Intergalactic conquest with an AI

Just as commanded, the Tier 4 warriors of the Blood Clan unleashed a coordinated barrage of fire upon Rex.

Each one of them was armed with a sleek, high-tech laser rifle that was no ordinary military-grade weapon. These were elite-grade precision beam cannons, crafted in the forges of Nexum Dynamics, capable of firing a singular, concentrated stream of searing energy.

Unlike conventional pulse rifles that spat out bursts of light, these weapons projected a solid beam so intense it could carve through mobile suit hulls and remain active for over thirty seconds until the rifle's coolant system overheated and forced a temporary shutdown.

But even such overwhelming firepower fell short.

The beams collided with Rex's wings, which unfolded behind him like a divine storm made flesh, wings forged from living metal, their surface rippling like quicksilver, reinforced by a plasma-threaded honeycomb shield matrix.

The relentless assault failed to leave even a scratch.

"So… is that all you've got?" Rex said with a smirk, casually brushing a cloud of scorched dust from his shoulder as if swatting away an insect. His voice dripped with mockery.

"H-how is that even possible!?" one of the Tier 4s cried out in disbelief, his hands trembling on the grip of his rifle.

"Why are you panicking, fool?!" the squad's commander, clearly the Tier 6 among them, snapped. "Can't you see he's just using a powerful defensive artifact? You two, go! Eliminate him!"

With a sharp gesture, he ordered two Tier 5 elites forward. Though Rex had shown he could easily overpower a group of Tier 4s, the Tier 5s were a different story, each one a living weapon capable of shattering bunkers and leveling fortifications.

The commander expected them to tear Rex apart in moments. But fate had other plans.

As the two Tier 5s lunged forward with a speed that made the air crackle, space itself twisted unnaturally in front of them.

Two crimson space rifts, like gashes torn in the fabric of reality, blinked into existence without warning. The momentum of their charge left them helpless, unable to stop in time. They vanished into the spatial anomalies without so much as a scream.

Moments later, another rift tore open high above the ground and from it, the two Tier 5s fell like broken puppets, crashing to the earth with a sickening thud.

Their bodies were limp and lifeless, their armor sliced open in a dozen places. Standing between them, stepping out of the rift as if from a curtain of smoke, was 14th.

He held a long spear, the dark alloy of its shaft etched with ancient runes, its blade soaked crimson with fresh blood that sizzled and smoked against the metal. His presence radiated calm precision, like a blade unsheathed only when absolutely necessary.

"Mmm… not bad," Rex said with an approving nod while clapping his hands slowly. "And here I thought you ran because you were too weak to fight alone. Seems I misjudged you, 14th. Well done."

The sound of clapping echoed mockingly through the battlefield, grating on the nerves of the Blood Clan's leader. His crimson aura flared violently in rage.

"So, the traitor finally crawls out of hiding!" the leader shouted out, his voice thunderous.

His blood pulsed unnaturally as it surged from his body, coalescing into the shape of a jagged, cruel sword twisting and writhing as if alive. "You will surrender now and prepare to be sold as a lowly, branded slave! You'll regret betraying your blood!"

Unbothered by the threat, Rex tilted his head slightly, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Well then," he said calmly while reaching out mentally through his neural interface, "are we ready, Mini Cleo?"

{Yes, boss! All targets locked. Systems charged and primed. Ready when you are!} came the chirpy reply in his mind. The voice was digital but warm, like a small, charming echo of Cleo herself.

With the confirmation received, Rex's grin widened. Without another word, he clenched his fist and slammed it into the ground with tremendous force.

The earth buckled beneath him as a shockwave exploded outward, sending a cyclone of dust, shattered stone, and debris into the air. Vision across the battlefield was instantly obscured.

"Tch! Do you think a little dust can blind us?" the Blood Clan leader sneered, his voice filled with contempt.

"You underestimate the Blood Clan, outsider! We do not need eyes to see! Our senses reach across kilometers; we feel every breath, every heartbeat, every drop of blood that dares to move!"

But that... was exactly what Rex had planned for.

Because what the Blood Clan didn't know... what they couldn't know was that the battlefield had already been rigged.

In those few precious minutes, while they had focused their attention solely on him, Mini Cleo had deployed an array of trap constructs made from Kaelzar tech.

The Kaelzar were not considered "living" by conventional definitions, nor were their machines. They didn't emit the bio-signatures the Blood Clan's senses could detect.

