I Am The Swarm

Luo Wen’s initial design was inspired by the survival mechanisms of animals and insects that shed limbs to escape danger. He planned to make the spiral horn of the Boar Insect Beast detachable.

However, this approach compromised the structural integrity of the horn. During an impact, if the enemy’s armor was too strong, the spiral horn could break off before penetrating the defense.

The sole combat purpose of the Boar Insect Beast was to drive its horn deep into the enemy’s body. Such flaws would hinder its effectiveness.

Moreover, even if the detachable design worked, the Boar Insect Beast would lose its horn after one collision. Regrowing the horn would take considerable time, during which the beast could not enter dormancy and would need constant food intake.

With all this in mind, Luo Wen decided to go with a unified structure. Even if the Boar Insect Beast died, as long as its flesh remained intact, the materials could be recycled to produce another one. Cost analysis revealed this approach was more economical than the detachable model.

Although the T-Rex managed to crush two Boar Insect Beasts, its fate was sealed the moment its body was pierced by a spiral horn. Lacking any resistance to poison, its powerful, rapid heartbeat only hastened its demise. The toxin quickly mixed with its blood and spread throughout its body at an astonishing rate.

Paralyzed by the venom disrupting its neural signals, the T-Rex collapsed to the ground. It could no longer perceive external stimuli, its consciousness trapped in a dark void as it awaited death.

Next to the T-Rex’s lair, a branch base of the swarm was established. This marked the swarm’s first terrestrial branch base since Luo Wen’s awakening.

With improved species, both the size and mobility of the swarm units had drastically increased. Their operational range expanded tens or even hundreds of times. The era when multiple swarm bases crowded a few hundred meters of territory was now a thing of the past.

Luo Wen remotely commanded this battle via the Swarm Network. Once the fight concluded, he shifted his focus elsewhere. The Blades had remarkable learning capabilities, and they would handle similar enemies on their own in the future.

The forest’s unique apex creatures and factions were limited in variety. Before the swarm conquered the entire forest, Luo Wen could work undisturbed on his plant seed experiments.

Recently, he had found a new approach: using the primitive genes of the Iphieash species to bridge the gap between animal and plant genes.

The results of this new experimental organism exceeded Luo Wen’s expectations. The experiment was heading into uncharted territory, and he could not predict the outcome. However, he had a strong feeling that the results would be positive, and he eagerly anticipated the final product.

The Brood Nest was now focused on producing Brood Queens. Newly birthed queens were transported to branch bases during their juvenile stage to make relocation manageable.

As the Brood Queens arrived, swarm bases began multiplying rapidly, and the territory expanded swiftly. Whether giant pythons, large carnivorous T-Rexes, or other predators, none could evade the swarm’s aerial scouts unless they left the forest entirely.

The timing of their eradication depended solely on the swarm’s food reserves.

In truth, the swarm’s daily consumption was relatively low. Only a small portion of the army remained in combat readiness; most of the units consisted of aerial scouts. These small, lightweight fliers required minimal food to sustain themselves.

The majority of combat units would enter collective dormancy. Patrol units sustained themselves by consuming soil to maintain minimal energy levels. When facing battle or invasion, the Blades would use the Swarm Network to awaken select units.

Thus, the hardest-working members of the swarm were the Worker Drones and Worker Ants. With Luo Wen’s experiments yielding greater spore crop yields, maintaining the swarm’s daily needs became effortless.

This ushered in a brief period of tranquility in the forest. Although vast tracts of land were being incorporated into the swarm’s domain daily, Luo Wen understood the principles of sustainable development and long-term gains. As a result, the forest’s original ecosystem was largely preserved, with the exception of the previous apex predators and factions, which had now been reduced to one: the swarm.

Occupying the top of the food chain, the swarm fulfilled its role by periodically culling forest creatures to prevent overpopulation.

The forest effectively became a massive breeding ground, supplying the swarm with an endless source of sustenance.

To Luo Wen’s surprise, a group of Triceratops was discovered deep within the forest. After a carefully planned hunt, he successfully acquired their genetic material. This led to an upgrade for the Anti-T-Rex Impact Injector Beast.

The new swarm beast, modeled after the Triceratops, measured 7–9 meters in length, stood 2.5 meters tall, and weighed 8–10 tons. Beyond equipping its three iconic horns with injection tubes and venom sacs, little was altered.

Despite being herbivorous, the Triceratops’ sturdy head shield and sharp horns allowed it to counterattack and even kill a T-Rex in combat. With the addition of venom injection, this new beast required no assistance from other swarm units to defeat large carnivorous dinosaurs, achieving a high success rate.

As a result, the Anti-T-Rex Collision Beast evolved from a disposable unit into a robust main battle tank. Its name was changed to Triceratops Beast.

With the aid of the Triceratops Beast, the swarm no longer needed to frequently replenish its frontline collision units. In a short time, they had eradicated all carnivorous dinosaur species within a thousand-kilometer radius.

Numerous Brood Queens were dispatched to establish new bases. The swarm’s rapid territorial expansion and the elimination of apex predators raised concerns about ecological balance. To address this, the dormant combat units were reactivated and, under the Blades’ command, conducted sweeps across the region.

The abundance of prey led to a surplus of food that the swarm couldn’t consume in time. The forest’s oppressive heat exposed storage issues, as large quantities of food risked spoilage. Although the swarm initiated a new round of mass unit production, the hatching process was still underway, leaving vast amounts of food at risk of rotting.

It was at this time that Luo Wen made an extraordinary discovery in his experiments.

He found a hybrid organism that defied categorization as either plant or animal.

This organism, combining plant and animal genes, exhibited remarkable traits. Genes from algae, ferns, and mosses enabled it to grow rapidly and adapt to various environments, including water surfaces and underwater habitats.

Lichen genes granted it the ability to break down rocks and minerals, absorbing essential nutrients directly from them.

Shade-tolerant plant genes allowed it to thrive in dim, lightless underground settings without relying on photosynthesis.

The incorporation of vine genes enabled it to parasitize other plants, extracting nutrients directly from their hosts.

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