I Am The Swarm

After the two successful Crimson Kiss volleys earlier, if Prince Diallo had immediately pulled back and concentrated fire on the emerging swarm reinforcements behind Planet Izumo, using the cleared front as cover, he wouldn’t have ended up in his current predicament.

But Diallo had placed far too much trust in the intelligence provided by the Suzerain, never anticipating that the swarm’s energy cannon technology had advanced to such a high level. Being pinned down triggered a cascade of unfavorable events.

Yet, perhaps this wasn’t entirely his fault. In Diallo’s memory, the Suzerain had always been infallibly powerful, incapable of making mistakes—unless deliberately setting him up.

Still, despite being the third prince of the Daqi Empire, Diallo had already abandoned the fight for the throne. Out here on the frontier, he was nothing more than a small, insignificant figure in the eyes of the Suzerain, hardly worth such elaborate targeting.

Could this entire debacle be aimed at the Daqi Empire instead? Even so, the loss of these 2,000 warships, while significant, would not cripple their power.

Instead of focusing on his escape, Diallo’s mind was consumed with these strange thoughts. Subconsciously, he seemed to believe that revealing his identity and intentions would ensure his safety. His sense of crisis was weak; he was more preoccupied with puzzling over the Suzerain’s motives.

“Boom!” A violent tremor shook the Doria.

The fourth mature Space Octopus had arrived.

The already heavily damaged Doria flickered as its interior lights briefly dimmed, plunging the ship into darkness.

Before the Daqi crew could even scream, the emergency power systems kicked in, restoring the light. However, the situation was dire—the activation of backup energy circuits signaled that the ship’s damage was far worse than anticipated.

“Your Highness, what should we do?” Aslit asked anxiously, breaking Diallo’s reverie.

“All warships, deploy every drone! Have the Chisaya, DX12475, DX12490, and DX12497 move closer!”

Diallo knew he couldn’t sit idly by; he had to make one last effort. Overwhelming the swarm was now impossible. However, even if he were to reveal his identity, doing so freely and proactively would yield a much different outcome than being captured and forced to confess.

He had already ordered the retreating warships to return. If he could hold out a bit longer and regroup with the main force, he might regain control of the situation. First, though, the heavily damaged Doria had to be evacuated.

Diallo’s plan was to use drones to draw the swarm’s attention, creating chaos to cover their retreat. To ensure success, he not only summoned the Chisaya but also directed three other numbered warships to move in.

The four ships complied, ignoring the rampaging Space Octopuses still wreaking havoc aboard the Doria, and began encircling it.

“Boom!” Another violent impact shook the Doria as the fifth mature Space Octopus collided with the ship.

Now, a total of four 300 meter mature bodies surrounded the Doria.

Nearly all of the Doria’s external structures had been stripped away. Aside from its 200 meter high command tower, the ship was practically reduced to a bare hull.

Even the command tower was under siege. Two of the mature Space Octopuses had coiled their tentacles around it, their electric arcs crackling as they applied tremendous force. Together, they were executing the Luo-style Combat Technique: Pulling the Radish, attempting to rip the massive tower completely off the ship.

But the command tower proved far sturdier than expected. Despite their combined efforts, the tower remained stubbornly attached to the ship. Sparks flew and components burst under pressure, yet the structure refused to yield.

The two mature Space Octopuses, frustrated by their failure to tear down the command tower, resorted to wildly swinging their massive 200 meter long tentacles at it. The barrage of heavy blows caused violent tremors, leaving many of the Daqi crew within coughing blood or outright falling unconscious.

Fortunately, Prince Diallo had long since vacated the command tower via a high-speed elevator. Under the protection of his escort team, he was now heading toward the landing pad.

“Deploy drones to clear the small Octopuses from the hull! Intercept the sixth octopus missile!” he commanded.

The smaller mature bodies and larval bodies were far less durable than their larger counterparts, but the drones’ smaller-caliber weapons also inflicted less damage.

Despite this, the sheer number of drones, combined with support from the close-in weapons of nearby warships, gradually wore down the smaller attackers at a slow but steady pace.

However, time was of the essence. Several larval bodies had already slipped through breaches at the rear of the Doria, infiltrating its interior and wreaking havoc.

In the narrow corridors of the warship, the Daqi crew fared little better than the Rikens when faced with these 7 to 8 meter long, ferociously agile soft-bodied creatures. Lacking experience in such situations, they struggled to contain the invaders.

Every second of delay increased the threats to Diallo’s life.

Recognizing the urgency, the Daqi resorted to extreme measures, drone squadrons launched kamikaze attacks.

Two drone formations executed precise aerial maneuvers, performing high-speed rotations to build momentum before hurling themselves into the Space Octopuses without hesitation.

This direct physical impact proved far more effective against the Space Octopuses than energy weapons. While bio-armor was optimized to resist energy attacks through cellular enhancements, improving physical resistance required thicker armor.

The swarm had long prioritized mobility over defense. In interstellar warfare, speed was paramount; without it, even the strongest defenses rendered a unit little more than a stationary target. Thickening the armor would only make the Space Octopuses bulkier, increasing energy consumption and production costs, while hindering their agility and development.

Thus, physical defense was deprioritized. In this case, the swarm’s strategic choice came at a cost.

Under the relentless suicide assaults of the drones, the number of Space Octopuses rapidly dwindled. However, the drones also suffered heavy losses. Even a 10 meter larval body could withstand the impacts of at least three drones before losing mobility, while larger mature bodies required even more hits to bring down.

Ordinarily, this kind of exchange—losing drones for swarm units—would still be favorable for the swarm. However, this was no ordinary situation. Here, the swarm found itself at a rare numerical disadvantage.

Meanwhile, the sixth 300 meter mature body, on its way to reinforce the attack, was intercepted mid-flight by waves of suicide drones. The kamikaze strikes were far more effective than burst-energy projectiles, with the added benefit of near-perfect accuracy.

As Prince Diallo monitored the steadily updating battle reports, he exhaled deeply, his tension easing for the first time in hours.

Everything seemed to be turning in his favor.

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