“I feel like we’ve made some kind of mistake,” Hamis murmured.


    “This scene feels eerily familiar. I think I’ve figured out how the star in the T81 Star System started dimming.”


    Izumo is far more important than we ever imagined.”


    “Don’t dwell on it. Even if we’d known earlier, there’s nothing we could have done.”


    “Exactly. Izumo’s environment makes it impossible to set up extensive defensive systems. Our fleet alone is no match for the assault of 8,000 500-meter-ss Space Octopuses.”


    “Do we currently have any chance to eliminate the Swarm near Izumo?” another officer asked.


    “The chances are slim. While our previous efforts did eliminate many Space Octopuses under 100 meters in size, the losses among the 500-meter-ss units were minimal. Right now, we can only deploy around 2,000 warships—not enough to defeat them.”@@novelbin@@


    “I reviewed thetest reconnaissance footage. Many of those 500-meter-ss Space Octopuses appear to be in poor condition. The Swarm’s situation might be worse than we think. I believe we should take the opportunity to strike,” Alcer suggested.


    “I disagree with Alcer. We still don’t fully understand what these creatures are. Is it not possible they’re deliberately presenting this weakened state to lure us in? What if they’ve already set a trap?”“That’s a valid point. But are we just going to sit and watch?”


    “There’s really not much we can do,” another officer sighed.


    “This is not worth debating,” Antonio concluded. “Even if we eliminate the weakened 500-meter-ss Space Octopuses, over 4,000 of them would still remain. At that scale, our fleet could engage them in battle but couldn’t force them out. Even if we destroy a portion of them, it won’t meaningfully impact the overall war, and the risk to our warships would be far too high. It’s simply not worth the gamble.”


    “Then we’ll have to stay on the defensive for now. It seems the Swarm isn’t in a rush to attack either,” another officer observed.


    “Gentlemen, it’s now up to you. If there’s anything you need, just let me know,” Antonio said.


    After a brief silence, one major general spoke up, “If we could miniaturize theser defense arrays and equip them on our warships, it would significantly improve ourbat capabilities.”


    “I agree. Solving this issue would indeed provide a substantial boost to our firepower,” another added.


    “Very well. I’ll push the research division to prioritize this project and allocate manpower and resources ordingly,” Antonio promised.


    To the Rikens’ surprise, the Swarm didn’t take long to recover. The Primordial bodies, replenished with metal elements, resumed operations. While orbiting Izumo to absorb energy, they also mounted electromaic railguns and began firing toward the Twin Star Defensive Zone.


    The region between Izumo and the Twin Star Defensive Zone wasrgely unobstructed. What few obstacles there were—neutral structures incapable of evasion—were swiftly obliterated by sessive railgun salvos. These stationary targets were easy to predict and eliminate with precise calctions.


    The Swarm’s relentless bombardment signaled that their counteroffensive had already begun, leaving the Rikens with little time to prepare for the storm that was about to descend.


    The advantages of kic weaponry were fully evident at this moment. In the near-vacuum environment of space, as long as there were no obstructions or gravitational interference, electromaic projectiles could theoretically travel an infinite distance.


    Whenunched from Izumo’s orbit, the projectiles fired by the Swarm’s railguns took several days to reach the Twin Star Defensive Zone. Hitting mobile fleet units was out of the question, and even slow-moving targets like orbital cannons were difficult to strike. However, fixed targets like ground-basedser defense arrays andary artillery instations were well within reach.


    Through optical observation and sessive test firings, the Swarm railguns gradually improved their uracy. With adjustments for additional parameters, the electromaic projectiles achieved a respectable hit rate.


    Were it not for theser defense arrays, the immobile ground facilities of the Rikens would likely have been eroded away over time. Though unable to deal significant damage to the Riken instations, the railgun bombardment still served other purposes.


    For the Space Octopuses,unching railgun projectiles was rtively inexpensive, consuming only moderate amounts of energy, metal elements, and a small degree of body tissue wear.


    Here, the strengths of biotechnology shone. The cells that aged or sustained significant damage during the process were quickly metabolized and reced with new ones, allowing the railguns to maintain a steady rate of fire without interruption.


    On the Riken side, the constant harassment fire from the Swarm was maddening. On average, around 10,000 electromaic projectiles rained down on their defensive lines every ten minutes.


    This forced the Riken defensive interception systems to remain active at all times. While the rtively small number of projectiles meant only a limited number ofser arrays had to be operational simultaneously, the Swarm’s continuous, unrelenting attacks strained the system heavily.


    Though the Rikens rotated theirser arrays for rest and maintenance to avoid wear from high-intensity usage, the frequent operation led to elerated aging of many precisionponents, necessitating regr repairs and recements.


    Meanwhile, the Swarm’s forces around Izumo continued to grow. Reinforcements of Primordial bodies from the Neighboring Star System were routed to Raze for minor repairs before being deployed to Izumo’s vicinity.


    Additionally, Primordial bodies recovering near the “cosmic battery” of Izumo showed rapid recuperation. Units with lighter injuries prioritized restoring their railgun functions, joining the bombardment effort even before their propulsion systems were fully operational.


    Mature bodies also rapidly evolved, ascending to join the Primordial ranks. Meanwhile, the surfaces of Izumo’s moons were increasingly covered with the Swarm’s purple-gray fungal carpets.


    These carpets gave rise to ground-based electromaic railgun emcements. While akin toary artillery, theck of atmospheric interference allowed these satellite-based cannons to participate effectively in long-range bombardment.


    Within a year, the number of electromaic projectilesunched every ten minutes doubled to 20,000. This development ced an even greater strain on the Riken defenses, exacerbating their already precarious situation.


    “In summary,” reported a Riken major general, “8% of ourser defense arrayponents need recement every three days, 14% every seven days, and the remaining 78%,prisingrger, castponents, are at risk of wear-rted failure. While theserger parts don’t require frequent recement, their gradual degradation poses a hidden risk. Ideally, they should be reced annually, which is essentially equivalent to rebuilding an entire defensive array.”


    “Therge castponents aren’t much of an issue,” another officer added. “Our space factories can easily produce them, using asteroids as raw material. The real problem lies with the frequently reced precisionponents. Their manufacturing is highlyplex, requiring the facilities of the homeworld or the first and second colonies. On top of that, transportation logistics are cumbersome, consuming vast amounts of our resources.”


    The Rikens’ officers furrowed their brows in unison.