I Am The Swarm

But the Riken missiles weren’t limited to simple tracking.

Anticipating potential evasive maneuvers during their design, the Riken AI adapted quickly. Utilizing the computational power of a regional network formed by all warships and support vessels, it implemented a new strategy.

Two missiles approached a space octopus from above and below. Just as the octopus attempted to dodge, one of the missiles exploded unexpectedly, engulfing the creature in fire.

The other octopuses, observing this, immediately distanced themselves from the missiles, refusing to allow them close.

However, evading the missiles restricted their flight paths.

One space octopus, entirely focused on dodging, found itself trapped when two energy beams suddenly intersected, sealing off all escape routes. It was obliterated in mid-air.

In battles where the weaponry of both sides is relatively equal, victory often comes down to information and computational power.

At this moment, while the Rikens held a slight advantage in computational ability, their intelligence was woefully inadequate.

The Swarm’s biological technologies had their weaknesses, but also undeniable strengths.

Even those destroyed in battle hadn’t truly died. Derived from fungal carpets, their bodies were filled with fungal colonies capable of acting as network nodes.

As long as some of these colonies survived, the space octopuses could regenerate. Floating in space, absorbing radiation to replenish energy, they could gradually recover—even from being blown apart.

Though the process was slow, they could accelerate recovery by absorbing parts of each other.

As long as the Swarm controlled the battlefield after the battle, their forces would grow ever stronger.

To annihilate a Swarm force entirely, one would need not only to win the battle but also to thoroughly clean up the battlefield.

This reality was entirely unknown to the Rikens. And with the Swarm’s reinforcements arriving in a constant stream, the Rikens would neither outlast the Swarm nor have an opportunity to clear the field.

Nonetheless, this wave of torpedo missile attacks disrupted the Swarm’s offensive momentum, rendering at least 20% of the space octopuses combat-ineffective.

This kind of war was a first not only for the Rikens but also for the Swarm. Overall, the battle served as a trial for the Swarm’s space combat units—a chance to identify weaknesses and refine their strategies.

At this stage, there was no need to worry about hidden observers. If the Swarm wished to step onto the grand stage of the cosmos, such technologies would inevitably come to light sooner or later.

Luo Wen would not cripple the Swarm’s development by pretending to be a lesser power just to avoid the scrutiny of potential advanced civilizations. What the Swarm needed to conceal was not its natural technological progress, but those abilities originating from another world—abilities unique to the Swarm.

This referred to the Swarm Network, whose foundation lay in extraordinary powers from another realm. In this world, it was the Swarm’s core strength and absolutely must not be exposed.

To this end, every space combat unit, regardless of size, was equipped with information-receiving systems.

These systems, based on bent-light transmissions, originated from the Mantis Shrimp of the Genesis Planet. By utilizing millions of color combinations to transmit data, and more than 20 primary color capture systems to receive it, they enabled communication through visual cues. ℝαℕȪβÈș

In addition, electromagnetic waves, body gestures, and other communication modes were integrated, allowing the Swarm to coordinate seamlessly in battle.

Of course, this was all for external appearances. In truth, command and coordination were still executed through the Swarm Network.

These systems were essential for deception. If the enemy captured a Swarm combat unit amid the chaos and found no apparent communication systems upon dissection, it would immediately raise questions. How could such units operate in sync without a visible means of coordination?

“Overlord, our space octopuses are too weak at breaking through their firepower barriers,” Sarah Kerrigan noted.

“That can’t be helped,” Morgan sighed. “After all, we still lack enough atomic furnaces.”

Indeed, if all mature space octopuses were equipped with atomic furnaces, their endurance would see a qualitative leap. They wouldn’t need to rely on such reckless charges, instead advancing while providing suppressive fire with their electromagnetic railguns.

Fortunately, the Primordial Space Octopuses, though destroyed, had preserved their atomic furnaces intact.

During assaults, the furnaces were concealed in the rearmost sections of their bodies. Even if the Rikens’ main cannons penetrated their forward armor, the residual energy of the beams would be absorbed by the cargo they carried—other space octopuses—before reaching the furnaces.

For each destroyed Primordial unit, a mature octopus would retrieve and secure its atomic furnace. These mature units would refrain from combat, activating cloaking systems and suppressing all energy emissions to drift silently through space.

This made them nearly impossible to detect, ensuring the precious furnaces could be safely recovered post-battle.

“We don’t calculate losses like other civilizations do. Our only goal is to win the war. When we do, losses cease to matter,” Luo Wen declared.

Biotechnology and mechanical technology each had their advantages. For mechanical civilizations, repairing damaged warships was a complex and resource-intensive process. Often, rebuilding a ship required fewer resources than repairing one.

For the Swarm, such concerns were irrelevant. Injuries merely required time to heal.

After losing half their forces, the space octopuses finally broke through the firepower barriers, closing to within 1,000 kilometers of the Riken fleet—a near point-blank range in space combat.

However, the remaining octopuses were mostly larval bodies under 20 meters in length, with a few mature ones at most reaching 50 meters.

The larger units had all been prioritized and eliminated earlier.

“Deploy the fighters to intercept!” General Masai ordered.

A dense swarm of fighters poured out of the Riken fleet’s hangars. Each warship launched at least 500 units, bringing the total to nearly 20,000.

Among these fighters, a minority—measuring over eight meters in length—were piloted by live Riken pilots. The rest, five meters long, were drones.

Each piloted fighter directed nine drones, forming a squadron of ten under the pilot’s command, with AI assistance. These squadrons operated in tight coordination, providing mutual support and executing precise attacks.

The sheer number of fighters dwarfed the remaining space octopuses, instantly granting the Rikens a numerical advantage.

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