I Am The Swarm

When the newcomers destroyed the Riken observation device, their action was immediately detected by the ever-vigilant Swarm.

Such decisive hostility, without a hint of hesitation, suggested not only ill intent but also an unwavering confidence in their own strength.

However, the Swarm—particularly Luo Wen, who had become even more formidable after the latest upgrade to the Swarm Network—was unfazed.

Confidence born of power is a universal trait, and now, two equally confident factions were on a collision course, where only raw strength would decide the victor.

“Well then, let’s see who’s really bluffing,” Luo Wen remarked.

—

“Ah, two fledgling interstellar civilizations, ignorant and without reverence for the cosmos. Don’t they realize that detonating high-yield nuclear weapons in space is incredibly dangerous?” A tall, humanoid figure standing over two meters spoke from the bridge of a warship.

Clad in a dark red uniform adorned with intricate patterns along its edges, the figure’s attire perfectly matched his crimson skin, which exuded an eerie, almost blood-soaked beauty.

His facial features included the standard eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, but with a striking anomaly: he possessed three eyes. The outer two stretched to the tops of his ears, while the third sat atop the bridge of his nose, aligned horizontally with the other two. This unique arrangement granted him a field of vision far superior to that of any two-eyed species.

The irises of his eyes were predominantly dark yellow, with constricted black pupils that lent his gaze a fierce intensity.

His crimson skin was marked by intricate cracks and scattered granular protrusions, which were not indicative of disease. The figure standing behind him, a slender humanoid of the same race, shared these traits, confirming them as a characteristic of their species.

The second figure, though shorter at just over 1.9 meters, possessed a form that could stir boundless imagination from behind. However, her magma-textured skin and three half-lidded yellow eyes likely fell short of appealing to many species’ aesthetic standards.

“What do you think, Aslit?” the taller figure asked, breaking the silence. He was clearly basking in his own musings and seemed miffed that his subordinate hadn’t offered any commentary. Nevertheless, he turned to her with the question.

Despite her appearance being unappealing to other species, by her race’s standards, Aslit was a bona fide beauty.

“You are correct, Your Highness,” she replied with a sigh, her tone carrying a note of resignation.

The speaker was Prince Diallo, the third prince of the Daqi Empire, a vast interstellar state spanning three star systems. Though over 300 years old, by the empire’s standards, he was still considered a youth.

In the Daqi Empire, interstellar travel necessitated extended stasis. As such, age calculations were inconsistent. While Diallo had been alive for over three centuries, two-thirds of that time had been spent in hibernation during interstellar voyages, leaving his body biologically in its prime, around 100 years old.

The Daqi Empire, a sprawling civilization, had fully conquered its home star system two millennia ago with external assistance. Over the centuries, they expanded their dominion to two additional star systems.

Although their engine technology was advanced—approaching the theoretical limits of their technological paradigm—they had yet to achieve faster-than-light travel.

The distances between neighboring star systems, typically spanning more than five light-years, meant that even at their current speeds, journeys between the empire’s core and its colonies took over a decade. Earlier in their colonial history, these trips could take upwards of 30 years.

As the colonies grew more stable and developed, their isolation from the empire’s core gave rise to separatist ambitions among certain factions. Though these uprisings were swiftly crushed by the empire’s mighty fleets, the events left the Daqi royal family wary.

In response, the royal court convened and agreed to station imperial fleets permanently in the colonies. However, the empire was unwilling to entrust such critical roles to outsiders. Thus, the royal family decided to appoint its own members to oversee these fleets.

Through careful deliberation, the Daqi Empire established a new set of rules to maintain its royal lineage and ensure the stability of its dominion.

Given the Daqi’s long lifespans and their position as regional overlords, the king resided safely at the empire’s core. By the time an old king abdicated and the crown prince ascended the throne, the new king was often already advanced in age with numerous offspring.

For example, when Prince Diallo’s father ascended the throne, he already had dozens of siblings.

Upon the new king’s coronation, his sons were required to assume command of the imperial fleets stationed in the colonies. Their role was to defend the empire’s borders while intimidating potential internal and external threats within their territories.

The prior commander of the fleet—the previous generation’s prince, now promoted to “Duke”—would determine their next step based on circumstances.

If the new commander (their nephew or younger cousin) maintained a good relationship with them, the former fleet commander might stay on as an advisor or in a subordinate role. If relations were strained, they would return to the imperial homeworld to retire.

However, by this stage, few dukes typically remained alive. This was due to one of the Daqi’s most brutal traditions.

When the king reached a certain age, the Battle for Succession was initiated. All princes with the qualifications to claim the throne were required to participate.

To participate in the Battle for Succession, a prince needed to wield actual power—typically command of a fleet. As such, eligible participants were generally born before the reigning king’s coronation, as those born afterward rarely had time to attain such positions.

While the competition was restricted to a limited number of princes, all methods of contention were deemed legal during this period.

The means of contention varied widely, ranging from peaceful to violent:

Peaceful Means: Princes could expand the empire’s borders, quell rebellions, or carry out extraordinary missions to prove their worth. However, such achievements were rare and unpredictable. Since the Daqi royal family implemented this system, no prince had ever ascended to the throne through merit alone.

Most princes opted for more aggressive approaches. Competitors were summoned to the imperial homeworld, where they engaged in various battles to determine the victor.

These contests ranged from large-scale simulated fleet battles to direct combat between special operations teams. Even poisonings or outright assassinations were permissible, with rivals vanishing without a trace.

At the end of the Battle for Succession, the surviving princes were ranked through a unique scoring system, with the highest scorer claiming the title of crown prince. All grievances and rivalries from the competition were officially resolved and could no longer be pursued.

The brutality of these battles ensured that only a few princes survived. Of the dozens of participants, fewer than five typically emerged alive. The practice was so blood-soaked that the imperial line was perpetually thinned with each succession.

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