The Confederation’s high command demonstrated remarkable efficiency at this critical mont. After receiving the information from the Komok race, they quickly compiled statistics on the number of repulsion-type weapons each race possessed.
With the help of artificial intelligence, they swiftly allocated these weapons. Races with surplus resources would provide assistance to those civilizations that hadn’t brought such equipnt.
On the larger battlefield, the Confederation had already pushed the Swarm forces into a small area. This ant the danger level on their frontlines was relatively low, allowing transport ships from various races to move back and forth with relative freedom.
A few hours later, although over a hundred transport ships had the misfortune of being hit by Swarm artillery and were lost en route, the Confederation had enough surplus repulsion-type weapons to compensate. Even with the loss of several shipnts, the Confederation quickly replenished its supplies from other sources.
With the weapons in place, each race and warship dispatched task squads. Ard with these specialized weapons, they quickly halted the spread of the Swarm traps.
Soon, except for those races that relied on external support and had compatibility issues between their robots and the borrowed weapons—resulting in slightly slower progress—most other races began their counteroffensive, clearing the corridors previously blocked by Swarm traps.
“It seems victory will be ours,” remarked one representative, observing the real-ti data showing the rapid reduction of red danger zones controlled by the Swarm and the corresponding increase in green safe zones.
His words elicited agreent, and many representatives once again expressed their gratitude to the Komok for providing the solution. However, so representatives remained cautious and refrained from such optimism.
“Before we discovered the Swarm trap units, they had been on our ships for an unknown amount of ti. We must remain vigilant to prevent the Swarm from pulling any new tricks,” one representative cautioned.
“Exactly. We previously speculated that the Swarm must have a backup plan. Even though we’ve found a way to counter their traps, the vast interior spaces of our ships, the complex routes, and the limited number of combat personnel an that no race or ship has completely eradicated the Swarm yet. Until we’ve fully cleared them out, we cannot afford to let our guard down.”
Given their high positions, most representatives were not prone to recklessness. Thus, the cautious and conservative viewpoint quickly gained traction. Everyone began closely monitoring real-ti data and related information, hoping for news of the Swarm’s complete eradication.
However, things rarely go as smoothly as hoped. The subsequent developnts did not align with the expectations of the Confederation races.
Since the Komok were the first to discover the thod to counter the Swarm traps, their progress was the fastest. With the coordinated efforts of Z-series squads across their ships, they quickly reclaid many areas.
But precisely because of their rapid progress, they were also the first to encounter new problems.
“Damn it! Leader, what do we do now?” A squad mber’s anxious and frustrated voice ca through the comms.
Looking at the scene before him, Knox was also at a loss for words. These Swarm creatures were truly shaless.
Previously, they had eliminated countless Swarm units along their path. As previously analyzed, these creatures relied too heavily on their mimicry systems, making them overly rigid—both their strengths and weaknesses were glaringly obvious.
If their mimicry went undetected, the Swarm traps could at least achieve a one-for-one exchange. But if their mimicry failed, these immobile units beca perfect targets.
Even at distances of twenty or even ten ters, they could be easily taken out with ranged weapons.
However, they had underestimated these creatures. Starting a few minutes ago, they began noticing irregular corroded depressions on the tal walls of the corridors.
The familiar sight imdiately told the squad what had been there before.
“It seems they’ve fled.”
“After them!”
Seeing the enemy retreating, the squad gave chase. But Knox’s experience made him cautious. He kept the sonic repulsion cannon active throughout the pursuit, which indeed revealed several Swarm creatures lying in ambush along the way.
These creatures were cunning. If they had blindly chased after them, they might have been severely damaged by these hidden units. With the Z-series backup robots running critically low, losing even a few here could force the squad to withdraw from combat.
Fortunately, this didn’t happen. They also promptly inford other squads about this tactic, preventing further losses.
Their increased speed allowed them to catch up to several fleeing Swarm creatures. It was then they realized these creatures weren’t as slow as they had imagined.
Using their tentacles to cling to the tal walls and then pushing off, they could propel themselves forward rapidly in the zero-gravity environnt.
Luckily, they encountered a gravity chamber along the way—a temporary rest area for crew mbers, equipped with food and sanitation facilities for those passing through.
This section of the corridor proved invaluable. In the gravity chamber, the Swarm creatures couldn’t effortlessly glide dozens of ters as before. Instead, they had to hop laboriously, drastically reducing their speed.
This allowed the squad to intercept a few lagging Swarm creatures. Without the gravity chamber, they would never have caught up while being cautious of ambushes.
Although they managed to eliminate a few Swarm creatures, it had little impact on the overall situation. The squad pressed on, reporting this new discovery. This might be another vulnerability of the Swarm traps, and they hoped the strategists could devise a new plan based on it.
However, they might not have ti to wait for a new strategy. The current thod was highly effective, and at this rate, they would clear all corridors within a few days.
But this optimistic thought had barely ford when Murphy’s Law struck. They soon encountered a new problem.
In the chamber ahead was a critical energy hub. If it were destroyed, a significant portion of the ship’s functions would be severely affected.
At the sa ti, they discovered a large number of Swarm trap creatures. The sheer quantity suggested that all the previously missing units had gathered here.
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