Intergalactic conquest with an AI-Chapter 364: Xylos Siege. {5}

The sky above the northern fortress quickly turned into a storm of chaos. Swarms of Aegis units, shining with deadly energy, filled the air. The sun disappeared behind them, casting a dark shadow over the entire battlefield.

"They're everywhere! Shoot them down!" the young general shouted.

He ducked as a plasma shot sizzled past his head, burning the air with a searing hiss. "Activate the land-to-air defense systems now! I repeat, the use of all heavy weaponry is approved! Take them out!"

All around the fortress, giant turrets began to rise from behind walls and towers. Missile pods clicked into place, railguns hummed with building energy, and anti-air laser cannons rotated toward the skies.

Streams of green and red lights shot upward, trying to punch holes through the swarm of Aegis units. Explosions lit the sky like deadly fireworks, but still, the enemy kept coming.

Meanwhile, on the Blood Clan's homeworld, the battle had reached a terrifying new level.

Explosions shook the skies. Mountains crumbled. The earth cracked for miles in every direction. At the center of this chaos was Zynaria, now fully awakened in her Virus form, and she was unleashing absolute destruction.

She was currently locked in brutal combat with the Blood Clan's Patriarch, a mighty Tier 7 being and one of the oldest and strongest in the clan. But even with all his power, he was struggling.

Zynaria showed no mercy.

"You call this a fight?" she mocked him while grinning wickedly. "My little firewall had more trouble dealing with a level-one worm than with you!"

Her voice echoed like thunder as she rushed forward, her fists and feet moving faster than the eye could see.

Every punch, every kick was calculated with perfect precision, with less than a microsecond between thought and impact. She was like a living storm. If the Patriarch hadn't hoarded absurd amounts of blood within his ancient body, he would've been dead long ago.

"ENOUGH!" the Patriarch roared in rage.

A massive crimson shockwave exploded from his body, slamming into Zynaria and blasting her back several kilometers. The ground beneath them shattered like glass, sending debris flying for miles.

"That's enough, you damn savage!" he snarled, his red eyes burning with fury. "If you want to go all out, then fine! we'll destroy everything together! I've held back long enough. Who cares about this worthless rock anyway?!"

With that, he finally released the full force of his power. The air itself trembled.

The aura of a true Tier 7 powerhouse flooded the battlefield. Zynaria's Virus energy rose to meet it, equally terrifying. The moment their energies clashed, the world felt the impact.

The pressure was overwhelming.

Everything below Tier 4 simply ceased to exist... crushed into paste by the weight of the clash. Even those below Tier 7, no matter how strong, found themselves slammed to the ground, unable to move, pinned as if the planet itself was sitting on their backs.

Huge twisters began ripping across the landscape. The sky turned pitch black. Crimson lightning bolts rained down like the wrath of angry gods, striking the ground and turning everything they touched into molten slag.

"Hahahaha! Now this is what I'm talking about!" Zynaria laughed with wild delight. "Finally, this organic meat sack of yours is starting to entertain me!"

As she spoke, she reached out her hand, and her massive battle axe materialized, crafted from living metal, pulsing with virus energy. The moment her hand closed around it, both she and the Patriarch vanished from sight.

In the blink of an eye, they reappeared in the sky again, and again, and again.

Hundreds of shockwaves erupted across the heavens as their blows collided, shattering the air and bending space around them. Each impact sent ripples across the sky, ripping open glowing rifts and unleashing blasts that could level cities.

On the ground, Rex did his best to stay upright with his knees shaking under the crushing pressure.

He shouted into his communicator, his voice strained, "Little Red! You're going to destroy the whole damn world! Move the fight somewhere else! You can't do this here!"

Thanks to the combined power of 14th and 24th Stellar Barriers, Rex and the others were just barely holding out. Without those powerful shields, they'd have been reduced to ash in seconds.

"Understood, little emperor!" Zynaria replied cheerfully, her voice dripping with playful madness. "Then I'll take him somewhere more... fun. Hmm... where would be a good place? Oh! I know! Hehehe…"

Her laughter echoed like thunder as her fists blurred into motion, striking the Patriarch faster and harder than ever. Her speed became a blur of motion and light. Within moments, she caught the Blood Clan Patriarch by the throat with one swift, crushing grip.

"Ugh! Release me, you savage brute!" the Patriarch growled, sending out massive crimson shockwaves from his body in a desperate attempt to break free.

But Zynaria answered in kind. Her own shockwaves collided with his, canceling them out mid-air and cracking the sky in the process.

