Chapter 645: An Unseen Device
(Space above Juxta, Entrail’s POV)
"Open fire!" Entrail commanded, as almost instantly, the first payload was discharged.
*THRUMMM*
*BOOOOOOOM*
Thousands of Destroyers lit up the void of space in unison, their mana cannons glowing with blinding intensity as volley after volley of attacks were unleashed.
*CRASH*
*FLASH*
*ROOOOAR*
From down below, it looked like a thousand asteroids were crashing down on the planet.... However, before they could get too far inside the atmosphere, the Juxta planetary shield intercepted them and neutralized the attack’s force.
(Bright Glow)
As a result, the shield lit up violently at the parts where it was struck, pink threads sparking across its translucent surface, that rippled outward in brilliant waves that briefly lit the entire atmosphere below.
*Sparkle*
*Glow*
For a moment the heavens themselves seemed aflame with war.
But when the brilliance faded, the shield still stood, thankfully looking untouched without so much as a single fracture.
"Again!" Entrail commanded, his eyes gleaming as his lips curled into a gentleman’s grin.
*BOOM*
*FLASH*
*CRACKLE*
Once more the fleet fired.
The bombardment falling down in endless waves that were enough to level a dozen worlds in an hour, but Juxta’s mana shield absorbed it all.
Each impact was answered by a flare of pink light, as the shield lattice flexed, adjusted, and returned to calm as though mocking the might of the Universal Army.
*Boom* *Boom* *Boom*
Minutes dragged into a rhythm of fire and defiance, causing the sky above Juxta to turn into a music concert.
However, despite the stalemate, no side gave up.
"Again... do not stop until it breaks."
Entrail commanded, as he watched the fight unfold with a calculated calm.
—-----------
Meanwhile, below in the trenches and ramparts, the Cult soldiers stared upward with breaths held tight in their throats.
Each time the sky lit pink, each time the ground shook, each time the shield flared under the assault, they flinched, their lungs refusing to release the captured breath until the glow above their heads subsided and the barrier still held firm.
"It’s holding... thank the Gods, it’s holding," one soldier muttered, his voice trembling as relief broke through the crushing fear.
"I swear, every time I see the sky light up like that, I think it’s gonna shatter... but she’s still there. Juxta’s shield doesn’t fall easy." Another added nervously, as he looked at the next volley descend.
Yet despite the fragile confidence, the pressure was constant.
The rumble of bombardment never ceased, rolling across the skies like thunder that refused to end.
"Keep steady, boys, tonight’s going to be a long one" a captain growled, though his own voice cracked under the strain.
"So long as that shield shines, we won’t have to fight." He reminded, but as the sky continued to blaze with each impact, even he found himself whispering a prayer.
—------------
"Enough... bring out the secret weapon," Entrail ordered at last, his tone even but his grin betraying the hunger beneath.
*THRUMMM*
*RATTLE*
Upon his command, from the belly of the lead carrier, a single vessel detached, that looked entirely different to any vessel the universe had ever seen before.
Its prow gleamed with reinforced alloy, the entire frame narrowed into a drill-like spear, as despite being as long as a Frigate, it seated only a single pilot, while 90% of its body was just a power core.
"That’s it, isn’t it? The Shield Buster," whispered an officer at the console, his fingers twitching nervously against the panel.
"Indeed," Entrail replied smoothly, his eyes locked on the viewscreen, as he clenched his fists in excitement.
"The very first of its kind, forged to end the age of planetary fortresses. This is its maiden deployment..... I can’t believe Lord Mauriss let us use it.
Our scientists had created this device a full decade ago, but we were holding back on using it till the right opportunity presented itself."
*VMMM*
The weapon’s core awakened, an unstable glow pulsing in erratic bursts.
Unlike the uniform charge of standard cannons, this charge-up felt dissonant, as if the whole array was unstable.
"Launch," Entrail commanded, as almost immediately—
*FWOOOOOM*
The ship fired, a colossal beam lancing downward, white-hot and violent, yet not steady, its pitch wavering mid-flight.
*CURL*
*ZAP*
The energy itself bent and shifted, its wavelength and colors changing from white, to pink, to blue to green to yellow, as it crawled through resonance bands until it found alignment.
*FLASH*
*CRACKLE*
The Juxta mana shield flared violently where the beam struck, sparks cascading across the lattice in countless ripples, not smooth like before but ragged, irregular, as though the shield had been forced to vibrate against its own foundation.
"What the hell is that?"
A Cult Lieutenant gasped, as the color of the beam shifted again and again, as it tried to find the exact resonance point at which the shield would break.
*RRRREEEEEE—-*
An unbearable sound soon took over planet Juxta, as once the resonance was found, the entire mana shield began to tremble violently like a piece of glass.
"This is not normal... this device and method of attack is something new," Charles muttered, his voice calm despite the threat, as he memorized how it worked, so that the Cult engineers could copy it later.
This was the first time that the Universal Government had displayed a piece of technology that the Cult did not possess, and Charles was impressed.
*CRACK*
*BOOOOOOM*
Soon, a fracture appeared, thin but undeniable, streaking across the shield like a lightning bolt.
The barrier that had held four centuries without failure now screamed under the alien resonance tearing it apart.
"Increase power output," Entrail said softly, almost lovingly, as the pilot obeyed, causing the beam to increase in size and intensity.
*RRREEEEEE!!!!*
*BWOOOOOOOM*
*SHATTER*
The shield broke.
The great dome of mana that had once wrapped Juxta like an unbreakable shell dissolved into shards of radiant energy, scattering like dying embers across the skies before fading into nothingness.
"And so, it begins"
Streak said, as he quietly tapped on his data slate, and sent a 20,000 MP bet amount to Entrail’s account, since the mana shield had fallen precisely 1 hour and 4 minutes after they began their assault.