Intergalactic conquest with an AI-Chapter 367: Xylos Siege. {8} Mother.

"Keep the bombardment going; sooner or later, they'll have to move. Either they'll charge out to attack us, or they'll fall back deeper into the city. Either way, it works in our favor."

Lilla's brother stood with his hands clasped behind his back, watching the fiery spectacle with cold satisfaction. The sky burned red as explosions lit up the fortress walls, casting long, flickering shadows across the battlefield.

Meanwhile, the Western general clenched his fists, his face grim under the glow of the raging fires. "All Western soldiers, listen to my command! Fall back to the bridge! We'll make our stand there! the fortress is lost!"

His voice boomed over the chaos. Charging out to meet the enemy now would be suicide, and holding the crumbling fortress any longer was impossible. Reluctantly, his troops began their retreat, their boots pounding against the bloodstained ground as smoke filled the air.

From atop one of the towering war tanks, the Lord Inquisitor observed the enemy's withdrawal on his flickering holo-screen.

A slow, triumphant smirk spread across his face. "Send my orders to the Paladins. The Holy Legions will advance and claim that abandoned fortress. It will serve as our forward stronghold from this moment on."

His voice dripped with arrogance as he watched his enemies scatter like rats. Victory was within his grasp.

[Artificial body power remaining: 8%]

A sharp, mechanical warning flashed across Cleo's vision. Her battle body was failing; sparks hissed from cracked plating, and her movements grew sluggish.

Four hours of brutal combat against the Northern General had drained her energy reserves to critical levels. Yet she stood firm, her glowing eyes locked onto her wounded opponent.

The Northern General coughed, blood trickling from his split lip. His armor was dented, his body battered, but his spirit burned fiercely. "Well fought, General," Cleo admitted, her voice calm despite the damage. "I'd call this a draw… though your body is on the verge of collapse."

"Hah! You can throw yourself at me a thousand times, but you'll never take this fortress!" he shouted out while swaying on his feet but refusing to fall. His defiance echoed across the ruined battlefield.

Cleo studied him silently for a long moment. Then, without another word, she turned and shot through the shattered barrier, streaking toward the distant Kaelzar portal like a silver comet.

The Northern General watched her go, his vision blurring. As darkness crept in, his last sight was the pale morning sun breaking through the smoke... a fragile light in the midst of war. Then, his knees buckled, and he collapsed.

Inside the Governor's War Room, the old governor leaned back in his chair, his wrinkled face tight with exhaustion. "Report," he commanded while rubbing his temples.

His secretary stood stiffly, datapad in hand. "Governor, the Southern Fortress has been breached. Our forces are now engaged in heavy combat at the bridge under the Second-in-Command's leadership."

The holographic display flickered as new data loaded. "We've lost all contact with the Eastern Fortress. The Western Front has also collapsed; the enemy now holds the fortress as their forward base, though they've made no further advances yet."

The governor's jaw tightened. "And the North?"

"The Northern Fortress is heavily damaged but still stands. The Northern General is incapacitated but alive."

Silence settled over the room as the governor absorbed the dire news. The war was far from over but the enemy's grip was tightening.

While Cleo's forces tightened their grip on Xylos, the battle on the Blood Clan's homeworld was unfolding in disaster.

The moment Zynaria vanished with the Patriarch, Rex found himself abandoned, left with only 14th and 24th to face the full wrath of the Blood Clan and its ancient Matriarch.

But then, the unthinkable happened.

Once the Patriarch's presence suddenly disappeared.

In its place… three new horrors arrived.

Three Tier 7 Patriarchs, each radiating suffocating stellar energy, descended upon the scene. Their crimson eyes burned with cold fury as they surveyed the carnage.

Five minutes....

That was all it took for them to break 14th and 24th.

The two warriors, who had fought like demons, now lay battered with their bones shattered, armor split open, and their bodies barely clinging to life.

And Rex?

He was already on the ground, his massive form pinned beneath a storm of blades. He had unleashed the Emperor's Sword Technique, a move that should have turned the tide.

But the Patriarchs didn't even flinch.

With a mere flick of their wrists, they seized control of the attack, twisting the very energy of his strike against him. The swords he had summoned now hovered above him like a guillotine, their edges humming with stolen power.

The oldest of the Patriarchs stepped forward, his voice sounding like a whisper of death.

"Foolish child… Did you truly believe you could defy the Blood Clan on its own soil?"

Rex's vision blurred while kneeling on a pool of his own golden blood.

