Intergalactic conquest with an AI

Percival's fists clenched so tightly that his armored gloves groaned under the pressure. His breath came in sharp, ragged gasps, his body trembling with pure, unfiltered rage.

"How dare those traitors do something like this!" he shouted, his voice shaking the command deck. "Send down more troops! I want them wiped out! Every single one of them! I don't care what our losses are!"

His eyes burned with fury as he turned toward his officers. "And send the Viceroys. Order them to hunt that fucking dog!" The officer standing closest to him barely managed a bow before bolting toward the communications team, relaying out Percival's orders.

"Sir Vortigan! The Nexum fleet is on the move again! They're deploying more troops!"

The command center was a storm of activity with officers scrambling as new warnings flashed across the tactical displays.

Vortigan exhaled through his nose while cracking his knuckles. "Mmm… so the brat enjoyed our little gift." He rolled his shoulders and turned to the room. "Well then, gentlemen, let's make him pay for it."

He slammed his fist onto the table, his voice sharp as a blade. "Redirect twenty percent of our planetary defense cannons to their landing zones! I want every one of those bastards blasted apart before their boots even touch our ground!"

"Understood, sir!"

Within minutes, the colossal planetary cannons rotated, their barrels locking onto the new landing coordinates.

Then, they open fire.

Massive bolts of high-energy plasma and railgun slugs the size of houses ripped through the descending Nexum ships, detonating them mid-air. Transport after transport burst apart like glass; their occupants disintegrated before they could even scream.

Those that managed to touch down crashed in flames, the survivors barely stumbling out before another round of targeted artillery strikes reduced them to nothing.

The cycle continued relentlessly. Every time the Nexum forces tried to switch landing zones, the planetary defense adjusted, wiping them out before they could gain a foothold.

Victor, watching from a higher vantage point, burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! What a bunch of morons! Is this really all they have?" He leaned back while crossing his arms, his grin stretching. "Even for a low-tier corporation, this is pathetic. And this is supposed to be a megacorp? A galactic power?"

He wiped a tear from his eye, still chuckling. "Ah, all my blessings to that sissy brat for being so damn stupid." His laughter, however, was cut short when a blur of motion appeared next to him.

Before Victor could react, something slammed into his face with the force of a meteor. His body was sent flying, tumbling through the sky for several kilometers before he finally managed to stabilize himself.

"What the fuck was that!?" he growled while shaking off the dizziness as he rubbed his aching jaw. His eyes darted around, scanning for his attacker.

Then he saw it.

Floating a short distance away was a humanoid octopus, its body thick with oversized muscle, its black skin gleaming under the dim light of the burning battlefield. Your next chapter awaits on My Virtual Library Empire

"Fucking midget," Victor muttered, spitting blood as he cracked his neck. "I should have known."

The humanoid octopus grinned, baring sharp teeth.

"Keep talking, dumbass," Blackwire sneered, his voice bubbling with aggression. "This time, I'm going to kill you for sure."

Before Victor could respond, another voice crackled through his communicator.

"Boss! This isn't good! We're retreating! There's a crazy bitch turning our troops green—no, WAIT! STAY AWAY! DON'T COME NEAR ME! AHHHHHHHHHHH—!"

The line went dead while Victor's expression darkened and his grip on his weapon tightened.

"Hahaha! My son knows me so well!" A slow, sultry voice filled the air, dripping with mocking sweetness. Victor turned his head and saw her. Floating just above the battlefield, surrounded by billowing clouds of green mist, was Isolde.

Mechanical spiders skittered across her flowing black cloak, each one releasing a toxic vapor into the air. The soldiers caught within the haze screamed as their bodies twisted and warped, their flesh rotting away as they mutated into unspeakable horrors.

She watched them with fascination, a delighted smile spreading across her lips.

"Oh my, all of these living specimens... what a wonderful chance to test my new poisons." She sighed dreamily, pressing a hand to her cheek before her gaze snapped to Victor. "Oh! How rude of me. I should send some your way too! Be a sweetheart and give me a good review, yes?"

With a graceful wave of her hand, several of the twisted monstrosities turned toward Victor and began to charge while howling in agony.

Victor's eyes narrowed with fury.

{Damn bitch… of course, she's here too. If her precious son is on the battlefield, she wouldn't be far behind.}

He exhaled sharply before activating his helmet's filtration system, the visor snapping shut over his face.

"So you joined the fight too, poisonous bitch?" His voice was muffled through the mask but still carried his signature arrogance. "You really are a dumbass. Your little mutants can't even fly. How the hell are they supposed to reach me?"

