Timeless Assassin

(35 minutes later, Planet Koral Upper Atmosphere)

Right on time, tens of thousands of Cult ships pierced into Koral's upper atmosphere, the mostly barren planet flashing below in scattered patches of blue and green.

*FZZZZZZZT*

*RUMMMBBLE*

The sky shimmered as hundreds of assault craft tore through the stratosphere, their hulls glowing with heat while magnetic stabilizers flared to steady their descent.

The mana shield, which should have stopped them dead in their tracks, was gone— reduced to smoldering debris by Brandon's earlier sabotage.

So now, the skies were theirs to claim.

"Third Legion, move towards zone three, get into battle formation!" barked Legion Commander Zorran, his voice crackling through the commlink of every ship under his command, while the other Legion Commanders did the same.

*VOOOOM*

Twelve attack groups separated in a seamless spread, diving like streaks of vengeance through the parted clouds, while bases below scrambled to respond to the impossible.

On the ground, every warning system screamed at once, lights flashing red, alarms howling in pain, as planetary sensors finally caught on to what was descending.

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

"Inbound enemy squadrons detected… trajectory locked… multiple impact vectors inbound!"

From Base 12 to Base 1, defensive artillery units came online, the aging but still lethal surface-to-air turrets swiveling toward the skies as Lieutenants screamed commands to take aim and fire.

Hidden railgun towers rose from their underground sockets, each one humming with destructive energy as mana cores spun inside them like furious hearts.

"RAILGUNS ONLINE! TARGET THE CENTERWAVE! OPEN FIRE!"

*THROOMMMM*

*BOOOOOOM!*

A beam of pure kinetic fury lanced through the sky, tearing a hole in the lead ship of Assault Unit 4, its hull splitting in two as metal and fire rained down like a dying star.

The crew inside never even had time to scream, as they were turned to vapor in an instant.

*Turn*

*Divert.

The surrounding ships scattered, some tilting wildly to dodge the railgun's aftershock.

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

Another railgun fired, and this one hit dead center against a sleek twin-wing cruiser, only for the attack to fizzle against a glowing blue dome that flared to life just moments before impact.

The one-time safeguard mana shields that Master Argo had embedded across some of the strike vessels kicked in, absorbing the brunt of the blow before shattering into mist.

"Retaliate! Take out the enemy's offensive capabilities!"

The Cult ships responded with savage precision, retaliating with volley after volley of searing pulse fire, turning the sky into a storm of red and violet flashes as hundreds of bolts rained down upon the surface.

Cannons exploded in showers of sparks, turret arrays were sliced in half by coordinated beam strikes, and communications towers began falling like dominoes one by one.

*ZZZZZZZZRT*

*BLAMMMM*

"Incoming missile lock from Base 2!" yelled one pilot, but before he could break formation, the missile hit.

His ship detonated in a cloud of twisted alloy, the scream of his crew echoing faintly over the comms before it cut to static.

But for every Cult ship that fell, three more broke through. The airspace grew darker as more and more of the fleet descended, surrounding the skies of all twelve bases like vultures circling prey.

Inside Base 5, the control center was sheer chaos.

"WE'VE LOST COMMS WITH BASE 3, 8, AND 12!" "THEY'RE TARGETING OUR TOWERS!" "THE COMMANDER ISN'T RESPONDING!"

Major Cress looked on with horror as the radar screen turned into a sea of blinking red.

Outside the observation window, the skyline blazed with streaks of fire, ships twisting and looping in deadly dogfights while railgun beams sliced into the clouds like divine punishment.

*VRRRRRRRM*

*BOOOOOOOOOM!*

One of the remaining planetary turrets fired at close range, exploding three smaller bombers mid-air, but as the smoke cleared, two more Cult cruisers shot straight into its base and fired point-blank, reducing the tower to rubble.

Pilots inside the Cult ships screamed with rage and thrill.

"That's Base 4's outer cannon network disabled! Press forward!"

*RATATATATATATA*

*FWOOOOM*

Dozens of ground cannons tried their best to retaliate, shooting rapid plasma bursts and missile payloads into the air, but they simply couldn't keep up.

The Cult ships darted like hornets, some dodging missiles by mere inches, others absorbing single impacts before unleashing devastating countermeasures.

As everywhere that the eye could see, ships were spiraling, chasing, crashing, exploding or tumbling.

Some trailed smoke as they plunged downward, screaming toward the surface like comets of death.

Others ascended into loops before performing vertical dives to rain fire from directly above.

At Base 10, a desperate technician screamed, "We need more time! JUST GIVE US THIRTY MORE SECONDS TO RELOAD THE WEAPONS!"

But there were no seconds left to give. A Cult ship zoomed past the main HQ at subsonic speed, dropped a payload into the missile reserve chamber, and peeled away.

*KABOOM*

The entire left wing of Base 10 went up in flames, bodies flung like ragdolls across the blackened stone.

And yet, the battle raged on.

*THUMP* *BOOM* *CRACKLE*

Inside the belly of one Cult ship, Commander Ethar watched live feeds as her units methodically dismantled Zone 10's defenses.

Her job here was almost complete, and hence she began looking to see if any other units needed reinforcements.

"Zone 1 and 11 are still facing railgun resistance. Requesting reinforcement." She heard over the comms, as instantly she responded with a "Granted".

Quickly issuing orders for her destroyer ships to relocate, she diverted three destroyers, five cruisers, and seventeen frigates to help zone one, while sending the rest to help zone eleven.

*BOOM*

*BOOOM*

Meanwhile, high above Base 11, the railgun tower kept firing with almost unnatural speed, its operator ignoring the death around him, hands steady as fire lit up both sides of the control room.

His breath was ragged, his skin blistered from earlier heat exposure, yet he held his post, snarling.

"COME ON THEN! I'LL SHOOT YOU ALL DOWN MYSELF!"

*BOOM* *CRACK*

Another kill. A Cult ship went spiraling into Base 11's forest perimeter. But the victory was short-lived, as mere minutes later the reinforcements soon arrived, firing beams from above and beside at once, one burning a hole through the railgun core, the other tearing the entire turret from its base.

*CRASH*

The tower collapsed like a dead colossus. With the railguns gone and cannon systems failing, the base's fate was sealed, prompting the Major to authorize retreat.

"CIVILIAN ZONE ENTRY APPROVED! FALL BACK INTO URBAN DISTRICTS!"

"Go! Go! Go! Abandon the military bases!"

Like bees abandoning a breached hive, the remaining surface soldiers ran, jumping into aerial pods, gliders, and escape skiffs, trying to reach the cities' limits, where the Cult would be forbidden to bomb them.

But unfortunately for them, the Cult jets gave chase.

"LOCKED ON!"

*PEW* *PEW* *PEW*

Dozens were picked off in mid-air, their bodies vanishing into fire and wind.

Screams echoed as escape crafts were struck from behind, pilots tumbling through cockpits, wings spinning uselessly as fire engulfed their sides.

But some made it.

A few thousand soldiers from Base 11 pierced the outer perimeter of City Nectar and vanished behind its legal barrier, as the Cult pilots cursed into their comms.

"Fuck me, the rats escaped!" "Repeat, some rats escaped."

*VRRRRM*

*SWOOSH*

With the skies finally cleared, and no major anti-air resistance remaining, command ships across the Cult fleet sent the final command.

"Air Superiority Achieved. Begin landing protocols. Prepare ground units for surface operation."

The war in the skies was done.

In under forty-five minutes, the Cult had obliterated all twelve military bases, crushed the air defense grid, and shattered Koral's outer defenses completely.