I Am The Swarm

The newly arrived wave of Primordial Space Octopuses brought a fresh change in deployment. Among them, 200 were equipped with electromagnetic railguns, joining the 30 or so surviving units from the previous wave in providing long-range fire support.

This drastically increased the Swarm’s long-range firepower, while the Rikens’ firepower had diminished significantly. With warships destroyed by bombardment or sabotaged by blocked turrets, their ability to retaliate was no longer what it once was.

The Primordial Octopuses positioned for long-range assault could now only be threatened by the Riken warships’ main cannons. As the balance tipped in the Swarm’s favor, their long-range firepower soon matched that of the Rikens.

However, this equality only applied to the mid-range exchange.

The Riken fleet’s second line of secondary turrets still maintained a semblance of effectiveness, but their third and fourth lines of defense were riddled with gaps from earlier assaults by the mature bodies and larval bodies.

Moreover, while the secondary turrets could still provide some resistance, their firepower was no longer a lethal threat to the Primordial Octopuses.

Using data to illustrate.

A single main cannon shot could penetrate a Primordial body’s armor and render it adrift with three or four hits. In contrast, a secondary turret needed five or six direct hits to breach the armor and far more to disable a Primordial Octopus entirely.

Yet, Primordial bodies were no sitting targets. Hitting the same spot multiple times in succession was a daunting challenge.