Intergalactic conquest with an AI-Chapter 426: War for the Blood. {Prologue} {3}

Around him, his own troops scrambled to obey orders and fortify their positions. Artillery units were being deployed, tanks were forming defensive lines, and squads of power-armored elites were gearing up for whatever was coming next.

It didn’t take long before both armies, the Kaelzars legion forces and the enemy mercenary armies, managed to form solid defensive perimeters around their forward positions.

Along with that, they established a front line strong enough to hold back the relentless swarm of infected creatures that were emerging from every corner of the planet.

The infected, driven into a frenzy by the energy and chaos of a full-scale planetary war, came in endless waves. Their mutated bodies, twisted by disease and strange energy, charged mindlessly at both sides, overwhelming anything in their path with sheer numbers and monstrous strength.

Every passing minute became more brutal than the last. Both sides suffered casualties; soldiers were dragged into the dark by abominations, ripped apart, or infected on the spot.

Screams, gunfire, and the sickening sound of flesh being torn echoed across the blood-soaked fields. Despite fighting a common enemy, tensions rose between the mercenaries and the Kaelzar legions.

Several reports began to come in of smaller skirmishes that were breaking out when units from the Kaelzar side advanced too far while trying to cleanse the infected, triggering territorial responses from the mercenaries.

Above all this chaos, another war raged, one fought in the cold skies.

High above, a deadly ballet of aircraft twisted and turned through the dark clouds. Hundreds of fighter jets from both factions clashed violently, performing dangerous maneuvers as they tried to shoot each other down.

Red and blue tracer rounds lit up the sky like fireworks, while explosions bloomed like fireflowers amidst the stars. The battle for air superiority was fierce, and so far, neither side had gained a clear advantage.

Back on the surface, Rex stood still for a moment, his power armor covered in layers of sticky, blackened blood and rotten chunks of meat from the infected.

Drones hovered around him, spraying high-pressure water to clean the mess off his armor as steam hissed from its joints. He had been fighting at the front lines nonstop since the Kaelzar legions launched their assault. His arms ached, his energy fluctuated, but his spirit was unyielding.

"Cleo, any major movements from the enemy side?" Rex asked, his voice transmitted through their mental link.

Cleo’s response was quick but a little softer than usual. "Negative. Aside from a few skirmishes where their patrols clashed with ours, the main body of their forces has stayed in a purely defensive posture. It’s almost as if... they’re waiting for something."

Her main body was currently undergoing a recharge cycle, so she had delegated command of the Cleopatra and the fortress fleet to the younger AI. Still, Cleo remained active, observing the battlefield from afar through her many white falcon drones.

Rex narrowed his eyes while watching the horizon as new explosions lit up the sky in the distance. "Or they’re waiting for someone to arrive..." he muttered under his breath.

As he floated upward with the help of his gravity stabilizers, he crafted a massive electromagnetic rifle with his nanomachines, based on ancient blueprints he’d acquired from the fallen Kaelzar Empire’s last emperor. It shimmered with golden plating and crimson wiring, ready to tear through enemy aircraft.

Cleo’s voice returned, still calm but tinged with a rare hint of weariness. "Affirmative. That possibility aligns with my own analysis. That’s why I’m currently resting, conserving my processing power in case something far worse shows up on the battlefield."

Even without emotions, Rex could feel that Cleo was tired, maybe not physically, but mentally. The effort of managing a galactic-scale fortress, coordinating fleets, and keeping up with hundreds of variables was immense. Yet she kept pushing.

"...And what about Lyra?" Rex finally asked while glancing skyward as he adjusted his grip on the rifle.

There was a pause before Cleo responded. "Lyra is stable for now. She received multiple emergency blood transfusions. According to the elite Blood Clan assassins in our ranks, it’s highly likely she activated one of their forbidden self-sacrificial techniques. That would explain the massive energy spike earlier."

As she spoke, a glowing status report popped up in Rex’s HUD of Lyra’s vitals, her blood purity levels, and the accelerated healing markers filled the screen. She was alive... barely.

"Understood. Keep her under protection. No matter what happens, I want her safe," Rex replied with a heavy voice. He hovered higher into the sky, now determined to shift his focus.

"I’m heading up. Connect me to a flight wing; put me in charge of one."

As if summoned, five sleek Wraith-class fighters emerged from the clouds, taking formation around him like ghostly guardians. Their white armor shimmered faintly under the moonlight, their engines whisper-silent.

