Chapter 908

Chapter 908

The forces defending Rotaire might have been sufficient to hold off for some time against either of the two threats present, but against both they could barely handle it. A significant portion of the Trigold Clusters total forces in the lower realms joined with the Fearsome Menagerie after the ill-advised destruction of Zunrose, and the losses throughout the war had been too much for the Void Scrying Sect and their major allies.

Not that anyone held any pity for them, as they had brought everything upon themselves. Nor had they shown any remorse, instead doubling down on their ruthless methods. The majority of their assaults on other planets had been aimed at causing the most loss of life possible without regard for whether or not those involved were combatants in many forms. Plagues were their bread and butter, and the destabilization of stars was not a one-time effort. Fortunately, they hadnt been successful with subsequent attempts to destroy stars, but they only continued to escalate even as they continued to lose.

If they were not tightly confined to their defensive formations, it was expected that they would try similar tactics again. The alliance had done their best to rule out weapons of a similar caliber, but they couldn't be certain they got them all.

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Technically, just because the Son of the Queen had a different title, it didnt mean his rank had officially changed from private. Then again, the only thing that really mattered was how people responded, and he had a good company assigned to him. Loyal and steadfast, as well as effective. Yet despite his best efforts, they had suffered losses. Perhaps his leadership was imperfect. Perhaps their mission was impossible to complete flawlessly. Either way, he constantly studied the past to help inform the future.

Not that he intended to wallow in deaths. No, they still had more to do. It had been difficult, surviving on the planet when there was a manhunt out for them. Theyd learned of many active methods to seek them out, usually when it was already being used against them. But Rotaires defenses were imperfect. There were too many holes that they could slip through, both literal and figurative.

Poisoned food was left in locations far too obvious for thinking individuals to consume. However, they had fallen for tainted stores that had seemed safe. Only once, and fortunately they at least had checked with a small portion of their members instead of consuming greedily. The Son of the Queen had been filled with foolish thoughts of rearranging the food stores to catch humans unaware, but most likely they would only poison a single one at most for a huge expenditure of effort. Moving things was difficult.

Aside from securing food and shelter, however, the void ants had other goals. Mere survival was one of their plans, but they had done their best to gather more information. They were able to transmit several more sets of data off planet in the last few months, though each time they suffered further losses.

Now, explosions rang out in the sky. The time for their retrieval had come. Not that such was the point of the assault. And they were not finished with their work, either.

We can only reach one target in the time we have available, he explained. Our mobility isnt sufficient to achieve more, and the timing caught us unprepared. But given the information we have, we can target either the air defenses, protective formations, or the vaults. If our numbers were full, perhaps we could manage all three but I would not risk splitting us now.

The other void ants paid close attention. They were good at that. Perhaps he should have been better at it himself, as his uniqueness hadnt necessarily resulted in more efficiency. The Great Queen had seen something in him, and he could only hope to live up to those expectations.

My own estimations cannot determine the best approach. And such, we will have to rely on our larger instincts. This was something they had done several times before. They would split into groups based on what each individual thought- and then each would support the majority. It seemed chaotic and random from the outside, but in truth there was something reliable about it. There were many details that people could notice subconsciously, and theyd had good success before. That said, they only used such a method when there was no clearly superior goal. Perhaps that was a weakness in him as a leader, but relying on his people never felt wrong.

The majority of the group indicated that they should assault the defensive formations- and with there being three options, that was by far the largest group. The Son of the Queen thought he might have been leaning that way as well, but he couldnt quite say why. Perhaps he simply considered that their own forces- mainly humans- could adequately defend themselves. Meanwhile, barrier formations were a bit more efficient.

In truth, their efforts might not affect the scope of the assault much. It was one small sect in one small region of the planet. They were not going to take down the formations of the main grounds of the Twin Soul Sect or the Void Scrying Sect. It was the second smallest branch of the Poisonous Gold Sect theyd passed by. But it was something, and they hadnt exactly been able to receive communications warning them of when the assault was incoming.The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))

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Devon and Varghese were part of the assault on the main Twin Soul Sect grounds. Everything was going smoothly until a certain point, when suddenly they felt a massive burst of energy. It was far away- enough that it had no chance of harming them. Indeed, it was probably a quarter of a planet away. Even so, it drew their attention.

What was that? Devon asked into his comm.

Nobody needed to ask which thing he and many others were asking about, and a moment later a report came from ships above.

The Void Scrying Sects grounds, and dozens of kilometers around it, have been leveled in a single explosion. Initial reports indicate it was a combination of the worldheart cannon and some sort of defensive countermeasure. Fearsome Menagerie forces have also suffered significant losses.

Varghese sighed. Weve come this far and theyre still blowing things up. Im kind of surprised, honestly, but perhaps they thought the Fearsome Menagerie would make their capture worse than death.

They probably would, Devon agreed. So, what do we expect them to do here?

Theyre Twin Soul Sect so something equally suicidal, but carefully orchestrated to not damage their souls. Varghese shrugged. No idea what that might be.

Sounds about right. I think we should pre-empt them.

How so? Varghese asked.

Rather than immediately explaining, Devon stretched out his arms- one of which Varghese felt calling to his magnetism. Chains spread out throughout the area, creating a dome. Ill contain any side effects- and escaping souls. You just need to cause as much damage as you can as quickly as possible.

I appreciate your confidence, but I cant take out an entire sect all at once.

Ill also be providing a boost to your energy.

Hmm. Varghese certainly had no compunctions with trying. This was the Twin Soul Sect, after all. With Devon containing the destruction, it wouldnt harm any nearby innocents either. As for what he could do well, anything was better than waiting to see the Twin Soul Sects choice. He began drawing upon the local star as quickly as possible, ready to channel that power into something a bit more reckless than he was used to.