章 1307: The Darkest Night (1/?)
Vahn's wish using the [Grace of the Root] had far-reaching consequences but he wouldn't learn about these until the dust began to settle. The present occupied most of his focus and, feeling as if a heavy weight had been removed from his shoulders, he leaned back against the Hanging Garden's throne/control center. For a brief moment, he closed his eyes and, rather than step in to protect a young boy at gunpoint, he watched with anticipation as the assailant ultimately pulled the trigger.
At nearly the exact same moment as the muzzle flash, the youth seemed to vanish into thin air. This left the assailant completely shocked but Vahn, sitting high in the sky, couldn't help but issue a light chuckle before using his Telekinesis to break the man's legs.
Though he would still do what he could to help people, Vahn felt relief knowing he didn't have to worry about whether or not good or innocent people would die. Even if his enemies used an attack that wiped out all life on the surface, he imagined a considerable number of people would simply be transported to a different world. One of the few benefits of a stagnant and easily exploited society was that people rarely did anything significant so a large portion of the population had neutral or good karma...
With his wish in effect, Vahn was ready for anything his enemies would throw at him. He didn't care how much blame they tried to lay on his shoulders as, in the end, the truth would always be brought to light. The people may hate him for years, or even generations to come, but other sapient species would look up to him as a hero and god. They had suffered greatly as a result of human nature so it was high time they were allowed to reclaim the world that had been robbed from them...
---
Around the same time that Vahn was idling about on the throne, the aerial perimeter that had been set up around the Hanging Gardens began to change formation. The helicopters began to pull away from the encirclement until they had reached a distance just under 1km. Then, their orders received, a total of 183 attack helicopters released their payload of air-to-air missiles synchronously. From the ground, it looked like streams of light converging toward a single point in the darkness, drawing a lot of attention from the pedestrians and rioters below...
Before the missiles had even been fired, the eight revolving platforms of the Hanging Gardens, each more than 50m in length and 15m in width, began to spin slightly faster. They were covered in what appeared to be a shield-like emblem which, upon detecting a threat, began to glow with a vibrant purple light as complex runes, each comprised of [Divine Words], appeared on their surface. Thick bands of purple lightning began to dance between the revolving platforms and, in what seemed like a single instant, more than a thousand missiles had been destroyed...
As missiles may as well be moving in slow motion from his perspective, Vahn had already returned to full focus before the barrage got anywhere near the defensive array of the Hanging Gardens. He was also able to intercept the communications between the base that had given the order and the pilots that had carried it out so there wasn't really anything they could do to surprise him using machines that relied on radio and satellite communications.
When everything was said and done, Vahn would be releasing all of the pertinent communications to the public and, while the people on the ground had no idea what was going on, the entire event was being recorded by several invisible drones. Everyone would know the truth that took place here and, though it was impossible to prevent the Empire from being vilified, the seeds of doubt and distrust would already be planted.
Understanding his role in this grand play, Vahn adopted a calm and confident demeanor as he stated, "This is the Aldrnari Empire's Floating Fortress, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. We have not come here with the intent to harm anyone. Cease your unprompted attack immediately or you will be forced to comply."
Though it seemed like he was just talking to the air, Vahn's voice was heard over all military comms simultaneously. This had come as a great surprise to those stationed on the ground while, back at their base, a high ranking official picked up a comms and answered, "This is Lieutenant General Cliff Walford, Commanding Officer of Royal Air Force base Alconbury. Who, may I ask, is speaking?"
From what Vahn knew of the military ranks used in the United Kingdom, a Lieutenant General was the second-highest officer rank in the Ministry of Defense. He had expected a four-star General to be the one to respond to his communications but a three-star Lieutenant General wasn't far from the top.
In response to General Walford's request, Vahn stated in the same calm tone, "This is the Emperor of the Aldrnari Empire, Vahn Aldrnari Mason speaking. Know that, should you continue firing upon my vessel, I will be forced to ground your aircraft. The military is supposed to protect the people. Instead of instigating war and attacking a vessel that has shown no hostility, you should be providing aid to the civilians on the ground."
Hearing Vahn's words, tensions in the control room increased considerably as General Walford held the comms up to his mouth and answered in a firm tone, "Emperor Mason, was it not your Aldrnari Empire that attacked a civilian population entirely unprompted? Do not believe for a moment that the Royal Air Force will just sit idly by as you commit acts of terrorism against the sovereign citizens of Great Britain...!"
