I Am The Swarm

“Deploy all fighter jets! Stop them!” Though they weren’t sure what the Swarm intended, stopping them was undoubtedly the right move.

He seemed to forget that if they hadn’t meticulously tried to prevent the Swarm from “escaping” earlier, the Swarm’s grand performance wouldn’t have succeeded in the first place.

This time, however, his decision was correct—at least when it came to halting the spread of the Fungal Carpet, as there was no hidden agenda behind this particular maneuver.

Meanwhile, the urgency of the situation was recognized by both the Second Fleet, led by Novaul, and the Third Fleet, led by Alcer.

Since the Riken warships couldn’t freely land on the planet’s surface, they were forced to dock gradually in outer orbit.

Massive steel behemoths over a kilometer long opened their side hangar bay doors, releasing waves of fighter jets. The aircraft hovered briefly to form formations before diving toward Planet Raze.

The Riken’s fighter squadrons followed the same composition as before: each squadron included one manned fighter jet accompanied by nine unmanned drones, forming a cohesive attack group.

From the three fleets, over 2,000 warships deployed more than ten attack formations each, totaling over 200,000 fighter jets, which swarmed toward Planet Raze like a flood.

It was a pity that space lacked air. Otherwise, the roar of engines from such a massive fleet would have been deafening and awe-inspiring.

On Planet Raze’s surface, the yellow-brown terrain was starkly interrupted by the striking and conspicuous patches of purple-gray Fungal Carpet.

Although the rapid spread of the fungal carpet shocked the Riken, the relatively short time it had to develop meant it remained concentrated around the previously occupied ground-cannon bases.

By the time the Riken fighter jets arrived, less than half of the original 100,000 ground-based cannons remained operational, and this number was decreasing rapidly.

While the cannons continued their desperate attempts at self-defense, adjusting angles to fire at the Swarm forces, their success rate was low. Hitting the agile Space Octopuses within the dense barrage proved extremely challenging. Worse, stray shots occasionally caused friendly fire.

Amid the chaos, dense red energy beams rained down from the skies as the Swarm detected the approaching fighter jets. The Space Octopuses began evasive maneuvers immediately, but the Fungal Carpet, now integrated into the terrain, could not avoid the assault.

The purple-gray carpet was blown apart, with chunks of flesh scattered in all directions. Areas hit directly by the firepower were scorched and carbonized, leaving patches of blackened land amid the purple-gray expanse.

However, the vitality of the fungal carpet exceeded the Riken’s wildest imaginations.

Since the fighter formations maintained a safe distance from the Space Octopuses, they climbed back to higher altitudes after a round of firing. Yet, during the brief time it took for them to adjust their angles and prepare for another attack, the scorched regions of the carpet rapidly shrank, replaced once again by a fresh purple-gray spread.

The fungal carpet’s vital strains had long since been moved underground. The exposed tissues on the surface were merely nutrient storage structures, optimized for absorbing radiation energy.

As long as these tissues weren’t entirely vaporized, even if charred to cinders, portions could still be recovered—albeit with reduced efficiency.

“Our attacks don’t seem to be working!” a captain cried out in dismay.

“Keep firing! Energy conservation is absolute—I refuse to believe they can recover indefinitely!” Hamis barked back.

Unfortunately, the Riken had no understanding of the Swarm’s energy sources. The fungal carpet’s roots had already penetrated deep underground, drawing not only nutrients but also sustaining energy from below.

The shattered organic tissue, fragments of steel structures, and even the residual heat from the explosions of energy beams—all of it became nutrients for the Fungal Carpet.

As the fighter jets changed direction for another assault, they unleashed yet another wave of firepower. Meanwhile, the Riken fleet, having gradually docked into orbital positions, aligned their warships for coordinated strikes. The main cannons of these warships, with ranges sufficient to reach the planet’s surface from orbit, began providing heavy fire support.

Since Planet Raze lacked an atmosphere, the effectiveness of the main cannons was nearly unaffected by distance.

After the fighter formations completed their third wave of fire, they ascended to higher altitudes, clearing the line of sight for the warships. Thicker, more powerful energy beams rained down from above.

Brilliant fireworks erupted and quickly dissipated. The not-yet-healed purple-gray patches of the Fungal Carpet were struck once more, taking significant damage. The Riken forces allowed no respite, unleashing several additional rounds of bombardment.

Despite the ferocity of the attacks, the tenacity of the Fungal Carpet was astonishing. Although heavily damaged, the patches stubbornly regenerated, gradually restoring themselves to full form.

Moreover, the fungal growth continued to expand outward. Of the initial 50% of ground-based cannons that had survived earlier assaults, another 10% were lost in this short span.

Meanwhile, the Fungal Carpet, after corroding the materials of the ground cannons, absorbed vast quantities of metal elements. This replenishment reactivated many of the previously inactive electromagnetic railguns, which resumed firing.

The Primordial bodies, many of which were positioned to assist the fungal growth, had also been caught in the intense crossfire. The fighter jets’ weaponry inflicted relatively minimal damage on them, but the sudden involvement of the warships’ main cannons caused heavy losses. Caught off guard, numerous Primordial bodies were destroyed.

Despite this, over 3,000 Primordial bodies armed with electromagnetic railguns continued to unleash their firepower on the Riken fleet in orbit.

Having docked and aligned their warships, the Riken fleet found themselves unable to adjust positions as quickly as before. This resulted in severe losses during the barrage, with 20 warships forced to withdraw from the battle sequence.

Fortunately for the Riken, the Primordial bodies, having consumed significant amounts of metal to repair and replenish their weapons, were unable to increase their movement speed in the short term. This left them at a disadvantage when faced with the rapidly firing energy beams.

The battlefield became a hellish spectacle of crisscrossing artillery fire, with electromagnetic projectiles colliding with energy beams in midair. With both sides minimizing their evasion maneuvers to maximize their strikes, the intensity and brutality of the war reached unprecedented levels.

“Captain! A projectile is projected to hit us in five minutes!” a crew member shouted urgently.

“Damn it! Do I have to give every single order? Get us out of the way!” the captain barked. The relentless escalation of the battle was pushing everyone’s nerves to their breaking point.

“Captain! We can’t! The River Tank 223 is blocking our escape route!” the crew member replied in panic.

“Shit!” the captain cursed. The River Tank 223, a nearby warship, had just been unlucky enough to take a direct hit. Its side-rear No. 1 main engine was critically damaged, leaving it immobile and a sitting duck for subsequent strikes. It had taken several more hits and, while not entirely destroyed, was effectively incapacitated.

The stranded warship, unable to move, was now blocking the retreat path for the subsequent ships, which drew the captain’s ire.

Shoving aside the crew member in front of the console, the captain scanned the trajectory map. With less than three minutes until impact, his beloved ship was about to be struck. He let out another curse, but his mind was racing.

Suddenly, he shouted. “Set Engines 5, 6, 11, and 15 to maximum output! We’ll take this one head-on with the frontal reactive armor!”

Engines 5 and 6, located on the left-rear of the ship, were auxiliary thrusters used to adjust the ship’s angle. Engines 11 and 15, positioned at the rear underside, provided vertical thrust.

Following this maneuver, the rear of the ship tilted upward and shifted to the right, aligning the bow of the warship to face Planet Raze. This move effectively shielded the vulnerable underbelly of the ship by presenting its more heavily armored front section to the incoming projectile.

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