The small, azure-colored Computer Sting was swallowed whole by Dragreder in just a few bites.
Though tiny, the threat posed by this bug was tangible.
Its ability alone—to command all the True Stings of the entire star system and arrange them tactically—was enough reason to alarm anyone.
The Swarm was already exceedingly difficult to eradicate. Coupled with strategic leadership, it could easily become a catastrophic disaster on a cosmic scale.
However, once Dragreder had eliminated this Computer Sting, all the Swarm throughout the star system fell into complete disarray.
They lost their former coordination, their carefully orchestrated tactics unraveling into chaos.
With its inherent intelligence, Dragreder effortlessly wiped out the majority of the Swarm within the stellar region.
As for the scattered few that remained, Dragreder didn't even bother to pursue them.
"If we've truly removed the Computer Sting, then this star system could be considered a bit safer now."
However, although it was called safer, there wasn't much left in this star system anymore.
Nearly all the planets had already been thoroughly devoured by the Swarm, leaving nothing behind but endless space.
This was the horror of the Swarm.
A single Computer Sting had turned a thriving star system completely barren.
And within this swarm-infested region, such Computer Stings were beyond counting.
Not to mention, deeper still lurked three Envoy-class bugs.
The disaster those three could wreak undoubtedly surpassed that of mere Computer Stings.
But most critically, even deeper within was Titania—an unstable factor.
"I guess I can only say my objective remains incomplete, and there's still a long way to go," Sora sighed with emotion.
Nevertheless, his intention to save others was unquestionably correct.
"Ao~" (After finishing them, I feel these small bugs are rather bland now.)
After digesting, Dragreder floated to Sora's side and said this.
"You've started getting picky now, have you?"
"Never! I'm definitely not picky," Dragreder replied defensively, but its voice softened: "It's just that after eating that blue bug, my nose can keep smelling something similar."
"That delicious scent makes me lose all appetite for regular food. I desperately want to eat another one right away."
Sora's eye twitched upon hearing this.
If his memory served correctly, hadn't Dragreder just eaten?
You've been eating non-stop this whole time! Where does this "loss of appetite" come from?
Wait a minute!
After hearing Dragreder's words, Sora suddenly realized something important.
"You're saying you can smell something extremely similar to that Computer Sting?!"
It was pure luck that Titania's cavalry had encountered this Computer Sting earlier.
Without that stroke of fortune, even if Sora managed to rescue every planet in this region, he'd likely never have found it.
Yet now, Dragreder could detect its scent. That was certainly a crucial discovery.
"Yes, it smells delicious—almost like roasted meat."
Excitedly, Dragreder leaned its massive head closer to Sora's face and enthusiastically suggested: "Right! Let's go eat some grilled meat together!"
It no longer had any intent to intimidate Sora. The human before it was a genuinely good person—a top-tier benefactor who allowed Dragreder to eat continuously.
It even felt an urge to protect Sora properly.
"Don't rush. I've got an idea." Sora took out his phone.
With the Swarm thinned out enough to stop blocking the signals, he could finally communicate with the outside world again.
He had an idea—one that might solve the current Swarm disaster once and for all.
...
"What surprises me, former director Jobs, is that you privately organized another meeting right after this morning's meaningless gathering."
"Director Jobs, are you planning to go solo? If that's the case, do inform me—I might want to buy some shares!"
The participants invited to this private meeting teased Jobs, who had convened them.
The Interastral Peace Corporation's formal meeting had only just concluded, yet Jobs used his connections to bring these individuals together again.
"I appreciate everyone's concern. However, the reason I've invited you all here is still to discuss how to resolve this insect disaster."
Once these words were uttered, the meeting atmosphere instantly slackened.
Even the main company had been dragging their feet; what could you alone accomplish?
"Let me ask everyone a question," Sora, participating in the meeting via hologram, suddenly spoke up. "If we disregard Computer Stings entirely, how difficult would it be to exterminate ordinary True Sting?"
