I Am The Swarm

And this was only the losses from Hamis’s First Space Fleet. The Second and Third Space Fleets, positioned around Planet Raze, also suffered significant damage during the sudden barrage, losing a combined total of 79 warships.

“This war is lost. We must retreat now,” Hamis said grimly over the video communication.

“Indeed, as reluctant as I am, we must preserve as much of our fighting force as possible for the survival of our species,” Novaul agreed.

“Retreat!” snarled Alcer, his temper boiling over.

Who could have predicted that the situation, which had seemed favorable mere moments ago, would turn so dramatically and disastrously?

Now, they could only cut their losses.

The three fleets began their retreat decisively, as more and more electromagnetic railguns were forming on the spreading purple-gray fungal carpet across Planet Raze.

The instruments detected energy gathering for another electromagnetic strike. If not for the significant energy depletion caused by the fungal carpet’s rapid spread from deep underground, the second barrage might already have hit them.

Fortunately, there was still a small window of time. If they didn’t flee now, there would be no chance to escape later.

The remaining warships of the three fleets ignited their rear engines, the blinding glow from their thrusters signaling maximum output. It was fortunate they had been moving in evasive patterns prior to this. Had they been stationary, starting their engines from a dead stop would have likely doomed every vessel.

As the fleets retreated, the fighter squadrons previously engaged with Mature bodies and Larval bodies received orders to withdraw. Missile drones covered the retreat at full capacity, and even escort fighters could be sacrificed if necessary—saving the Riken pilots was the highest priority.

The situation had shifted too quickly for the Rikens to adapt. There wasn’t enough time to recover the fighter squadrons, but being on home turf meant the fighters could use their own propulsion to fly back to safer positions.

The Primordial bodies’ electromagnetic railguns weren’t practical for targeting the nimble small craft, so as long as they could hold off the pursuit of the Mature and Larval bodies, the Riken pilots had a high chance of survival—higher, in fact, than those aboard the warships.

The three fleets had been dangerously close to Planet Raze. Even at full speed, it would take considerable time for them to escape the range of the railguns now forming on the fungal carpet.

Because of the urgency to escape, the fleets had little time to execute advanced evasive maneuvers. The Swarm’s railguns fired calculated, wide-area volleys, forcing the Rikens to charge through the least-concentrated zones of fire.

Despite their efforts to angle their ships and absorb the incoming rounds with reactive armor on the sides and rear of the vessels, the massive engine exhaust ports remained exposed and unprotected.

On the fungal carpet, blue flashes heralded the firing of the railguns. The electromagnetic projectiles screamed forth, their limited angles of fire restricting the number of railguns that could target the retreating fleets. Even so, the first three waves inflicted devastating losses.

In the first wave, as the fleets had barely moved any distance, over 70 warships were destroyed, and more than 100 suffered critical damage to their primary engines, drastically reducing their speed.

The second wave destroyed over 50 ships, more than half of which were previously damaged. This barrage left nearly 50 additional warships with crippled engines.

The third wave obliterated another 50 ships, with over 90% being those already compromised from earlier attacks. Only about 20 new ships sustained engine damage during this round.

The retreating Riken fleets, already battered and fractured, were now limping away, leaving behind a trail of debris and smoldering wrecks. The Swarm’s relentless assault, spearheaded by the fungal carpet’s newly-formed railguns, had turned what was once a calculated withdrawal into a desperate flight for survival.

By the time the fourth wave of attacks began, the increased distance had provided the Rikens with a sufficient buffer. Furthermore, the Swarm prioritized targeting ships with damaged primary engines. As a result, the Riken warships with fully operational engines sustained almost no further losses.

The remaining fleet, with its propulsion systems intact, didn’t dare linger. The Swarm’s Primordial bodies had begun advancing from Planet Raze toward the frontlines the moment the planet’s mutations started. By now, they had already crossed Planet Raze and were in pursuit.

Ships with damaged primary engines, realizing they were doomed, were reluctantly abandoned. Captains issued orders to evacuate, and a swarm of gunships, shuttles, and escape pods launched from the crippled vessels, scattering in all directions.

The rest of the Riken fleet had picked up speed, and with no further engine damage, the Swarm’s subsequent attacks proved ineffective.

The electromagnetic railguns on Planet Raze continued to fire for a total of twelve volleys, but by then, the Riken fleet had exited their effective range and reached a safe zone.

Without the cover fire from Planet Raze, the pursuing Primordial bodies—their metal reserves nearly depleted from earlier combat—saw little point in continuing the chase. Further pursuit risked exposing themselves to encirclement. Instead, they redirected their focus to the abandoned Riken warships, systematically annihilating them.

The abandoned ships had been emptied of their crews, who escaped in evacuation vessels. The warships’ self-destruct systems were activated, detonating them one after another into brilliant bursts of light in the vacuum of space.

For the Swarm, however, even the debris of destroyed Riken warships had value. Some of the Primordial bodies broke off to hunt down escape pods and shuttles, while others stayed behind to collect large fragments of wreckage.

After some time, a group of Mature bodies and Larval bodies arrived to join the cleanup effort. They meticulously scoured the battlefield, gathering every piece of visible metal debris. The thoroughness of their cleanup operation was so remarkable that Luo Wen could have opened a space-cleaning business with pride.

By this time, the Primordial bodies that had pursued the smaller escape vessels had also returned. The vastness of space made it nearly impossible to track down all the scattered Riken survivors. Coupled with the Swarm’s lack of intent to exterminate every last enemy, the pursuit was largely symbolic. They destroyed a few gunships and transport shuttles before calling it off and regrouping.

Back on Planet Raze, the skirmishes between Larval bodies and Riken missile drones continued. The drones, acting like flying porcupines, proved difficult for the Larval bodies to handle, hampering their movements and attacks.

However, after preparing for such tactics, the missile drones were no longer able to inflict meaningful damage on the Swarm. Their limited fuel reserves further compounded the issue, and it became evident that they would soon run out of power on their own.

The Rikens understood this inevitability. As the drones neared fuel exhaustion, they remotely detonated all remaining units. Even if the drones couldn’t achieve victory, the Rikens were determined not to leave them for the Swarm to salvage.

On Planet Raze’s orbit, a few scattered orbital cannons located in remote areas activated their self-destruct protocols. To the Swarm, however, intact equipment and scrap metal were equally valuable.

The Larval bodies, previously trapped in metallic fiber nets, had also been freed and were now assisting in the cleanup.

This war had left behind an unprecedented amount of wreckage. The countless destroyed orbital cannons created a storm of metal debris, effectively sealing Planet Raze’s orbit.

If there had been a nascent civilization on Planet Raze, such a metal storm would have permanently barred them from reaching the stars, trapping them in their infancy and preventing them from ever becoming significant players in the cosmic arena.

For a force as advanced as the Swarm, however, even a debris storm of this magnitude was inconsequential.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!