My Children Swarm the Cosmos – Chapter 186

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟖𝟔: 𝐖𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐫 (5)

In each city across the habitable planets of the star system, a dome of machinery, a curtain of artificial intelligence hung like a ceiling. Specific cities were transformed into massive shelters, sanctuaries for non-combatants and various species unable to fight.

“If only the Chimeraz had come. . . if only the Chimeraz had come. . .!”

“Why didn’t they come to Drake first instead of the star system? The Hyraguroa from the Hive Alliance is here too!”

“They said it was strategic. If we let the lower ranks know through communication, the white monsters might hear.”

➖Everyone, evacuate to the shelter!

Mars, the spiritual capital of humanity and the core of the star system, had the largest shelter.

Built since the moment Voyager and the Ycloquasar met at the boundary of the void, the shelters on each planet were large enough to hold the entire human race and various species.

Recognizing the severity of the situation, all nations of humanity switched to the most severe wartime system. All who could fight became soldiers, and corporations with assets turned to producing munitions or weapons.

The Hyraguroa, who had already come from the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy as refugees, brought only their warriors, so nearly the entire species, save the queen and a few close attendants, had been thrown into the war.

The Aooa, inexperienced in war and battles, nevertheless contributed all the troops they could spare.

The armies from each of the external stellar nations and planetary nations gathered in the star system were organized under the UNF, and the existing Solar System Union forces were also organized under the UNF, drastically unifying the complicated chain of command.

The vast numbers that the gathered forces of all the nations and the neighboring galaxies had boasted at first were gone, and currently, the planets other than Mars were being invaded by Ycloquasar ground troops across their surfaces.

The official AI enforcer of the UNF, Hyper Mind, calmly reported the extremely unfavorable war situation.

➖There are four artificial planets remaining. On the other hand, there are still 15 Ycloquasar War Harvesters. The weapons deployed to the surfaces of Mercury, Venus, Ganymede, Europa, and Titan are on average expanding the front lines by approximately 300km per hour, destroying armies and cities.

➖The UNF’s flagship, Eirene, which was the central point in space, was sunk as soon as the invasion began, and it is impossible to recover.

We have been at war with the Ycloquasar for three days now.

No, we have been resisting them.

➖According to the simulation, the star system will not survive past today if the current situation continues.

With the exception of the machine curtains protecting each planet’s shelters, the machine curtains in space or on the battlefield have long been depleted.

The more advanced human UNF fleet countered the War Harvesters’ spatial attacks with spatial erasers of their own, operating phase assault shells and weapons, but honestly, there was no chance of victory on their side.

With Lopez gone, the leader who could speak with the loudest voice among all the nations of humanity was Sheamus Pollan, the stellar president of the Defaulstellay stellar nation.

➖Not surviving past today means. . . does it mean that the Local Group will meet its end today?

➖That will be the case if the current situation remains unchanged.

➖Is there a strategy to overcome the current situation with the star system’s own power?

➖There is no effective strategy.

➖Not a single one?

➖The means necessary for war, such as armies, nuclear weapons, military bases, and shipyards, have been largely depleted. Therefore, if the current situation remains unchanged, the star system will not be able to repel the 15 War Harvesters with its own power.

The queen of the Hyraguroa was enraged.

➖Do you know how many of my children I left behind in the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy? We came to the Human Galaxy because we judged that there was no chance of winning there. . . If we cannot defeat them even after joining forces here, what was the point of all those who have died so far!

On the other hand, Dracatarr the Crolr monarch remained calm.

➖Let us calm down. Didn’t the Chimeraz report victories from Hecartra and Drake? Let us not give up hope, believing that they will soon come to the star system and join forces with us.

➖Crolr! Even if you hadn’t suppressed us Hyraguroa, we would have had a larger army today. . .

The queen stopped herself in the middle of her sentence.

Dracatarr the Crolr apologized, and the queen forgave him. The animosity between the Crolr and the Hyraguroa had been cleared, and both sides had even promised to remember the past but draw a brighter future together.