Isolde's smile widened.

Victor's body shuddered violently as a massive canine tore through the sky, slamming him into the ground where Isolde's creatures swarmed like a living tide. Dust and debris exploded around him, but he barely had time to react before a familiar voice cut through the chaos.

"Aha, good to see you finally made it, Madame," Isolde sneered, her voice dripping with mockery. "I was about to send my medical team to carry you here. Age is such a cruel mistress for your kind, don't you think?"

Madame Rose landed gracefully, leaning on her cane with a smirk. "Ha! If we're talking age, I'm still a child compared to you, you fossil. And you better keep your mouth shut unless you want me knocking out more of your teeth!"

She raised her cane, the once-oversized weapon now shrunken to its normal form, but still pulsing with power. Isolde's eyes flickered with fury, but her expression remained calm with her lips curling into a fake smile.

Victor groaned, shaking off the impact as he emerged from the mountain of mangled creatures. He stretched his shoulders, completely unfazed. "Oh great. Now it's three against one? How shameful," he mused, rolling his neck.

His crimson eyes locked onto Isolde before he scoffed. "And Bitchisolde, your creatures are trash. Not even good for target practice."

Without warning, he grabbed a lifeless husk and hurled it toward her at breakneck speed, breaking the sound barrier. But before it could reach her, the body was obliterated mid-air, reduced to nothing but dust.

Isolde giggled while floating beside the short, battle-hardened midget known as Blackwire. "Oh dear, what can I say? There's only so much you can do with such poor materials. Not my fault, you see."

Victor cracked his knuckles, his smirk growing wider. "I've been punched twice already. Once by a midget and once by a grandma with a cane. My reputation's gonna take a hit if I don't return the favor."

Twin sword handles snapped into his palms from his hip, and with the press of a button, plasma blades ignited in a blinding flash.

Blackwire let out a sharp laugh. "Now this is what I was waiting for!" In a blink, he vanished, reappearing right beside Victor. The air around them crackled as they activated Tier 6 space-bending abilities, allowing near-instant movement across the battlefield.

As Victor clashed with Isolde and Blackwire in a whirlwind of destruction, Pax materialized beside Madame Rose. "Time is money, Madame. We should get to work."

She scoffed. "Hmph, I don't need you to tell me!"

Meanwhile, chaos erupted across the battlefield. Isolde's creatures were spreading like wildfire, tearing through the defensive lines with terrifying efficiency. Her spider-like abominations churned out more monstrosities by the second, overwhelming the already struggling soldiers.

"Sarge! We've lost the fifth defensive line!" A soldier shouted while firing desperately at an advancing creature. "We need to fall back to the captain's zone and reinforce the sixth!"

The sergeant gritted his teeth, hesitating for only a second before reaching for his communicator. But before he could give the order, a massive mechanical arm clamped around his wrist.

"Whoa there," a calm voice said. "No need to retreat just yet. High command's sending reinforcements any minute now. Till then, we hold the line."

The elite guards snapped their weapons toward the newcomer. "Identify yourself!"

The stranger chuckled, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Oh, pardon me. Memory's not as sharp as it used to be. I'm Vire, steward of my lord's mansion. At your service." His smirk deepened as he gestured toward the sky. "But forget introductions. My friend up there is much more eager to make an entrance."

The sergeant followed his gaze just in time to see something enormous plummeting from above. A massive humanoid figure rocketed downward, crashing headlong into the enemy horde with earth-shattering force.

[Battle Armor Argos engaging the enemy. Weapons free.]

The mechanized warrior moved like a force of nature. Argos reached out, seized a monstrous creature by the skull, and crushed it effortlessly, like it was nothing more than a lump of soft clay.

Then, with a heavy mechanical whir, four massive miniguns emerged from Argos's back, their barrels spinning as targeting systems locked onto incoming threats.

[Aiming assistance activated.]

Carlos smirked beneath his helmet. "Thanks, Arg. I'll leave the long-range weapons to you. I'll handle things up close." His grip tightened as he readied himself. "Deploy the halberd."

[Understood. Launching Halberd.]

From behind Argos, a sleek gray rectangle shot into the sky like a missile. For a brief moment, it hovered in the sky, then its form twisted and expanded, shifting in midair. Plates unfolded, metal realigned, and within seconds, the object transformed into a towering halberd, its razor-sharp blade gleaming in the battlefield's chaos.

Carlos reached out, catching it effortlessly as it came down. Sparks crackled along the weapon's edge, energy coursing through its core.

"Time to carve a path through the enemy"