The cable's holding the Knights disengaged right after the leader of these five finished what he had to say. As the one taking the lead in this landing operation, he had an example to made.
With the height of precisely four meters, the Knights, or primarily known as Knight-Mares, were the core unit of the juggernaut's legion. Each of these movable metal frames was controlled by a single, highly trained pilot.
Armed with an energy blade that could cut almost everything in its path and a bolt rifle comparable to a shotgun on steroids, these mechanical juggernauts could accomplish almost anything.
They were also the pride and soul of humanity, where it took at least a year to push one out of the factory.
Falling down from the sky like a hammer, the leading knights landed precisely above a shooter lifeform and threw it out of its balance. The impact was so significant that the soldiers nearby felt they were caught in an earthquake for a moment there.
The leader moves two steps further after the Knight started to adapt to this planet's gravity. Using his Knight's cold and ruthless mechanical leg, the leader steps on the creature's skull as he removed the safety function on the bolt rifle in hand.
*BANG! BANG! BANG!*
Unlike the small guns from the land unit, each bullet used by the Knights was about the size of an elementary-grade human child. Unless it's some reinforced weaponry or monster, there's hardly anything capable of withstanding the Knight's destructive power.
Like how Li-Xin's rifle tore the head of a Luminescent Warrior, the Knight's Leader only takes three shots to take out a creature that twenty soldiers could hardly handle.
And just like all the Luminescent lifeforms on this planet, the yellow and bluish liquid is flowing out from the corpses after they're dead. This liquid was what humanity came for, followed by the bone spikes the alien lifeform produced from within their body.
To the Luminescents, this is practically their blood and life. While to humanity, it was no different from fuel sources and supplies. And the reason for them to be categorized as an alien lifeform called Luminescent came from this trait.
While the lifeform and Planet Lucent looked no different during the daylight, it was practically breathtaking at night. The soldiers and crews in space describe the scene of aurora illuminating at night as a sight to behold.
At that time, all the alien lifeforms are essentially bathing and glowing along with the moonlight. It was also said to be their breeding season.
"What are you boys waiting for? Are y'all staying here?" a female voice came into the earpiece on their helmets. It seems that the dropship's pilots that went down this time were a dame.
"Go-Go-Go! Everyone, connect yourself with one of the cables from the dropship!" Li-Xin's group leader followed up next. He kept hurrying everyone to get themselves over to the dropship and fulfill his task until the last second.
"Departing... In..."
"5,"
"4,"
"3,"
"2,"
"1,"
"Let's go." the female pilot said as the cable was retracted back into the dropship. The booster rockets, which pointing upwards, were at their maximum push as the dropship picked up their speed to go against the planet's gravity.
That three minutes window allowed Li-Xin and the others to look properly at the planet that almost swallowed them like nutrition to nourish itself.
At the same time, Li-Xin's complete attention was on the leading Knight-Mare that literally tearing the alien lifeforms apart wherever he attacked. The yellow-bluish liquid is practically sprayed everywhere, including the frame itself, as it continues to battle.
"We... We're returning to the mothership..." said one of the soldiers that came down in the same team as Li-Xin. He looked like he's elated that he managed to keep his life intact from this mission.
"Alright, boys. We're touching down in the mothership soon. Remember to make your way straight to the Human Resources first, unless you wanted to be listed as KIA," the pilot laughed while making the announcement.
A moment's later, the dropship landed on one of the designated points. The air within the dropship was pumped out for safety reasons before the soldiers were released from their seats.
Following the crowd towards a general direction, Li-Xin quickly arrived at the Human Resource's Office and presented his helmet and Soldier's ID. He was then given a number and instructed to wait nearby.
With assistance from the AI, the camcorder's recording was inspected quickly to determine Li-Xin total reward from this mission.
"Number 33-1024! Li-Xin!" his number was called after waiting for fifteen or so minutes. Looking at the staff's window with his number on display, Li-Xin went up there to retrieve his belonging. The helmet will be returned to him along with his Soldier's ID card.
As for the camcorder, it will be taken away as the record. A new one would be issued during the mission if Li-Xin was getting deployed again.
"You're rewarded 1,000 Geass for completing the task. On your duty, you've handled a total of eleven Green-1 and two Green-2 aliens. Eleven Green-1 worth 550 Geass, and two Green-2 worth 1,000 Geass. That would be 2,550 Geass altogether." the staff said.
"Put your hand on that console to collect the pay," the staff added.
Without further ado, Li-Xin placed his palm on the reader to receive his pay. All it took was a blink from his card to allow the reader to scan his biometrics.
"Process complete. Thank you for your service." the staff said before turning around and left the service window.
Since there's nothing else to do by staying here, Li-Xin left the office with his pay and returned to the residential sector. There's nothing in his mind except getting a good rest before he visits the recreation sector to have some after-mission fun.
Furthermore, he'll have to pay the medical center a visit to check if he can get anything before his next mission.
...
In meanwhile, within one of Knight-Mare's Hanger.
A female officer with long crimson hair was programming something into a Knight-Mare that look vastly different from the five Knight-Mares Li-Xin seen on the battlefield.
It has a sleeker design and came in a custom paint job. On both of its shoulder protection pieces was the mirrored image of a wolf head with lightning streaks.
"Ignis... Please forgive me for making you do this." the female officer said.
"Do... Not... Be... Sad..."
"The... Empire... Will... Not... Fall..."
"Here..."
This custom Knight-Mare seems to have its own sentience. After bidding farewell to one another, the program was executed as the female officer's order.