I Am The Swarm-Chapter 821: Closing In

The Ji race’s Battle Star had become the strongest firepower output point. Over a million turrets unleashed flames without pause, and the surrounding warships didn’t slack off either—tens of thousands of cannons fired in unison. The density of the bombardment was such that even the dim energy beams illuminated the starry sky to a considerable degree.

However, when facing this level of firepower, the Swarm had no concept of casualties. Even as their frontline units were continuously slaughtered, it did nothing to halt their charge.

For a moment, the battlefield resembled a tower defense game. Yet, this level of defense from the Ji race seemed incapable of stopping these endgame-level monsters.

Some of the Ji warships had already been pushed into battle at the end of their operational lifespan. While they could still perform under brief strain, their true condition was quickly exposed over time.

Components that were already severely worn out completely broke down. Some even triggered explosions, leading to chain reactions that left entire ships heavily damaged.

But now, no one cared about those ships. If a ship could still move, it retreated for repairs. If it couldn’t, it was left in place as cover. After all, they were all controlled by intelligent programs—there was no need to worry about casualties.

As more and more warships withdrew from the battle sequence, gaps began to appear in the firepower net. In addition, the Battle Star had just fired a round from its Gene Destruction Cannon (chain-reaction disintegration weapon) and would be unable to recharge for a while. Especially in the current state, where even the secondary guns were operating at full capacity, the Gene Destruction Cannon’s charging time would be at least twice as long.

The flesh mountains that plagued the Ji returned once more.

Given the Swarm’s rate of death, the flesh mountains grew rapidly, their size expanding exponentially. Some Primordial bodies simply positioned themselves behind the flesh mountains, anchoring themselves with their tentacles and pressing their large heads against the rear of the mountain. Electric arcs flickered wildly across their bodies, a clear sign they were operating under overload.

A handful of Primordial bodies couldn’t move a flesh mountain—but if several million, or even ten million Primordial bodies exerted force together, the immobile mass would eventually begin to shift.

And in space, where the coefficient of friction was extremely low, the flesh mountain’s speed only continued to increase.

Its massive size created a gravitational pull of its own, continually drawing in nearby Primordial body remains, adding more mass and volume.

The Ji had no good solution for a flesh mountain in this position. Without the support of a Gene Destruction Cannon, even a continuous barrage could only shred and destroy part of it. Whatever remained would simply reabsorb nearby flesh and grow anew.

Some defensive lines that possessed two or more Battle Stars had more Gene Destruction Cannons and could still hold on for a while. But those with only one Battle Star could only rely on constant volleys to hold the flesh mountains at bay.

This, however, caused firepower vacuums in other directions. Though the Ji scrambled to compensate, multiple fronts had already been pushed forward significantly.

Even worse, even if they managed to stop the advances from those other directions, there was now insufficient firepower to stop the flesh mountain. Once this behemoth started moving, halting it would require a massive additional output of firepower.

Thus, with this constant back-and-forth tug-of-war, the Swarm slowly but surely devoured the Ji’s safety perimeter.

At last, the flesh mountain had grown to an enormous size, and the Gene Destruction Cannon was still charging. There was no longer any means of stopping its advance. Even the full-on bombardment from the Ji fleet wasn’t enough to halt this beast.

With no way to stop it, the Ji warships in its path began evasive maneuvers, resulting in some degree of coordination chaos. The Swarm seized the opportunity to launch large-scale light bombs and proton cannons, disrupting the Ji’s command systems and further throwing the region into disarray. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

Finally, the flesh mountain crashed into the Ji’s battle line. The immense impact crushed the ships that had failed to dodge in time into powder.

Various energy cannons mounted on the flesh mountain fired wildly in all directions at nearby Ji warships.

Behind the massive figure of the flesh mountain, Primordial units surged forward.

The standard Ji warships were typically around five kilometers long. To the Primordial Bodies, they were like children standing before adults—the size disparity was obvious at a glance.

In terms of close-quarters combat, the Primordial Bodies had never backed down from anything. They’d fearlessly charged even at Battle Stars—what chance did these warships have?

The Ji warships were indeed no match. Because of their specialization, a long, slender hull couldn’t possibly go toe-to-toe with such tentacled monsters. Though the warships’ main and secondary guns fired relentlessly, there were simply too many Primordial bodies.

In the blink of an eye, numerous warships were crawling with Primordial Bodies. Compared to the warships of Mid-ring civilizations, Ji ships were only tougher in their gun barrels. With a bit of extra force, even those could be bent.

The Ji had foreseen this possibility and had prepared large mechas to counter the Primordial Bodies in close combat. However, due to later resource shortages, these mecha units never made it to the battlefield. They had been dismantled and converted into crystalline barrier drones instead.

In such a disadvantaged state, once a breach appeared, it became nearly impossible to plug.

The Ji were worthy of being the most powerful force in this Galaxy. Even when their warships were swarmed by Primordial Bodies, it wasn’t easy for them to be destroyed. These barrels were truly tough. Moreover, many of the gun barrels on Ji ships were retractable, with special sealing doors to prevent blockages.

As a result, an almost comical scene played out on the battlefield—Primordial Bodies clung to parts of warships, waving their long tentacles, gripping bits of debris, as if they were lying in ambush.

Suddenly, a square meter-sized hatch on a warship opened. A shell was instantly fired, and the hatch began to close. But just in time, the waiting Primordial body swung a piece of ship wreckage and jammed it into the hatch, stopping it from shutting.

Then, the Primordial body extended its own cannon and fired inside.

After destroying the internal energy cannon, the Primordial body opened its own storage sac. Several larval bodies emerged, slipped through the damaged hatch, and infiltrated the ship.

Although the warships no longer had any Ji crew inside, the larval bodies could still mess up other internal systems—plants, equipment, whatever. They would still cause the Ji some trouble.

As more Ji warships became entangled with Primordial Bodies, their firepower network grew weaker. More Primordial Bodies surged forth, swarming even more warships.

In this snowball effect, the battlefield quickly degenerated into a chaotic brawl like a countryside gang fight. At this point, even the Battle Stars—those most prominent individual targets—weren’t spared. Massive numbers of fearless Primordial Bodies charged toward them.