The troops were groggy and grumpy when they were ordered to fight for a second time in the same day, however, Max's orders were absolute and they had to comply.
The troops considered the first battle to be a fine victory, and were convinced of Max's competence as a commander which was the only reason why no riots broke out when he asked them to march immediately.
Max wanted to attack Geonmi planet, the small mining planet of the Paratus clan, where they had a small overall population of 2 million inhabitants, most of them located near a single large iron mine.
The planet only had 120,000 troops guarding it overall and had a tier4 veteran warrior as the planet's keeper.
It was the easiest planet to pick-off from all four planets with the only significance it provided to the Kingsman clan being the supply of steel which was sold way below market rate.
Even if the planet was captured, the only inconvenience it would bring to the Kingsman would be the loss of mining operations worth 2 million gold coins/ day
However, for a short period of time the loss was completely bearable.
Geonmi was covered in iron rich red soil, however, the iron content in its soil was so concentrated that it made cultivation of most crops impossible.
The only arable land on the planet being near a massive lake the size of a major sea on earth, which had a few thousand acres of nearby land where water cycle and rainfall was common.
The local agriculture was only enough to support a local population of 10 million inhabitants, and hence except for the iron mining the future aspect of the planet was also bleak.
" How long till we reach there? " Max asked the pilot, as he found himself once again inside the same travel ship, however the only difference between the previous battle and this one was that Asiva was not by his side this time around.
Naturally, Asiva wanted to come with him to fight, however, Max made her the guardian of the Paratus capital they just captured and convinced her that she needed to stay back.
The reason why Max did this was because he could see the emotional state Asiva was in after the victory and he knew in his heart that he needed to give her a few days to settle in.
Although she was an extremely valuable warrior on the battlefield, one who Max could entrust his back to, he needed to make do without her for now.
" We will enter the atmosphere in 7 minutes Captain " The pilot informed Max as Max looked at the massive looking red planet in front of him with great melancholic as it reminded him of Earth's neighbour, Mars
" Once I conquer this planet, I'll rename it to Mars 2.0, fuck the universe, I like it " Max murmured as he felt adrenaline course through his veins at the thought of the upcoming battle.
Soon, the ship entered the planet's atmosphere and the air defences were triggered, however, unlike the Paratus capital the air defences of Geonmi were even more pathetic as only two ships were hit before landing, killing around 2500 soldiers.
" Charge " Max shouted upon landing, as this time around all his forces were attacking a single military base constructed near the iron mines on the outskirts of a city.
It was clear to Max by the state of the unarmoured local soldiers that they were completely not expecting an attack, as they only had enough time to find the most crude weapons they could get their hands on before charging onto the battlefield.
[ Fireball ]
[ Fireball ]
[ Fireball ]
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[ Inferno ]
Max spammed about 50 fireballs non-stop before using an inferno spell as within the first two minutes of arriving at the battlefield he already killed 20 tier 1 soldiers, 5 tier 2 soldiers and one tier3 soldier.
The battle for the control of the planet was short and decisive as after about 45 minutes of fighting Abu, the military representative Vega had sent to oversee his forces, brought before Max the defeated Kingsman clan keeper of Geonmi planet, Roven Dar, who pleaded to Abu for a peaceful surrender.
Roven could see that defeat was inevitable, but he did not want his men to die for nothing as he decided to surrender and stop the bloodshed.
" You wish to surrender ? " Max questioned Roven, as the prideful warrior fell to his knees and said " You may take my head, but spare my men "
If it were just Roven, he would probably fight till his death, however, since he was responsible for the lives of many soldiers he was humble.
" Very well, we accept your surrender, but all your men have to sign a system contract that they will never harm the Paratus forces and will never pick up arms in support of the Kingsman clan ever again.
Additionally they have to be kept under observation for the period that this war lasts.
Maybe 3 months, maybe 3 years, but until we win against Dombivli City, they cannot leave Geonmi, is that okay? " Max asked Roven who nodded
" My men shall accept ". Roven said sullenly
" What about you, will you accept it? " Max asked with an icy edge to his voice.
" I'm loyal to the Kingsman clan, I'd rather die than surrender captain Ravan.
My only request is that you let my son cremate me properly in our ancestral grave on Geonmi planet and tell my wife I'm sorry for not coming back home for dinner, " Roven said as he looked straight into Max's eyes without fear and smiled.
Max was moved by Rovens words and demeanour, the man was truly simple and loyal.
Although he knew that letting such a powerful enemy go unharmed was stupid, he decided to spare his life.
" Free him, let him take his wife and kids and leave Geonmi planet " Max ordered as he began walking away from Roven
" Dont- kill me or the next time we meet I'll still be a Kingsman clan soldier opposing you, might try to kill you " Roven said as he did not wish for the enemy's mercy
" You can try….
But you won't succeed " Max said with confidence as he walked away from Roven with satisfaction in his heart that he had successfully captured two planets in a single day.
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/// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the PS target, good job everyone! ///