumed using warp travel. Although they encountered occasional harassment from the Swarm, the Confederation detected and neutralized these threats early on. Gradually, more and more civilizations regained confidence and reopened their warp travel routes.

The territory of the Interstellar Technological Confederation wasn’t far from the Swarm’s domain. Many civilizations, upon receiving their assigned tasks, caught up with the leading mid-tier civilizations in no time.

However, these mid-tier civilizations were unwilling to take risks and continued to use sublight engines for a cautious advance. Even though some of the later civilizations were eager to make a name for themselves, they ultimately joined the sublight travel convoy after considering their own strength.

After more than four years, the joint forces of several mid-tier civilizations finally approached the Swarm’s star system.

Of course, their ranks had grown significantly. On the Ketuo side alone, the original three mid-tier civilizations with a total of 170 million ships had expanded to seven mid-tier civilizations, with nearly 400 million ships.

Additionally, six outer-ring civilizations had joined, contributing around 300 million ships. Although their technological level was slightly lower than that of the mid-tier civilizations, they were still far more effective as cannon fodder than unmanned fighter drones.

Thus, the Ketuo-led fleet had undergone a qualitative transformation, now boasting nearly 700 million ships. Moreover, fleets from several other civilizations were expected to join in the coming years.

Looking at the 3D holographic map filled with markers representing allied ships and the dazzling galaxy of warning lights and propulsion systems outside the viewport, Elder El of the Ketuo civilization felt confident that with such a force, capturing a star system would be no problem.

On the other end of the front line, another group of forces was even more powerful. Their initial force consisted of four civilizations with over 200 million ships. Over the past four years, they had been reinforced by several mid-tier and outer-ring civilizations, bringing their total strength to over 800 million, approaching 900 million. With such power, Elder El believed that capturing the Swarm’s ninth star system would be even easier.

Now, their target, Star System One of the Swarm, was within sight. Elder El straightened his attire. The upcoming war council was about to begin. With the Yuntu no longer in the picture, the Ketuo civilization was now the strongest in this fleet, and he intended to make a strong impression.

The representatives from over a dozen civilizations exchanged pleasantries and compliments, and the meeting concluded in a friendly and harmonious atmosphere. During the meeting, everyone unanimously approved the tactical plan proposed by Elder El, the representative of the Ketuo civilization, giving him the recognition he sought.

El’s plan wasn’t overly complicated. According to intelligence, the number of Swarm combat units over 500 meters in size in Star System One had increased rapidly in recent years, now reaching around 1.5 billion. A decade ago, the Swarm’s total forces across nine star systems on the entire front line had only been 4 billion.

The rapid increase in Swarm forces was attributed to their occupation of over 200 star systems in their rear. These systems were now continuously producing troops and sending them to the front lines.

However, despite the Swarm’s strength, Elder El remained confident in the Interstellar Technological Confederation. With over 200 member civilizations and nearly 10,000 star systems under its control, the Confederation could easily outlast the Swarm in a war of attrition.

But that was looking too far ahead. In the immediate situation, while 1.5 billion Swarm units seemed like a lot, based on their performance during the ambush of the Yuntu, the Ketuo-led fleet of 700 million ships could simply advance steadily and crush the Swarm with sheer force.

Although the fleet included many outer-ring civilizations and two mid-tier civilizations whose fleets hadn’t yet completed the transition to dark energy systems, even so, they had more than enough strength to overwhelm 1.5 billion Swarm units.

Thus, Elder El’s plan was straightforward: form up, advance steadily, and crush the Swarm with overwhelming force.

Once the tactics were decided, the task allocation sparked some debate, but a consensus was quickly reached. The mid-tier civilizations would handle the main assault, while the outer-ring civilizations would cover the flanks.

As the architect of the operation, the Ketuo civilization took the central and foremost position, which also bore the most pressure. However, Elder El believed that being in the center, while seemingly the most pressured, only required facing the Swarm head-on. The flanks would be protected by allied forces, making the position relatively safe.

In contrast, the flanks would face attacks from both the front and the sides, making them far more dangerous. Not everyone was as clever as Elder El, and some outer-ring civilizations raised objections. However, under the combined pressure of the mid-tier civilizations, they eventually accepted the plan.

When the fleet was about a month’s travel away from Star System One, the formation began to adjust. Seven mid-tier civilizations and six outer-ring civilizations, totaling 700 million ships, formed a massive battle formation and advanced toward the Swarm.

“Your Majesty, they have reached the outskirts of Star System One.”

“Understood.”

“Shall we activate it?”

“Their numbers are still too small. Let’s scare them first, then our agents can step in.”

“As you command, Your Majesty.”

A month later, Star System One of the Swarm was within sight. The Swarm clearly didn’t want the battle to take place on their turf and had already deployed their forces outside the star system.

The Swarm had always maintained a reputation for being ruthless and refusing communication. Thus, there were no pre-battle pleasantries or trash talk.

Since the Ketuo-led fleet had already formed up, they didn’t waste any time. As they approached the main cannon’s effective range, the forward propulsion systems activated, slowing the ships while energy was redistributed to charge the main cannons.

Elder El sneered at the Swarm’s formation. With no advantage in energy, firepower, range, or numbers, how could the Swarm be so confident in a head-on confrontation?

However, despite his outward disdain, Elder El secretly instructed his adjutant to closely monitor the surroundings. The Swarm weren’t fools. They couldn’t possibly be unaware that this was a losing battle, so there had to be some trick at play.