The Ji Race’s situation worsened by the day. Their super transport ships for resettling migrants had clustered densely in orbit around one of the innermost stars of their territory, layered upon one another like scales.
The planetary bodies in this Star System were plunged into a harsh winter, unable to receive sunlight, and were forced to beco the first planetary hub for personnel relocation within the system.
Planets were continually disassembled, asteroid belts cleared, making the surrounding galactic region around the new defensive line once again vast and empty—just like before.
On the Swarm’s side, they proceeded with their plans thodically. Over four thousand Star Gates were gradually completed. New reinforcents arrived, Desolation-Class Motherships reached the battlefield, Planetary War Bugs began production, and new Star Gates entered construction.
“Overlord, Your Majesty, a spaceship has arrived outside the Royal Court Star System. A self-proclaid envoy from the Ji Race is requesting an audience,” one Intelligent Entity reported to Luo Wen and Sarah Kerrigan via the Swarm Network.
“The Ji Race? What are they here for?” Sarah frowned slightly in confusion. After all, the two sides were still at war. Besides, the Ji were already heavily restricted—could it be they had reached their limits and were trying to collude with the Swarm?
“Why don’t you go talk to them and find out?” Luo Wen responded casually.
Back when a supernova’s shockwave had forced the Swarm to relocate their royal court, they’d taken the Rat Folk from the Genesis System along with them. After all, they had once been one of Luo Wen’s proud creations and had contributed significantly to the Swarm’s early developnt.
The new Royal Court was established roughly fifty light-years from the Neighboring Star System. Regardless of what the system had once been nad or designated, it was now officially known as the Royal Court Star System.
Thanks to improved relations with the Confederation civilizations, parts of the Swarm’s territory were now open to others. The Royal Court Star System was one of those zones. It was common for high-ranking officials or nobles to visit and negotiate various matters with the Swarm.
As such, the location of the new Royal Court was no secret—and given the Swarm’s current power, there was no longer any need to hide it.
The Royal Court System housed multiple Starports. Although traffic was frequent, every ship was required to declare its identity and purpose before entering. Entry was granted only with permission; otherwise, they would face imdiate annihilation.
Yet even under the Swarm’s current dominance, there had been fools at the start—those who thought they could “put the Swarm in its place.” It was hard to believe such people still existed.
But no matter how advanced the world becos, it will never lack for idiots. They’re not even hard to find—if you look, they’ll always be there.
Those capable of such stupidity usually had “unique” thought patterns. They were stuck in the past and only knew the Swarm through second-hand news and rumors.
They believed all this was fake news, invented by people with shady motives. So they ca to the Swarm with a “sacred mission” to expose the conspiracy.
Naturally, these people were all publicly executed—along with those who manipulated them. After all, the Swarm’s intelligence network was exceedingly effective.
Since then, peace had returned. No more idiots ca looking for trouble in Swarm space.
As for this envoy from the Ji Race—perhaps they’d heard these cautionary tales, or maybe they were simply well-mannered. Either way, their deanor was exceedingly humble.
Given such conduct, even if relations between the two sides weren’t the best, the Swarm saw no reason to act petty.
This ti, only a single ship had arrived—utterly unremarkable. It looked more like a common rchant vessel, isolated and nondescript, nothing like the forr hegemon of this galaxy.
But Luo Wen had no doubt about their identity. After all, no one would risk pretending to be Ji before the Swarm—especially now, when the so-called Ji were all prisoners. They couldn’t afford pomp and circumstance. Plus, all Star Gates in the Confederation now belonged to the Swarm. Flying a Ji flag near a gate would get you vaporized on sight.
The ship docked at the Starport. As per procedure, the visitors would take a flying Swarm beast to the Royal Court Planet—a fixed protocol that applied to everyone.
There were five visitors in total, from different races, but it was clear that only the one in the lead had any real authority—a mber of the Rashudia Race, the leading civilization of the Mid-Ring with a rather “unusual” thought process.
She identified herself as Mana Haisha, but the Swarm didn’t care what her na was—only why she’d co. The mont she appeared, the Swarm’s intelligence web spun into motion. Unfortunately, the results were sparse.
This was extrely rare. With the Swarm’s vast and specialized network, such gaps pointed to two possibilities.
One is intentional obfuscation, to evade the Swarm’s intelligence agents. But Luo Wen had full confidence in the Swarm Network and the Intelligent Entities’ infiltration thods—they were airtight. It was impossible soone had prepared specifically to guard against them.
Which ant the second possibility was far more likely, this Mana Haisha simply wasn’t important. She’d never made a na for herself—had zero public presence—and thus had never entered the Swarm’s sights.
The sa was true of her four security escorts.
That was strange. Anyone representing the Ji Race in a visit to the Swarm would logically be a high-profile figure. It was hard to believe she’d been a nobody.
The Swarm moved swiftly, providing the group with transport via a flying Swarm beast—a special type of transport unit developed by Luo Wen when Space Octopuses were deed unsuitable for planetary surface operations.
These flying beasts had certain atmospheric organism genes removed and featured high body density, allowing them to take off and land on planets freely. The tradeoff was a loss of maneuverability, so they could only be used for transport—not combat.
The one assigned for this mission was over fifty ters long, resembling a giant batfish. Its enlarged dorsal ridge had been converted into a cabin capable of carrying thirty passengers.
While passing through security clearance, the Ji team encountered a minor hiccup. The biolight lining the corridor, normally glowing green, suddenly turned bright red.
Swarm soldiers reacted instantly. Their faceplates snapped shut, and their exoskeletal blades extended, radiating murderous intent—as if they would tear the visitors apart at the slightest provocation. The four guards scrambled into defensive stances—but with their weapons already confiscated, they were no match for the Swarm’s overwhelming presence.
Then, without warning, the Swarm soldiers paused—then calmly retracted their weapons, returning to their previous composed stance as though nothing had happened.
The Ji guards froze, unsure of what had just transpired.
Only Mana Haisha, the leader, showed a flicker of understanding in her eyes.
Reviews
All reviews (0)