Small cruisers flew around the atmosphere of the entire star system like locusts, hovering in outer space after reaching their designated combat positions.
The interiors of these ships, which were also hundreds of meters in size, were equally chaotic and disorderly, with Fifth Stage powerhouses in power armor moving back and forth, carrying out their assigned tasks.
As the location was confirmed, the small cruiser's protruding deck slowly opened, releasing artificial air from within, accompanied by a few enthusiastic shouts.
"For Your Majesty! For the Holy Church!!!"
A piercing roar, tinged with boundless loyalty, accompanied the air as it flowed into space.
As the deck doors opened, one after another, high-altitude landing capsules slid outwards from the sloping deck like escape pods, detached from the deck, and were pulled downwards by the planet's gravity.
Due to the cruiser's position, these landing capsules entered the atmosphere almost instantly, and then descended even faster under the pull of gravity and atmospheric friction.
The scorching heat, accompanied by conspicuous flames, was evident at the heads of these landing capsules; the air itself seemed to spit flames from friction, and the bottom of the capsules was scorched red-hot.
One after another, countless landing capsules appeared, like scattered meteorites, leaving numerous narrow red streaks in the sky. Then, accompanied by extremely high speeds, extremely high temperatures, and even sonic booms due to gravity, they roared and rapidly descended towards the human cities inside the planet, resembling a dense mass of fragmented meteorites.
These landing pods do not slow down, have no parachutes, and rely entirely on internal cushioning devices, the power armor's cushioning devices, and the extremely high strength of Fifth Stage human to withstand the enormous impact of falling from space.
This allows them to directly evade the air defenses of ground troops and penetrate the ionosphere, the outermost layer of air defense protection for human cities.
Densely packed, like a shower of stars.
Because of the concealment by the Human Federation Government, the city's residents, unaware that war had broken out in the city, stopped walking in the streets and alleys. Some stood in office buildings looking through the glass curtain walls, some stood in front of shops on both sides of the road looking up, and some students were having classes inside the school. Suddenly, the countless people in the city saw what seemed to be a dense meteor shower passing through space.
"Wow, I didn't hear any reports of shooting stars?"
"So beautiful!"
"Mom, what's that?"
A soft, childlike voice rang out in her arms. A cute little girl, no more than three years old and with blonde hair and blue eyes, looking like a Barbie doll, was pointing her chubby little finger at the narrow red line that streaked across the sky, and turning her head to look at her young mother.
"Oh, Bobby, Mommy doesn't know either. It must have been a shooting star, right? Quickly make a wish that your dad is safe in the space station!"
The mother turned her gaze away from the strange phenomenon in the sky, then affectionately pinched the cheek of the girl in her arms. Her words were filled with worry for her husband, as well as perfect love for her child.
However, before they could finish speaking, a muffled sound suddenly rang out in the distance, followed by a piercing whistling sound.
Screams erupted in the streets; the crowd seemed terrified by the scene in the sky, and people began to flee into the surrounding shops.
The mother quickly turned her gaze to the sky, looking somewhat startled and bewildered, wanting to see clearly what had happened.
As her gaze shifted, the buzzing sound grew clearer.
In the sky, military bases and various air defense systems hidden somewhere inside the city seemed to be launching a dense barrage of missiles. The sky was filled with the scene of missiles being launched and ascended, and the buzzing whistling sound was the sound wave generated by these missile launches.
These missiles shot straight up into the sky, seemingly heading towards the meteor shower.
A sense of fear and despair gripped the mother's heart, but a sliver of hope and a feeling of relief kept her calm.
She hugged her child tightly and silently followed the crowd into a tea shop on the street. Then, together with the people hiding inside the tea shop, she anxiously looked back at the sky above through the floor-to-ceiling glass walls.
A slight restlessness and unease spread among the surrounding crowd, with discussions and questions rising one after another.
"What's that in the sky? Why did the government suddenly launch interceptor missiles?"
"Could it be the Pale Church attacking? That can't be, the government didn't give any notice!"
"No! My son is still with the government army! I have to call him back right now!"
"Wait, look at these little bright spots, are they meteorites? I feel like these meteorites haven't moved at all since they started. Look, they don't seem to have any tail fins left from gliding through the atmosphere..."
A growing sense of unease spread along with the strange phenomena in the sky. The missiles of the Human Federation Government seemed completely unable to stop these meteorites that were rapidly passing through the sky. The various missiles were twisting and turning in the air, which was clearly visible to the people below. Even the targeting laser beams could not keep up with the speed at which these meteorites were passing by.
