Chapter 26: The Queen's Wrath

"Damn it! Set up the alerts immediately. And since the decryption is complete, spread the demon genes using Demon One without delay. Time is of the essence; use as much energy as needed!" Mony's voice thundered through the control room.

"And also, destroy the facility that's been launching these attacks. Use divine retribution to blow it to pieces!"

Arcturus broke into a cold sweat. Divine retribution? What had happened to provoke such fury from the queen? Had he missed some critical information?

"But, my queen, isn't it a bit wasteful to use divine retribution?" Arcturus dared to question.

"What? Are you questioning me, your queen? Do as I say or I'll personally castrate you!"

"Yes, my queen, right away!" The threat jolted Arcturus back to reality. He briefly considered protesting further but decided against it, fearing her wrath.

Moments later, Demon One emitted an invisible energy beam toward the four Nova underground bunkers it had located. Ripples formed around Demon One as multiple wormholes appeared, through which the divine retribution missiles were launched.

Simultaneously, all the spaceports in the Nova atmosphere exploded.

"My queen, the divine retribution strikes have successfully hit all launch facilities and confirmed their destruction. However, during the decryption of the dark information, I failed to notice the attacks on our demon brothers. Consequently, we suffered some losses..." Arcturus's voice grew fainter, anticipating the queen's rage. He couldn't omit this crucial intel since it fell under his purview.

After being hit by the first high-energy electromagnetic railgun, Mony summoned the demon claws to protect herself. Just as the barrage of electromagnetic attacks ceased, Arcturus's report came through.

Mony's anger simmered as she tried to maintain a calm demeanor. "Arcturus, you said..."

But Arcturus's frantic voice cut her off. "My queen, take cover! A high-power nuclear missile is two seconds away from your location. I'm calculating the wormhole now..."

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"Boss, the dark information shield has failed. The locations of the four underground bunkers have been discovered. I have urgently activated the quantum matrix to interface with the dark information shield, shielding the last bunker. I also activated the heavy nuclear bomb detonation sequence in the four bunkers, awaiting your command!" Ethan's voice echoed in Nicholas's ears.

Ethan felt like his whole world was collapsing upon hearing the dire news. Though he had prepared for this possibility, the reality was still a bitter pill to swallow.

"Additionally, all spaceports have been destroyed by the demons. High-altitude satellites are also being targeted. Despite the saturation nuclear strikes, low-level demons are still numerous, requiring continuous bombardment. Higher-level demons have also suffered losses but not significantly," Ethan continued.

Nicholas's eyes turned red as he gazed toward the direction of the bunkers.

"Have they been infected?"

"I can't directly scan the genetic structure, but I detected an unknown energy wave that swept through the four bunkers. Now, signs of infection are appearing among the Nova people. Unlike other God River life forms, who quickly transform into demons upon infection, the process is slower in Nova people, but it is irreversible," Ethan explained.

Nicholas felt his efforts were all for naught, his body numb as he staggered toward the bunkers.

After a long silence, he finally spoke. "Connect me to all Nova citizens."

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Angel Ying received Moyi's transmission and quickly turned toward Nicholas's location. Though far away, she could barely see him, standing motionless in the air, staring in one direction.

"Nicholas..." she whispered.

"My queen, take cover! A high-power nuclear missile is two seconds away from your location. I'm calculating the wormhole now. Xueyi and Atos are engaged with the angels elsewhere..." Arcturus's urgent voice was cut off as the connection was severed, and the wormhole calculations stopped at 80%.

He realized that Demon One was being suppressed by a more powerful computational entity or battle AI, which could only mean one thing.

Holy Kaisa had arrived.

"My queen!" Arcturus's desperate shout echoed as the scene shifted to Mony.

"What? Hello? Damn it, Arcturus! Calculate the wormhole, damn it!" Mony cursed at the now-silent connection.

The nuclear missile, with thirty times the standard yield, was seconds away. Just as Mony prepared to open a short-range wormhole to escape, a voice whispered in her ear.

"Well, well, where do you think you're going?"

Mony's body stiffened. Turning, she saw a small sword-shaped throne floating nearby, with a figure lazily leaning on it, gazing at her.

"Kaisa!" Mony spat the name through gritted teeth.

With the nuclear missile imminent and Kaisa blocking her escape, Mony decided on a tactical retreat to regroup.

She quickly activated her gene engine to calculate a wormhole. "You've come all this way. It would be rude not to accept the gift you're being given," Kaisa said nonchalantly.

Mony realized her wormhole calculations were futile. "Damn it, you've strengthened your defenses!"

She cursed and enclosed herself within the demon claws for protection. The missile hit, creating a blinding explosion far brighter than any previous ones.

Mony focused all her dark energy and the demon claws' defenses to withstand the blast. Meanwhile, Kaisa watched the explosion intently, unaffected by the blinding light.

"Interesting!" she remarked, seemingly disappointed that the spectacle had ended too soon.

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