(The skies of planet Nemo, a few minutes later.)
Soon, the Yu Clan’s assault on Nemo officially began, as the Cult fighter jets rose to the skies to respond.
*VROOOOM*
*SHRRRRK*
Dozens of sleek black ships screamed into the upper atmosphere, their engines flaring like shooting stars as they climbed to meet the Yu formation head-on, the clash inevitable as steel and mana converged above the planet.
From the very first collision, the differences between the two forces became apparent, for although the Yu Clan had come with higher numbers, bringing nearly eight thousand ships into orbit, their fleet carried none of the technological refinement that the Cult had invested into its air force.
Frigate met frigate, destroyer met destroyer, the same classes colliding in brutal symmetry, yet the outcome often fell in the Cult’s favor, for every one of their ships carried with it a hidden edge: an auto-deploying defensive shield that activated the instant an incoming attack threatened to be fatal.
*BOOOOM*
*FLASHHH*
A Yu Clan frigate scored a direct hit on a Cult counterpart, plasma burning through the hull, only for a translucent barrier to flare into existence at the last instant, absorbing the blow and dissolving the impact into harmless sparks before vanishing just as quickly.
The Yu pilot’s victory cry died in his throat, replaced by horror as the shield flickered out and the Cult ship’s cannons answered in kind, ripping his vessel to pieces.
The difference was like that across the sky, again and again, as Cult ships turned sure kills into reversals, their enemies realizing too late that every engagement required twice the firepower to confirm a kill.
Though they fought from the disadvantageous position of climbing upward, where their thrust strained against the pull of gravity, the Cult squadrons still pressed on with ruthless precision, refusing to yield an inch of the skies.
Their formations rippled like blades of black iron, each unit covering the other, each protective shield turning moments of doom into opportunities for retaliation, until the Yu forces found themselves losing more than they could replace.
"Hold the line! Push harder, they bleed more than we do!" The Cult pilots cried, their voices hard as steel, as the first dozen Yu frigates fell from the heavens in fire and smoke, their burning wrecks streaking toward the ground like meteor showers.
The balance of numbers still favored the Yu, yet slowly, piece by piece, the sky itself seemed to bend toward the Cult, as though fate itself acknowledged that the stronger technology and sharper discipline could make up for disparity in numbers.
—------------
Leo’s eyes narrowed as he tracked the battle above, his blood pumping hot in his veins as he muttered a single word.
"[Enhance]."
His legs coiled with raw strength before exploding into motion, and with a single leap he soared hundreds of feet into the air, his daggers gleaming as he struck at the belly of a frigate that had dipped too low.
*SLASHHHH*
The blades bit through the undercarriage, sparks bursting as Leo ripped open its armor before gravity pulled him back down, the ship spiraling out of formation with black smoke pouring from its wound.
"Not bad, cousin!" Veyr shouted from the ground, grinning wide as he too whispered "[Enhance]," his muscles swelling as he vaulted into the skies like a launched spear, his massive sword glowing crimson as he brought it down with a roar.
[Final Slash]
The corresponding slash cleaved into the wing of a destroyer, severing one of its stabilizers and sending it tilting sideways into its allies, two ships colliding in a fiery blast that lit the battlefield like dawn itself.
*KABOOM*
Meanwhile, Viper and Su Pei chose a different path, their bodies flashing with mana as they simply ascended into the skies themselves, blades in hand, moving as though gravity had no claim over them.
*SHHHHHK*
*BOOOOM*
Viper darted across the flank of a frigate, his twin blades leaving trails of black light that looked like coiling serpents shredding through plating, as he destroyed ship after ship with lethal precision.
Su Pei followed with equal ferocity, his movements sharp and surgical, as his greatsword cut through Yu Clan ships like open fruit, each strike laced with mana so dense that even reinforced hulls of destroyers crumpled like paper before him.
Together, the four of them fought not as mere men fighting for a common cause, but rather as the most terrifying air defence the planet had, as they destroyed an enemy ship every five seconds or so, lending a significant hand to the Cult’s overall air defence efforts.
Naturally, the lower tiered Leo and Veyr struck fewer ships, their leaps always ending in a return to ground, yet every time they brought down a vessel it carried weight, for the sight of them rising from the surface and tearing through steel by hand was enough to light a fire in every Cult soldier’s heart below.
The men could see that it wasn’t easy for them to rise to the skies and deliver these slashes.
That every time they fell, it was not necessarily a graceful fall, as they often stumbled over sharp rocks or fell on their backs, however, no matter how they fell, they still kept getting back up and jumping straight off, as they tried their best for the sake of everyone.
—-----------
From the surface, the soldiers of the Dragon Army watched the battle above unfold with their necks craned high, as they bore witness to a war unlike anything they had ever imagined.
*BOOOOM*
*CRASHHH*
Every time a Yu ship went down, crashing in flames against the horizon, a roar erupted from the make-shift fortifications, as soldiers cried out in unison, their voices rising above the thunder of battle.
"They did it! Another one down!"
*Cheers*
*Claps*
Cheers echoed across the trenches as men who had been moments from despair now clutched their weapons tighter, their eyes burning with newfound determination, for the sight of their dragons fighting in the heavens themselves was a vision too grand to ignore.
When Leo struck a frigate and sent it spiraling, the soldiers chanted his name, calling him the Shadow Dragon, their voices shaking the walls as they claimed him to be their strongest warrior.
When Veyr split a destroyer with one strike, they bellowed for the Dragon himself, the sound of their war cry filling the night air until it drowned out even the rumble of engines.
In those moments, the fear that had once gripped them dissolved, replaced by admiration so fierce it became a weapon in itself, their trembling hands steadying, their hunched shoulders straightening, their spirits ignited into fire.
Quietly, within their own hearts, many made the same vow: that when the time came for the ground battle, they would fight with the same spirit, with the same ferocity, with the same refusal to yield as their lords had shown above.
Seeing their Dragons fight to the very peak of their strength reminded them that they too could be more than lambs waiting for slaughter, that they too could be wolves.
And so the chants carried across the battlefield, rising and falling with every explosion, as the soldiers gave their lords their faith, and their lords in turn gave them the hope that this battle could definitely be won.