Intergalactic conquest with an AI

The camera shifted to focus on the "Emperor" mentioned by the armored figure. Emperor Xynithar was a being unlike anything Lilla had ever seen.

His body gleamed like molten gold, his enormous form towering over even the Kaelzar in white armor. Every movement he made radiated power, and his glowing eyes burned with an intensity that felt almost alive.

"Understood," Xynithar said, his voice calm and deep with a tone of absolute authority. His gaze was fixed on a red dwarf planet in the distance, its surface cracked and unstable, glowing faintly with an ominous light.

The planet looked as though it were barely holding itself together, its fractures pulsing like veins beneath its crust.

Xynithar’s gaze didn’t waver as he gave his next order. "Archive all footage of this battle. Restrict access to the royal family’s archives only. You are responsible for this, Memory Keeper."

"As you command, my Emperor," the white-armored Kaelzar replied, bowing his head in deference.

The footage continued, shifting to display the fleet’s formation. Thousands of ships hovered in perfect synchronicity, their massive weapons aimed at the dwarf planet. The planet-destroyer weapons hummed with energy, their glow intensifying as they prepared to fire.

Continue your journey on empire

Lilla couldn’t tear her eyes away. The power and coordination displayed in the recording were staggering, but it was the planet itself that sent a chill down her spine. Something about it felt... alive.

Before she could voice her thoughts, Cleo paused the recording. The image froze on the fleet moments before the planet-destroyer weapons were unleashed. Cleo turned to Lilla, her expression grim.

"The entity you spoke of, the Lady in White, may be something similar to what was encountered here," Cleo explained, gesturing to the frozen image of the cracked planet. "This was no ordinary celestial body. It was... inhabited. Or perhaps it was the entity itself, its body so vast that it took the form of a planet."

Lilla’s breath caught in her throat as she stared at the image.

"If you plan to use this Lady in White as the figurehead or deity of your movement," Cleo continued,

"You need to understand what you’re dealing with. These beings don’t follow mortal logic. They have their own agendas, their own unfathomable goals. Even if they grant you power, the price they demand may be more than you’re prepared to pay."

Cleo leaned back in her chair, folding her arms as she regarded Lilla seriously. "So, I ask you again, Saintess. Do you still plan to invoke this entity for your cause? Or will you reconsider?"

Lilla clenched her hands together, her mind reeling with the implications of what she had just seen. But despite her fear, there was also a spark of determination in her eyes. She had come this far, so turning back now wasn’t an option.

"I want to see the video first and decide later on," Lilla said firmly with her gray eyes locked onto the recording, refusing to waver.

"Very well," Cleo replied, her tone as neutral as ever. With a flick of her hand, she resumed the recording.

The footage continued, the Kaelzar fleet still in perfect formation. Emperor Xynithar remained a towering figure of calm authority, his glowing golden body a stark contrast to the dark, fractured red dwarf planet before him.

The silence in the room was almost deafening as Lilla watched, anticipation clawing at her chest.

From the center of the dying planet, something began to stir. Two massive, crimson hands emerged from the planet’s crust, their grotesque form dripping with black slime that hissed and steamed in the void of space.

The sight alone was enough to make Lilla shiver. The hands clawed their way outward, tearing through the already unstable planet. As they did, the surface of the red dwarf world began to crack further, glowing with an ominous light.

And then it happened.

The world released an unfathomable amount of energy, the sheer force of it sending devastating shockwaves across the sector. The screen trembled violently, even as the recording equipment struggled to contain the sheer magnitude of what was happening.

"Attention to all ships," Xynithar’s calm, commanding voice cut through the chaos. "Deploy shields to maximum capacity and focus them forward. Overheat the engines and prepare for impact."

The orders were relayed instantly, his daughters and their forces responding in less than a microsecond. The Kaelzar fleet moved with mechanical precision, every ship positioning itself and bracing for the incoming energy.

When the shockwave reached the fleet, it was a cataclysmic force that could have obliterated lesser ships. But the Kaelzar defenses held strong, their shields absorbing the impact as if it were nothing more than a passing breeze. Lilla watched in awe at the sheer technological superiority on display.

But the reprieve was short-lived.

Moments later, the red dwarf world exploded with a deafening roar that echoed even through the recording. The detonation sent thousands of massive debris chunks flying in all directions.

