Keilan barely had time to shout as the creature was flung out into Space, disappearing out of sight as soon as it passed through the hangar opening.

  Keilan rushed forward before he knew what he was doing, face twisted as he prepared to jump out into the dark expanse of space to chase and rescue the innocent creature no matter what. He'd just reached the opening, preparing to jump, when something happened, and his eyes widened.

  An aura rippled outward, soft yet with a weight surpassing that of a Spirit lord. This was a Spiritual signature exclusive to Spirit Kings, and not a weak one either.

  He skidded to a stop, backpedaling furiously as he watched something rise from beyond the opening, aura bursting upwards like a surfacing leviathan.

  An island—yes, an island—of rich brown earth rose from beyond the opening, completely shrouding the miles-wide entrance with its size.

  Idly, Keilan noted that the departing Swarmfighters had stopped as warriors had come forward to watch the massive creature rise.

  A beautiful brown shell rose into view, exuding a rich earthy smell that wafted into the opening like a tsunami, sending no small number of people staggering backwards.

  Now Keilan had seen his fair share of giant creatures, including the forms of the Sentinels that guarded the planet Ver. But those were from a distance. A great distance. The creature that rose before him stood like a mountain before a tiny human, so great that its hexagonal ridges were so white that entire parties of people could have stood on a single one with more space to spare.

  Shadowy trenches ran between the ridges like hundreds of splayed tentacles, and even though it was darker than what his eyes could easily pierce, Keilan could still spot the shadows of great trees that rose deep in those trenches.

  Slowly, with awe-inspiring trepidation, he turned his eyes down onto the soft flesh that held the armored rock. Her skin was a coat of bronze, mottled with splotches of milky white, like someone had taken a projectile construct and shot white paintballs at her.

  Her flippers languidly drifted up and down, sweeping against the innate stillness of space with such ease as a fish through water. And her eyes turned to them—the onlookers—with the same ease and nonchalance as a giant to an ant.

  "Gather around, and don't fight it," Vanis's voice brought Keilan back, and he looked over just as the young man turned to the massive creature. "Elle, take us in."

  Before Keilan knew what was happening, he felt a pressure descend on him, grasping for him like a hand to a bottle. The feeling wasn't hostile, and so he forced down his instinctive resistance long enough to feel himself dragged through space, leaving behind the hangar to appear somewhere else.

  The new room he appeared in was very wide, with a high domed ceiling and a circular structure that made it more similar to a chamber than a common room.

  A singular gem hovered above, bathing the entire space in a soft white brilliance, just enough to see around. Veins of energy flowed from the base of the walls, rising from a depth beyond Keilan's eyes to connect to the gem above.

  Looking at the chamber-like appearance, Keilan had initially expected an earth-born aesthetic, but instead the walls—or enclosure, more like—were formed out of some kind of glass material, light enough to provide a clear view of the outside. Keilan's jaw dropped as he watched the soft glow that refracted from the glass, flashing back to paint the bodies of the newly appearing Spirit lords in spots of brilliance.

  He stepped closer to the glass, brows furrowed as he knocked on it with his knuckles.

  He nodded, unsurprised, when he found the surface stronger than practically all armors he'd ever used or seen. This was top-grade stuff. And while he could see through the outside, he didn't worry about anyone outside doing the same. After all, he'd just come from outside and definitely had not been able to see in.

  Some spatial work must have been in play because the inside seemed larger than what the creature outside had looked. Keilan had initially theorized—judging by the surface of the creature's shell—that it could carry up to a few thousand people—maybe a thousand or two—stretched to max. Yet he felt far more than that in this grand room, with more still inbound.

  He nervously breathed in, worried that this number of people would cause problems for the oxygen in here—they were Spirit lords, not immortals—but surprisingly found it stable with no dip at all.

  Keilan pushed his way through the crowd, emerging into a small space opened at the center of the chamber. Vanis and the others were already present, with the Verrille scion engaged in a whispering discussion with his brother's second in command.

  Keilan caught sight of Huiron and Sareina, both scions bickering furiously for some reason he cared not to find out. He guessed everyone must have already been in attendance, because a few seconds later someone clapped, snuffing the noise and drawing the attention of everyone.

  "We have a few minutes before we touch down on the planet, so let's get to it," Solis's second in command, Feene, began.

  The woman rose, levitating up to full view of everyone. Overhead, the light dimmed, plunging the room in shadow just as tendrils of light manifested in the elemental woman's hand.

  The essence twisted and expanded, forming into a vivid and easily recognizable miniature form of the planet close by.

  Looking at it, Keilan reckoned the planet must have been beautiful once, but that had definitely changed given the battle that raged all across its surface.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  What must have once been brown earth was now charred rock, blackened and pockmarked with hundreds of craters that spanned multiple kilometers in radius. Trees had been reduced to ash and dust, great mounds of it that rose several hundred feet tall, like a mini mountain. Deep scars had ripped through the planet, tearing deep gashes that spewed gray smoke into the sky and a sea of molten lava across the Earth's surface.

  Of the handful of continents that covered the planet, a few were completely sunk, partially sunk, or shattered into countless drifting pieces that now became islands. The image zoomed inwards and a continent came into focus. This one was situated roughly in the middle of the rest, surprisingly whole in contrast to the outer ones. Its surface was charred and scarred with signs of ongoing battles, but other than that, it seemed arguably whole.

  "As you all know, the planet Za is being besieged by the Aveanii." A ripple of whispers came up at that, and Keilan caught no small amount of curses and threats. "This is not the only border world being attacked. There are hundreds more whose systems are aflame with the fires of enemy Dreadships and warriors.

