I Am The Swarm-Chapter 665: Waiting

The Rashudia fleet had committed the largest number of ships in this campaign, mobilizing a full two hundred million vessels in their bid for the first victory. However, half of them had been dispatched earlier as part of a flanking maneuver.

The remaining half, positioned at the forefront of the battle lines and lacking the sacrificial buffer of outer-ring civilizations, suffered significant losses. By the time the retreat order was issued, only about seventy to eighty million ships remained.

After Conradus gave the retreat command, the Rashudia fleet executed a prearranged plan. While other civilizations were still entangled in disputes over who should retreat first, the Rashudia had already turned their ships around, moved to a safe distance, and begun accelerating into warp travel.

What had initially been an action that inspired envy among the representatives quickly turned into panic. The Rashudia fleet had unwittingly demonstrated a grim truth: the Swarm’s failure to trigger the energy systems wasn’t due to inability but rather waiting for the right moment.

Of the seventy million Rashudia ships, approximately twenty million exploded on the spot, their catastrophic detonations outshining even the distant light of Star System One’s sun.

Less than twenty million ships managed to force their way into warp travel. Though their subsequent fates were unknown, their prospects were bleak.

Among these ships was the flagship of the Confederation’s supreme commander, Conradus. Despite quantum communication technology capable of penetrating warp space, Conradus had not responded to the numerous messages sent by the various races of the Confederation.

Nearly ten million Rashudia ships did not enter warp space but instead attempted to flee using sub-light engines. Optical observations revealed explosions erupting across their hulls. Some ships were instantly annihilated, reduced to debris, while others retained their primary structure but clearly had their energy systems and engines destroyed. Drifting with inertia, they were headed toward unknown destinations.

However, their positions remained within the gravitational influence of the star system. Without propulsion, they would likely be captured by the star’s gravity, settling into orbits around it. Even if they avoided capture, they wouldn’t escape back home. Their fate would likely be even worse, as the asteroid belt outside the star system would probably mark their final resting place.

Though the Confederation forces had previously cleared some asteroids from the belt, there were undoubtedly remnants, and reinforcements had since replenished the field. Even if the density was now lower, it was still far too dangerous for powerless ships to traverse.

As for the remaining twenty million ships, they gradually decelerated and came to a halt. With their command systems in disarray, it would take some time before they could establish new lines of communication through quantum networks and rebuild a functioning command structure.

The representatives watched all this unfold with growing unease. Although many representatives in the virtual meeting room had displayed bravado, even some mid-ring civilizations hoped to leverage their relatively intact fleets to negotiate better terms.

But when it came time to speak up or make demands, they fell silent. Consequently, the surrender message sent to the Swarm was brief, containing only the most basic request. The humane treatment of prisoners.

“Will the Swarm accept our surrender?” At this point, the representatives felt uneasy. Though traces of foreign presence had been discovered in Swarm territory, this didn’t guarantee that the Swarm would accept captives.

“Perhaps…” A representative’s bitter smile betrayed his resignation. At this stage, all they could do was leave their fate to chance. Even if the Swarm refused to accept their surrender, what options did they have? Even with their relatively intact firepower, what good would it do to wipe out the remaining hundred million Swarm units?

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Without propulsion, they could only wait for Swarm reinforcements to arrive, bringing judgment and retribution. Perhaps obliterating the Swarm units entirely would reduce their chances of successful surrender to zero, sealing their doom.

In truth, they hadn’t entirely given up on resistance. This wasn’t deep within Swarm territory. Though closer to Swarm space than to the Confederation’s borders, it wasn’t excessively far from the Confederation’s domain either.

If they could hold out until their own reinforcements arrived, perhaps they wouldn’t have to endure such humiliation. But when they communicated with their rear command, they received the last piece of news they wanted to hear—the straw that broke the camel’s back.

There would be no reinforcements. The method by which the Swarm had infiltrated their ships remained a mystery. Sending reinforcements now risked sending them into the same trap, turning them into fodder for an endless war of attrition. After deliberation, the Confederation high command decided to withhold reinforcements until the situation was fully understood.

Even if reinforcements had been approved, it was unlikely they could save everyone. When the Rashudia launched this campaign, they had effectively drained their frontline base of resources. Aside from outdated ships belonging to outer-ring civilizations that lacked warp drives, nearly every vessel capable of keeping up with the main fleet had been deployed.

Under these circumstances, any reinforcements would consist of newly arrived units at the frontlines, but their numbers would be insufficient to evacuate so many powerless hulks.

The process of surrender was straightforward. The representatives broadcast a regional transmission toward the Swarm’s position, using the most basic form of information dissemination to openly send their message in the designated direction.

Any civilization with an industrial foundation should have the means to receive such information. Though the Swarm primarily pursued a biotechnological path and their methods of communication remained enigmatic, the representatives believed the Swarm was more than capable of receiving and interpreting these signals—if they so desired.

Time ticked by slowly. The surrender message had been sent for some time now. Given the relatively short distance, the information, traveling at light speed, should have reached the Swarm’s position long ago.

To avoid mishaps, the message had been repeated several times. Yet, aside from ceasing fire, the Swarm’s base gave no response.

“Could it be that the Swarm can’t receive our message?” Fear caused the weaker beings’ rationality to plummet. The Swarm’s prolonged silence spread terror among those awaiting judgment, prompting some representatives to ask seemingly naive questions.

“Haha, how could that be? What do you think biotechnology is—stupid beasts? They’re experts in electromagnetics. Those signals aren’t encrypted, but even if they were, cracking them wouldn’t be difficult for the Swarm.”

“Stop overthinking. They definitely received the message. Don’t forget, during earlier battles, the Swarm deliberately jammed our communications.”