Chapter 425: Chapter 426: I Am the Reaper
In the Soviet Union, at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, a Proton rocket ignited and soon launched into the sky.
The rocket entered its predetermined orbit, the second-stage booster detached, leaving only the satellite-laden Traceless Expansion Module.
Normally, the Traceless Expansion Module would gradually disintegrate, releasing hundreds of satellites into low Earth orbit.
However, at that moment, a bright light rose from across the Atlantic.
Atop the snow-covered peaks of the Ural Mountains, a figure made entirely of steel, previously standing silent as a statue, suddenly opened its eyes.
It slowly lifted its head, staring unblinkingly into the sky, mechanically tilting its head to a specific angle. Its eyeballs, fitted with six lenses, quickly adjusted, spanning nearly a thousand kilometers to capture the image of a missile ascending in the distant sky. The next instant, a flash of light erupted.
This scene was transmitted through the magical communication network embedded within it to a laboratory hundreds of meters beneath London, where Murphy, with his eyes closed, lay relaxed on a couch. Yet, his gaze, through dozens of ground observation stations and hundreds of radars, witnessed the Traceless Expansion Module being hit and engulfed in flames.
His consciousness extended across the globe, interfacing with tens of thousands of sensors and magical control devices.
Leveraging the immense computing power of supercomputers like Pioneer, he was akin to a deity with a thousand eyes and ten thousand hands, each holding weapons capable of conquering the world.
He impassively watched the decoy capsule evaporate in a ball of fire, then declared war on the USA through the internet and full-spectrum broadcasts.
As the declaration was made, unmanned drone bases across Siberia launched drone after drone into the sky. In no time, they climbed to high altitudes, forming thirty-six drone squads, each comprising three Hela drones leading a Falcon drone flock, roaring across the Pacific towards North America.
Simultaneously, hundreds of satellites in the sky locked onto their targets.
He counted down three seconds, and then, hundreds of eerie green laser beams struck down from the sky.
...
Panama Canal.
The USS Mahan, a top-of-the-line Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, was engaged in a maneuvering battle with two British Sheffield-class destroyers. The Sheffield-class, decades old, was far outmatched by the Mahan in every aspect.
At that moment, the British ships were under electronic attack from their adversary. Despite the enemy being almost within visual range, their radar screens were blank.
Not far away, two American aircraft carriers lay quietly behind their escort ships, mocking their struggling foes.
A lookout lowered his binoculars, his fists clenched in frustration, wishing he could fire upon the enemy now.
Then, he caught a glimpse of a black object flashing down onto the position of the American aircraft carrier.
A huge explosion ensued, engulfing one carrier, followed by another blast that destroyed the second carrier.
The lookout was stunned, and before he could comprehend what had happened, a shrill alarm sounded. He rushed into the cabin, hearing the captain's desperate roar, "Fire! Fire! All hands, fire!"
He blankly stared at the television in the command cabin, showing snowflakes, but he recognized the person on screen immediately.
It was President Patrick Duncan.
He seemed to be giving a speech, but the news ticker below read: "Great Britain declares total war on the USA!"
What?
We're at war with the USA?
Before he could process the information, a radar operator shouted, "Torpedoes! We're locked on by torpedoes!"
They looked towards the Mahan, which was adjusting its position. The lookout knew this was to angle its MK-32 anti-submarine torpedo tubes. The old Sheffield-class had only towed decoys to trick torpedoes, and their effectiveness was dubious.
Simultaneously, a flare of light appeared in front of the Mahan. The lookout's heart sank; it was a Tomahawk missile.
Just then, a green beam from the sky struck in front of the Mahan's bow.
"Boom!" The Tomahawk exploded upon contact with the beam, followed by a larger fireball that tore the Mahan in half.
...
"Calling, calling! Falcon calling tower! Falcon calling tower! We're under attack! We're under attack!"
A fighter jet rushed into the atmosphere, its pilot desperately trying to contact the tower. "Minot is under attack! Minot Air Force Base is under attack!"
Below the fighter was Minot Air Force Base, home to Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile silos and a bomber squadron. Now, it was engulfed in flames from beams falling from the sky.
But he knew the launch control centers for the ICBMs, scattered and buried ten meters underground, wouldn't be easily destroyed by those beams.
Indeed, shortly after he flew from the base, a small cabin exploded, revealing a deep missile silo below.
The next moment, a massive ICBM, like a black sword spewing flames, slowly ascended.
However, just as the missile reached several tens of meters in the air, it was precisely hit by a beam.
"Boom!"
A fireball erupted in the air, and the missile, carrying a megaton-level nuclear warhead, fell into a mountain valley like a kite without a string, fortunately not detonating due to safety measures designed to prevent explosion before reaching its target.
The fighter pilot cursed as he saw this, but he didn't dare linger, immediately ascending higher, choosing a direction to flee.
Breaking through the clouds, he witnessed a shocking scene.
Between two layers of clouds, he saw numerous green beams connecting heaven and earth, slicing through the sky like fences filled with the aura of death, following a pattern that cut the clouds below into geometric shapes.
Through the clouds, he could see countless explosions on the ground.
Suddenly, a beam lit up beside him, frightening him into rolling the plane, screaming as he escaped the cloud layer.
At thousands of meters high, the cities below shrank to the size of palms. Only then did he realize that the beams were not only attacking the base below him. Looking around, countless beams covered the land, their number unknown.
He had hoped to find his organization and retaliate, but a sense of despair rose within him. "Is this the apocalypse?"
Just then, a strange-looking drone appeared beside him.
He looked around in horror, realizing he had inadvertently joined a massive flying formation.
The jets beside him continuously dropped various bombs towards the ground.
He couldn't imagine how such small drones could carry more ammunition than a B2 bomber.
Suddenly, a shadow appeared above him, and a massive jet flew overhead.
As he looked up, a spherical camera on the jet rotated, its red-lit lens fixating on him like a giant eye from hell.
Then, a machine gun extended from below the jet.
"Oh, God…"
He wailed, and the next moment, his plane was torn apart by cannon-like bullets.
In the explosion's final instant, he saw the jet's markings.
"IM HEL, IM HELL".
I am the Reaper.
I am Hell.
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