The unexpected situation threw everyone off guard.
Varian looked at the silver tunnel, the only entrance into the Mirage Abyss, and sighed.
It's the Abyss Will that attacked them when they tried to enter. Even though Boo was in stealth and despite Enigma providing cover, the Abyss Will still found them
out and trapped them in an illusion.
"We're left with no choice," Varian sighed deeply.
Enigma nodded. Her face behind the mask had a grim expression. This new change wouldn't just stop Varian, but also her from sneaking in.
Since they couldn't use CTF either, they lost their original advantages against the Abyssals.
"This is good as well," Bali suddenly said.
Varian and Enigma looked at him in confusion.
"Abyssals were forced to expose this trump card," Bali rubbed his chin. "Say there comes a time when the army invades the Abysses, how disastrous would it be if the entrance suddenly changes? Some of our forces would be trapped inside and some would remain outside."
Even though they didn't like the current situation one bit, Varian and Enigma had to admit that the imaginary situation was worse.
"Still, I think there should be a way in," Varian shook his head. "If there isn't, we must find one."
"We can think after we settle the current situation." Bali's words snapped Varian out of his thoughts.
Mirage Queen had already rushed to the planetoids. So, Bali soaked in a healing tub and instructed the army on the planetoids through his comm.
Enigma, on the other hand, used her powers to teleport the Ghost Ship that was already moving at full speed.
Even though they started a bit late than Mirage Queen, Ghost Ship was faster than any other ship in the solar system.
However, they needed to reach the planetoids as soon as possible. The earlier they did, the better their chances.
So, Enigma poured everything into it. Sweat poured down her forehead and her chest heaved up and down.
A searing pain coursed through her body and numbness spread from her head to toe.
After taking them through another long-distance teleportation, Enigma fainted.
Varian caught her through telekinetic power and placed her on a healing bed. He covered her with a blanket and looked at Bali who was busy recovering.
He could've asked Bali to do this, but as the weaker party, Bali had to conserve every bit of his strength for the upcoming battle.
Moreover, Bali had another task he would need space powers for.
So, without another word, Varian moved Enigma to her room and took off her mask. Seeing her pale face and exhausted expression, he felt guilty.
'I need to make up for her in the future,' Varian sighed and cleaned her sweaty face with his water powers and muttered in a sincere tone. "Thanks."
Enigma's eyelashes fluttered at his words, but she remained unconscious.
But compared to the exhausted expression from earlier, she now had a peaceful expression and seemed to be dreaming a nice dream.
Varian smiled and was about to head out of the room when a familiar voice called him out.
"V-Varian, why is my body aching so much?"
It was Sia.
"Well..."
A few minutes later, Ghost Ship reached the planetoids.
Thanks to Ghost Ship's high speed and Enigma's relentless efforts, they had almost fifteen minutes before Mirage Queen arrived.
Varian knocked on Bali's room.
"15 minutes. Do as much as you can."
— — —
While it seemed like a lot of time had passed, the earth-shattering events all happened in a single day.
Eight hours ago, Mirage Queen attacked the first planetoid.
Seven hours ago, Mirage Queen was confronted by the fifty level 9s of Mars.
Three hours ago, Mirage Queen was confronted by Bali.
One hour ago, Mirage Queen ended the battle and returned to Mirage Abyss.
So, despite having around thirty level 9s more than humans, Abyssals weren't able to do much in the planetoids other than taking care of the aftermath.
After all, it hadn't even been one-third of a day since they gained the huge edge in level 9 numbers.
So, all the level 9 Abyssals on the planetoids focused on the aftermath in hopes of moving onto the next stage fast—Conquering the remaining planetoids!
The planetoids under these Abyssals worked at 150% efficiency as they quickly dealt with everything they should.
Lonxu was one such planetoid whose human commander was killed by Mirage Queen.
Now unanimously ruled by a high level 9 Telekinetic Abyssal, all the Abyssals on the planetoid were immersed in completely conquering the planetoid.
For this, they were doing the arduous task of neutralizing the traps left in human bases.
Since the advent of aura, explosives—either chemical or nuclear—had lost much of their power.
So, Humans used a mix of technology and aura for the meticulous traps.
Fatal poisons, illusion formations, aura explosions, nukes, and more.
"The traps in the final base are cleared." A level 8 Abyssal knelt in a room and reported the situation.
Sitting on a chair made from the bones of her arch-enemy, Lonxu's planetoid commander smiled.
The informant gulped as he felt a chill down his spine. He would never forget how much this woman humiliated her opponent's corpse.
Even the other Abyssals who were doing the same felt repulsed.
"If it's a bit late, the heads of the planning committee would fly," The base commander said in a charming voice.
The informant shuddered and bent his body even more. This crazy woman meant what she said.
And worse, he was one of the members of the planning committee.
'Thankfully, I sacrificed a few hundred lives to speed up the process.'
"What is the situation of the neighboring planetoids?" The commander asked.
They had already received the instructions. Once stabilizing the conquered planetoid was over, they were to send immediate assistance to the nearby planetoids.
With reinforcements, the Abyssal armies on each planetoid would be able to break the stalemate and conquer the planetoids one by one.
Of course, as the commander, she had to go to the planetoids and fight off the human level 9s.
It's going to be a long process and would end with many deaths. But end it would and in their victory.
"The human army on the five neighboring planetoids has fortified their defenses and started laying many traps. They're preparing for a suicide battle." The informant said.
"Ho? It seems humans learned a thing or two about courage from us," The commander chuckled and floated out of her base and into the clouds.
She gazed in the direction of the planetoid and licked her lips. "I want to see the despair on your faces."
The Abyssal's body shivered in pleasure as she imagined stepping on the corpses. "Yes~ Yes!"
She charged herself with telekinetic power and prepared to take off. "Here I come~"
The air around her stilled and she was about to rush out at supersonic speed when an arrogant voice sounded from above the clouds.
"You aren't going anywhere, bitch!"
The sky split and a giant black rupture swallowed everything.
Her base and its tens of thousands of soldiers were instantly cut into pieces. Neither level 7s nor level 8s could stay alive for more than ten seconds.
As for her, the merciless space blades skinned her alive and cut her flesh into a million pieces.
What was once a beautiful but merciless woman was now only a bag of bones carrying some flesh.
"Why…I…want to…kill…trample!"
The Abyssal forcibly moved her half-dead body and looked at the man who was looking down at her with indifference.
Sensing her gaze, his eyes narrowed and the space around her exploded.
"Y-You Human Sov…"
That was the last thing the Abyssal muttered before her body was ripped to shreds.
Bali's space sense swept through the base and realized that some Abyssals that were away from the attack were still alive.
His target was only level 9 and he killed the strong 8s that he could.
But he didn't have much spare time. Mirage Queen was on the way. And traveling between the planetoids took significant time.
Not all planetoids had teleportation formations and even if this one did, the Abyssals would've already destroyed it. So, he had to travel using his own space powers.
'I need to hurry!'
Before he left, Bali pointed his ten fingers into the sky and shot out ten small fireballs.
These fireballs grew into the size of a mountain and in a flash, bombarded ten bases.
Except for a few strong level 8s and the ones at the edge of the base, the rest of the Abyssals were burnt to ashes.
And the man responsible for their deaths was already on his way to the next planetoid.
