Intergalactic conquest with an AI

Its slitted reptilian eyes gleamed with cruel amusement as it looked into the camera.

"Ooooh... if it isn't the ever-proud leader of the Vex Mercenaries," the lizardman hissed with a sickly sweet tone, his long tongue briefly flicking out like a snake tasting the air. "I do hope the information you gave me was accurate, yessss? I don't like being lied to…"

The mercenary commander didn't even flinch. He crossed his arms, standing firm in front of the screen.

"Relax, big guy. I'm not stupid enough to feed false data to the Collector attack dog." He tilted his head slightly while grinning. "Everything I told you is legit. The Blood Clan girl is on this planet, and the one defending her is that little conqueror with the AI fortress. You wanted a high-value target, yes? now you've got two."

The lizardman gave a slow, toothy grin, if it could even be called that. His saliva thickened, more of it dripping down as he leaned closer to the screen.

"Hehhh… good. Very good. If your information proves useful, you might just live long enough to get paid. But if it doesn't… well, I've always wanted to taste mercenary meat grilled over fusion fire."

The Supreme Commander smirked in response. "If you're planning to make a move, you'd better do it soon. The battlefield's heating up, and I think your prey knows someone's coming for them."

The lizardman growled lowly, more amused than angry. "We're already inbound. The first wave of my children will land in one hour. Tell your men to stay out of our way… or get eaten with the rest."

With that final threat, the transmission ended. The holo-screen vanished with a pop, leaving behind a tense silence.

Volkon scratched the back of his head. "...That guy gives me the creeps. What the hell is he even?!"

Zorbag grunted. "Some kind of scaled freak from the Collector breeding vaults. I heard they make entire armies like him, lizardmen, bio-engineered to hunt and kill elites like us."

Zanar nodded slowly; his voice was still oddly cheerful despite the grim news. "We should prepare for mass deployment. If the Collector dog is bringing in their heavy hitters... this battle is about to change."

The Supreme Commander didn't speak for a moment. Then he finally muttered, almost to himself, "This world... might become a graveyard for gods."

While the fierce battle for control of the skies still roared above with thunderous intensity, the situation on the ground had descended into complete and utter chaos.

The battlefield had turned into a three-way slaughterfest, with Kaelzar legions, mercenary forces, and the endless infected horde tearing into one another without mercy.

The landscape shook from constant artillery explosions, and the skies lit up with bursts of colorful plasma beams and deadly laser fire. From a distance, it almost looked like a surreal, violent painting made of fire and destruction, but for those on the ground, it was nothing but hell.

Despite having the upper hand in technology and firepower, both the Kaelzars and the mercs were struggling to hold the line. The infected, mindless as they were, just kept coming, wave after wave.

What made them truly terrifying were the mutated ones, twisted abominations that had evolved beyond their base form.

The weaker infected, the ones that still looked vaguely like the creatures or people they once were, could be gunned down easily. But the Tier 3 mutated beasts, some as big as tanks or more agile than a trained assassin, were another matter entirely.

The Kaelzar legions relied on swarm tactics. Dozens of Aegis units would sacrifice themselves just to overwhelm and bring down a single Tier 3 mutant.

Occasionally, a Mauler Juggernaut covered in reinforced armor and equipped with devastating firepower would smash through enemy lines to eliminate one. But Maulers were rare assets, and for every one of them, there were hundreds of Tier 3 monsters crawling out of the ground.

The mercenaries, by contrast, were more versatile and battle-hardened. They were used to fighting strange alien threats and had developed brutal yet effective tactics.

Their favorite strategy? Let a targeted squad lure a Tier 3 mutant toward their defensive lines, where tanks, turreted trucks, and laser cannons were ready to blow it to pieces. Simple. Efficient. Ruthless.

But even these hardened mercenaries had a major issue... supplies.

Their fleet in orbit was being hammered by Cleo's fortress, and their supply drops were constantly intercepted by Kaelzar-controlled airspace.

The few cargo ships that did manage to break through were harassed endlessly by wraith-class fighter squadrons until only fragments made it to the battlefield. And when those supplies finally arrived, they were burned through in minutes by the thousands of desperate soldiers on the front lines.

