Interstellar Age-Chapter 403 Operational Success

?Erich and Mirage gazed in abject horror as they witnessed the part of the hive world which was responsible for birthing new Naraku Queens. The exceptionally large larvae were all being fed by working drones, cannibalizing those Naraku who had grown too old to properly provide for the hive, and in doing so rapidly maturing.

The amount of Naraku Queens being hatched in this one world was enough to invade several galaxies at the same time. And there were dozens of so called "Hive Worlds" currently discovered within the Andromeda Galaxy alone.

It was truly a disgusting and terrifying sight. Erich stumbled over his words as he asked Tia for an exact report on how far away the soldiers were away from their target.

"Tia... Exactly how much further do the soldiers have to delve to detonate the bomb?"

Tia was also watching the report, though her voice was far more emotionless as she responded to her master.

"They have already arrived at a location that will deal with the necessary amount of damage to thoroughly destroy the planet and all life on it. From the looks of things, the reason our drones stopped reporting after they reached this area is because the hive queen larvae ran into them by accident and devoured them.

They are at such a nascent stage of development that they have no connection to the hive mind, nor an understanding of what they devoured. So... I guess we should consider ourselves lucky."

Somehow, this observation was not comforting, and Erich was quick to ask Tia the next question on his mind.

"Tia, is it possible to communicate with them and get them to detonate the bomb now?"

Tia immediately responded with an anxious tone in her voice.

"It is possible. After all, I have built subspace relays within the void between galaxies to effectively communicate and maintain control over all drones in the area. But if the Naraku have the means to listen into our comms, it might alert them. They will quite literally have three seconds to detonate the device before they are devoured, if that were to happen."

Erich was just about to take this gamble. When he saw something peculiar on the holographic display, the man with the bomb quickly unhooked it from his back and placed it on the ground, seemingly having come to the same conclusion as Erich and Tia. He then threw up a salute after arming the explosive, as did all the other soldiers with him. Making one last proclamation before committing suicide.

"For the Empire!"

*boom*

There was a bright flash and then nothing at all. Erich and Mirage gazed at the black screen, which was only seconds later transferred to the perspective of a nearby reconnaissance probe with was monitoring the situation.

The Hive World had quite literally self destructed, almost as if it were a star that had gone supernova. It blew up into miniscule chunks of rocks, which were blasted in all directions. Any life that had existed in the world was consumed by the explosion in a single second and destroyed along with the planet.

Planetary Annihilation was a method that was rarely authorized by Germanic High Command and was only ever done so if the world simply could not be reclaimed. After all, destroying a planet would also destroy all of its natural resources, which were extremely valuable.

But this was a world terraformed to act as a giant insect hive, and it housed countless bugs whose sole purpose was to devour and destroy. To put it simply, Planetary Annihilation was the most effective form of dealing with a Naraku Hive World.

When Erich and Mirage realized that the mission was a success, they both hugged each other and kissed in a passionate display. All the while, Tia spoke in the back of Erich's mind.

"The mission was a critical success. A significant blow has been dealt to the Naraku on this day, I estimate that we have bought ourselves another thirty years at the least before the Naraku are capable of replacing what they have lost, let alone invading the Milky Way. Congratulations Master. As we speak, the names of these soldiers are being etched into the annals of history.

When the time comes that we are able to reveal to the public that the Naraku exists outside the galaxy, the sacrifice of these men will come to light. And so long as the Empire remains, their names shall be met with praise. I will make sure of that, Master.

Erich was happy, genuinely happy, that the mission had succeeded. It was an enormous weight off his back, and he would make the most of these men's sacrifice. Thus, he sighed heavily in relief and sat back down at his desk, planning to get some extra work in before tuning out for the night.

"Alright... You know what to do Mirage, continue to monitor the situation in Andromeda. I expect the Naraku are in a state of complete and total disarray at the moment. Meanwhile, I will continue to make the necessary preparations. Today was a great victory, and you should take the night off. I promise to celebrate it with you properly once I am done here."

Mirage saluted Erich with a wide smile on her pretty face as she sang his praises.

"Supreme... I mean Emperor.... What we accomplished here today, what you have done... It makes me proud to serve beneath you..."

After saying this, Mirage left Erich's office, instead opting to get changed into something more comfortable for the date Erich had promised her once he was finished with his work. As for Erich, he sat back and sighed once more. He was tired, very tired.

For three weeks, he had stayed awake and watch this operation unfold. There were so many instances where it nearly went wrong. But in the end, it was a success. And the Naraku would now have to spend the next few decades rebuilding what they had lost.

This was the first victory in many that were to come against the bugs, or so Erich believed. After all, he was now convinced that he would be waging this war for an eternity. And he was perfectly fine in accepting this potential reality.

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