After Conradus entered warp space and lost contact, the Rashudia race fell into a state of chaos, with the remaining forces in disarray and acting independently.
Although the Yuntu race had a small number of troops, their foundation as a high-tier mid-ring civilization remained intact. Other civilizations had no choice but to show them so respect. Additionally, their flagship was the largest, making it an ideal venue for etings.
At the request of the Red Fang Breakers on board, the Confederation ships surrounding the Yuntu fleet cleared a path. The Swarm’s Primordial bodies then moved through this passage, heading straight for the Yuntu fleet.
This fleet, consisting of just over a thousand ships, was currently located at the rear of the entire Confederation coalition. Thanks to the superior specifications of their ships and their small numbers, they had managed to avoid most of the entanglents with the other Confederation forces.
If it weren’t for the Rashudia’s negative example, they might have been the second group to withdraw from the battlefield.
As for the Swarm’s arrival, General Mid of the Yuntu race, though reluctant to be the one to step forward, had no choice as a prisoner. He braced himself and headed to the flagship’s landing pad to wait.
After the Swarm’s Primordial bodies approached the Yuntu flagship, they extended their tentacles and attached themselves to the flagship. One of the Primordial bodies opened its storage sac, and a mature body about fifty ters long erged.
The mature body glided gracefully along the hull of the flagship and entered the landing pad with ease. Under the watchful eyes of the Yuntu high-ranking officials, the storage sac opened, and three true Swarm mbers, as the Confederation mbers saw them, stepped out.
“It’s Marlene!” The humanoid figure had a sturdy exoskeleton covering vital parts of the body. The male’s exoskeleton was adorned with spikes and other close-combat weapons, while the female’s was smoother.
Between races, especially those that don’t interact frequently, there’s often a degree of face blindness. What might seem like vastly different features within one’s own race could appear nearly identical to another race, making it hard to distinguish individuals.
However, the Swarm’s distinctive exoskeleton markings at least made it easy for the Confederation mbers to differentiate between males and females. As for artificial intelligence, which could compare various details, face blindness wasn’t an issue.
Not only that, but they could also match these characteristics with data stored in their vast databases to check if the individual in question had appeared before.
The intelligent Swarm had always been mysterious, with their true population unknown. The Interstellar Technological Confederation database recorded fewer than a thousand nad intelligent Swarm mbers. While this might seem like a decent number, for a civilization, it was exceedingly rare.
Fortunately, the Swarm mber leading the group before General Mid and the Yuntu officials was one of those recorded in the Confederation database.
Thanks to the Swarm’s lax control and lack of restrictions on shipboard artificial intelligence, General Mid, who carried a hidden personal terminal, imdiately received information about the Swarm mber before him.
Marlene, a Swarm general, first appeared in the records of the Riken race. She was frequently seen during the Swarm’s entry into the Confederation and subsequent collaborations. She was arguably the most prominent high-ranking officer of the Swarm.
As for the two Swarm mbers behind Marlene, one was clearly male, and the other female. The male’s face was entirely covered by his exoskeleton, making it hard to discern his features. Even after comparing the details of his body and exoskeleton, there were no matches in the database, suggesting he was a newcor with an unknown position in the Swarm hierarchy. However, based on his stance, his rank was likely lower than Marlene’s.
The female Swarm mber, however, was recorded in the database. She was Marlene’s adjutant, nad Nasa, and due to her association with Marlene, she also had a high appearance rate.
Marlene’s presence here was unexpected yet logical. Mid couldn’t help but laugh at himself. The Confederation forces had initially thought the Swarm’s commander was so spoiled brat. Little did they know it was the seasoned Marlene. This ant their loss wasn’t unjust.
At the sa ti, he admired Marlene. Although the Swarm had taken control of the Confederation ships, most of the operational authority still lay with the Confederation mbers. Marlene had dared to co here with just a small formation of ships. What if so lunatic decided to fire at her midway? Wouldn’t that be too dangerous?
Moreover, in this hall, the Yuntu race was in the majority. Due to the Swarm’s lax oversight, the prisoners hadn’t been searched, aning so of them were carrying small-caliber weapons.
In Mid’s view, Marlene’s actions were extrely risky. But from the current situation, Marlene had gambled correctly. Whether it was the Yuntu or the other Confederation races, everyone was rational and hadn’t done anything reckless.
“Greetings, General Marlene. Although I am rely the forr master of this ship, please allow to welco you.” Mid was very pragmatic. He used the highest etiquette of the Yuntu race to welco Marlene, even though she might not understand it.
You don’t hit a smiling face, but this was technically her territory now. Mid welcoming her as the host still irked her sowhat: “Hello, General Mid. Although this is our first formal eting, we are old friends who have crossed paths many tis.”
Hearing this, Mid’s face flushed red. He instantly realized that the culprit behind his fleet being reduced to just over a thousand ships for this campaign was the female Swarm mber before him. But there was nothing he could do.
Seeing Mid’s flushed face, Marlene decided not to push further. After all, these leaders might soon beco her colleagues: “General Mid, you probably have so understanding of our race’s style.”
Seeing Mid nod, Marlene continued, “Then let’s not waste ti. Although I’ve already notified the leaders of the other races through my own ans, I’d like you to use the Confederation’s communication system to notify them again.”
Marlene hadn’t co here to chat with Mid. She was using this place as a eting venue. Moreover, upon landing on the Yuntu flagship, she had already issued relevant instructions to the Confederation mbers through the Red Fang Breakers. Having Mid use the Confederation’s system to notify them again was rely to urge them.
In fact, the Confederation leaders in the Confederation’s virtual conference room were already in an uproar. This Swarm operation was unusually open, with little regard for secrecy.
As a result, the surveillance devices on the Yuntu flagship captured the entire scene from various angles. Thanks to Mid setting things in advance and the Confederation’s communication system, these recordings were imdiately transmitted to the other Confederation races.
And they, too, now understood who their opponent truly was.
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