I Am The Swarm-Chapter 694: Weirdness

The appearance of over five thousand intelligent Swarm members sent the Confederation into a frenzy. Given the Swarm’s notoriously small population, deploying such a large number of individuals was a spectacle that, throughout the Swarm’s history, could only be matched by the Swarm Empress herself.

“All units, pay attention! Collect all facial and body data from the intelligent Swarm members. Update the database and cross-reference it with existing records. Mark any intelligent Swarm members who have appeared in previous records!”

Due to the rarity of intelligent Swarm appearances, the Confederation had created individual profiles for every Swarm member who had ever appeared, even those who had merely served as silent guards.

Now, with five thousand Swarm members present, they could double the size of their database. Even including the three thousand deceased Swarm researchers, the total number of entries in the database had never reached five thousand.

With the assistance of artificial intelligence, the data collection and comparison process was completed swiftly. In just a few minutes, the results were in.

“Commander, the comparison results are in. Out of the group, 262 individuals match our existing records.”

“Oh? So most of them are new faces? That’s excellent news. If things escalate, remind all units to prioritize taking them out first.”

“Understood.”

Meanwhile, in the operations room, a new development caught everyone’s attention.

“Look at Screen Three!” A shout drew everyone’s focus.

Screen Three, as its name suggested, held a high priority. It ranked just below the two quantum communication screens in the meeting room and was the highest-priority feed among all the Eagle Eye team’s perspectives.

Its camera was trained on the entrance of a Mito at the center of the Mito formation. While the surrounding Mito had been disembarking their passengers, this particular Mito had remained inactive—until now.

The seamless biological wall of the Mito contracted, and a fissure split open, revealing its interior.

“Every time I see this, I can’t help but imagine some rather… peculiar scenes.”

“Enough. This isn’t the time for your humor.”

“Fine, as you wish.”

A staff officer had attempted to lighten the mood with a joke, but his colleagues were in no mood for levity and quickly shut him down.

From the fissure in the Mito, several intelligent Swarm members emerged. They were clad in exoskeletal armor, their spines bristling menacingly, their faces obscured. However, by cross-referencing their features with existing data, the Confederation personnel made a startling discovery.

“It’s Tella! The Empress’s chief guard!” At first glance, the exoskeletal armor made it difficult to distinguish the Swarm members’ genders beyond basic features. But to the artificial intelligence, more detailed comparisons could be made, revealing their identities.

“It’s her! Although her official rank is General, based on her positioning and behavior, she’s undoubtedly the chief guard or a similar role.”

“Exactly. Tella is inseparable from the Swarm Empress. If she’s here, the Empress must be inside as well.”

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“She’s coming out! It’s really her!”

A collective gasp filled the room as the Swarm Empress emerged, her face uncovered. Her visage—a blend of determination, authority, and beauty—was the stuff of nightmares for many races in the galaxy.

Her unique attire left no room for doubt. The moment she stepped out of the Mito, every staff officer recognized her without needing AI confirmation.

“She’s really here!” Although they had deduced her presence through various clues, nothing was certain until they saw her with their own eyes. Only when the Swarm Empress appeared did their lingering doubts finally dissipate.

“Should we attack now?”

“We should consult first. She’s still within the Swarm formation. Attacking now would minimize casualties among our high-ranking officials.”

“No! For a biological civilization like the Swarm, creating a decoy is trivial. We need to observe further and confirm with absolute certainty that this is the Swarm Empress herself before acting. We’ve just received orders from above: when formulating the plan, do not consider the safety of our personnel.” The response to their inquiry came quickly, and a staff officer relayed the message.

“What? Ignoring the safety of the outer and mid-ring civilizations is one thing, but our elders and the inner-circle dignitaries as well?” One officer voiced his disbelief.

“That’s what the orders say.”

“I think we need to double-check. This command feels… off.”

The request for confirmation was sent, and the reply came almost instantly.

“Confirmed. It’s exactly as we thought.”

“This is strange,” one officer muttered in confusion.

The others understood his confusion. While the high-ranking officials and royals of the foreign races were expendable, even the inner-circle civilizations were, in the eyes of some Ji elders, of little consequence. Sacrificing them was acceptable.

But the Ji elders were also present, and the orders still stood. This was truly bizarre. Ji elders, though numerous, represented the pinnacle of power within the Ji race.

In theory, disregarding external factors like connections and origin races, each Ji elder held equal authority. This meant that no single Ji elder had the right to determine the fate of another.

However, Ji elders were not entirely without constraints. Otherwise, they would be untouchable. But impeaching or punishing a Ji elder was an extremely complicated process.

First, there had to be substantial evidence of a serious breach of principles. Then, at least fifty elders had to convene a meeting, with over a thousand elders in attendance. A two-thirds majority vote was required to impeach or punish an elder.

Even then, the punishment was limited to impeachment or disciplinary action. The Ji’s rules contained no provision for executing a Ji elder.

Yet, in the current situation, there were over ten Ji elders present at the meeting. While the orders did not explicitly call for their execution, they allowed for the formulation of a battle plan without regard for their safety.

This effectively placed these elders in grave danger. Moreover, these elders were not accused of any crimes, so there was no question of them redeeming themselves through service.

However, since the orders had been issued directly to the operations room, they must have been approved by the Council of Elders. The staff officers didn’t know if the Council had undergone some change, introduced new regulations, or struck a deal with the elders present.

Regardless, while the orders were issued through proper channels, they couldn’t shake the feeling that something was… off.