Intergalactic conquest with an AI

The Lord Inquisitor's sharp gaze dropped once more to his paladin's missing arm; it was like a fresh reminder of the chaos that had just unfolded.

He then glanced at the soldiers who stood beside the wounded man. They looked battered but still capable of fighting, far more stable than the one-armed paladin barely holding himself upright.

"You're no use to me like this," the Inquisitor said in a firm tone, though his voice carried a thread of concern beneath the steel.

"Fall back and seek immediate medical attention. You are only permitted to return to the front once you've been outfitted with a new cybernetic limb. Take half the remaining soldiers with you. They'll guard you on the way."

The paladin hesitated, his pride flaring, but he knew better than to argue. With a respectful nod, he turned to leave with his escort.

The Lord Inquisitor then raised his voice, directing it to the soldiers who remained. "The rest of you, with me! We're restoring the chain of command in this sector with no exceptions!"

Without another word, he surged forward, leading the charge through the smoke-choked ruins. For several long minutes, they swept through the shattered fortress interior, striking down every inhuman thing that crossed their path.

His spear glowed with lightning, each thrust ending in a blinding flash and the smell of scorched flesh. Around him, his soldiers followed closely, emboldened by his strength and fury.

Eventually, the heavy dust began to settle. The dense fog of ash and rubble thinned just enough to offer a clearer view of the devastation they had survived.

Though the Nexum soldiers had failed to breach the fortress completely thanks to the valiant defense by the paladins and their troops, the cost of holding the line had been too heavy.....

Of the Lord Inquisitor's five elite paladins, one now lay dead beneath a collapsed wall, another was barely clinging to life, and the remaining three were wounded, ranging from moderate to near-critical condition.

And if even his Tier 3 paladins, enhanced cyborgs with combat optimization far beyond normal soldiers, had suffered so badly, he didn't even want to imagine the death toll among the regular human forces.

He clenched his jaw and gritted his teeth, raw anger swelling inside him.

"Damn it all!" he shouted while flinging a bottle of water across the ruins with all his strength. It shattered against a metal plate, the splash instantly absorbed by the dust.

"These fucking parasites… they dare do this to our people?! They think they can walk into our territory and slaughter us like animals?!"

Now seated beside one of his surviving paladins, the Lord Inquisitor allowed a medic to tend to the minor wounds on his arms and side, though he barely acknowledged them. His thoughts were heavy, burning.

"It seems the heretic scum got the better of us this time," he growled. "We were this close to losing the entire western stronghold to those alien bastards…"

He leaned back against a slab of debris, eyes staring blankly into the smoky sky above. Then suddenly, the sharp, delicate sound of bells rang in the air.

The sound was soft, crystalline, like tiny chimes dancing on the wind, yet unmistakable. A sacred presence had arrived. Instantly, every soldier, paladin, and medic dropped what they were doing and turned toward the sound before falling to one knee in reverent unison.

"We salute the Holy Maiden!" the Lord Inquisitor and his remaining paladins declared in one strong voice.

From the heavens above, a radiant figure began descending gracefully. Lilla, the Holy Maiden, touched down with a weightless poise.

Each step she took created ripples in the air beneath her, as if she walked on water. With every gentle step, the sound of bells followed, echoing like divine music across the battlefield.

Her robes flowed like moonlight, her blonde hair untouched by dust or blood, her presence calming yet commanding. She was the embodiment of purity and power, and her arrival brought a strange peace to the ruined fortress.

Still kneeling, the Lord Inquisitor raised his eyes and asked with restrained urgency, "Holy Maiden… may I ask.... have you returned because of our failure?"

The question barely left his lips when one of Lilla's loyal paladins, a woman clad in shimmering silver armor, stepped forward with fury in her eyes. She unsheathed her sword and pointed it at the Lord Inquisitor with a defiant stance.

"How dare you question the Holy Maiden's actions?!" she cried out, her voice full of righteous anger.

The Inquisitor's paladins instantly sprang to their feet, drawing their blades in defense of their commander. Sparks crackled in the air. Tension swelled.

But the Lord Inquisitor, still kneeling, calmly raised one arm to halt his warriors. At the same time, Lilla raised her own hand.

"There's no need for this..." Lilla said softly, her voice like warm wind brushing against their ears. "We are all human. We are all of one blood, united under the light of the White Lady. Let us not turn blades against our own. That is the only sin our goddess cannot forgive."

