I Am The Swarm-Chapter 567: Doubt

As the situation gradually stabilized and improved, Conradus’s expression grew increasingly solemn.

At this point, the Swarm had virtually no chance of turning the tide. Under such circumstances, the Swarm could detonate the Stellar Bomb at any moment. Conradus had to remain vigilant, ready to issue the retreat order at a moment’s notice.

The Rashudia fleet was positioned at the very front of the battlefield. However, since they only had their own unmanned fighter drones and no mid-ring civilizations to act as shields, the Rashudia, despite having the most advanced technology, suffered the highest casualties among the mid-ring civilizations. This “leading by example” approach left the other mid-ring civilizations with nothing to criticize.

In reality, years before the formation of the battle array, the Rashudia had already evacuated all personnel from the ships at the forefront. The reason these ships could still operate and demonstrate decent coordination was that the Rashudia had long since enlisted the assistance of the Ji race’s artificial intelligence.

Thus, even if the entire vanguard of one hundred million ships were destroyed, it would only amount to a loss of material resources for the Rashudia. And in the vastness of the universe, such resources were not difficult to obtain. As long as the Rashudia people survived, the loss of some materials was insignificant.

However, none of this was known to the other races. Now, even the outer-ring civilizations had joined the front lines, leaving only the Rashudia’s Overseer Force at the rear of the entire battle formation.

This so-called Overseer Force, carrying all the Rashudia people, had a completely clear path behind them, free from any interference. Even if the Swarm detonated the Stellar Bomb, they could immediately disengage from the battlefield and, without any hindrance, enter warp speed, returning home safely with all their people.

Now that the plan was proceeding smoothly and all races were fully committed, Conradus couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss, as if he had overlooked something.

The Swarm’s demonstrated strength was already formidable. Even without revealing their new units, they seemed capable of holding off the Confederation forces. The Swarm megastructures and Desolation-Class Motherships were understandable, as they were previously known units with some added functionalities.

However, the Puffer Cannonfish could be a game-changer in determining the outcome of a war. Previously, the Swarm had gone to great lengths to conceal them, and their perfect camouflage had successfully deceived the Interstellar Technological Confederation.

Although the appearance of the Puffer Cannonfish had indeed destroyed a portion of the Confederation fleet, these forces could have been completely annihilated by the Stellar Bomb in the Swarm’s plan, making their exposure unnecessary.

Wouldn’t it have been better to accumulate more of these units and unleash them in a battle without the Stellar Bomb, catching the unprepared Confederation forces off guard?

To expose such a devastating weapon as the Puffer Cannonfish just to eliminate enemies who were already doomed seemed like a decision only an idiot would make. Yet, the Swarm’s past formidable track record silently testified that they were not idiots.

Since the Swarm was not foolish but had made a seemingly foolish decision, there must be some underlying trickery at play.

Conradus fell into deep thought, putting himself in the Swarm’s position and trying to imagine under what conditions he would make such a decision. Yet, no matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t see any reason to expose the Puffer Cannonfish.

“Three cobblers with their wits combined surpass Zhuge Liang.”

Feeling the constraints of his own thinking, Conradus summoned his adjutant and staff officers, sharing his doubts in hopes of leveraging collective intelligence to solve the problem.

“The commander is right; there is indeed a contradiction here. Even without exposing that long-range unit, the Swarm had a high probability of trapping all Confederation forces except us,” one officer said bluntly, as all participants in the discussion were Rashudia.

“To reveal a trump card for such a low-probability event is not a wise choice.”

“The Swarm is not stupid; they would never make such a grave mistake.”

After several rounds of discussion, everyone reached the same conclusion as Conradus.

“If I were the Swarm, I would definitely give this new unit a grand debut.”

“Exactly.”

“Perhaps, from the Swarm’s perspective, this is a grand debut?”

“How could that be? Without prior arrangements, even we would struggle to escape the Stellar Bomb’s blast. To eliminate already doomed enemies a bit earlier, only to sacrifice ourselves in the process—how is that a grand debut?”

“What if the Stellar Bomb is a fake?” one staff officer blurted out.

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This offhand remark struck like a thunderclap, jolting Conradus and the quicker-thinking staff officers. Soon, everyone grasped the crux of the issue.

Indeed, the Swarm had never stated that what awaited the Confederation forces was a Stellar Bomb. This information was a unilateral guess by the Confederation forces based on some intelligence.

A guess—albeit one that fit the current situation well—had gradually gained more and more support. At some point, even Conradus himself and everyone else had become convinced that this guess was the Swarm’s plan.

Based on this assumption, targeted strategies were proposed, and everyone seemed to forget that this was merely a guess, overlooking other possibilities.

This information felt as though it had been confirmed by the Swarm themselves. In reality, even if the Swarm had confirmed it, their communication with the outside world was minimal, and they had little credibility to begin with. Moreover, during wartime, anything the Swarm, as the enemy, said should be questioned.

Yet everyone ignored this. At this moment, the rigor of advanced intelligent civilizations had completely vanished.

Conradus broke out in a cold sweat, as if some mysterious force were manipulating all of this.

Could it be the Swarm’s doing?

As one of the parties involved, the Swarm was Conradus’s first suspect. But he couldn’t understand how the Swarm could have achieved this.

Out of caution toward the pinnacle of biological evolution, the frontline camp’s various detection measures had reached an almost insane level. Whether from outer-ring or mid-ring civilizations, every member of the Confederation forces wore a special personal terminal.

This personal terminal functioned as a portable recorder, capable of recording Video and audio within the wearer’s field of vision 24/7, as well as continuously monitoring their physical data. It also supported real-time remote data uploads. Even if the signal was lost, it could store two years’ worth of data for later review.

Moreover, its built-in programs featured robust and unique encryption algorithms. Any attempt to alter the data would not only fail but would also be meticulously recorded.

In addition, every member underwent strict scanning and inspection procedures when entering or exiting their ships for missions. Even those who stayed inside their ships were subject to regular inspections.