Vahn couldn't help but shake his head slightly upon hearing the General's words but, without any delay in his own response, he answered, "The Aldrnari Empire has committed no acts of terrorism against the people's of the United Kingdom. The truth of the matter will be brought to light in due time. For now, you will cease your unprompted attack and provide aid to your people. Further acts of aggression will not be tolerated."
With his ultimatum given, Vahn cut the connection between himself and the military base. He could still hear the General's response but words were no longer important. Everything came down to how the military chose to act and, meeting his expectations, they chose the violent response. This time, it was the fighter jets that had been circling the perimeter that came in to attack. They began strafing runs at angles above and below the Hanging Gardens, probing for gaps in the defensive formation. Vahn noticed that some of the aircraft carried 'special' payloads that would be able to ignore weaker magical barriers so it was obvious that the RAF wasn't acting in the interests of the people.
True to his word, Vahn simply uttered the word, "Sit." before the flight controls of every aircraft in the area were hijacked. The Empire hadn't been sitting idle during the hours leading up to the conflict so Da Vinci's micro-golems had invaded most military systems, including aircraft and ground vehicles. It only took a single command from Vahn to shut down engines or take over the controls of the more advanced aircraft. The micro-golems would then pilot the fighter jets back to base while the myriad of attack helicopters was forced to land on the tops of buildings.
General Walford was gobsmacked by the development but, despite the best efforts of the mechanics to get the systems operational again, the micro-bots had completely fried the core circuitry after the aircraft had been successfully grounded. They couldn't even use the reserve equipment as it had all suffered the same fate as a precautionary measure. Vahn did this to prevent the advanced weaponry from being used on the civilian population as, regardless of their efforts, penetrating the shields of the Hanging Gardens was beyond modern weaponry.
While the military was in chaos, Vahn took the opportunity to hijack the communications once again, reminding, "You should be helping your people, not starting a war. This is my final warning, General. Do your job."
Hearing the unexpected remark from Vahn, General Walford threw the comms device in his hand, breaking the tiny transmitter into several pieces. Having hundreds of aircraft become unserviceable in an instant was already terrible news. This incident would cost them billions of pounds on the low and but, considering how easily the Empire had taken them down, that was an optimistic estimate. They would need to come up with some kind of countermeasure against whatever tech had been used to hijack and disable their systems or there would be no meaning in getting them airborne.
It was easy to guess that the 'invaders' had advanced technology just by the fact they had a floating fortress that was more than 700m in diameter. Now, it seemed their tech was even more advanced than initial speculation, however, as some technicians were already beginning to speculate that the aircraft's systems had been fried by nanomachines. If this was the truth, the Empire's military would be without equal in the entire world as nanotech, while quickly growing in popularity, had very few practical uses. The tiny machines were too fragile and, without perfect conditions, they would break down in a very short period of time. This, combined with the cost, made the tech functionally useless outside the medical field...
As General Walford was lamenting the sheer ridiculousness of the current situation, his private pager began to buzz. This caused his expression to harden in an instant and, after seeing the coded string of characters, he actually had to sit down as his legs felt as if they had turned to jelly. His actions did not go unnoticed by the other officers in the room so, after a few seconds had passed, silence had replaced the chaos that had dominated the chamber.
After collecting himself, General Walford looked at his men, each people he had come to trust over several long years of service. He could feel the contents of his stomach turn as his acid reflux stirred up at the mere thought of the task he had been given. However, he wouldn't have become a General if he was unable to carry out his orders so, without explaining anything, he muttered in a weary tone that seemed to age him ten years in an instant, "Ministry of Defense Order ZK-005-1A is in effect..."
The majority of people present had no idea what the General was talking about but, before they were able to ask any questions, gunshots began to ring out within the command room. Generally speaking, it was against regulation to carry firearms within the command room but, for events such as this, a select few officers had been given permission to do so. They were the extreme loyalists of the United Kingdom and, as a result of their position, knew the 'truth' about who held power behind the government.
While some commoners were allowed to rise to high positions based on their merits, all of the core positions within the military were held by those loyal to various Noble families. They were all under the influence of very powerful mental manipulation and, even if they had misgivings about certain orders, they were compelled to carry them out without question. Thus, while it pained him to no end, General Walford and his fellow officers arranged the corpses of their fellow countrymen into a circle before pulling out ruby-red gemstones and slitting their own wrists with the pointed ends. This was a scene being repeated all throughout the country and, while Vahn was aware of it, he watched on in silence as his fury continued to build like a volcano on the verge of exploding...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Reclaiming the planet o3o...!','Nanogolems OP','Corrupted to the roots')
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