“The monsters are coming again! This time, they're diving down from the sky!”
Except for Arcadia, the home planet where the Goddess of Light, Hestia, could unleash her full divine authority, every other territory of the Goddess of Light Association was under attack by the monsters.
There had always been an unwritten rule and tactic in wars between deities: first, conquer and destroy all of the enemy's territories except for the main deity's home planet, and finally, join forces to launch a powerful assault on the remaining home planet.
Now, the Great Devourer legion was advancing the war strictly according to this tactic.
Relying on the precise coordinates obtained from captives, the Chronos legion initiated a collective space warp, broke through the atmosphere, and launched a surprise attack on the ground forces in full formation.
The Goddess of Light Association also mobilized all its forces, resisting desperately and stubbornly.
The soldiers activated defensive spells to deflect the enemy's artillery fire. The redirected shells shot down the Chronos and Hive Motherships in the sky one after another, causing a large number of monster fighter ships to crash and burn.
“Hold the formation! If we let the monsters build nests on a large scale, we will lose everything!”
However, the forces mobilized by the Great Devourers for this general offensive were far too massive, continuously flooding into the battlefield.
Ultimately, the monster army successfully breached the defensive lines, razing towns to the ground. In the blink of an eye, they constructed monster nests in the fallen territories. Gaia's seeds of erosion also took root, gradually corroding the entire planet's ecology and regional foundation.
Leonel was in a daze, only snapping back to reality when a veteran beside him slapped the back of his head.
A massive, terrifying monster, shaking its hideous giant mandibles and hard horns, was charging straight toward them.
A Siege Beast.
These monsters all possessed Tyrant-grade combat power. They were Tank Bugs, the top-tier ground forces of the Great Devourers. Known on the battlefield as Siege Beasts, they were the most troublesome enemies to deal with.
Standard firearms had no hope of penetrating their energy shields and thick exoskeletons to kill them.
Only by deploying overwhelming heavy firepower or high-tier secret arts could they be defeated.
Even if they successfully killed a Tank Bug, the battle was far from over.
According to the colony habits of the Great Devourers, a ground combat cluster centered around Gladiator Bugs would consist of at least tens of thousands of monsters, forming a medium-sized combat formation.
“Hold on! Thank goodness, reinforcements have arrived just in time!”
Fortunately, the charging giant monster was precisely struck by a bolt of heavenly thunder from afar. It crashed to the ground, its massive body turning into a low hill.
The aftermath of the thunderous explosion left the ears of the infantrymen in the distance ringing, but this was far better than being trampled to death by the monster.
The monsters are endless. There's no way to kill them all.
Leonel gritted his teeth and raised his gun to aim forward once more.
Countless monsters swarmed forward, treading over the corpses of their fallen comrades.
Razorclaw Ravagers, wielding sharp claws, blade-like mandibles, and venomous long tails, along with Venom-Burst Bugs covered in toxic spikes and poison, broke through the hail of bullets from the infantry positions and charged straight into the camp.
“The front line is completely broken! We're in a chaotic melee!”
A paladin beside him threw away his broken shield, brandished his longsword, and roared.
The soldiers' combined firepower could no longer halt the swarming ground army of monsters.
The frontline defense collapsed entirely, and a brutal close-quarters melee officially began.
The panicked soldiers wielded their bayonets, resisting desperately, while the paladins charged bravely at the forefront.
Even in the interstellar era, this kind of close-quarters melee remained the combat format that the monster colonies excelled at the most.
“Cough...”
Leonel aimed his gun loaded with holy bullets and fired aimlessly, but a sudden, massive force sent him flying, crashing heavily to the ground.
A Razorclaw Ravager whipped its long tail fiercely at him, with enough force to shatter his armor and break his ribs.
“Ah...”
Screams and battle cries echoed all around him as the ordinary soldier Leonel's vision gradually blurred.
In the final moment before his consciousness faded completely, what flashed across his mind was actually a mundane lunch he had eaten on his way to school—a thought filled with irony and regret.
...
Elise was highly satisfied with the extremely low margin of error in her tactical simulations: "Day seventeen of the campaign to invade the territories of the Goddess of Light Association. Our forces have successfully conquered over fifty percent of the target domains. The progress of the war basically matches the simulated data, with the margin of error kept within thirty percent."
"A swift battle is the key to victory. While the enemy has yet to complete their full war preparations, disabling all of their territories except for their home planet according to the established plan is only a matter of time. However..."
Celia emphasized that the swift-strike tactics she advocated had played a crucial role in directing the course of the war.
Compared to the monster colonies that were always in a state of combat readiness, the forces of the Goddess of Light Association required a significant amount of time to prepare for war.
By not giving the enemy any breathing room to prepare, a landslide victory was a foregone conclusion.
This approach would minimize casualties on both sides, preserve more lives, and secure the ultimate victory.
“I still find it hard to understand why they refuse to surrender even in the face of death.”
On another battlefield, Lisette spoke with irritation as she looked at the mountain of paladin corpses piled up beneath her feet.
She had originally thought that once their side demonstrated absolute, crushing power, the enemy forces would naturally bow their heads and surrender.
During the previous battles in the frontier borderlands, countless enemy troops had surrendered in this manner, so her assumption was not without basis.
However, the closer they got to the home planet of the Goddess of Light, the more deeply rooted the loyalty of the local believers and soldiers to the Goddess and the order became.
In their minds, the word “surrender” did not exist.
As long as the Goddess still lived, they would march to the battlefield for their faith, fighting until their very last breath.
“This...”
Even Celia was helpless in the face of this situation.
This was especially true for the low-ranking paladins, church priests, and other core members of the order. Unless they used forceful means to thoroughly suppress and coerce them, it was absolutely impossible to make them surrender voluntarily.
Elise has always detested such time-consuming and inefficient methods... Filled with helplessness, Celia had already prepared herself to thoroughly purge anyone who continued to put up a stubborn resistance.
Even the innocent common people would find it difficult to keep themselves safe in the midst of this war.
“It seems I will have to handle this matter personally in the end.”
Lin Miao, who had been watching the entire war with a cold eye as the true ruler of the Great Devourers, also wore a solemn and grave expression.
He had never denied that the path he chose was destined to bring endless tragedies and disasters.
“Accelerate the conquest of the territories. Once the reorganization is complete, the entire army will march toward the home planet of the Goddess of Light.”
After some consideration, Lin Miao issued orders urging his subordinates to speed up their military campaign.
His goal was to sweep through the peripheral territories as quickly as possible, clearing a path straight to the Goddess's home planet.
“I want to meet the Goddess of Light in person and negotiate with her face-to-face.”
He had long been aware of the crazy plan brewing in Elise's mind.
The insane scheme to modify the Goddess of Light into a living energy container to power the operation of the giant space nest.
I know what Elise is thinking, but this plan is simply too difficult to execute.
After repeatedly weighing the pros and cons, Lin Miao concluded that the idea of forcibly converting the Goddess into a living energy source was completely unfeasible.
Even if they managed to force it through, once the other deities found out, it would inevitably provoke their collective fury.
This was also the hidden danger that Lin Miao feared the most.
Even if I can't turn her into an energy container or a hatchery host, I can still take her in as a vassal.
He did not intend to completely reject Elise's plan.
Instead, he planned to force the cornered Goddess of Light to make a final choice.
If she truly possessed the noble righteousness of a deity and sincerely wished to protect the millions of believers under her care, then sacrificing herself to preserve her people would be the natural and proper choice for a deity to make.
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