The Octopus-folk commander stood before the flagship's command console, the tentacles around his mouth stretched taut, the color of his face having shifted completely from ashen white to iron blue. He stared fixedly at the golden figure unfolding once more on the screen and finally realized that, from beginning to end, the other side had treated him like a monkey in a show.
Now, the trump card of detonating the Plane Origin had been rendered useless.
Yet the enemy stood unscathed in the very heart of his fleet.
The Octopus-folk commander slammed his palm down on the command console.
A piercing, muffled clang rang out from the metal surface, and he had actually struck a crack into it.
"Reformulate the battle plan!" His voice was hoarse and urgent, as though forcibly squeezed from the depths of his throat. "All combat units, heed my command! Abandon long-range fire suppression! Advance at full force and engage the enemy in close-quarters slaughter!"
The order swiftly spread through the fleet-wide communications channel.
The next instant, the hatches of warships opened simultaneously.
Tens of thousands of Octopus-folk combatants surged out like a swarm of metal locusts pouring from steel nests.
After leaving their warships, the energy coatings on their bodies reflected a cold, hard gleam beneath the pale violet sky. Jets on their armor continuously spat flames, propelling them through rapid midair turns as they tightened their formations.
Every combat squad maintained a standard assault formation.
Tens of thousands of Level Six Octopus-folk and over a hundred Level Seven Octopus-folk swooped toward Benjamin's Dharma Image like an enraged swarm of bees. Benjamin stood at the very center of the Dharma Image's chest cavity, taking in every detail of the battlefield.
These Octopus-folk were clearly far more maneuverable than the warships, and their movements flowed more