Atticus's Odyssey: Reincarnated Into A Playground-Chapter 1139: Despair

After a few seconds of awkward silence, he exited the room, walking down a narrow corridor.

The bright white hallway lights reflected off the midnight-blue military uniform of the Alliance wrapped neatly around his tall figure.

He moved as though he was familiar with the space, eventually stopping in front of a sealed door.

After multiple scans and layered security checks, the door slid open. His eyes landed on a massive control room filled with operators, each manning a station around a glowing vertical device that pierced into the ground like a tower of energy.

He didn't look surprised, this wasn't his first time here. Considering his rank, he had interacted with this particular aegis node more times than he could count.

He made his way back to his seat.

The operator beside him didn't miss a beat. "Damn, Elias! It still smells like death over here. What did you do to that toilet, man?"

Elias groaned and collapsed into his chair. "Tell me about it. It was as hard as a damn rock. Must be the nerves. My stomach never plays nice with stress."

"Yeah, I feel you. One more day, and those blue bastards'll be raining down on us…"

Elias's expression darkened. That day… the Hollow Sun. Everyone dreaded it.

If even one stronghold fell, it would be the beginning of the end.

This was why each one had been fitted with its own aegis shield, localized to protect the aegis node from direct destruction. But that protection wasn't flawless.

The military's job wasn't just to stop the Zorvans from pushing into Alliance territory, it was also to protect the nodes themselves.

The aegis shields couldn't stop everything. Sound, force, and shockwaves still traveled through them. A powerful enough impact could destabilize the nodes.

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

And as the operators directly linked to those nodes, they felt every tremor, every jolt.

But despite the rising tension, what weighed down even heavier on them was the news of the current war within the Alliance. They all knew not every blade would be on the field when the battle began.

Elias focused back on his monitor, but then his eyes narrowed.

"Hey… you seeing this too?" the operator beside him asked.

Elias didn't answer right away. His gaze moved across the room. Other operators were all staring at their screens with confusion.

He looked back at his. And his frown deepened.

"Aren't they early…?" he muttered.

On the screen, zooming toward their stronghold at slow but deliberate speed, was a vast armada of Zorvan warships, so many that they blotted out the sky.

It wasn't supposed to start until the day after tomorrow.

But this… with this number, there was no doubt that this was their main force.

A blaring horn suddenly cut through the control room.

ALERT! ALERT!

Red warning lights flared as alarms blared across the stronghold. The signal of an imminent attack spread like wildfire.

In dorms, warriors jolted awake from their sleep. In the mess halls, trays hit the floor. In the training rooms, blades were drawn mid swing.

Armor was strapped on. Weapons charged.

The aegis shield was still active, but every soldier knew what was coming.

They poured out into the stronghold, eyes moving to the sky. The approaching fleet darkened everything beneath it. Sunlight was gone and only looming shadows remained.

Some gulped. Others tightened their grips on hilts. The tension rose.

But in the next second, the relaxed slightly. At least the shield was still up and had at least they had a day to prepare.

But while most prepared their minds for war, Elias couldn't take his eyes off his screen.

"…What the hell is that?" he breathed.

He had zoomed in on a single warship hovering in the center of the fleet. Unlike the others, this one had a massive circular nozzle at its front, like the mouth of a cannon.

It didn't look like a warship.

It looked like a weapon.

A pulse of abyssal black light suddenly radiated from it, growing brighter and denser by the second.

Elias's gut twisted.

'I have a bad feeling about this…'

The cannon fired.

A beam of blackness tore through the skies, crashing into the aegis shield surrounding the stronghold.

They braced for the shockwave, but none came.

Instead, the black beam began spreading around the aegis shield, as though it was eating it alive.

The monitors of every operator in the control room lit up red. Blinking errors. System failures. Critical breaches.

Elias stood up so fast his chair crashed behind him. He pounded away at his console. "No no no no no!"

But nothing worked.

"Shit!"

He slammed both fists into the keyboard, shattering it, then turned and bolted from the control room. His boots pounded down the hallway until he burst out onto the surface platform.

He looked up… and his world collapsed.

The beam had spread like a virus, wrapping the aegis shield in black sickness. And then, in one silent, final moment…

Crack.

The shield shattered like glass.

And from the black veil of destruction, the crimson hulls of the Zorvan fleet burst through.

They didn't hesitate.

Weapons lit up. Cannons charged.

The warriors of the stronghold stood frozen beneath the red glare. The air was heavy.

No one moved.

No one breathed.

All they felt… was despair.

Then came the impact.

A thunderous detonation ripped the stronghold apart. Buildings disintegrated. Platforms crumbled. Screams were silenced under the weight of fire and debris.

In mere seconds, the stronghold was nothing but fractured earth and flickering flames.

And the Zorvan fleet continued forward… heading straight for the Alliance domains.