The Tone

Rowan's new unit designs are mostly in the conceptual stage. There are still many problems to be solved before they can be truly born, step onto the battlefield, and be shown to the world.

The most crucial element is a more efficient energy system.

The Swarm's space forces, and combat units below the Ancient Class, primarily rely on their own energy storage cells to store energy due to their size and other factors.

Although these energy storage cells have undergone several version optimizations, resulting in energy storage capacity far exceeding the original version and significantly increasing the combat radius and combat time of Larval Form and Mature Form, they are still insufficient to support the Space Octopus's unrestrained long-range firepower.

Therefore, smaller Larval Form are generally not equipped with long-range weapons, while larger Mature Form are only equipped with secondary gun-level long-range attack weapons.

The Ancient Class, on the other hand, is equipped with Atomic Furnace. The continuous Controlled Fusion allows them to provide a constant source of energy for the Ancient Class. In the early stages, this was sufficient to support all the needs and activities of the Swarm.

However, as the intensity of the war and the level of the opponents continued to increase, the once invincible Atomic Furnace also encountered a constraint: its output power per unit time could not support the simultaneous operation of multiple turrets. If the Ancient Class wanted to add more turrets, it would have to add more Atomic Furnace, but this would inevitably make the Ancient Class's body bloated.

While it's not impossible to do this— the Swarm army includes Ancient Class units over a kilometer in length, equipped with multiple Atomic Furnace and even more turrets—it's more cost-effective to build more Ancient Class units around 500 meters long for the same amount of time.

This not only dispersed the risks but also made the troops more robust and flexible.

The Swarm's previous adversaries, whether the Meto Civilization or the Telo Civilization, all used energy systems based on Controlled Fusion. The only difference was the degree of optimization; there was no fundamental distinction.

However, many of the enemies that have arrived this time come from the central region of the Star Sea Alliance's power structure. These civilizations have a longer history, which allows them to accumulate more points to exchange for technology or to conduct their own research.

Some of these civilizations' conventional warships didn't have significantly more captains than others, but they carried several times more turrets. Achieving this wasn't simply a matter of adding Controlled Fusion platforms.

They were able to do this because they had taken a step further in their energy system, achieving a qualitative leap.

During the first invasion of the Duoqi Civilization, in order to buy the Duoqi Civilization more time to evacuate, the Koya Alliance laid a type of Dark Mine against warp-speed travel along the Swarm's flight path.

Subsequent research by Intellect revealed that this Dark Mine used a new energy system— Dark Matter and Dark Energy.

This new energy system caught Rowan's attention, and he assigned some Intellect to study it. However, at that time, most of the Intellect had already been transferred by Rowan to study the metal spheres and Negative Energy of Bodi Planet, resulting in a slight shortage of manpower on the Dark Energy side.

In addition, the Dark Energy system was a new discipline for the Swarm, and progress was slow from scratch. Later, as the number of Intellect increased, the number of people researching Dark Energy gradually increased.

However, the new Intellect have not undergone sufficient time to mature, and their knowledge base is somewhat lacking. Secondly, the Dark Energy system is not a subject that can be tackled simply by having more people; it is a discipline that has taken many races and civilizations tens of thousands of years to develop. Even an established Outer-Ring Civilizations, which produced Dark Mine in the past, could only achieve the simple task of detonating them.

As a young force, it's unrealistic for the Swarm to conquer it in a hundred years or even a few decades, even with cheat codes. To achieve the same level of deep utilization as the established Mid-Ring Civilizations is like the distance between an atomic bomb and Controlled Fusion device.

However, after Rowan transferred some senior Intellect who studied Negative Energy over, the research progressed significantly, but there is still some gap before it is ready for practical application.

Fortunately, this was a stroke of luck. If they could disassemble some physical objects, it would greatly accelerate the research progress of the Intellect. As for whether they could obtain the objects, Rowan was not worried. Whether it was on the battlefield or with the contributions of their "own people" in the rear of the Coalition Army, there would always be a way.

When the Swarm has its own Dark Energy power system, many of Rowan's ideas will enter the practical stage, which will surely make this war more evenly matched and exciting.

The discussion among the Blade continues.

"According to predictions, when the Star Sea Coalition Army reaches our defense line, our forces will have a maximum strength of five billion. Although this number is nearly double that of the Coalition Army, the outcome of the simulated battle is still not optimistic."

One of the Blade shook his head. "Saying it's not optimistic is already an extremely optimistic statement. The reality is, we're very likely to suffer a crushing defeat."

"We must change. If we only defend in this war, we will be too passive. We must take the initiative and buy time for our reinforcements."

"That's right. While being backed by a star system provides many defensive facilities, it also leaves no room for maneuver and restricts movement in combat."

"The enemy has 3 billion troops, and our side has 5 billion, for a total of 8 billion troops. They are being deployed across nine star systems to fight. The great battle will destroy the entire star system."

"Those planets and moons are one thing, but stars are important supply depots for our front lines. If the battlefield is too close to them, it will be very disadvantageous for us."

"Then what should we do? Should we follow that Koya Alliance and retreat voluntarily? Trading space for time?"

"That's not a good idea. The Coalition Army have different objectives than us. Even if we give up space, it might not be enough to delay them."

"That's right. It's only about 20 light-years away from the Royal Court. If we can't stop the Coalition Army's momentum, 20 light-years isn't a long distance."

"For the glory of the Overlord and the Swarm, we must stop them on the current border!"

"Holding out is pointless; I suggest we take the initiative."

"Are you crazy? We're already at a disadvantage, and you want to divide our forces?"

"I agree with taking the initiative. Defending is too passive. Our firepower is far inferior to that of the Coalition Army. Fighting a positional war will only lead to our demise."

"Agreed to take the initiative."

"I agree with taking the initiative."

"..."

Soon, most of the Blade agreed to take the initiative and attack.

"Since everyone agrees on taking the initiative, let's discuss in detail how we should do it." With everyone in agreement, Sarah spoke, setting the strategic tone.

However, this is not something that can be Coalition Army by simply opening one's mouth and shouting slogans. Before expressing or supporting a certain viewpoint, the Blade must have had some plan in mind, which is why they showed their inclination. Now that the tone has been set, they all started to offer their advice and strategies.