Onderon, capital city of Izzy City.
Central Trade Tower—or rather, what had once been the Central Trade Tower. This tower, more than 800 meters tall, had now completely collapsed, becoming an enormous field of rubble spanning over a kilometer and completely cutting off several surrounding blocks, including the main roads!
Ordinary vehicles could no longer pass through here. Even picking one's way through the ruins on foot would take at least an hour. So the only option was hovercars or spacecraft.
But now that the Galactic Republic had gained air superiority, whether those flying vehicles could get through was up to them.
Around the ruins, screams, wails, and sobs rang out without end. Countless people had been struck, injured, or killed by debris from the collapsing building. Many cried out in despair, using every kind of tool—even their bare hands—to dig through the rubble, trying to pull out the family and friends buried within.
But that was impossible...
Severed limbs were visible everywhere among the ruins. Ash-gray hands stretched toward the sky, as though they had tried to grasp that last sliver of life when the building came down.
This had been one of the city's busiest districts. When General Kalani issued the martial law order, huge numbers of civilians had been trapped inside, too afraid to leave. And now, the building had been bombed to the ground!
The casualties were beyond calculation.
Overhead, large formations of Galactic Republic fighter squadrons swept past at low altitude. V-19 light fighters covered ARC-170 heavy fighters as they precisely launched missiles and blaster fire, wiping out every nearby firing position!
The violent explosions further increased the casualties in the area. Then, one CSS-1 Republic-class shuttle after another descended. Their hatches opened, and masses of Republic soldiers in gray uniforms rushed out, charging without