Skyfire Avenue

Middle Heaven’s sudden charge and attack was so fast they still hadn’t recovered. When their senses returned the highest order of business was protecting oneself by any means necessary. Then, the spear of light erased scores more of their brethren and destroyed their leader. All of a sudden they were a snake without its head, how could they not be mired in chaos?

So it was that when the orbs arrived the aliens didn’t know whether to advance or retreat. They glimmered prettily as though they were comprised of gemstones. Within them were ripples of power, like a world of water was contained in each one.

They looked slow, but it wasn’t long before they penetrated the clusters of aliens. Once surrounded by enemies they quickly swelled to several times their size.

There was no violent explosion or blinding flash. The orbs’ expansion was silent as death but spectacular to behold. Whatever it touched instantly froze solid like an ice sculpture. Alien victims hovered in air unmoving. The creatures looked like the orb had, crystalline and transparent. However the state was short lived for moments later they dissolved into water and melted away. Only their vital crystals remained. The blue light was like an exfoliating current that washed their bodies away.

After expanding the six orbs covered a huge area, even larger than Middle Heaven’s blaze. They so dazzled the spectators that every eye was locked on them.

In a matter of minutes the situation had turned. Under the weight of sudden disaster the alien forces collapsed. In a blink one fifth of their forces had been destroyed – not something that could be easily shrugged off.

Screams of terror filled space as the beasts fled for their lives.

The human armada had begun to move after the appearance of the crystalline orbs. They halted the retreat, and with guns blazing, turned around and pressed the attack. There was too much happening at once for anyone to keep track of, but the end result was clear. The alien forces were routed.

All of this was part of Lan Qing’s plan.

From the beginning, the humans had been in an inferior position. In the hearts of these soldiers a fear had begun to creep into their hearts that the enemy was too much for them to overcome. But was that the truth of it? Were these alien monstrosities invincible? Lan Qing used his own prowess, his own masterful command to show them that the aliens were not to be feared. Their foes were not the perfect predators. Like anything else, they had their weaknesses.

Indeed, Middle Heaven revealed its true strength in transforming itself into a small sun. The warplanet itself was its greatest weapon. Its Solar Flare was one of the bastion’s most potent attacks.

All of its cannons had been flooded with molinite and fired simultaneously, putting the newly discovered element’s potency on full display and thereby obliterating everything around it in spectacular fashion. It was the first time an attack like this had been attempted.

During the research phase this wasn’t intended to be used as an offensive maneuver. Solar Flare was designed as a defensive technique to escape encirclement. As could be expected, the powerful attack also had its detriments, most important being its limited range.

It wasn’t that the scope was limited by design, the amount of energy it consumed was nothing short of stupefying. Middle Heaven’s molinite core couldn’t sustain it for long without becoming unstable. If they tried it would likely result in a cataclysmic explosion.

Thus was the Solar Flare attack limited in scope, and reserved for instances like this or when facing the alien home worlds’ tentacles.

Lan Qing had used his enemy’s advantage against them. With Middle Heaven as bait he drew them in, and Solar Flare did the rest, with tremendous results. What’s more, while the enemy was blinded by the glare, it had given Tyrannosaurus and Poseidon enough time to charge their main guns.

Typically it was difficult for a bastion to effectively use its main guns in the midst of battle. For one, the energy it consumed was prohibitive. Also it left them open to counterattack since they couldn’t employ their weapons again for a time afterward. Timing was imperative.

Lan Qing had carefully studied all of humanity’s previous clashes with these alien creatures. The two he paid closest attention to were their defeat in the Scattered Starfields, and the disaster in the Northern Alliance.

He learned that the aliens feared their bastions’ main cannons. Humans had managed to discover weapons of great destructive power, possibly surpassing even universal protogenia. But because bastions were not living things, they weren’t constrained by the same restrictions the alien planets suffered.

Lan Qing noted that the aliens did whatever was necessary to prevent the bastions from using their deadly weapons. And they were successful, Lan Qing could not find a single instance when a bastion’s attack actually hit an alien home world.

His enemy’s fear of these weapons could only mean they were effective. Against the aliens, and against the living planets they came from. He formulated his plan so that the armada could employ these weapons of mass destruction to their fullest capabilities. In this way they could turn the tables and punish their foes.

Originally the aliens had been spread out, specifically to avoid having large numbers of their troops caught by bastion fire. They also understood these human weapons, and knew that they needed time to charge before use. It was obvious when bastion ships were preparing to use them.

Frightened as they were by the power of these hips, the aliens learned effective ways to prevent them using their weapons. They became so good at it, in fact, they began to look on them with disdain.

Their hubris was viciously punished this time.

Firstly, the aliens knew little to nothing about Middle Heaven. They didn’t think its fighting systems would be so different from its predecessors. What’s more, the ship had recently used its main guns and wouldn’t be able to again for some time. At least so they thought.

But how could they knew Middle Heaven was replete with molinite, and possessed stores of energy that put any other bastion to shame? The time needed to charge its guns was significantly shorter. Nor was the circular blast Middle Heaven’s real main attack.

They were caught entirely by surprise, much to their dismay. Under the cover of Middle Heaven’s impressive display, Tyrannosaurus was able to furtively charge its own guns and in one fell swoop put down the enemy leader. Its white beam had destroyed no small number of smaller aliens as well.

The six orbs had, of course, come from Poseidon. Just like Middle Heaven, the aliens did know what to expect from the mysterious bastion. The orbs themselves were called Soft Water Bombs – a name that didn’t inspire fear by any measure. However they were also sometimes called Poseidon bombs, as they were the bastion’s main attack.

Soft Water Bombs were the product of the Group’s own military research and development. Using their own secretive methods and materials, they were able to create a unique material they called Soft Water. It was especially adept at assimilating all sorts of matter, especially living things.

This meant that if human ships attacked Poseidon, its bombs would do little to the attacking vessels themselves. However, all life within would be consumed, leaving them empty husks – ghost ships. Even more terrifying, by its nature the Soft Water Bombs slipped passed most defenses effortlessly.

This was Poseidon Group’s secret weapon, one which only its highest leaders knew of. Even Mo Xiao was only made aware of its existence once she was chosen to bear Hua Li’s child.

Poseidon Group’s decision to participate in this fight was about confidence, but not confidence in Lan Qing. The group had great confidence in itself, and held nothing back to prove it.

They had already done their research to ensure the Soft Water Bombs were effective against alien forces. The six shells it released far surpassed Middle Heaven’s Solar Flare in enemies destroyed. It was particularly suited to contend against the aliens. Like the beasts the Soft Water consumed what it touched and turned it into harmless dihydrogen oxide. Only their vital crystals, protected by its vibrant life energy, survived the baptism.

Middle Heaven remained still, never moving from the spot where it ended its charge. Meanwhile Tyrannosaurus and Poseidon went on the offensive, following the twelve fleets as they chased down the fleeing alien survivors.