I Am The Swarm

“What if the enemy’s small and medium-sized combat units ignore the fighter squadrons and charge directly at our warships?” Masai raised another concern.

“We’ve already considered that. We found that missile attacks have limited effectiveness against them, but close-in defense guns are far more lethal,” Hamis replied confidently. “During the last war, they eventually broke through our defensive firepower, but that was only because our fighters inadvertently provided cover for them, and we had too few close-in defense systems deployed. As a countermeasure, we’ve dismantled missile launchers and installed more close-in defense guns. With this enhanced firepower, we can better intercept their approach.”

“Furthermore, if they ignore our fighter squadrons, the fighters can provide powerful fire support. With the combined crossfire, their forces will be eliminated even faster,” Hamis continued.

Masai raised a few more concerns, but each was addressed in turn. Ultimately, the Raze Planet interception plan was unanimously approved.

However, what the Riken didn’t know was that Luo Wen and several Blades had been observing this highly classified meeting in its entirety through the perspective of Lieutenant Colonel Cross’ grandfather.

“As expected, your enemy knows you best. While we’ve recognized many of these flaws, we haven’t summarized them nearly as thoroughly as the Riken have,” Luo Wen said with a laugh.

“Master Overlord, should we continue advancing?” Sarah Kerrigan asked.

“Why not? We cannot be flawless, nor should we avoid battles just because our weaknesses are exposed. Our advantage in intelligence warfare far surpasses that of the Riken. Our knowledge of both ourselves and our enemy will more than compensate for these flaws,” Luo Wen said earnestly. “Moreover, our combat plan doesn’t hinge on those factors. This time, treat it as practice. I hope all of you will gain more war experience. In the future, as the Swarm’s territory expands, I won’t be able to oversee everything personally. You Blades must learn to stand on your own.”

Soon, the Swarm’s forces encountered precisely the situation discussed in the Riken’s internal meeting while in the orbital path of Raze Planet.

Over 5,000 Primordial-class units were intercepted by 800 Riken warships. Despite the vast numerical disparity, many of the Primordial-class units in the vanguard were transport variants, accounting for half of the fleet.

These transport Primordial-class units typically carried only a single electromagnetic railgun, offering limited long-range firepower.

Measuring around 500 meters in length, most Primordial-class units were relatively small. During interstellar voyages, they absorbed minimal energy. Even with their internal Atomic Furnaces, most of the generated energy was allocated to propulsion, with some diverted to sustain the smaller space octopi onboard and meet their basic energy needs.

These smaller units lacked Atomic Furnaces and couldn’t be exposed to space during the journey, limiting their growth. Only the first few batches of Primordial-class units that arrived at the outskirts of the Riken Star System, having lingered there for a while, had grown to nearly 600 meters in length.

By comparison, Riken warships generally exceeded 1,000 meters in length, with new models surpassing 1,500 meters. These warships were equipped with upgraded weapon systems, making them far more formidable despite their smaller numbers.

However, the Riken’s anticipated strategy of using superior speed, range, and rate of fire to wear down the Swarm encountered unexpected complications.

Over decades of development and innovation, the Swarm had gradually closed the gap in computational technology.

Nearly a century had passed since they captured the Cat’s Ear Spaceship and seized its onboard AI, Celia. Reverse-engineering Riken hardware and software technologies allowed the Swarm to innovate and eventually develop a bio-computer.

This bio-computer, combined with the coordination of the Knights, formed the Swarm’s new fire control system.

The bio-computer was completed in the third year of the expedition to the Riken Star System and underwent multiple rounds of testing. However, the earlier waves of Primordial-class units that arrived in the Riken Star System had not been equipped with this system.

Fortunately, the bio-computer itself was just a modular add-on. By concentrating resources, the Swarm managed to produce a large number of them in a short time and transported them to the front lines with subsequent waves of reinforcements.

It was only after the transport Primordial-class units carrying these bio-computers arrived in the Riken Star System and distributed and installed them across the fleet that the Swarm initiated their attack. This meant that all 5,000-plus Primordial-class units were now equipped with the new fire control system.

While the Swarm’s electromagnetic railguns had a slower projectile velocity compared to the Riken’s energy and beam weapons, the railguns had a crucial advantage: low kinetic energy loss during flight. This resulted in a significantly longer effective range compared to the Riken’s energy weapons.

The Riken’s First Space Fleet, with its fleet of 800 warships, was highly conspicuous in the vastness of space—especially without access to the Swarm’s stealth technology.

The new fire control system of the Primordial-class units quickly locked onto the Riken fleet. Energy surged through the railguns, and a volley of projectiles was fired.

Even though half of the 5,000-plus Primordial-class units were transport variants, they collectively carried over 8,000 railguns. This opening salvo, comprising more than 8,000 solid projectiles with diameters exceeding one meter and immense kinetic energy, hurtled toward the Riken fleet in a massive barrage.

At a distance of 100,000 kilometers, the projectiles sped toward the Riken fleet at 100 kilometers per second, taking an estimated 17 minutes to reach their targets—assuming the targets remained stationary.

But would the Riken fleet sit idly by, waiting to be struck? Of course not.

The Riken, an advanced civilization, had long anticipated the Swarm’s superior weapon range in their strategic calculations. However, range was not always the decisive factor in battle. For instance, with a 17-minute projectile flight time, a stationary Riken warship caught off guard might not have sufficient time to power up its engines and evade the incoming projectiles.

But in this case, the fleet was already maintaining high-speed movement. Even with their large size and limited maneuverability, the 17-minute window was ample for evading the Primordial-class units’ railgun fire.

When the electromagnetic railguns of the Primordial-class units began charging, the Riken’s latest detection instruments immediately identified the threat. Vice Admiral Hamis, commander of the First Space Fleet, ordered an emergency evasive maneuver.

Seventeen minutes later, the dense barrage of projectiles streaked past 200 kilometers above the fleet’s flank.

A few minutes after that, the second volley of projectiles missed again, flying 100 kilometers away from the fleet’s position.

The Riken fleet continued to evade several subsequent salvos, all while advancing an additional 30,000 kilometers. By then, the Swarm’s Primordial-class units had entered the effective range of the Riken fleet’s main guns.

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