Chapter 289: Upcoming Tide

“Humanity was born to inherit the stars!”

Chanting in unison, the soldiers obeyed the Emperor’s command. They boarded their assigned mechas and took their positions along the warship’s hull.

Fortunately, Claire’s mecha had been fully repaired while she recovered her strength. As for Michael, he had been given a new one, nearly identical to his last one.

The assembled personnel stood behind their leaders. Their presence here wasn’t just to protect the front lines and bring glory. It was also an opportunity to learn. In fact, today would mark their final test.

Although they couldn’t dream of playing a major role in the subjugation of the Titan, their mission was clear: endure its overwhelming aura and, if possible, attempt to inflict damage. According to the Emperor, he intended to leave the alien alive long enough for the most talented among them to challenge it directly.

Essentially, this was a way to weed out the most worthy. If a soldier exceeded expectations, they stood a high chance of receiving superior support from their faction, which would allow them to advance to the next stage in their cultivation journey.

“A Titan…” Richard muttered softly, his eyes locked on the far horizon.

Unlike the fearsome expressions most of the soldiers carried, Richard had a large grin. The rest of the crew showed no hesitation.

Michael, however, wore a frown. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the leaders had underestimated the Titan severely. Still, with little he could do at the moment, the best he could hope for was to minimize the loss of life when things inevitably went wrong.

Abruptly, King Arthur shouted, his powerful voice slicing through the vacuum of space reaching the gathered warriors.

“PREPARE!”

No sooner than the word left his lips, the soldiers froze on the spot, eerie silence spreading.

“…”

The only thing the personnel were able to hear was the erratic beating of their own hearts and their ragged breathing.

Seconds stretched into infinity as they awaited the appearance of a creature that most would consider a god.

Then…

Shudder!

A powerful tremor resonated across the vicinity, causing goosebumps to rise on everybody’s backs.

Potent light illuminated the surroundings brighter than a star, then as the light gave in to the abyssal darkness of the cosmos, a portal with utterly colossal proportions loomed over the horizon.

It easily dwarfed the Earth’s moon. And what emerged beyond it was far worse than anything they could have imagined.

BZZZZZZ

A dark swarm surged toward them, bringing with it a chilling, familiar buzzing sound, one that Michael recognized all too well from his time spent on Neptune.

Ro’trah, the alien race known for its swarm-like structure governed by powerful queens. While a mere Titan was far from the pinnacle of their hierarchy, it still held immense power, bringing with it a large part of their hive… Capable of catastrophic proportions.

Frowns etched across the leaders’ faces, even the Emperor reacted the same way.

This was the type of foe they despised the most. When governed by a weak queen, the Ro’trah were little more than a nuisance. But with the current acting queen being of Titan tier, the swarm had become nearly impossible to disperse.

Worse yet, her influence had evolved her subjects, making them far more dangerous and deadly under her control.

A single glance at the alien forces revealed more than a million of them, all categorized as General tier.

The revelation caused the soldiers’ spirits to falter. While Michael’s crew had been able to defeat Overlords in the Grandmaster realm, that was far from the norm. The average warrior in the realm was as tough as a single General. Now, however, there were more than a million of such aliens.

Even if they brought every Grandmaster humanity possessed, they wouldn’t come close to matching even a fraction of the General tier forces about to descend upon them. And that wasn’t even counting the Titan leading them!

In sheer minutes, the battle that was meant to be a demonstration turned into the most intense assault on mankind.

Due to the nature of the Ro’trah and the way they fiercely protected their queen, neither the faction leaders nor the Emperor could deliver a fatal blow from a distance. They couldn’t afford to get too close either, for fear of being swarmed. The sheer number of Generals made them simply that dangerous.

Michael exhaled sharply, turning to Richard.

“You just had to jinx it, didn’t you? As it turns out, we won’t just be observing the spectacle… We’ll be forced to participate.”

Richard’s smile faltered, turning awkward.

“S—Sorry, Boss…”

Because they spoke in a shared comms channel, the whole crew heard them, but nobody uttered a word, finding the wave of Ro’trah surging towards them terrifying.

While the troops stood frozen, the Emperor let out an unamused sigh.

“A shame… had I known a swarm would attack, things could have proceeded differently. More will die than expected.”

He paused briefly.

“So be it. At least those who survive the upcoming battle will erase any doubt of their abilities before we pour our resources into them.”

Finally, his gaze settled on the shivering soldiers. Though he couldn’t see them through their metal suits, it was as though his crimson eyes perceived their very souls.

“I trust you’re smart enough to figure out that things have turned much worse than expected. Well, this is war… You should account for such things. Your mission will be to eliminate the minions of the queen and locate her within the enormous swarm. Those who report her location will not only benefit our forces but will be handsomely rewarded.”

Although no speech could truly lift their spirits, the mention of a reward stirred the greed within their souls. They could die… but how often would they get the chance to earn the Emperor’s favor and receive a gift from him?

Undoubtedly, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

“We just have to locate her!”

“How hard can it be?!”

“Get out of my way. I’ll seize the reward!”

“Courting death!”

In a heartbeat, all order was lost. The soldiers rushed to locate the Titan hidden among the enormous swarm.

“Morons…” Michael shook his head in frustration.

Most of these soldiers didn’t have what it took to survive inside the swarm. There was a difference between cautiously risking his life, as he did, and recklessly throwing it away in the hope of gaining power.

“I assume we’re not charging in…?” Claire threw a cautious glance toward Michael.

“Our numbers are too few.” Victoria agreed. “We won’t be able to cover every side before we’re overwhelmed.”

Michael chuckled darkly.

“The Emperor mentioning a reward is just bait for the fools to waste their lives. Nothing more.”

He paused briefly, his expression turning serious.

“However, while he and the faction leaders will eventually slay the Titan and disperse the swarm, the buzzing creatures could reach a planet’s settlement in the meantime and cause irreversible damage.”

Fortunately, not every warrior had rushed in. A lot remained on the warship’s hull, either held back by caution or simply lacking the drive to act.

“So, we slow them down as much as we can.” Michael said, his tone steady despite the upcoming danger.

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