Intergalactic conquest with an AI

The first wave of troops rounded the last corner, weapons ready. Pulse rifles lit up the dark like a storm of lightning, hurling dozens of blazing bolts at the silver-armored invader.

The air filled with the deafening sound of ricochets. Sparks flew in all directions. But not a single shot pierced the Minotaur's defenses.

The beast stood tall and unmoved, his silver armor glowing with a pale light. A transparent barrier shimmered faintly around him from the energy of a shield woven from stellar force.

"W-What is that thing?!" one soldier cried, while fear rose in his voice.

"Captain! Our shots aren't working! It's shielded! we're not even scratching it!"

The captain cursed under his breath while his eyes narrowed. But then his lips twisted into a cruel smirk as he pointed deeper into the tunnel.

"No problem," he said coldly. "We brought a toy of our own."

A new sound thundered through the cavern; it was a deep, earthshaking roar of hydraulics and steel.

From behind the advancing troops, a massive war machine stomped into view.

It was a mechanical beast, nearly as tall as the Minotaur himself. Built from pitch-black metal laced with glowing crimson lines, the Blood Clan's mobile suit was a brutal fusion of ancient strength and modern tech.

Twin plasma cannons mounted on its shoulders crackled with building power, the whine of charging cores filling the air like the scream of an angry god.

Its eyes glowed red as it locked onto its target.

Walls shook with every heavy step as it took position. Slaves scattered to the sides, knowing better than to stay in its way.

The Minotaur didn't move. Didn't speak. Didn't show fear.

Instead, he stepped forward, one massive hoof slamming into the ground like a war drum. His axe hummed with power, with stellar energy curling around the blade like fire dancing in a storm.

Twin streams of blue-white death streaked through the air, slamming into the Minotaur's shield with the force of a collapsing star. The entire entrance lit up, heat waves distorting the stone and melting metal into puddles.

But when the smoke cleared...

The Minotaur was still standing.

He had braced himself, both hands gripping his axe, hooves buried deep into cracked stone. His shield flickered but it held.

The silver-armored Minotaur roared like a beast unchained and charged straight at the massive mechanoid warrior.

Sparks and energy flashed with every step he took, the ground cracking beneath his hooves. The mobile suit raised its arms, trying to block the blow but it was too slow.

With a single, devastating swing of his colossal axe, the Minotaur cleaved the towering machine clean in half.

Metal screamed. Wires tore apart. A burst of crimson and blue energy erupted into the air as the machine's upper body slid away from the lower half, crashing to the ground in a shower of sparks and shattered steel.

Without wasting a second, the Minotaur turned his fury toward the wave of battle slaves charging at them. His eyes burned like silver fire. He swung his axe again and again, each strike tearing through enemies like paper. Armor shattered, bodies flew, and blood painted the stone floors.

The entrance was no longer a battlefield; it was a total massacre.

Meanwhile, on the battle-scarred planet of Xylos, the Kaelzar legions continued to pour through the portals in an unstoppable tide. Wave after wave of twisted, alien soldiers joined the front lines without rest, pushing the defenders to the brink.

Amidst the chaos, a secure communication channel opened with a soft chime.

"Lilla, Ys, how is the situation on your sides?" Cleo asked with her voice being calm and commanding, despite the mayhem around her.

Lilla answered first, with her tone being respectful as always.

"We have taken the fortress as you requested, Lady Cleo," she reported. Her voice was firm, even as she sat in the comfort of her lavish bedroom. Two of her priestesses gently brushed her long, golden hair, their hands careful and steady.

"Right now, we're fighting on the bridge. At first, we thought it would be an easy victory… but the defenders are more stubborn than expected. They're holding on with everything they've got."

She let out a quiet sigh as one of the priestesses placed a golden hairpin gently on her hair.

Cleo gave a small nod and switched to the next channel.

"Understood. And you, Ys? What's the status on your side?"

A playful hum came through the line.

"Mmm~... everything is going just as planned," Ys purred lazily. She was lounging on her bed, half-covered in silk sheets, casually eating an exotic fruit with glowing purple skin. Her pale legs were stretched out over soft pillows, and her soft green hair spilled across the mattress like liquid.

"Just like little Lilla, we've taken our fortress and now we're fighting on the bridge too. Once the humans finish on their end, we'll cross and finish the job together~."