However, the queen saw all of those past events and herself becoming furious, overcome with emotion.

➖. . . I got too worked up. I apologize.

➖No, you have seen this war situation, even after giving up so many members of your species and coming here, so I understand how you feel right now.

However, a gloomy, dangerous, and unfavorable situation is our current reality. More people will die in the future, and if nothing changes in this situation before the end of today, everyone will die.

Nevertheless, the emperor of the Aooa emphasized.

➖I can accept that we cannot defeat them with our own power, no matter how coldly we judge it. However, the citizens, the people, the civilians, the children of all of us gathered in the star system right now must be trembling with even greater anxiety and fear than we are.

➖If even we, the leaders representing each species, are consumed by anxiety and fear, we will be erasing with our own hands what little hope we had.

➖Therefore, even if everyone else despairs, we must never despair. We must not let go of hope until the very moment we die, as emperors, presidents, queens, monarchs, leaders.

➖Let us abandon the idea of enduring until someone comes to help us. Even if the analysis comes out that we cannot defeat the enemies with our own power in the star system, who knows?

➖Who knows if they will suddenly retreat, if some weakness of theirs that we didn’t know about will be revealed, if some change will occur without our knowledge?

➖According to the Chimeraz’ warning, the enemies were capable of attacking by confining star systems and planets and altering time. But for some reason, the enemies are not doing that right now, doesn’t that mean that our side is increasing our chances of winning somewhere we don’t know about? Isn’t that right? Hyper Mind.

➖That is correct. Also, the defeat I have told you about is only a predicted outcome if the current situation remains unchanged. External, unspecified variables cannot be taken into account.

And in that moment, Pollan, who had become the provisional representative of humanity, asked a powerful question to strengthen their resolve.

➖Is there anyone here who has not experienced the threat of extinction for their species?

Humans, the Aooa, the Hyraguroa, the Crolr. In addition to them, everyone gathered in the star system right now had experienced a threat of extinction and overcome numerous trials. And they had all become renowned species in the Local Group today.

🔷🔷🔷

The people gathered in the star system held on to the hope that had begun to waver and continued to fight.

Before long, a dramatic change occurred in the war situation facing the star system. The Ycloquasar weapons, whose energy output had been continuously weakening, weakened even further.

The blue lightning that had been destroying armies and civilizations weakened to the point that it could only annihilate a single region. The red laser that had been carving up Uranus and the artificial planets weakened to the point that its power only reached from the surface to geostationary orbit.

The spatial attacks deployed by the War Harvesters, which had been annihilating dozens of fleets every second, were reduced in scope to the point that they could only destroy a few ships every second.

So it was true that the Ycloquasar were still unilaterally destroying the star system’s armies, but the fact that the speed of their destruction had slowed down meant that there was a problem with their energy usage.

➖Human commander! Help us approach!

➖What are you trying to do?!

➖We’re sick and tired of the ground battles and fleet battles up to now! It’s time to strike the War Harvesters! We’re going in ourselves since there are no nuclear weapons left anyway!

The fleet of the Crolr monarch approached one of the War Harvesters, receiving shield support and spatial distortion support from the UNF fleet.

That War Harvester was the one at the very front among the War Harvesters approaching Jupiter.

The red laser destroyed the Crolr ships, and several more spaces closed in, causing the Crolr aircraft to inflate like balloons before exploding.

Nevertheless, the Crolr assault ships that had successfully approached to an effective distance landed on the snowy white surface of the War Harvester and lowered their four legs.

➖You think you’re the only ones with Colossuses?!

Keying! Thud!

The Crolr Colossuses descended from the assault ships and targeted the Phenomenon Tuners on the snowy white surface.

➖Colossus unit! Activate!

➖Annihilate the enemies!

The numerous Phenomenon Tuners that served as the War Harvester’s cannons were now facing the Crolr ground forces that had descended onto the surface.

Thanks to that, the fleet facing the War Harvester was hit less frequently by the red laser, and that allowed the Hyraguroa corps to deploy their aircraft.

➖Open the way with your bodies!

