Leontus carefully scrolled through the Dataslate. The kill counts on it were long enough to make his scalp prickle.
Among all that information, one record in particular stunned him.
Unknown biological tendrils repelled: 1
Biological tendrils?!
The moment the Solar Lord saw that entry, he ordered the Tech-Priests to analyze the Combat Record immediately.
As the complete Combat Record of that space battle unfolded, he finally understood why the swarm had suddenly retreated.
It had been a Leviathan tendril.
All the swarms had arrived following Leviathan.
Its tendrils marked the direction of the swarm's advance.
Repelling a tendril meant the swarm would withdraw immediately.
It was not as though the Imperial Navy had never considered attacking a Leviathan tendril directly to force a swarm invasion back.
But that was almost impossible to accomplish.
Leviathan tendrils appeared deep within The Contested Zone, surrounded by dense swarms of Bio-fleets.
To pinpoint a Leviathan tendril's exact location, they would have to punch through the entire Bio-fleet.
Otherwise, a Blind Jump would only leave the Imperial Fleet surrounded by endless swarm fleets.
Even if a fleet happened to make a Blind Jump near a Leviathan tendril, it would be lucky not to be devoured by the surrounding Bio-ships like canned snacks.
Imperial Ships could not maintain accurate fire while flying through space at high speed the way the Men of Iron fleet could.
Even if they could maintain that speed by sacrificing accuracy, leading the swarm on a wild chase through space would accomplish nothing. Once they plunged into the swarm fleet's encirclement, they certainly could not brutally plow a path through that sea of creatures with their hulls like those bizarre Men of Iron Ships.
This was a tactic the Imperial Fleet could not replicate.
Once he understood the crucial details,