Infinite Wealth System: Crazy Tasks, Insane Rewards!-Chapter 225: Real Sovereign War (V)

The battlefield around Dominion City had finally begun to quiet, but it was not the calm of peace, only the exhausted pause that followed violence too intense for the body to immediately comprehend. Burnt metal littered the ground in twisted piles, shattered mech suits still crackling faintly with dying energy cores, and the air smelled of scorched alloy and ozone so thick it sat heavy in the lungs.

Harper stood among her men, her armor stained and scratched, issuing firm, controlled orders as the final remnants of the Sovereign Protocol soldiers were hunted down and neutralized, one after another, with no mercy left to give.

"Secure the perimeter first," she said, her voice steady despite the chaos that had just passed. "Confirm every cockpit. If it twitches, you finish it. We don’t leave any chance for regrouping."

"Yes, Commander!"

Her soldiers answered in unison, spreading out across the wreckage with practiced efficiency, rifles raised and sensors scanning, the adrenaline still burning through their systems.

Paula followed a few steps behind Harper, her face pale beneath the glow of emergency lights reflecting off broken hulls, her eyes lingering on every destroyed mech suit as if she were looking at the shattered remains of her own hopes and fears at once. Each ruined machine felt personal to her, a reminder that what she had built to protect the world could just as easily be torn apart by something far more advanced, far more ruthless.

They were just approaching one particular crashed aircraft, larger than the others, its hull scorched black but strangely intact, when a sharp whine of engines echoed above them. Several soldiers instinctively raised their weapons, forming a defensive arc as one of the unfamiliar helping aircraft descended from the sky with deliberate slowness, landing not far from them in a controlled burst of compressed air.

The hatch slid open with a clean hiss, and out stepped a woman who looked completely out of place on a battlefield soaked in fire and blood.

She was tall, poised, and calm, dressed in a fitted white tech suit that gleamed faintly even in the dim smoke-filled light, its surface traced with subtle silver lines that pulsed softly like a living circuit. Her long hair fell neatly behind her shoulders, untouched by ash, and her expression carried a composed confidence that immediately put everyone on edge.

"Hold your position," Harper said sharply, lifting her hand.

Weapons snapped into aim instantly, dozens of barrels locking onto the woman as she took a single step forward.

"Another step and you don’t walk away," Harper warned, her tone cold and final.

The woman stopped without hesitation, raised both hands slowly, and then, to everyone’s surprise, smiled.

"Fair," she said calmly. "I’d do the same."

Harper studied her closely, every instinct screaming caution. This woman did not look like a civilian, nor like a panicked survivor. She looked like someone who knew exactly where she was and why she had come.

"My name is Esta," the woman said, her voice carrying clearly through the tense silence. "Daughter of the brother to the Grandmaster of Nexus."

A ripple of shock ran through the soldiers, and Paula’s breath caught sharply in her throat. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"Nexus?" one of the men muttered under his breath.

Harper’s eyes hardened immediately. "That’s far enough," she said. "You say one more word wrong and this ends badly for you."

Esta nodded slowly, completely unfazed. "I understand why you’d think I’m your enemy," she continued, her voice steady and sincere. "But I’m not. Those aircrafts fighting in your skies right now, the ones pushing back the Sovereign Protocols, they’re mine. Built in secret. Deployed with the help of my boyfriend... Royce."

Harper glanced sideways at Paula, then back at Esta, her expression openly skeptical. "You expect me to believe that someone from Nexus just woke up one day and decided to save Earth out of goodwill?"

"I expect you to believe what your eyes are already seeing," Esta replied gently. "If we were your enemies, your city would already be ash."

Paula swallowed and stepped closer to Harper, her voice low. "She’s not lying about the aircrafts," she said quietly. "The designs don’t match Sovereign Protocol tech. They’re... different."

Esta nodded at her appreciatively. "You have a good eye," she said. Then her gaze shifted to the large crashed aircraft Harper and her men had been approaching earlier. "I came because of that one."

Harper turned fully toward her. "What about it?"

"That aircraft is not like the others," Esta said, her tone growing serious. "The man inside it is not just another commander. He is the leader of this unforgiving army. Prince Kael."

Harper scoffed instinctively. "We’ve dealt with leaders before. He bleeds like the rest."

Esta shook her head slowly. "Without my help," she said evenly, "you can’t kill him."

Harper opened her mouth to respond, irritation flaring, when Charlotte’s voice suddenly rang sharply through her comms, strained and urgent.

"Harper," Charlotte said, barely keeping control. "The Sovereign Protocol army in New Winston is gaining the upper hand. Cloudbridge City is almost completely destroyed and... and Jayden. He’s there."

The world seemed to tilt beneath Harper’s feet.

"Jayden?" she repeated, her heart slamming violently against her chest.

"Yes," Charlotte confirmed. "He’s in Cloudbridge City."

Without another word, Harper turned sharply, already preparing to leave, her mind racing with only one thought, getting to him before it was too late.

But Esta moved quickly, stepping into her path.

"Don’t worry, Miss Harper," she said firmly. "We’re handling this. Mister President will be fine."

Harper stopped, her eyes blazing. "Move," she said dangerously.

Instead, Esta raised her wrist and activated a glowing interface, her fingers moving with practiced speed. "Five hundred units," she said into the open channel, her voice suddenly carrying authority. "Redirect immediately to Cloudbridge City, New Winston."

High above, dozens upon dozens of aircraft broke formation at once, pivoting sharply as they surged across the sky.

"The President is there," Esta continued, her tone unwavering. "Protect him with your life."

Royce’s voice crackled into the channel almost instantly. "I’m going with them," he said without hesitation.

Esta hesitated only for a fraction of a second, then nodded. "Go," she said. "I’ll handle things here."

The call ended, and the battlefield fell quiet again, the distant roar of engines fading into the clouds.

Even then, Harper did not relax. Her fists clenched at her sides, her jaw tight with restrained fury. "You expect me to just stand here and trust you?" she demanded.

"I expect you to trust results," Esta replied calmly.

Harper shook her head and took a step forward again, determined to leave, when suddenly a violent burst of energy exploded outward from the crashed aircraft behind them.

The shockwave slammed into everyone like a physical wall, sending Harper, Paula, and several soldiers flying backward across the ground. Pain flared through Harper’s body as she rolled hard and skidded to a stop, her armor scraping against debris.

She pushed herself up just in time to see the wreckage of the aircraft tear itself open from the inside.

A figure stepped out slowly, surrounded by crackling energy, his presence alone pressing down on the air like a suffocating weight.

When Harper’s gaze locked onto his face, her blood ran cold.

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Prince Kael???"