Intergalactic conquest with an AI

"What this bald brute said makes sense, boss. Our mission was to capture that girl from the Blood Clan, not to fight until our last breath against these abominations." Zorbag's gravelly voice echoed through the tent as he hurled one of the severed claws of a Tier Three mutant onto the ground at Valxir's feet.

The claw thudded against the floor like a challenge, still dripping with putrid blood. Zanar reacted immediately with fury sparking in his eyes. His body trembled as he unleashed his Tier Six aura in full, its crushing weight surging toward Zorbag with enough force to make the tent's metal supports groan.

The air shimmered with pressure, but Zorbag merely smirked. He stood tall with his arms crossed, letting the invisible force wash over him as though it were nothing more than a warm breeze.

"Is this all you've got, little Zanar?" He asked with a mocking grin, his voice rumbling like a taunt meant to cut deeper than any blade. The reason for this was simple, Zorbag was a Tier Six middle rank, a full step higher than Zanar. The gulf between them was wide, and Zorbag reveled in the reminder.

"Enough. Both of you." Valxir's voice broke through the rising tension; it was calm yet edged with authority. He rose to his feet as the last flicker of energy pulsed through his power armor.

The battery, finally fully charged, hummed like a slumbering beast awakened. The helmet sealed over his face with a hiss, hiding his expression in the cold glow of his visor.

"Yes, you two are right," Valxir admitted, his voice sounding metallic through the helmet. "We are mercenaries, not a standing army trained to die on command. But you've both forgotten something far more important."

He lifted his hand and pointed upward. The motion was slow and deliberate, making the others instinctively follow his gesture to the heavens above.

"Even if we wanted to run, we can't. The one besieging this planet is the Collector's hound. If we attempt to flee through a rift, he will tear it open and slaughter us before we take a single step into safety. And besides…"

His voice softened, though the weight of his words carried into their chests like iron. "We cannot abandon our brothers and sisters who are still fighting on the ground. We stand with them, Volkong. Zorbag. Or do you intend to turn your back on family?"

The tent fell silent. Valxir stepped closer and clapped each of them on the shoulder; the strength of his grip was unmistakable, neither threatening nor dismissive but steady and grounding.

Then, without waiting for their reply, he pushed past the tent flaps, his armored form outlined by the fiery glow of the battlefield beyond. Zanar followed immediately, loyal as ever, though his face remained hard.

"Sir," Zanar spoke in a low tone as they walked, his voice sharp with restrained anger. "Are you certain about this approach? Would it not be better to put those two in their place rather than letting them bark their insolence? A quick lesson would silence their arrogance."

Valxir chuckled beneath his helmet, a sound that seemed oddly warm for a man drenched in steel and war.

"You think I do not see it? I know you guys are always at each other's throats. But I also know their hearts. We are one family, Zanar. We have marched through fire together, bled in the same mud, and shared victories and defeats."

"They voice their frustrations because they care for themselves, for us, for all of us. Let them bark. In truth, their loyalty has already been proven a hundred times over."

That warmth was what set Valxir apart. To his enemies, he was merciless, a storm of destruction. But to his soldiers, he was the fire in the cold, a leader who bound men of greed and steel into something resembling kin.

For that reason, countless mercenary groups had sworn allegiance to him, weaving themselves into his army and fleet. And when the last mercenary king had fallen, Valxir had risen as one of the strongest candidates to inherit the throne.

With three Tier Six generals at his side, and he himself a Tier Six powerhouse, the crown had felt within reach.

But now… the dream was cracking. This battle had devoured everything from him, be it resources, troops, ships... swallowed whole by the endless tide. The scraps of profit taken from the Collector's fleet were nothing compared to the abyss of loss.

For the first time in decades, Valxir felt the cold shadow of doubt whispering that he might not have enough left to climb. And then it came.

A thunderous roar split the sky, followed by a violent quake that shook the earth beneath their boots. The very ground split open with jagged scars as wide as rivers. Soldiers screamed as the terrain itself betrayed them, gaping chasms devouring whole battalions, swallowing equipment and men alike without mercy.

