𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟔𝟐: 𝐓𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 (2)
December 29, 2620.
The Crolr fleet launched a multi-pronged invasion of the six planets of the Defaulstellay Federal Star Nation.
Defaulstellay, boasting the largest military force in the galaxy, had enough defense satellites and troops on each planet to easily withstand the Crolr planetary landings.
Above the Defaulstellay capital planet, the battle in orbit was fierce. The Crolr fleet blasted through hundreds of defense satellites to somehow land Colossus units on the planet, while the main Defaulstellay fleet met them head-on.
Of the 280 flotilla-sized Crolr fleets invading this star system, 110 flotillas were attacking the capital planet.
The Defaulstellay fleet of the capital planet was only about 160 flotillas in size due to their recent support of military forces to the UNF fleet.
Although there was damage due to the Crolr’s indiscriminate invasion tactics from a defensive standpoint, the capital planet seemed defensible for the time being, as it had ground-to-air orbital defense weapons and hundreds of defense satellites.
Zzaeng! Zzaeng!
The defense satellites in geostationary orbit fired 300 rounds of expensive armor-piercing rounds tipped with depleted uranium warheads every minute. Every time they fired, the recoil-compensating barrels moved back and forth, and the boosters at the rear of the barrels fired to suppress recoil.
➖You little sh*ts! Do you know where you’re attacking?
The Crolr landing ships, their four legs spread out towards the main gun, were the first to be destroyed by the Defaulstellay fleet and defense satellites.
Even if they took some damage from the fleet’s firepower, planetary landings could not be tolerated.
➖General! The capital planet’s resistance is holding!
➖Then attack the satellites first!
Faced with the near-perfect defenses of the capital planet, some of the Crolr fleet turned their attention to the nearby satellites.
The Warsaw, a Ganymede-sized satellite. Its surface, where terraforming was complete, was a resort with a few small cities and also a secondary shipyard for the capital planet.
➖We can hit that satellite!
As good as the capital planet’s defenses were, Warsaw was inevitably neglected.
Some Crolr fleets sent landing ships to attack the small number of regular fleets remaining on Warsaw.
Designed to completely destroy rather than capture, the Crolr fleet’s antimatter main guns overwhelmed Warsaw’s defenses and defense satellites with firepower.
Whenever some of the gunfire escaped the fleet battle and entered Warsaw’s atmosphere, the city became an exploding hell.
➖Land!
“Carrdrarrk Crola!”
Crolr landing ships broke through Warsaw’s defenses and landed in every small town.
Dururururuk!
Kwakwakwang!
Warsaw’s trained ground forces and air force responded immediately to the landing ships, and a few cities were narrowly defended.
However, not all cities could be defended.
“They’re coming down!”
“Evacuate the people still on the ground first!”
“Dammit, I told you to evacuate, why are you running around outside?!”
“There’s no time. . .!”
The troops of the small city that failed to destroy the landing ships immediately had to face the Colossus units.
“f*cking little sh*ts!”
The regular army could not launch orbital bombardment or nuclear attacks on a city with tens of millions of civilians.
And as if they were aiming for such a thing, the Colossus units indiscriminately destroyed everything on the ground, not to mention civilians, but also the land and facilities they could capture.
🔷🔷🔷
Kung!
Did the bombing on the ground cut the power supply cables buried underground?
The whole place was plunged into darkness.
➖You are Nazar, leader of the Nazar swarm, third in the collective consciousness hierarchy. I will give you the 331 Cresecters and one Lemegeton of the current crescent swarm.
The liquid nitrogen and drugs that were being injected into his body were cut off. Little by little, the cells throughout his body began to respond.
➖Nazar. You will become the eyes of the Chimeraz.
In the darkness, the tentacles bound to the machine wriggled. The blood flow accelerated and the brain’s thought processes returned.
➖Well done. Nazar.
Kudeuddeuk. . .
