Battle for Silent Star (Mid)

Boom!

With several shots from the alien ray guns, the first layer of defensive fortifications, the sturdiest symbol of the entire line, finally collapsed under the strain.

A plume of yellow-green dust billowed up.

Though the defenders resisted tenaciously and held their ground with grim determination, they were no match for the aliens' powerful laser weapons.

Clink, clink!

The crystal-formed aliens let out a few crisp, clattering sounds, as if celebrating the battle's smooth progress as expected.

At the same time, more Crystalline Aliens descended from their warships to the surface, joining in the extermination of the remaining humans.

In their minds, the battle had essentially reached its conclusion at this stage.

The enemy's weak fleet had fled in panic after they passed through the Portal, leaving only these isolated surface defenders and a not-so-sturdy defensive fortress.

Once the fortress fell, the next step would be the trivial task of cleaning up the fleeing remnants.

Countless defenders, like fine raindrops, had already slipped away as the fortress teetered, scattering across the Barren Crystal Plain like startled beasts.

The enemy was already routed.

The Xenos Army naturally had no more concerns. They slithered their crystalline bodies forward, advancing toward the humans' next line of defense.

They believed that with the overwhelming firepower of their Focused Energy Weapons, capable of melting anything, victory was merely a matter of time.

Until they spotted the Flying Automated Mechs circling overhead.

"Teacher, I'm not opposed to you seeking out someone for a duel."

"After all, in war, any tactic that works is a good one."

Kasgar was left speechless by Aqua's tactical reasoning.

"But the prerequisite for a duel is finding the enemy leader's location and breaking through their defenses before they slip away."

"And for that, you need the most critical element of modern warfare—"

"Intelligence. Information."

Kasgar paused briefly.

"Look." He pointed at the Crystalline Constructs advancing steadily toward them outside the fortress.

These aliens were drunk on their apparent victory, believing the defenders' resistance was a joke.

Without scouting the enemy's remaining firepower, they recklessly charged forward in pursuit of the fleeing troops.

"Next, they're going to pay for their arrogance."

As he spoke, Kasgar looked up at the Automated Flying Mechs encircling them from the sky.

"What are those?"

"Automated Flying Mechs."

Aqua frowned.

She had certainly heard of Automated Mechs as combat units—war machines commonly used by the Imperium of Man's allies, the Cybernetic Legion of the Martian Mechanicus.

They could fire and provide cover based on technicians' instructions, performing exceptionally well on the battlefield.

But no matter what, their size was never as tiny as what she saw now.

"Surprised?"

"These are the latest equipment I proposed, refined by Fulgrim, Philus, and many Mechanicus sages, and finally secured a trial production line from a Forge World of the Cybernetic Legion."

Kasgar explained with a hint of smug satisfaction.

These Automated Mechs were extremely small, some no bigger than a normal person's palm.

Leveraging their lightness and sheer numbers, they quickly dominated the poison-clouded skies of Silent Star.

"But what's the point of these tiny Mechs occupying the sky, even if they do?"

Aqua felt a bit regretful.

If these were the Mechanicus' behemoths, the Automated Flying Mechs' overwhelming firepower would have already routed the aliens.

But the Flying Mechs Kasgar deployed were too lightweight to carry any effective weapons.

Flying in the sky, they looked like toys.

"Surveying."

"Or rather, securing the best, most timely intelligence."

The aliens naturally noticed these unidentified flying objects.

Many of them had already fired their Focused Energy Weapons at these stubborn, harassing flyers.

As for the effect, it was just like that ancient Terran saying—using an anti-aircraft gun to swat a mosquito.

These tiny Automated Flying Mechs, as small as mosquitoes, had no defense modules.

To cut costs, they didn't even have basic anti-gravity equipment, relying solely on wind-powered flight.

So primitive!

Many of the aliens wielding Focused Energy Weapons sneered at this.

Rather than waste their ammunition on such crude, laughable creations, they might as well advance directly and destroy the enemy's Defensive Fortifications first.

As for this level of harassment, after the initial moment of panic, they quickly steadied themselves and pressed on, ignoring these annoying flies.

And those Automated Flying Mechs—

They seemed to just hover in the sky, doing nothing.

"What the hell is this all about!"

Company Commander Julius Cassalon, who had fallen back to the second-tier fortress, fell into despair once more.

When he saw the Automated Flying Mechs spread out like a vast net, his opinion of Kasgar changed drastically.

Cassalon had initially thought the guy was just lucky enough to guess the aliens' attack route; he never expected him to actually have a secret weapon.

The sky-filling Flying Mechs blotted out the sun, letting Cassalon breathe a slight sigh of relief.

It seemed the bastard really did have a backup plan.

Too bad.

He had a plan, but not enough.

As time dragged on, the aliens gradually realized that the Flying Mechs seemed to carry no weapons at all.

They were only good for a bit of nuisance harassment.

So the aliens gave up wasting time clearing them out and resumed their advance toward the human fortifications.

Damn it!

Cassalon wished he could fly right up to Kasgar's face and curse him out.

Did Kasgar even know anything about mechs at all?!

Were they really all just reconnaissance drones?!

Though these Flying Mechs were numerous enough to blot out the sky, they carried no weapons whatsoever.

So what use were they, exactly?

And what about those Auxilia calling themselves the Chemos Guard—why had there been no word from them since the first fortress collapsed?

Had they all been buried in the rubble?

Watching the Crystalline Construct-like aliens still advancing toward them, Cassalon could only think that things were going badly.

Could it be—

Were all of them, these Sons of the Emperor, really going to be buried at the hands of that incompetent Kasgar?

Just as he was about to sink into despair, a notification appeared on Cassalon's helmet.

Real-time data transmission received.

Deploying battlefield terrain map for you.

The enemy's troop deployment, personnel arrangements, defensive sightlines—

Even the full depth of the terrain's ravines and ridges, countless pieces of battlefield data, were all fed into the helmet's recognition system.

"This is..."

The ever-arrogant Company Commander Cassalon fell silent in that moment.

"Chemos Guard deployment complete, ready to engage at any time."

"Meltabomb Automatons prepared."

As unit after unit reported readiness through the comms, Kasgar looked out at the ignorant alien army still advancing.

He smiled.

"The time has come. All units, attention."

"Go."