I Am The Swarm

The completion of the Swarm’s first internal Star Gate dramatically increased troop deployment efficiency. Although it still took time to transfer forces, the improvement over the previous long detour to reach Star Gate XM1209 was immeasurable.

However, this didn’t mean XM1209 had lost its value. Within the Confederation’s territory, many Swarm forces were still roaming freely, and numerous lifeless planets had already been transformed into offshore bases.

A massive number of Space Octopus larval bodies were hatched here and then sent to bask in the sunlight in stellar orbits. As for the alien civilizations that technically owned those orbits—they didn’t dare say a word.

After the anti-Ji Alliance began its war with the Ji race, the stance of Mid-ring and Outer-ring civilizations grew extremely ambiguous. They didn’t openly support any side, instead striving to reduce their visibility to avoid drawing the attention of the major powers at war.

And as the core military strength of the anti-Ji Alliance, none of them dared provoke the Swarm. Even those foreign races whose captured troops were rumored to have been detonated by the Swarm didn’t dare voice complaints.

As for the civilizations surrounding Star Gate XM1209, they were mostly Outer-ring powers and wouldn’t dare let out even a peep. What’s more, due to the nearby stellar explosion, most of these foreign powers had already relocated, and within a few years, these star systems would be ownerless.

Still, the environment there would inevitably worsen, and once Swarm forces had amassed sufficiently, they planned to relocate the entire XM1209 Star Gate to a new location. Of course, completing this would take time.

And so time continued to pass. After completing the Swarm’s first Star Gate, the alliance personnel moved with their space factories to the next construction site. There, they would first manufacture modules and assemble the Star Gate’s framework, then await the arrival of precision components to complete final installation.

Meanwhile, the Swarm’s second and third Star Gates were completed ten years later. The personnel and equipment involved in their construction were freed up, greatly accelerating the build time of subsequent Gates.

For years, border skirmishes had steadily decreased. To outsiders, it seemed as though peace had returned—but only those involved understood that both sides were brewing massive trump cards, each aiming to destroy the other in one decisive strike.

Truthfully, the Inner-circle Alliance was somewhat confused. Their confusion stemmed from the same reason as before—the Ji race was behaving far too strangely. Originally holding a huge advantage, they had now lost it with the completion of the Swarm’s three Star Gates.

The Alliance’s commanders and strategists simply could not understand it. Why was the Ji race staying so calm? Could they still have other hidden cards?

But back then, they had possessed many Ji elders working as spies. There shouldn’t be anything the Ji race could hide from so many internal agents. So perhaps…

Now, with a deeper understanding of Lumina’s capabilities, and the increasingly eerie developments, commanders of the Inner-circle civilizations began to doubt themselves. They were gradually becoming convinced that the Ji race—or more accurately, Lumina—was still hiding some devastating trump card they knew nothing about.

But perhaps that trump card wasn’t yet fully developed, and couldn’t be used. If so, they had to find it and destroy it before Lumina finished her preparations.

Luo Wen, however, had some idea why the Ji race hadn’t launched an attack. The Swarm was working on something similar. Although he didn’t know why Lumina needed to control so much—perhaps she wasn’t fully evolved yet, or maybe she still needed more “emotional samples” to fill in some gap.

In fact, for Luo Wen, the longer the delay, the more it benefited the Swarm. The seeds sown years ago had already taken root and sprouted. And in these past years, the Swarm hadn’t just scattered seeds along the frontline—they’d been busy elsewhere too.

Since those Mid-ring and Outer-ring civilizations had chosen neutrality, Swarm forces had been able to freely move through their territories, naturally leaving something behind wherever they went.

During this time, the number of Swarm Intelligent Entities had multiplied by an unknown factor—and that was with careful selection. Those deemed useless were consumed purely as energy and nutrients.

On top of that, the Swarm had never stopped expanding their “mining operations” across various star regions. With the combined nourishment from both sources, Luo Wen’s strength had increased considerably.

For the Inner-circle civilizations, the delay wasn’t without its benefits either. In just over a decade, Star Gates four through eight would be completed. With eight Star Gates simultaneously transferring troops, they would gain a massive influx of cannon fodder at the frontlines.

But since the Inner-circle Alliance had decided not to wait, Luo Wen—ever the “considerate” and loyal ally—naturally did not oppose their decision.

After some discussion, the anti-Ji Alliance decided to maintain defensive positions in most areas, while concentrating their forces into three spearheads to attack the Ji race’s frontline.

Thanks to the completion of three Swarm Star Gates, the confrontation line was now manned by nearly One Hundred Billion Swarm units. These scattered units were now being recalled and concentrated, joined by around Thirty Billion Inner-circle Alliance warships—forming the first wave of the assault force.

Although the Swarm dispatched several generals for this operation, their Empress was still trapped near Star Gate XM768, meaning their highest authority was absent. As a result, command leadership was seized by the Inner-circle Alliance—not that the Swarm particularly contested this.

Having secured command, the Inner-circle commanders showed no restraint—placing Swarm forces at the very front, while their own forces were stationed behind.

The Swarm issued a token protest, but ultimately accepted the arrangement. In terms of unit parameters, this formation made practical sense: the Primordial bodies, which had weak ranged capabilities, led the charge, while the Alliance warships, armed with advanced firepower systems, supported from behind—maximizing overall combat effectiveness.

This wasn’t because Luo Wen had grown passive. Rather, he knew—in the end, there would only be two players left standing. For those destined to be removed from the board, Luo Wen always showed a degree of tolerance.

In New Era Year 170, the Great War began.

The anti-Ji Alliance’s force deployment at the border—such a massive military maneuver—would be obvious to anyone with eyes. The Ji race’s commanders could not possibly be unaware.

And indeed, they were well prepared. A vast number of warships were deployed and evenly distributed along the border. On top of that, along the three main attack paths of the anti-Ji Alliance’s forces, the Ji race had not only amassed formidable defenses but had also laid wide-reaching minefields and traps.

Thanks to the Inner-circle Alliance’s internal agents within the Ji race, they had acquired intimate knowledge of many Ji weapon specifications and had developed numerous countermeasures. These minefields were no exception.