The shape of the tentacles changed. The body bound by the machine fell to gravity.
. . .
. . . Thud!
➖Move only one Lemegeton you are riding and get out.
And crave.
Terribly.
To the extent that you can think of nothing else.
Yearn for the footsteps you have taken with them.
➖You cannot be left out of the future of the race I intend to lead. Nazar.
Purple eyes shone in the darkness.
‘Master.’
Kudeuk. . .
Nazar transformed several tips of his tentacles into cutters like Hounz’s tails. With that, he cut the hexahedral transparent wall.
‘Master. . . master. Master. Master.’
Kwaang!
Nazar forced open the thick blast door and entered a short corridor. The red emergency lights illuminated the room, while the automatic turrets on the ceiling remained inoperable.
Tee-tee-tee-tik. . .
He moved forward, his tentacles touching the smoothly finished artificial floor. As he turned the corner, a slightly longer corridor appeared, and at the end of it was an elevator.
‘My children. . .! My surviving children!’
Wave ability returned. He searched for other Chimeraz confined within this facility and spread waves.
At that, 25 Hounz, 3 Hydras, 2 Tritulas, 1 Cresecter, and 1 Kabana instinctively responded to the leader’s call.
‘. . .All the captured children are upstairs.’
Tee-tee-tee-tik!
Kee-kee-kee-kik. . .
Nazar forced open the elevator door and climbed the passageway flexibly. At the end of it, he saw the floor of the elevator stopped upstairs.
Ka-ga-gak!
He cut through the elevator floor and climbed upstairs, then forced open the elevator door again.
“Run quickly! The Crolr ground forces have infiltrated the upper floors!”
Armed soldiers and Darwin Foundation personnel ran frantically in front of Nazar.
“The regular army of Warsaw is already being overrun by the Colossus unit! But if we can just block the entrance to the facility. . . Huh?”
At that moment, everyone in the room focused on Nazar.
“G141. . . Ah, no. . .”
“Nazar. . . Why. . .?”
The soldiers aimed their guns at Nazar without thinking, and the non-combatants hid behind the soldiers, fearing Nazar’s glowing irises.
“Humans. Humans of the Darwin Foundation.”
“D-Don’t move!”
“Didn’t your leader Darwin foresee this situation?”
“What, what. . . What are you saying?”
“Wait a minute!”
Just then, a researcher in a white coat ran out from behind the soldiers and non-combatants.
She stood between the soldiers’ guns and Nazar.
“I have something to tell you in utmost secrecy through the chief! Don’t shoot!”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden? In this mess, the leader escaped. . .”
Nazar was always a leader with many questions.
“Human. Where is Francis Darwin? Why is the facility experiencing a power outage? Where did the New Ark’s machine guys go?”
She quickly answered, only touching on the key points.
“Chief Darwin is on the capital planet. The power went out because the Crolr’s Colossus unit landed near this city. The New Ark humanoids were wiped out a while ago defending the upper floors of the facility.”
“Contact your chief.”
“Long-range communications on this satellite are down due to the thermonuclear explosion caused by the Colossus unit. Contact is impossible.”
“Then you’re saying I can move as I please?”
Nazar’s eyes flashed as he spoke, and everyone was intimidated.
“Nazar. . . Please help us.”
“Are you asking me, who once slaughtered the humans of your facility, for help? Isn’t that a lie?”
Then, one of the soldiers behind her frowned.
“. . .There’s something more important than that hateful feeling. I heard that the chief talked to you, assuming this situation. So this is. . .”
“Human.”
Nazar cut her off.
“If you want my help, get rid of that unpleasant gun right now.”
“. . .Everyone, put your guns down.”
Her rank seemed to be higher than those soldiers. The soldiers reluctantly lowered their guns.
“Anything else you need?”
“Release all the children isolated in this facility.”
The non-combatants chattered, and one of the soldiers couldn’t help but speak up.