  "As it stands right now, we—Lese—are already stretched thin and can't afford the costs in lives and resources it would take to protect a border world. Which is why we'll be evacuating the populations to worlds deeper in."

  Her gaze panned the entire room and Keilan couldn't help but admire the calmness that radiated off of her despite the situation they were heading into.

  Given, she was a Spirit Queen, but even Spirit Kings weren't immune to fear and death.

  "Luckily for you, most of the task is already done, courtesy of commanders from allied houses. We're here to provide fresh muscles and to also help take off the remaining people from the planet."

  She paused.

  "Know this; The Aveanii will fight us tooth and nail because they know that once we stop playing defence, they die."

  Another ripple passed through, this one filled with fervent assent. Some of the men's eyes were filled with expressions akin to worship, their eyes widened furiously, and their fists clenched. In short, they looked like mad believers.

  "Now, while we descend, I will give out orders and I expect them to be followed expressly. Is that clear?" Again, she gazed out calmly at everyone, expression firm.

  Keilan couldn't help but notice the quick look she threw at Vanis. The Verrille, on the other hand, simply stood silently, still except for the visible rise and fall of his armored chest.

  Feene continued, gesturing as the planet zoomed in, bringing the continents into focus.

  "The outer continents are already fully evacuated, which leaves this big ball in the middle." She gestured at a continent in the vague shape of a ball, a ball which already had a part of it carved out like a slice of pie.

  "Due to the high concentration of Aveanii ground forces on this continent, our ground command center has been moved to the continent on the left, here.

  "We will be landing deeper in on the center continent. Our job—this contingent's job—is to reinforce the perimeter set deeper in, creating a safe passage for the civilians left on the continent to flee to the waiting shuttles. That is not all.

  "While some of us will stay with the perimeter, as a bulwark against the tide of Aveanii's and monsters pouring out, a few of you will push deeper in, with the task of search and rescue for those people still trapped under rocks, houses, or still in bunkers. You will find them and escort them back to the perimeter, where they will be handed over to the medics for checkup before they're sent over to the waiting shuttles docked just a continent away.

  "For the safety of those heading deeper in, it has been ordered that each search and rescue mission be comprised of groups of five. For the... bravehearted, understand that this is for your benefit. Watch your comrade's back and they will do the same for you. Anyone found straying from this protocol will be met with harsh disciplinary actions from the commander, himself... If you aren't dead by then.

  "Now, am I understood?"

  Nobody dared refuse her, the entire crowd calling their assent.

  "Good," the stoic woman nodded. "Pick your group and make it quick. We do not have much time before touchdown."

  When the woman climbed down from her levitation, Keilan took it as a sign that there was no more announcement to be made, so he turned around and pushed his way back into the crowd.

  Emerging again into the back of the gathering, Keilan's eyes widened, alongside the others already there, as he gazed out into the vast expanse of space, finding the once dark expanse lit with the distant explosions of blazing techniques from powerful warriors and the ships.

  In the distance, a man was engaged in a one-on-one duel with a bird-humanoid creature, each combatant throwing techniques that left crackling trails of powers in their wake and sundered space around their impact zone.

  Crimson lightning crackled and flashed past, and Keilan snapped his attention away from the fighting duo to behold another, watching as another Aveanii screeched painfully just as a bolt of crimson lightning impacted it, exploding into the form of a massive black wolf.

  Its eyes were blazing crimson and the fur down its spine rose like arrows in the air. Its massive jaw clamped down on the wings of the Aveanii it was battling, ripping it out a moment later in a hail of blood and feathers.

  Before the wolf could finish the Aveanii, a hail of compressed earth slammed into it, eliciting a painful whine as it rolled through space, coming up later with a growl.

  Another Aveanii descended next to the first, this one noticeably bigger and more powerful. It held two hammers in its hands, each exuding more weight than an entire mountain range.

  Despite the man's dislike, an unwarranted feeling, Keilan began to worry for his safety. Obviously, Nalon could handle one of those Aveanii without problem, but when it was two against one, especially when one of those two boasted the same strength as him, then there was bound to be an issue.

  Thankfully, his worries were put to rest as space lit up and a shower of fire rained down, in its wake which trailed the golden orange form of a flaming bird.

  Kiki screeched as she spread out her wings and her feathers peeled out to flow around each other, forming into a massive flaming cyclone of bright golden feathers.

  Something which she dropped straight on the heads of the Aveanii.

  Another bright flare engulfed space, spreading for miles and miles all around. It wasn't only the flames that spread, though. Keilan grimaced as the agonizing scream of both Aveanii's reached his ears, almost shattering his eardrums before dying off.

  All this while, their fleet continued its path towards the planet, withstanding and deflecting multiple attacks trained on them.

  A beam of energy flashed from the distance, burning through space as it sped toward the flying turtle. Keilan didn't know whether Elle could take such an attack and come out unscathed, which made him very worried. Luckily, his worry was laid to rest as a cloud of darkness, deeper than that of the environment, blossomed into the path of the energy attack and snuffed it out.

  A spine chilling hiss echoed out a moment later, and a cold feeling ran down Keilan's body. From the darkness slithered a gargantuan serpent, miles long with scales like twilight and fangs that dripped with smoky darkness.

  The serpent lashed out in an instant, sinking its fangs onto the arms of a distracted Aveanii. Unfortunately, it didn't get to finish off the half-man creature before it fled the scene, vanishing, no doubt, far away from them.

  The continuous wins accumulated by the three Lese Minders seemed to have caught the attention of one of the Aveanii higher-ups, because a moment after the bitten Aveanii fled, a new one arrived.

  Powerful, Keilan swallowed.