(Aboard one of the invading ships, Yu Day’s POV)
Yu Day stood at the command bridge in silence, his gaze fixed on the chaotic ballet of fire and steel that painted the skies of Nemo, his eyes narrowing as he measured every clash with the calm patience of a man who had waded through a thousand wars before.
The Cult’s ships, though fewer in numbers and fighting with an angular disadvantage, still managed to win the early struggle for superiority just because they were shielded by a strange technology that turned certain death into sudden reprieve.
For a moment, he was surprised to see the Cult’s one-time use barriers.
The way Cult ships flickered with translucent shields just before impact, negating what should have been fatal blows, was enough to tilt the balance of the battle in their favor, despite being outnumbered.
However, once the initial wave of surprise faded, Yu Day began admiring the shield as a genuine piece of engineering marvel, as he wondered if the same could be implemented for the Yu Clan fleets.
’If I survive this war, I must push the Yu Clan engineers to build something similar. This is not a bad idea at all... technology that turns certain death into a second chance. That device can save countless lives and ships, and possibly save us billions of MP every year,’ Yu Day mused, nodding with quiet acknowledgment as his lips curled into the faintest of smirks.
"Tell the carrier ships to find a way to land now, also tell the Legion Commanders to disembark and hold the line."
He instructed, as "Yes, Commander!", came the reply instantly from his Lieutenant.
"Also someone please open the entry door to this ship for me," Yu Day added, his voice calm but final. "It looks like I must jump out and enter the fray myself."
Gasps echoed across the bridge, but Yu Day paid them no mind.
His boots clanged as he strode toward the entry door, his cloak trailing behind him, the pressure of his presence enough to silence doubts before they could form.
*FRWSSHHHH*
*AIR CURRENTS*
Before he reached his destination, he found the entry door to have already been opened for him, as he nodded in acknowledgement to the officer that stood holding the gate, before jumping out, as he flew straight into combat.
*FWOOSH*
His body cut through the air like a meteor, descending toward the clash where ships burned and men screamed, his aura burning bright enough that even those on the ground craned their heads upward in awe and terror.
—---------
*CLANG*
*BOOOOM*
*BOOOM*
A couple Cult destroyers were taken out by Yu Day in quick succession, as the impact of his arrival was felt immediately.
’Someone must go and stop him....’
Su Pei thought, as he saw Yu Day from afar, before deciding that rather than waiting for someone else to take the challenge, he should do it himself, as he flew straight towards the man.
*CLANG*
*CLANG*
*RIPPLE*
Their blades collided mid-air, the force rippling outward in shockwaves that shattered smaller craft in their vicinity, tossing wreckage into spirals of flame.
"So it’s you," Yu Day said with a cold smile, pressing his blade against Su Pei’s in a grinding lock.
"I did not expect to see the great Su Pei, who was once hailed as the best defensive swordsman in the Su Clan, being reduced to nothing more than a Cult dog."
Yu Day taunted, as Su Pei’s expression remained unchanged.
"I’d extend the offer for you to join us, but I doubt my master would lower himself enough to accept scum like you." Su Pei retorted, as his response made Yu Day smirk, as he increased the pressure behind his sword.
*CLASHHH*
Their blades split apart, arcs of silver and crimson slicing through the air as they reengaged, each strike birthing explosions that could be felt from the trenches below.
*BOOOOM*
*CRACKKK*
Ships were caught in the periphery of their duel, hulls shredded apart by stray strikes, pilots screaming as they spiraled into oblivion.
Yet neither Yu Day nor Su Pei so much as blinked, their focus entirely on the other, as the two apex predators clashed with lethal intent.
---
(Meanwhile on the ground)
*THRUMM*
*BOOOOM*
Meanwhile, the Yu Clan carriers performed emergency landing maneuvers, disgorging lines of soldiers from their hulls, who quickly formed into defensive ranks around the military bases of Nemo.
"ALL MEN LOCK SHIELDS, PREPARE THE TORTOISE FORMATION!"
The Legion Commanders yelled, as the Yu Clan soldiers quickly complied.
With shields locked and weapons raised, they showed discipline in quickly forming a functional wall, as they quickly got into proper battle formation.
*STOMP*
*STOMP*
Hundreds of thousands of men marched in unison, their banners raised high, their chants filling the battlefield like a drumbeat of war.
But then, from the Cult side, only two figures surged forward— Leo, and Veyr, as while the rest of the Dragon Army fought from the advantage of trenches and hastily built defensive lines, the two Dragons charged forward like they feared no-one.
Their feet hit the ground in perfect synchrony, their weapons gleaming, their auras blazing so intensely that the Yu Clan soldiers before them felt their spines straighten in reflex.
*SLASHHH*
*BOOOM*
Leo’s daggers flashed first, weaving through the ranks like streaks of black lightning, each strike severing a throat, piercing a heart, dismantling the Yu formation piece by piece.
Beside him, Veyr was a storm incarnate, his blade cleaving through shields and armor as if they were made of parchment, each swing claiming half a dozen lives at once.
"HOLD THEM DOWN!"
"THOSE ARE THE MOST WANTED MEN IN THE UNIVERSE, CLAIM THEIR HEADS AND YOU BECOME A LEGEND FOREVER!"
The Yu Clan soldiers shouted in defiance, trying to hold their line, but each attempt at resistance was met with unrelenting brutality.
The Dragon and Shadow Dragon fought back-to-back, their movements so synchronized that it seemed as though one mind guided both bodies.
*CRASHHH*
*ROARRRR*
Explosions lit the battlefield, the air thick with screams and steel, yet the sight of the two brothers tearing through the swarm became a beacon to the Cult soldiers, a living banner that no enemy could hope to topple.
Even surrounded, even drowning in enemies, they fought without pause, their blades carving arcs of inevitability, as the Yu Clan soldiers pushed harder, desperate to encircle them, only for the duo to dismantle any and all attempts that they threw at them to hold them down.
"The Transcendent Tier..... it’s propelled me into a new gear, I can probably keep this up non-stop without needing a break—" Leo muttered, as he felt like despite going at full throttle, he did not feel his stamina depleting at all, as at the Transcendent Tier, he had already surpassed the limits of a mere mortal.
"Yeah, you might want to slow down, I’m falling behind just a tad—" Veyr said, as unlike Leo, he could not see the perfect cracks in the enemy defence, or the precise arcs of their incoming attacks, causing him to waste more time on defeating each opponent as compared to Leo.
"Nah..... you keep up. Else I’ll smoke them on my own."
Leo replied, as he felt confident, that apart from the Yu Clan monarch, no-one else could stop him right now.