I Am The Swarm

“Our race had already given up its disputes with the Swarm, but you sought us out, claiming you could help us exact vengeance. And now you dare to shift the blame onto us!”

“Hah, laughable! And who was it that came running to persuade our race first? Shall I request the internal records and send over the footage?”

“Fine! Back then, our race, unable to swallow its anger, sought help within the alliance, but you all refused. And just when we had given up, you brought it up again! Isn’t that what happened?”

“Enough, stop bickering. The rights and wrongs of the past are irrelevant now. You’re wasting everyone’s time. The priority right now is to devise a response plan.” As the initiators and strongest members of the alliance, the representative of the Koriato civilization still commanded significant authority.

However, the Daqi representative’s earlier remarks of “you all, you all” had offended too broad an audience. While the events had indeed unfolded as he described, putting it so bluntly made everyone unhappy and alienated nearly all the other alliance members.

The Daqi representative, realizing his outburst had been unwise, promptly fell silent, attempting to lower his presence. But the Sivian representative, who had been arguing with him earlier, wasn’t quite ready to let it go.

“Hmph, in any case, I don’t support directly confronting the Swarm at the Daqi borders.”

“You!” The Daqi representative’s three eyes flared up once more.

The Sivian representative’s appearance and build were slim and delicate, making him seem frail compared to the fierce and intimidating Daqi representative.

Yet, he showed no fear, responding with disdain. “Don’t glare at me. The data we compared earlier are just theoretical figures. Have you all forgotten? Before this move, the Swarm’s cruising speed hadn’t even reached half the speed of light.”

At this, his expression grew serious. “I’ve investigated through some channels. The Swarm has never exchanged technology or theories with the Ji race. The only time they collaborated with the Rikens was to share a Ji spaceship for a brief period. Everyone here knows what kind of junk that ship was. So, how did the Swarm acquire warp drive technology? And how long has it been since the Swarm’s last major move? I think the Daqi representative is the most qualified to answer that.”

These words silenced the room. Even the previously enraged Daqi representative stopped speaking. This was indeed a pressing question.

As the technological watershed separating civilizations, the warp drive wasn’t something that could be easily attained. Even the progenitor Ji race, as the dominant force in the Interstellar Technological Confederation, had endured a ten-thousand-year dark age and nearly wiped itself out in civil wars before achieving it.

The Swarm had advanced from sublight speeds to the warp era in just over a hundred years. What’s more, they debuted at three times the speed of light. While this level was still inferior to the long-established civilizations, it already surpassed the capabilities of factions like the Daqi civilization.

This reminded everyone of the intelligence reports that had been previously downplayed—or perhaps deliberately ignored—suggesting that the Swarm possessed technological reserves originating from a higher biological civilization.

The Sivian representative’s earlier remarks were clear, no one knew the Swarm’s full capabilities or whether three times the speed of light was even their limit. Under such uncertainty, engaging this enemy based on unreliable data would be a massive gamble.

If the Koya Alliance’s assembled forces were defeated by the Swarm, the entire alliance would be placed in an overwhelmingly disadvantageous position.

“I agree with the Sivian representative. We cannot face the Swarm head-on at the Daqi borders.”

“I concur. Since the Swarm has chosen a cautious, step-by-step approach, there’s no need for us to throw away forces over a few star systems. Instead, we should abandon them to buy time. This will allow us to fully unleash our war potential, assemble more forces, and deter the Swarm from advancing recklessly or altering their attack trajectory. That would be the wisest course of action.”

“An excellent plan!”

“I agree.”

As more Koya Alliance members voiced their support, the Daqi representative gritted his teeth in frustration. This so-called plan to “buy time” involved sacrificing star systems, which, unsurprisingly, belonged to the Daqi civilization.

Moreover, from the tone of the other representatives, it was evident that more than one star system would be abandoned. With the Daqi having only three star systems in total, they were bound to be the first to lose their territory. Without a home, wouldn’t the Daqi race become a wandering, homeless species?

At this thought, the Daqi representative, unable to care about offending his peers, furiously protested.

“No! This cannot be allowed. What will happen to our 50 billion citizens?”

The room fell into silence for a moment before the Koriato representative, the leader of the alliance, spoke up. “Representative of Daqi, the Koya Alliance has a responsibility to all its members. We cannot jeopardize everyone’s safety for your sake. However, the Daqi race is one of us, and the Koya Alliance will take responsibility for your people. We will relocate them to safe areas and ensure their well-being, with every member contributing to the effort. Do you agree with this?”

“My race can provide supply ships to assist in relocating the Daqi population,” one member quickly offered, following the leader’s direction.

“My race can also help with transportation.”

“We have no problem helping with the relocation.”

“Same here…”

However, while these offers to assist with transportation sounded generous, the question of where to relocate the Daqi people remained unanswered. As the leader, the Koriato representative had to set an example.

“The Koriato civilization can provide 1,000 large space survival pods, which, with some modifications, can accommodate 8 billion Daqi people. We will also cover their living needs.”

Large space survival pods were a variant of large ecological ships. These pods were enormous, with highly advanced ecosystems capable of fully simulating planetary environments. However, their size meant they generally lacked the ability for rapid movement.

These pods were a standard solution for housing excess populations. With relatively low technological requirements and construction difficulty, even wealthy individuals could commission custom-made pods tailored to their tastes.

With their leader setting the example, the other members had no choice but to follow suit.

“Our race can provide one mineral-rich colony planet and 200 ecological pods, capable of housing 1.8 billion Daqi people.”

“Our race can provide 300 ecological pods, which can accommodate 2.5 billion Daqi people.”

“Our race can…” Around the room, the various civilizations pledged their contributions according to their capabilities.

The Koriato representative was very pleased with this show of support from the members.

Turning to the Daqi representative, he asked. “Representative of Daqi, with everyone supporting you so generously, what do you think?”

The Daqi representative’s eyes were filled with fury, but he said nothing.

His silence displeased the Koriato representative, whose expression turned cold. He exchanged a glance with the Sivian representative, silently signaling for further action.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!