Intergalactic conquest with an AI

Just as the towering Tyrant unit was about to be punched a second time by the hulking lizard warrior, a deafening boom echoed across the battlefield. Rex descended from the sky like a meteor of divine judgment.

With terrifying force, he landed squarely on top of the Lizardman, crushing the enemy beneath him into a gruesome explosion of blood, bone, and shredded armor. The brutal impact cracked the earth and left behind a crater filled with steaming gore.

Rex's wings flared open again, preparing to take flight, until the sharp whine of spinning barrels cut through the air from one of the Collector Army's tanks that had locked onto him.

From its reinforced chassis, heavy-caliber machine guns roared to life. A torrent of large, slow but brutally dense bullets ripped through the battlefield, aimed straight at him. These rounds weren't fast enough to trigger his adaptive shields, but they were strong enough to bypass them entirely.

"Tsk... damn it," Rex growled under his breath.

He had no choice but to throw his living metal wings forward, folding them into a dense cocoon of silver armor that wrapped around his body. Sparks flew as the bullets hammered against the metal with relentless force.

"Cleo! I'm pinned down!" Rex shouted into his comm while his teeth were gritted. "A little help would be greatly appreciated!"

Through a small slit between the shifting plates of his wing-shield, Rex watched as other Tyrant units were also being shredded by tank-mounted machine gun fire. Sparks flew off their armor, limbs were torn off, and units collapsed one after another in the chaos.

Cleo's calm, focused voice replied almost instantly in his ear. "Confirmed. Stay exactly where you are. Help is on the way."

Seconds later, Cleo gave a command through the central battlefield network. On her order, one of the long-range artillery frigates turned its massive guns and locked onto the tank's coordinates.

A deep rumble tore across the sky as the explosive shells screamed down from the heavens like divine wrath. The ground trembled violently as a rain of artillery fire smashed into the tank's position.

Inside the Collector lines, the tank commander reacted immediately.

"The shields are barely holding! Fall back! Get us out of here!" The officer shouted out while slamming his hand against the control panel as the tank reversed.

Smoke and flames engulfed the battlefield. The tank managed to retreat only a few meters before one of the shells detonated almost directly under its hull.

The resulting explosion was massive. The armored vehicle was lifted from the ground and torn apart midair. Its remains were scattered in a fiery arc across the shattered dirt.

"Nice shot, Cleo!" Rex shouted triumphantly, hearing the explosion even through the ringing in his ears. But as the dust began to settle, his moment of relief vanished. From within the thick smoke, dark silhouettes began to emerge... those were three more tanks.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me..." Rex muttered.

Without wasting another second, he launched himself backwards, flipping through the air to gain distance. The new tanks wasted no time as they opened fire immediately. The sky lit up with tracer rounds and burning plasma shells aimed directly at the advancing Kaelzar forces.

And that wasn't all....

Charging alongside the tanks were waves of Lizardmen shock troops, who were muscular and unrelenting. Some carried heavy machine guns that looked far too big for humans to handle, while others gripped glowing laser axes in their claws, sprinting forward with bloodlust in their eyes.

The Kaelzar advance was suddenly halted.

The once-fearless Tyrant units were now locked in brutal close-quarters combat. Their blades met hardened scale; their bullets were absorbed by flesh evolved to withstand punishment. Killing a Lizardman wasn't easy; it took multiple precise sword strikes or concentrated fire to bring just one down.

The battlefield descended into chaos. Explosions roared. Metal clashed against bone and armor. Screams echoed across the burning plains. And then came the bombers.

A squadron of enemy bombers swept low, their shadows streaking across the ground like reapers. They dropped their payloads without mercy.

Massive explosions sent soil, metal, and blood flying in every direction. While most Tyrant units were fast and agile enough to dodge the falling bombs, the bombardment still forced them to scatter and lose momentum. It broke their formation, slowed their push, and made reaching their objective almost impossible.

A Few Hours Earlier

Inside the strategy chamber of the command ship, a holographic map flickered to life in front of Rex, casting a blue glow across the room. Terrain models shifted, and glowing red and blue markers pulsed, showing troop positions and enemy strongholds.

