I Am The Swarm

The pterosaur didn’t fly far before succumbing to the venom injected by at least twelve Modified Spider Combat Bugs. The thin, sparse blood vessels in its wing membranes had slowed the toxin’s spread; otherwise, it likely wouldn’t have been able to fly at all.

The pterosaur crashed roughly 10 kilometers from the initial battlefield—a distance that wasn’t particularly far. Its dramatic fall quickly drew the attention of nearby predators.

Several pterosaurs circled above, while small ground predators lurked hesitantly nearby. However, before they could approach, a loud buzzing arose in the distance. Soon, a dark cloud of Type I Flying Bugs descended, sealing off the area.

The pterosaur had likely lost control of its body while in mid-air, plummeting headfirst to the ground without slowing. Though its body wasn’t completely shattered, its bones were largely broken. Even if it hadn’t died immediately, the neurotoxin coursing through its system likely rendered it incapable of feeling pain.

Surprisingly, the Giant Mandible Soldier Ant that had clung to the pterosaur’s ankle was still alive. As the pterosaur had fallen headfirst, the ant had luckily found a “cushion” to break its fall.

Despite the buffer, the soldier ant was gravely injured. However, its final mission was yet to be completed before being sent for reconstruction.

With its sharp and durable mandibles, the Giant Mandible Soldier Ant was an excellent cutter. Since its inception, it had served as both a transport and cutting unit.

Now too injured to drag the pterosaur’s body back to base, the soldier ant began dismembering it on-site.

Above, the Type I Flying Bugs formed an impenetrable barrier, blocking the view of the pterosaurs circling in the sky. On the ground, the incessant buzzing intimidated would-be predators, keeping them at bay.

Despite its large size, the pterosaur’s body was lean, and the cutting proceeded quickly. Nearby, Modified Spider Combat Bugs remained hidden, waiting for the dismemberment to finish before transporting the pieces back to the base—a task well within their original function as transport bugs.

Two hours later, the combat units delivered the pterosaur’s remains to Luo Wen.

Luo Wen entered a period of seclusion.

Fifty days later, the swarm’s newly developed Storm God took flight.

This creature was larger than any pterosaur Luo Wen had previously encountered. With a wingspan of 17 meters and a widened back, it weighed nearly a ton and could carry loads of up to two tons.

Its primary role wasn’t combat, although it was formidable in battle. Instead, its primary function was long-distance transportation. It could carry 400 Modified Spider Combat Bugs, thousands of Type I Flying Bugs, and even over a dozen Giant Mandible Soldier Ants.

The Storm God’s body was a marvel of aerodynamic engineering. Its tail was short, its head was long and slender, and its elongated beak was sharp and pointed. The wings were composed of vascular networks, muscles, and microfilaments of actin fibers arranged in parallel. Its forelimbs were sturdy, with thick muscles and tendons, enabling a unique launch mechanism.

By crouching down, using its forelimbs as leverage, and propelling itself upward with its powerful hind legs, the Storm God could achieve a rapid catapult-like takeoff.

Once airborne, it utilized subtle air currents to glide efficiently, requiring minimal wing movement. It could ascend to altitudes exceeding 10,000 meters with ease. Equipped with a Tail Lard Organ, its endurance was exceptional, allowing it to fly nearly 20,000 kilometers nonstop when unladen.

Though it typically glided at a leisurely speed of under 150 kilometers per hour, it could reach up to 500 kilometers per hour during full-powered flight. However, such speeds consumed energy rapidly and couldn’t be sustained for long.

The Storm God served as both a high-altitude reconnaissance unit and a rapid deployment carrier for the swarm. Dubbed the “airborne mothership” of the swarm, its official designation was Storm God.

With the deployment of the Storm Gods, the swarm finally had a countermeasure against the high-altitude pterosaurs.

A few days later, two Storm Gods took to the skies. Their immense size allowed them to ascend higher than the circling pterosaurs, granting them a vantage point over their quarry.

The pterosaurs, drawn by ground-level bait, hovered cautiously, screeching anxiously. Unlike the previous trap, this time the swarm had stationed large numbers of ground and aerial units near the bait, their menacing presence keeping the pterosaurs wary and reluctant to descend.

The pterosaurs’ cries attracted more of their kind, yet the real danger came not from the ground but from above.

Several specialized insects leaped from the Storm Gods’ backs.

These creatures, measuring over 20 centimeters in length, sported robust, smooth horns on their heads, each measuring 6 to 7 centimeters. Their bodies were equipped with feathered wings on either side, though these wings were too small to enable sustained flight.

Indeed, these bugs were head-heavy and bottom-light, with a peculiar streamlined elegance. Their exoskeletons were dense and heavy, making their wings suitable only for brief gliding and minor directional adjustments.

Their abdomens housed numerous air vents connected to a large internal air sac derived from the genes of a jet fish species. This fish possessed a high-pressure system capable of compressing water and shooting it from its mouth to knock insects off aquatic plants.

Luo Wen modified this system, replacing the “water bullets” with compressed air.

Using this mechanism, the specialized bugs could expel air at varying pressures from different abdominal vents to change direction mid-air.

As the bugs leaped from the Storm Gods, they locked onto their targets below. By coordinating abdominal vent expulsions and minor wing adjustments, they steered themselves with precision.

Once oriented, they folded their wings and entered a steep dive. When visual tracking became unreliable at high speeds, their targeting systems switched to echolocation. Using sonar, they continuously adjusted their trajectory.

As they neared their targets, they closed all side vents, relying solely on wing adjustments for precision. At the same time, their high-pressure systems expelled air through their largest tail vents, propelling them even faster.

At this stage, their speed reached a peak, producing a piercing whistle in the air. Within moments, the bugs struck the gliding pterosaurs with devastating force.

The bugs’ 6 to 7-centimeter horns pierced the pterosaurs’ bodies with ease, propelled by the immense speed. The momentum carried them through their targets, leaving a spray of blood as they continued their descent.

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