Rex soared into the sky alongside them and entered the aerial battlefield.

But almost immediately, he realized that this was a different kind of war. Space combat, which he had mastered, was vastly different from atmospheric dogfighting. Here, gravity mattered. Angles, wind pressure, and the unpredictable nature of the infected made every second a deadly puzzle.

Each time Rex locked onto an enemy fighter, another one would flank him. His movements were a split second behind, and he took hit after hit, shaking violently inside his armor.

Still, he pressed on.

Though he wasn’t a natural pilot, his adaptability, combined with the advanced AI support from his halo and his relentless drive, helped him score several kills over the hours. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

He destroyed multiple enemy fighters using his electromagnetic rifle, coordinating his Wraith wing like a seasoned commander. Even so, it felt like trying to drain an ocean with a spoon.

The enemy forces were simply too many.

But Rex didn’t give up. Not because he believed he could win alone but because he knew someone had to hold the sky until the next piece of their plan was ready to fall into place.

On the opposite side of the battlefield, far away from the roaring skies and the chaos unfolding below, the Supreme Commander of the mercenary forces stood calmly atop a raised observation platform.

He was the same Tier 6 powerhouse who had fought Rex hours earlier. His towering figure was relaxed, one hand resting on his hip while the other held a nutrient bar he slowly munched on, as if he were watching a sporting match instead of an all-out war.

Letting out a long, low whistle as he watched Rex dart through the sky in a dogfight, he grinned. "That boy’s got guts... I’ll give him that."

Behind him, one of his elite Tier 6 subordinates stepped forward with his arms crossed and his expression serious. "Are you sure we shouldn’t take him out now, Commander? He’s already exhausted, and if we act now, we can tilt the battle."

The commander gave a lazy shrug, his grin never leaving. "No need. We’re just here to buy time, not win outright. If we make a move, their Tier 6 elites will make a move too, and from what you told me, those bastards are very strong."

He gave the man a heavy pat on the shoulder and added, "We’re mercenaries, not a standing army. We don’t throw ourselves into fights unless the pay’s big enough to make the risk worthwhile."

The other Tier 6 snorted. "Coward’s logic."

"What the hell did you just say?" the first Tier 6 turned on him with a glare. In the blink of an eye, their foreheads clashed, and a violent burst of Tier 6 aura erupted around them, sending nearby soldiers scrambling for cover.

The tension climbed quickly as the two towering elites pushed against each other, grinning like wild animals. But before things could escalate further, someone else shouted out.

"Enough! Volkon! Zorbag! You’re in the presence of the boss!"

The shout didn’t match the figure who stepped forward. The voice was surprisingly high-pitched, almost sugary sweet, like a bubbly teenage girl’s.

But the body it came from was the complete opposite, a huge, armor-clad beast of a man with bulging muscles. Despite his massive frame, he moved with a strange grace.

"Aw, come on, pretty General Zanar. You’re always ruining our fun," Volkon said with a grin while rubbing the side of his face where Zanar had punched him.

"Yeah," Zorbag chimed in while stretching his shoulders, "He’s probably just grumpy. You know... that time of the month."

Volkon burst out laughing. "You idiot! He’s a guy! He doesn’t have that time of the month!"

"How can you tell?" Zorbag replied with mock suspicion, narrowing his eyes at Zanar."He never takes off that helmet. For all we know, he’s a she under there!"

The growing banter was suddenly interrupted when the Supreme Commander raised a hand, stepping between the bickering powerhouses like a teacher breaking up a fight between rowdy kids. His voice was calm but carried authority that silenced them instantly.

"That’s enough. I’m getting a transmission from the guest I invited."

At his words, everyone straightened up, sensing the importance of what was coming. The commander tapped a few commands into his wrist-mounted device, and within seconds, a large holo-screen flickered into existence above them. Static crackled before forming a clear image.

The face on the screen wasn’t someone they recognized but the moment it appeared, a cold tension settled in the air.

Even Zorbag and Volkon fell silent.

The holo-screen flickered for a second, and then a strange, monstrous figure slowly came into view. The image sharpened, revealing a towering creature, humanoid in shape but unmistakably alien.

The being had thick golden scales covering its massive, muscular body, glistening slightly as if coated in oil. Its head was lizard-like, long and narrow, with rows of sharp, uneven teeth jutting from a crooked jaw.

Every few seconds, a strand of thick saliva slipped from the corner of its mouth, hanging for a moment before splattering onto the unseen floor below.