The warzone around Throh was tens or even hundreds of times worse than that of Calypto.

XIU! XIU! XIU!

BANG! BANG!

BOOOOOOOOOM!

Countless sounds rang out, most having unknown origins, but one thing was certain. Each and every sound signaled the death of another soldier.

Black ink formed a river in the starry sky. The blood of men interweaved with it and created a horrid scenery.

"Team 1, reporting!"

"Team 2, reporting!"

"Team 3, reporting!"

Three squads of fighter ships, each containing roughly fifty members, rushed into the fray. Their weapons were already hot, and the second the enemy entered their sight, they fired without mercy.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Countless enemy ships exploded under their assault. They flew in perfect formation, each squad working to reinforce their counterparts, forming a system that was unbreakable without sufficient preparation.

However, these squads weren't present to kill at the moment.

"What's the ETA?!" Squad 1's Leader shouted into the intercom.

"Unknown! We don't have visuals on the ship, but it should be arriving any moment!" A reply came through.

"Roger! Let's continue clearing out the Nox in the vicinity! We can't allow the plan to be disrupted!"

""Copy!""

The squads split into their three individual parts and moved in different directions.

They weren't even a portion of the current forces. As they separated, they disappeared into the countless concurrent battlefields existing in the vicinity of Throh.

Countless Nox and countless Heaven's Army troops congregated and fought bloody battles. Everywhere one looked, there was only death.

OOOOOOOOOOM!

A distant sound reverberated deeply through space. It shook the internals of those it passed through, giving them a slight idea of that entity's power.

"It's here!"

Squad 1's Leader, Sherya, the same green-skinned woman who realized Aaliyah's intent previously, shouted the second she heard the sound.

"All squads enter formation! Relay the information to nearby forces and move them as needed! We need to hold back the Nox and make sure that ship isn't allowed to do any damage!"

Aaliyah's goal in waiting was evidently to strike the greatest blow possible. This didn't just mean killing Thaddeus Church and destroying the destroyer ship, but also eliminating a large portion of the Nox's forces in the area.

In normal circumstances, the best strategy would be to fake their bloodlust and withdraw after gathering the Nox in a single area so Aaliyah could enact her plan perfectly.

However, Aaliyah couldn't die.

'We have to clear the area so the ship won't be able to enter with an attack. After that, we can slowly herd the Nox over. But if I want to save Aaliyah'

Saving Aaliyah wasn't a matter of what happened before she destroyed the ship, but what happened after. Her body would be consumed by the proceeding explosion and she'd die instantly if things were left alone.

To prevent this required an equal amount of courage and insanity.

Minutes passed as Sherya and the rest organized the battlefield. They accumulated as many forces as they could and worked with precision, taking control over the battle's momentum.

Still, this wasn't an easy task. Ships exploded into clouds of flame often, and those who eventually became brothers and sisters over time were forced to accept the losses of their family members.

They fought because they understood the importance of this war.

They fought because they didn't want their children and grandchildren to be born in a time when the entire universe was under the threat of extinction.

They wanted to build a new world with their own hands.

And for that, they fought without regard for death.

Their vigor infected those around them, and the amount of Heaven's Army troops in the surroundings grew until an entire army was following Sherya's orders.

They worked ceaselessly, and eventually, a massive starship's form began to reveal itself in the distance.

It was massive. It was a planetary threat for a reason. Compared to the size of the regular fighter ships that were most prevalent in the area at the moment, the star destroyer was an elephant amongst ants.

From within, Thaddeus gazed down at the war taking place beneath him.

"Pathetic."

A single word was uttered from his mouth.

"Hahaha, I know, right?! Look at those pathetic ants trying to struggle. It's hilarious!"

"Kekeke, they're so weak! So weak and pathetic!"

The goons behind him made their own interpretations of his words, but naturally, none of them were even close to his intent.

The war itself, that was pathetic.

The conqueror's urge that created these situations in the first place, that was pathetic.

'I will extract the World Core and then leave. Though, I might as well eliminate these soldiers so Father won't be disappointed.'

With a sigh, Thaddeus sent inputs into the ship's systems with utter precision.

The weaponry on the exterior immediately whirred to life.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The sound of cannon fire was too loud to be ignored.

"Scatter! Begin Phase 2 of the plan!" Sherya shouted without hesitation.

The tens of thousands of Heaven's Army starships under her command scattered like rats. They spiraled through the starry sky in random patterns completely leaving the beam attack's area of effect.

XIUUUU!

Space cracked like glass as the beam passed through it, but the same beam continuously impacted nothing as it moved.

Sherya was prepared for this opening attack from the very beginning. She'd been moving her troops in such a way that they could easily avoid it from the beginning.

'The hard part comes now.'

"Tiger Squad, take the units under you to the third position! Sun Squad, take your forces to the sixteenth position! Remember your roles and don't deviate, or else we'll all die!"

"Affirmative!"

Sherya's authority had long been established. The squads she commanded didn't even question her as she directed them.

"Squad 3, watch out for cannon fire!l

Squad 3 shifted their position on her order and narrowly avoided a rain of cannon fire that passed by their position.

As the star destroyer's smaller weapons began to fire, terrifying mana projectiles fell like a torrent of rain upon every being present underneath it.

"Squad 2, take the Wind Lightning Sect and its subsidiaries to attack the star destroyer! You don't need to do damage, you just need to provide a distraction!"

"Yes, Captain!"

"Beta Squad, take advantage of the diversion and aim for those smaller weapons! If we can destroy them, we can take away a large portion of the star destroyer's power!"

Another group of starships flew out.

Squad 2 and the Wind Lightning Sect kept themselves in front of the star destroyer, clearly within its commander's vision.

Taunting was one thing, but in a situation like this, more extreme measures were necessary.

The units under Squad 2 barraged the star destroyer's hull with various attacks, some even exiting their starships entirely to use their personal mana and force.

Elemental attacks flew through the starry sky along with the beaming mana of starships. The entire area in front of the star destroyer was alit with splendor.

At the same time, Beta Squad snaked along the star destroyer's side, slowly making their way up until they reached the secondary weapons that lined the starship's sides.

The operation, as of now, was going without a hitch.

And Aaliyah could only dazedly watch it all from within her little hiding spot in the star destroyer's control room.