Commander Delarossa paced in his chambers. Periodically he would glance over at the screens showing the various troops on the planet. He watched as the humans not joining the empire were rounded up. His brother Sorossa had shown him how these humans worked with monsters. Personally, he didn't much care. The word monster was a term used to define many things.
He watched a screen on his left show a group of bombers fly over a city on the south of the planet's hemisphere. Bombs rained over the area only to halt from a mysterious force. This was the third of such things to happen. The Varnoss bombers were built to bypass all types of shielding known so it was evident these humans had new powers not seen in the empire. That made them dangerous in the wrong hands.
Walking to the screen, Delarossa pressed on an intercom and issued an order. The bombers changed tactics, staggering fire to never let the shield recharge. He smiled in satisfaction as the continued barrage broke through the shield. Ground troops would then go and capture any other dissenters. A screen on the right blinked and the commander saw another group of soldiers fighting against groups of teenagers in one of the large metropolitan areas in the east. He ordered the soldiers to fall back and issued the tanks forward.
The mighty vehicle rolled forward and blasted away all the buildings the teens were using as cover. With nothing left to hide behind the soldiers made quick work capturing the malcontents. At least until another group showed up from behind. Delarossa frowned, he directed the troops to hold until air support could come. The soldiers huddled into a shield wall, blocking the incoming fire from the reinforced teens.
As Delarossa committed an airstrike, the group retreated. That settled it, that group had a job similar to the one given to him. A commander had to know the correct way to wage war and his emperor had seen fit to give that position to Delarossa. Even now, various tactics and ways to respond flowed through his head like water.
The screen in the middle flashed and shifted Delarossa's focus. It was the city Sorossa visited. The one that started all this hysteria from his brother. Of course, that hysteria had infected much of the non-combat classes. He didn't blame them too much, these humans were very intimidating creatures, what with their various skin and hair colors. Honestly, who ever heard of brown hair on something, creepy.
The attack started with a bombing run, but it was clear the enemy had some sort of protection. Delarossa sent the signal to stagger the bombing runs. He watched as wave after wave exploded down on the city's barrier. And then a group climbed up the dome covering the city and proceeded to prevent the rest of the bombs from dropping. Unexpected, but Delarossa was already thinking of countermeasures. Tactics in his head said that this group was probably the strongest in the city and would be out of the fight until the bombers ran out. That was plenty of time to send in ground troops and invade.
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
The fight started like normal, the soldiers using the emperor's protection while taunting the enemy into a fight. It was a tried and true method and all the tactics in the commander's head said this was the best option for this ragtag group. And then the middle of the soldiers exploded. Delarossa stared. He noticed his mouth had fallen open. How did an explosion get in? And not just that, one he hadn't seen coming!
He played through the options in his head again. Microseconds passing by as he scanned each tactic and read each enemy. Nothing came up differently, the best tactic was to use the shield wall. He reexamined the battlefield. Artillery from the city had started firing into his soldiers. The Emperor's protection was fading under the assault. Delarossa searched for a countermeasure.
He sent in the tanks, using their bodies as a shield for the soldiers to get into fighting distance. Some of the tanks fell, but that was expected, there would be enough to assault the barrier after the soldiers charged in and pushed back the city's protectors. He watched as the army charged in, the red glow of the Emperor's fury raging. Some brave souls charged to meet them and Delarossa commended their bravery.
The soldiers met the first enemy who had charged to meet them. The commander watched, expecting the poor soul to get pushed down and trampled under the might of the Emperor's fury. What he saw instead was the entire army losing its power as it collided with the man.
It was absurd, and yet he was seeing it. The power of the Emperor, ruler of a thousand universes, had fallen apart after clashing with this single warrior. Instantly, Delarossa searched for answers, reading the man. He received no tactics, no solutions to counter this man.
"Impossible," He whispered. How powerful must this man be. He kept watching as the man joined with the others from the top of the dome. The group of four tore through the final tanks, even stopping the charged attack he ordered as a last-ditch measure. He watched as the man dove in front of the disintegration rays and emerging unharmed.
Impossible incredible as Delarossa kept watching. The entire city lifted off the ground and floated in the air. In all his life, he had never seen such a feat. The amount of power needed would be immense! And yet these humans did it.
He ordered the bombers to follow and sent a contingent of fighters to keep chasing. If the city had any anti-air they would've used it during the battle. He watched as the city flew off into the distance and made a decision. He rewound until he found an image of the man who couldn't be read.
He made a copy of the image where the man blocked the laser, and where he shattered the charge. He sent out a message with the pictures attached. "I want everyone to know this man is incredibly dangerous. It is quite possible none of the Emperor's blessings affect this man. Despite this, I would like for him to be captured. His might would be an incredible asset for our empire!"
Delarossa was nothing like his brother, he would find a way to use this man's power against the Jora. It was better than wasting the power this man possessed by destroying it.