I Am The Swarm

In the following dozens of days, Luo Wen moved ceaselessly, meticulously planning the locations of new branch bases along the outskirts of his territory. He also commanded all the Queen Ants within the territory to focus entirely on producing Worker Ants.

After this period, the first Queen Ants to mature had already emerged from their pupae and steadily moved to their assigned locations. Due to the sheer number of Queen Ants hatched this time, even with over three hundred already working at full capacity, the Brood Nest—being the largest production base—was fully booked and unable to assist further.

The Worker Ants produced by these Queens alone were insufficient, especially as many of the Queens still had significant labor shortages within their territories. As a result, the standard allocation of bodyguard troops, initially increased to 2,000, was reduced back to 1,000 per Queen before deployment.

Luo Wen had little choice in the matter. After all, the territory had already been cleared, and any insects that could pose a threat to the bases had long been converted into military rations. These areas were safe enough, so the Queens were sent to gradually develop their regions. Once production capacity improved, he planned to make up for the deficit.

After another few dozen days, the Brood Nest completed its orders and shifted its focus entirely to producing Worker Ants and Transport Bugs. With its production capacity gradually freed up, a steady stream of Worker Ants was delivered to various bases via Transport Bugs, bolstering their labor force.

The Brood Nest, continuously sharing Luo Wen’s genetic code, had grown slightly larger than Luo Wen himself and had necessitated several expansions of its underground chamber. Its production capability, proportional to its size, was equivalent to that of 200 Queen Ants.

With new Queen Ants gradually taking their places in the northern base, the territory’s borderlines advanced steadily. Time flew by, and within a hundred days, the original buffer zone of roughly four kilometers was occupied by the swarm. Numerous bases were scattered like nails across the area, connecting into a unified network.

As the border drew closer to the Red Ants’ hive, patrol squads from the swarm inevitably encountered foraging teams from the Red Ants’ colony.

Red Ants were nomadic predators, inherently living off plunder. While Luo Wen’s side had developed a form of animal husbandry, establishing and expanding pastures required significant land resources. Therefore, neither side backed down when they met. Without a pre-battle exchange of insults, both forces verified each other’s pheromones to confirm they were not allies before clashing violently.

Luo Wen had anticipated this encounter. Relying on just the few hundred troops in a swarm patrol squad, they wouldn’t have stood a chance against a foraging team of over ten thousand Red Ants.

Thanks to his superior vision and mobility, Luo Wen had already mobilized 60,000 northern troops stationed nearby to set up an ambush in advance. Using a pocket formation, he awaited the arrival of the unsuspecting foraging team.

The battle was one-sided. A mixed force of over 10,000 Worker Ants and Soldier Ants was no match for 60,000 elite Soldier Ants. The result was as expected: the northern army completely annihilated the foraging team, suffering only minor losses of just over a hundred Soldier Ants.

After this, battles became frequent. Foraging teams near the border repeatedly stumbled into ambushes laid by the northern army. Luo Wen’s forces, with their numerical and strategic superiority, thoroughly routed the Red Ants in every encounter. After each battle, they cleared the battlefield and masked the pheromones, preventing the Red Ants from realizing anything was amiss.

By the time the Red Ants had lost over 30 foraging teams, their forces in this direction were nearly depleted. However, setting traps in other directions to gradually weaken them would be too troublesome.

In the past, Luo Wen had been patient in dealing with a Red Ant hive due to his limited strength. But now, he and his swarm had grown far beyond their former selves.

With 1,500 Queen Ants at his disposal, the swarm’s potential for war was unparalleled. Following his command, aside from the roughly 300 Queens stationed too far from the northern frontline, the remaining 1,200-plus Queens and the Brood Nest ramped up production.

Under such circumstances, the frontline amassed a massive army of one million Worker Ants and 100,000 Soldier Ants in a short period. Combined with the 60,000 Soldier Ants already stationed there and additional auxiliary troops, a force of nearly 1.2 million was assembled.

In sheer numbers alone, they already surpassed the Red Ants’ hive. A direct assault was no longer an issue. At this level of strength, there was no need for tactics or a slow war of attrition.

Standing before the densely packed swarm, Luo Wen felt a surge of pride. His demeanor began to mirror the arrogance he once despised.

The advance of the million-strong army was overwhelming. Though the insects were small in size, their numbers blotted out the sky. For anyone with trypophobia, this scene would be utterly horrifying.

Every insect encountered along the way was devoured as rations for the army. Even agile grasshoppers couldn’t escape the Transport Bugs, let alone creatures like Black Beetles, which once impressed Luo Wen as “War Gods.” Against this massive army, they didn’t even register as a threat.

Even the Red Ant foraging teams, once formidable opponents, barely caused a ripple before the swarm.

“This is what swarm warfare is supposed to look like,” Luo Wen remarked, watching his unstoppable army sweep forward.

Alas, there was no one to appreciate his bravado.

From a distance, Luo Wen saw the “crater” they had rebuilt. He immediately ordered the army to accelerate and surround the area.

The Red Ants, suddenly besieged by a million-strong force, were visibly stunned and retreated defensively to the crater.

Shortly after, several small squads emerged from the entrance. Luo Wen ordered his army to clear a path and let these teams pass. He already knew their purpose—pheromonal communication had its drawbacks. The information they carried was essentially public once decrypted. These squads were heading out to seek reinforcements.

Luo Wen welcomed this. If they could summon all the foraging teams, it would save him the trouble of hunting them down later.

As the Red and Black Ants within the hive huddled defensively, Luo Wen refrained from sending troops into the complex tunnels. The confined space would hinder his forces, and he remembered how he had previously used a “shut the door and beat the dog” tactic to decimate enemy troops. With this precedent, he wouldn’t risk a frontal charge.

After some thought, he bypassed the perimeter and personally advanced. Using his forelimbs, Luo Wen skillfully collapsed the crater entrance, burying the tunnel in dirt. This was his second time employing this tactic, and he had become quite adept at it.

By sealing the entrance, he forced the ants inside to come out. Although their ventilation system made it difficult to suffocate them, “difficult” didn’t mean “impossible.”

The reinforcements had already been sent out. With nothing urgent to handle, Luo Wen decided to surround the hive and ambush any returning troops.

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