"Boss!" a voice called out over the mercenary command channel. "Those enemy fighters are tearing our supply line to shreds. Give me the green light! I'll go deal with them. And while I'm at it, I'll clip the wings of that white bastard that keeps circling overhead!"

Zanar, the burly Tier 6 warrior with the oddly cheerful voice that clashed hilariously with his hulking appearance. He stood with one knee on the ground in a traditional bow, waiting for permission from his commander.

The mercenary supreme commander turned to face him slowly; his expression remained unreadable behind his helmet visor. He paused before replying, as if considering all possibilities.

"Fine," he said at last. "But you're only cleared to support our frontlines. Do not cross into the enemy's main line. If their Tier 6s show up, we're not in a position to hold. Remember, Zanar… we're not here to win. We're here to buy time."

Zanar's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Understood, Boss! Leave it to me!"

With that, he vanished in a blur, blinking instantly across the battlefield.

A few heartbeats later, he appeared at the frontlines like a comet crashing into the earth. He landed in a crouch, then rose tall, his voice booming with raw power.

"Disgusting vermin! I'll clean every last one of you right here and now!"

The moment his feet touched the ground, a burst of golden stellar energy erupted from his body, blasting infected creatures back in all directions. His Tier 6 aura swept across the area like a storm, bringing relief to the nearby mercenary squads who had been barely holding their ground.

With a roar of battle lust, Zanar leapt into action, his oversized power fist crushing through mutated infected like butter. He didn't stop there; even the Kaelzar troops who got too close were also caught in his rampage. Friendly fire wasn't even a consideration.

"And that's another one down! Woohoo! I'm on fire today!" Rex shouted with pure adrenaline as the final hostile fighter in the enemy squad exploded behind him in a glorious fireball.

The skies lit up briefly from the blast, and Rex grinned inside his helmet, spinning once midair in celebration.

But his victory didn't last even a second.

Two ghost-tracking missiles, nearly invisible to the naked eye, locked onto him from behind and hit him at point-blank range, sending a massive shockwave through his body and launching him spiraling through the sky like a comet on fire.

"Arghhh! damn it!" Rex growled as he plummeted, his systems going haywire, and thick smoke trailing from the breach in his power armor. But just before hitting the ground, his powerful wings, which were damaged but still functional, flickered with a golden glow and kicked in.

The nanomachines in his suit reconfigured the wings in midair, allowing him to stabilize and hover just above the war-torn earth.

Inside his helmet, a tiny avatar of Mini Cleo popped into view with her hands on her hips, eyes narrowed, and cheeks puffed up in mock anger. Her voice came out in a scolding tone, exaggerated with dramatic flair.

"Boss! I told you before that your energy shield was down! We needed to recharge instead of playing hotshot hero! This is exactly what happens when you don't listen!" she huffed, coughing fake puffs of black smoke to emphasize her point.

Rex chuckled despite the pain radiating from his ribs. "Hahaha, alright, alright! I surrender, Mini General Cleo. I'll listen this time. I'll take a breather, recharge the nanomachines, and send a resupply ship to the front line while I'm at it."

He floated gently down onto a rocky ledge as his armor hissed and shifted, its auto-repair system working overtime. The fighter wings detached, flying in circles around him like drones standing guard.

But just as he was catching his breath, a strange ripple in space behind him caught his attention. His senses flared a second too late.

A humanoid figure shimmered into existence, barely a few meters away. It moved with speed that even Rex couldn't react to in time. "Die!" a voice cried out; it was sharp, cold, and distinctly feminine.

A wave of stellar energy erupted behind him, and Rex's eyes widened. "Too fast!" But before the strike could land, a blur of fire and fury descended from the sky.

Another figure, this one clad in glowing red-gold armor and surrounded by a blazing aura, kicked the assassin from behind, launching him straight into the ground with such force the earth cracked from the impact.

"Young Emperor," said a calm yet powerful voice behind Rex. "Your current condition is that of a Tier 4 peak. I suggest you fall back and conserve your strength. Allow me to handle this opponent."

Rex turned and smirked. "Little Red... always on time."

Her massive axe, forged from living metal and burning with stellar flame, slowly constructed itself from her gauntlets, piece by piece, until it shimmered with deadly perfection.

"Well then, I'll leave it in your hands. Just... try not to go too wild. Let's save a few surprises in case things really go south."