Chapter 469: Ch
From sub-battlegroups to battlegroups, and sub-legions to legions, the armada divided with mathematical precision. Each sub-legion was tasked with taking down a single Tier-Two power, while each major legion was given orders to dismantle multiple Tier-Two powers on their own.
Just like that, across three distinct spatial vectors within the territories of the three Tier-Three powers, a simultaneous,hyper-precise attack began. Before the defensive fleets of these Tier-Two powers even had a chance to detect the incoming ships, they were overwhelmed, torn apart, and sunk into the void.
Planets were ruthlessly bombarded from orbit by corvette and frigate-class ships. Moments later, multiple squadrons of starfighters and mech corps deployed into the atmospheres, wiping out any and all resisting lifeforms that lived below.
The moment everything was erased from existence, the fleets didn’t stop there; they immediately proceeded to the next planet,then the next, and the to another star system. As each star system fell, the terrifying cycle repeated itself again and again without stopping.
Some planets were, in fact, entirely destroyed. A prime example was Sundry United, a Tier-Two faction even weaker than that of the Minotaur Clans.
Their capital world, also named Sundry, was completely obliterated into oblivion by the main weapon system of a battlecruiser: two Nova Super Plasma Cannons. The devastating barrage shattered the planet’s crust, erasing it entirely from the star charts.
The reason they were treated to such a special degree of destruction was that the President of Sundry United had directly cursed the Celestial Void Emperor. And without stopping there, these pieces of trash from Sundry United had even executed millions of humans—nearly reaching a billion—who were slaving away in their interstellar nation without reason.
This was an outrage the Celestial Void Empire simply could not let go of. It pained them deeply that they had been unable to prevent that tragedy from happening, as it was something entirely unexpected.
"Take this, you Sundry bastards," muttered Scout, the operator of the battlecruiser leading a team of ships under his battlegroup as part of the Grand Fleet Lance of the Void.
"You dare kill so many humans and then celebrate such a horrendous act?" With a gloomy expression, Scout watched the exploding planet not far away.
Even as the world collapsed, the people of Sundry United desperately tried to escape aboard their spaceships. But how could they achieve that under such conditions? Every single escape vessel was quickly swallowed by the raging storm of planetary destruction.
"Hmph," Scout scoffed at the sight. He turned to his right and looked at another feed displaying three more star systems beyond this one; the scenarios were all identical.
Those entire systems were being completely wiped out just like this one. Though the scale was slightly less severe elsewhere—since the planets themselves were not destroyed, suffering only surface orbital bombardments—all intelligent life (excluding wild animals, obviously) was being thoroughly eradicated. The few remaining centers of population still bustling with life were already on the verge of being destroyed by Scout’s battlegroup.
"Teams B and C, move toward your next targeted star systems immediately," Scout ordered, satisfied with the progress. "Team D, quickly finish up your current targets and catch up with the rest of the team. Be swift."
"Yes, Major!" the three leaders of Teams B, C, and D replied immediately.
"Good," said Scout. With a thought, he cut the communication with the three team leaders and reconnected with the team he personally led. "Everyone, let’s move to the next target. Remember to pay close attention to detail—we don’t want to be the team that causes problems for the rest of the fleet."
"Yes, Lieutenant Major!" came the immediate response of nine people as Scout fell silent.
Just from hearing their voices, one could tell how pumped up they were by the carnage they had wrought—having just obliterated nine habitable worlds along with the tens of trillions of alien beings living upon them.
Yet, they showed no hesitation or guilt. Nor should they. When dealing with an enemy of a different race, one should never show a kindness that might allow them to recover and bite back.
BOOOOOOM!
With that, each ship within the team—led by a single battlecruiser and nine destroyers—accelerated to the extreme.
The space around them warped, and they vanished from the system.
A sector that had once been filled with the vitality of countless beings was now left completely dead and silent, without even a hint of life remaining.
From now on, it would no longer be known as the Sundry Star System, but as a deserted star system.
Events like this played out across the entire Inner Region of the Southern Outer Circle of the galaxy.
As the Celestial Void Empire’s three Grand Fleets moved forward at extreme speed, star system after star system fell. Trillions of lives were taken down alongside them.
Kingdom after kingdom, federation after federation, and coalition after coalition collapsed.
Yet, none of the true backers of these Tier-Two powers had any idea that this was happening in a place they had always considered their own backyard.
Hell, even the Tier-Two empires themselves had no idea they were being invaded until the very moment of their deaths.
As thick, dark-red beams of light tore through the skies of their worlds, shattering their planetary shields, they slammed into the surface below.
A brilliant flash of light passed through the inhabitants’ eyes, and just like that, they knew no more.
They never realized what had hit them, nor why their entire civilizations were suddenly being wiped out completely.
Some places suffered the same fate as Sundry United: entire star systems were destroyed. Other than the host sun itself, everything within the system that possessed a hint of vitality was obliterated, turned into masses of drifting asteroids.
In this manner, two days passed. All twenty-eight Tier-Two factions were completely wiped out. The vast territories spanning over nine thousand star systems—once ruled by these twenty-eight factions—had none of their original ruling races left alive.
Only the vast population of humans distributed across these star systems remained: nearly a trillion humans who had previously been treated as slaves and playthings, stripped of all rights and dignity.
They were now the only race left standing, while those who had treated them as livestock and toys for their own enjoyment were erased from the galactic map entirely.
The initial bewilderment of the human populace quickly turned into overwhelming joy and relief.
Meanwhile, all three Grand Fleets reached the crucial turning point of their mission, regrouping into three complete fleets at three distinct locations.
Before the 8th Grand Fleet stood a massive military settlement.
In the outer border region of the Bright Moon Republic lay the Bright-9 Nexus Fortress—a behemoth of space built around a structure almost half the size of Earth. It was equipped with massive planetary and ship-grade weapon systems, all of which were peak Tier-Three, with a few of the largest cannons even utilizing quasi-Tier Four class tech.
Furthermore, the entire star system was heavily fortified with over forty thousand defense platforms installed throughout the sector, clustered tightly around the battle fortress itself.
And beyond these defense platforms lay a defensive fleet made up of sixty thousand ships, covering almost every corner of the star system.
All of this was something Mav watched with interest while positioned beyond the star system, out in the deep void between star systems.
"That is quite a lot of defensive installations and a fleet mostly made up of Tier-Two and Tier-Three class ships. Not to mention that star fortress—it gives off a hundred percent vibe of those star-destroying, planet-sized weapons made entirely of alloys from the movies I used to watch back when I was on Earth. Never thought a day would come when I’d get to see something so close to a work of fiction, and even far beyond it in both scale and power output," Mav said, a hint of amazement on his face.
Just then, two figures suddenly appeared below his command seat. "Salute, Grand Admiral!" said both Ritika and Ritik, his two direct subordinates.
"At ease, both of you," Mav said with a relaxed smile that masked his earlier astonishment.
Ritika snickered and said in a sarcasm-filled voice, "Haven’t you seen our star fortresses, Grand Admiral Mav? Especially the ones that have gone through five levels of evolution and become something else entirely? What is this ball of tin compared to that? And yet, here you are, completely amazed by it. Wow. You really are quite forgetful—and remarkably thick-skinned when it comes to admiring trash."
She puffed out her chest slightly before adding, "No wonder you can’t praise actual beauty." She struck a subtle pose and shook her head. "With those eyes of yours, you’re going to have a terrifying future ahead. May the grace of the Lord fall upon you, Grand Admiral... sigh, this is so worrying," she exaggerated dramatically.
Her antics caused both Mav’s and her own brother Ritik’s mouths to twitch violently.