First Light of a New Age

Chapter 115: Battle in Aquarius

Moments before the battle in the Dark Gathering…

The bustling streets of Aquarius, the largest city in the Third Civilization Zone, hummed with the rhythm of daily life. Merchants rolled by in ornate carriages, and city guards patrolled the cobblestone roads with practiced vigilance. All seemed going well, until a few citizens near the sea spotted ominous shapes on the distant horizon.

At first, the crowds were confused. But as the black silhouettes were closer, growing steadily larger, curiosity turned to shock, then dread, as the shapes resolved into an advancing fleet.

Before the city could respond, every single ship proceeded to attack the city in full force.

BOOM!

…And their first target was blowing two towering structures, symbols of Aquarius' pride, crumbled into a heap of fire and rubble. This first shot caused all of the citizens to panic as they were screaming in fear and ran away from the chaos as best as they could.

The city's defenders scrambled to mobilize as an army of 5000 defending forces were sent to the field, but the forces stationed there were once 100,000 strong as a fraction of their former strength due to the ongoing war against the Orcs and the Iron Kingdom, and now we're hopelessly outnumbered.

Right at that moment, dozens of fast-moving planes suddenly came flying out of the massive ship in the center of the fleet.

These were the MF-32 “Condor” multirole fighters jets, and when they reached the city, they dropped bombs that unleashed fiery devastation, leveling entire districts with the force of 750 tons of TNT per blast. Buildings collapsed, flames consumed the skyline, and hundreds perished in the chaos.

Joining the Condors were the supersonic F-12 "Phoenix" jet fighters that flew through the city skyline at the speed of mach 3 before they began bombing runs, pulverizing what little resistance remained.

[All troops, prepare for ground operations.]

From the warships, hundreds of amphibious vehicles armed with Orichalcum armor and advanced magical weaponry rushed toward the shore.

In the sky, multiple MF-32 “Condor” multirole fighters flew above the city once more, and their belly opened, but instead of bombs dropping, each multirole fighter dropped dozens of soldiers wearing parachutes as they dive towards the city.

The Liberation soldiers pulled the cord of their parachutes and started to safely descend towards the city.

On the streets of the city, thousands of soldiers along with a couple of tanks and other machines of war were roaming the city to proceed to occupied every single space.

The massive force of the Austronesian Empire started marching down the streets while most Tanks, APCs, IFVs, and other infantry vehicles began mowing down anything in their path from civilians, guards, and mages alike.

The city's defenders, mages and warriors alike, mustered their remaining strength. Magical shields flickered to life, and enchanted arrows soared toward the enemy. Some unleashed devastating spells, leveling sections of the battlefield, many invaders avoided it with the help of their mithril armor, but unfortunately for most of the soldiers only wielding conventional weapons and gear were vaporized to smithereens.

Just then, four AH-72 "Heaven’s Punch" heavy attack helicopters rained missiles upon any who dared to resist, reducing buildings to ash and scattering the defenders.

A squad of soldiers in mithril armor leaped out of their cover and raced towards the enemy lines before firing at them by maneuvering around, running through obstacles with ease and shooting them with arcane shotguns. Their strongest magical barrier that could only easily breach by magical attacks were taken down by these soldiers whose shotguns had shells that create an AOE fire effect.