Whoosh—
The spacecraft skimmed across the planet's surface at low altitude.
The members of the three train crews had divided into more than a dozen squads, spreading out to clear the "Beasts" from the surface.
For a time, the ground continuously erupted with the impacts of Noble Phantasms, high-energy bombardments, and all kinds of magic.
Boom! Rumble!!—
From time to time, enormous golden crosses blossomed across the ground, while spiraling torrents of magic and energy shot into the sky.
The floating city cluster overhead was affected as well, trembling violently.
Clatter—
Inside the Winged Guard headquarters in Corna di Luce, the palace shook so hard that decorations and miscellaneous objects fell everywhere.
"An earthquake? Or is there something wrong with the floating island's power system?!"
The Great Sage was shocked.
Ebon Candle was startled badly enough to bounce out of his wheelchair, his enormous skull swiveling around as he observed the surroundings.
"No, that's not it!"
"The Starsea Empire is launching a counteroffensive on the surface!!"
"They've... landed on the ground and are fighting the Beasts!!"
After the brief chaos, reports quickly arrived from the Winged Guard.
"What?!"
The phrase "landing on the ground" sounded strange, but to the Great Sage and the united cities, which had lived on floating islands for centuries, it was an unattainable dream.
"Quickly! Mobilize the airships and prepare to provide support!!"
Souwong immediately issued orders, summoned the Winged Guard's senior officers, and departed by airship.
For the sake of returning to the surface, he had gone so far as to use necromancy to turn himself into an undead existence, then shaped fragments of the Visitors into Leprechauns and used them as tools and weapons.
Even so, the disparity in strength between the floating cities and the Beasts remained enormous.
Only after the Starsea Empire arrived had he been forced, under pressure and in order to preserve the floating continent cluster for the time being, to accept their conditions.
Now it seemed the other side had not deceived him. After taking possession of all the Leprechauns and incorporating the floating continents under their rule, they had immediately begun eliminating the threat of the Beasts.
After all, this place would now be Starsea Empire territory. Naturally, random monsters could not be allowed to roam freely across Imperial lands.
Hum—
A small Winged Guard fleet quickly departed the air harbor and descended toward the surface.
Many soldiers tightly gripped their weapons, nervously watching the ground below alongside Souwong and Ebon Candle.
According to their memories, the moment anyone set foot on the surface, they would be dragged into a bloody battle against a tidal wave of "Beasts."
If a Leprechaun could trade her life for a Beast by self-destructing, an entire Winged Guard regiment of ordinary soldiers would still struggle to hold off even one.
"They're moving too quickly!"
"They should at least have notified us first. We ought to break through at the weakest point on the surface, construct a fortified base and defensive works, then gradually expand outward..."
Grayrock wore a grave expression as he continuously traced routes across the map with one claw.
Everything about his tone suggested that he thought these aliens were being somewhat reckless.
By Winged Guard standards, the safest strategy would be to advance steadily, relying on engineering and construction to gradually expand humanity's foothold on the surface.
However.
Boom!—
The airship had only descended halfway when an enormous energy tide suddenly struck it.
Bang—Aaaaaah—
The vessel tumbled through the air like a leaf in a raging sea.
The marines aboard were thrown around in every direction, and only the pilot's exceptional skill allowed them to correct course and stabilize the craft again.
"What happened?!"
"Down there! What's happening below... My god!!..."
They looked through the windows.
Squads from the Starsea Empire were everywhere across the ground, harvesting the "Beasts."
Honkai energy, Noble Phantasms, high-energy weapons, and all kinds of magic washed over the surface again and again.
The monsters that had once required Leprechauns to sacrifice themselves just to barely defeat were no different from ants before Heroic Spirits, Valkyries, Angeloids, and the others.
At first, the Beasts formed a tidal wave of attackers and attempted to overwhelm them completely.
But the Beast tide was instantly vaporized by Noble Phantasms and magic until not even ash remained.
After several waves, only a handful of exceptionally powerful elite individuals still dared to continue attacking.
The Second Beast, Fourth Beast, Sixth Beast, and other nightmares of the floating continents emerged from underground one after another.
"The Sixth Beast!! Be careful!!!"
Seeing a mass of black slime and tentacles surge up from below, Souwong shouted in alarm.
That creature posed the greatest threat to the floating islands. It could split and proliferate, dividing its main body into tens of thousands of fragments that drifted on the wind like spores and scattered across every corner of the planet.
Every individual, at the instant of death, would split again into even more secondary bodies, continuing until it reached the absolute limit of division at the cellular level.
