Explosion

Rowan believed that races capable of surviving directly in space must be extremely rare.

Even Swarm have reached this level through continuous evolution and development.

This method employed by the Swarm is actually very difficult for other civilizations to replicate.

Therefore, most civilizations likely inhabit native or modified habitable planets.

For example, the Origin Star and the Big Origin Star.

Even if Riken Race, Rowan believed their Mother Planet must also be a habitable one. This was evident from their protective suits and filter masks; they too needed to breathe air for Mature Form circulation.

Even though these planets have slightly different atmospheric compositions, they all share the commonality of supporting a wide variety of life forms.

Every civilization inevitably has its own suitable living environment.

If the Swarm clashes with these civilizations, and if the Swarm can obtain their templates, they can send the Insect Empress to these planets to produce cheap cannon fodder units on their home planets.

Could this tie down a large portion of their forces, slowly depleting their resources, thus making victory easier? And could this allow them to conceal more of their trump cards?

However, whether this plan is feasible or not still needs to be put into practice.

If the Riken Race doesn't have any other powerful figures following them, then they would be good subjects for experimentation.

Of course, this must be investigated very, very carefully.

Because the Swarm is currently only a weak force operating at sub-light speed, if it were to provoke a civilization operating at light speed or even faster than light speed, even escaping would be a pipe dream.

The universe is so vast, it's best for insects to keep a low profile.

Therefore, until everything is clear, the Swarm must continue to play its role.

However, most of the time, things don't go as planned.

Rowan originally intended to exhaust the Guard Team' ammunition, recapture them, and use them as experimental subjects.

Unfortunately, accidents happen from time to time.

Perhaps it was the awakening of his fighting spirit, perhaps it was his own mission, or perhaps it was the reversal of extremes after a mental breakdown, but Hasmu gradually regained his composure.

"Brothers, it seems we're all doomed this time. Continuing to drag this out is pointless; we must get the message out. Otherwise, once we're missing, the captain will definitely send people to search for us. If they don't know what's going on here, they might face the same fate as us."

Hasmu glanced at the group of people in the Tiger Head Soil, but unfortunately, his serious face was hidden by a dirty mask.

"Our Guard Team only has 500 brothers in total. We can't withstand this kind of repeated torment. Only by preserving our fighting strength can the captain possibly avenge us!"

"Captain, what do we do now?"

"Captain, tell me, what do we do?"

"It's just death."

"That's right, when I boarded the ship, I never planned to come back alive!"

The team members, who had lived on the edge of death, were all exceptionally ruthless. Slowly recovering from their fear, they were now mentally prepared.

"Alright, let's collect some interest ourselves first."

"Boom!"

A blazing white light appeared in the cave, and the instantaneous burst of high temperature smelted the rock walls into glass, which was then blasted away by the powerful shockwave that followed.

Underground cave collapsed.

The insects that blocked the elite squad suffered a catastrophic fate, with most of them vaporizing and disappearing.

The explosion was so violent that even thousands of meters underground, the strong tremors could be felt on the surface.

Cat Ear Spaceship

Command Bridge

Many instruments lit up with red lights, and piercing alarm sounds followed.

Regi, disheveled, burst out of the lounge.

"Celia, what happened now?" Regi called out as he put on his captain's uniform.

"Captain, a fusion reaction has just occurred in E5 Zone of Continent Three," a mechanical female voice announced.

"You found the monster?" Regi, who was still a bit grumpy when he woke up, perked up when he heard this and asked hurriedly.

"It's been somewhat confirmed."

Which Guard Team is the closest?

"Hasmu Squad is currently on a mission in the area, approximately 500 meters from the explosion site."

A sense of foreboding rose in Regi's heart.

"500 meters should be within the blast radius, right?" Thinking this, he quickly asked, "Has the explosive yield been calculated?"

"Calculations indicate that the explosive yield was between 2,700 and 3,200 tons."

"Damn it!" Regi cursed under his breath. At that weight, at a distance of 500 meters, he was probably already in grave danger.

"Get Hasmu contacted for me!"

Hasmu has been lost contact!

"When did this happen? Retrieve their mission logs!"

"Hasmu Squad has been ordered to search the Underground Cavern in E5 Zone of Continent Three. The mission involves 50 personnel, supported by three transport ships and one Gunboat. Hasmu requested backup 1 hour, 21 minutes and 34 seconds ago."

"You applied for support?!? How come I didn't know?"

"This application is classified as Level B and has been processed by Major Kamas is on duty at the time."

Where is he now?

"Major Kamas is currently located on the second level of the Cat Ear Spaceship's bridge."

Captain Regi asked questions as he walked, and by then he had reached the bridge and could see Major Kamas with a gloomy face in the distance.

"Major Kamas, what happened?"

"The situation is still unclear, but it's probably not good news." Seeing Regi's probing gaze, he continued, "You should have a rough idea of the situation by now, right?"

Regi nodded, Major Kamas continued, "Hasmu Squad went there on a mission, a routine cave search. They've done it flawlessly many times before, but this time they encountered a slightly unusual situation. They discovered a passage that descends vertically for about 500 meters."

He recalled for a moment and continued, "Hasmu, out of caution, dared not go down rashly and requested assistance from headquarters. However, the other escort teams all had their own missions, so I ordered him to take the crew members who remained on the Transport Craft and Gunboat down with him, while the ships were taken into Celia's control and placed on standby in the air."

"Immediately afterwards, Hasmu Squad lost contact. However, this is quite normal; interference is severe in the cave, and communication disruptions are common, especially since they still have to go hundreds of meters underground."

"Then, an explosion occurred in their mission area, deep underground. I suspect it was Tactical Nuclear Bomb that Hasmu and his team detonated themselves, because the explosive yield was comparable to that of the Engineer Ant Type II Tactical Nuclear Bomb they were equipped with."

"What? How is this possible? That's a full-strength elite special forces team. What could possibly force them to use Nuclear Bomb?" Regi exclaimed in shock.

"They must be an extremely powerful enemy. They wouldn't have done this if there had been even a sliver of hope, if they hadn't completely given up hope. Using Nuclear Bomb in Underground Cavern, even a low-yield Tactical Nuclear Bomb, would be devastating. Without sufficient depth, they couldn't have survived," Major Kamas sighed.

"Whatever it was, they should all have perished along with the Guard Team by now. I've dispatched two more squads to investigate; hopefully, we can find some useful information."