I Am The Swarm

The battlefield was now a mountainous heap of insect corpses. Yellow and black bodies were tangled together in chaotic piles, which had not been cleared for quite some time.

Amidst this mountain of death, fierce battles raged on. From afar, it was impossible to distinguish the living from the dead in the endless mass of insects.

This was the eighteenth day of the battle.

The battlefield was now largely devoid of Yellow Earth Ant Soldier Ants, and the swarm’s Soldier Ants had long since been expended. The swarm had been holding the line with millions of newly hatched Soldier Ant reinforcements each day, supplemented by large numbers of Worker Ants.

As the enemy’s Soldier Ants dwindled, the swarm’s advantage of producing millions of new Soldier Ants daily became increasingly evident.

The main combatants evolved over time:

At first, it was Soldier Ants vs. Soldier Ants.

Then, Soldier Ants vs. Soldier Ants + Worker Ants.

Later, Soldier Ants + Worker Ants vs. Worker Ants + a few Soldier Ants.

Yet, as the war continued, the number of the swarm’s Soldier Ants steadily increased.

The swarm’s robust logistics and endurance shone in this moment.

Three days later, the endless tide of Yellow Earth Ants had finally thinned to the point where its edges could be seen. Victory was within sight.

Luo Wen was thrilled.

And since his will was the swarm’s will, his motivation served as a rallying cry for the swarm to press onward.

Invigorated by Luo Wen’s resolve, the swarm intensified its counteroffensive with the help of fully reloaded Fart Bugs.

Simultaneously, all nearby Transport Bugs were conscripted into the battle to join the fight.

This war had dragged on long enough—it was time to end it.

Under the swarm’s relentless assault, the battle continued for another two days. Ultimately, the swarm emerged victorious.

The Yellow Earth Ant Legion, which had ravaged the desert, was utterly eradicated.

Post-Battle Statistics

The great battle had lasted 23 days. On this meat-grinder battlefield, the losses of combat units on both sides were incalculable. Luo Wen knew, however, that the swarm’s initial force of 50 billion had been nearly annihilated. Additional Worker Ant reinforcements had also suffered heavy casualties, and the supplementary Soldier Ants sustained significant losses. Altogether, the swarm lost close to 90 billion units.

This meant the war had wiped out nearly 90% of the swarm’s population, leaving many bases abandoned due to a lack of maintenance.

However, the swarm’s Queen Ants remained completely unharmed.

Looking at the ten-kilometer-long corpse mountain, with an average height of over ten meters, Luo Wen felt a measure of solace. Once the Queen Ants digested these spoils, the swarm would emerge even stronger.

Furthermore, the desert atop the cliff would become the swarm’s backyard. The Yellow Earth Ants’ former hunting grounds were now swarm territory.

This was a massive expanse, requiring over 400 days to traverse in a full hunting cycle. It was at least a hundred times larger than the swarm’s original domain—a size Luo Wen couldn’t even fathom.

Reflecting on his journey, Luo Wen recalled how he had first encountered the Yellow Earth Ants shortly after hatching. After being swept away by a sandstorm, he drifted an unknown distance and then traveled along an underground river for what seemed like forever, only to still remain within their hunting grounds. These memories underscored the immense scale of the territory.

Though the land appeared to be a barren desert, it clearly held hidden resources. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to sustain the massive Yellow Earth Ant Legion, which had likely suffered losses exceeding a trillion in this war.

Beyond territory and corpses, Luo Wen also gained other rewards.

Near the core of the Yellow Earth Ant formation, the swarm discovered thousands of Queen Ants. These Queens had accompanied the army, hunting and replenishing food supplies. Once enough food was accumulated, they would remain stationary to lay large batches of eggs. Once the eggs matured, the army would march onward.

The genes of these Queens would significantly enhance the productivity of the swarm’s own Queen Ants. With the swarm’s vast reserves of food, there was no need to delay in utilizing this advantage.

Additionally, the Yellow Earth Ants harbored another species of insect—essentially livestock. These creatures, about 20 centimeters long, resembled oversized larvae without any exoskeleton. Their defining feature was their exceptional efficiency in converting food into body mass, with a 90% conversion rate.

When the Yellow Earth Ants had surplus food, they would feed it to these creatures. During times of scarcity, they would consume them in turn.

Though these unfortunate insects had potential, they seemed to have no practical use for the swarm at present. Luo Wen deemed them unnecessary for production.

With this massive war finally over, Luo Wen felt immense relief. The grudge he had held since his early days was finally settled. However, he was slightly disappointed that no dramatic epiphany or transcendence occurred, as it might in a novel.

After 20 days of war, Luo Wen, though not directly involved in combat, was mentally exhausted.

After arranging post-war tasks, he chose a random spot beneath the cliff and fell into a deep sleep.

This area, once the war’s front line, was now deep within swarm territory.

Luo Wen slept soundly.

When he awoke, he had no idea how much time had passed.

In this world, he alone seemed to grasp the concept of time.

The mountain of corpses atop the cliff had partially disappeared, the remains having been transported to bases for burial near production sites.

The Queen Ants at these sites had been given new orders before Luo Wen slept: halt Soldier Ant production and prioritize Worker Ants.

With 200–300 million Soldier Ants remaining and no immediate plans for exploration, this was sufficient to defend the current territory. The primary task now was to replenish Worker Ants and restore normal operations across the bases.

Returning to the Brood Nest, Luo Wen connected to it, uploading new genetic fragments and updating the gene bank for the Queen Ants.

He canceled the old Queen Ant production orders and began hatching the new-generation Queens.

Luo Wen stumbled upon an unexpected boon. The seemingly useless livestock genes turned out to accelerate nutrient absorption, shortening insect maturation times.

Although the insects still had to go through the egg-larva-pupa-adult stages, their growth cycles could now be reduced by one-third. For example, insects that once required 30 days to mature could now do so in just 20 days.

A weakness exposed during the war had been resolved far sooner than Luo Wen expected. While it still fell short of his ultimate goal, it was a significant step forward.

Finally, during his connection with the Brood Nest, Luo Wen received vague information about a potential opportunity—a sign of something greater to come.

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