The giant spear in Tyler’s mech began glowing brighter and brighter.

Blue energy surged through the massive Carbonyx crystal embedded at its center while electrical arcs spread across the weapon’s surface. The surrounding air distorted slightly from the pressure building around it.

Inside Capital Headquarters, several officers immediately noticed the energy readings rising rapidly.

"Commander, that weapon’s energy output is increasing again!"

Tyler’s mech slowly raised the spear toward the sky.

Then suddenly—

Several giant arrows descended from above.

The arrows tore through the clouds at terrifying speed before instantly piercing multiple Capital aircraft.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Explosions lit up the sky one after another.

Several fighter crafts spiraled downward in flames before crashing into the forest surrounding Sector 11.

Tyler paused.

"So fast?" he muttered.

High above the battlefield floated another giant mech.

Unlike Tyler’s heavily armored combat unit, this one looked slimmer and more elegant. Its structure resembled a giant female warrior holding an enormous mechanical bow.

The mech slowly lowered the gigantic weapon after firing.

Back inside the hidden Embers control base, Tyler immediately removed his visor and looked toward his right.

"Tansy!" he shouted.

Inside another control sphere nearby, Tansy floated calmly while controlling the archer mech remotely.

"What?" she asked casually.

"Stop kill stealing!"

Tansy looked completely shameless.

"You were charging your attack too slowly."

Tyler’s mouth twitched.

Then he immediately put the visor back on and returned to controlling his mech.

Meanwhile, several Capital tanks below had already repositioned themselves toward Tyler’s damaged mech.

"Fire!"

Multiple shells blasted toward him simultaneously.

Tyler’s mech suddenly accelerated sideways while the giant spear in its hand glowed again.

Then—

A gigantic iron ball attached to a heavy chain suddenly appeared out of nowhere beside the battlefield.

The enormous weapon swung violently through the air before smashing directly into one of the tanks.

The armored vehicle flew across the battlefield like a kicked toy before crashing into another military transport nearby.

The giant iron ball then rapidly retracted backward through the air.

Connected to the chain was another mech unit.

This one looked completely different from the others.

Its body was rounder, bulkier, and strangely resembled a giant fat man.

Inside the control room, Tyler immediately removed his visor again and turned toward his left.

Rose floated inside another neural control sphere while grinning proudly.

"These sisters..." Tyler muttered helplessly.

Rose laughed loudly.

"Our mech is cute."

"That thing is literally a giant wrecking ball."

"Exactly."

Tyler gave up arguing and quickly focused again.

"Oi, deactivate the system already," he said seriously. "I’m finally within their security network range."

Alan Runner said, "Got it."

A few seconds later, strange noises began echoing throughout the Sector 11 mining zone.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

One by one, the machines suddenly shut down.

The giant electric restraint systems connected to the prisoners immediately lost power as well.

Then—

CLANK.

Chains began falling apart across the mining pit.

Thousands of prisoners looked around in confusion.

Some stared at the broken restraints on their wrists silently.

Others slowly stepped backward in disbelief.

The electric fences were gone.

The chains were gone.

Even the guards were retreating desperately from the battlefield.

Many people genuinely thought they were dreaming.

For years, the Capital Army had seemed invincible.

And now?

They were losing.

Meanwhile, inside Capital Headquarters, the atmosphere had become completely chaotic.

The Commander slammed his fist onto the table furiously.

"Oh, shit!"

The entire tactical desk cracked apart from the impact.

"Dammit!"

Several officers nearby lowered their heads nervously.

The Commander’s face looked extremely ugly now.

They weren’t just losing a battle anymore.

They were losing control.

Then suddenly, a holographic projection appeared inside the command room.

The King.

The moment he appeared, everyone immediately knelt down.

Even the furious Commander lowered his head instantly.

The King quietly observed the battlefield footage displayed across the screens.

His expression remained emotionless.

"So," he said calmly, "we lost?"

The Commander immediately spoke.

"I apologize, my King."

Sweat visibly rolled down his face now.

"We still have combat mech units inside the Capital reserves. As long as we destroy the pilots controlling these machines, the Rebel mechs themselves will become useless."

The King stared at him silently for several seconds.

Then he finally replied.

"Then do it."

His voice remained calm.

But somehow that calmness felt even more terrifying.

"If you cannot defeat them quickly..."

The King’s eyes shifted toward the burning battlefield footage of Sector 11.

"...then just nuke them."

The entire command room became silent.

Before anyone could respond, the holographic communication disconnected instantly.

