Chapter 388: The Meeting
Standing over two meters tall, clad in seamless keratin armor and sporting jagged bone spikes from their ramming horns, the three humanoid figures exuded a brutal aesthetic of primal violence.
Two were male and one female, distinguishable by their body shapes and the subtle differences in their armor. The female’s frame was slightly slimmer, her armor less angular, and her bone spikes more restrained.
‘So, this is the true form of the Swarm?’ Bular thought, suppressing a sigh. From their protective suits alone, it was clear that this was not a race to be trifled with.
Yet, a faint sense of disdain began to creep into his thoughts. He found the Swarm’s protective suits overly ornate, bordering on impractical. A suit capable of shielding a body from the radiation of space wasn’t exactly rare for an interstellar civilization, but it certainly wasn’t cheap either.
All this flashy extravagance—does it serve any purpose other than driving up manufacturing costs? Or do they really plan to board enemy ships and engage in melee combat?
To Bular, this reeked of outdated thinking. What era are they living in? They still cling to such primitive ideas. Their civilization must be young. Perhaps some fortuitous encounter accelerated their technological progress, but their ancient instincts for close combat and hunting clearly remain ingrained. These thoughts fed a growing sense of superiority.
‘That explains why their bioweapons excel at close-quarters combat—they have a clear preference for hand-to-hand fighting.’
“Welcome, guests of the Troi!” A deep voice cut through Bular’s musings, snapping him back to reality. The momentary surge of superiority quickly receded; after all, he was standing in the heart of enemy territory. Angering the host here would likely lead to disastrous consequences.
Thankfully, the protective suit concealed his facial expressions, preventing any offense from being detected. Moreover, the Swarm’s greeting as “guests,” while not “friends,” hinted at a mutual understanding.