Book 7, Chapter 29 - Victory (1/2)

Book 7, Chapter 29 - Victory

The Green Alliance and the combined Elysian forces were at a standoff.

That didn’t mean they were on the same level. Wastelanders had a tenth of the forces of their Elysian counterparts. Nor was it just quantity that was an issue. The warriors and equipment sent to Sky Fortress were the very best the Elysian lands could muster. By comparison, the Green Alliance looked like a rag-tag mob.

Wolfblade sat in the command deck of the armada’s flagship, sipping a cup of tea. He was looking out over the hovering vessels when suddenly his eyes narrowed. Behind the sprawling enemy forces, Sky Fortress erupted into a ball of light and fire like a star had been born.

A few moments later the roaring blast and the shock waves hit. A storm of debris was sent streaking through space.

Unable to hold together any longer, Sky Fortresses oxygen detonated and caught fire. It was like a giant balloon filled with helium and a firecracker inside. Everything was jettisoned into the dark expanse when the bomb went off.

All the painstakingly erected facilities – the defenses, the structures, the barracks, the airports – everything was completely destroyed. Thousands of Elysian ships had also been caught in the blast. IT was like being caught off guard by a deadly avalanche. After months of effort and construction, everything fell apart.

Gravity and air pressure vanished like someone had hit a switch. Sky Fortress was no more.

Wolfblade’s eyes gradually adjusted to the harsh light. He rubbed his chin and muttered, “Quite the fireball.”

“That’s what it can do?” It was the first time Frost had seen a nuclear bomb detonate. “This is the weapon created by the ancient humans? With a bomb like that how had they been defeated?”

There were several on board the ship with Wolfblade. Frost, Selene, Abaddon and others. They had all come prepared to do battle and were waiting for an enemy to show themselves.

“This was the pinnacle of human weaponry at the time. The product of a dying age. Generations of improvements over earlier ordinance of the same class, so it cannot be compared to what it was. As you can see, though, it has the capability of destroying an entire city.

In the face of such destruction, a single Temple meant nothing. Hardly anything bigger than a fist remained of the structure, and once it was gone Sky Fortress could not sustain itself. The four Elysian lands no longer had a base from which to stage their invasion.

Wolfblade went on.

“Of course, what humans knew to be the most devastating weapon ever made was but a toy to the other races out among the stars. Out in the Milky Way there exists beings of unfathomable power. In relations, humans have hardly learned how to use bows and arrows. Naked apes howling, banging sticks and stones.”

Frost looked up at the starry blanket overhead. He couldn’t help but scowl. He’d grown up in an Elysian lands and benefited from what he thought was a high-grade education. But he didn’t know much of anything about space and the stars so the demon’s words were hard to understand. As he was mulling it over ripples moved through the air before them. A figure stepped into view.

“Cloudhawk!”

Selene took a step forward.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine. Everything went really well if I do say so myself.” Once Cloudhawk got his footing, he turned his attention to Wolfblade. “The Temple is destroyed and the Elysian army is routed. Remember that our aim is to persuade them to our cause, not destroy them. Keeping these people and their equipment in working order is important to me.”

“Yes, yes. I understand.” Wolfblade inclined his head toward Frost. “What are you standing around for? Didn’t you hear our king? Off you go.”

It was time. The Elysian army was a powerful tool in the coming war.

The four Supremes were lost. The Temple was destroyed. Their fortress was in ruins. All of their strongest warriors and leaders had vanished, and as far as the people knew were dead. Cut off the head of a snake and its body did not continue to fight. Cloudhawk saw this opportunity as imperative – not just to eliminate the influence of the gods on his planet, but to take control of the Elysian realms they left behind.