Timeless Assassin

(Leo's POV, Zone One military base)

Leo and Veyr touched down at Zone One military base which was the most strategic stronghold on the planet.

It was important not only because it housed the enemy Commander Su Pei, but also because it stood closest to the planet's largest city, called 'Sanfe'.

Naturally, there was not much for them to do at this stage of the war, as by the time they disembarked from their ship, 95% of the initial fighting was already wrapped up.

"Reporting, The enemy Commander has retreated to Sanfe City, while the Major guarding this base has been defeated in battle.

The stragglers are being rounded up as we speak.

Your orders, My Lord?" The Legion Commander asked Veyr, who immediately glanced towards Leo for advice.

"No need to be rash, let's consolidate first, treat the wounded, secure the perimeter, and set-up anti-air defence systems, in case they send reinforcements to reclaim the planet.

Once we do that, then we can send scouts into the City to find out just how many enemies are hiding in there, and where exactly the enemy Commander is, before deploying our men for a dog-fight.

This day is already ours.

Now it's time to not make any rash decisions and build on our advantage." Leo advised, as Veyr immediately nodded in agreement.

"I agree with my cousin here. Let's do as he suggested, unless you have a differing opinion, Legion Commander," he asked, as the Legion Commander gave him a thumping salute.

"No sir, I completely agree with Lord Shadow Dragon's approach. Let's do as he suggested." The Legion Commander said, as he turned and quickly ran off to relay relevant orders.

—-----------

Once the fighting had finally quieted and the last of the stragglers had been rounded up, the battlefield became more subdued, as the Dragon's Army transitioned from destruction to control.

Captured soldiers from the righteous faction were dragged and herded into the open plaza at the base's center, their faces streaked with ash and defeat, as they knelt in silence beneath the smog-filled sky, heads bowed low as restraining chains were fastened around their wrists and ankles.

The Cult soldiers worked efficiently, moving down the lines without hesitation, their expressions full of joy and elation as they hauled prisoners into tighter groups, stripping away armor, checking for hidden weapons, and forcing everyone, including the injured, to sit upright with spearpoints pressed lightly against their necks.

They derived a certain grim satisfaction from disciplining the enemy, yet not a single curse or demeaning insult was hurled their way, as under Leo's strict orders, every prisoner, regardless of their affiliation or past crimes, was to be treated with a baseline of dignity, where they would not be stripped naked, nor subjected to unnecessary humiliation.

Some among the captured began to shed tears quietly, while others stared blankly at the blackened ground, too hollow to react to their sudden defeat.

A few clenched their jaws, eyes burning with resentment that would surely turn into festering hate if they were ever allowed to live long enough to carry it forward, but for now, their strength and morale had already been sapped from their bodies, and so they complied.

Meanwhile, near the southern half of the base, where the fighting had been fiercest, small fire teams had begun their next task of reclaiming what remained, as they moved through scorched corridors and broken storage facilities, extinguishing the final bursts of flame and dragging corpses into covered piles for later disposal.

Some areas still smoked with heat, the walls broken and cracked where spells had detonated or hovercraft engines had exploded, yet the Cult's engineers paid it little attention as they focused on salvaging functional parts from the wreckage.

They hauled out boxes of ammunition, crystal cores, rations, and steel frames that could be melted down or repurposed later, as they quickly saved everything valuable that needed saving.

Mages specializing in water spells stood at key junctions, conjuring curved arcs of pressurized mist that swept over entire buildings at once, cooling the hot spots and clearing the air, while elemental mages from the rear squads used mana to reinforce the fractured pillars and stabilize the remaining towers, just enough to buy time until replacement materials could arrive.

On the eastern end of the base, in the flattened space once used for storage convoys, several white canvas tents had already been raised, the insignia of the Dragon's Army fluttering faintly along their edges as the medical divisions got to work.

Wounded soldiers were carried in by the dozens, some unconscious and covered in blood, others limping on torn muscles and cracked bones while still managing to salute their superiors on the way to treatment.

Healers moved between the cots with steady hands and focused eyes, applying mana salves to deep wounds and binding fractured limbs with glowing gauze, while medicine specialists and potion boys worked behind the tents to restock their supplies without a moment's delay.

Time passed quickly, and the afternoon gradually faded into evening, as the tempo of the base shifted once more.

Teams of able-bodied soldiers continued working without rest, unloading and positioning the anti-aircraft defence systems brought in by the Cult ships, as the objective had now shifted from conquest to consolidation, and from seizing ground to securing it.

Engineers oversaw the installation of detection radars and mana-reactive sensor grids, while pilots busied themselves with refueling procedures and post-battle maintenance, tending to the very aircraft that had helped secure their victory just hours earlier.

No one remained idle.

Every hand moved with purpose, every second was accounted for, as the Cult soldiers pressed forward with ruthless precision, transforming what had once been a Righteous Faction stronghold into the foundation of their own expanding domain.

Morale remained high, yet the air carried with it a sharpened tension, as every soldier understood that while today's battle had ended in triumph, the larger war had only just begun.

They had taken all the military bases across the planet, but the enemy had not yet been purged.

The real war was only going to begin tomorrow.