I Am The Swarm

Although the Ji soldiers’ combat suits appeared thin due to their materials, they were surprisingly reliable, managing to absorb most of the impact from projectiles traveling at ten times the speed of sound. However, absorbing most of the impact didn’t mean neutralizing it entirely. Even the remaining fraction of the force was far more than carbon-based lifeforms could withstand.

From all directions, the relentless barrage of attacks struck the Ji soldiers from their blind spots. While there were no visible injuries, beneath their helmets, most Ji soldiers were already coughing up blood, suffering from severe internal injuries.

The most terrifying part was the unknown toxin covering their bodies. This toxin had an incredibly strong adhesive quality, making it impossible to remove once it stuck. Its potent corrosive properties continuously reacted with the combat suit materials, producing acrid white smoke.

“Commander, do something! At this rate, we’re going to be wiped out!” a soldier shouted over the comms. But his commander was equally overwhelmed and had no solutions.

Watching Sarah and Tella gradually disappear into the distance, all he could do was keep calling for reinforcements.

Fortunately, Ji reinforcements finally arrived. A fleet of 20,000 warships had crossed what would normally be a short distance to reach the planet’s near-orbit. Now, only 12,000 ships remained, all damaged, with hardly any in perfect condition.

But 12,000 Ji warships were a formidable force. Previously, just 200 ships had posed a significant threat to Sarah. Now, with sixty times that number, the impact was unimaginable.

Countless fireballs streaked across the sky. As soon as the Ji fleet reached near-orbit, they began engaging the Swarm forces while simultaneously launching all their landing gunboats.

By now, the ecological planet had started turning purple. Massive fungal carpets emerged from the ground, sprouting anti-aircraft installations.

The Swarm’s large ground-based anti-aircraft installations, with their massive calibers designed to target warships, were somewhat overkill for gunboats. However, while it might seem like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, it was far from pleasant for the Ji gunboats. Even a glancing hit from these large-caliber projectiles would likely result in the destruction of the gunboat and the death of its crew.

To disperse the Swarm’s anti-aircraft fire and deploy troops to the frontlines as quickly as possible, the Ji resorted to an ancient method of deployment: launching soldiers directly in drop pods.

These drop pods, due to their initial velocity, were much faster than gunboats. Additionally, their smaller size allowed each pod to carry a ten-person squad.

Thus, their numbers were greater, enough to divide the Swarm’s anti-aircraft fire. However, the ride in these drop pods was far from comfortable. While the Ji had solved the heat conduction issues during atmospheric entry, the pods still posed certain risks.

Moreover, although the pods had some maneuverability in the air, their speed was negligible in the eyes of the Swarm’s anti-aircraft systems. It was more reliable for them to descend at maximum speed to low altitude, entering the blind spots of the Swarm’s defenses.

But this meant they completely lost their ability to evade. The Swarm’s anti-aircraft fire would hit them with pinpoint accuracy. Their survival depended entirely on luck.

Yet, despite this seemingly suicidal deployment method, the pods carried the Ji’s most elite troops. These elite units, enhanced and modified to be stronger and more skilled, were the cream of the crop among ground forces.

Fireballs streaked across the sky, and deafening roars shook the ground. Millions of drop pods and gunboats filled the sky, while countless points of light rose from the ground to meet them. The scene was awe-inspiring. Combined with the tens of thousands of large combat units in near-orbit blocking the sunlight, it felt like a cataclysm had descended.

Fortunately, the planet’s wildlife, both visible and hidden, was mostly Swarm units in disguise. Otherwise, this spectacle would have caused widespread panic among the native animals.

The tremors and vibrations of atmospheric entry were nothing new to the elite Ji soldiers. They sang their unit’s traditional songs loudly, their unique designation a testament to their ferocity.

“Drop pod landing in ten seconds. Countdown begins: 10, 9…”

“Let’s go, brothers! The game has begun. Make sure you survive until the end!”

“Be careful! Stay safe!”

“Good luck!”

“…”

“Boom!” The drop pod demonstrated what a hard landing looked like. Although it decelerated slightly a hundred meters above the ground, it still created a crater over a hundred meters in diameter and more than ten meters deep.

The steaming hatch was kicked open from the inside, and ten soldiers poured out. They released a few reconnaissance drones to quickly pinpoint their location, then activated their thrusters and flew toward their target.

Drop pods landed one after another, densely distributed within a hundred-kilometer radius around Sarah, forming an encirclement as they advanced toward her position. Over a dozen drop pods landed near the earlier Ji forces, the dust from their hard landings making the flying artillery bugs flicker in and out of visibility.

Dark gray anti-matter energy bolts flew through the air, precisely picking off the flying artillery bugs one by one. Yellow-green fluid splattered everywhere. But the Ji reinforcements were quickly counterattacked by the bugs.

“*&! I feel like I’ve killed hundreds of bugs, but their numbers don’t seem to be decreasing!” one Ji soldier said, firing his weapon while enduring the discomfort from the tenfold sonic impact of the poison projectiles.

“That’s the Swarm for you,” his companion replied calmly, though the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth betrayed his true condition.

“I feel like this is a trap. We’ve been fooled. When it was just the few dozen of us earlier, it was the same situation. Now we have reinforcements, and our numbers are in the hundreds, but it’s still the same. If the attack intensity had been like this from the start, we wouldn’t have lasted this long.” He spoke haltingly, taking nearly a minute to finish.

He didn’t know why he was saying this—perhaps just to relieve some mental pressure. After all, in the past, no one had dared to openly challenge the Ji’s authority. While they had trained extensively in simulations, the real battlefield, where death was a constant threat, was far more grueling than they had imagined.