And now, cloaked in the dust storm, dozens of chains made of nanomaterial, silent as shadows, began to emerge from their hiding spots, trapping all the Tier 4 warriors of the Blood Clan at the same time.

"Tsk! Everyone here is so utterly useless! Seems like only an elite like myself is truly worthy of representing the Blood Clan's might!" the Tier 6 Blood Clan commander spat, his voice thick with disdain as he glared at the smoldering remains of his subordinates.

Though Rex's strategy had been effective, surprisingly so, even the commander was no ordinary foe.

He was a war-hardened juggernaut whose command over spatial manipulation bordered on the divine. With his mastery over stellar energy and dimensional force, he could easily break the bindings of the chains... or at least, he should've been able to if he had the time.

Just as he began to surge stellar energy through his core, gathering it into radiant filaments that danced across his flesh, a shimmering silver space rift blinked into existence beside him like a whisper of death.

From its depths came a sudden and ferocious barrage of dozens of high-velocity laser beams, crackling with kinetic and photonic energy, lanced out with pinpoint precision.

They struck him in less than a blink, and in a desperate reflex, he was forced to channel all his gathered stellar energy into a defensive shield.

The dome of burning crimson light flared violently as the beams slammed against it, lighting the battlefield in a blinding flash.

"Who dares attack me?! Show yourself, coward!" the Blood Clan commander shouted out, his voice thunderous with indignation as he staggered backward, his shield scorched and flickering at the edges.

His gamble had paid off barely. While he could enhance his body to a durability that rivaled neutronium alloy, even that wouldn't be enough against weapons capable of piercing battleship hulls like paper.

From the fading rift stepped a figure, walking not on solid ground but on the very air itself, each step cracking reality beneath her feet like glass under pressure.

Flames rippled off her body, hair flowing like a river of fire, wings ablaze with dark-red energy. She looked less like a warrior and more like a cataclysm given form... a being that could level continents with her wrath.

"Now, now... don't be so angry," Zynaria said with a smirk, her voice smooth, confident, and just a little mocking.

"I merely introduced myself the same way you introduced yourself to the young emperor. I hope my manners were acceptable... though I admit, I'm still learning the proper etiquette for dealing with arrogant, self-important warlords."

"Tch! Rats do love to scurry together!" the Blood Clan leader snarled in fury, and his crimson aura exploded outward in a wild, violent burst, transforming him into a streaking comet of blood and wrath as he hurled himself through the sky toward Zynaria like a living missile.

Zynaria met him head-on, her flames flaring even brighter. With a cry like a war goddess awakened, she too launched forward, becoming a comet of molten fire, leaving trails of dark-red light in her wake.

Their clash was apocalyptic.

Each impact of their battle shattered the space itself. Space buckled and cracked around them with every blow, violent shockwaves of fire and blood-red energy rippling out in all directions.

Entire chunks of reality tore apart for brief moments then stitched themselves back together just as quickly, like a dying machine struggling to hold itself intact.

Down below, Rex watched with a furrowed brow and an amused sigh. Even through his shield, waves of searing heat were licking at him, degrading the integrity of the plasma layer bit by bit.

"Damn... remind me to never piss off Little Red," Rex muttered, squinting up at the aerial inferno. "That's a whole lot of heat she's cooking up. I swear, I could roast marshmallows from here…"

His neural HUD began flashing red indicators.

[warning: energy shield at 62% integrity.]

"Right, time to move. 14th!" Rex called over his shoulder.

"Yes, my lord?" 14th replied immediately, standing at attention with a spear in hand.

"Keep those Tier 5s entertained for a while; Zynaria's handling the loudmouth. I'll take the Tier 4s for a little swim. The last thing I want is to be barbecued by friendly fire."

"Understood, my lord. Consider it done," 14th said while bowing slightly and giving a traditional martial salute, spear twirling with precision as he moved to intercept the remaining threats.

Rex turned, his cloak billowing behind him. On his left arm were nearly two dozen glowing chains that were thin yet unbreakable, each one pulsing with runic symbols, tethered to the Blood Clan Tier 4 warriors, all still restrained and writhing futilely against their bindings.

"Alright, Mini Cleo," Rex said with a grin. "Time to go airborne."

{Already synchronized, boss! Let's give em a ride they won't forget!}