Chapter 1747: We are going to capture…
After destroying the remaining wyverns, the entire district had been transformed into a hellscape of molten lava, charred bones, and the shattered remains of buildings scattered across the streets.
The rescue teams had already arrived and were working relentlessly to save whoever they could.
Autonomous medical drones hovered overhead, scanning survivors with blue holographic beams before deploying emergency nanogel injectors to stabilise critical injuries.
Massive construction-class mech-suits pushed aside collapsed buildings, their hydraulic arms tearing through concrete while thermal-resistant bulldozer units solidified sections of molten lava to reopen evacuation routes.
Jonathan had already taken Young Aether back to his own house instead of the hospital. According to Young Aether, as long as he got enough rest, his body would recover naturally without requiring medical treatment.
Although Jonathan remained sceptical, he couldn’t forget that Young Aether had once pulled him back from the brink of death with abilities no medical technology could ever replicate. After hesitating for a long moment, he finally trusted the friend’s judgment.
As long as Aether was alive, nothing else truly mattered.
Unfortunately, Jonathan couldn’t stay.
The emergency summons from Delta Tower had already arrived on every mand channel. As one of the manders, he was required to report directly to the Governor regarding the previous night’s catastrophe.
He had no choice but to entrust Young Aether to someone else.
And that someone…
“Sasha… he’ll be in your care until I return. Don’t let him do anything reckless.”
“Leave it to me~I will take care of the little boy~”
“…”
Those simple words landed like a death sentence upon Young Aether.
His face turned paler than when he had pretended to be in agony moments ago. His heartbeat accelerated, cold sweat formed on his forehead, and his pupils trembled ever so slightly.
After all…
This was real fucking fear… He was terrified of accidentally NTRing his own friend.
Meanwhile, Jonathan left the house and went to the Delta Tower.
Delta Tower… just below the top floor.
Inside the enormous conference chamber, nine armoured figures occupied their designated seats.
Each mech-suit bore an engraved number on its shoulder plates, ranging from 2 to 10, seated in a precise semi-circle according to rank.
“Can’t believe those two actually failed.”
“Yeah… especially the Second-in-mand. If even he couldn’t stop them… what chance would the rest of us have?”
“He maintained the best operational record among all of us for years… and now it’s gone overnight.”
“How many casualties?”
“The latest report just came in. Six thousand two hundred sixty-five confirmed deaths… and the numbers are still climbing. Most civilians never even woke up before the attack reached them.”
“…Damn.”
“Maybe it’s time the rankings were reshuffled.”
“Haha… perhaps. Even legends bee old eventually.”
Although the private channel carried quiet conversations among manders 4 through 10, the conference room itself remained pletely silent.
mander 2 sat motionless.
mander 3 wasn’t any different.
Nearly everyone under his mand had died.
Even the squad stationed on the rooftop had been wiped out without leaving behind a single survivor.
Not long ago, he had openly mocked mander 2 for failing missions and falling short of expectations.
Now…
His metal fists slowly tightened until the armoured joints groaned under the pressure.
He clenched his teeth so hard that veins bulged beneath his temples, his eyes burning with frustration, helplessness, and unbearable disappointment.
He hadn’t protected them.
Not a single one!
After experiencing such failure himself, he no longer possessed the right to ridicule mander 2… because he finally understood that losing the people entrusted to your mand was a punishment far crueller than any insult another person could ever throw at you.
While mander 2, Jonathan, quietly sat in his seat with a confused expression hidden beneath his helmet, several inconsistencies continued to circulate inside his mind.
No matter how many times he replayed the battle, the events simply refused to connect into a logical sequence.
The first inconsistency involved the missing soldier who was supposed to warn everyone about the approaching monsters.
The man had disappeared without leaving behind even the slightest trace of his existence.
There wasn’t a single drop of blood on the ground or damaged equipment.
Considering the enormous size of those monsters, it was almost impossible that the soldier hadn’t noticed them long before they reached the portal. Even if he had been killed instantly, the battlefield should have shown signs of a struggle.
The second inconsistency bothered Jonathan even more.
Why had every single monster gathered around the portal instead of chasing the person who had entered it?
Judging from the way those creatures fought, Jonathan knew they weren’t intelligent beings capable of planning elaborate strategies. Their attacks were savage, reckless, and driven entirely by instinct. They possessed overwhelming strength but lacked the intelligence necessary to deceive their enemies or deliberately lure humans away from the portal.
‘So why did they pletely ignore the person who entered the portal?’ Jonathan wondered silently, lightly tapping his armoured fingers against the conference table.
His thoughts inevitably drifted toward Aether.
‘And all of this happened while my friend was there…’
Despite everything that had happened, Jonathan never once doubted Aether.
He had personally witnessed the young man’s shattered leg and the overwhelming guilt written across his face after failing to save an innocent life.
That wasn’t the expression of someone hiding a secret!
It was the expression of someone blaming himself for something beyond his control!!
