Shhh.
Space parted like waves in the sea.
Amidst the surging red data arrays, a jet-black ring with a radius comparable to that of Earth appeared in their field of view.
[Drone Mothership]
The Scrin's mechanically specialized Hive Mother. Although its physical size was vastly different from that of the [Zagg] and [Vajra], through the use of spatial folding technology, its internal space was not much smaller than that of the other two factions.
Swish!
The Scrin began with their usual opening move.
A brilliant white light, tinged with a hint of faint purple, shimmered on the Drone Mothership's ring-like structure. Accompanied by a special energy "translation," the "broken eggshell"-shaped core suspended in the center of the ring grew brighter and brighter.
"Hikka!"
"I know!"
Musei Hikka's reply came almost at the same time as Aysha's shout.
The circular gunnery bay sealed shut rapidly. Dense clusters of data cables converged on the interfaces that opened on Musei Hikka's body, then inserted themselves into her limbs like hypodermic needles. While it looked somewhat horrifying, this was actually an innate talent of the Machine Race.
After all… they could reattach severed limbs.
Fwoosh.
A holographic image of the star system appeared in Musei Hikka's mind.
Along with it came intelligence marked with "Highest Priority," flooding into her mind without even giving her a chance to react.
"The Apostle…"
"A Catalyst Cannon!?"
The intelligence came from Shesha.
Among the information obtained from the [Zagg Hive Mother] were the specific parameters and configurations of the [Drone Mothership].
There was a particularly clear explanation for the "main cannon" that the latter was currently charging:
A stellar-class weapon, officially named the [White Chain Catalyst Cannon], capable of firing an extremely unusual, star-level diffusion beam. This thing could trigger a chain reaction by striking various energy sources, and it would translate biomass into pure energy, achieving the goal of mass-exterminating living forces.
"Not even the Baumkuchen can block that!"
The main cannon of the Nexus Landing City, when used by a [Higher Primordial Species], could at full power only produce an output on the level of an Imperial Apostle.
Never mind the enormous difference in scale between the two sides.
The disparity in energy levels alone meant that the Baumkuchen was in no position to engage in a beam struggle. The main cannon Hikka was using was already the most powerful weapon among all the Landing Cities.
Even if a Legion Commander were to give it their all, that would be the extent of its power…
"Hikka."
The Scrin's weapon was about to finish charging.
Just then, an unexpected communication interrupted Musei Hikka's worries. An image of a young girl with blonde hair, red eyes, and dressed in a white veil appeared in her spiritual world.
"Femiris!?"
As mentioned before, The Throne was not only the Empire's ruling center but also a Titan-class starship of absurd proportions.
The little girl named Femiris who had appeared in Musei Hikka's mind was both a [Higher Primordial Species] who had ascended from the [Machine Race], the main control AI of The Throne Titan, and a member of the [Throne Guard].
"The Throne itself is not coming, of course."
Femiris directly saw through Musei Hikka's thoughts.
"I'm a bit slow on my end; it will take me a little while longer to reach your airspace… I still need to run some tests piloting this new body through quantum navigation."
"But the Commander is already on her way."
Femiris's mental link communication was extremely fast.
"Prepare for impact. The Scrin landing craft will be coming down soon. They are your target. Annihilation is not required, just cripple them."
Femiris quickly ended the not-entirely-stable communication.
"The Commander!?"
Only then did Musei Hikka realize who Femiris was referring to. While the person herself didn't officially hold the title of Legion Commander, as the Captain-General of the "Throne Guard" that protected the Empire's central hub, her status was equivalent to, or even more revered than, a Legion Commander.
As for her strength—
VMMMM!!!
The [Drone Mothership]'s main cannon fired.
A magnificent pillar of light descended from the heavens, falling straight toward Earth and the surrounding ring of Landing Cities.
In the next instant…
Ting!
It vanished without a trace.
---o---
A diaphanous veil, crystalline insect wings.
Bare feet, pale golden eyes.
Atop a head of deep, sea-blue hair was a divine ring composed of fifteen points of starlight. That's right, this was a true [Divine Ring] without any prefix, the power of a true body capable of contending with the [Drone Mothership] head-on.
An energy-state phantom of an insectoid beast silently enveloped the expressionless girl's body.
Her name—
The Star Corona Guardian, Delta.
"By the Monarch's directive."
Delta did not address Lu Xing as "His Majesty the Emperor" like most people did.
"Annihilate the Swarm."
Delta completely ignored everything around her, friend and foe alike.
The translucent insect wings bloomed like petals. They wrapped around Delta's body, transforming her into a brilliant golden stream of light that shot straight toward the [Drone Mothership]!
SWOOSH—
"Leave the bug's mothership to Lady Delta."
As a top-tier combatant of the Empire who rarely made public appearances, Delta was virtually unknown to the populace outside the high command of the various legions.
Although there was a gap between her and the likes of those with the [Great Sun Collapsed State] and [Savior Collapsed State], Delta's combat power was at least on par with Shesha.
In other words, dealing with the [Drone Mothership] before her was not a major problem.
But!
"Not a major problem" didn't mean it wouldn't require time and effort. As the most unique faction of the Swarm, the Scrin would take Delta a certain amount of time to eliminate.
During this time—
"We will protect the Landing Cities."
SWOOSH!!!
The reason the reinforcements from the parent world could arrive here without the Monarch's help was precisely due to the anchoring effect of the Landing Cities. By the same token, if the Landing Cities were captured by the enemy, the Scrin forces would obtain the coordinates to the Imperial parent world… While they couldn't travel by sea, they could always reach their destination by taking the long way around on the Tree.
Therefore.
VMMMM—
From the Drone Mothership, a swarm of landing craft began to descend, their names flashing across the tactical displays:
MARV
Redeemer
Aura Oracle
Ankolon
Ragnarov
Valascha Ender
Kratos Dictator
World-Purging Saint-Destroyer