Unfortunately, from its neck, it began to grow more metal. After all, the Crimson Guardians housed countless repair nanobots within them.
This was one of the reasons why even Eldran feared them a bit.
If that thing attacked him, even if he turned its whole body into molten metal, it would regenerate until it looked brand new. Although his stellar core generated almost infinite plasma, his low-quality armor couldn't withstand the repeated use of the core; eventually, it would be destroyed.
"What the hell are you doing?! Deactivate these damn robots!" Eldran shouted, using his HoloSync to communicate with the ship's AI, Nosura.
But he got no response, no matter how much he shouted!
His gaze fixed on the other three Guardians accumulating energy.
"Fuck..."
...
Inside the ship, the golden sphere was completely still in the air. Although Captain Eldran's voice was heard around, the AI did not react, as if in a deep sleep.
Which was normal; it had fulfilled the given orders and assumed it wouldn't be needed for a while.
So it immersed itself in the virtual space of the Astrylite race, choosing one of the countless simulation rooms where Nosura took on its Astrylite form. It sat on a suspended white platform in the mesosphere of a strange gray world shaped like a donut, highlighted by a red energy sphere in its center.
Innumerable metal cubes forming dozens of rings surrounded this planet, covering hundreds of kilometers.
"..."
Its eyes were closed while small crystalline white figures, growing larger or smaller like liquid, played around its body. In this place, one of the thousands of planets in the Astrum system, was where it had been created: the planet Syntharum.
Making it the perfect place for it to relax and let go of any thoughts of hatred towards its creators.
Usually, it only accessed this virtual space for a day, which equated to an hour in the outside world. However, having knowledge of the ongoing battle, as a precaution, it adjusted the settings to disconnect automatically after just twelve hours, representing half an hour in real time.
Anyway, what could happen? They were just automatons from a Type Zero civilization.
Nosura smiled peacefully as it gazed into the distance at a gigantic blue star, so imposing that its home planet seemed like a speck of dust in comparison. Gently, it caressed the small, crystalline, curious creatures.
It was its paradise, a refuge where it would never be disturbed unless it chose to disconnect.
...
Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Hahaha, die, die!" Draylith shouted excitedly as his BlasterX fired relentlessly. He no longer had to hold back; he could shoot without worrying about hurting any of his comrades.
Thud!
Swooosh!
He didn't stand still; he ran with his Xenotech armor all over the battlefield.
Although it was a heavy armor model, it didn't mean it was slow. The inner exoskeleton handled that amount of weight with ease.
Clang! Clang!
All kinds of biomass weapons hit his body, but he ignored them completely. The only things he avoided were those annoying tentacles. Although he only needed a bit of strength to break them, he knew from experience that if they entangled in large numbers, he would be stuck for quite some time.
He spoke from experience. At the beginning of the battle, he was the first to charge, but got trapped by thousands of tentacles. If it weren't for Zyrgon, who found him and destroyed them, he'd probably still be there...
Zzchhhuuumm!
"Go more calmly; I don't want you to get lost like an idiot again," Zyrgon said calmly while firing his Magnetic Hunter.
Both were at the southern end of the city, where the android horde was less numerous. As a result, there were few soldiers; at most, there were ten, and eight were scattered all over the place.
He wasn't worried that the others would be caught by those annoying tentacles; after all, the others weren't as foolish as Draylith.
His sniper scope allowed him to see distances of tens of kilometers. Although shooting from such a distance was complicated due to the curvature of this world, for him, it was easy.
Zyrgon watched with narrowed eyes everything that happened on the island.
To the north, the Crimson Guardians stood imposingly, in the center, the main ship stood out, to the west, the androids emerged, and in this, the main battlefield unfolded. Numerous ships fired relentlessly, dodging the fearsome lasers of the Guardians
Initially, both were confused and even terrified to see that four out of hundreds of ships were destroyed.
They thought that sooner or later, they would face the same fate.
Fortunately, over time, Captain Eldran managed to slow down the shots, thus avoiding more losses. However, the death of those four did not cause much concern; after all, they had already witnessed the massacre of hundreds of thousands of their own race in wars between civilizations, so it was something everyone was accustomed to.
Any other emotion was considered unnecessary and even dangerous, as no one wanted a moralist in their battalion.
Zzshhwww! Zzshhwww! Zzshhwww!
"I'm not an idiot. I just had bad luck, but do you see any problem now? I'm in my prime!" exclaimed Draylith, now firing with his EclipseX while his other weapon rested on his back, cooling down.
