Ch.230A Very Old Plan (3)

# Chapter 230: A Very Old Plan (3)

At the same moment the Emperor was throwing pheromone clusters at the Eternia capital and unleashing cosmic monsters…

Eternia was also assessing the situation and devising every possible means to withstand this crisis.

“Quickly, recall the fleet! Hurry!”

They immediately issued return orders to their fleets concentrated on the front lines.

“Damn it, launch these ships at least!”

“But repairs aren’t finished yet?!”

“Would you rather wait for repairs while our capital gets trampled by those monster scum?!”

They rushed to deploy the “recycled garbage” – officially known as the “23rd Special Mission Fleet” – ships that had been damaged during the previous Kerzin Federation annihilation campaign and were still undergoing repairs, completing only emergency fixes before launching them.

“Activate all power sources for the orbital defense system!”

“Defensive satellite network functioning normally.”

They began powering up defense facilities built with Dark Age technology.

“Activate the planetary shield!”

“Activate all unmanned shipyards in nearby planetary systems too, the Empire is in danger!”

They activated the generators for the powerful planetary shield capable of withstanding fleet orbital bombardments, and initiated production protocols for the automated shipyards that had been gathering dust.

“Wake the royal family members from hibernation!”

“This is precisely when we need their help!”

They began the procedure to awaken the ten or so Eternian royal family members who had been in hibernation at the capital since the “Great War.”

Eternia mobilized every available resource and made every effort to save their capital from this perilous crisis.

——————————————–

Despite all these efforts, Eternia’s crisis showed no signs of abating.

“Are those Prosnack bastards trying to attack whenever our fleet attempts to withdraw?”

The Prosnack grand fleet, brainwashed by the Emperor’s hypnotic conditioning, wasn’t launching a full-scale offensive yet.

But whenever Eternia’s fleets tried to move, they immediately swarmed in.

Suddenly, Eternia’s annihilation fleet found itself trapped at the front line, unable to move in any direction.

Besides, even if they managed to recall the fleets now…

The cosmic monsters’ faster-than-light travel capabilities meant they would reach the capital’s surface in just 20-30 minutes.

Fleet recall had become meaningless.

Moreover, the hastily deployed 23rd Special Mission Fleet was a “fleet” in name only.

In reality, it was just a single detachment of about 20 ships, which posed a significant problem.

And while the automated shipyards installed in other planetary systems boasted impressive production capabilities – able to produce one battleship per month…

The problem was that the cosmic monsters currently heading toward Eternia’s capital would arrive in 30 minutes, not a month or even a day, rendering the shipyards useless.

As for awakening the royal family…

“Even at maximum speed, it will take at least 30 minutes.”

“Damn it!”

Similarly, they couldn’t provide immediate combat power in the current situation.

Suddenly, Eternia had to defend against over a million cosmic monsters with fewer than 20 ships that hadn’t even completed repairs…

Along with orbital defense systems and space fortresses deployed on the planet and its moons.

…Of course, Eternia wasn’t called the Pioneer Empire for nothing…

“Fire!”

“Activate all equipment, we must hold them back even with relics!”

“Long live Eternia!”

*VWOOOOOM!*

The orbital defense super-sized plasma cannons fired with a rate reminiscent of CIWS machine guns, literally shredding more than ten massive cosmic monsters per second.

“We are the last line of defense for the Empire, unleash all available firepower!”

“Enemies everywhere – above, below, front, back, left, right! No need to aim, just blast them all!”

The 20 hastily repaired ships maintained formation behind the flagship of the “recycled garbage” fleet.

In that formation, they weaved through the masses of over a million cosmic monsters, firing all their weapons in every direction.

In less than 30 minutes after the Emperor tore through the psionic veil and deployed various cosmic monsters through interdimensional portals…

The airspace near Eternia’s capital was so filled with the flesh and blood of cosmic monster corpses…

That the molecular density of the empty space was approaching levels similar to that within a planetary atmosphere.

