I Am The Swarm

In the distant reaches of space, fleeting sparks occasionally lit up the void.

These were caused by Crimson Kiss missiles colliding with electromagnetic rounds. Despite being tactical nuclear weapons, Crimson Kiss warheads were engineered with exceptional safety measures, ensuring they wouldn’t detonate from impacts alone.

Still, at such high speeds, even a glancing hit spelled the end of their mission.

Ultimately, 80% of the Crimson Kiss missiles were intercepted, with only 20% breaking through the defense lines and inflicting some damage on the Swarm’s formations. Both sides seemed to find this outcome acceptable.

The Crimson Kiss relied on surprise and asymmetrical information to achieve its efficacy. After the first strike, replicating its initial success became significantly harder—a phenomenon well-documented not only in Daqi’s records but in those of many other civilizations. This weapon had earned its nickname, “The Newcomer’s Gift,” for this reason.

“What a spectacle. It’s my first time seeing them unleashed en masse,” Aslit murmured.

“Impressive, isn’t it? According to the records, during our first encounter with them, we lost 80% of our fleet in the initial salvo. Utter humiliation. But the Swarm is clearly hiding some significant secret. Even after that welcome ceremony, they’re still standing,” Diallo said with a mix of admiration and intrigue.

“Indeed, Your Highness. However, this is just one of their bases. We should proceed cautiously.”

“Don’t worry. The technological gap between us is insurmountable with numbers alone. The more resilient they are, the more excited I get. If they were wiped out in one go, it’d be no fun at all.”

After two volleys, the Daqi fleet had nearly exhausted their supply of Crimson Kiss missiles. What little remained was insufficient to launch another full-scale barrage. Still, the operation had decimated a substantial portion of the Swarm’s active forces, marking it as a significant victory.

As the Daqi fleet powered up their engines and surged forward once more, Sarah Kerrigan issued calm orders, all Space Octopuses were to disperse into a loose formation, while reinforcements from the Swarm bases on Planet Raze and the near-solar orbit base were to mobilize immediately.

“Your Majesty, we’ve deployed all forces from the Izumo base. If the enemy gets close enough to use those weapons again, I fear they won’t hold out until reinforcements arrive,” a Blade remarked with concern.

“No need to worry,” Sarah replied confidently. “Judging by their earlier performance, those weapons aren’t cheap. With such limitations, I doubt they brought many. In fact, I suspect these weren’t standard issue for their fleet but specifically prepared for us.”

Sarah’s analysis was spot on. From numerous details, she had deduced the Daqi’s level of industrialization. While tactical nuclear weapons were relatively easy for such a civilization to produce, the simplified interstellar engines and nuclear batteries mounted on the Crimson Kiss missiles were far from economical.

The two volleys fired so far had totaled nearly 20,000 Crimson Kiss missiles. Their collective value within the Daqi Empire was enough to construct hundreds of warships.

Moreover, given their limited practicality, Crimson Kiss missiles were not standard-issue weapons for the Daqi fleet. They were only effective as a one-off surprise, as demonstrated earlier. Hundreds of Daqi warships couldn’t have eliminated so many Swarm units without them.

“Fire! Don’t let them get closer!”

With a single command, the Swarm’s electromagnetic railguns began firing. In the near-vacuum of space, the range of these weapons was vast. However, beyond a certain distance, their accuracy diminished significantly, turning them into “chance shots” with little hope of hitting their targets.

At this moment, the Daqi warships were moving at extreme speeds with clear, direct objectives. Their narrow navigational trajectory made it easy for the Swarm’s railgun rounds to restrict their movement.

“Activate all repulsion fields!” Diallo ordered. While the Daqi were unaware of the Swarm’s hidden capabilities, they were well-versed in its primary combat weapons.

The moment the Swarm’s railguns began firing, the energy fluctuations were detected by the Daqi sensors, prompting an immediate response.

In the interstellar void between star systems, material density was exceedingly low but not nonexistent. Large obstacles were scanned and preemptively destroyed with energy weapons. However, smaller objects—like pebble-sized meteor fragments—were too small and too numerous for active targeting. By the time such debris appeared on radar, the warships would already be too close for effective interception.

Ignoring these micro-obstacles wasn’t an option either. At velocities approaching or exceeding half the speed of light, even a grain-sized particle could shatter the warships’ reinforced armor—designed to withstand railgun strikes—as if it were glass. The resulting impact force could easily tear a warship apart.

To address this challenge, the Daqi developed a repulsion field generator. Installed at the bow of their warships, this device created an invisible field that deflected and shattered small obstacles during high-speed travel.

While the Daqi’s technological limitations prevented miniaturization of the repulsion field generator—requiring the entire bow section of their warships to house the device—it remained indispensable. Without it, Daqi warships would be restricted to a maximum speed of one-fifth the speed of light.

In other words, the technological gap between Riken and Daqi warships in terms of engines wasn’t vast. The real disparity lay in the repulsion field generator. If the Rikens had such a device, their warships’ speed would similarly skyrocket.

The repulsion field had its limitations, only covering a small section in front of the warship’s bow. However, with precise route calculations, it proved to be a powerful countermeasure against the Swarm’s railguns.

As the Swarm’s electromagnetic projectiles rained down, the Daqi warships maintained full speed, making only slight course adjustments to align their hulls behind the small shield created by the repulsion field.

Despite the immense power of the Swarm’s projectiles, they were utterly ineffective against the transparent repulsion field. Millions of railgun rounds were deflected harmlessly, leaving the Daqi fleet completely unscathed.

The failure of their primary weapon left Sarah and the Blades momentarily stunned. Since the beginning of their conflict with the Daqi fleet, the Swarm had been on the back foot, suffering significant losses from expertly targeted strategies.

This asymmetry was due to the overwhelming disparity in intelligence.

The Swarm knew next to nothing about their enemy, while the Daqi had gathered considerable information about the Swarm. This was an entirely new experience for Sarah and her forces.

The hidden third party naturally held the upper hand in intelligence, compounding the Swarm’s disadvantage.

Faced with such a predicament, there was no time for careful reconnaissance. The Swarm had no choice but to sacrifice their forces to “pay the tuition” for this learning process, probing their way to a solution through trial and error.

Fortunately, for the Swarm, individual lives were expendable. Unlike the Daqi or the Rikens, considerations of morale or personal consent were irrelevant, making this strategy easier to implement.

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