At the bustling dock square, numerous alien races had gathered, each minding their business.
Among the crowd was Luna Kirches, whose expression shifted drastically as she noticed the scene unfolding before her.
What was going on? Why were Dark Elf troops here?
Her gaze fell on the Dark Elf soldiers, who were wielding cutters and tearing apart the hatches of several ships with no regard for their owners.
"What's happening here? Why is my ship being dismantled?" someone in the crowd muttered in outrage.
"Shh! Be careful, or the Dark Elves will come after you!" another warned.
"They seem to be looking for something," whispered another voice nervously.
"Damn it! They've stolen my ship!" a member of an alien crew bellowed angrily, stepping forward from the crowd.
The stolen ship was a B-class vessel he had worked tirelessly to acquire.
Furious, the alien crew raised their guns and pointed them directly at the Dark Elf captain.
"Oh? Is that your ship?" the captain sneered.
"Apologies, but it has been requisitioned by the Dark Night Empire. Don't worry, though—we'll compensate you with 10,000 star coins."
Hearing this, the alien's fury boiled over.
"Ten thousand star coins? That's an insult!"
he roared.
"Fire!"
Without hesitation, the alien crew unleashed a storm of bullets at the Dark Elf captain.
But as the bullets neared their target, they froze mid-air.
A blue magnetic shield shimmered into view, effortlessly halting the barrage.
The Dark Elf captain snapped his fingers, and the bullets clattered to the ground harmlessly.
He then gestured to his soldiers.
Several Dark Elf warriors stepped forward, raised their weapons, and fired.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Bright lasers tore through the air, piercing the alien crew's body armor and their bodies with ease.
Behind them, the walls bore charred, smoking holes where the lasers had burned through.
The surrounding crowd broke into a cold sweat.
The gap in technology was glaring.
The weapons carried by the alien crew, though effective against ordinary adversaries, were useless against the Dark Elves' magnetic shields.
In contrast, the advanced laser guns wielded by the Dark Elves could punch through their armor—and the walls behind them—with terrifying ease.
The second round of fire began, and more alien sailors fell like wheat before a scythe.
The sheer power of the assault even reached the bystanders.
Luna, hiding in the crowd, barely escaped as a laser bullet grazed past her.
Her legs trembled as she struggled to stay upright.
Is this the overwhelming difference between the Inner Sea troops and us?
The dock square had turned into a scene of chaos and carnage, a living purgatory.
Yet amidst this slaughter, the Dark Elf captain wore a smug, superior smile.
"I'll say it again: we represent the great Empire of the Night!" he proclaimed loudly.
"You lowly alien creatures should feel honored that your ships are being requisitioned by our empire. Resist, and you'll meet the same fate as those dead ants."
To emphasize his point, he drew his laser pistol, silencing the crowd further.
The alien onlookers dared not even breathe as fear gripped them.
Luna, trembling in her hiding spot, could only pray to remain unnoticed.
Suddenly, a soft mechanical sound broke the tense silence.
Everyone turned toward the source of the noise, including luna, who widened her eyes in shock when she saw where it came from.
It was Rodgraim's Aether Dominion.
The Dark Elves, who had been preparing to breach the Aether Dominion's hatch, froze, exchanging uncertain glances.
Slowly, the hatch began to open, drawing all eyes toward it.
When the door fully opened, the crowd and the Dark Elves alike peered inside—but the cabin was empty.
"What's going on?" the Dark Elf captain muttered, frowning.
His soldiers shared his confusion.
But caution quickly turned to action as they raised their laser guns and aimed them at the open hatch.
Then, without warning, the space behind one of the Dark Elf soldiers distorted.
A figure materialized—a pilot in full armor—and in one swift motion, the pilot raised a sword and struck the soldier down.
Before the others could react, the pilot seized a laser gun from the fallen soldier and fired, the shot piercing another Dark Elf directly in the head.
The advanced armor worn by the Dark Elves provided no defense against their own weaponry.
Panic spread through the remaining soldiers as they realized they were being killed with their own guns.
Another pilot appeared, grabbing yet another weapon from a downed Dark Elf.
The captain finally barked, "Fire!"
The soldiers obeyed, aiming their weapons at the pilots.
But as they fired, the pilots disappeared, vanishing into thin air.
"What's happening?" one soldier stammered in disbelief.
"They have cloaking technology!" the captain snarled.
"Activate thermal imaging equipment!"
The soldiers quickly complied, donning thermal imaging visors.
But when they scanned their surroundings, despair set in.
They were surrounded.
Out of the shadows, a thousand pilots revealed themselves, emerging like phantoms from every corner of the dock.
The Dark Elves gasped in shock at the sight of the overwhelming force.
"What kind of army is this?" someone whispered in terror.
Even the Dark Elf captain, who had been so composed moments ago, looked visibly shaken.
"Fire! What are you waiting for?" he roared.
Snapped out of their stupor, the Dark Elves opened fire once more, unleashing a torrent of laser bullets.
But this time, the pilots demonstrated their true capabilities.
Holographic images appeared, doubling their apparent numbers to 2,000.
The pilots activated their jetpacks, soaring into the air and darting around the complex terrain of the dock with inhuman agility.
Their movements were so precise and fluid that they seemed to be flying, evading every shot fired at them.
The Dark Elf soldiers, watching the pilots leap effortlessly between buildings, felt an unfamiliar and chilling emotion: fear.
"What are these monsters?" one soldier choked out, his voice trembling.