I Am The Swarm

Chapter 466: LKDW291

Northwest of the Riken Star System, approximately 9.6 light-years away, lies the border of the Daqi civilization’s territory. However, in between is an unclaimed star system with the designation LKDW291.

Although the Swarm operated without formal recognition, the Riken people were once registered with the Ji race and thus protected under their internal rules. These rules prohibited established powers from interfering in nearby star systems, such as the Neighboring Star System and LKDW291.

However, fifty years after the Rikens joined the Interstellar Technological Confederation, this protection expired automatically. Seizing the opportunity, the Daqi civilization, which bordered LKDW291, dispatched military and engineering teams to the system in an attempt to claim it and expand their territory.

Unfortunately, this fledgling star system, still in its early stages of development, soon faced a far more formidable colonizer.

When the Swarm began making moves, the Daqi forces stationed there immediately commenced an emergency evacuation. They took everything they could, destroyed what they couldn’t, and planted various hidden mines to try and create trouble for the Swarm.

At the end of Year Ten of the New Era, the Swarm’s vanguard arrived at the LKDW291 Star System, only to be greeted by a scene of utter desolation. Orbiting several planets were large amounts of wreckage and abandoned construction debris, among which lay concealed explosives of varying power.

The vanguard ignored the space debris and instead spread out across the star system to

“Representative of Daqi, it’s not as simple as you think! Our forces need five years to be deployed, but can you guarantee the Swarm won’t launch an attack within three years? Even if they wait until five years from now, no one can predict how many units they’ll have deployed to LKDW291 by then. The latest intelligence shows that their reinforcements have been continuous. Those 200 million units might just be their vanguard.”

“Exactly! While 35 million warships could hold off 200 million Swarm units, the end result would likely be mutual annihilation—a pyrrhic victory. The Swarm has gone mad, and they’re clearly on a death march, aiming to drag others down with them. I, for one, don’t want our warships to be part of their collateral damage. Therefore, I suggest avoiding direct confrontation with the Swarm unless absolutely necessary.”

“Rubbish! Your territory is over a hundred light-years away, so of course you’re in no rush. Besides, your reinforcements will take decades to arrive, meaning you’ll have no part in the war for the foreseeable future. What right do you have to speak?”

“My race is a member of the Koya Alliance and has been for ten thousand years longer than yours. In terms of qualifications, seniority, and strength, we far surpass you Daqi. For the sake of the alliance’s future, I believe I absolutely have the right to speak. Besides, if it weren’t for your Daqi race’s propaganda and agitation back then, how would the Koya Alliance have incurred such deep enmity with the Swarm? I propose we expel the Daqi race from the alliance and let them fend for themselves. Perhaps if the Swarm annihilates them, their rage will dissipate, and they won’t target the rest of us.”

“You… you…!” The Daqi representative was so furious he couldn’t form words. His three eyes bulged, as if they were about to bleed.