Chapter 44 Armageddon

The fleet of the United Federation of Planets arrived in high orbit above planet Era.

Admiral Azerof looked out the window at Tyo. It burned with fire which could be seen from space. "Report!" he barked.

His first officer spoke up. "Yes, Admiral! The Eternals have penetrated Tyo, and have been putting the city to fire for over an hour!"

The second officer adjusted a huge screen, bringing up satellite images of the burning city.

All across the ship, officers were talking loudly among themselves. After the fall of the capital, the Republic of Tyo simply did not exist anymore. Their mission was a de facto failure.

The second officer cleared his throat. "What are your orders, Admiral?"

Admiral Azerof spoke carefully and deliberately.

"I require a full report on the enemy forces. Scan the entire planet, and prepare a bombing operation. Notify our troops of an immediate land landing!"

***

Meanwhile, Apophis had just rejoined Antanria upon the hill overlooking the massacre of Tyo.

At first, Antanria, seeing only a man covered in blood, became frightened and ran away!

But Apophis quickly caught up with her and made her understand that it was only him!

She calmed down somewhat after that, though she was still very shaken by what she had witnessed.

At that moment, Apophis saw the same server message which appeared to every player online, one which would go down in history.

*********ServerAnnouncement*********

"The planetary capital Tyo, of the republic of the same name, has fallen. Because of the barbarity of the besieging players, news is quickly spreading throughout the galaxy that the race known as the Eternals are hostile savages. All players gain the passive ability [Genocidal], which allows all species to attack you freely."

This announcement caused the forums to explode and the currency to plummet!

"Really?!" people asked.

"We get such a huge negative trait, just for killing NPCs?!"

"What the hell! I didn't even join the raid! Why should I be punished?!"

But this was only the beginning of the problems for the players!

***

Far above the planet, the second officer wiped sweat from his forehead. "Admiral, we're currently detecting one hundred and three million Eternals. They're mostly occupying large urban centers, but I'm detecting a significant factor that wasn't mentioned in the initial report. Sir, their energy signatures indicate that all Eternals have attained ascension power.*"

Admiral Azerof was shocked, though he was disciplined and didn't let it outwardly show.

A sudden thought came to his mind.

"The situation is critical. Arm all nuclear warheads and prepare the ground troops for post-nuclear engagement! We must quickly eradicate the problem. Vice Admiral, provide your launch codes!"

The vice admiral hesitated. There was still a strong civilian population on the surface of the planet. The collateral damage would be catastrophic!

Admiral Azerof eyed him, but his voice remained level and calm. "Vice Admiral, the situation is critical. If hundreds of millions of immortal and hostile super-soldiers leave the surface of this planet, the United Federation of Planets will not be able to resist. We have no choice, Vice Admiral."

Feeling weak, unwilling to comprehend the magnitude of what he was taking part in, the vice admiral gave over his half of the access code to the ship's nuclear warheads.

Admiral Azerof keyed the completed code into the computer.

*Access granted.*

He set a target lock on each of the principal cities of the planet Era, then pressed the red button.

No one noticed the peculiar look on his face as he did so, one that was not at all the face of a man making the weighty decision to sacrifice innocent lives for the greater good.

In just under thirty seconds, the four capital ships of the Federation fleet fired 2,900 warheads, each of which found their target in the main urban centers of Planet Era.

Era blossomed with nuclear fire.

Almost no corner of the planet was spared.

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*Ascension power: A person is said to have attained ascension power if they have cosmic power and are at least rank D+.