After their landing, the projection shifted. It displayed the landing points of the Blitztr?gers, smaller versions of the mothership known as “Stahlgott”. Each landing point corresponded to a major city of the Land of Men. Auroravia. Eldenholm. The Imperial Capital. All the major Crownlord administered cities and more.
Unlike the mothership, which had landed with annihilating intent, the Blitztr?ger vessels had punched into the vicinity of major strongholds instead. It was a show of force rather than overwhelming eradication. Their landings were meant to come with brutal elegance. Not vaporizing. Just terrorizing. The overlords' goal was not the extermination of the Land of Men, but its subjugation.
“Did all Blitztr?gers land safely?” Kael, the commander, asked.
His assistant nodded. “All twenty one landed safely, sir.”
“Good.”
He smiled before giving his next order. Protocol dictated that the Blitztr?gers, which had not landed with immediate devastation, would have to deal with the people they had spared. Being near the Imperial Capital, he naturally expected resistance. The city held cultural, financial, and symbolic value for the entire Land of Men.
“To all Richters, prepare to deploy your Rich... what is that?!”
The landing had been recent, and they were still surrounded by a thick dust screen. It had only begun to thin, allowing those in the command sanctum to finally see what loomed above the capital.
A gigantic floating island hung in the sky. It was almost as large as the capital itself, perhaps even larger. From this angle it looked like a hanging roof above the city walls. Stanger even, it was not merely an island. It was inhabited. Fortresses and towers stood upon it, along with verdant vegetation that made it resemble a suspended metropolis.
As Kael stared at it, his attention shifted higher into the sky.
The moons.
All three of them had gathered in a circle. From what he knew of the Land of Men’s calendar, that alignment should not occur at this time of year unless a certain event had taken place.
“This can’t be…”
“Sir, something is approaching. It is... it is angels!”
The visual feed showed several angels flying toward them. Three stood out immediately. Their speed set them apart, as did their lack of hesitation. They closed the distance and launched attacks directly at the ship.
Fortunately, the vessel’s barrier was fully deployed. Still, the blow was felt.
“External impact detected!”
The ship shook. A deep resonance rippled through it, making the inner walls vibrate like a living beast struck in the heart. That strength. Even the hard landing had not shaken the ship like that attack. The doubt in Kael’s heart vanished. He understood exactly who he and his crew were facing.
“Report!” he demanded.
“Three distinct high velocity kinetic strikes. Arcane resonance confirmed. Water, Light, and Holy elements.”
There was a pause. Then another impact. The entire ship shuddered as if struck by a hammer swung by a god.
“Report!”
“V.D.F. down another 7.9%. Including the landing, total reduction is now 10%, sir.”
Kael’s expression soured. He stared at the projection where three glowing figures danced around the vessel, their wings unmistakable.
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“Tsk.”
His jaw clenched with bitter restraint. So close. We should have landed directly inside the city.
“Unleash Weltenbrand,” he ordered coldly.
“Yes sir!” an operative answered immediately.
“How much M.A. should we allocate?” asked another.
“Set the output to 15% of our available Mana Available.”
“Yes sir.”
“Also prepare our Richterstahls and Eisenj?gers for immediate deployment. The Weltenbrand should provide the cover required for a clean takeoff.”
The Richterstahls, also called Steel Arbiters, were seven meter flying humanoid constructs piloted by elite Richters. They were clad in armor thick as warplate and wielded elemental arrays.
The Eisenj?gers, nicknamed Iron Hunters, stood only one point five meters tall. They were aerial and unmanned, produced in models too numerous to count. Each was programmed for seek and destroy operations. Their protocol always ended in detonation.
“Put me in contact with the High Marshall.”
“Yes sir!” a few seconds later. “Contact established.”
A voice came through the comms.
“Blitztr?ger 13, Control Sanctum. "Marshal Commander speaking.”
“Commander. High Marshall here. Any report?”
“Yes sir. We have made contact.”
“Weltenbrand ready to release, sir!”