Her steps brought her closer to her brother, the Inquisitor. She looked down at him with soft eyes, full of sorrow and pride. Reaching out, she gently placed her hand upon him, her divine energy glowing faintly as it surged into his body. He felt strength return to his limbs and clarity to his mind.

"I did come as soon as I could, after hearing of the battle," she said gently. "But it is not only your suffering that drew me here. A great shift is happening across the entire battlefield.... that is why I have come now."

"Great changes?" The Lord Inquisitor muttered, his voice tinged with sarcasm as he glanced around at the shattered walls and the craters carved into the ground.

"Aside from the gaping holes in our defenses and the waves of Nexum soldiers crawling outside our gates, I don't see any other major shifts."

"I'm not talking about those," Lilla replied, her tone this time was calm yet heavy with implication. Her ethereal form began to glide toward the ruined defensive line along the inner wall, her shimmering steps echoing like soft wind chimes. Her paladins fell into formation behind her, solemn and silent.

The Lord Inquisitor narrowed his eyes and followed, curiosity overcoming fatigue.

"The bridge lines have fallen," Lilla continued as she walked.

"Our outer formations have been completely withdrawn. This has occurred not just here but all around the fortress city. The soldiers who once held the perimeter are now within the barrier walls. That is why I returned… to aid you directly in the city's defense."

Her words stopped him cold.

The Lord Inquisitor frowned deeply, his mind quickly running through the implications. "You mean… the entire outer line fell back? Every front, every bridge, every checkpoint?"

He scratched at his chin in disbelief. "I could see that happening with the insectoid front… those things are demons cloaked in chitin. But all of the defenses collapsing simultaneously? That's no coincidence."

Lilla let out a soft, brief laugh, not mocking, but rather sad and tired. "It wasn't a collapse. Lady Cleo ordered a strategic withdrawal. She saw something… something that made her call us all back. We're now to hold the fortress until new orders are given."

They had reached the inner defense lines. From her elevated position near the crumbled ramparts, Lilla gazed out upon the battlefield.

And what a sight it was.

Tens of thousands of corpses littered the landscape... twisted and torn bodies of humans, cyborgs, alien warriors, and monstrous beasts.

The ground was soaked in blood... red, green, blue, and black melding into a nightmarish oil painting of death. Armor and weapons lay discarded like broken toys on a battlefield that had become a graveyard.

This… this was planetary conquest.

And as terrible as it was, this battle was but a minor one compared to those fought on intermediate or core worlds... places where Tier 5 or Tier 6 defenders turned the very laws of physics into weapons.

Lilla's expression didn't change.

"Lord Inquisitor," she said softly while turning her blind gaze toward her brother. "Issue the order. Your troops are to form a perimeter around me and protect me with everything they have. I will lend you two of my personal paladins; use them as you see fit.

"But I must begin the summoning ritual for the Goddess's warriors. It is the only way we can reclaim momentum."

She lowered herself slowly onto the bloodstained ground, her robes trailing through gore without hesitation or disgust. She did not flinch. She simply sat cross-legged with hands resting gently on her knees.

The Lord Inquisitor stiffened, alarmed. "You would call upon them? Now? Are you sure about this, Saintess?" His voice cracked slightly, not out of fear, but out of concern for her.

Lilla slowly opened her sightless gray eyes. Though blind, her gaze pierced through the very essence of those around her. She didn't see flesh and blood; she saw aura. And the truth that came with it.

Humans burned with a brilliant, singular light. Each race, each species, radiated with its own unique color. She could see them all.

She smiled with a warm, childlike smile and raised her frail arm to show off a tiny, completely unimpressive bicep. "Don't worry. I'm strong, you see?"

The Lord Inquisitor sighed heavily while rubbing his temples. "As stubborn as ever…"

He rose to his feet, electricity crackling around his boots as his armor systems reactivated, lifting him with a low hum.

"You've all heard the Holy Maiden!" he shouted out, his voice echoing across the wall. "We hold this line with our lives! Guard her with everything you've got! For honor! For humanity! For the Lady in White!"

A thunderous roar answered him.

Then Lilla closed her eyes, and the air grew still.

She inhaled slowly while a subtle glow began to emerge from her chest... at first dim like a spark in the dark, then swelling rapidly into a swirling vortex of white and violet stellar energy. The ground beneath her vibrated softly, pulsing in rhythm with her breath.