The Struggle in the Shadows Before “Dawn” Arrives

Already Underway

The Empire's efficiency was displayed to the fullest at this moment.

Only two hours had passed since the Space Gate opened, yet a relatively complete Frontline Base had already risen from the deserts of Earth-21, its clear outline taking shape.

Standardized barracks stood in neat rows, enough to accommodate the advance force's rest and recuperation;

The prefabricated domes of the temporary factories had been sealed, with production lines inside being calibrated to prepare for local-resource resupply;

The vast warehouse district held mountains of supplies, managed and allocated by Terminators and Hunter-Killers;

At the heart of it all was the command center, a sturdy multi-level fortress. Its rooftop communications arrays and sensors rotated continuously, like the base's beating heart and eyes observing the outside world.

Meanwhile, Earth-21's sun was slowly sinking beyond the distant, parched horizon. The sky shifted from dusky yellow to an oppressive dark red mixed with dust haze, before finally being swallowed by deep inky blue.

Night began to shroud this lifeless land.

Above the base, the Empire's power had already made itself known.

An Emperor-class Battleship of the Flame Salamanders Legion, massive as a mountain, hovered at low altitude. Its heavy armor and densely packed broadside Macro-cannon Array gleamed with a cold metallic sheen in the last light of day.

Several smaller yet equally imposing cruisers, along with stout supply ships, guarded the battleship, forming the beginnings of an aerial fortress formation.

Farther away, agile frigates had long since entered low orbit like watchful falcons, conducting area scans and security patrols.

At this moment, on the second floor of the command center, inside the large conference room;

The atmosphere here was utterly unlike the silence of the night outside, filled instead with gravity and focus.

The conference room was brightly lit, and nearly all core