The mont I stepped through the portal, the familiar cold emptiness of space greeted .
The base lay on a floating asteroid, much like the others we had already discovered. A tall black tower rose from its center, surrounded by several angular structures built close together.
Behind the portal continued to glow as the soldiers assigned to the strike force stepped through one after another.
Five hundred warriors assembled quickly across the rocky surface of the asteroid. Demons clad in heavy armor stood alongside Feran tiger warriors and the tall insectoid fighters whose chitin plates glead faintly under the base lights. Their arrival alone carried enough presence to make the air feel dense with power.
The mont the last soldier stepped through the portal, the alarms began.
Sharp tallic sirens echoed across the asteroid as red warning lights flared along the tower and surrounding buildings. Defensive turrets mounted across the base rotated toward our position, and the heavy doors of several structures burst open as figures began rushing outside.
The leading demon commander stepped forward beside . His armor was darker than the others and marked with the sigils of the Demon Monarch's army.
"General," he said, lowering his head slightly toward , "what is your order?"
I did not even look back at him.
"Stay back."
Then I slowly rose into the air.
My body lifted from the ground and drifted upward above the base, stopping high enough that the entire asteroid lay beneath my gaze. Below, the phantoms were already pouring out of the buildings. Dozens beca hundreds within seconds as their distorted forms rushed across the ground toward our position. Deathmist clung to their bodies like dark flas, and several of them had already begun charging attacks.
I watched them calmly.
There was no need to summon my domain fully.
Instead I simply allowed a fraction of it to awaken.
The mont that faint invocation spread from , the entire asteroid trembled.
An invisible pressure rolled outward across the floating rock, passing over the tower, the surrounding structures, and every living thing present on the base. The space around us seed to grow heavier as if reality itself had begun resisting movent.
A slight illusion of the ancient tablet appeared above the asteroid base and that was enough.
I spoke a single word.
"Freeze."
The effect was imdiate.
Every phantom on the asteroid stopped where they stood.
So had been mid-step, their claws raised as they ran forward. Others had been forming attacks or opening their mouths to scream orders. In the instant my command reached them, all motion ceased completely.
Their bodies locked in place like statues carved from black stone.
The abominations on the asteroid paused mid screams and the traitors stopped mid escape.
Behind the army I had brought remained unaffected, but even they felt the force of what had just happened. Several of them shifted slightly as they looked across the frozen battlefield.
The entire base had beco silent.
I looked down at the motionless figures spread across the asteroid.
Then I spoke again.
"Erase."
The word left my mouth quietly, yet its effect spread across the base like a silent wave.
The frozen phantoms did not explode or collapse.
Instead their bodies simply began to crumble.
Starting from their heads and shoulders, their forms turned into fine gray dust that drifted downward through the air before dispersing completely. One after another the frozen figures disintegrated where they stood until the entire asteroid was empty of life, phantoms, abominations and traitors together all gone. I raised my hand and a vortex opened in front of absorbing all the deathmist from the base.
Within seconds nothing remained of them.
The alarms still echoed faintly through the base, but the defenders who had triggered them were gone.
I slowly descended back toward the ground.
When my feet touched the rocky surface again, I noticed that the soldiers behind had not moved. The leading demon commander stood exactly where I had left him, but now his posture carried a clear tension.
Fear and shock.
The sa reaction was visible among the Ferans and insectoids standing behind him. None of them had expected the battle to end before it had even begun.
I looked at the demon commander.
"Take over the base," I said calmly. "Leave your soldiers here and secure the area."
He straightened imdiately.
"Yes, General."
"If anyone cos to attack," I continued, "warn them that this base now belongs to the Order of Absolute."
I glanced briefly toward the tower.
"And setup the communication Primus gave you."
The demon nodded eagerly.
"It will be done."
I turned and began walking toward the portal that still shimred a short distance behind our formation. The soldiers quickly moved aside to clear the path as I approached.
Just before stepping through, I paused.
My head tilted slightly as my eyes moved toward the black tower rising from the asteroid.
I could feel the faint field woven through the structure. It was subtle but distinct, a barrier that prevented the System from intervening within this location.
I had no intention of destroying the core that powered it. Leaving it intact would only help us maintain control of the base without outside interference.
After a mont I looked away from the tower and stepped into the portal.
The light swallowed my figure instantly, and in the next mont I was back on Abor.
The teleportation hub remained crowded with activity, soldiers moving between portals while commanders coordinated the growing operation. The mont I stepped out of the circle, a Feran from the tiger tribe who had been standing nearby straightened sharply.
"Am I the first?" I asked.
He nodded imdiately. "Yes, sir. You are the first."
"Good," I said with a small smile. "Cross the one I just ca back from off the list. It's done."
The Feran nodded hurriedly and turned to the large slate he was holding, marking sothing down with quick strokes.
Behind him another group of five hundred warriors already stood assembled, a mixture of demons, Ferans, and insectoids waiting in disciplined silence for their turn to move.
I glanced at them once.
"Let's go."
The portal flared again, and in the next instant we were gone, moving toward the next base.
The assault unfolded across the galaxy with relentless speed. While I moved from one location to another, the others were doing the sa. My summons, Steve, North, General Kharzun, Commander Saleos, and the other transcendants who had arrived with them all spread across the network of portals. Each team struck a base, cleared it out, and left soldiers behind to secure the position before moving on to the next target.
One by one the strongholds of Hollow Star fell.
The strategy was simple, but its execution was devastating. Before the enemy could fully understand what was happening, their hidden network was already being dismantled piece by piece. Our forces moved like a sweeping tide through the portal system, replacing their presence with ours.
By the ti the first wave of assaults ended, the galaxy had already begun to change.
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