I Am The Swarm

The Swarm did not give the coalition much time to react. Noticing the anomalies on the flanks, the Blades had already learned some inside information through special channels. Knowing that the current situation was not a trap, they naturally launched an all-out pursuit.

Without effective command, and with everyone retreating while fighting, hoping to push other groups to the front, the coalition’s flanks retreated over a million kilometers. They even fell back to a position further behind the rear forces.

But let’s not forget that the central coalition forces were still charging forward. This advance and retreat isolated the entire central coalition.

The Swarm forces, which had been pursuing the flanks, suddenly turned their spears and cut into the central forces from both sides, separating the central army from the rear forces and creating a situation where the central coalition was surrounded.

“Push the troops forward! Stop them at all costs, regardless of casualties! Don’t let any reinforcements through until we’ve devoured the central forces!” Sarah Kerrigan declared forcefully in the Swarm command center.

A battle of this scale, involving tens of millions of units, was something the Locke Mutual Aid Society had never experienced before. But for Luo Wen, this was nothing. Back in the day, he had commanded battles involving tens of billions of units. After that battle, the Swarm’s dominance on Genesis Planet was firmly established…

Thus, Sarah, who had been guided by Luo Wen, was not overly panicked despite facing such a situation for the first time. Moreover, the Swarm’s composition and mode of operation meant there were no complicated post-war compensations or other concerns, which greatly reduced Sarah’s worries.

The coalition’s commanders and staff quickly realized the Swarm’s intentions. Although they reacted swiftly and made countermeasures, it was already too late.

Endless Space Octopuses blocked their path, and the Primordial-class units released all their Mature bodies and Larval bodies, filling the void.

Given the Space Octopuses’ formidable close-combat record, the coalition dared not approach them until they were completely cleared. Thus, even though the Mature and Larval bodies had almost no long-range attack capabilities, they still posed a significant threat.

However, the number of Space Octopuses already exceeded that of the coalition. Now, with the release of Mature and Larval bodies, the numerical gap widened to dozens of times. At this point, even if the Swarm forces didn’t fight back, the coalition couldn’t break through quickly with long-range attacks alone.

The central coalition forces, now surrounded, had also received orders to retreat. Although the central commander initially didn’t understand why the coalition commander wanted him to abandon the current favorable situation due to limited visibility, he knew that the coalition commander wouldn’t act without reason. After repeatedly verifying the authenticity of the message, he issued the retreat order.

But only then did they realize that the coalition’s rear forces, which had been following closely, had been intercepted by the Swarm at some point. They also understood the reason for the retreat.

During the central army’s assault, they faced the strongest pressure, with attacks from the Swarm on three sides. The rear of the central army was defended by the rear forces.

But when the Swarm cut in from both sides and blocked the rear forces, the central army didn’t pay much attention. Previously, there had been instances where the rear forces fell behind, and Swarm units took the opportunity to cut in. However, those Swarm units were quickly eliminated by the rear forces. This time, the Swarm’s insertion just lasted a bit longer.

Moreover, at that time, they were already in the heat of battle and didn’t pay attention to what was happening behind them.

Now, on the battlefield, due to the relentless attacks from both sides and various explosions, the entire battlefield was engulfed in a storm of energy. Many sensitive detection and communication devices had already failed.

Additionally, the central and rear forces belonged to two different management systems, which naturally created barriers. Now, with communication being intermittent, coordination became even more problematic.

All these factors combined led to the central army now being surrounded and fighting alone.

However, there was no time to dwell on where things went wrong. The central commander, fully aware of the critical situation, made a decisive decision. The central army turned around, and after repelling a Swarm attack, they prepared to retreat.

But during the few minutes it took for the entire fleet to turn around, their firepower weakened significantly due to changes in firing angles and ship orientation. The Swarm forces, which had just been pushed back, seized this opportunity to attack again, causing considerable damage to the coalition.

Brilliant red energy beams filled the sky. With both sides firing beams of similar colors, it was impossible to tell where the beams were coming from or where they were headed.

From time to time, coalition warships had their armor breached, and their hulls damaged. Thick smoke billowed from the cabins, spreading over a large area and making the scene even more chaotic.

For the damaged ships, those lucky enough to have their energy and propulsion systems intact, only some non-essential compartments were destroyed. They could take cover in the center of the formation, make simple repairs, and continue firing under the protection of their allies.

But if the propulsion system was damaged, it was manageable during an advance, but during a retreat, reduced speed was akin to a slow death.

As the saying goes, when being chased by a beast, as long as you run faster than your companions, you have a chance to survive. The same logic applied here.

Ships with damaged propulsion systems kept falling behind. Those with better luck had nearby ships shoot out hooks, with several ships latching onto one and dragging it along as they retreated.

Those less fortunate, before they could receive help from their companions, would be overwhelmed by the pursuing Swarm forces.

Even the ships being towed were not out of danger. The “N-to-1” towing mode reduced the speed of multiple ships and also robbed them of mobility.

Unable to actively adjust their angles to counter Swarm attacks, they were hit by more and more energy beams. Soon, their reactive armor would be penetrated, leaving them in a dire situation.

——

The most tragic were the ships whose armor was breached and energy systems hit. These ships were essentially beyond saving, either exploding on the spot or shortly afterward.

“Damn it, what are the other fronts doing? Why haven’t they pushed the Swarm back yet?!” The central commander’s blood pressure soared as he watched the casualty rates rise sharply.

It’s not the god-like opponent you should fear, but the pig-like teammates. The central forces in the middle lane were about to reach the high ground, but the flanks were ganked by the enemy, and then the teammates came back through the river to block the central forces. Where’s the logic in that?

[T/N: League of legends/Dota reference. A lot of Chinese authors seem to incorporate elements of league of legends in their novels. Ganking means forcing a numbers advantage and essentially ambushing another. The river is a direct reference to the river part of the league map.]

Even now, the central commander hadn’t considered that his smooth progress and previous victories might have been deliberately allowed by the Swarm.

As more and more ships were damaged, those with propulsion system failures were being abandoned outright. Members of other races piloted various small craft, fleeing from the ships and darting through the battlefield, hoping to board other escaping ships.

This was an extremely dangerous move. These lifeboats and transport crafts had no resistance against the main guns of warships.

A single hit would mean certain death, but at this point, there was no other choice.

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