“Are you sure about this? We’re already struggling to stop the Crolr ground forces, and we’re going to release the Chimeraz from within? What if they go berserk like they did during the Apoptology?”
“Nazar won’t do that. He’s different from the other leaders.”
“What’s the difference? That guy was the one who killed several people during the Apoptology. . .”
“If he could have escaped during the blackout, he would have escaped long ago and turned this facility upside down. There are more complicated circumstances at play than you know.”
“. . .”
“And if this continues, it’s only a matter of time before we’re wiped out by the Crolr.”
“If we hold on, the fleet from the capital planet will arrive.”
“When do you think the regular army will arrive, after driving the Crolr out of the capital planet and coming all the way to this satellite, this city, and this facility?”
It was hard to accept, but that was the truth. In the end, the soldiers had no choice but to agree.
“. . .Okay. We definitely intended to dispose of that thing at the beginning of the evacuation, but the higher-ups stopped us. If things go wrong later, you will be held responsible.”
“I know. That’s what I intend to do.”
The soldiers ran upstairs and the non-combatants ran to where the safe bomb shelter was.
And the researcher in front of Nazar manipulated something while displaying the hologram of her cell phone-wristwatch.
“All the Chimeraz in this facility have been released.”
“Fortunately, there is a human who can communicate besides Darwin. Are you the highest-ranking human in this foundation besides the chief?”
“Not next to the chief, but. . . A few of them are dead and a few are out of contact, so you could say that. I’m the highest here right now.”
Nazar stopped the Chimeraz that had escaped from their isolated spaces on other floors in place for the time being.
“I will spread the colony in order to survive. Tell me a suitable place.”
“There’s a large garden right upstairs. The space will be enough for that, and you can use any of the organic matter or bioweapon specimens in the facility if you need them. I’ll keep all the blast doors open.”
“The humans who fight have gone upstairs. Where do humans like you who don’t fight go?”
“I’ll go to the bomb shelter on the second floor. All non-combatants are scheduled to evacuate there.”
“I will use all other places in the facility except the bomb shelter as my territory.”
🔷🔷🔷
“Aaah. . . It hurts. . .”
“Hang in there! It’s almost over!”
“Bring more stretchers here!”
“Humanoid! Get this person in here!”
Priests are evacuating from the middle floor to the lower floor. Among them were many who were injured by the Crolr’s indiscriminate attacks or who were panic-stricken.
And from the lower floor, a greater terror arose.
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!
Dozens of Hounz and Tritula swarms. The people on the middle floor froze in place as they saw them run across the floor.
“Oh, shit! the Chimeraz has been released!”
“We’re doomed. We’re all going to die. . .”
Thud, thud, thud!!!
“Eek. . .!”
However, the Chimeraz swarm passed the people by. Tritula passed over the people, and Hounz brushed against the hems of their pants as they rushed toward the passage leading to the upper floors.
“What, why did they ignore us and pass us by. . .?”
“I-I don’t know! Hurry up and go downstairs!”
At that time, Nazar was in the colony that had grown by absorbing the plants in the garden.
‘Bring me those bioweapons dead.’
‘Bring those too. They can become organic matter.’
‘Tear off the automatic turrets on the ceiling. They’re resources.’
Outside the garden with the wide-open blast doors, Xenotera was consuming the facility, and spore sacs connected by blood vessels pulsated above it.
🔷🔷🔷
On the outskirts of the small city that had barely managed to hold off the dropships, a local clash was taking place between the Defaulstellay regulars and the Crolr army.
The Crolr Colossus destroyed the city with their overwhelming firepower, but their lack of mobility naturally placed them in the rear.
Wheee-hee-hee-he-!
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!
Defaulstellay’s supersonic fighters and Crolr fighters engaged in aerial combat, and the regular army’s shells rained down on the already destroyed city.
The Colossus, which were moving to the engagement site, were briefly immobilized as they intercepted missiles flying from somewhere and defended their shields from shells.
