novelraw Chapter 742. The Backup Plan of the Capital
Chapter 742. The Backup Plan of the Capital
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions continued to echo across the Capital.
After the death of the Head Commander, the battle above the city had gradually become one-sided. Many Capital soldiers lost their will to fight, and several sectors had already fallen under Ember control.
However, the situation changed after the appearance of the Golden Palace.
The brilliant mech that killed the Commander had been erased by a single attack from the palace. The news spread quickly across the battlefield.
For the Capital Army, it was as if someone had injected them with a stimulant.
Their morale rose once again.
Many soldiers who were preparing to retreat returned to the battlefield.
"The King is still here!"
"The Golden Palace has acted!"
"We haven’t lost yet!"
Similar shouts could be heard throughout the city.
Inside the Capital Headquarters, Ariel stood near the entrance while reviewing reports from various squads.
The headquarters had already been secured. Most of the remaining resistance inside the building had been eliminated or captured.
At that moment, the space nearby distorted slightly.
A ship suddenly appeared out of thin air.
Its stealth system deactivated, revealing a dark metallic vessel.
Several Ember members nearby instinctively raised their weapons before lowering them after recognizing the identification signal.
The ship slowly landed.
A side door opened.
Tyler flew out on a hoverboard.
He was wearing protective equipment beneath a brown long coat. A hat covered part of his face, making him look more like an old detective than an inventor or military commander.
Several soldiers glanced at him.
No matter how many times they saw Tyler, they still found his fashion choices strange.
Tyler stepped off the hoverboard.
"How’s the situation?" he asked.
Ariel immediately walked over.
"Elder Tyler, we have already taken control of the headquarters."
She projected several screens while leading him deeper into the building.
"The headquarters controls the missile systems, nuclear arsenal, communication networks, transportation systems, and most of the Capital’s infrastructure."
Tyler nodded.
That was expected.
The Capital had centralized control over almost everything.
Capturing the headquarters was equivalent to capturing the city’s brain.
"However," Ariel continued, "many important systems are locked behind unknown security protocols."
Several red warning windows appeared before them.
"Our technicians have been trying to breach them, but progress is slow."
Tyler looked through the reports.
Some of the security measures didn’t even resemble normal military encryption.
They looked more like something designed specifically to prevent hostile takeovers.
"What about the nuclear arsenal?" Tyler asked.
Ariel sighed.
"The launch authorization has been changed."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"When I arrived at the launch room, the Second Elder’s faction had already activated several systems. Fortunately, the Capital’s defense network automatically blocked any launch targeting the city itself."
Tyler nodded.
That explained why the missiles never launched.
Even the Capital’s designers understood that someone might eventually attempt a coup.
"If the missiles could freely target the city, the Capital would’ve destroyed itself long ago," Tyler said.
"Exactly."
Tyler continued reading the reports.
"We’re not using nuclear weapons anyway."
Ariel looked at him.
"Not even against the palace?"
"No."
Tyler shook his head.
"I’ve read enough reports about contaminated battlefields."
"A nuclear strike creates more problems than it solves. Even if we win, we’d spend years cleaning the damage."
Ariel agreed.
The Embers wanted to take over the Capital, not turn it into a wasteland.
The two eventually arrived at the main control room.
Hundreds of screens covered the walls.
Technicians, analysts, and operators were busy processing information.
Tyler immediately began reviewing the city’s records.
Cameras.
Population databases.
Military archives.
Emergency shelters.
Transportation systems.
Everything passed through his hands.
Several minutes later, he stopped at one particular file.
It contained information regarding civilian evacuation shelters.
Tyler opened several live camera feeds.
Large groups of Capital citizens could be seen hiding underground.
Some looked frightened.
Others were watching the war through emergency broadcasts.
Tyler looked at the footage for a few moments.
"The civilians are not our enemies."
Ariel nodded.
"I already issued orders."
"Good."
Tyler enlarged several sectors.
"Make sure nobody harms them."
The people from the outer sectors had suffered under Capital rule for years. Many had lost relatives and friends.
Hatred was unavoidable.
If revenge killings started now, the situation would become difficult to control.
"I’ll remind the commanders again," Ariel said.
Tyler nodded and moved on.
After reviewing several more files, he looked toward one of the operators.
"See if there’s any way to force the Golden Palace to descend."
The operator quickly nodded.
"Understood."
Soon everyone in the headquarters became even busier.
Some searched through old archives.
Others analyzed engineering documents.
Several teams attempted to break through restricted databases.
Nobody wanted to fight a flying fortress while it remained safely in the sky.
A few minutes later, a soldier suddenly ran into the room carrying several projections.
"Elder Ariel!"
"What happened?"
"I found something inside a restricted database."
Ariel quickly accepted the files.
After reading the first page, her expression changed.
She immediately projected the information toward Tyler.
"Elder Tyler, look at this."
Tyler turned toward the screen.
The moment he saw the documents, his expression became serious.
The file contained a map of the Capital.
More specifically, it contained information regarding six enormous towers positioned throughout the city.
Each tower stood at one corner of the giant floating trapezoid that formed the Capital.
Six sides.
Six towers.
Tyler opened additional pages.
More schematics appeared.
Mechanical diagrams.
Energy pathways.
Control systems.
Transformation sequences.
The more he looked, the stranger his expression became.
"What is it?" Ariel asked.
Tyler pointed at the title.
"The Ultimate Six Weapons."
The room became silent.
Several operators nearby turned pale.
Tyler continued reading.
The towers were not actually towers.
They were giant combat machines disguised as buildings.
A backup defense system prepared for situations where the Capital itself was threatened.
"They’re mechs?" Ariel asked.
"More like giant autonomous war machines."
Tyler continued reading.
"Each one is controlled by an AI."
"Activation authority belongs exclusively to the King."
Before anyone could say anything else, warning alarms suddenly appeared throughout the room.
Several camera feeds automatically opened.
Outside the headquarters, one of the massive towers had begun moving.
The outer walls split apart.
Metal plates unfolded.
Entire sections of the structure shifted position.
What looked like a building moments ago was slowly transforming into a giant metallic titan.
The same thing began happening across the city.
One tower.
Two towers.
Three towers.
All six were activating.
Ariel’s face immediately turned pale.
"What should we do?"
Tyler looked at the progress bars displayed on the screen.
The transformations were still incomplete.
That meant they still had time.
"Contact every nearby squad."
His voice remained calm.
"Destroy the towers before the transformation finishes."
The order was immediately transmitted.
Across the city, Ember mechs began moving.
One of the closest units happened to be Tansy’s team.
Her mech arrived near one of the towers within minutes.
She looked up at the massive structure.
The building was already halfway through its transformation.
Metallic limbs were emerging from its sides.
Armor plates shifted continuously as the giant machine slowly stood up.
Tansy didn’t waste any time.
She pulled out a giant arrow from behind her mech.
The arrowhead had been forged using refined Carbonyx.
Blue lightning began gathering around it.
Crackling sparks danced across the surface as energy flowed through the weapon.
Tansy pulled back the bowstring.
The mech’s power systems roared.
The arrow immediately shot forward.
A streak of lightning crossed the sky.
The giant arrow pierced directly into the center of the transforming tower.
Tansy didn’t even bother checking the result.
She simply lowered her bow and turned around.
Several seconds later, a massive explosion erupted behind her.
The shockwave swept across the surrounding streets.
Pieces of metal flew in every direction.
Inside the headquarters, several operators immediately cheered.
Tyler looked at the updated battlefield map.
One red marker disappeared.
A small smile appeared on his face.
"One down."
He looked at the remaining markers scattered across the Capital.
"Five more to go."