As the carnage continued, and the Drones worked to eliminate all of the energy beings that they could, the barrier around the planet began to falter as well.
At first, the only thing they could see was the shimmering reds and purples of the barrier, looking very much like a condensed nebula surrounding the planet, but now they could see through it to the moon and even some of the brightest stars in the sky.
Whatever effect had stabilized their attack here, it was faltering.
That was when the first reinforcements arrived to help Max and his people on the planet. Not the allies that the locals had hoped for, but allies nonetheless.
An entire Arisen Cube appeared suddenly on the surface of the world, and millions of War Walkers appeared all over the world, attacking every group of the enemy that they could find.
In the minds of the Arisen, these were the servants of the Great Evil but not the Great Enemy, which seemed to be a separate being or group of beings. The two groups were allied, and they were doing their best to eliminate them all, but the entire situation was a mess.
None of the species actually got along, so their alliance was very shaky, and the local residents immediately fled their defensive positions to hide in bunkers when the War Walkers appeared.
The War Walkers were working well with the Drone Fighters, which only made the locals even more suspicious of the humans' intentions, but neither side was attacking civilians, so Max had some hope that they would understand once the battle was over.
A line of smoke appeared on the horizon to Max's east, a crude method of propulsion that no War Walker would ever emit, so Max brought the unit to attention in preparation for an attack.
Over the horizon came a line of profane vehicles covered in skulls, mangled bodies and blood. Each of the desecrated tanks had Warriors hanging off every part of it as it raced across the rugged terrain, firing wildly in his direction as they approached.
A mortar shell exploded to his left, covering Max in mud and grass. The Thunder Guns aiming gears whirred as the three massive barrels adjusted, and then Max fired a single high explosive round toward the tank, punching a hole through the hull and sending corpses and chunks of nearly molten armour flying in all directions.
A minor adjustment and a second tank exploded, then a third. More tanks came over the horizon, accompanied by personnel carriers, and the bombardment of the human emplacement began in earnest.
Max could sense the desperation in the insane minds of the Warriors coming to his mind, fleeing from the advance of the War Walkers, an enemy that they had feared for all of their long lives.
They had good reason to fear, as Max could see the telltale green glow of Arisen energy weapons approaching in the distance as the stragglers were destroyed.
[All units, take a knee and keep firing. Limit your exposed surface area as the enemy approaches.] Max ordered.
They hadn't bothered to dig trenches, though they really should have. But at the moment, it no longer mattered. The Warriors were trapped between him and the Arisen with nowhere to go and nowhere near enough firepower to break free.
The light Mass Drivers were tearing apart the front lines of tracked armour while the infantry was jumping off to set up emplacements for what was looking like their last stand.
The missiles and energy blasts from their heavy weapons streaked through the air alongside the artillery of their tanks, only to be met with a furious counterattack by the Mecha, lighting up the lines with Ion Cannons and the explosions of Mass Driver shells.
Outside the Mecha's sound-deadened enclosure, the sound was deafening, reaching over two hundred decibels, with sonic booms shaking the ground all around the Mecha.
A regular human would have no chance of surviving this battlefield. The impact of the air displacement alone would be enough to shatter bones and collapse their lungs. But there were no regular humans on this battlefield, and the mutated horde of Warriors charged forward to their deaths, heedless of the fury that awaited them.
Max raised his sword to salute an ornately decorated warrior who was charging with a two-handed axe raised high over his head and then obliterated the Warrior with his Mass Driver.
Some might call it wasteful, but for an enemy champion, an indirect hit would just be a shameful death.
Max noticed that Nico's Mecha was firing into the enemy at its usual measured pace, but Nico herself was not yet awake. She had just programmed her subconscious reactions to deal with attackers and intruders, while her conscious mind thought that she was having a pleasant dream of genocide.
[Nico, it's time to wake up. You're sleeping through the battle.] Max mentally nudged her.
[Battle, what, where? Oh here. Battle! Thanks Max.]
Max shook his head at her newfound enthusiasm for the day and returned to the systemic annihilation of the enemy lines.
Their advance had stalled, blocked by destroyed vehicles that the infantry were using as cover, and the War Walkers of the Arisen Army were coming up quickly behind them, having already destroyed the rearguard.
[Cease fire while the infestation is purged.] A robotic voice announced over all of the Mecha's programmed frequencies.
That had to be the Arisen Commander.
[You heard the Arisen. Hold your fire unless the enemy charges us. Let them clear the last ranks of survivors.] Max ordered while Nico pouted.
She had only just woken up, and now the fight was over with only a pleasant dream to show for it.
The War Walkers weren't wasting time. They were jogging past the Warriors with pulses of green energy flying everywhere, scouring the surface of life and even double-tapping body parts that had been severed by the Mecha's artillery.
[Thorough job, I approve. Nico reluctantly congratulated the Arisen, knowing from their broadcast that they were likely listening in on her frequency.]
There was no immediate response, but once they reached the front lines of the offensive, the Arisen split around the Mecha formation and kept moving with one last message.
[We appreciate your cooperation.]
