"What are all of you looking at?" Sharo turned away, his back to them. "Do whatever you intend to do, but this has nothing to do with me. Don't even think about dragging me into it." He waved his hand and flew toward the Cygnus fleet.

"Lord Sharo," a tall, slender Fourth-Level existence called out to him urgently. He had cyan skin covered in fine wrinkles, no nose, but two rows of spiracles on his cheeks.

He spoke, "You participated when we observed this newly appeared Swarm. Your conclusion was the same as ours: this is an extremely dangerous race. They possess nearly infinite development potential, quickly consuming all local resources upon arrival, simultaneously expanding their numbers in a vicious cycle. They also have powerful aggression and combat instincts; they are natural-born weapons of war. A race like this should only exist in theory, but now they are truly before us. If they are not curbed, soon they will develop to a degree that threatens the entire Expeditionary Force."

Sharo stopped, turned back, his eyes holding undisguised contempt, and said in a deep voice, "Are you lecturing me from a pedestal of morality?"

The slender man being watched felt a wave of killing intent wash over him—so potent it felt as if he had plunged into an endless sea of blood, a shadow of death enveloping him. He inwardly cursed, feeling a chilling pressure radiating from his spiritual core, a stark reminder that Sharo's experiences differed vastly from those of many other Fourth-Level existences.

Because Sharo's entire race had been annihilated, he had once immersed himself entirely in the flames of revenge, breaking through the Fourth-Level bottleneck as a result. Sharo was, in essence, an entity filled with deep-seated resentment, extremely self-centered, and utterly indifferent to anything concerning others.

Back then, driven by vengeance, Sharo’s eyes were blood-red, utterly ruthless (though in truth, he had no kin left to care for). He paid no mind to implicating the innocent. Those who died on his path of retribution included not only his enemies but also hundreds of millions of innocents, even those who had once offered him aid. This led Sharo to be regarded as an unapproachable entity for a very long time. He was given the title of the Death God, symbolizing that anyone approaching him was drawing close to their own demise.

However, those who retreat out of fear will never become Fourth-Level beings. Even when facing oppression from stronger entities, they might be cautious or tread carefully, but their core spirit will not waver. "Lord Sharo, surely you understand that the threat these bugs pose is directed at the entire Orion Arm Expeditionary Force. The Cygnus people are part of the Expeditionary Force, are they not?" the slender man continued his persuasion.

"Stop looking for such high-sounding excuses," Sharo roared in a thunderous voice. "You want my people to fight for the entire Orion Arm with just a few persuasive words? Go convince the Garlonians first, and then come talk to me!"

Sharo glared, sending out two beams of gaze as solid as physical objects, which propelled the dissenting Fourth-Level existence millions of kilometers away. He snorted coldly and returned to the Cygnus fleet.

The Cygnus fleet changed course, initiating space jumps one after another, disappearing into hyperspace.

The faces of the assembled Fourth-Level existences were grim. Emperor Sali'an, in particular, wore a cold expression. He gazed toward the direction where the Cygnus fleet vanished and remarked, "Lord Sharo's refusal to join was expected, but we cannot ignore these bugs."

"Then what does the Emperor propose we do now?" The slender man, who had just been sent flying by Sharo's glare, had returned.

"Judging by the appearance of that peak Fourth-Level powerhouse just now, these bugs are far from simple. The True Human Empire withdrew their forces only a little over a month ago, and only half a month has passed since the Hysen Federation fleet encountered trouble. Yet, in this time, they have expanded so rapidly, now possessing over a hundred planets. If we allow them to develop further, they will surely become a grave threat to us."

Emperor Sali'an swept his gaze over the group, pausing momentarily.

"I believe we should prepare on two fronts simultaneously. On one side, we use offense to wipe out their swarms. Although we don't know their home base, this means we cannot eradicate them completely, but an attack will buy us more reaction time. On the other side, we must convene a joint meeting of the various races of the Orion Arm to discuss specific plans for forming an allied force against these bugs."

Emperor Sali'an's words caused others to nod in agreement. The slender man added, "With this approach, the Garlonians will very likely join the encirclement against these bugs, making it much harder for the Cygnus people to remain detached."

Once the collective decision was made, the Fourth-Level existences immediately took action.

As orders were issued, a loose joint fleet began to form. High-ranking military figures from each race gathered to study plans for attacking the Swarm's territory.

