Timeless Assassin

Chapter 1104: Deployment

(One week later, Mobilization Day)

A week later, it was finally mobilization day, as Veyr, now bearing the new moniker of General Sparrow after his promotion to Supreme Commander of all Cult forces, took to the comm station, his image projected across the screens of every departing ship.

By then, all soldiers had already boarded their respective vessels, and as his figure appeared before them, internal chatter faded instantly, their attention shifting toward him in unison as they listened with complete focus.

"Brave warriors of the Cult... the day you have trained for all your lives is finally here.

Today, we move out of this sanctuary that is the Time Stilled World, and go back into the wider universe which is our place of origin.

Today, we leave our training cove, and return to the real stage where our revenge awaits.

Today, we are butterflies, who finally break free of their cocoon...."

Veyr began, his voice steady and clear as it carried across billions of listeners, each word landing with quiet authority.

"For years, you have prepared for this exact moment, sharpening your bodies, refining your instincts, and waiting for a chance to prove your worth."

He paused briefly, letting the silence settle.

"And finally, that time for preparation is over," he continued, his gaze firm as though he could see every soldier individually. "From this moment onward, it’s time for action!"

A faint smile touched his lips.

"Out there, they will not welcome us. They will resist. They will fight back with everything they have, as they always have."

His tone sharpened slightly.

"And that is exactly what we want."

The soldiers listened without a sound.

"Because victory won’t taste sweet anymore, unless it’s snatched from the throats of those who detest us..."

Sparrow’s eyes gleamed faintly.

"For many millenia, they were the hunters and we were the prey.

For many centuries, we lost and lost and lost and they won.

For many generations, we suffered and suffered, while they celebrated.....

However, no more.

We suffer no more.

We are prey no more.

...today, we become the hunters.

And tomorrow, victory will be our bitch!"

The transmission ended there, as across the fleet, a quiet surge of energy passed through the ranks, as men and women cheered for Veyr’s speech as though they could feel it in their bones.

They were all hyped for this war, and Veyr’s speech only pushed that excitement to the maximum.

—-----------

Within moments, the final command was given, as one by one, the massive warships began to move.

At the heart of the formation stood five colossal Command ships, each one resembling a floating island in the void, their vast structures layered with defensive enchantments and reinforced plating that shimmered faintly under ambient starlight.

Their role was to be the anchor point of the offensive, as they housed all the critical communication equipment, supplies, complex engineering materials and future materials necessary to secure defeated planets such as planetary shields and surface to air defence materials.

They could each house tens of millions of soldiers comfortably, their interiors functioning as complete mobile strongholds capable of sustaining prolonged campaigns without external support.

While surrounding them were the destroyer-class frigates, ten thousand in number, forming the backbone of the fleet.

During the previous Cult campaign, these destroyers were all embedded with a single-use protective charm designed by Supreme Master Argo that gave them protection against one enemy hit.

However, now, with nearly a century passing within the Stilled World since the last campaign, the Cult engineers took Master Argo’s design as the inspiration, and created a sequential defence mechanism, where a ship could withstand up to ten hits due to how the single use charms were deployed one after another, as they improved the lifespan of each destroyer significantly.

They were the main strike force of the operation, and they housed anywhere between two hundred thousand to one million soldiers each.

Beyond them, the agile strike fleet spread outward in layered formations, consisting of smaller, faster frigates and flanker ships designed to penetrate enemy defenses and establish initial footholds during planetary assaults.

They flanked the destroyers and weaved between the larger ships with practiced ease as they maintained their assigned positions without deviation.

While finally, interwoven among the primary vessels were specialized support units, that were specially designed with only one objective in mind.

Amongst this unit, there were five planetary shield breakers, ten comms jammers, two environmental control ships, and approximately two thousand suicide vessels.

As together, this formed the Cult’s advance force.

A massive, disciplined army numbering in the billions, moving as a single entity through the void, their formation so precise that even from afar, one could see the discipline etched into their movement.

At the forefront, General Sparrow’s command ship advanced steadily, its massive frame cutting through space as it led the way to planet Satoru, which was their first target.

In a way, it felt like an overkill to lead a 2 billion strong army with such advanced ships to take over a planet with barely 400 million defenders, and yet, this was exactly what Sparrow wanted since he wanted the first attack to be a statement of intent rather than a tactical execution.

"The first attack needs to be perfectly executed.....

Planet Satoru is an important transit hub for the Yu Clan, and yet, not just them, but the entire universe needs to be put on notice that the Cult is back, and they’re more ruthless than ever before...."

Sparrow muttered, as he let out a deep sigh and looked at the glowing screen below him.

[Expected Arrival Time To Destination: 3 hours 15 minutes.]

"Leo has entrusted this fight to me.

If he were here, he could have led the army straight to the heart of planet Satoru through his dimensional tunnel, and yet, he has not taken that path.

He wants the army to feel independent.

He wants them to feel as though they can do this even without him leading at the front.

And so, this victory needs to be traditional.

A morale booster for all future wars to come....."

He analyzed, as he clenched his fists and stared at the clock.... As though staring would help it tick down faster.