I Am The Swarm

As time passed, the eastern and western armies traversed mountains and rivers, pushing the swarm’s territory to the ocean. Only the southern army, after conquering the vast desert, pressed on for thousands of kilometers without encountering any sign of the sea.

On land, the swarm had become the undisputed ruler. The next frontier was the ocean. Perhaps, by crossing the boundless sea, new continents could be discovered elsewhere on the planet.

Along the coastlines marking the edge of the swarm’s domain, naval bases sprang up one after another. Large numbers of mantis shrimp, crabs, and other aquatic units were deployed to explore the ocean’s depths and breadths.

Just as the swarm was about to make a massive push into the sea, Luo Wen felt that familiar sense of opportunity during his connection with the Brood Nest.

This time, it was not vague or elusive but clear and unmistakable.

In an instant, Luo Wen experienced an epiphany.

The time has come!

A sharp screech erupted from his mouth, his antennae thrashing violently as pheromones carrying commands filled the air.

For a moment, the surrounding insects seemed to pause, frozen in time.

Then, as if an unseen switch had been flipped, life resumed. The insects received their instructions and began spreading the orders like wildfire. Transport Bugs carried messenger units, rushing off in all directions.

From the Brood Nest as the epicenter, the command spread outward to the subsidiary bases.

Though the instructions were unusual, the swarm, as extensions of Luo Wen, obeyed him with absolute loyalty and without question.

Type II Queen Ants in the bases issued commands, resulting in the destruction of nearby aphid farms.

The once-pampered aphids, accustomed to a life of luxury—fed at leisure and having their waste meticulously cleaned—were suddenly betrayed by their caretakers. Sharp mandibles pierced their bodies, and they were wrapped in a mixture of syrup and saliva to prevent spoilage.

Packaged. Loaded. Transported.

The underground plantations suffered a similar fate, subjected to destructive harvesting. Sustainability was abandoned; even roots and seedlings were uprooted, packed, and preserved.

Wild insects within the swarm’s territory met grim fates as well. They were subjected to carpet-style eradication. Even the agile and evasive grasshoppers couldn’t escape the relentless sweep.

After gathering every scrap of food they could carry, the insects from the subsidiary bases began their grand migration toward the Brood Nest.

From an aerial perspective, the vast lands below were dotted with abandoned bases as the swarm relinquished their habitats. They packed everything and converged on a single destination.

The region surrounding the Brood Nest swelled with insects as time went on.

During the war with the Yellow Earth Ant Legion, the swarm had been decimated to a tenth of its size. Yet, in just over 200 days, it had recovered to its pre-war numbers of tens of billions.

Now, after so much time had passed, with tens of thousands of new Queen Ants in production, the swarm’s numbers had grown beyond reckoning.

Despite the insects bringing all their supplies to the Brood Nest, the sheer number of mouths to feed resulted in massive consumption.

Only the resources from nearby areas reached the Brood Nest with surplus supplies intact. From farther distances, food was mostly consumed during the journey. ŕἈ₦Ồ฿ÈȘ

Fortunately, the insects had a unique talent for eating dirt. While it didn’t provide much energy, it was enough to sustain their basic vital functions.

The densely packed swarm blanketed the area around the Brood Nest. For those with a fear of crowded spaces, the sight would have been utterly nightmarish.

The ground in this vast region had sunk over ten meters due to the sheer volume of insects consuming soil. They absorbed a fraction of the nutrients before excreting the rest.

Under normal circumstances, these excretions were excellent fertilizer, carried by Worker Ants to nearby trees.

But now, with countless trillions of insects gathered, they produced mountains of waste daily, far beyond any effort to transport it away. Instead, the waste was reused repeatedly.

Over a hundred days later, even the aquatic units—Raft Bugs, Submersible Bugs, and others—had followed the rivers to congregate in the lake near the Brood Nest.

The pivotal moment had finally arrived.

On a sunny morning, Luo Wen took a deep breath, gazing at the towering black insect mountains surrounding him. He turned and crawled underground, reconnecting his tail to the Brood Nest after a long hiatus.

All surface-level insects were driven above ground.

Luo Wen didn’t want anything witnessing the shameful posture required for this process.

After all, this was his final form.

Calming his thoughts, a piercing screech echoed through the earth.

A strange wave of energy radiated from Luo Wen’s body, spreading rapidly outward with the sound.

Every insect touched by this wave froze briefly before assuming a howling stance.

Though many of them were voiceless soldier types, at that moment, they seemed to scream with their very souls.

The growing chorus, as more insects joined, rose from faint whispers to earth-shaking roars.

Threads of unique energy lifted from the insects, converging on Luo Wen.

In Luo Wen’s compound eyes, a faint white light appeared, gradually intensifying until it shone three feet outward, illuminating the entire underground base.

As the gathered energy increased, a qualitative transformation occurred. The dazzling white light took on an eerie, regal purple hue.

One by one, the insects closest to Luo Wen expended their mysterious energy, freezing in their howling postures, forever locked in this moment.

Despite their small size, the swarm’s staggering numbers unleashed an unimaginable force.

The insect mountains fell silent, yet Luo Wen’s screech grew sharper and more resonant.

Finally, the last insect gave its all.

At the same time, Luo Wen’s screech abruptly ceased.

The white-purple glow in his eyes dimmed and receded.

Luo Wen’s consciousness blurred. The extreme exhaustion was not physical but spiritual, leaving him powerless to resist the pull of sleep.

He needed a long hibernation to digest these changes.

The Brood Nest, now withered and shrunken, disconnected from Luo Wen. Summoning his last reserves of energy, he crawled along a pre-dug tunnel toward the depths of the earth.

The tunnel led 300 meters underground to a small chamber, barely spacious enough to accommodate Luo Wen. Reinforced countless times by Worker Ants and Mucus Bugs, it could withstand earthquakes and other natural disasters.

After reaching the chamber, Luo Wen destroyed the tunnel behind him, sealing the entrance.

Now without the swarm’s protection and uncertain how long he would slumber, caution was paramount.

Having completed his preparations, Luo Wen succumbed to the exhaustion of his spirit and fell into a deep sleep.

As he slept, a liquid oozed from his body, gradually forming a cocoon that encased him entirely.

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