I Am The Swarm-Chapter 748: Doubts

Time didn’t drag on for long. The vacuum chamber was quickly filled with air, and the pressure was adjusted to match that of the planet below.

As the target’s previously swollen wounds visibly subsided, all the emergency responders secretly exhaled in relief.

“Hurry, transfer her to the medical bay for treatment!”

After a flurry of activity, the Swarm Empress was finally moved to a luxurious emergency room. However, when faced with the severity of the Empress’s injuries, the medical team found themselves at a loss.

The Swarm Empress’s bio-armor presented a challenge. Though heavily damaged, it remained firmly attached to her body. The Swarm’s bio-armor was unique—it wasn’t like the Ji race’s wearable armor. Removing it forcefully would cause severe harm to the wearer.

“Forget about the armor for now. Our goal isn’t to heal her but merely to keep her alive. First, excise some tissue samples for research.”

Initially, the situation here drew close attention from the Ji command center. However, specialized matters were beyond their expertise, and observing simple biopsy experiments wasn’t particularly engaging. They soon shifted their focus elsewhere.

Meanwhile, on the frontline battlefield, the capture of the Empress had driven the Swarm forces into a frenzy. However, this frenzy bordered on suicidal—they clearly lacked the capability to prevent the Ji race from capturing her.

That said, while these Swarm forces faltered, others did not. The Ji race had detected several large-scale Swarm space fleets converging from at least three directions.

Although the fastest fleet had been delayed by Ji traps for five days, only slightly over three days had passed so far. However, according to the latest intelligence, the Swarm forces had begun accelerating recklessly, disregarding their own losses. They were expected to arrive a day earlier than anticipated.

This left them with less than a day to retreat.

“The target has been captured; let’s withdraw!”

“Our people are still on the planet.”

“How much time do they need to retreat?”

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“At least a full day.”

“Impossible! We have at most 15 hours to start retreating, otherwise we risk being surrounded and losing everything we’ve worked for.”

Retreat wasn’t as straightforward as the initial deployment. Airdropping simply required stuffing soldiers into capsules and ejecting them. Retreating, however, needed transport vehicles to ferry them back to the near-orbit fleet.

Since many soldiers were deployed via drop pods, there were no available return vehicles for them. Those transported by gunships or shuttles had already suffered heavy losses in the first phase due to the unneutralized Swarm anti-air defenses.

Some soldiers were buried under layers of soil, requiring time to excavate. Add to that the wounded, who would occupy more cabin space than usual, and the relentless Swarm attacks—retreating within a single day seemed nearly impossible, let alone within 15 hours.

“We’ll do what we can. Bring back as many as possible. Abandon all equipment—destroy it all to prevent technological leaks.” To safeguard their advanced technology, anything they couldn’t take with them had to be obliterated.

This included vehicles like K2N9s and K1KN10s. As for the mechanical soldiers, they were expendable anyway. Their final value lay in covering the retreat of the Ji soldiers.

The tense evacuation operation began. The original battlefield was in ruins, with layers of collapsed soil burying many Ji soldiers. Rescuing them in a short timeframe using only vehicles like K2N9s was nearly impossible.

Thus, the “Hercules” re-entered the scene. It directly sucked up all the soil within several kilometers around the battlefield, expanding the pit multiple times. Relying on its internal sorting mechanisms, it rapidly rescued the buried Ji soldiers.

However, this meant abandoning the “Hercules.” Due to its size, it lacked long-range travel capabilities. When the Ji race initially arrived, they began assembling this behemoth. After intense effort, it was completed just three days ago.

Dismantling it would require significant time—slightly less than assembly, but still at least two days. With only 15 hours left, even if they couldn’t fully dismantle it, they could salvage its most critical components. But if it participated in the rescue, the Ji race would ultimately have to destroy it, leaving behind a pile of scrap metal for the Swarm.

In the frantic rescue efforts, large numbers of Ji soldiers were saved. Once again, a continuous stream of “caravans” appeared in the sky, ferrying soldiers back to the near-orbit fleet.

Previously hidden Swarm anti-air installations resurfaced, managing to shoot down a few Ji vehicles before being destroyed by patrolling unmanned fighter drones, eliminating any lingering threats to the evacuation.

Mechanical soldiers formed new strongholds, working alongside automated defensive weapons to repel the Swarm ground forces’ final assault. Some Ji soldiers without immediate transport assignments voluntarily joined in to help.

Everything seemed to be progressing as the Ji race hoped. But then, bad news came from the emergency room.

At first hearing, the Ji commanders feared the worst—that the Swarm Empress had died. Upon closer inspection, however, they discovered something else. In an attempt to treat the Swarm Empress, the medical team had excised a small piece of her tissue for analysis. But when they tried to study the sample, it spontaneously collapsed.

This was indeed troubling. While all known Swarm units—combat units and intelligent Swarm alike—possessed this self-destructive trait, the Ji race had always assumed the Swarm Empress was exempt.

According to their records, the Swarm originated as a minor rural tribe that gained access to an ancient inheritance and evolved. The Swarm Empress was supposed to be the first beneficiary of this inheritance. The genetic secrets binding other Swarm units were thought to be shackles imposed by the Empress herself. Yet now, it seemed she shared those same restrictions.

This revelation baffled the Ji race. Did the Swarm hierarchy extend beyond the Swarm Empress? Or was this the price paid by the rural tribe when transforming into the Swarm? Alternatively, was the captured Empress merely an imposter?

Given the Swarm’s prowess in biotechnology, creating an imposter wouldn’t pose much difficulty. Verifying the authenticity of the target had been one of their greatest concerns prior to the mission.

Yet, the secret channels of the Council of Elders confirmed that this Empress was genuine. Now, confronted with this unexpected development, the perplexed Ji race could only report the situation upward.