Chương 23: A battle fought
The battle raged above Earth, and as the people watched the action unfold from the safety of various underground bunkers, the situation looked bleak.
The Emperor, in a desperate move, has successfully attracted the Hive's attention at his own risk, but the risk is now catching up to him, as he and his allies used everything they could to buy time, the Devourer cared little for the ants attempting to halt it.
With its sights now set on the blue jewel below it, the thing stopped after getting in range and began charging its weapon.
The battle raged, as the Empire's ships got ripped apart one after another, all self-destructing in one last spiteful move against the Hive.
The men on these ships fought until the bitter end, as they were picked off individually, only leaving the ones who managed to meet up and form larger groups.
Only the elite soldiers who were given power armor before the battle remained alive, the exception being the few ships that remained functional.
The battlefield is littered with debris and empty steel ships, giving it a solemn feeling, as if the battle wasn't still in full swing a little ways away.
In the middle of the fight, a battered and damaged fleet could be seen, fighting with everything they had left, they have dealt more damage than they could have imagined.
The once seemingly endless horde of fighter-like creatures could now be counted, albeit with difficulty, and their numbers were still dropping.
This result came with a price, and that price was the lives of millions of men, while tens more fought within the immense creature known as the World Devourer.
Behind and bellow the fleet, Earth could be seen with a large blue hue covering every inch of it, protecting it and the life on it from any threats while the moon floated behind the Devourer.
A visual reminder of what Earth would look like should they fail here.
The once seemingly invincible Imperial fleet is now non-existent, a mere shadow of its once mighty self.
All the corvettes suffered a brutal fate, their hollow steel remains were lifeless, and no blood or corpses could be seen, all consumed for the hive to use.
Now with the pressure easing with each volley fired from the remaining destroyers, the Imperial fleet could put its focus back on the Devourer, which is currently preparing to sterilize the Earth.
The Fleet moved swiftly, now actively hunting the fighters that once pressed them, as they neared the Devourer.
At the Deck of the Cruiser, His Imperial Majesty stood.
After getting utterly overwhelmed and his troops all gone, each one laying their lives to distract the horde for a minute longer, he was forced to retreat, not before dealing massive damage to the horde with his deceased compatriots.
It could be said that if he did not distract the horde, the entire fleet would be mere wrecks now, incapable of protecting Earth.
Such a grim scenario did not occur, and the fleet was still combat worthy, even if they could only do a limited amount of damage.
The Devourer, which once flowed with vitality, now seemed sick and weak, its World destroying weapon sputtering as if it wasn't strong enough to fire.
That is merely the illusion made by judging appearances, fact was that the Devourer was more than capable of firing still, and it fully intended to do so.
Its mouth opened after a wait, and its weapon fired.
The laser that came out of its mouth was immense, large enough to dwarf the cruiser and make the corvettes look like ants.
It's Dark red, almost pitch black like a black hole, laser fired out, it's color the total opposite of the lively blue the Earth excluded.
The shield materialized, intent on protecting the planet humanity held dear, and as the laser crashed into it, it created a violent pulse in the shield.
The shield cracked and cracked further, it pulsed with the power output of an entire planet, but it still wasn't enough.
Just as the laser was on its last legs, the shied collapsed, allowing the laser through for only a second, but that second was enough.
the laser utterly sterilized an area the size of China, leaving structures untouched, but rendering all living things, including trees, plants, and even aquatic life, into a still sludge, still barely kept alive to be absorbed after the humans have been dealt with.
The destruction could be seen from orbit, as the green seemingly melted into one another and the oceans became a bit redder, due to predators consuming the now easy-to-kill "fish."
The only silver lining was that it didn't directly hit the capital, but only scratched it, and that the civilians are deep underground, where they are hopefully safe.
Still, their fate remains unknown, bringing anxiety into the room in full force.
The shield has completely collapsed, leaving the Earth vulnerable, at it would take days for it to recharge, and a few hours for Earth's other defenses to activate.
Meaning that the next time that thing fired, Earth was doomed.
Veins ruptured on the Devourer after the laser settled, and more convulsions seemed to happen around its body, the invasion squad wasn't wasting any time.
The Devourer began preparing the next shot, which would probably be its last.