"Zanar! Release your aura now! Stay at my side!" Valxir shouted out, his voice cutting through the chaos like a blade. He unleashed his power in a flood, like a storm of raw energy that radiated outward in defiance against the abyss opening around them.

Zanar obeyed instantly, his own aura flaring, the two forces merging into a barrier of colorful power that fought against the unnatural destruction.

But their light was met with something darker.

A suffocating aura swept over the battlefield, smothering everything it touched. The darkness spread like ink in water, swallowing colors, life, and sound itself.

The weak... those without planetary or stellar energy did not even have time to scream. Their bodies disintegrated into fine dust, erased from existence, their marks of life obliterated as though they had never been.

On the other side of the battlefield, Rex's unconscious body lay safely inside the transport ship. He was unaware of the chaos outside, shielded by Cleo, who had seized full control of the vessel. At her command, the ship surged into the skies, its engines roaring as it climbed above the cracking earth.

Meanwhile, Little Red hovered nearby, her crimson hair glowing faintly under the pressure of her aura. Beside her, the two assassins of the Blood Clan spread their power wide, their Tier Six energies flaring like shields against the suffocating tide of darkness.

Together, the three formed a barrier, keeping the black aura at bay and preventing it from swallowing the transport and the fragile life within.

But the legions were not so fortunate. Whole formations were ripped apart as the ground crumbled beneath their feet. Some tried to escape by taking flight, yet even the air wasn't a safe haven for them, for the dark aura corroded everything it touched.

Flesh turned to ash mid-flight, armor dissolved into black dust, and even machines were not spared.

The mighty drone carrier disintegrated in less than a breath. Its hull cracked, warped, and then scattered into the void like dry leaves in a storm.

"Land on top of the transport ship," Little Red ordered sharply, her eyes never leaving the shifting fog below. "But keep your auras burning. Do not relax for a second. I cannot see what is inside this black mist, and even my sensors are blind to it. Remain on guard."

The two assassins obeyed at once, descending toward the ship while maintaining their radiant defenses.

Little Red, however, chose a different path. She drifted a short distance away from the vessel, positioning herself like a lone flame in a sea of night. She wanted whatever dwelled within the darkness to look at her first, to test her rather than the vulnerable transport behind.

Her gamble was answered.

From the thick fog, the air split with a screech that shook the sky. A monstrous silhouette burst forth; it was a winged horror with scales like molten iron and jaws wide enough to swallow a fortress. It lunged at her in a single bound, its mouth gaping, eager to devour her whole.

Little Red's eyes flashed. She lifted her hand and, with a single vertical motion, called down a blinding ray of light. The beam struck like a divine blade, cutting through the creature in one clean stroke.

Its scream ended in silence as its body fell apart in midair, reduced to smoldering halves that dissolved into ash before reaching the ground.

But that was only the beginning.

The mist churned violently, and then countless more creatures surged forth. They came like a storm of arrows; their bodies were twisted, their wings broken, and their claws were gleaming with poison. They shot toward her as if the darkness itself had vomited them out.

Yet none could touch her.

Her aura burned too brightly, a blazing inferno of Tier Six peak energy, radiant and merciless. Each creature that neared her was reduced to ash before its claws could reach her, their bodies igniting in mid-flight as though they had leapt into the heart of the sun.

Still, they did not stop. The swarm pressed on endlessly, throwing themselves into the flames of her aura, uncaring of their own deaths. They came faster and thicker, like waves crashing against an unyielding shore.

Little Red narrowed her eyes, holding steady, refusing to falter even as the world seemed to drown in shadows. Her focus was on the endless tide before her, and for that reason, she did not see it until it was too late.

A sudden weight fell from the heavens.

A colossal black hand, vast enough to blot out the stars, erupted from the mist. Its fingers curled like pillars of night, and before she could react, it came crashing down. The impact slammed into her, into the assassins behind her, and even into the transport ship carrying Rex.

The ground trembled as though the planet itself were breaking apart.

Little Red was hurled into the wreckage, her body cracking through shattered stone. Dust and debris filled the air, choking the battlefield with a suffocating veil. Pain lanced through her as she forced herself back onto her feet, her aura still flickering like a dying flame.