The little girl seemed to sense her mother's unease, and she reached out her small hand to gently pinch her mother's cheek.
"Mommy, don't be afraid, it's okay, Daddy will protect us..."
As she spoke, she made a serious, huffy expression on her cute little face, as if to express her strength and fearlessness.
The mother's heart grew heavier, a nameless fear mixed with suffocating pressure, forcing her to force a smile. She then reached out and opened her coat, hiding her little girl to her chest, wrapping her tightly in the clothes. She then took a small doll from her bag and placed it in the girl's hand, gently comforting her.
"Mommy, don't be afraid, baby. Mommy is a Third Stage powerhouse!"
Before the words were even finished, terrified cries rang out from inside the tea shop.
"No, no! Those meteors are getting bigger and bigger. They're not without tails; they're heading straight for us!"
"Ah!!!"
Screams of alarm and terrified screams instantly echoed through the tea shop, the surrounding stores, and even the entire street.
The mother looked up in alarm.
"Boom!!!"
The meteor shower had reached its peak and transformed into a series of flaming meteors, crashing down from the sky towards their location.
"Aaaaaah!!!"
Cries, screams, and desperate pleas for help filled the vast city. Some who could fly soared into the sky, trying to escape. The wealthy drove their own aircraft, frantically fleeing through the air. The streets were filled with hovercars crashing together in panic and terror, and the sky was filled with aircraft accelerating and colliding in a frenzy of panic and fear.
Civilian manned flying objects rained down from the sky, and even winged mutants were knocked down from the sky. Hovering cars crashed into crowds on the streets, and the power and speed of modern technology caused many to be crushed to death.
The outside world was no longer safe, and the mother could only hold her anxious daughter in her arms, continuing to hide inside the tea shop.
The rapidly falling meteorite ignited a high-temperature fire due to friction with the air, but as it got closer, its shape became increasingly regular, making it seem unlike a meteorite at all.
With a deafening roar, the ionospheric protection device, built at great expense by the Human Federation Government, suddenly appeared in the sky. However, it was smashed by the falling meteorites, leaving behind ionization craters that were still crackling with electricity. After that, the meteorites fell madly downwards without any further obstruction.
Only then did the warning from the Human Federation Government sound out from various loudspeakers throughout the streets.
" The Pale Church fleet has invaded. All citizens are urged to remain at home and await the end of the war. Anyone who disobeys the laws of the Human Federation will be tried in court and sentenced to fines or even unpaid labor..."
Although the warning still conveyed the despair of their living conditions, no one paid any attention anymore.
Screams and cries echoed throughout the city as the meteorite crashed to the ground.
"Boom!" The massive landing capsule crashed into the densely populated city. No matter how much the people below tried to dodge, a single landing capsule could still kill a large number of people.
Even more extreme cases involve crashing into tall buildings, creating huge craters.
The street was smashed into a huge crater, and the shockwave destroyed the windows of surrounding houses and vehicles. The mud and gravel that crashed down flew everywhere, as if bullets were piercing the bodies of the people around.
"Heretics, behead them! All who do not honor the Pale God shall be punished with beheading!"
A series of mechanical roars echoed inside the landing pod, and as the gates opened and closed, one after another, four-meter-tall power armored Church knights emerged from the pod, wielding greatswords and firearms.
They showed no mercy, only utmost loyalty!
They raised their greatswords high, and with flames erupting from their power armor behind them, the entire suit of armor leaped into the air before crashing down into the screaming, crying, and fleeing crowd with the force of splitting a mountain.
"Puff!"
With the sweeping of the greatsword, these civilians, who were only at the first, second, third, or fourth tiers, were no different from being unarmed in front of these Fifth Stage powerhouses clad in power armor. They were all cut in half at the waist or had their bodies smashed to pieces by the gunfire.
"Boom!" A landing capsule crashed into a tall building, and with a huge impact, it slid diagonally through the building and crashed into a tea shop.
Blood and sludge splattered outwards as the ground crumbled, and a broken doll was mixed in with the sludge, stained beyond recognition.
As the gates opened and closed, one by one, the Church knights rose from within.
"With our devout faith, we will end your corrupt souls!!!"
"Pfft!" With a whooshing sound, the massive Power Knight leaped high into the air, smashing a car parked by the roadside, and cleaved a Fourth Stage human demon who dared to resist in two with a single sword strike.