Chapter 278: The Unforeseen

With breathtaking speed, Nicole swept through the colossal alien battleship. Lesser aliens fell before her in an instant, and even the ship’s armored walls seemed powerless to withstand her relentless assault.

As a Supreme Lord, little could escape her senses. She immediately detected the Monarch’s ominous aura lurking in the ship’s deepest point. And without hesitation, she surged toward it.

Knowing that every passing second cost more soldiers their lives, she refused to slow down. With a violent tear, she ripped through the wall before her… The scenery beyond it shifted abruptly.

She had reached the control room, the largest chamber in the ship, where the Monarch tier alien resided.

The numerous tentacles sprouting from its grotesque form unmistakably marked it as a member of the Hreh’tar species.

“Human!”

Of course the alien didn’t waste time pouncing on the woman without any trace of hesitation.

That was to be expected. After all, Nicole was only a Lord. Under normal circumstances, creatures like this alien were meant to be confronted only by Kings or Queens.

However, Nicole was far from an average Lord. She possessed the power to rival such creatures in a direct confrontation. As long as she remained cautious, she was confident in her victory.

“Found you.”

Instantly she met the alien’s charge.

Meanwhile at the center of the battlefield, the human troops continued to stall the Overlords for time.

That was the plan at least… Until the Indomitable Alliance managed to slay three Overlords in quick succession.

With their achievement the aliens’ leaders were reduced from 49 to 46.

Perhaps victory was really possible!

With the soldiers’ souls lit ablaze, they intensified their efforts.

Nicole was locked in combat with the Monarch, while Michael and his team had already neutralized three Overlords. Now, it was time for the rest to pull their weight.

Fortunately, with the morale of the soldiers spiking, Lord Cayson managed to catch his opponent by surprise, delivering a fatal strike.

The Overlords were down to 45!

At that moment as Michael and Ruby were charging towards their new target, he allowed himself a brief glance to assess the situation. Momentarily surprised by how much the crew had progressed, he ordered in the comms channel.

“Don’t stop!”

With proud smirks appearing all over their faces, they dashed towards the next threat.

Taking a deep breath, Michael focused on the present.

“Undoubtedly the funnel is slowly being closed, squeezed by too many sides. Still, we have managed to slow down its shrinking process. Knowing Nicole, she would be able to defeat the Monarch sooner rather than later.”

He muttered, his eyesight locking onto Ruby.

“Condition?”

Michael wasn’t oblivious to his own nature. He knew he had a tendency to always push for more. However, it was important to know the state of his feline companion. Her assistance was vital, pushing her too far would lead to negative consequences.

“Never felt better!” Ruby exclaimed, her eyes sparkling.

“More prey! We need to hunt more prey!”

Michael chuckled as she slowly gave in more to her feline instincts. Not lingering for more than necessary, they reached the next alien ship.

Unlike the last encounter, the Overlord, leader of the vessel, didn’t greet them with the same arrogance. This time, the alien’s leader was flanked by a group of Generals and Elites.

“To think that the alien would feel fear…” Michael smiled faintly. “No matter the outcome shall all be the same.”

The battle pushed both him and Ruby further than ever before. Yet, just as he had calculated, in the end, they emerged victorious.

44…

41…

38…

Slowly the Overlords were falling, their ships destroyed and their numbers thinning.

Sadly, the same was true for humanity’s forces. While not a single Lord had fallen yet, the number of dead Grandmasters and Masters was quickly piling up.

Akin to a slaughterhouse, both aliens and humans threw bodies at the heat of fire in the hopes of weakening the other side.

It didn’t take long for Michael to arrive at a grim conclusion.

“With Nicole on our side we will win… But the cost will be devastating.”

Things had reached such a desperate point that humans were using the corpses of their comrades as walls in desperate attempts to keep the funnel from breaking apart.

“Hold on a little longer!”

“Once our leader arrives, victory shall be ours!”

“We have trained for this moment all our lives!”

Screaming chants in order to steel their resolve, the troops charged fearlessly to their deaths.

In that moment, the walls that had once divided them fell. Factions, birthplace, ideals, beliefs, and status crumbled in the face of overwhelming threat.

Finally, the eruptions emitted from the alien’s main warship began to settle.

If Michael had to guess, the Monarch was on its last legs. Once Nicole emerged victorious, so would they.

And just as the end finally came into sight, his senses flared, filling him with dread instead.

Thanks to his Legendary technique, Perfect Senses, Michael had the ability to sense danger ahead of time.

Halting his rampage, prompting Ruby to stop as well, the sensors of his mecha tilted upward in pure disbelief.

“…Why now?” He uttered in dejection.

Startled by his sudden change of course, Ruby flew towards him.

“Michael? Are you hurt?” She asked, her voice laced with worry.

Before she could get her answer, she froze as well, along with the entire battlefield. Every gaze was momentarily drawn upwards.

A brief spark flickered at the top of the dreadful battlefield.

SWOOSH!

Then, a tear in the fabric of reality appeared, and a second enormous portal materialized as an ominous presence from beyond swept over every single being.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Michael cursed faintly.

As a veteran of war, he had expected many things to go wrong. The Overlords could have been twice the reported number, the aliens could have flanked them unexpectedly, or perhaps there was a traitor among their ranks, eager to sabotage the mission.

Yet, all these problems paled in comparison to the unexpected appearance of a second portal, bringing with it something far worse.

The human soldiers trembled as a second Monarch emerged, tipping the scales of war in the aliens’ favor.

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