Returning to his domain, the Broodfather immediately ordered the Swarm armies to mobilize. Compared to territory spanning over a hundred planets, a Swarm army of one billion did not look overly large—averaging only about ten million per planet. If possible, Yang Ying had hoped to draw out a battle with the Orion Arm races to allow the Swarm to multiply further, but since the enemy had come knocking, there was no choice but to meet the challenge with the current force.

The reason the Swarm's reproductive power was so strong, yet they still faced insufficient troop numbers, was determined by the biological characteristics of the Swarm. Remember, the Swarm's structures and armies were composed entirely of organic matter; they grew, developed, and metabolized, consuming the same pool of resources. If one aspect received more resources, another would receive less.

Whenever a Swarm detachment reached a new planet, their first action was foundational construction—establishing numerous hatcheries to allow the Swarm to take root on the planet. This necessitated concentrating resources on developing more structures in a short period, naturally slowing the growth of military forces.

Furthermore, the Broodmind had only recently emerged from its cocoon, and the expansion operation had only been underway for a short time. In terms of development cycles, they hadn't reached the peak period for mass troop deployment. Moreover, a large portion of the recently hatched units had already been assigned by Yang Ying to Katelyn. Thus, the direct deployable force held by the hundred-plus Broodminds amounted to this figure of one billion, which included a large number of weak combat units like Drone Workers (Swarm farmers).

However, the true terror of the Swarm only manifested in battle. Although the current Swarm forces were still far inferior in scale to the Orion Arm Expeditionary Forces, the Broodfather knew clearly that once the fighting began, the Swarm's eventual victory was inevitable—a certainty determined by the Swarm's inherent, perfect nature.

Meanwhile, in the Orion Arm, tens of thousands of light-years away, in the Kustar star system.

The Kustar people, a mighty race that had dominated the Orion Arm for ten thousand years, were finally seeing their twilight.

Their final defense fleet, built with the entirety of their national strength, collapsed like an avalanche under the assault of the Geostar Joint Fleet. Over two million warships lost their command center, plunging into absolute chaos. Battle reports could not be relayed, and orders could not be issued. Every ship fought alone, supported only by the lingering honor of being Kustar, and the fear of annihilation if they did not win. They continued their final, futile resistance.

The twenty thousand-ship fleet of the Tran Mercenary Corps was part of this Joint Fleet, engaging alongside other allied vessels to mop up the Kustar ships.

The Broodfather sat in the command seat of the flagship Minotaur, having rushed back from the Empire specifically to witness the final battle leading to the fall of the Kustar Empire.

Before him, countless spear-like beams pierced the Kustar fleet. In the distance, the explosions of energy cores flared like twinkling stars, or like beautiful fireworks set off during a grand celebration.

The Kustar people were masters of inventing various weapons; their warships were even more advanced than Geostar vessels. However, this advancement had its limits. The Geostar Joint Fleet possessed an overwhelming numerical superiority that was enough to negate their technological edge.

One hour later, the Kustar fleet, seeing no hope, finally broke apart. The first ship broke away from the battle, followed by seven or eight others, then dozens, then hundreds. The trickle became a flood as large numbers of warships scattered and fled.

Around them, countless fighters, like migrating birds, swarmed to envelop the fleeing vessels. These included Geostar fighters, as well as the Tran Mercenary Corps' Wraith and Viking fighters. Their pervasive attacks forced every Kustar warship to deploy point-defense barrages to minimize incoming damage.

Once the Kustar fleet began its retreat, these fighters intercepted their escape routes, preventing them from entering hyperspace and making the pursuit easier.

At this moment, a continuous series of orange-red light beams erupted from the twenty thousand battlecruiser fleet. These were Yamato Cannons, capable of Energy Level Eight, with a range exceeding that of standard piercing cannons. Against the smaller Kustar ships, one shot turned them to dust. However, larger or super-large warships, with their sturdier shields, required two, three, or even five or six hits to destroy.

This scene was identical to the future vision Yang Ying had witnessed earlier. Back then, under the gaze of his high-level intuition, within the flowing river of time, a single droplet had displayed everything that was happening today.

Now, that droplet was flowing past Yang Ying, moving from before him to behind him, becoming history.

"Lord Broodfather, after routing this wave, the Kustar Empire will breathe its last. Their core world is not far ahead. Shall we press the attack straight to Kustar Prime? What do you think?" Yafay's voice sounded beside the Broodfather's ear.

"I agree, Lord Yafay," the Broodfather replied with a slight smile. "Today, let us witness the demise of the Kustar Empire." (To be continued)H