Chapter 646: The War Begins
[ WARNING - This Chapter contains strong language, Gore, and extreme violence, please read at your own discretion. ]
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(Planet Juxta, A Common Soldiers POV)
"The planetary mana shield... it’s gone."
A soldier whispered, his voice breaking as his eyes stared wide at the heavens above.
The Juxta Planetary Shield had been shattered for the first time in four centuries, and enemy ships now entered their lands without any checks.
"No... no, no, no, no... it was supposed to be unbreakable! This can’t be true, this must be an illusion!" another cried out, as he clutched his helmet with trembling hands, refusing to believe this was real.
Every Cult soldier at this moment felt fear and shock running through their veins, as they knew that in a handful of seconds, a bloody battle would start to unfold.
A battle, which would see many of them being killed for sure.
And as a result, fear spread quickly amongst the ranks.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, we are all going to die—"
"Will I ever see my wife or daughter again?"
"Without the shield, can we even hope to hold on?"
Some wondered aloud, however, although a wave of fear washed over the men at first, it also subsided just as fast.
Once the inevitability of the upcoming fight settled, the hidden courage buried inside each heart started to surface, as it was the Captains and Lieutenants who took charge first.
"SHUT UP! STOP QUAKING LIKE RIGHTEOUS FACTION CHICKEN.
THIS IS JUXTA, THIS IS OUR LAND.
AND IF THE RIGHTEOUS BASTARDS WANT IT, THEY’LL HAVE TO CLAIM IT OVER MY DEAD BODY!" A Captain screamed, as his courage inspired many others.
"He’s right. So what if the shield is gone.... The mana shields are a relatively modern piece of technology, our ancestors have held onto Juxta for over two millenia, long before we ever had shields.
If they can hold onto the planet, so can we!" A Lieutenant added, as his words reminded the men of their prideful lineage, and how this was a land of their ancestors.
"For Juxta!"
"For the Cult!"
"For the Dragon!"
"For Lord Soron!"
"For our Families!"
The chants began, as soon fear turned into adrenaline, and the men began to scream their throats out.
"COME AT US, YOU RIGHTEOUS SCUM!"
"COME EAT MY SHIT, YOU COWARDS!"
The men screamed, as even though their voices sounded hoarse, and their throats hurt raw, this small act of defiance shifted the morale completely.
The men had decided that if this was to be their last day alive, they would greet it not with quiet despair but with battle cries that clawed their way toward the heavens.
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Meanwhile, above their heads the storm finally broke.
*BOOOOOOOM*
The first wave of fire rained down as the Universal fleet descended, their Destroyers spewing endless torrents of mana bolts and heavy artillery fire.
*CRASH*
*ROAR*
*RUMMMMBLE*
The ground shook as strikes cratered the outer military warehouses, ripping through storage sheds and sending plumes of dust and flame into the air.
*KABOOM*
However, while they attacked, the Juxta defenders did not stay idle either, as they shot back with equal ferocity.
*FWOOOSH*
Railgun towers lit up the night sky, their crystal cores flaring bright white before unleashing beams that tore through the void, punching holes clean through Destroyer hulls.
*BOOM*
*SHATTER*
A Universal cruiser split in half, its wreckage burning as it spiraled downward into the atmosphere, slamming into the plains with an earth-splitting explosion that flattened everything for miles.
"Keep firing!" officers bellowed, as surface-to-air mana cannons launched barrage after barrage, their projectiles trailing luminous arcs that burst into dazzling explosions across the night sky.
*WHISTLE*
*BOOM*
Anti-aircraft missiles shot upward in swarms, tracking targets with precision before bursting like fireworks, reducing squadrons of bombers into scrap metal and falling corpses.
But the invaders answered in kind.
*RRRRAAAAAGHHHH*
The Universal Destroyers unleashed their own devastating salvos, beams of blue energy slashing across the horizon, ripping defensive towers from their roots, and shattering mana cannons into ash.
The once-proud military bases of Juxta began to burn, destruction and ruin taking place everywhere.
"Mayday, Mayday" A righteous faction pilot screamed into comms, but his words were cut off, as a Cult Fighter Frigate took to the skies and neutralized him.
As by now, even the Cult’s defensive crafts took to the skies in a counter-offensive.
*WHISHH*
*BOOOM*
The skies turned into a graveyard of twisted hulls and flaming wrecks, Cult ships and Universal Destroyers tearing each other apart at point-blank range.
*CLANG* *SHATTER* *BOOM*
Bodies rained down with the debris— some burnt beyond recognition, others screaming as they plummeted, only to vanish in explosions below.
*SPLAT*
Blood misted the cockpits of shattered fighters, screams and static filling the comm-channels until they became indistinguishable from the thunder of war itself.
Still, the Cult fought back like demons unleashed.
Every ship that fell was replaced by another taking its place in formation, every soldier on the ground that manned the air defences fought with teeth bared and eyes blazing, as though determined to drag ten enemies with them before death claimed their flesh.
And it was this passion of theirs, that caused heavier casualties on the enemy side than what Entrail or Streak could have ever expected.
Out of the 20,000 ships that entered Juxta’s atmosphere, 8,000 were neutralized before they could ever land.
And even the ones that eventually did find ground, failed to cause significant damage to the military base before landing as no side managed to establish a clear advantage in these early stages of the conflict.
"The cuck enemy soldiers have landed! Let’s show them how real men fight!
Go! Go! Go! Show them the true taste of terror!"
"You righteous faction eunuchs can suck my balls! I know you have never grown a pair yourself, but you can suck on mine!"
The Cult Captains taunted, as they lost their speech filter in the heat of battle, and began to sputter whatever came to their mind first.