"Don't be so impatient, Blood Boy!" she teased, grinning as her eyes gleamed. "Come with me! Let me give you a lovely little tour of the galaxy!"

Without another word, she ripped open a space rift with a twist of her free hand and hurled the Patriarch into it like a ragdoll.

The rift closed behind him, only for another one to open elsewhere. She leapt in, caught up to him again, and flung him into another rift. Again. And again. And again.

Through gas giants, dead moons, asteroid belts, and dying stars, the two Tier 7 monsters rampaged across the galaxy like gods in a duel, warping reality wherever they appeared. Each location shook under the weight of their brief but devastating presence.

Back on the Blood Clan homeworld, the pressure finally began to lift.

The planet, once seconds away from total collapse, slowly began to calm. The swirling crimson twisters that had torn through cities began to dissolve. Lightning faded. The ground stopped shaking. Survivors looked around in disbelief.... they were still alive.

Meanwhile, on Xylos, the siege raged on.

Hours had passed, and yet the defenders still held the southern and northern fortresses, even under constant attack by the Kaelzar legions.

Artillery thundered in the distance. Energy blasts streaked across the sky like shooting stars. Smoke covered the battlefield in a choking blanket.

From her command node inside the Cleopatra fortress, Cleo observed everything. Her many eyes watched the chaos below... calculating, adapting.

"Amazing," she said softly, her digital voice filled with genuine respect. "It appears I underestimated their resolve. The resilience of the defensive army was not included in my models. They continue to surprise me."

It was rare for Cleo to admit a mistake, but this was praise spoken from truth. Despite her overwhelming firepower, the defenders still stood strong, refusing to break.

"It's time to adjust strategy," she said while turning to a floating holographic screen. "I'll join the battle at the northern fortress myself to hasten the outcome."

She tapped a glowing panel and entered a secure code.

[DESCENT OF PRIMARY CORE BODY CONFIRMED. ASSAULT POD READY. LAUNCHING IN 3… 2… 1… LAUNCHING.]

From the heart of the Cleopatra fortress, a sleek, white drop pod launched into the sky. It was small but heavily shielded, surrounded by pulsing energy fields designed to resist even the heaviest fire.

As the pod shot downward toward the northern fortress, Cleo's current cyber-form began dissolving into sparkling particles of digital dust, her consciousness transferring into the pod as it descended.

The defenders on the wall barely had time to react before the pod collided with the outer barrier.

It emitted a massive pulse of disruptive energy, tearing open a hole just big enough for it to pass through. The pod slammed into the inner wall, cracking the stone and throwing up clouds of dust and debris.

"Enemy contact! Get ready!" someone shouted.

Dozens of soldiers and mechanized units swarmed the crash site.

"Quickly! Surround it!"

"Mount the heavy guns there! Be ready for anything!"

One of the younger soldiers, sweat pouring down his face, turned to the commanding officer. "Sir, should we just blow it up now? Before anything comes out?"

The captain gritted his teeth. "That would usually be the smart move… but we don't know what's inside. If it's a thermal or plasma bomb, one wrong shot and we're all vaporized…"

"Captain! Look out!" another soldier screamed.

Everyone turned just in time to see something move around the pod.

Sparks began to crackle across its surface.

Seconds later, a sudden burst of movement shook the battlefield.

With a sharp hiss of pressure, the four metallic pillars of the drop pod blasted into the sky like missiles.

The defenders looked up, confused only for horror to follow. While still airborne, the pillars rotated and unleashed deadly laser beams in every direction. Red lines of light sliced through the air, cutting through stone, steel and flesh.

Several soldiers were torn apart before they could even scream.

[Initiating overdrive... Battle Maiden mode: Activated. Status: All green. Deploying autonomous sword systems.]

The robotic assistant voice inside Cleo's armor echoed from inside the pod like a divine announcement.

High above, the four laser-firing pillars shimmered and transformed, unfolding like mechanical flowers before reassembling into four elegant but deadly flying swords.

They moved with terrifying precision, shooting downward and spinning at impossible angles, piercing through defenders as if they were paper.

"Take cover!" the captain yelled. "Let the mechanized units intercept those blades! Don't let them near the core positions!"

Just then, with a loud metallic sound, the drop pod's heavy doors burst open in all four directions. A thick cloud of white smoke exploded out, instantly covering the area in a dense fog.

"Wh-what is that?! I can't see anything!"

"Aghhh! Something's in the smoke!"

"I—I see lights! Someone's here! The enemy is—"

"Help!"

"She's right behi—!"