Flame Planet.
Inside the headquarters of the Flame Raiders, the Ninth Boss held a large beast leg in one hand and a goblet of wine in the other, reveling in the life of luxury and indulgence. Between mouthfuls of meat and gulps of strong wine, he sighed with satisfaction. After a moment of discomfort and tension, he exhaled deeply and relaxed, declaring with a grin, "Ah, that feels good!"
Pulling a beautiful woman closer, he didn't hesitate to plant a kiss on her, chuckling, "You're the best, Sixth Sister-in-law!"
The woman, though she smiled and giggled, looked off to the side with a flicker of disdain in her eyes. The Ninth Boss didn't notice this as he continued his revelry. Feeling accomplished, he tossed a beast bone out the window, watching with delight as the starving, ragged laborers outside scrambled and fought over it.
He felt like a god on this planet, with the power to control life and death at his whim. In his drunken stupor, the Ninth Boss dismissed any thought of potential threats to Flame Planet. In his mind, no one would dare attack his territory.
Unbeknownst to him, fate was about to deliver an unwelcome surprise.
Outside in the cold, silent expanse of space, a fleet approached Flame Planet undetected.
"Commander, we've reached the maximum range of the planetary defense radar. Another minute of travel will put us within detection range. Awaiting orders," Ai Er reported from the command station.
"Ai Er, have the first destroyer and four frigates eliminate the enemy's planetary defense systems," Feng Mo ordered.
"The second and third destroyers, along with four frigates, will seize control of the enemy's spaceport and prevent any civilian ships from escaping."
"The Storm and the fourth destroyer, with four more frigates, will engage the enemy fleet head-on."
"The mech unit is to destroy all ground resistance forces and secure the headquarters. If they resist, kill them without mercy! The T3 Bronze Hammer will provide logistical support. Commence the operation!"
"Yes, sir!"
At Feng Mo's command, the Storm Fleet split into three groups and advanced toward Flame Planet.
Meanwhile, inside the planetary radar station, four burly guards were lounging around, drinking heavily and joking with each other. Military regulations prohibited them from bringing women into such a secure location, so they passed the time with crude banter.
"Alert! Generating radar images—detecting high-energy signatures approaching Flame Planet at high speed!"
"Alert! Generating radar images—detecting..."
"Alert! Generating..."
The station was bathed in red light as the alarms blared. The men, now fully sobered, scrambled to their stations, hastily discarding their liquor bottles.
"Enemy attack!" The head guard slammed the central red button and urgently relayed, "Ninth Boss, unidentified enemy fleet approaching Flame Planet. Requesting immediate orders to engage!"
"Repeat, Ninth Boss—unidentified enemy fleet..."
"Permission granted to engage! Activate planetary defense systems and prepare to fire on the approaching fleet!"
At headquarters, the Ninth Boss, now fully alert, shoved the Sixth Sister-in-law away, hastily donning his combat gear. Moments later, a beam of light enveloped him, and with a flash of photon technology, he materialized aboard his flagship.
"Full speed ahead! All ships, follow me into battle!" he commanded.
As his fleet moved into formation, an explosion suddenly lit up the darkness. A T2-class frigate had been destroyed, erupting into a massive fireball. The Ninth Boss's deputy stood stunned, glancing nervously at him.
"What the hell are you staring at me for? Fight back, damn it!" the Ninth Boss roared, landing a heavy punch on the deputy's nose.
The situation was clear: an unidentified fleet had opened fire without warning, annihilating one of their ships. Whoever they were, they weren't interested in negotiations. It was fight or die.
The Ninth Boss knew that, with the main fleet away, it was up to him to defend their territory.
"Coordinate with ground defenses, and get all T1 civilian ships in the air! We have the numbers to overwhelm them!" he barked.
As he gave the order, two more T2-class frigates exploded, while the enemy's shields deflected their retaliatory fire effortlessly.
"The T2 Battlecruiser's laser cannon is charged, and the T3 White Eagle Destroyer's main gun is ready. Awaiting your orders!" the deputy reported.
"Target that T3 Battlecruiser and fire!" the Ninth Boss commanded.
Twin beams of energy shot from his ships, slamming into the Storm. The shields absorbed the impact, but the readout showed significant energy depletion.
"Commander, the Storm's shield strength is down to 63%," Ai Er informed Feng Mo.
"It's fine," Feng Mo replied calmly. "They won't get more than one more shot off. Those T2 ships are worthless."
"Inform all captains and mech squad leaders: minimize damage to ground structures. We'll need them later, and rebuilding is expensive."
Clearly, Feng Mo already considered Flame Planet his.
While Feng Mo and the Ninth Boss's fleets clashed in space, the Melo sisters led the second and third destroyers and four Black Bear frigates into the spaceport.
Hundreds of T1 civilian ships scrambled to take off, but the half-orc sisters, with their natural love of combat, relished the slaughter. Their destroyers' cannons discharged mercilessly into the densely packed ships, causing chain-reaction explosions.
Eager for more carnage, the Melo sisters maneuvered their destroyers into the heart of the enemy formation, activating maximum shields and unleashing close-range laser fire. The civilian ships, utterly outmatched, crumbled.
On the ground below, ragged slaves paused in their labor, gazing skyward in disbelief. The sky was filled with flaming debris, wreckage falling like deadly rain. The T1 ships' desperate attacks bounced harmlessly off the destroyers' shields.
Four smaller frigates prowled through the chaos, crashing into civilian vessels and tearing them apart with claw-like appendages, their rapid-fire cannons sweeping the ground and obliterating enemy mechs and resistance forces.
The slaves fell to the ground, trembling with fear. Some, terrified beyond reason, wet themselves.
High above, ten colossal mechs descended, opening fire on any Flame Raider in sight. The bandits, clad in armor emblazoned with the Flame insignia, were shredded to pieces, their blood painting the landscape red.
"Drop your weapons and lie on the ground. Surrender, and you will not be harmed!"
The mechs repeated the command, their booming voices echoing across the battlefield. Those who heard, be they slaves, civilians, or ra
iders, quickly obeyed, throwing down their weapons and pressing their bodies to the ground.