BOOM!
As the fifth volley crashed down, Taylor's face turned as black as the bottom of a scorched pot.
What the hell is that turtle shell made of?!
The thought kept looping in his mind. If not for that energy shield holding firm, the missiles and rockets raining down would have plowed over the PROJECT troops below two or three times by now.
And yet, they still hadn't even broken through the enemy's defenses. There was no way Taylor could be in a good mood. Every missile launched was cold, hard cash going up in smoke.
But beneath the fury, something else was taking shape—desire. A raw, burning hunger for that technology. If his forces could get their hands on something like this…
The thought made his eyes blaze.
And the shield could even block EMPs.
That was what he wanted most.
The earlier plan to destroy the devices with electromagnetic rockets had collapsed the moment those rockets hit. Aside from sending ripples across the shield's surface, they accomplished absolutely nothing.
What Taylor couldn't understand was this: if the shield blocked EMP, how were they maintaining communications?
Unable to figure it out, he could only assume the enemy possessed some unknown communications tech as well.
Still, their assault hadn't been entirely useless. Under the relentless bombardment from both ground and air forces, the shield's energy had dropped to roughly thirty percent.
Just as Chris was considering what kind of counterattack to launch once the shield broke, a signal came in from the Sovereign Series.
A smile curved across his face.
Since the Sovereign Series was in position, there was no need to resort to a sacrificial trade.
"Crush them with your own combat style."
"Understood."
The Sovereign Series captain gave a slight nod, pressed a button to end the call with Chris, and switched into the Sovereign Series neural co-link channel.
"Let's begin. Execute Type-1 tactics."
At the same time, satellites and radar systems in the New United States blared warnings. A cluster of objects was approaching the battlefield at an almost terrifying speed.
"What the hell is that?!"
Watching the satellite feed, Taylor stared in shock. On the screen, there was nothing but a streak of light cutting across the sky.
The Sovereign Series had already broken from their joint formation and shifted into a Type-1 tactical array. The glow surrounding them faded, finally revealing their full forms.
Their arrowhead-shaped fuselages gleamed with a cold sheen—a specially engineered high-strength alloy. Along their bodies ran energy conduits that were rapidly filling. The next second, rings of energy blades ignited around each Sovereign-class Fighter.
Whoosh—
In an instant, the Sovereign-class Fighters scattered, streaking straight toward the New United States aircraft overhead.
The New United States fighters' onboard AI immediately issued collision warnings and projected the enemy's trajectory.
Final assessment: impact imminent.
The pilot's eyes widened, but his hands were faster. If the enemy wanted mutual destruction, he had no intention of dying with them.
But knowing didn't matter.
The speed gap between them was overwhelming.
An orange-yellow streak flashed past his cockpit.
Without slowing, it shot toward the next target.
Behind it, a New United States fighter hung in the sky—cleanly split in two. It seemed to pause for a single second, as if its pilot hadn't even realized what had happened.
Then it exploded in a thunderous burst, scattering like fireworks across the sky.
The pilots who witnessed it felt their blood run cold.
Taylor's expression shifted sharply. This speed—this method of combat—was far beyond anything he had imagined.
And there was nothing he could do about it.
This wasn't a tactical gap. It was a technological one.
Extreme speed. Extreme materials. And those conceptualized energy weapons.
These weren't fighters.
They were massive, self-guiding flying blades carving through the sky.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions echoed one after another.
In less than a minute, every New United States aircraft in the sky was wiped out.
The airspace was seized in an instant.
The title "Sovereign Series" was no exaggeration.
Taylor's face turned green as he watched his air force annihilated. But he still refused to abandon the assault.
In his mind, if the enemy fighters fought like this, then they probably lacked heavy bombing capability. His ground forces still had a chance.
"Ignore the aerial units! Continue advancing on PROJECT's forces!"
"Yes!"
The New United States troops pressed forward.
The energy shield was down to ten percent.
It was about to break.
"Air domain secured. Switching to Type-2 tactics."
After clearing the skies, the Sovereign-class Fighters regrouped in clusters of three. A golden-orange glow radiated from them, as if some connection had formed between each trio.
Then they dove toward the New United States missile formations on the ground.
Taylor immediately sensed danger.
"Intercept them!"
But it was useless.
Even with lock-on, the missiles struggled to land hits. And when they did, the energy shields absorbed the damage completely.
Under Taylor's despairing gaze, the Sovereign-class Fighters closed in on the missile formations.
A single coordinated volley.
Orange-yellow spheres of energy appeared across the ground.
The next instant, those spheres collapsed inward—
And detonated.
Blinding white light swallowed everything in its radius. When it faded, the land looked as if it had been swept by molten lava. Sand and soil had crystallized under the heat.
"Retreat!"
Having seen the power of the Sovereign-class Fighters firsthand, Taylor ground his teeth and issued the order.
The New United States forces immediately fell back. Their morale had already shattered when the air force was destroyed—what remained after that display was little more than instinct.
But the Sovereign-class Fighters had no intention of letting them go.
In the next moment, every fighter converged once more.
Then—
A massive orange-white beam lanced down toward the center of the retreating New United States forces.
Whoosh—BOOM!!!!
A pinpoint of white appeared.
For a brief instant, the entire space seemed to collapse inward like an old television powering off.
Then the energy wave erupted outward.
Blinding white light surged into the sky, illuminating the entire area.
The glare washed over Taylor's face.
When it finally faded, it revealed him standing there, eyes wide, lips trembling.
"Roland Vimers!!!"
...
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