┉┈ ◈ ◉ ◈ ┈┉

Inside a temporary command center built beneath Sector 16, cameras and communication screens continuously flickered with battlefield reports from different sectors.

Tyler stood at the center of the room while multiple drones recorded him from different angles.

Beside him stood Tansy and Rose.

Behind them, giant screens displayed the symbols of the Embers alongside live footage from recently captured sectors.

Tyler calmly looked toward the camera before speaking.

"Latest update," he said. "From Sector 10 to Sector 15, all territories are now fully under our control."

The announcement was instantly broadcast across every hidden Embers network and liberated sector.

People stopped working just to watch it.

Even injured soldiers inside field hospitals looked toward nearby screens silently.

The video continued showing footage from recent battles.

Tyler’s flying mech defending the prisoners in Sector 11.

Tansy’s giant archer mech shooting down Capital aircraft from the sky.

Rose controlling the massive chained wrecking-ball mech while laughing loudly through communications.

The broadcast also showed ordinary Embers members fighting alongside the mech units, rescuing civilians, and dismantling prison camps built by the Capital.

For many people watching, it was the first time the Embers no longer looked like hidden rebels.

They looked like an actual army.

Tyler continued speaking calmly.

"We march toward the Capital."

The room behind him remained silent while the battlefield footage continued playing across the screens.

"At the end of this war," Tyler said, "Libria will have Embers shining brightly everywhere."

This time his voice became slightly louder.

Not shouting.

But confident enough to spread through every sector clearly.

Across liberated territories, countless Embers members immediately cheered.

Some slammed fists against tables.

Some shouted excitedly.

Others simply stared at the screens with heated expressions.

After hiding underground for decades, many of them finally felt hope for the first time.

Meanwhile, not everyone reacted positively.

Inside one of the secured Council communication rooms, several older members quietly watched the broadcast with complicated expressions.

One elder narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Look at this guy..."

Another elder stayed silent.

"He became an Elder only recently," the first one continued. "And now he’s already presenting himself as the face of the entire movement."

His expression looked thoughtful rather than angry.

"I don’t think his ambitions are small."

Several people inside the room quietly agreed.

Tyler was gathering influence far too quickly.

The soldiers admired him.

The younger generation followed him naturally.

And after the recent victories, even civilians had started viewing him as a symbol of resistance against the Capital.

Old Lady Veena, who was currently overseeing work in Sector 15, watched the same broadcast from another location.

She calmly sipped tea while several workers repaired damaged infrastructure nearby.

Then she smiled slightly.

"Looks like he’s pulling people toward his side already."

Alan Runner, standing nearby, chuckled.

"Well, you’re partly responsible for that."

Veena shrugged casually.

"As long as he wins, I don’t really care."

Meanwhile, the Capital was also moving rapidly.

After losing multiple sectors almost overnight, the Capital Army immediately changed strategies.

Instead of spreading forces thinly across the outer regions, they decided to fortify the remaining sectors directly under their control.

Mass evacuations began across Sector 1 through Sector 9.

Civilians were ordered underground into reinforced bunker systems built beneath each sector.

Sector 2, famous for its underwater residential city, became especially chaotic. Entire populations were evacuated from beneath the ocean structures and relocated into underground military shelters.

At the same time, the Capital Army began mobilizing fully.

Heavy tanks rolled through fortified roads.

Aircraft continuously landed inside military airfields.

Squadrons of combat mechs arrived one after another from hidden reserve bases.

Unlike the remotely controlled mech units used by the Embers, these were piloted directly by trained military personnel.

Entire sectors transformed into giant military strongholds within days.

Defense cannons were installed across major routes.

Missile platforms activated.

Drone patrols filled the skies constantly.

The Capital had completely abandoned the idea of "suppressing rebels."

Now they were preparing for total war.

And they were waiting for the Embers to arrive.

Meanwhile, inside another hidden Embers base, Tyler quietly read the newest intelligence reports projected before him.

"Looks like the Capital Army has fully occupied and fortified Sector 1 through Sector 9," he said calmly.

Tansy leaned against the wall nearby while Rose sat upside down on a chair for some reason.

"Sounds annoying," Rose muttered.

Tyler smiled slightly while looking at the map.

Actually, this was exactly what he wanted.

Then he smiiled

"Good. Now it’s finally time for us to move."

The atmosphere inside the room quietly changed.

Everyone understood what that meant.

The earlier battles were only the beginning.

But from this point onward—

The real war would begin.

Embers versus the Capital.

Rebels versus the Government.