Cryptomining Supervillain

Chapter 213 213: 213 RISE OF THE MACHINES

213 RISE OF THE MACHINES

[A few days ago]

"Brother, we're in trouble," Belgore said, his voice low and urgent. "The main Veyran line has cut us off, and the Nuraliths have put us on their wipe list."

Valtor slammed his fist on the table. "Those bastards… I trusted them with Eryn…sent her for training in good faith….and they handed her over to the Nuralith behind our backs. Now everything's blown up in their faces, and they expect to come after us?"

"We should leave Silver City," Belgore urged. "There's no place for us here anymore."

Valtor's jaw tightened. "I'm not giving up that easily. We're not at the end of the road."

Belgore looked around the dim war-room. "What can we do? The major houses have ostracized us, and our forces are weak."

"We still have Project Hermes…after so many years its finally operational," Valtor said quietly.

Belgore blinked. "Project Hermes… but how can we use it as leverage? Are we going to hand it to the main family so easily?"

"We don't hand them the project," Valtor said, eyes cold. "We make them pay for every scrap of it. We squeeze every last dime from them."

"How do we do that brother?" Belgore asked.

"The main Veyran and the Nuralith are at war now. it's about time our Project Hermes would make an appearance…. For a fee of course."

-----

[Before the appearance of Hermes]

The clan war between the Nuralith and Veyran families had reached its breaking point. Both sides had bled themselves dry….billions lost in cash and countless lives gone.

It was no longer sustainable.

A truce loomed, but before peace could be brokered, there had to be one final clash…a decisive battle to crown the stronger family.

That battle would be fought here…at Nuralith Tower.

"Wee-woo! Wee-woo!"

Sirens wailed through the tower and its surrounding buildings as shimmering force fields flickered to life. Nuralith Tower was transformed into a fortress.

The Veyrans had come prepared.

They lacked powerful meta-humans, but they had machines. Massive armored trucks rolled into position, their roofs splitting open to reveal heavy meta-artillery.

Cannons locked onto the tower.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Explosions thundered against the shield. The siege had begun.

"What do we do now? We're under siege!" cried VP Embose.

Macan Nuralith merely smirked. "Our force field is the strongest shield money can buy. Those machines won't break it easily."

"But those are meta-artillery," warned Frembois. "Hundreds of them. The shield won't hold forever."

Macan hesitated, his eyes hardening. "Then we'll use our trump card."

Embose frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Project Blue Scorch."

Embose's face went pale. "Are you sure, brother? Revealing that project now will have consequences. The League of Heroes won't stand idle."

"The League of Heroes isn't in Silver City…they are too busy preoccupied with the aftermath of the comet that almost destroyed the world to be bothered with us," Macan said coldly. "Here, the families rule."

"And what about the SIA?"

"The SIA wouldn't interfere in our clan battles. They don't have the guts and the firepower to do so", Frembois added.

"...As you wish then,…but there would be consequences," Embose muttered, defeated.

The gates of Nuralith Tower hissed open.

From the shadows emerged monstrous forms—massive, muscular creatures with the bodies of oxen and the disturbingly human faces of the victims of their creation. Their dark blue scales glimmered under the lights; claws of alien bone scraped against the concrete.

They were Blue Scorch.

This was Nuralith's forbidden experiment… human-alien hybrids bred for war.

With a unified roar, the Blue Scorch charged.

Artillery shells and laser fire tore through the air, striking their bodies, but the creatures barely slowed. Their armored hides absorbed the blasts.

A few fell….but most reached the Veyran lines.

From their chests, gaping maws split open. Long tendrils lashed out, each tipped with a swirling, incandescent blue flame—the flame that could melt the strongest metal.

That was how Blue Scorch got its name- its blue flame.

The Blue Scorch burned through tanks and force fields, shredded armored convoys, and tearing the Veyran formation apart.

The battlefield of Silver City was set ablaze in blue.

-----

"What should we do now, Father?" Swaye Veyran asked.

From his command post overlooking the battlefield, Rione Veyran watched the chaos unfold. The Nuralith's human–alien hybrids were tearing through the Veyran front lines like beasts unleashed from hell.

"How dare they!" Rione slammed his fist against the console. "The Nuralith have crossed the line. Human–alien fusion is forbidden by the League of Heroes!"

Swaye's expression was grim. "The League's authority doesn't reach Silver City, Father. Their laws don't matter here. We'll have to handle this ourselves."

Rione fell silent, thinking. Then his eyes narrowed. "Didn't Valtor offer us his new project?"

Swaye hesitated. "Yes… Project Hermes. We've seen what it can do. But deploying it within city limits is prohibited."

Rione turned sharply. "The Nuralith can unleash forbidden bio-weapons, and we're supposed to hold back? Tell Valtor I accept his terms."

"His terms are steep," Swaye warned. "Ten billion aurs—almost everything we have left…and it's just to rent the mecha for one fight."

"Does that matter now?" Rione roared. "We'll deal with Valtor later. Right now, we bring Project Hermes into play!"

Swaye nodded and opened a secure channel.

Within moments, Valtor Veyran appeared on the holoscreen in their headquarters, smirking as the deal was struck. Ten billion aurs were transferred to him immediately. Once payment was confirmed, Valtor disappeared without another word spoken.

Outside, the battle intensified.

Veyran meta-humans began channeling massive energy shields, retaliating with searing blasts of light. From Nuralith Tower, their rivals surged forth…meta-humans clad in armored suits, flanked by the monstrous Blue Scorch.

The ground trembled under their clash. Explosions painted the night sky in red and blue fire. Buildings crumbled and the city burned.

Amid the chaos, screams filled the air…civilians caught in the crossfire, their lives lost to a war of pride and struggle for power.

It was a night of tragedy….Silver City's darkest hour.

-----

The battle raged at full fury when, suddenly, the air itself seemed to tighten. Every explosion, every scream fell into a strange stillness as a vast shadow crept across the city.

From the distant horizon, a colossal warship emerged…its silhouette blotting out the stars.

Gasps rippled through the streets.

"How can a warship fly within the city limits?" someone shouted.

Another voice broke through the panic. "That's no warship… it's a transformer!"

The massive vessel descended through the clouds, its hull gleaming with molten reflections of the burning city below. Then, with a deep mechanical groan, it began to change.

Sections of armor split apart like tectonic plates.

Wing arrays folded backward, locking into armored shoulders. The engines retracted, transforming into fusion-driven thrusters.

The ship's prow twisted and compacted, revealing a humanoid frame beneath the plating.

The cockpit shifted upward…becoming the head. Twin eyes of blinding gold ignited, cutting through the smoke like twin suns.

Every motion released a deep, resonant hum that vibrated through the bones of every onlooker.

The warship had transformed into Project Hermes—the strongest Mecha Silver City had ever seen. Its armored surface shimmered with Rank AAA fusion alloys; blue and gold energy conduits ran across its body like veins of lightning.

"Die, Nuralith!" the mecha roared, its voice a metallic thunder that echoed across half the city.

The tide of battle turned once more.

With Project Hermes on the field, Silver City trembled…not just from the war, but from the arrival of something far greater than human.

It was the rise of the machines.