Interrupting a commander, let alone a High Marshall and overlord, violated every protocol. Yet this was not the hour for decorum.
The commander gave a short nod. “Release.”
The Weltenbrand, the World Fire, was unleashed.
A beam of annihilation surged forward like the breath of a god. It was not a focused lance, but a blooming wall of incineration. It swept across the plain in a curved wave, engulfing the angelic trio in a blinding surge of auric flame.
Its fall was cataclysmic. Light without shadow. Soundless yet screaming. The heavens themselves seemed to shudder. Yet In the wake of that mighty display of force, Kael shouted another order. “Deploy the Eisenj?gers and Richterstahls immediately. Now.”
He was grounded enough to know that such an attack would not bring down monarchs like them.
“Eisenj?gers and Richterstahls released, sir.”
“...They are now engaging the enemy.”
Through the smoke veiled battlefield, the screens flickered with thermal silhouettes and targeting feeds.
Then the notifications began.
“RS 13 M23 has been taken down.”
“RS 13 M07 taken down.”
“EJ RS M95 taken down.”
“EJ 13 R11 has initiated ultimate protocol.”
“EJ 13 R27 has initiated ultimate protocol.”
“EJ 13 R21 has initiated ultimate protocol.”
“EJ 13 R75 has initiated ultimate protocol.”
One after another, the notifications flooded the room like falling dominoes.
For the Eisenj?gers, it meant success in their suicidal task. For the Richterstahls, it meant the loss of the construct and the pilot within it. A name. A soldier. Gone.
Worse than the loss was the speed. They were being killed too fast. The commander grimaced. Then, as the smoke cleared, they saw the cause of the slaughter.
Not only the three angels still standing amid the rubble, but two humans as well. Though not yet confirmed, the commander could guess their identities with dreadful certainty.
“Command,” a voice crackled through the comms.
“Yes. Forgive my inattention, High Marshall.”
“What is happening out there?”
“Sir, our Point Zero appears to be far more treacherous than previously anticipated. We are currently under coordinated attack from what I believe to be the Three Seraphims and the two Emperors of the Land of Men.”
A long pause hung in the air.
“Moreover,” the commander continued, “I see a floating landmass overhead the capital. If I had to guess, it belongs to the mentioned Patriarch.”
“I see. It appears you have landed directly next to their rendezvous point.”
“It seems so, sir.”
“Our V.D.F. is now at sixty two point two percent, sir,” an operative reported.
No longer preoccupied with the Eisenj?gers and the Richterstahls, the five monarchs had turned their full attention toward the Blitztr?ger. Attacking it like maniacs.
“Fifty one point eight percent.”
“Can you initiate retreat?” asked the High Marshall.
“Forty one point seven percent.”
The commander’s tone darkened. “It seems that will not be possible, sir.”
“I see. Then can you hold...”
The High Marshall stopped himself mid sentence as if struck by a sudden realization.
The Marshall Commander drew a slow breath.
“It seems there is only one path left for us, sir. Permission to initiate Vergeltungslicht.”
A heavy silence settled over the room. Vergeltungslicht, the Light of Retaliation, was the final protocol. The last breath of a Blitztr?ger. A glorious death. A final attempt at achieving their objective.
Then a voice answered. It was not the High Marshall. It carried a different kind of authority. One that could only be released by his elven family’s Patriarch. The Eternal Emperor.
“Not all our creations were made to endure, Commander. Some were born to burn brighter than the sun for but a moment, so they may briefly light the path for those who remain.”
The commander’s back straightened.
“Then we will burn with purpose. We will light the path with all we have left.”
No order was needed. Every operative moved without hesitation. Then a few moments later an operative gave a solemn report, “Vergeltungslicht ready to be unleashed, sir.”
“It has been an honor to serve under you, sirs.”
“And you, serving under us, Kael ii Lihn.”
With pride and without fear, the commander gave the final order. “Let them witness Vergeltungslicht.”
And so they did, the moment the Light of Retaliation was unleashed.
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