The Ares System, over the civilian district.
Milton’s starship hovered silently above the ruined city. The bridge’s transparent observation armor slowly retracted, revealing the deadened streets below. The city looked as if its life had been drained—buildings and avenues overrun by grotesque monsters. Strange, mutated limbs dragged slowly across every corner, their shapes unnatural and repulsive.
“There’s almost no sign of life here…” Veli said, voice low, brow furrowed.
“No, there are still some,” Milton replied, activating the Alliance military holo-brain—a state-of-the-art integrated system connecting in real time with the personal holo-brains of citizens from all allied species. It pulled survival data and precise locations, dramatically improving intelligence gathering and command efficiency. Thousands of faintly glowing points appeared on the projection screen. “These are surviving civilians; their holo-brains are still transmitting weak signals.”
“The signals concentrate in the eastern and western shelters,” Il reported promptly.
“Deploy the hummingbird reconnaissance drones to confirm the situation,” Milton ordered decisively.
Several hummingbird-shaped drones shot out from the ship’s flanks, skimming over the city. Moments later, the feed from the eastern shelter appeared on the holographic display—a makeshift blast-resistant building surrounded by numerous monsters, walls cracked in multiple places. Panic-stricken civilians huddled behind the last barricade, while a handful of soldiers in battered armor fought desperately with energy shields at the entrance.
The western shelter showed monster activity but remained relatively stable.
Milton’s expression hardened, his gaze sharp as a blade. “Operational plan: execute in three divisions.”
“First, Il leads a team to support the western shelter. Second, the starship remains overhead for fire suppression and civilian evacuation. Third, I lead the elite strike team directly to the eastern shelter to punch through the enemy lines.”
He turned to the others. “Phili, Veli, you remain aboard with a small contingent for support. The rest, prepare your mechs.”
The hangar echoed with the deep roar of machinery powering up.
Navien, Il, and the Star Alliance and insectoid units boarded their respective mechs. Insectoid heavy infantry bellowed, Star Alliance silver-armored mechs formed up, ready for deployment.
Milton strode into his personal Silver Crown mech—a fifteen-meter tall, streamlined, silver-and-white command mech. The cockpit sealed. Psychic energy surged into the frame, bathing the metal in a faint spectral glow.
“Doors open. Engage.”
The ship’s massive bay doors thundered open. The mech units leapt into the city like meteors of steel.
Silver Crown touched down at the city’s edge, shaking the ground. Dust and debris scattered across the ruined streets. Milton’s eyes were cold and calculating, sweeping over a city on the brink of death.
“Navien, hold this position. Establish a temporary shelter and coordinate civilian evacuations. Every living citizen must survive.”
“Yes, General!”
The Silver Crown and the mechs roared in unison, streaking through smoky night streets. Ruined alleys and collapsed buildings flashed past; enemy shadows surged like a tide.
“Prepare for engagement!” Milton commanded, voice cold.
Silver Crown lunged forward. Shoulder-mounted ammo bays slid open, a dual-colored silver-and-black psychic energy rifle locked and loaded. Milton’s right hand gripped the weapon; psychic energy infused the barrel, talismanic glyphs pulsing a soft violet.
The battlefield ignited. He raised the rifle, charged, and fired—wham! A high-energy shockwave slammed into a monster cluster two hundred meters away, a thunderous explosion scattering fire and smoke, illuminating half the sky in red.
“Left forward, thirty-seven meters. Psychic lock achieved.” The mech AI announced.
Milton reacted instantly, sliding Silver Crown to the side. Switching firing modes, the right arm deployed an energy micro-cannon, unleashing forty-seven rapid high-penetration rounds.
Bang bang bang bang—
Bullets rained down with surgical precision, tearing through the monsters’ chests. In three seconds, the beasts collapsed, shrieking in agony.
“Still able to fight,” Milton murmured, a faint lift to his lips. His gaze remained cold steel.
Suddenly, an ambush-type monster darted out from a side alley. Lightning-fast, Milton didn’t glance back—psychic energy transmitted through the system, switching Silver Crown’s right shoulder to the guided missile launcher.
Whoosh!
Ten missiles silently ascended, circled, and then dove into the enemy group, detonating in thunderous explosions.
Milton was unshakable. Silver Crown moved like flowing clouds, advancing steadily while he orchestrated the unit’s formation. Every step precise; every attack calculated.
The path ahead cleared, monsters fell in swaths, dark energy dissipated as if yielding to his will.
Silver Crown stormed the ruins. Milton’s peripheral vision caught movement above a partially collapsed building.
Scanning revealed an orc civilian pinned by a new gray-green lizard-like monster. Its claws gripped the orc’s head; fine tendrils probed his forehead. The orc struggled in vain, eyes glazed, psychic waves in turmoil.
Fatal Alert: Target’s psychic ocean rapidly deteriorating. High suspicion of consumption.
Milton’s expression stiffened; an ominous dread spread through him. This was no ordinary psychic contamination—it was deliberate, targeted absorption of living psychic energy.
“All units, attention!” He opened full-frequency comms, voice cold and unwavering.
“New monster type detected—capable of consuming psychic energy—”
He paused, eyes slicing the dim horizon. “All units, engage psychic shielding immediately. Activate multi-layered dense interference protocols. Units must operate in formation. No solo maneuvers under any circumstances!”
Killing intent blazed in his gaze.
“Encounter this type again: eliminate immediately, no close contact!”
The comms echoed with a chorus of “Understood.”
Milton’s eyes darkened. A silver light erupted from Silver Crown’s arm, energy projectiles striking the lizard monster with pinpoint accuracy, incinerating it.
“…We’ve already lost precious rescue time. No more mistakes.”
Outside the eastern shelter, a joint insectoid-orc squad cleared debris of lingering monsters. Each activated psychic shields, helmets glowing pale blue, stabilizing their psychic waves.
All seemed calm—until a low hum pierced the ears.
Huuuumm—
Neither energy nor vibration, yet it struck the mind directly, like a whisper tearing from the soul, freezing heartbeat and constricting breath.
“Captain… I hear something…”
A young female soldier stumbled at the rear, eyes bloodshot, psychic helmet flickering faintly.
A shadow lunged.
It resembled the lizard-type monster, smaller and faster, with crimson tendrils quivering like antennae. It didn’t touch anyone, yet the entire squad’s psychic waves violently oscillated, shielding briefly failing.
“Resonance type! Not feeding, but disrupting team psychic frequency!” the front-line commander shouted, ordering immediate fire.
The monster darted through building cracks; three soldiers collapsed, foreheads marked red, psychic waves severely damaged.
Milton’s cold gaze pierced ahead, understanding that this war was more treacherous than expected.
Recalling prior intelligence, he remembered early monster attacks primarily contaminated psychic seas slowly—dark energy seeped into consciousness, exhausting and breaking will over time.
But now, this threat was immediate and lethal.
“These new ‘resonance’ monsters are different,” Milton’s voice dropped. “They don’t just contaminate—they resonate with psychic frequencies, shattering defenses in an instant. Shields, formations, even psychic oceans can be destroyed in a heartbeat.”
He tightened his grip on the controls, determination flashing.
“Accelerated evolution of the contamination type. Faster, stronger, deadlier. The enemy has learned to target our psychic defenses tactically.”
He commanded sharply:
“All units, adjust psychic shields’ frequencies. Activate multi-layer interference protocols! Encounter resonance monsters—lock and destroy immediately. Do not approach. Maintain formation. Prevent psychic attack spread!”
This was not mere evolution—it was purposeful adaptation. The monsters were learning to breach interstellar defenses. The battlefield was growing ever more perilous.