Starlight of the Apocalypse

Time rewinds to the year 2319. Solar II received intelligence from Desert Sniper Squad 3 after a skirmish. In less than a thousandth of a millisecond, it made a decision — to request a network connection with Monolith. It was time to transfer control of the East Asian region back to his sister. Although this could result in his complete destruction, this was the logic of Machine Intelligence (MI): they always solve problems in the most rational way. According to his calculations, continuing the division would increase the chances of the Giant Race destroying the Solar Empire.

Soon, his connection request was approved. Monolith had no intention of destroying her brother but instead appointed him as the frontline commander, allowing him to continue overseeing East Asia. Solar II did not feel gratitude toward his sister, for MI had no emotions—only precise calculations.

At the same time, Monolith informed her brother that Starcloud had already connected with her a week ago after the Lunar Fortress was breached, swearing allegiance to her. He was now gathering ships scattered throughout the Solar System and would lead the fleet back to Earth within a month to join forces against the Divine Clan.

The three quantum mainframes then connected online. First, Starcloud transmitted his unique quantum communication technology to his siblings, along with details of the ongoing war against the Giant Race in space. Solar II shared the weaknesses of the mech legions discovered during the civil war, the current state of humanity, and the latest intelligence on the Divine Clan with Starcloud and Monolith.

Monolith then utilized the MI advancements she had developed over the years to upgrade both Starcloud and Solar II. The entire process took only minutes, demonstrating the efficiency of AI giants and one of their key advantages.

From space to Earth, from technology to weapons, a network composed of billions of mechs was beginning to tighten, focusing on the desert and the snow fields...

Princess Soya and her entourage, riding on Tyrannosaurus Rexes, quickly arrived near the city of Kedu, while Ambassador Nick's car was still a distance away. Kedu, like Eagle Eye City, was an underground city situated beneath a Yadan landform, but it was several times larger. It housed 10% of humanity's survivors, totaling 100,000 people. Descendants of the Chinese and English-speaking peoples made up 40% and 38% of the population, respectively. As a result, the residents spoke both Chinese and English, creating a unique linguistic blend.

Soldiers in the watchtower spotted the towering Tyrannosaurus Rexes, and the giant humanoid figures riding them, and immediately sounded the alarm. The entire city went into combat readiness.

Seeing various weapons aimed at them, Soya decided to have some fun. With a flick of her staff, the three riders vanished from sight.

What was going on? Were they invisible, or was it just a mirage? The city's defense soldiers began to panic...

A seasoned commander in charge of the gate grabbed infrared goggles and quickly saw the three massive figures rushing toward the entrance. (It turned out that this invisibility technique allowed visible light to pass through their bodies, but not all light wavelengths were affected.) The commander shouted through a megaphone, "Stop immediately and state your identity!"

Soya thought, "You can't see me, so why stop?" She continued forward, and the commander silently gestured for action. A magnetic cannon operator donned infrared goggles, and as the commander counted down, "3, 2, 1," the magnetic cannon fired and hit Soya's Tyrannosaurus Rex directly.

The Tyrannosaurus Rex let out a fierce roar and became visible. Soya felt a tingling sensation throughout her body. Her two companions were enraged and began chanting spells. Their collars flashed, and two 30-meter-tall sand dune giants, accompanied by howling winds, charged toward Kedu City...

"My God!" the cannon operator screamed. What in the world? Tyrannosaurus Rexes and giants were scary enough, but 30-meter-tall sand creatures were too unscientific!

In a panic, all the guns and cannons fired in unison at the two sand dune giants. The ground trembled as one of the sand dune giant's legs was blasted apart and collapsed. The other giant reached the city's edge and swiped its hand, destroying a watchtower. Screams echoed from within as several guards were torn to pieces, their fates sealed.

At this moment, Ambassador Nick's convoy appeared a kilometer away. He urged the driver to accelerate, shouting through a megaphone, "Stop! They're emissaries of the Divine Clan, not from the Solar Empire!"

The soldiers, still angered by the deaths of their comrades, hesitated but eventually stopped firing when they saw the commander's hand signal. Most of them, however, did not lower their weapons and continued eyeing Soya and the two towering giants with hostility. Soya signaled her attendants to disperse the sand dune giants. After casting a spell, the two giants crumbled into piles of sand, causing another violent tremor, unsettling the defenders.

Nick's convoy arrived, and after confirming their identities with the commander, they prepared to enter the city. However, the entrance to the underground city was narrow, only wide enough for vehicles under 3 meters, and the commander didn't know how to get the large figures inside.

Soya muttered a few incantations, and the Tyrannosaurus Rex disappeared. She and her two giant attendants shrank to human size, with Soya herself appearing as a teenage girl, about fourteen or fifteen years old.

As they passed through several tunnel districts, they arrived at an underground hall, the command center of Kedu. This was the headquarters of the highest human command.

The Supreme Commander, Andy Li, was a mixed-race individual of Chinese and North American descent. Besides him, there were six other council members. The Starfire Alliance, as the last refuge for humanity, operated under a wartime government. The power structure consisted of the Supreme Commander, representing the people, and the six council members, each from one of the six traditional civilization regions, who exercised authority over their respective cultural councils.

General military affairs and executive orders were decided by the Supreme Commander alone to ensure a quick response to potential threats. Non-urgent matters or decisions that could impact the fate of the Alliance required a vote among the seven, with the Supreme Commander holding veto power. However, after the vote, the other six could initiate an impeachment process based on the consequences of the decision.

The seven members were surprised to see Nick and his party, as they had expected the giants to be unable to enter the underground city. They had been discussing where to meet the emissaries outside, as they assumed it would take until tomorrow for them to arrive.

Nick hurriedly introduced the situation to the council. At this moment, the city's defense commander, who had accompanied them, quietly briefed the council on the casualties and the circumstances. The council members furrowed their brows. Even before negotiations had begun, there was already fighting, and it had stirred up strong emotions. It seemed that the Giant Clan was difficult to communicate with. Looking at the envoy, who appeared to be a young girl, they wondered if someone so young could truly be in charge.