Meanwhile, Crolr ground forces that had successfully landed in other cities were steadily joining the outskirts of the battlefield.
On the other hand, the regular army fighting them could not even retreat, as they could not expect any support. The entire area was a war zone, and each military base had no place to retreat to, as it was properly hit by the dropships.
“Aim for the Crolr multi-barrel tanks first!”
“It’s not a multi-barrel tank, it’s a Colossus!”
“Whatever, that thing keeps intercepting missiles!”
Kwaang!
This place, with its mountainous terrain in the rear, was a strategic choke point to defend against the Crolr swarming from the city center.
Walking howitzers and anti-gravity Gauss tanks lined up, and in front of them, troops in full body combat suits used the ruins as cover to engage in combat.
The war machines and humanoid units at the forefront were defending the front lines, suffering enormous casualties.
The Crolr’s weapons spread radiation. Not only did they kill civilians and destroy everything, they were weapons that contaminated the satellites that had been painstakingly terraformed in the most troublesome way.
The regular army held a deep hatred for their way of war.
“Aaaahhhhh!!! You sons of bitches!!”
Even with the medical support of the combat suit, fear lingered. There were soldiers who tried to overcome that fear with anger.
“That’s my house. . . M-My family is all. . . They must be dead. . .”
There were soldiers who were frustrated, watching the mushroom cloud hiding behind the concrete rubble.
“The window over there! It’s a Crolr sniper!”
Shoo!
There were soldiers who died without realizing the approaching death.
“Ah. . . Ahahaha. . .”
The Crolr could never fathom the feelings of the soldiers who fought belatedly after the civilians had already died and the city had been destroyed.
On the battlefield where no hope could be found, only hatred, frustration, and sorrow filled the air. The endless explosions and heat storms were so maddening that they forgot what they were fighting for, except for their survival instinct. Their minds and souls were empty, and their bodies moved only by instinct or by learned commands.
The Crolr was also terrible.
“It’s a Colossus! A Colossus is approaching from the northeast front!”
“Artillery support. . .”
“There are still our allies there!”
“. . .Wait a minute.”
Those who watched the battlefield from the mountain and those who fought on the battlefield could not close their mouths.
Something unbelievable happened.
Kieeeeeeeeeeeek!!!!
It was a scream they had never heard before.
Their appearance brought one word to their minds.
“Hey, shit! Aren’t those Chimeraz?!”
“A kind of bioweapon resembling the Chimeraz. . . Isn’t it?”
“Could those monsters be helping our allies right now?”
The Hounz swarm ignored the regular army isolated on the battlefield and rushed into the Crolr front lines.
Tritula stuck their heads out of each window and shot bone awls.
A few immature Cresecters recklessly flew over the Crolr ground forces, unleashing plasma bombardments.
Cust clung tightly to the charred plane tree, tearing at its trunk.
“What the hell is going on?”
“Artillery request is on hold! All allied forces in the Colossus approach area, retreat!”
“B-but the Chimeraz are not the enemy, are they?”
“Let’s just watch for now, you brat!”
The sudden appearance of the Chimeraz caused confusion on the Crolr side as well.
➖General. On some battlefields on the Warsaw satellite, a life form presumed to be a Chimeraz has appeared. They are attacking ground warriors in groups.
➖the Chimeraz? You’re crazy! Those monsters are hostile to humans!
➖These beings ignore human warriors and attack only Crolr warriors. A case where bioweapons realize collective tactics. the Chimeraz is the only one.
As the humans did, as the Crolr of the Large Magellanic Cloud did,
The Crolr conquerors here will face the reality of the Chimeraz.
➖Those f*cking bugs! Since when have they been bred by humans?!
➖And a Chimeraz species presumed to be a type of locust has laid its ovipositor on the battlefield. There is concern that their population will explode. Immediate purging of the Colossus unit is necessary before it is too late.
➖. . .What?
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