Hundreds of millions of moth-like Hyraguroa aircraft approached the War Harvester while avoiding the red laser and the closed spaces.

In the meantime, the UNF fleet in the rear, which was in charge of various support and firepower, opened their main cannons. The artificial intelligence systems aboard their fleet accurately calculated the areas on the War Harvester’s surface where there were no Crolr Colossuses and drew beams of light of various colors.

Then, as the Hyraguroa aircraft surrounded the War Harvester and conducted a concentrated bombardment, the Crolr on the surface fired antimatter grenades, causing mushroom clouds and hot shockwaves.

In other words, the ground battles that the Local Group species had known up to now had finally become a reality.

The leaders decided not to think about how many sacrifices had been made until this kind of ground battle became a reality.

If they thought about that, they felt like they would lose the hope they had barely managed to grasp.

🔷🔷🔷

A gigantic city on Mars where the evacuation had been completed.

The entirety of Olympus UN was floating the machine curtain like a cloud above it. This entire gigantic city was the largest shelter in the star system.

The gigantic city, which had taken in more people than usual, had its roads paralyzed and its buildings turned into places to sleep.

The Darwin Foundation, which had moved to the star system, produced food in cooperation with the Ririm, and the streets everywhere became straight lines of plazas distributing food and necessities.

The Aooa musicians were singing songs in an environment where they had to conserve even the electricity they could use for music.

“AaaaooooOaaaA. . .”

There were people distributing food near the distribution center where their song could be heard.

“What should I give to the Aooa?”

“They’re 100% carnivores. Something like fish.”

“Are those insect-like species over there the Hyraguroa?”

“No, all of the Hyraguroa have been deployed to the war. The insect species generally eat anything, so you can give them anything. . . Wait, over there, those are. . .”

“Those are Hyraguroa larvae. Look, they have oxygen tanks strapped to their backs.”

“Ah. . . It looks like the queen laid eggs here in a hurry too.”

“Why do the Hyraguroa lay eggs during a war?”

“Because it’s a war.”

“They’re coming this way.”

Rustle. . . Rustle. . .

The larvae, which had short bodies that were about as tall as the lower half of a human’s body, spoke in the Hyraguroa language.

“Hakagkaghakaghak. . .”

The larvae lifted their heads up high and moved their jaws. In the meantime, the electronic devices embedded in the human brain translated the language.

“Oh, they’re saying they’re hungry. . .”

Even though they looked like insects, they were surprisingly endearing because of how big they were, how round they were overall, and that they were young larvae.

These larvae would soon grow up and be immediately deployed to the war or become future members of the Hyraguroa species. Since they grew up that quickly, they also ate a lot.

“Hurry up and get those things out.”

They took out protein powder and edible chitin powder from a transparent refrigerator, poured it into a rectangular container, and placed it on the backs of the larvae.

Clatter.

The joints on the backs of the larvae folded deftly, securing the rectangular container.

“Kihek. . . Lrakharg. . .”

“What is it?”

“Thank you. We will eat quickly and grow up to fight.”

It was impossible not to feel a sense of pity.

“They’re just. . . kids, born not too long ago.”

Many people were distributing food to the various species. Whether they were human or not, everyone was in a refugee situation, helping each other.

Wooooosh. . .

A ship that had been completed at a nearby shipyard was ascending into the sky. How long would that ship endure before being shot down? Were there soldiers or humanoids on that ship?

Everyone endured, watching those who went out to fight and thinking such thoughts, and this time, hope would never abandon them.

“The Quakacor and the Chimeraz are here. . .!”

“Reinforcements came from Drake!”

Starting with that voice in the stagnant air, everyone changed drastically.

There was no Believer, no Reptured, no regular Drake army, or artificial intelligence army.

It was just a corps.

The Chimeraz corps led by Kreion and the 11 leaders, and the Quakacor corps led by Empress Karcon, had arrived in the star system.

That was less than 5 hours after the news that they had defeated the Ycloquasar in Drake had spread. They had come all the way to the star system without even regrouping after their victory in Drake.

