Chapter 5 - Breaking Through Time

SHOOOOOOOM--

A portal whirls to life above the ocean. 

I don't trust my instincts.. But.. This new body is extremely powerful. Aegis-II managed to swap my human body for a more powerful one.

I managed to hover above the water without much effort. It felt easy. 'He told me this body used to belong to a guy named Atlas? It feels amazing.' 

Shuddering, I recalled. He'd be here too. 

I had to be extremely careful about encountering him… Atlas.. the one War Machine with the power of a King. Even as the war progressed, Atlas still remained the strongest.

He'll suspect me at first sight. 

[ Connor, can you read? ] I heard a voice inside my head. [ This is Aegis-II speaking. I've connected you with the infrastructure of the past. You should be able to read their internet. ]

A few billion words flew into my head. I read them in seconds. 'Is this how a war machine thinks?.. This is crazy.. I could read it so fast..' Only two seconds to read all of Earth's useful information.

[ Right now Earth should be in its most dire moment, but DO NOT intercept. If you encounter Atlas now, he'll be incredibly shocked. It's possible that God will discover you through this encounter. ]

[ Got it. I'll lay low for now. ]

I agreed with Aegis-II. Although I couldn't understand it, there was a universal power blocking time travel. I'd suffer a fate worse than death if it discovers me.

There's only one mission I need to remember. Stop the mages from sacrificing any divine dragons- at all costs.

…

.

A legion of humvees hit the brakes.

"SPREAD OUT! SUPPRESS FIRE TOWARDS THE HILL!"

Though incredibly weak, the U.S. soldiers fought bravely. Count Fulmar watched the little ants fight pointlessly for their lives. 

'Insignificant..' He sighed. 'Did my soldiers ever need to try so hard? It's a different level of talent.' Within three minutes, over a hundred marines were overwhelmed by the magic forces.

[ Battle losses: 128 enemy soldiers (marines), 18 casualties. ]

Three of Count Fulmar's casualties were 3-star mages. It seemed that the soldiers were capable of doing something, at least. They tried to kill the strong ones before losing their lives.

'But tier 3 mages are rather weak.'

With their small guns and combined fire, the marines couldn't compete with high-tier mages, or even mid-tier mages. They only managed to kill 3 low-tier mages, and 15 foot soldiers.

"Count Fulmar."

A knight approached the Count. He kneeled in front of Count Fulmar, who overlooked the battlefield from a high mountain.

"I have apprehended one of their generals."

The knight pushed a soldier forward, who refused to kneel. "Get down on your knees! You are standing before his excellence, the Count Fulmar!" General Coleman scoffed.

"Hah. Nice to see you, your majesty-" 

He suddenly shouted in pain, because his right knee exploded from behind. Still, he stood on the left. Count Fulmar's knight kicked his left leg off the ground. The general rolled over and was pinned by the knight.

'He's grinning..?!'

Even Count Fulmar couldn't keep a straight face. The knight broke Coleman's left leg as punishment.

"You have a valuable dignity."

"Haha..." The general couldn't keep his pain off his face, but he still grinned nonetheless.

"Do you know how blasphemous you are to call a noble, royalty?" Count Fulmar drew his sword, which only deepened the general's grin.

"Noble, royal, commoner, they're all the same. You're unruly knights with no-"

Terrible screams. Count Fulmar twisted his sword into the general's stomach. 

"Heal him." A third mage sealed General Coleman's wound. He glanced up in surprise. "We can make your suffering much shorter if you tell us where your people are hiding."

"Heh."

Again, more pain.

"Take him to the dungeon, you should extract the information yourself. Don't let me down." 

Count Fulmar's Knight nodded, then lifted the general off the ground.

"It will be done."

…

.

Far away from the battlefield, a large room became filled with specialists in many fields. The biggest names and the smartest people had gathered from around the globe.

At the front of the room, five generals sat side by side. One seat remained empty. 

"You've come."

A replacement arrived. He solemnly nodded, then took his seat. The other generals tried to comfort him on his loss. "Coleman wouldn't want any other man on the job. You're the right pick."

"Be brave."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

Everyone finished giving their condolences, then turned to the president. His name is Trevor Smith. The African president became the second man to be elected with colored skin, but he also became the first president to fight a war against magic. 

"Thank you all for coming. I think you know why I've called this summons."

Drastic changes needed to be made. Over fifty people from countless fields assembled in the same small room.

"I want to garner your undivided support for the creation of new War Machines."