"Regular True Stings aren't particularly troublesome," someone immediately countered Sora's conditions. "But you know such a massive Swarm disaster can't exist without Computer Stings."
Indeed, how could a calamity spanning several hundred light-years not contain Computer Stings? His premise was flawed from the very beginning.
"Please rest assured. Since we're suggesting this, we definitely have a method to handle the Computer Stings."
Robin stepped in to support Sora, continuing calmly: "If we could eliminate the Computer Stings that grant the Swarm its strategic capabilities, would you all have a solution to clean up the remaining True Sting?"
Robin's words made everyone in attendance start to reconsider.
Why was the Swarm so tough to combat? Precisely because Computer Stings were so elusive.
Sometimes they could be easily exterminated, yet other times they survived even after their entire swarm was destroyed.
Who told these Computer Stings to have no clearly identifiable characteristics, anyway?
But conversely, if the Computer Sting could easily be eradicated—
Then the remaining creatures would simply become ordinary Swarm drones that could only proliferate.
Preventing proliferation wasn't particularly difficult; plenty of weapons existed that could reduce these drones into cosmic dust before they even had the chance to split.
"If the only things left are ordinary drones randomly flying around, then our Third Mechanical Nebula might indeed offer some assistance."
A mechanical being marked with three gear-shaped insignias addressed Robin and Jobs:
"We possess a weapon capable of atomically agitating targets until they spontaneously combust at the atomic level—perfectly suited for dealing with proliferative Swarm."
"The Third Mechanical Nebula isn't far from this Swarm disaster zone. If you decide to deploy these weapons, I can deliver them to your current coordinates within ten system hours."
"But I must clarify that unlike explosive ordnance, this weapon's effective range is limited to roughly several thousand meters."
After confirming its capabilities, the mechanical being also listed the weapon's limitations: "To combat a Swarm disaster of this magnitude, the number of ships required to deploy these weapons would be alarmingly high."
The weapons were extremely effective against Swarm, but their restrictions were equally significant.
All of Sora's ships were already dedicated to transporting refugees; he simply didn't have enough spare vessels.
"We could carry the weapons ourselves and soar through space," Hotaru quietly whispered to Sora, "but that's hardly a real solution."
The Iron Cavalry warriors could indeed fly in space with the weapons, but their numbers were far too limited.
Moreover, a portion of their forces would need to remain dedicated to protecting the refugee transport ships from the Swarm's attacks.
A realistic yet difficult problem lay clearly before Sora:
Manpower and ships.
"It's been a long time, Mr. Jobs. You seem to have aged considerably compared to decades ago."
Right then, a voice suddenly spoke up from the side. "If you lack ships, I can offer some assistance."
Sora turned his gaze over and immediately recognized the person who spoke.
A famously renowned member of the Genius Society, known as the Mechanical Aristocrat—Screwllum.
"Planet Screwllum can rapidly produce some emergency-use spacecraft. If they're only required to mount a single weapon type, it should be manageable."
Jobs was also visibly surprised to see Screwllum appearing here.
He'd previously conducted some business with this figure, but hadn't expected him to accept his invitation this time.
"I've spoken with Ratio regarding the current Swarm crisis. According to him, the Corporation has yet to present a viable solution, so perhaps we should trust those still fighting on the frontline instead."
Screwllum revealed his reason for joining the meeting. He had some connections within the Intelligentsia Guild, naturally gaining access to their internal discussions.
"Conclusion: Even if this attempt fails, it will provide insights for subsequent strategies."
After finishing, Screwllum's gaze shifted suddenly towards Sora. "I must say, Mr. Sora is indeed exactly as Dr. Ratio described."
Hearing these words, confusion arose in Sora's heart.
They had only met once before; had Dr. Ratio already formed an opinion of him?
Then what kind of assessment had the man he'd once respectfully addressed as "godfather" given him?!
Sora couldn't help but feel curious. Could it be about how handsome and dashing he was, or perhaps his boundless bravery?
