The soldiers stared at the horizon in awe. Even the mighty Lords found themselves captivated by what they were seeing with their eyes.

Beyond the raging blizzard, a structure loomed menacingly. Its sheer size made every city on Neptune pale in comparison. Undoubtedly this was the swarm's main hub, one of the most dangerous places in the solar system… And where the queen that ruled over each extension of the hive across the planet resided.

Everything that the soldiers had done was for this moment. Successfully eradicating the alien's ruler would be a massive win for humanity, practically guaranteeing that Neptune would fall under the rule of its rightful owner.

While should they fail despite all the preparations they had made… It was safe to say that any hope of liberating the planet would be extinguished. It was all or nothing.

Thub! Thub! Thub!

In unison the hearts of the soldiers began to beat in anticipation.

Bzzzz!

Reacting accordingly, the swarm that had been busy flying over their queen's quarters began to stir, spotting the human invaders.

"..."

Suffocating silence descended. Even Neptune's blizzard seemed to come to a halt in eager anticipation of what was about to follow.

THUB! THUB! THUB!

With eyes full of determination, the soldiers gripped their weapons tightly.

BZZZZ!

Awaiting the orders of their queen, the Ro'trah creatures became agitated. They began to scrape their claws in an attempt at intimidation. Their maws opened wide, foreseeing a buffet.

The soldiers did not falter, nor did they show any trace of fear.

As the tension escalated to unheard-of levels, the voices of the Lords echoed across the whole valley. One singular word, filled with undeniable authority.

"CHARGE!"

Like a bomb, the soldiers obeyed, unleashing everything they had. Hundreds of thousands of shells rained from the sky. Mechas and other melee fighters charged in fearlessly, eager to exterminate the threat. Experts, Masters, and Grandmasters used every technique they had at their disposal, not sparing anything.

SWOOSH!

After receiving the go-ahead from their queen, the Ro'trah acted accordingly, meeting the frontal assault head-on.

Moving in perfect harmony, not like billions of living organisms but a single entity, they formed a colossal cloud of impenetrable darkness.

BOOM!

The blinding light that resonated from the human's attacks created such a vast contrast to the abysmal darkness of the Ro'trah swarm that the battlefield became visible from outer space.

"Hold the line!"

Courageously the melee fighters held their ground. Even as they became witness to the way their brethren would mercilessly be engulfed by the swarm, they didn't think about moving backwards.

As they held the front, those behind them did everything they could to fight off the flying threat. Rockets with areas of effect proved to be especially effective thanks to their ability to eradicate many aliens at once. Bullets also were incredibly efficient. The ranks of the enemy were so dense, it meant that every bullet fired had a 100% chance of hitting its mark.

"...!"

Obeying the command of their ruler, the Ro'trah swarm attempted to move upwards, flying past the melee fighters and aiming for the ranged units instead.

"No, you don't!"

Taking advantage of their well-protected mechas, the pilots managed to halt the swarm's advance, even if just barely.

As the two armies met each other, the Lords exchanged knowing glances.

"They should be able to hold out for long enough." Caroline, Vespera's Lord, said with a smile, unbothered by the loss of human lives around her.

Wordlessly the other Lords nodded among each other. Leaving their subordinates to halt the majority of the swarm, they headed towards the heart of the swarm, where their target resided.

Unsurprisingly, their powers allowed them to carve themselves paths across the vicious swarm with no struggle.

"I can basically feel the spiritual energy!" One of the Lords remarked, eyes glimmering with greed.

Back at the rear of the human army, Michael and his crew supported the human troops to the best of their ability, saving as many as they could in the process.

After making sure that not a single one of them was in danger, Michael ordered Cyberfang to guard the squad, making sure no harm came to them.

"Boss!" Richard grinned, seeing Michael approach him.

"What do you want me to do?" The man guessed that Michael wanted something.

"Keep an eye on the squad, and make sure they don't realize where I've gone. If they ask, say that I'm just fighting away from them."

Richard gave a thumbs up.

Knowing his crew was safe, Michael could set aside everything else and concentrate on his objective.

Making use of Fade, he minimized his presence to the limit as he simultaneously observed the billions of Ro'trah and the way they were slowly devouring the soldiers at the front.

'Cast everything aside.'

His body began to radiate a threatening aura, his legs bent, muscles flexed, ready for explosion, as his body dropped low. With one hand he took a firm hold of the frozen ground. With the other he wielded Devil's Tongue, positioning the soul weapon behind his back.

"...Boss?" Richard asked, startled by the sudden transformation of his leader.

However, it was too late.

Michael wasn't able to hear him.

'Everything…'

[Dash activated]

[Warlock activated]

BOOM!

A shockwave akin to an explosion erupted, causing the attention of the nearby troops to divert due to its intensity.

Yet when they turned, the only thing they witnessed was a shadow. One that moved so staggeringly fast that they thought their eyes were playing tricks on them and didn't think much of it.

Numerous times faster than an arrow, Michael moved full speed ahead, with nothing being able to stop him.

Slash!

A few soldiers that had been on the verge of being overrun found themselves escaping death's grasp as, out of thin air, a slash appeared, cutting the aliens that had been about to devour them.

Like a bulldozer, Michael exterminated every alien threat that dared to stand in his way.

In less than five minutes he had crossed the human army, consisting of millions of soldiers.

Before the frontal troops could preserve anything, they saw a male figure shoot past them from behind. Only to enter the colossal swarm with no trace of self-preservation.

Just like the Lords, Michael was moving full force towards the heart of the swarm.

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