Jonathan had fought beside countless soldiers throughout his career, and he could easily distinguish genuine despair from an act.
Without question, Aether had nothing to do with the incident.
If anything, Jonathan considered himself fortunate that Aether had survived. Although his leg had been broken, it would eventually heal.
pared to the thousands of people who had lost their lives during the previous night, that injury almost felt merciful. Letting out a quiet sigh inside his helmet, Jonathan silently thanked fate that his friend was still alive.
Just then, the heavy conference room doors slid apart with a deep mechanical thud. Powerful magnetic locks disengaged one after another while crimson indicator lights swept across the frame, announcing the arrival of the highest-ranking officer inside Delta Tower.
Every mander immediately rose from their seats and saluted in perfect synchronisation.
“Good morning, Iron Marshal!”
Their voices echoed across the massive conference hall with disciplined precision.
Stepping through the entrance was a handsome man dressed in a deep black bat suit.
Instead of thick metallic plating, the suit resembled an advanced synthetic material woven together with countless microscopic crimson energy circuits. Brilliant red particles continuously flowed beneath its surface, giving the impression that liquid energy itself coursed through the suit like blood flowing through veins.
Around both wrists and ankles rested thick crimson-black restraint rings engraved with microscopic symbols that rotated endlessly while emitting a faint mechanical hum.
Although he walked with steady, unhurried steps, every footfall echoed heavily throughout the chamber.
Engraved prominently across the centre of his chest was a glowing crimson number… ‘1’
His jet-black hair swayed slightly as he walked toward the elevated mand seat positioned at the far end of the conference room. His icy blue eyes remained pletely emotionless, carrying neither anger nor kindness, only an overwhelming sense of authority. Without wasting a single movement, he gracefully lowered himself into the throne-like chair before shifting his gaze toward the manders, who still stood at attention.
“Sit.”
Every mander instinctively obeyed before their minds had time to react.
The Iron Marshal slowly scanned the room from mander 2 all the way to mander 10. No one dared maintain eye contact for more than a brief moment before lowering their heads.
A faint scoff escaped his lips before he finally spoke again.
“‘Good morning,’ you said. Tell me, what exactly is ‘good’ about this morning?”
The room remained pletely silent.
His cold eyes swept across every mander before stopping briefly on each of them.
“I have ten manders under my mand. How many? Ten fucking individuals who represent the strongest military force within Delta City.”
“And what have I received in return? An entire district reduced to molten ruins, over a thousand confirmed deaths, thousands more still trapped beneath collapsed structures, countless soldiers killed in action, and not a single mander capable of giving me a satisfactory explanation for why this catastrophe happened.”
The holographic casualty report continued scrolling beside the conference table, displaying rising death counts, satellite imagery of the destroyed district, and structural damage assessments in real time.
The Iron Marshal leaned forward slightly, his icy blue eyes sweeping across every mander present before stopping in the centre of the room.
“So tell me,” he said in a calm yet chilling voice, “why should I continue believing that any of you still deserve to wear the numbers engraved upon your shoulders?”
“Because of your fucking inpetence, the President was screaming at me!” the Iron Marshal roared, his voice reverberating throughout the conference room.
“Tell me, my fellow manders… what exactly should I expect from all of you now? Should I simply expect you to wear your expensive, state-of-the-art mech-suits and run away the moment things bee difficult? Is that it?”
His icy gaze swept across every mander with unconcealed disgust.
“I woke up this morning, and the very first thing I heard was the President hurling every degrading word imaginable at me.
Every fucking single sentence was a reminder of your failure. Tell me…” His voice lowered, being even colder.
“Does that sound like a ‘good’ morning to any of you?”
His eyes slowly travelled from mander 10 all the way to mander 2.
“Oh? Perhaps it does. Maybe this morning has been quite pleasant for some of you.”
“Sir, it was them wh—”
“SHUT THE FUCK UP!”
The sudden roar exploded across the conference room as the Iron Marshal slammed his palm onto the glass table.
His furious eyes locked onto mander 5.
“The fuck do you mean it was them?” he growled. “The emergency response protocol clearly states that every mander within operational range is to mobilise immediately after receiving an alert. Isn’t that the protocol every single one of you swore to uphold?”
No one dared answer.
The Iron Marshal leaned back slowly before a mocking smile spread across his face.
“So… if I access every one of your NLC movement logs and your exact locations during the incident, are all of you willing to resign from your positions the moment I discover how many of you ignored the emergency call?”
“…”
The conference room instantly fell silent.
Several manders instinctively lowered their eyes.
Others quietly clenched their fists beneath the table.
None of them spoke.
Their silence alone was enough to answer the question.
The Iron Marshal stared at them for several long seconds before letting out a cold, humourless laugh.
“Useless bastards,” he muttered with obvious contempt. “All of you know how to bark beneath someone else’s shadow, yet the moment you’re expected to carry responsibility yourselves, you bee nothing more than frightened dogs.”
The insult struck every mander like a physical blow.
