The Benevolent Swarm: Expansion Book 2: A Isekai LitRPG OP MC Slice of LIfe Progression Fantasy by Jaxon Starforge

Author:Jaxon Starforge [Starforge, Jaxon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2026-02-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

The light was the worst part.

It wasn't the soft, bioluminescent blue of the moss, nor the warm, fiery orange of the forge. It was a harsh, strobe-light crimson that painted every surface in the color of fresh arterial spray.

WHOOM. WHOOM. WHOOM.

The beacon pulsed with a rhythmic throb that vibrated the fillings in Maya’s teeth. It shot straight up from the sub-sector, punching through the roof, piercing the rock, screaming to the surface world that Sector 4 had fallen.

Maya stood on the roof of the server room, the Engine-Hammer resting on her shoulder. She looked up at the pillar of light.

"Can we turn it off?" she asked.

Dorna, kneeling by an exposed conduit panel, threw a wrench across the room in frustration.

CLANG.

"It’s hard-wired," the dwarf growled. "It’s bypassing the local grid and drawing directly from the ley-lines in the crust. I cut the power, and it just laughed at me. It’s a dead-man switch, boss. It’s designed to be annoying."

"It’s not annoying," Valerius said, stepping out of the shadows. His face was bathed in red light, making the scars look deeper. "It’s a target painter."

He looked up at the ceiling, miles above.

"The Republic has satellites. Mana-relays in orbit. They’ve seen this. They know exactly where we are, down to the millimeter."

Maya gripped her hammer. "Then we stop trying to hide."

She turned to the group. Her violet bio-lights cut through the red glare.

"If they want to come to my house," Maya said, "we should make sure the welcome mat is ready."

They gathered in the Control Tower. The mood was grim. The victory over the Wardens felt distant now, overshadowed by the looming threat of a professional military response.

Valerius projected a holographic map of the factory floor.

"Standard Republic doctrine for 'Asset Recovery'," the Paladin explained, pointing to the ventilation shafts and the blast doors. "They won't send an army. Armies are slow. They will send a Strike Team."

"Mercenaries?" Kael asked, spinning a dagger.

"Worse. Corporate Fixers," Valerius said. "High-level. Better gear than us. No moral compass. They will breach from multiple entry points to split our attention."

He pointed to the vast, open space of the assembly floor.

"If we try to hold the blast doors, they'll flank us from the vents. If we hold the vents, they'll blow the doors. The factory is too big. We can't defend it all."

Maya studied the map. She looked at her resources. Five Iron-Husks. Four Centipedes. A handful of humans.

"We don't defend the perimeter," Maya decided. "We shrink the map."

She dragged a claw across the hologram, highlighting the Smelting Wing—the area containing the Mana-Forge and the catwalks suspended over the magma vent.

"We retreat here. It’s a choke point. The only access is via the main gantry or the conveyor belts."

"The Fatal Funnel," Valerius nodded approvingly. "We force them to fight us on a narrow bridge."

"Exactly," Maya said. "We give them the lobby. We hold the vault."

She looked at Dorna and Vial.

"I want that bridge trapped. I want it to be the most dangerous stretch of real estate in the Deep Strata.

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