—————————————-

But in less than those 30 minutes…

Eternia’s defensive forces were literally “annihilated.”

“This is the 23rd Special Mission Fleet, escape appears impossible.”

“G-get away, you inferior monster scum!”

The “recycled garbage”—no, the 23rd Special Mission Fleet—had been performing brilliantly, each ship worth a hundred or even a thousand enemy units as they maneuvered skillfully.

But the cosmic monsters outnumbered them by far more than that.

One by one, they were devoured by the frenzied cosmic monsters, swept away by sheer numbers.

Meanwhile, the various defense satellites created to counter enemy invasions…

*Ammunition low, ammunition low.*

*All missiles depleted, laser cannon energy below 10%.*

After expending all their defensive weapons, they were reduced to mere space debris by the oncoming monsters.

“Eternia’s skies shall never be violated!”

“Long live Eternia! Death to the monsters!”

The orbital defense plasma cannons that had been firing dozens of rounds per second…

Along with space fortresses and orbital defense facilities covered with all manner of anti-ship and anti-fortress weaponry, were grinding hundreds and thousands of cosmic monsters to molecular dust every second.

“Report, radar confirmation! Enemy at 7, space at 3!”

“…”

“This is too many, way too many.”

But the cosmic monsters coming through the Emperor’s massive interdimensional portal and additional portals numbered in the tens of thousands per second.

As a result…

The space fortress, which had arrogantly believed it could hold the line no matter what came, like a John-Burnater line…

Fell in less than 5 minutes under the serious pressure of millions of cosmic monsters ramming at faster-than-light speeds.

Of course, they fought valiantly until the end, taking hundreds of thousands of monsters with them as companions in death.

But now, with all weapons destroyed, the fortress was like a captured lady knight, with every opening filled with writhing tentacles of cosmic monsters.

The once-proud space fortress, formerly known as “Eternia’s Shield,” had now become the vanguard and nest for the cosmic monsters invading Eternia.

“Heyyy~ Eternians, are you all watching? We’re going to livestream your precious fortress getting utterly wrecked by us, lolololol.”

“No, sh*t! Our space fortress!!!”

Thanks to this, Eternians on the ground had to watch with tears of blood as their space fortress was NTR’d by cosmic monsters in real-time.

But during the sacrifice(?) of the space fortress, a final hope awakened for the Eternians.

“…What in the world?”

During the 5 minutes bought by the space fortress…

The royal family members finally awoke from hibernation and appeared in the imperial palace of Eternia’s capital.

They were diverse in age, gender, and appearance…

Dressed similarly to the Saint when she met Arto in the past, they wore expressions of disbelief at the sight that greeted them upon awakening.

And as befitting their superintelligence, the ten or so royal family members quickly assessed the situation without needing any explanation…

“Ah, so that’s what happened.”

“Did she ultimately fail to control him?”

“No, I believe he went berserk because of her death.”

“…Either way, what matters now is that we must crush that evil being forever.”

“It seems even that child’s power wasn’t enough to stop that entity.”

As they engaged in a conversation that only they understood, reminiscent of New*ype communication…

*CRASH! BOOM!*

Hearing the flashes and thunderous sounds of countless cosmic monsters colliding with Eternia’s planetary shield…

“Let’s head to space to fight first.”

“Agreed.”

“No matter how reinforced it is, the planet couldn’t possibly withstand our battle.”

With those words, they lifted their bodies and began flying toward Eternia’s sky, which was filled with brilliant flashes.

They would return to their true forms as “dragons” rather than their current “humanoid” forms.

To deliver divine punishment to the stupid, vermin-like monsters that dared to invade their empire.

———————————-

But the Eternian royal family’s plan was shattered just seconds later…

“I am your doom!”

With this proclamation from Nae Jong-eon, following Nah Jong-eon, the space fortress came crashing down, turning their plans to dust.