Some of these fragments hurtled toward the Kaelzar fleet, crashing into ships with devastating results. Entire vessels were vaporized in an instant, their destruction captured in grim detail on the recording.

And then... the true horror revealed itself.

From the center of the explosion, a figure emerged. It was a humanoid shape, but its size was beyond comprehension, dwarfing even the largest Kaelzar ships.

Its skin was a deep, blood-red hue, and from its back, several black, writhing tentacles extended, pulsating with a sinister energy. The creature’s body was coated in the same black slime as the hands that had torn through the planet.

The entity let out a deafening roar, a sound that seemed to distort the recording itself, causing the footage to glitch and flicker for a moment.

"Attention to the fleet," Xynithar’s voice rang out once more, his tone still calm but now carrying a sense of urgency. "Fire the main cannons at the creature. Pin it down. Once immobilized, deploy the world-class destroyer cannons."

The Kaelzar fleet obeyed without hesitation. Thousands of weapons lit up the void, their blasts converging on the massive creature. The display was blinding, with energy beams of every color streaking through space. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Yet, to Lilla’s horror, the attacks seemed to have no effect. The creature’s crimson skin absorbed the firepower like stone in a stream, completely unscathed.

The creature retaliated. Black tentacles snapped forward, unleashing devastating laser beams that tore through the Kaelzar fleet with terrifying precision.

Smaller ships were obliterated in seconds, their remains scattering into the void like ashes in the wind. But the time bought by their sacrifice was enough.

"World destroyer cannons locked on target," an artificial voice announced.

The camera focused on the creature one last time as the massive weapons prepared to fire. Its roar shook the screen again, the tentacles thrashing in an attempt to retaliate, but the energy signatures of the world-class destroyers were too overwhelming.

"Fire," Xynithar commanded, his tone devoid of hesitation.

The next moment, the recording went white.

For several minutes, there was nothing on the screen but an unbroken expanse of bright, blinding light. Lilla stared, waiting, her hands clutching the edges of her chair. "What happened? Is the video over?" she asked, her voice breaking the silence.

"Negative," Cleo replied, her tone steady. "What you’re seeing is the aftereffect of the world-class destroyer weapons. Each one is powerful enough to obliterate a planet. When you fire hundreds of them simultaneously at a single point, the result is a collapse in localized reality."

"The sheer amount of energy released creates... nothingness. Reality itself fractures for several minutes, unable to sustain the level of force exerted."

Lilla’s eyes widened. "I’ve never read about anything like this before. Was your race really that powerful? When did you find out about this effect?"

Cleo’s lips twitched into a faint smile, though it didn’t reach her eyes. "The same moment this recording was made," she said simply.

"This battle taught us many things, and among them was the cost of facing a creature of this magnitude. The fact that we had to rely on that level of weaponry just to hold it back... should tell you how dangerous it truly was."

The white screen began to fade, the recording speeding up until the aftereffects dissipated. Lilla leaned forward slightly, her heart pounding as she waited to see what came next.

Once the video finally came back, the blinding white faded to reveal a battlefield unlike anything Lilla had ever seen. The other worlds in the sector were completely obliterated by the devastating power of the world-class destroyer cannons.

But in its place, the monstrous entity still stood, its massive, crimson form looming over the wreckage of the Kaelzar fleet.

The golden figure of Emperor Xynithar was locked in combat with the creature. His colossal form moved with a precision and fluidity that defied his enormous size.

Energy radiated from him with every strike, each blow powerful enough to split mountains. And yet, even after taking the brunt of the devastating attack from the fleet’s cannons, the creature endured.

Its right arm had been obliterated, reduced to nothingness by the overwhelming force of the attack, but to Lilla’s horror, the severed limb was slowly regenerating. Black slime oozed from the wound, reshaping itself into muscles, bones, and flesh. It was as if the very laws of nature bent to its will, refusing to let it die.

Lilla could hardly breathe as the battle raged on. The creature let out another deafening roar, its black tentacles thrashing wildly as they lashed out at everything in their path.

Each tentacle moved with horrifying speed and precision, slicing through Kaelzar ships and weapon platforms as though they were made of paper.

THIS CHAPTER UPLOAD FIRST AT NOVELBIN.COM