I Am The Swarm

How Mowei communicated with Elder Humes of the Ji race and what the Rashudia had to sacrifice in return remained unknown to the outsiders. However, the fact that the Ji agreed to temporarily halt the offensive brought a collective sigh of relief to everyone.

The Confederation fleet in front of Swarm’s Star System Nine had stopped their advance immediately upon learning about the Swarm’s equipment upgrades. At that time, they were still half a month away from the Swarm’s forces, giving them ample buffer space. Therefore, upon receiving the news of the temporary halt, they easily adjusted their formation and began their retreat.

The Ketou Race, however, had a much harder time. By the time they received the new orders, they had already been engaged in battle with the Swarm for three days. During these three days, not only had the Ketou Race, positioned at the forefront and center of the formation, clashed with the Swarm, but several mid-ring civilizations had also been dragged into the conflict to varying degrees.

On the other hand, the six outer-ring civilizations, due to their relatively rearward positions and slower speeds, had become somewhat detached from the mid-ring civilizations’ formation. As a result, they had miraculously suffered no losses.

The Ketou Race, being the first to engage in combat, suffered the heaviest losses. Moreover, the most critical issue was that if they fought too fiercely, they feared it would be difficult to retreat if they received orders to withdraw. If they fought while retreating, they worried about being held accountable if they later received orders to launch a strong offensive. With their subsequent tactics unclear, they fought with great hesitation.

The Swarm, on the other hand, had no such concerns. However, what was somewhat strange was that the Swarm did not employ their favorite tactic of surrounding the enemy with their numerical advantage. Instead, they engaged in straightforward, head-on confrontations. It was as if they knew this force wouldn’t stay for long, and rather than wasting effort on complex maneuvers, they opted for a simple and brutal exchange of losses.

But professional strategist teams quickly offered their perspective: the Swarm likely acted this way because their rear was their own territory. This reasoning was plausible, and even if some still had doubts, this was the first time the Confederation forces had fought on the Swarm’s turf, with no past cases to reference, so the matter was left at that.

The Swarm’s lack of additional maneuvers meant they had more forces concentrated on the frontlines. Taking advantage of their slightly superior main cannon range compared to even the strongest among the Confederation forces, the Ketou Race, they relentlessly wore down the Confederation forces.

Although the Confederation forces put up a fierce resistance, the uncertainty over whether to advance or not allowed the Swarm to exploit their slight range advantage, effectively chipping away at the Confederation forces.

The six mid-ring civilizations, already positioned at the frontlines, reacted the quickest. Their ships’ auxiliary thrusters on the sides of their bows fired at full power, executing a swift and coordinated turn, followed by the activation of their main thrusters, allowing them to rapidly disengage from the battlefield.

They felt no guilt about leaving their allies behind. Although they were now the farthest from the battlefield, the mid-ring civilizations’ superior energy and propulsion systems meant that once they completed their turns, they could catch up in no time.

As the saying goes, when being chased by a beast, you only need to outrun your companions. While the expression might differ across civilizations, the underlying principle remains the same.

The six mid-ring civilizations understood this well. Given their own limitations, they retreated with grace, all the while silently praying that the Swarm would be effective enough to delay at least one or two of the mid-ring civilizations.

It seemed the Swarm had heard their prayers. After all, their Overlord had done similar work in the past. Upon noticing that part of the Confederation fleet had broken formation and turned to flee, the Swarm, as if aware of something, suddenly ceased their range-advantage tactics and charged straight at the Confederation forces.

Several mid-ring civilizations that had not been deeply engaged in the battle immediately forced their way out of the conflict, even at the cost of a sudden spike in losses. Their decision proved to be the right one.

For these civilizations that paid the “breakup fee,” the Swarm did not pursue them further. Instead, they focused their attacks on the remaining fleet. The remaining civilizations were no fools either. After paying increasingly hefty “breakup fees,” they too managed to disengage from the battlefield.

In the end, out of the seven mid-ring civilizations, only the Ketou Race, due to their overly forward position and deep entanglement with the Swarm, were left trailing behind.

The Ketou Race’s fleet commander took a deep breath, his expression grave. He knew trouble was brewing.

As it turned out, those who rose to the position of fleet commander were indeed perceptive. They were indeed in trouble. With their allies having fled one after another, the original battle of 700 million Confederation ships against 1.5 billion Swarm units had now become 60 million against 1.5 billion.

To be precise, it was 56 million against 1.5 billion. As the civilization that had suffered the most damage, the Ketou Race had lost nearly 4 million ships in the three days of battle.

However, compared to the enemy’s numbers, even with those 4 million ships added back, it would make little difference. The current disparity in military strength was even more absurd than what the Yuntu Race had faced.

Moreover, they were now facing an upgraded Swarm. Judging from the Swarm’s posture, the “breakup fee” they demanded was something the Ketou Race could hardly afford.

While the Ketou Race’s fleet commander was deeply concerned, he was also puzzled. Under normal circumstances, when an opponent suddenly made an unexpected move, shouldn’t one cautiously seek the reason before responding?

Why had the Swarm, without the slightest hesitation, executed the optimal strategy? Could it be that someone within the confederation was colluding with the Swarm? This wasn’t impossible, given that the decision to attack the Swarm itself was fraught with internal complexities. In the midst of internal power struggles, the Ketou Race might simply be the unfortunate casualty.

Or perhaps it was the work of the Ketou Race’s enemies? The commander shook his head, dismissing this thought. Those who could hold a grudge against the Ketou Race were likely of similar stature, and they neither had the qualifications nor the audacity to collude with the Swarm.

But there was no time for further contemplation.

“Deploy all drones! Release all tactical bombs! Hold the Swarm back! Rally point 19-20-51-215, disperse and retreat by squadrons!” The overwhelming numerical disadvantage, coupled with the lack of any technological edge, made it clear that this was a one-sided battle. If the Ketou Race wanted to avoid the fate of the Yuntu and Sangqie Races, they would have to make a drastic sacrifice.

In fact, even a drastic sacrifice might not be enough. At critical moments, they might have to abandon half of their forces.

“Sir, the retreat routes have been sent to all squadrons.”

The commander nodded. Dispersing and retreating did not mean a disorderly retreat. With over 50 million ships, if they truly scattered without coordination, chaos would ensue even without the Swarm’s attack.

Thus, the supercomputers had just mapped out a unique retreat route for each squadron. They would intertwine, crisscross, and disperse, eventually converging at a single point. However, how many of these squadrons would make it to the end would depend entirely on luck.

“From now on, it’s up to fate. I hope to see you all again.”