Thinking carefully, it did feel a bit exciting!
Meanwhile, Screwllum gazed at Sora, recalling exactly what Ratio had said about him:
"He's an idiot—but in terms of execution, he far exceeds those incompetents in the IPC."
Mechanical beings could bravely charge forward because even if their physical bodies were destroyed, they wouldn't truly die as long as their core chips and data remained intact.
But humans were different. Humans, with their fragile flesh and blood bodies, appeared extremely frail compared to mechanical beings.
Yet from this extremely frail species, individuals would still charge fearlessly onto the frontline against the Swarm.
Truly, humanity was filled with infinite possibilities; otherwise, how could such individuals even exist?
Now that two people had stepped forward in this private meeting, others gradually began making their decisions as well.
Some chose to provide supplies; others pledged weapons…
Once the meeting ended, Jobs expressed his gratitude to all participants.
"It seems like we're making faster progress here compared to the Corporation," Jobs remarked with a smile toward Sora.
Indeed, while the Corporation was still bogged down in internal disagreements, Sora had already begun preparations to eliminate the True Sting Swarm.
Their progress was undoubtedly far swifter than the Corporation's.
"But although we now have ships and weapons, we still lack people." Without pilots, who would fly the ships?
Yet upon hearing Sora's words, Jobs and Robin simply laughed.
"Manpower is precisely the one thing we have in abundance right now."
The refugees, who had finally recovered from their earlier panic, were now filled with righteous fury toward the Swarm.
If given the chance to join the operation to eradicate the Swarm, probably more than seventy percent of them would eagerly participate.
And besides, the crisis wasn't over yet. A continuous flow of refugees was still being rescued even now.
Their manpower was, quite literally, at an all-time high!
"So go ahead boldly and seek out the Computer Sting, Sora," Robin said warmly. "Leave the regular True Sting to us."
She paused briefly, adding softly, "But remember—you have to take care of yourself."
With that, the communication was terminated.
Sora lowered his phone and lay back atop the invisible Dragreder, staring silently at the endless stars scattered across the distant horizon.
After an indeterminate amount of time, a faint smile appeared on his face.
Truthfully, he'd never imagined this scenario unfolding the way it had.
Yet the outcome had surpassed all expectations.
But… this feeling wasn't half bad.
With his lingering worries resolved, Sora steadied his heart.
Patting the invisible Dragreder beneath him, he said, "Come on, didn't you say you wanted grilled meat?"
"Gao~?" (Grilled meat?! Where?) Upon hearing this keyword, Dragreder instantly perked up.
"Hm? Didn't you refer to the Computer Sting as grilled meat earlier?"
Dragreder seemed to grasp his meaning immediately and joyfully shouted: "Ao~!" (Woohoo! Let's go!)
Gently scooping Sora onto its back, Dragreder charged excitedly toward the stars emanating the mouthwatering scent of grilled meat.
This human was undoubtedly the best!
He allowed Dragreder to eat whatever it pleased. And whenever it tired of one flavor, he'd immediately provide another.
Every meal a surprise, every bite a delight! What a magnificent feeling.
Dragreder cheerfully soared toward the next star system harboring a Computer Sting.
...
Back on Robin's side, shortly after the meeting concluded, they swiftly received the promised support in weapons and spacecraft.
Screwllum and the Third Mechanical Nebula had proven themselves trustworthy and reliable, promptly delivering on their promises.
With the arrival of equipment and ships, Robin quickly organized the refugees to start cleaning up the scattered remnants of the True Sting.
The horn of counterattack had finally sounded.
Though this first clarion call was faint—so faint that most people in the universe didn't even know it had begun—
It marked a perfect opening for their counteroffensive.
Yet no one would ever have imagined that the person who had initiated this movement was currently hurtling enthusiastically toward a battlefield smelling deliciously of grilled meat.
Except perhaps the Corporation's representatives, who found themselves staring in confusion at the increasingly sparse attendance at their own meetings.
How strange… where had everyone run off to?