When the warning of an incoming Sixth Beast attack had arrived before, the fairies had already prepared themselves to perish alongside it.
"Infinite proliferation? Then just wipe it all out in one shot. Simple."
Jibril hovered in the air as an enormous amount of magic gathered in her hand.
"Heavenly Smite."
Boom!—
A purple pillar of light pierced through the clouds and triggered an earth-shattering explosion across the ground.
Everything within a radius of more than a thousand kilometers was reduced to dust by the extreme heat. Had she not deliberately limited the output, the attack would have been powerful enough to punch through the planet's core.
After a single strike, the ground below was empty.
Whoosh—
The Herrscher of the Void guarding Elysia said nothing. With a wave of her hand, she constructed countless subspace lances and sent them stabbing toward the ground while carrying tremendous amounts of Honkai energy.
Bang bang bang bang bang—
Fragments of bodies flew everywhere.
She and the Herrscher of Finality remained expressionless, faithfully carrying out the order to "eliminate the Beasts."
To them, whether the target was humanity or another species made little difference. Only the orders and targets had changed.
Kill every enemy standing in their way, then return and report completion. The mission was that simple.
"Uhh..."
Chtholly, Nephren, and the other fairies stood holding their swords, utterly at a loss.
They had originally intended to come down and provide support, only to discover that the disparity in scale between the two sides was far too great. Fighters like them, who only knew close combat, would only get in the way.
The Great Sage and the Winged Guard were even more horrified.
"To avoid accidental casualties, please return to the floating cities for now."
"Once the surface-clearing operation is complete, the Starsea Empire will begin reconstructing the planetary surface."
Sophon reminded them.
"Y-Yes..."
The Winged Guard, who had only just finished mobilizing and had been full of confidence about helping the Starsea Empire reclaim lost territory, immediately turned around and fled.
Several airships headed straight back toward the floating islands without looking back.
Everyone remained shaken. Fortunately, the Great Sage had keenly recognized the gap in strength between the two sides and decisively chosen to surrender.
If they had actually fought, they would probably have ended up no different from the Beasts below. Being lucky enough to leave behind an intact corpse would have counted as ancestral blessings.
"We'll leave it to you! Goodbye!"
"It's an honor to be the Empire's dogs!—"
...
Several hours later.
The entire planetary surface had been thoroughly plowed by Noble Phantasms and magic.
Each squad dug through the ground layer by layer and, guided by Sophon and their sensors, exterminated every Beast they could locate.
The shuttles returned to the Astral Express carrying all kinds of strange variants.
A specimen of every unusual species had been preserved for biological research back home.
"Commander, we've already eliminated every large-scale Beast group on the planet's surface. The Angeloids are carrying out the final cleanup."
Elysia reported.
"We haven't found anything unusual across most regions. Every surviving organism on the ground has completely transformed into a Beast. None retain intelligence or the ability to communicate."
"However, there's only one place left. At Ruins K-17, we found something unusual. Would you like to come take a look?"
"Hm? Understood."
Setsuna casually selected several people to accompany him, and the shuttle flew at low altitude across the cleansed terrain.
After crossing the endless yellow sands, they arrived deep within the continent.
Very few "Beasts" appeared here. There were almost no traces of battle in the surrounding region, and Sophon had detected no enemies either.
On a planet consumed by warfare, it seemed to be one of the rare peaceful regions.
The ground was desolate, and even ruins left behind by humanity from the previous era were rarely seen. Judging from the terrain, this place had already been desert centuries ago.
The shuttle continued forward for a while longer.
Before long, a small city abruptly appeared in their field of view.
It wasn't very large, roughly comparable in size to one of the smaller islands in the floating continent cluster, and its overall architectural style somewhat resembled the Middle Ages.
The city was peaceful and tranquil. The bells of morning prayer rang from the church steeple, while residents dressed in rough-spun clothing devoutly worshipped under the guidance of priests.
Mule carts carrying barrels of wine rattled along the roads, while the aroma of alcohol mingled with the fresh scent of baked grain drifting from the marketplace.
Children with runny noses played in groups along the streets, occasionally drawing scoldings from merchants.
Everything seemed beautiful and full of everyday life. The war raging outside had not affected them in the slightest.
It looked just like an ordinary rural town one might find on the European continent.
"Huh? There's still a human city down here?"
Chtholly leaned forward curiously for a better look.
"Wait!"
She suddenly remembered something and jolted in shock.
"Weren't all the humans on the surface... already extinct?!"
—
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