Chapter 480: Fire Attack
The designers of the base never imagined that one day the defensive passages they built to repel external attacks would be reversed, repurposed to defend against assaults from within.
Their design philosophy assumed that even if commanders inside the base were besieged by intruders, they could rely on these passages to hold out until reinforcements arrived.
They had indeed considered the possibility of an enemy breaching the base’s sturdy outer walls. Given the technological level of the Daqi Empire, such capabilities were feasible with equipment available to the military. However, the military would never take such actions unless it signified an internal rebellion. Their designs were never intended to accommodate traitors.
And in that, they were correct. What they failed to account for was a scenario where they would be forced to abandon their home planet, fleeing in disgrace from an alien force. After all, the Interstellar Technological Confederation seemed invincible to the Daqi, and under the rules of the Ji, conflicts—no matter how fierce—never threatened the safety of habitable planets. They had never anticipated the emergence of an outlier like the Swarm.
Perhaps one day in the future, should the Daqi have the opportunity to rebuild their homeworld, they might address such oversights. But for now, no amount of reflection could change their predicament.
“Commander! An object is approaching rapidly from the northwest, 200 meters underground!” A corner instrument blared an alarm once again, and an operator shouted out after checking the data.
“Boom!” A muffled impact resonated through the base, followed by a faint tremor. As before, every Daqi inside the base knew exactly what this meant.
From the first time the Swarm’s Burrowing Worms struck the Daqi base to now, less than ten minutes had passed. Perhaps the numerous passage gates had slowed the attackers, prompting the Swarm to open another front.
However, this was the last thing the Daqi commander wanted to see. The base was merely a gathering point for the remnants of their people, with barely enough personnel for routine maintenance, let alone combat. Most of the soldiers were untrained recruits, far from professional.