The Sovereign and Main Brains Were Too Useless

"How much longer are you going to keep arguing? Do you think arguing will somehow kill those enemies from the Galactic Alliance?"

A sudden, unfamiliar message appeared in the Sovereign's swarm network. Tracing the source, the Sovereign and the main brains immediately recognized who it was.

It was Lu Shang!

Through the swarm main brain that had come to him for help, Lu Shang connected to the new Sovereign's swarm network.

He had only wanted to get a basic understanding of the battlefield before the planetary lifeforms reached it. Yet not long after connecting, he read report after report showing that the Sovereign's swarm was on the verge of collapse.

Lu Shang bluntly demanded, "I don't have time to waste talking nonsense with you. If you want to turn this around, let me take full command. Also, send me all the intelligence from the previous battles."

Over at the Galactic Alliance's staff headquarters, a considerable commotion suddenly broke out. They discovered that their previously unstoppable advance and excellent situation had turned into something like a quagmire in the blink of an eye. The fleet had not suffered serious losses, but the difficulty of its strategic advance had multiplied severalfold.

It was as though... as though the commander had been replaced.

"Guide all miniature black holes toward the stars, then use all psychic power to withstand the supernova blast. If you survive, hold that position at all costs..."

"Swarms at the Lanna Star garrison point, heed the order. Abandon your positions. Do not hold to the death. The swarm front will contract across the board. There is no point in dying to hold that place..."

"Ignore the Alliance fleet in the direction of the Dida Black Hole. Many of them are outdated warships and cannot contend with Nestworld's psychic power. Their purpose is to block the swarm's escape routes, harass its rear, and divide its main force. The Barada Star direction is where the Galactic Alliance's full offensive is concentrated..."

"All Nestworlds in the Barada Star direction, heed the order. Stop using stars as strategic garrison points. Find nearby massive nebula clusters. The denser the matter in a nebula, the more suitable it is as your new garrison point. Use nebular matter as a natural barrier against black-hole-induced strikes..."

Lu Shang calmly issued orders to the various mobile Nestworlds, having them use nebular matter as garrison points and hold their ground. Nebular matter was a natural barrier against black-hole-induced strikes, forcing the Galactic Alliance fleet to spend far more time removing the swarm's positions in space.

Yet they could not simply leave them alone. Doing so could easily allow the Alliance fleet to be surrounded, so it could only advance step by step, clearing out those positions.

Thus, on a broader scale, the rate of advance visibly slowed.

"Done. Now all that's left is to wait for my swarm to arrive," Lu Shang said casually.

Still, he had to thank the social instincts of the Babel Swarm. If this had been humans, even the best strategic decisions would have been useless in such a situation. Their morale would have collapsed long ago, and they would not have been able to organize themselves at all.

"So... so it's stabilized?" The Sovereign found it hard to believe.

Just moments ago, the front line had been on the brink of total collapse. Yet this string of orders had produced such good results.

"What else did you expect? This wasn't difficult in the first place," Lu Shang said speechlessly.

Since it would still take some time for his planetary lifeforms to arrive, Lu Shang decided to use the remaining time to deal with some internal issues in the Sovereign's swarm.

"Now, let's settle the internal problems. Hmm... honestly, before I arrived, I had already tried my best to underestimate your decision-making abilities. I never expected that I had still overestimated you."

"When you swarm individuals make decisions, do you actually use your brains?"

Hearing Lu Shang's sarcastic question, the main brains did not know how to respond for a moment. After all, the facts were right before them.

The Sovereign chimed in, "You're right, Lu Shang. They're a bunch of incompetent trash."

Lu Shang immediately emphasized in exasperation, "The individuals I'm talking about include you too, Sovereign."

"Huh?" The Sovereign froze.

Lu Shang berated it in a rapid barrage. "What do you mean, 'huh'? Isn't it obvious? You chose these main brains for the swarm. You were the one who blindly picked these incapable ones to make all kinds of decisions for the swarm. What right do you have to blame these main brains? Shouldn't the one you blame most be yourself? Why did you choose them in the first place?"

"Did you ever observe whether these main brains were using their own brains? Is the swarm network there for you to stargaze? That means you definitely don't use your own brain in ordinary times either!"

"A crooked beam makes a crooked roof!"

The barrage left the Sovereign with no idea how to answer, especially that last sentence, which struck with devastating force.

"You!"

"You're right..."

The Sovereign yielded. Compared with Lu Shang, a main brain, and then with the main brains it had chosen itself, they did not seem to be on the same level at all.

"The fact that you can openly admit it means you're not completely beyond saving yet." Lu Shang nodded.

That was genuine praise. Back on Earth, if something really went wrong, what leader would possibly step up to take the blame? It was always some temporary worker.

The fact that the Sovereign could admit that it had chosen the wrong subordinates already put it far ahead of countless decision-makers.

Still, Lu Shang's method of reprimanding the Sovereign was simply too shocking. Nothing like this had ever happened in the swarm's history.

It was the first of its kind, and naturally stirred dissatisfaction among the main brains.

"Main Brain Lu Shang, you should show reverence toward the Sovereign," one main brain said indignantly.

"Did I say it was your turn to speak? Who are you?" Lu Shang immediately turned his barrage on that main brain.

"You think that just because the Sovereign chose you as a main brain, you actually deserve to be called one? Are you proud of leading the swarm into defeat?"

"How do you not even know to spread an intelligence network? You can't even infiltrate the enemy's interior? You just deploy a few scouting swarm individuals in space and call it a day?"

"The Dida Black Hole direction is nothing but a bunch of outdated warships responsible for harassment. Aside from the Colossi, they pose basically no threat to Nestworlds, yet you were scared into this state? And you think you deserve to command the swarm in war? Don't you know how important intelligence is to military operations? Did you fight interstellar wars by opening blind boxes before?"

"Do you know what impression you've given me? Incompetence!"

There was no way to refute him, because it was the truth. The swarm did not have humans who would stubbornly insist they were right just to save face when they clearly knew they were wrong.

Lu Shang paused, then continued, "The enemy has new weapons, so fine, you can't beat them. But do you not even know how to adapt?"

"You know that black-hole-induced strikes can be triggered early by dispersed matter blocking them, yet you don't know to set your garrison points inside nebulae? Why insist on setting them in star systems with vast open spaces? Do you have too many swarm individuals and are rushing to send them to their deaths?"

"You main brains, and you too, Sovereign—not one of you is anything but useless!"