The fleet moved between the Earth and the Devourer, shooting directly at the exposed insides of the mouth, the last few remains of the horde fighting them every step of the way.
Alexander lead the invasion squads within the Devourer, the laser firing shook the entire beast, giving them a sense of uncertain dread.
Did it fire? is the shield still in one peace? Have they failed?
They had no way to find out, as communications shut down due to the damages the ships have suffered, leaving them without a way to communicate with the invasion squad.
They could only step up their game and move faster, as fast as they could.
The various squads were all heading to the mouth, their intent to make it incapable of firing.
They were close, the veins around them seemed more and more battered as they walked, meaning they were getting closer to the epicenter.
It would take around twenty minutes to get there, and an unknown amount of time to disable the gun.
"MOVE FASTER!" Alexander couldn't help but raise his voice, which no one blamed him for considering the seriousness of the situation.
They all silently moved faster, reaching the peak of their possible speed enhanced by the suit.
Minutes ticked by, and the weapon showed no signs of stopping its preparation.
The ships continued frantically firing, his majesty flying around in front of the mouth, attacking it with everything he had left.
Ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye, the lakes and shores on Earth behind them now redder than ever.
Twenty minutes, his majesty ran out of oxygen and was forced to retreat.
Twenty-five minutes, Alexander and his men arrived and began incapacitating the weapon.
Thirty-nine minutes, the veins constricted suddenly, killing many and causing the whole Devourer to shake, leaving very few alive, a couple thousand at most.
Thirty minutes, the weapon fired up, and in one last convulsion, o tinny laser, smaller than a corvette, launched out of the mouth.
It seemed pathetic compared to the immense power and size the previous one had, but appearances can be deceiving, as it was more than powerful enough to destroy a country the size of Poland.
The cruiser was slightly off to the side of its trajectory, and its shields were fully charged.
"Intercept the laser." Before the Emperor could even say those words, the crew moved and the ships surged forward, directly before the beam.
Seeing what the Cruiser was doing, the other ships charged in front of it, all eight remaining destroyers, formed a sort of shield in front of the cruiser, which itself was a shield for the Earth.
"It's been an honor fighting with you all."
"The honor has been ours, your majesty." A captain answered with pride and resolution in his voice, receiving noises of approval from the other captains.
The laser moved, turning ship after ship into husks, shattering their shields and eliminating all life on them seemingly without effort.
The crews all saluted before the end, proud to die protecting what they loved and lived for.
"LONG LIVE THE EMPIRE!" they all screamed one by one as the laser hit them, making an emotional yet tragic sight,
At the end of the line, only the Cruiser remained, with his majesty inside it.
Adam felt dread and fear like any living being would, but he did not panic or freak out like a coward, as that would be a disservice to the men who died for him.
He gripped his seat, manned up, and roared: "Long live the AZBURGIAN INTERSTELLAR EMPIRE!"
"LONG MAY IT LIVE!"
The laser rocked the ship as it hit it, all were silent as the crew gathered at the deck, witnessing the laser be dispelled in front of them by the shield.
The shield flickered, and cracked, but miraculously held on by the thinnest of threads, keeping the crew and his majesty alive.
A few seconds of stunned silence passed by, after which cheers of joy could be heard resounding all around.
"WE FUCKING MADE IT!"
"YEAH!" X28420.
The sight before them was brutal, disturbing, and horrific, but now it seemed like the most beautiful thing in the world.
The Devourer, unmoving, dead, and still, its hearts shut down for good, and the crew is still alive and well.
The planet behind them, although damaged, still glowed with life and joy, and the men could celebrate, knowing they saved their loved ones from assimilation and death.
Moving forwards and retrieving the survivors from the invasion crew, of which there were almost none, they made a triumphant return to Earth.
Alexander and a vast majority of his men passed out the moment they arrived and decided they were safe, as hours of exhaustion and stress completely collapsed on their minds.
The survivors ran out of their bunkers and the capital filled with humans all cheering on the men who saved them all, earning a monumental space in the history books and datapads.
And although the Emperor knew all too well that things were far from over, he could rejoice for he was safe...
"ADAM!" Serena shouted as she ran to Adam and hugged him, tears streaming down her eyes.
...And he wasn't alone anymore...
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