The battle for Xylos might have been going well... but here, on this cursed world, defeat was closing in fast.

Rex spat a mouthful of blood onto the scorched earth, his lips curling into a daring, bloodstained smirk.

"Who the hell cares where I am?" His voice was ragged, but his defiance burned bright. "You touch what's mine... I'll burn your whole damn world down!"

His shout echoed across the battlefield like a dying lion's roar, fierce but fading. There was no real threat left in his words… only unbroken pride.

The oldest Patriarch sighed while shaking his head like a disappointed god. Above him, a colossal spear of stellar energy materialized, its tip crackling with annihilation.

"Such a waste," the Patriarch murmured. "With your strength, you could have risen to greatness. But recklessness has doomed you. Now, your only purpose is to feed our next generation." ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

Rex chuckled while wiping blood from his chin. "Ha! If your future brats are as pathetic as this generation, your clan's already dead!"

Every word was a struggle, but he forced himself up onto his feet, his body trembling but unyielding. With his last ounce of strength, he raised his middle finger at the Matriarch, his grin wild and unrepentant.

"You can all suck my dick in the next life!"

The spear blazed toward him, its sheer pressure locking him in place. The air itself screamed as it tore through space... death, inevitable and bright.

And in that final heartbeat, Rex's thoughts turned to her.

{So… this is it.}

The world slowed.

{I'm sorry, Cleo.}

The spear's light swallowed his vision.

{I couldn't… make your dream come true.}

Rex braced for the end with his eyes locked onto the spear of stellar energy as it blazed toward him.

Then everyone could hear a voice. Not just a sound, but a presence that resonated in the minds and souls of every living being on the planet.

"Oh my…"

The words were soft, almost playful, yet they carried the weight of a cosmic decree.

"I wonder who is so daring as to try to kill the son of this goddess?"

And just like that, the spear shattered.

The deadly construct of stellar energy disintegrated into dust, its power unraveling like a forgotten dream.

The Blood Clan erupted in fury and terror.

"WHO IS IT!?" one of the Patriarchs shouted out, his voice trembling with rage and fear.

"Playing ghost now?! SHOW YOURSELF!" the Matriarch shrieked, her crimson eyes darting wildly across the battlefield.

A sigh echoed in their minds... light, mocking, and utterly terrifying.

"Oh my, I know I'm all white and that… but to call me a ghost? A big no-no."

Then, as if it was nothing, the sky tore open.

A massive spatial rift split the heavens, and beyond it, A planet.

Not just any planet... a celestial body of pure white, bathed in an ethereal silver glow. It radiated an otherworldly light, banishing the eternal darkness of the Blood Clan's homeworld.

"Look up there!"

"What is that?!"

"Since when did our planet have a MOON?!"

Panic spread like wildfire. The Blood Clan's warriors, their assassins, even the mighty Patriarchs all stood frozen, staring at the impossible sight.

Then, the voice spoke again with a gentle yet inexorable tone.

"Why are you still not kneeling before me?"

And as if the universe itself obeyed, every member of the Blood Clan collapsed.

A crushing, divine pressure slammed into them, driving them face-first into the dirt. Bones groaned. Armor cracked. The very air became a prison.

"UGH! Such… power!" a Patriarch snarled, his face grinding into the earth.

"Just WHO IS THIS?!" the Matriarch gasped, her body trembling under the force.

Not a single one of them could lift their heads. Not the assassins. Not the elders. Not even the Tier 7 Patriarchs.

They could only struggle, helpless, as the weight of a goddess pressed down upon them.

And above it all, Rex, still standing, bloodied but unbroken, stared at the silver planet with widening eyes.

Rex's vision blurred, his body numb from pain and exhaustion... yet in his fading consciousness, the silver glow of the celestial planet burned brighter than anything he'd ever seen.

"This is a first…" he murmured, blood trickling from the corner of his lips. "Didn't know I'd get to see something so damn beautiful before dying…"

The white planet... no, her home shimmered in his eyes like a dream.

A soft sigh brushed past his ear. "I'm glad you like my home, my dear."

Then, a gentle hand cradled his head before he could collapse. His body, broken and battered, was lifted with impossible care, his head resting against the lap of the woman who called herself his mother.

Her touch was as light as stardust, her fingers brushing through his sweat-matted hair with a tenderness that made his chest ache.

"But really," she chided, her voice a melody of fond exasperation, "why is it that every time we meet, you're one step away from the abyss?"

Her palm pressed against his cheek, wiping away blood and grime as if he were still a child who'd scraped his knees.