I Am The Swarm

Chapter 481: Escape

“Biu~ biu~ biu~” The sound of explosions grew closer, and the firing of the guarding robots’ weapons echoed through the corridors, signaling to the Daqi in the hangar that the Swarm was dangerously close.

“Hurry! Squad three and four, board the airships! Squads five and six, get on the war vehicles! Cover the main force as we retreat through the tunnel! Everyone regroup at the tunnel exit!” the commander barked orders.

Though five of the vehicles hadn’t finished refueling, they should have enough fuel to make it out of the tunnel. Their immediate priority was escape—any further plans could wait.

The vehicles were crucial and had to be taken, and the transport and gunships were even more valuable. Unlike the ground-restricted war vehicles, airships were unhindered by terrain, making them indispensable.

Thus, a heavy guard had to be assigned to protect the airships. Naturally, the commander, as the leader, needed the aerial vantage provided by the airships to oversee the retreat, making it only logical for him to ride one.

However, in a situation of life and death, some Daqi opposed this plan. Everyone knew traversing a ten-kilometer underground tunnel was fraught with danger. By comparison, taking an airship directly to the surface via the ventilation shafts seemed much safer.

Just as a few dissenting Daqi were about to voice their objections—

“Boom!” A sharp metallic crash sounded overhead, and a metal plate fell from above, smashing onto the ground. The sudden noise startled the Daqi, sending them scrambling.

Though the Raiders advancing from the command room were already fast, the groups infiltrating through the ventilation shafts had moved even faster. Without encountering resistance, they reached the hangar first.

Shrill insectoid screeches filled the air, grating on nerves and sending shivers through the Daqi.

“Combat personnel, cover the retreat! Everyone else, get to the vehicles! Move quickly!” the commander yelled.

The hangar erupted into chaos. The arrival of the Swarm inadvertently resolved the commander’s leadership crisis. Those who had intended to argue against the retreat plan saw no choice but to comply.

A few dissenters initially intended to sneak onto the airships in the confusion, hoping to claim the safer option and force the issue. However, upon noticing soldiers subtly aiming their guns at them, they reluctantly gave up and turned toward the nearby war vehicles.

Four Daqi combat squads had gathered in the hangar, and many of the war vehicles were equipped with heavy machine guns. The combined firepower quickly sealed off the ventilation shaft entrance, reducing any Raiders attempting to emerge into splattered remains, their acidic fluids spraying everywhere.

A dozen or so Raiders managed to leap out of the shaft and race toward the crowd. But as they charged, they were met with fierce firepower. Though their agility allowed them to evade most of the attacks, their fragile bodies left no margin for error. The heavy machine guns in particular ensured that even a glancing hit meant either death or severe incapacitation.

In the end, only two Raiders made it into the Daqi ranks, managing to kill one and injure another before being gunned down in a hail of bullets.

“Open the ventilation shafts!”

Two soldiers smashed through a transparent protective cover on the wall, forcefully pressing a red button inside.

The metal dome atop the hangar began to open, its sections slowly retracting outward. As the opening widened, several layers of protective covers above followed suit, retracting in the same manner.

Layer by layer, the protective covers opened until a circular patch of sky was revealed. Several small drones were launched first, ascending swiftly into the air. ????B?S?

“There’s no sign of an ambush outside. Let’s move,” the scout operating the drone reported after circling the surface near the ventilation shaft. Upon confirming the absence of threats, he nodded to the pilots.

Two gunships led the way, followed by five transport airships, each departing in an orderly manner according to their assigned numbers. The remaining two gunships hovered in mid-air inside the hangar, training their cannons and machine guns on the ventilation shaft that the Swarm had breached.

From their elevated firing position, the gunships unleashed suppressive fire that turned the Raiders at the entrance into splattered remains. Unable to advance further, the Swarm was forced to retreat temporarily into the bends of the ventilation shafts.

This momentary firepower advantage provided the convoy on the ground some breathing room. Every Daqi in the hangar, driven by the threat to their lives, moved with uncharacteristic speed. By now, all of them had boarded their vehicles.

The combat squads tasked with escorting the convoy wasted no time. Engines roared to life, and the lead war vehicle surged ahead, quickly followed by the second.

But just as the convoy began its retreat, the combat robots guarding the main passage were overwhelmed by the advancing Swarm, now a black tide surging through the flames. The vanguard of Raiders spilled into the hangar.

The sudden appearance of the Swarm reignited panic among the Daqi.

After all, the Daqi left behind in the base were remnants—untrained and ill-prepared. Many of the combat personnel were originally civilians pressed into service. Their lack of experience and poor psychological resilience left them unequipped for the chaos unfolding around them.

The vehicles positioned at the front of the convoy were all assault vehicles—faster, equipped with heavy weapons, and piloted by some of the few trained veterans. They had been strategically placed at the front to lead the convoy through potential dangers. However, for some reason, all the combat squads had been assigned to the front, leaving no battle-ready units to guard the middle or rear of the convoy.

Even so, the veterans in the lead vehicles remained composed. Without hesitation, they started their engines and entered the tunnel in an orderly manner. One of the gunships hovering in the hangar rotated its weapons toward the main passage to target the advancing Swarm.

But with the departure of the assault vehicles and combat squads, the Daqi’s firepower dropped significantly. A single gunship couldn’t hope to suppress the torrent of Raiders pouring through the main passage.

Despite the massive numbers of Raiders, each shell that detonated in the corridor killed multiple targets at once. Yet, the dense throng of Raiders seemed endless, as though their numbers were unaffected.

With the Swarm’s rapid advance, the second gunship was forced to shift half its firepower to the main passage to assist. However, the reduced firepower at the ventilation shaft emboldened the Raiders there, who began to emerge once again.

By now, the Swarm’s main force had reached the hangar. The previously suppressed vanguard, now reinforced, surged forward, overwhelming the gunships’ defenses. A few Raiders managed to evade the barrage, clinging to the walls of the corridor as they climbed upside down toward the hangar.

The two novice operators manning the gunship weaponry panicked at the sight of escaping Raiders, instinctively redirecting their fire to chase the escapees. This slight lapse created an opening, allowing the black tide of Raiders to burst through the weakened firepower blockade, flooding into the hangar.

At this point, only a dozen of the convoy’s vehicles had departed, leaving half the vehicles still idle in the hangar. Unfortunately, the remaining vehicles were all transport types, equipped with minimal firepower and lacking combat personnel. They were utterly incapable of halting the advancing swarm.

Panic spread like wildfire. One driver at the rear of the convoy, his fragile nerves shattered, slammed his foot on the accelerator. The roar of the engine echoed as the war vehicle barreled into the tunnel, prioritizing flight over formation.