Chapter 11: The Folly of Hope

The militia, once gathered around the five exosuits, had been utterly scattered, rendering any coordinated infantry-mech tactics impossible. Their earlier charge had been nothing more than a desperate surge of hope, fueled by the unexpected appearance of the formidable machines.

Some, even in their dying moments, still clung to the fervent hope that more exosuits would materialize from thin air.

But it was painfully clear that the arrival of these five exosuits was merely an anomaly within an anomaly—a cruel, cosmic jest played by the gods of fate upon all present.

Stripped of their infantry cover, the five exosuits were suddenly overwhelmed by the insect swarm. Their power systems were already critically low, and the sheer weight of insects piling onto them rendered their mechanical arms incapable of freely wielding the lightswords they carried.

Under normal battlefield conditions, facing such a predicament would typically involve activating the exosuit’s high-explosive emitters for a violent clear-out of the immediate vicinity before proceeding with dismemberment tasks.

Regrettably, these particular exosuits were a special ‘promotional’ version. While they did possess high-explosive emitters, their launch bays were entirely empty. High-explosive projectiles were highly restricted, considered extremely dangerous items by the Alliance military, and strictly forbidden outside its ranks.

Conversely, high-energy cutting swords could be acquired cheaply in any underground black market. Thus, the lightsword remained the sole offensive capability of these exosuits.

Inside the pilot cabins, alarms blared incessantly. Even without sight, the pilots could hear the teeming claws outside, tearing through the armor plating, ripping and chewing. Other insects relentlessly attempted to bore their way in, drawn by the scent of humans that permeated their keen olfactory senses.

Although the defensive capabilities of these exosuits were undeniably impeccable, they simply could not withstand the onslaught of adversaries armed with incredibly sharp mandibles and razor-sharp claws capable of rending even the armor of starships.

The pilots within, all grizzled old men with hair as white as snow, pressed the self-destruct system in despair.

However, this system, too, had been disabled.

Ultimately, consumed by extreme terror, they were devoured alive by the small insects that burrowed their way into the cabins.

From orbit, the massive insect surveyed the planet below. Once it confirmed that no further threats remained, it unleashed all its children to partake in the joyous feast.

The massive insect then shifted its gaze toward another planet. By analyzing the human souls it had absorbed from the starships its children had torn apart, it surmised that the other planet had likely requested military aid from the Alliance.

Their decision to abandon that planet in favor of preserving their forces suggested a strategy: conserve strength, delay the inevitable, and await the arrival of allied reinforcements.

The Alliance forces were estimated to arrive around the third rotation of that planet. The massive insect used its mental perception to check the condition of all its children.

To its astonishment, it discovered that several of its children had successfully evolved to the next stage. On the ground, a few already colossal insects, in the midst of slow feeding, suddenly froze.

The half-dead human bodies they had been consuming tumbled from their mouths, letting out a few choked gasps before instantly dying.

The insects’ eyes glazed over, and their entire bodies began to change color. After a short while, their old exoskeletons ruptured, revealing a new, somewhat silvery carapace beneath. They examined their transformed bodies, tested the power of their newfound forms, and were overcome with elation.

Buildings that had previously been somewhat resistant to their destructive efforts were now sliced open like tofu. Moreover, the speed of their new bodies was more than twice their former swiftness.

Their joy was further amplified by the praise transmitted from their mother. This immediately sparked intense envy among their brethren who had not yet entered the evolutionary state. All of them hastened their feeding, hoping to earn their mother’s commendation before their siblings.

As the children accelerated their consumption, in merely one orbital period of the planet, the entire world was devoured. All that remained were scraps too unappetizing even for the insects, and the corpses of their brethren who had perished in the recent battle.

While the deaths of these few insects constituted no real loss for the current swarm, adhering to the principle of deep familial bonds, they carried the bodies of the fallen back to their mother as they returned to her.

Observing her fallen children, the massive insect felt a pang of sadness. Yet, it attributed their demise to their inherent weakness. Had even one child evolved to the second stage sooner, the power of those few exosuits would have been utterly negligible.

Once the children had returned the bodies, the massive insect reabsorbed them into its own form, silently awaiting the next cycle of birth.

After all the children had returned, the massive insect took a quick count, estimating their numbers to be around 7.1 billion. Of those, only about two hundred had evolved to the second stage.

This number left the massive insect somewhat disappointed. Two hundred seemed minuscule compared to 7.1 billion, especially with a fierce battle against humanity looming. It pondered whether to avoid humanity’s spearhead and temporarily retreat into the depths of space.

However, after a brief analysis, the massive insect decided to go on the offensive.

Its children needed to evolve, and the massive insect itself needed to feed. But with over seven billion mouths, plus its own insatiable maw, where would the resources come from? The nearest stellar system was this one, so the massive insect resolved to first eliminate the human-occupied planet with its children, then consume the entire star system itself. That particular star appeared young and capable of providing ample energy.

As for the Alliance forces, it had no clear idea of their strength. It would simply take things one step at a time.

Having formulated a strategy of ‘sustenance through war’ in its mind, the massive insect immediately set off with its sated children toward the other planet.

As the children rested upon its body, the power they reciprocated contained a significant number of human souls.

After all, it had consumed a planet teeming with human life.

Using its extraordinarily developed brain, the massive insect directly filtered out a large portion of these human souls, converting them into mental nourishment. It began to probe the more robust souls, drawing in human knowledge.

On the other planet, an observer tensely watched the ‘planet’—enveloped by countless cosmic organisms—slowly approach.

The Prime Minister, equally anxious, scrutinized the Alliance military’s position reports, calculating how many days his own forces could hold out. On this planet, only the ordinary citizens maintained their usual routines.

As always, they chatted and argued online, or disseminated illicit images and videos, utterly oblivious to the impending catastrophe slowly but surely advancing upon them.

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