"So... you're telling me we need to take over these four strategic positions?" Rex asked Cleo while narrowing his eyes at the floating map. His arms were crossed, and his brow was furrowed with a mix of concern and curiosity.

Cleo stood at the center of the room, calm and composed as always, her glowing golden eyes focused on the map. With a gesture of her hand, the hologram zoomed in smoothly, displaying four flashing zones on the battlefield, each one circled in red.

"Affirmative," she replied. "If we want to achieve a complete and decisive victory over the enemy with minimal losses, those four points are critical. Capturing them will allow us to surround their forces and bombard them from a safe distance using air-to-ground missiles launched from our frigates."

The tactical plan was simple in theory, but execution would be a different story. Rex rubbed his chin thoughtfully, already visualizing how the enemy might respond.

"Hmm... It sounds simple, but I highly doubt they'll just let themselves get surrounded without a fight. Which one of these points do I need to take?" He asked, his voice remaining steady but with a trace of tension.

"You'll be leading the charge on Point Two," Cleo said while zooming in on the second location. "You'll have the support of the 201st Legion's field army. Meanwhile, I will personally coordinate the movements of the Blood Legion, the Royal Legion, and multiple divisions from the 201st to seize the remaining objectives."

Rex raised an eyebrow, surprised at how easily she spoke of commanding such large forces. "Are you sure that's not spreading yourself too thin? That's a lot to manage even for you."

Cleo turned to him with a soft smile and replied confidently, "It won't be a problem. You'll be the first to engage, so the enemy will focus their efforts on stopping you. That will give my forces the opening they need to move freely. However..."

She paused, her tone sharpening, "This also means if you're defeated, the entire operation collapses. Your success is the keystone of the plan."

Rex exhaled slowly, letting out a quiet sigh. "No pressure, right?"

Behind her, miniature chibi versions of Cleo danced across control panels, sending out waves of orders and troop movements through the network, their tiny hands working furiously with incredible precision.

Back to the present, the battlefield was in even more chaos than before.

What had started as a precise strike on Point Two had now turned into a brutal, grinding battle. Explosions rocked the earth, bullets lit the air, and the enemy's response was far more ferocious than expected.

Rex was under heavy fire from the combined might of the mercenaries and the Collector Army. Tank shells screamed past him, tearing chunks from the ground. Smoke and dust choked the sky.

"Well... judging by the size of their response, it seems they really don't want me advancing any farther," Rex muttered while twisting his body mid-air to avoid a shell that slammed into the ground behind him.

"Still, the more pressure they put on me, the easier it'll be for Cleo to complete her flank." He grinned despite the danger. "Time to turn this pain into an advantage."

With a sudden burst of energy, he shot into the sky, gaining a moment of breathing room. Then, through his communicator, he shouted, "Mini Cleo! It's time! Do it now!"

A flash of blue light shimmered in the air beside him. "Roger that, Boss!" Mini Cleo materialized out of nowhere with her high-pitched, enthusiastic voice. "Activating battle armor, Veracruz!"

A radiant fortress of holographic energy shimmered into place around her, floating cannons unfolding in midair. Instantly, her arsenal opened fire in every direction, from laser turrets, missile pods, and plasma beams, all unleashing a dazzling storm of destruction.

The battlefield lit up like a festival of fire and fury.

"That's more like it!" Rex shouted while his eyes scanned the terrain. "My legion! Advance at full force! Push them back!"

He floated higher into the sky, taking in the scale of the battlefield. His forces surged forward with renewed momentum. But one question lingered in his mind.

"Where the hell are my Maulers?"

He turned and scanned the horizon. Finally, near the western ridge, he saw them, hulking war machines with reinforced armor and massive weapons. The Maulers were locked in a savage fight with towering, mutated giants, Tier 3 infected monstrosities with claws the size of tree trunks.

"Of course," Rex muttered. "Fighting the big ones, as usual."

He clenched his fists and flared his wings wide. The sky behind him shimmered with power.

In the very next instant, the skies around Rex shimmered with divine brilliance. A radiant, golden halo ignited behind him, its glow sharp and commanding like a miniature sun casting down judgment upon the battlefield.

From the center of that halo emerged a sleek, high-tech weapon, humming with ancient power and futuristic engineering, a cannon forged not just for war, but for domination.