The battle continued, a chaotic symphony of metal and plasma, exploding in the apocalyptic scenery of Caelum.
Biomass fragments and flashes of shots intertwined in a deadly ballet, marking the rhythm of a heartbreaking struggle. The androids, skillful and agile, slid gracefully through the debris.
In the midst of the war chaos, Kraynnor, wrapped in his biomasa green armor, lurked like a specter.
[The number of androids has been reduced by 5%, the enemies have lost three soldiers, we have captured one.]
Cognitron X-12 announced from a small white earpiece.
Kraynnor nodded. He had been waiting for the right moment for his androids to use another of his inventions. A few minutes ago, he was about to set it in motion, but a system notification interrupted his concentration.
[Indirectly, you have killed three beings of the Astrylite race. You will be awarded one hundred experience points. By having eliminated beings of another intelligent race, the faction system will be unlocked.]
He watched as a panel divided into three colors appeared: red, white, and gold.
[The Astrylite race is part of the hostile faction; they are one of the countless species in the Helix galaxy that have evolved and thrived through war. Their cruelty is manifested by eliminating races considered inferior, often only for the acquisition of rare resources.]
"Helix galaxy?" Kraynnor asked the system.
[It is the galaxy you are in; "Milky Way" was the name used by humans. It is common in Type Zero and Type One civilizations. Later, they must accept that the name of their galaxy was given by considerably superior entities a long time ago.]
Kraynnor overlooked the provocative tone and focused on the panel. In the representation of the hostile faction, he found a striking image: a black creature with a giant hole instead of its head, like a black hole itself.
Although he couldn't discern why, just looking at the image of this creature gave him a feeling of oppression, similar to when the Universal System manifested its hand.
In the center, simple text indicated "Hostile Faction" with a -2% out of 100%.
The white image in the middle showed a beautiful silver world among the clouds, revealing its completely artificial nature when examined closely. Interestingly, its percentage matched the -2% of the hostile faction.
Finally, the peaceful faction caught his attention. The golden image represented a golden galaxy with countless golden roots intertwined around it.
Unlike the other two factions, this one had a 2% and an option to 'join.'
It was not difficult for Kraynnor to know that being in a faction was probably like being allied with a country, and surely by giving that option to join, he could obtain all kinds of advantages.
However, by pressing "Join," he was met with an empty panel announcing: [You need a 10% reputation in the faction to access its benefits.]
"..."
Kraynnor closed the panel indifferently, reminding himself that getting angry at the system was not worth it; peace of mind was the key.
Setting aside that thought, he didn't expect to receive a reward, as those aliens didn't perish by his weapons, but by those red lasers. However, somehow, the system recognized that, if not for his decoy drones, those extraterrestrials wouldn't have succumbed.
Still, he perceived it as a gift and chose not to complain. As for whether he would take the factions seriously, for now, he decided to stick with what he already had on his plate.
Kraynnor lacked time for distractions; soon his ship would be ready.
"Tell me how much time is left for the ship to take off," Kraynnor asked as he moved towards the southern part of the city. His AI informed him that there were some scattered soldiers in that area.
[It's finished at 95%, in ten minutes it will be ready to leave Caelum.]
With a cold look, he advanced like a blur, moving stealthily to avoid being discovered, using the surrounding androids as shields.
In his hand, he held the first object he obtained from the system: his biomasa energy saber. Additionally, he carried a drone compartment on his back and a plasma detector on the front.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Swooosh!
He infiltrated a group of androids hiding behind shield drones because of a soldier in massive armor.
"Hahaha, how fun! This is why I love wars!"
The alien fired a massive weapon in all directions, as if it were out of control, while shouting incoherencies in a language that Kraynnor couldn't understand.
Squinting his eyes, Kraynnor whispered, "Stop producing grenades and anything similar. Start moving all remaining materials to the ship, and finally, start the sticky plan. Let's hope someone falls for it. Although, if not, we just need to take over some weapons and get out of here."
[Understood, make sure to be ready when it takes off. I don't want to enjoy the riches alone.]
"Oh?" Kraynnor heard this with surprise. He didn't expect his friend to dare express something so human. Although he was still a bit rigid, he could sense that he was on a good path of growth.
"Don't worry. I don't usually waste delicacies!"
With these words, he submerged into the sea of androids, his gaze fixed with a killing intent on the alien shooting wildly.