Constantly Replenishing Swarm

In the southern Kingdom of Clear, 800 kilometers from the front lines.

Xia Jin looked up and saw a steel creation approaching at extreme speed.

An anti-aircraft missile bug launched from a ground platform, soaring into the sky trailing a long plume of fire.

The magic fighter immediately took evasive action, but its speed was ultimately no match for the missile. It was soon struck by the anti-aircraft missile bug, which had performed a mid-air turn, and perished under the assault.

“I didn't expect them to break through this far.”

The sky was vast. With the Zerg scourges concentrated on several main battlefields, defenses elsewhere had become somewhat sparse.

“Let's prepare 20,000 to patrol the airspace of the entire Kingdom of Clear, especially near the front lines.”

There was a problem: most of the enemies slipping into the territory were magic fighters flying at high altitudes. They could reach actual flight altitudes of ten to twenty thousand meters before descending for reconnaissance.

At such high altitudes, it was difficult for scourges to detect targets.

Even if they flew that high, they couldn't sustain it for long. And even if they did spot an enemy, it would require mobilizing a significant number of scourges to deal with them. By then, some intelligence might have already leaked (though in reality, there wasn't much useful information to gain).

“The flight ceiling of the anti-aircraft missile bugs isn't high enough. I should design a variant with increased range that can also provide long-distance surveillance.”

Anti-aircraft measures would only be truly effective in this era if they could detect planes dozens of kilometers away.

Designing a new anti-aircraft missile bug was relatively easy; it would likely take only half a day.

For the short term, she would still have to rely on the scourges.

For lower altitudes below 2,000 meters, the currently stable production of anti-aircraft bugs would suffice.

...

After making the decision, Xia Jin jumped down from the building she was standing on.

Over 100,000 bugs were ready, though they were currently burrowed.

With a thought, the bugs all emerged from the ground.

“Go.”

The swarm immediately began to disperse into the distance to support various battlefields.

These 100,000 combat bugs formed ten legion-sized units. They were the “firefighters”—a mobile reserve that would rush to fill the gaps in the lines wherever defenses were weak or breached, pushing back any encroaching enemies.

Two hours after this group left, another 300,000 bugs arrived at the scene from various hives in the rear.

She sensed the state of the front lines.

Most of the lines were in a defensive state, but the Swarm held the advantage in a few areas.

“Concentrate these 300,000 to land southwest of Clearwillow Lake and launch a pincer attack from the enemy's flank.”

The main force of over two million was fighting her 800,000 bugs. If these 300,000 were deployed well to strike the flank and rear, it would be highly effective.

Although the enemy had indeed stationed heavy troops to watch the lakeshore, there were no bugs there currently, so their numbers wouldn't be overwhelming.

If she could use over 100,000 scourges to cover the swarm's landing and intercept the enemy's large-scale artillery fire, they might achieve great results.

Thus, the 300,000 bugs headed east, preparing to bypass the enemy by traveling along the lake bottom.

Soon, the final 100,000 bugs reached Xia Jin.

“You lot disperse... and organize the rear defense lines.”

30,000 of these bugs were sent into the Border Forest, where the existing swarm numbered fewer than 20,000—far too few.

Because the Zerg had expanded too rapidly there recently in pursuit of resources, many magic beast kings were looking for revenge.

Most of these kings faced Zerg main forces consisting of only dozens or hundreds of bugs, with the rest being locusts.

Having gone unchallenged for a while, they had become arrogant.

Sending these 30,000 out, organized into thirty thousand-insect units, would target those particularly troublesome kings.

For the Zerg, this wouldn't be difficult at all.

With that, the last batch of bugs departed.

The addition of these fresh troops solidified control over the Zerg's rear while simultaneously boosting the frontline strength to over 1.5 million.

Total losses during this period had reached several hundred thousand, but the fact that the Swarm's numbers only grew as the fighting continued was likely baffling to the Empire.

...

Over the following week, the Zerg continued to replenish their losses daily.

In the first two days, the scale of combat was relatively small, with daily consumption of only 50,000 to 60,000 bugs.

Starting from the third day, the Imperial main force launched a major campaign, attacking across a 400-kilometer front in an attempt to seize the entire Mia region.

Multiple groups totaling 1.2 million men attacked from three routes, coordinated with another 900,000 who simultaneously struck the Zerg main force coming from the west.

After a massive battle lasting four days, the Zerg lost 250,000 bugs.

Meanwhile, the Dawn Empire suffered a total of 350,000 casualties.