I Am The Swarm

Multiple Ji squads were ambushed. In the confined environment, the combat effectiveness of Ji soldiers was somewhat restricted, whereas the Swarm units excelled in this type of battle.

Fortunately, the tunnel had just been freshly dug by a juvenile Burrowing Worm, leaving the Swarm with limited time to set traps. Although the first Ji teams entering the tunnel were ambushed, they still managed to guide the following teams toward the enemy’s position.

Units like the tentacle traps, once their element of surprise was lost, were easy to eliminate due to their poor mobility and defense.

Thus, while these traps wiped out a few Ji squads, they were quickly neutralized by the subsequent Ji reinforcements.

“The target is ahead! I see her!”

After clearing out the exposed tentacle traps and some other Swarm units, several Ji squads regrouped within the tunnel and began chasing after Sarah Kerrigan. Though they continued to face attacks from tentacle traps along the way, without numerical superiority, these traps could no longer effectively kill Ji soldiers.

“Concussion grenade!” The tentacle traps, bolstered by their stealth and mimicry abilities, could evade detection by most instruments, with only a few specialized devices capable of spotting them. Unfortunately, for various reasons, those instruments weren’t equipped by the Ji squads.

As a result, the tentacle traps that occasionally emerged from the tunnel walls couldn’t inflict significant damage on the Ji teams. However, they still managed to slightly slow down the pursuit.

Worried about causing the tunnel to collapse, the Ji soldiers couldn’t resort to blanket bombardments to clear the traps. Thus, they could only watch as Sarah Kerrigan escaped further away, unable to close the distance.

Since they couldn’t increase their speed any further, they decided to find ways to impede Sarah’s escape. In a moment of urgency, one soldier fired a concussion grenade in Sarah’s direction.

The explosion reverberated through the tunnel, filling it with ultrasonic waves beyond the hearing range of most species. Dust and debris rained down, even triggering a minor tremor.

“Hold your fire!” the squad leader hastily ordered, halting the soldiers’ actions. Such sonic attacks couldn’t harm the Swarm Empress clad in her bio-armor but instead put their own team in greater danger.

Thankfully, their combat suits performed admirably; otherwise, that blast alone might have taken out several friendly troops.

“Switch to freeze grenades!” Freeze grenades were a special type of ammunition developed by the Ji race using advanced technology. They contained substances approaching absolute zero, sealed within the shell. Due to their extreme instability and immense power, they required specialized containers for storage.

Typically, each squad included two support soldiers who carried the freeze grenades. Several Ji soldiers retrieved a special container from their backpacks, carefully opened it, and under a haze of silvery mist, found several beautifully crafted, icy-blue projectiles resting inside.

Nearby Ji soldiers, who had already modified their weapons accordingly, swiftly took these delicate-looking grenades and fired them into the tunnel.

You could always trust Ji technology. The precision of their firearms was impeccable, and the specially designed projectiles sailed through the dark tunnel, accurately striking around the fleeing Swarm Empress.

Upon hitting the ground, the shells burst open, releasing the cryogenic substance stored within, which rapidly spread. The temperature in the area plummeted sharply.

The Swarm Empress’s exoskeletal armor allowed her host to survive directly in near-absolute-zero conditions of outer space, rendering this freezing attack harmless to her.

However, unlike the vacuum of outer space, this was the interior of an ecological planet, rich with various elements in the air—elements highly susceptible to the effects of the cryogenic substance.

Frost began spreading visibly, even creeping onto the exoskeletal armor. The damp underground environment proved to be a major accomplice. Under the influence of the near-absolute-zero substance, the air itself seemed to stagnate.

The environmental changes did indeed affect the Swarm Empress, inevitably slowing her down slightly.

“Good opportunity! Keep firing freeze grenades, others hurry and catch up, be wary of the tunnel walls!” the squad leader shouted.

With the Swarm Empress’s speed reduced, the gap between the two sides quickly narrowed. Despite the desperate efforts of the Swarm’s tentacle traps and Modified Spider Combat Bugs to intercept the Ji teams, they couldn’t change the inevitable outcome.

“Swarm Empress Sarah Kerrigan, you are surrounded. Surrender now, and we guarantee your safety.” The helmet of the combat suit came equipped with a loudspeaker function, allowing the squad leader to announce this in the standard Confederation language.

The Swarm had once been part of the Confederation, albeit for only a few decades, so they certainly understood what he said. Even if the Swarm Empress didn’t, her nearby bodyguard surely did.

Though the Ji squad leader wanted to repeat the message in the Swarm language, the scarcity of intelligent Swarm members meant there were few opportunities to observe their communication. To date, the Confederation lacked complete learning modules for the Swarm language, leaving him nowhere to learn it.

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The cold environment seemed to have little effect on the juvenile Burrowing Worm. Even though the Swarm Empress was intercepted, it continued at its own pace, disappearing far ahead, leaving behind an empty tunnel.

This situation proved advantageous for the Ji race. Apart from the teams that had been relentlessly pursuing, other squads riding K2N9s had overtaken and positioned themselves ahead to intercept. By now, they had reached their designated positions, emerging in front of Sarah’s escape route. As a result, over two hundred Ji soldiers had gathered at the scene.

With interception ahead and pursuers behind, Sarah and her bodyguard were trapped in this tunnel, only six to seven meters in diameter. Facing dozens or even hundreds of times their number in enemies, without other variables, escape seemed impossible.

Nevertheless, despite the Ji squad leader’s repeated calls, Sarah remained unfazed. Without uttering a word, a pair of high-molecular blades silently extended from the exoskeletal armor on her hands, conveying her intent clearly.

“Don’t refuse our offer and force us to punish you. You can’t escape, surrender now, and you’ll suffer less!” Seeing Sarah’s reaction, the Ji squad leader wasn’t surprised; it was expected. Historically, there were few instances of surrender upon a single call.

Still, the necessary words had to be spoken. With overwhelming superiority, continuous shouting would exert immense psychological pressure on the opponent. What if the Swarm Empress couldn’t bear it and surrendered?

“Swarm Empress Sarah Kerrigan, surrender immediately! We’ve occupied the planet’s surface, and your reinforcements in outer space have been intercepted. There’s no escape for you!”