Alma 106 The Twilight War

Even with the additional help of the Western Fleet, who'd finally arrived after the delay, things weren't looking too good out on the battlefield.

It was clear as day to Haydn that they had reached an impasse that couldn't be removed with mere force alone. The Infested Pupa had finally gotten serious and had ordered for all of its forces to attack.

In the span of less than a couple of minutes, nearly six million Infested had poured out the abyssal chasm along with a host of gigantic tendrils that reached for the crimson skies.

Hordes of Infested latched on the massive tendrils that had arisen from the chasm. The Fleet-masters immediately understood the situation and had ordered their ships to retreat, but it'd been too late for some of them.

Enormous tendrils made of rotten, pulsating flesh extended toward the heavens and coiled around several unfortunate cruisers who'd been too close to the chasm at the time.

It was a horrific sight to behold — the way the warships were slowly torn apart by the Infested. The tendrils easily broke the cruisers' hulls as they tightened their grasp on them.

Astor's face went white in horror as he watched everything unfold from the surface. To him, it seemed like the warships' heavy armor plating were made out of eggshells, rather than reinforced titanium and altinium.

Ah…! Is this what a real battle against the Infested is like?!!

The warships broke open with a swift and resounding crack, revealing their contents. The Infested cheered with piercing screeches of delight and then begun their terrible, bloody work. Tens of thousands of Infested poured into the cracks in the hull without end, flooding the ship inside.

Goddess have mercy upon us all...

It was a quick and brutal way to go, suffice to say. Astor could not even begin to imagine what was happening inside of the captured warships, nor did he want to. The idea was too dreadful to contemplate.

And as if to inspire an inescapable dread in their enemy's hearts, the tendrils started to pull the warships down into the enormous chasm. The warships were dragged into the abyss, never to be seen again…

"W-We've lost four cruisers in total, Your Majesty! The two of the Southern Fleet's supercruisers have sustained critical damage during their escape maneuvers! They are reporting a sixty percent decrease in reactor output and loss of their weapon systems!" said the Chief of Communications of the Silver Winter.

Haydn grit his teeth and said, "Hail the other Fleet-masters and get them on my private channel now!"

The fleets had taken a heavy hit, but the beginning of their suffering had only just begun.

Some of the tendrils opened themselves up like flowers and revealed what they had inside of them. Greater eldritch eyes awoke from their slumber and immediately set their gazes on the retreating fleet. It'd been so unexpected that no one even realized what had happened until the fleet started dropping like flies.

Powerful beams of concentrated energy pierced through the fleets with the ease unlike before, crippling a handful of cruisers and frigates in an instant. They had all been struck where it hurt them the most — their Anima reactors.

It'd been done on purpose, without a doubt. The Infested Pupa was not interested in destroying the warships outright, even though it easily could have. No — it was going to make them suffer, make them experience despair in all of its glorious forms…

The warships burst into flames and fell from the sky like birds who'd been clipped of their wings. They crashed into the scarred ground below, no longer capable of moving. Infested on the ground screeched in joy as they rushed toward the crashed warship en masse with great fervor.

The Infested Pupa would crush whatever Hope they possessed into dust. Make sure that not even a single mote of it remained by the time it was done with them.

Only then would it be satisfied with itself. Simply killing and collecting them was not enough for it. What it desired was to break their spirit, above all else.

Violett clenched her fists in pure anger as she watched Infested swarm over one of the warships in the distance. It was all too obvious to her what was happening… and it made her blood boil in frustration.

It's playing with us now… Treating us like we're nothing to it, trying to destroy our morale!

She gathered Anima around herself and said, "Change of plans! We're moving forward to give the crewmen in the cruisers time to evacuate! All squads are to push forward to the designated location I have marked ASAP!"

Violett understood it was imperative that they save the crewmen, otherwise it'd end up ruining morale. Abandoning the stranded cruisers was not an option because it'd give the troops the impression that all was lost — that they were facing an insurmountable enemy.

Although she could not speak about the others, the conquerors and contenders of the North would not bend to despair. They would answer with fire and fury for what the damnable abomination had done…

Once the other commanders saw the North's squads head into the fray, they too realized what was at stake.

The East's ground commander, Velvund, nodded in approval when saw the North's boldly rush toward the Infested swarm without fear and said, "We're moving too! The East will not succumb to Despair today! We fight to light a beacon of Hope for all that would follow after us!"

"We go not to die, but to protect our comrades who require our help! Stand firm, Children of the East, until the very end!!"

His voice boomed like thunder across the desolate battlefield for all to hear. The East would meet the Infested and stand together with the North. The South and the West, inspired by Velvund's speech, followed behind the East in tow, fully committed with their new cause.

They would fight to the bitter end, no matter what laid in store for them...

The fleets, recognizing that there was no escape from this fight, turned around and headed back toward the chasm that blocked them the Reef. They, too, would fight to the end.

Were they to abandon their conquerors and contenders to their fates down below, all Hope would truly be lost in the realm. That, they could not allow, even if it cost them their lives.

Hadyn bitterly smiled and said, "So be it. All ships, fire at will! Give our friends on the ground some help! The Silver Winter will take the lead from here on out and cover the remaining fleet until the end!"

Who could have expected that at the Eve of Despair, Hope would rise again? Certainly not any of the souls present on the battlefield.

The ground squads charged into the endless hordes and cast all manner of attacks against the oncoming wave of rotten flesh and bone. Miniature lights and explosions littered the ground below like fireworks, far up above from heaven.

Warships sang songs of strife and fury in abandon as they rained molten steel onto the surface with all their might. The earth shook and the skies trembled as both sides fought each other without restraint.

The Infested Pupa derisively chuckled when it saw what its prey had decided upon. It found them detestable, to such an extent that it could no longer hold its fury back anymore.

Defiant. Selfish. Foolish. Weak. Ignorant.

Even now they still held onto Hope, despite knowing that the odds were completely against them. How could something hold such blind faith? It could not understand.

That was why it would forever be incompatible with them. There could be no coexistence between it and them.

Infested heeded his call and charged with even greater ferocity than before, tearing into everything they could get their hands on, be it metal or flesh. The eldritch eyes continued their assault, melting away at the warships. Giants made of shadow pounded the ground into dust, indiscriminately killing everything in their way.

The fight had reached a fever pitch and blood, ash, and dust filled the air. One could hardly breathe in without getting one of three in their mouth. Warships, Chosen, and Infested fell as the battle raged on without end.

It was here where the Four Empires would truly be tested for the first time in millennia. The will of the Last Peoples of the World would be tested.

Some in the future would refer to the battle near the Reef as the Twilight War because of the effects it would have on the continent. The secrets learned during that fateful day would never see the light of day, though.

Only those who were present at the fight would ever know the truth about the Twilight War. What they had witnessed near the end of the battle would go to the graves with them under oath by the Four Empires…

Chapter end