Nazar hurriedly reported to Kreion.

➖All 15 War Harvesters are moving away. It seems that they are attempting to retreat, just as the Believers said.

Then Ludwig spoke.

➖I and the leaders will take control of the group. . .

Lastly, Empress Karcon spoke.

➖I will inform the allied fleets in the star system to stand down. So that our allies will not be caught up in the ruler’s power. . .

Before long, the entire star system was closed off.

The starlight coming from outside disappeared, causing it to become pitch black, and those fighting in the star system thought that this was the Ycloquasar’s time attack that the Chimeraz had warned them about, and they fell into chaos.

Many of them thought that the Ycloquasar had resorted to such a weapon because of the appearance of the Chimeraz and the Quakacor, and they remained silent at the change in the cosmic phenomenon.

The fact that the star system had become a closed space must have been terrifying for those who had never experienced it before.

However, it was not the Ycloquasar that was confining the star system right now, but Kreion.

➖Master. I have confirmed that all 15 War Harvesters are trapped inside the star system.

Kreion had trapped them.

And he rotated the entire space confining the star system.

The Ycloquasar entered the Chimeraz’s wave network and shouted.

➖Kreion. . .!

‘I am here. Come and harvest me.’

Kreion revealed his location to them. However, the Ycloquasar did not rush to harvest Kreion.

It suspected that this was also Kreion’s trap. Their experience of Karcon’s wave in the Andromeda galaxy and using Lopez, who contained the Transcendencer, as bait in front of them made them hesitate for a moment about harvesting.

‘Ycloquasar.’

Now his voice was thrown at the Ycloquasar in the wave network.

‘. . .Are you afraid of me?’

➖. . .!

Although no sound was heard, Kreion realized that the Ycloquasar was afraid. After all, the Ycloquasar in the wave network also communicated with waves, and Kreion, who dominated such waves, could see through all of their vague emotions.

‘If you will not come, I will go to you.’

The Euryales opened their mouths.

And they shot something out. Those brightly flashing spheres moved through space at speeds faster than light, as if they were teleporting, towards several War Harvesters, causing a tremendous roar.

➖You. . . Just what are you. . .?

The 15 War Harvesters distorted space in an attempt to block the flashing spheres flying towards them.

At that moment, Empress Karcon shouted into the communication network in a commanding tone.

➖Humans! Crolr! Help the ruler!

The allied fleets that heard the empress’s communication had no time to ask questions or make judgments.

The UNF fleet and the monarch’s fleet, which had enormous energy output, unfolded their gravitational fields and restored the space distorted by the Ycloquasar to its original state.

Immediately afterwards, the flashing spheres hit 11 of the War Harvesters, penetrating each War Harvester and causing their shapes to become distorted from the inside by the enormous gravity.

Among them, the shapes of 5 War Harvesters became too severely distorted inwards relative to the mass they had, causing their round surfaces to collapse and shatter into large fragments.

➖To use that. . .

The flashing spheres that had just been fired from the mouths of the Euryale swarm and had destroyed 5 War Harvesters.

They were ultra-small neutron stars made of dark matter.

➖That’s something a young being like you could never operate. . . It is the weapon of the ancestors. . .

‘Why didn’t you use this excellent weapon?’

➖What do you mean?

‘You must have thought that even beings from the Local Group would not be able to engage in combat with you, just as they have done up until now, right? And so you have fallen into complacency and laziness, thinking that you would be able to win without using such weapons?’

It was a remark that pointed out their flaws bluntly.

‘You were complacent.’

‘You were lazy.’

➖How do you know such old sayings. . .

‘From the distant past to today, they still apply.’

Kreion, who was at the heart, reached out his hand into the void and very slowly clenched his fist.

At that moment, the remaining 10 War Harvesters were each trapped in their own spaces.

In addition, the entire space confining the star system rotated.

➖Kreion. . .!

‘You are all dying from making the wrong choice.’

It was a capital punishment that Kreion sentenced the Ycloquasar to.

It was also divine punishment.

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