Not one of them raised their head.
Eventually, the Iron Marshal shifted his attention toward mander 2 and mander 3. A broad smile slowly appeared on his face, but there wasn’t a trace of warmth behind it.
“Oh?” he said mockingly. “You two are still here? I thought something as serious as protecting the city would bore you. Weren’t the two of you busy playing your little game?”
Neither mander answered.
“What was it called again?” He pretended to think for a moment before snapping his fingers. “Right… whoever kills the most monsters wins.”
He laughed bitterly.
“Well, congratulations.”
“We certainly achieved a higher body count.”
His smile disappeared.
“Unfortunately, those bodies belonged to our own fucking civilians.”
mander 2 and mander 3 immediately stood from their seats.
“We are deeply sorry, sir—”
Jonathan had barely begun speaking before the Iron Marshal casually raised a single finger.
“Don’t.”
That single word carried enough authority to silence him instantly.
“Don’t! You two were assigned one mission,” the Iron Marshal continued, his voice calm but overflowing with disappointment. “Guard the portal until the reconnaissance team pleted its survey of the new landscape. That was your responsibility. That was your only responsibility.”
His cold eyes narrowed.
“Your apology isn’t going to erase the stain you’ve placed upon my mand, nor will it erase the names of every civilian who died because that mission failed.”
Jonathan silently clenched his fists beneath the table until the armoured creaked.
“We’re already falling behind the other Divisions,” Iron Marshal said, his frustration being increasingly apparent.
“The Beta lost its Governor, and Alpha is currently undergoing internal trials after their failed operation. For the first time in years, both of the leading Divisions have stumbled.”
“This should have been our opportunity.”
His gaze slowly swept across every mander.
“Our chance to surpass them.”
“To expand our influence.”
“To secure greater authority over the remaining divisions.”
“Instead… You idiots dragged my name through the mud once again.”
BAM!
His fist crashed onto the glass conference table with terrifying force.
The transparent glass groaned under the impact as spiderweb-like cracks spread across its surface.
mander 2 and mander 3 remained standing in absolute silence. Neither attempted to defend themselves, knowing there wasn’t a single excuse capable of justifying the disaster.
Several long seconds passed before the Iron Marshal finally exhaled and regained control over his emotions.
“If this had happened under any other circumstances,” he said quietly, “I would’ve thrown both of you into the Tournament without a second thought.”
The moment those words left his mouth, Jonathan and mander 3 felt their bodies stiffen involuntarily.
For the first time since entering the conference room…
Fear appeared in their eyes!
The Iron Marshal let out a long, restrained sigh before leaning back into his chair. Some of the anger faded from his face, replaced by the posure expected of the man leading an entire division.
“But we don’t have the luxury of wasting time on punishment,” he said. “The President has already given his acknowledgement and formal approval…”
He paused briefly, allowing the silence to settle over the room before his lips slowly curled into a faint smile.
“…for the Third Phase.”
The announcement sent a ripple through the conference room.
Several manders instinctively looked at one another, unable to conceal their surprise.
The Iron Marshal smirked.
“How long has it been since the last team entered the other worlds?”
Jonathan answered immediately without hesitation.
“Six days ago, sir.”
“Hmm. Then we have only six days remaining before the President authorises the opening of another gateway to the Empires,” he said as his expression gradually turned serious.
He slowly rose from his seat.
The crimson energy flowing beneath his bat suit brightened ever so slightly, causing the glowing numeral ‘1’ on his chest to pulse with greater intensity. The atmosphere inside the room immediately became heavier as every mander instinctively straightened their posture.
His sharp gaze swept across the entire conference hall.
“Don’t fail this operation as well, manders,” he said in a firm, manding voice.
“It is our chance to prove that Delta Division is not a mere weaponry manufacturing division!”
“For years, we’ve watched the other divisions seize territory, secure resources, and strengthen their influence while waiting for our own opportunity. That opportunity is finally standing before us, and I refuse to watch any of you waste it through carelessness or inpetence.”
“Within the next six days, I expect every one of you to plete your preparations for the Third Phase. Mobilise your unit, replenish your numbers, inspect every mech-suit, and ensure your soldiers are bat-ready.”
“We are going to capture… The Aquaris Naiadae Empire.”
The holographic map above the table shifted… Vast oceans shimmered beneath an unfamiliar sky, while countless islands surrounded a magnificent coastal empire.
The empire’s name slowly materialised in glowing letters.
AQUARIS NAIADAE EMPIRE
The Iron Marshal slammed his palm onto the conference table, causing the holographic map to tremble violently.
“Our flag will be the first to rise above their land.”
“Our symbol will be the first to establish in their land.”
“And our footsteps…”
He struck the table once more, “…will be the first to touch their soil!”
Without waiting for another mand, every mander rose from their seats simultaneously.
Their armoured fists struck the reinforced plates covering their chests, producing a thunderous metallic impact that echoed throughout the conference room.
“UNDERSTOOD, SIR!!”
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