She giggled, amused, as if the war was nothing more than a game.

Back in her command center, Cleo stood tall before a holographic map glowing with red and silver lights.

"Understood," she replied, her tone being sharper now. "I've secured the southern fortress. The northern general put up quite a fight and kept me busy longer than expected… but he's out of combat right now. My forces are advancing, and the northern fortress is about to fall."

She turned and tapped a command into her console, pulling up a different display.

"Also, I've discovered something important, there are barrier amplifiers hidden underground beneath each of the main fortresses. That's what's been keeping their shields strong. I'm sending the coordinates to both of you now."

The information blinked onto Lilla and Ys's displays.

"Destroy them as soon as possible. Once the amplifiers fall, the last of the resistance will crumble."

By late afternoon, dark smoke rose like dying trees into the sky, and the stench of burnt metal filled the air. The old governor stood silently on a high balcony within the central city's command tower, his face pale as he watched distant explosions flicker like dying stars.

Two of the four barrier pillars had been destroyed.

He clenched his fists. "It's over," he muttered. "There's no point in guarding something that's already been exposed."

He gave the order. "Retreat all forces to the bridges. Fortify the central city. Make them bleed for every step."

Moments later, the remaining defenders withdrew to the four massive bridges that led directly into the heart of the city. The real war had just begun.

The northern front quickly turned into hell.

Endless waves of Kaelzar soldiers surged across the wide steel bridge, only to be met with a storm of resistance. Tanks fired without pause. Soldiers screamed and reloaded faster than ever before. The captains shouted orders above the chaos.

"That's it! Keep pushing them back!" shouted one captain from the top of a heavy tank, his energy sword glowing brightly in his hand. "If they take one meter, we take two! Show no mercy! kill every last invader!"

The tank fired at his command, shaking the bridge with each blast.

"Follow the captain! Keep shooting!" another officer yelled, rallying the troops.

"AHH! Die, you damn microwave!" a soldier screamed in rage, unloading his laser rifle at a broken Kaelzar Aegis unit. The Aegis unit, missing its lower half, was still trying to reach for its weapon but the northern soldier made sure it never got the chance, riddling it with fire until it melted into slag.

"Captain! They're flanking us from the left! They're using the stabilizing beams as cover!"

The soldier turned to face the captain only to see a flash of something sharp and silver. One of the Kaelzar Phantom Assassins had already struck. The captain's head flew clean off his shoulders.

"AHH! Captain! You monsters!"

The soldier fired wildly at the assassin, but the figure vanished into thin air with a shimmer, slipping into invisibility once more.

All across the northern bridge, officers were being picked off, one after another. The Phantom units were everywhere, silent, fast, and merciless.

On the western side, the battle was no less brutal but looked entirely different.

Human soldiers advanced slowly, their movements covered by glowing energy shields that shimmered like glass under pressure. The defenders fired carefully, holding their lines and moving in formation.

But the enemy they faced wasn't a trained army.

It was a mad tide of cultists, surging toward them in waves. Their weapons were primitive rusty blades, spiked clubs, and jagged pieces of metal. But they charged without fear, screaming, bleeding, and dying by the hundreds.

And they never stopped.

At first glance, it looked like madness. Suicide. But there was a terrifying logic behind it.

Floating above the battlefield, high in the sky, was Lilla.

Her golden hair danced in the wind. Her eyes glowed with power. She stood atop the air itself, each step rippling outward like waves across a calm lake as if the sky had turned to water beneath her feet.

She was only a Tier 3 warrior, just like the defending generals. But she had something they didn't... control over the mind.

From above, she reached deep into the hearts of the cultists. She twisted their pain. Burned away their fear. Turned them into empty shells driven by only one command:

Kill.

They marched like zombies, soulless and unstoppable. And they would not stop until their bodies were torn to pieces or every drop of blood had left them.

"DIE, DEMON!" shouted the western general with all his might.

Unlike Lilla, he couldn't fly. But he leaped with all his strength with a furious blaze of energy around his sword, determined to strike her down.

Lilla looked at him with cold amusement. Her eyes gleamed. She took another step across the sky, the air beneath her feet rippling like a pond.

She didn't need to dodge. She didn't need to lift a finger because the moment the general reached her, something far worse was waiting.