I Am The Swarm

“Huff!~” Prince Diallo exhaled heavily, his breath laden with frustration. Although the fleet had suffered significant losses, losing 40% of its ships, he consoled himself with the thought that once they reached the rendezvous point, they could regroup, repair, and counterattack methodically…

“Methodically,” he muttered, turning the phrase over in his mind, yet he couldn’t come up with any plan that would turn the tide.

He did have some intel on the swarm. The Planet Raze base was the oldest but had limited resources. The base in close stellar orbit had the richest resources but was too recently established. Thus, the base on Planet Izumo was the swarm’s largest deployment in the Riken Star System, boasting the strongest fixed defenses.

Diallo’s original strategy was to crush the Planet Izumo base with overwhelming force, then turn to annihilate the stellar orbit base, subjugate the Rikens en route, and finally cripple the Planet Raze base.

After that, he planned to reveal his identity, forcing the swarm into silent acquiescence while showcasing the “old guard’s” dominance. Ideally, he could even extort valuable concessions from them.

But reality had taken an abrupt turn. Who could have foreseen the swarm hiding so much firepower on the planet’s far side?

This not only rendered his Crimson Kiss barrage less effective but also forced his plan into a truncated version: destroy the Planet Izumo base, subjugate the Rikens, and reveal his identity when the swarm reinforcements arrived.

Reality, however, seemed to enjoy mocking him. After slapping his left cheek, it couldn’t resist slapping his right, just to ensure symmetry.

Now he was stuck. By the time he regrouped, the swarm’s reinforcements would likely have arrived. Worse, some of his fleet’s capabilities had been exposed, eliminating any element of surprise.