(Granitz's Camp – Moments Before the Barrier Broke Down)
Shortly after the alarm, Karl Feta, one of two admirals on Granitz Island, ordered the activation of the multilayered barriers. These barriers prevented all inorganic and organic substances from penetrating, dissolving anything that attempted to pass through with resonating molecular frequencies. He was now heading to the Granitz storage room. Along the way, soldiers armed themselves and were ordered to position themselves throughout the island to secure it. Karl received continuous reports through his wireless headset. "What's the situation?" he demanded.
The observatory unit provided a briefing. "We've detected several flying carriers, ships, and one submarine surrounding half the island, sir." The team continued, "The energy grid shows high energy accumulating at their fleet's flagship, sir. It appears they're targeting our barriers."
Karl listened calmly, pondering how the enemy had tracked the island. Seconds later, a loud noise reverberated across the island as the barrier shattered. "They've broken our barrier, sir," the observatory unit reported.
"I heard it. No panic. Activate the secondary defenses," Karl commanded steadily. No panic ensued. From his experience, he knew enemies launching a surprise attack must have prepared thoroughly.
"How long before their next shot?" Karl asked, estimating the time.
"Approximately 10 minutes, sir," the crew replied.
"That's more than enough."
The realization that the enemy knew their location and how to breach the barrier troubled him, but he had no time to dwell on the unknown. His duty was to protect Granitz and its people. He entered the storage room, rushed to the main chamber, and input the command, preparing for Yorkland's raid.
(Fleet Carrier – Present)
"The photon blast will be ready in 10 seconds, sir," a crew member aboard the fleet carrier reported. The high-energy beam, capable of breaking Granitz's barrier, was poised to fire a second shot targeting Granitz's camp.
"95%."
"99%. The photon blast is ready, sir," the crew confirmed. Yorkland's general issued the command to open fire.
"End this war, gentlemen. Fire the photon blast at Granitz's camp."
Silence followed. Nothing happened—no shot, no affirmation.
"Why haven't we fired?" the general growled at the photon blast team. No one responded. Then a horrifying scene unfolded before the leaders—Victor, Richard, and the Yorkland general. Screams of agony erupted from the analysis team. Their bodies began melting, one by one. Skin liquefied, exposing muscle, then bone and organs. Crew members' faces dissolved like wet makeup, eyeballs visible before melting away. Within seconds, every analyst was reduced to liquid, their melted flesh soaking the fleet's floor in dark red and brown.
Only the three leaders and a few crew members remained, stunned by the sight.
"What the…" Victor, in shock, found no words for the scene.
"Report!" the Yorkland general demanded, seeking responses from other crew members, but none came—they had all melted away. He turned to Richard, who stood frozen. "Richard, what the hell is going on?" No response. "Richard! Richard Deers!" the general shouted, snapping him out of his daze.
"I… I don't know… they were like heated from inside," Richard stammered.
Regaining his composure, Richard assessed the external situation. He froze again. The aerial team, led by Ronnie, was being wiped out. Electric nets shot out, ensnaring the aerial team like fish. Richard tried contacting Ronnie but received no response. On the screen, he saw Ronnie's jet in the sea, a man in a combat suit standing atop the cockpit, crushing Ronnie's head with his hand.
Upon witnessing Ronnie's death, Richard urged the general to retreat, suspecting a trap, and called for the ground team's withdrawal. "We must retreat now!"
The general ordered the other carriers and ships to retreat. Suddenly, multiple blasts appeared on the screen; their forces were obliterated by precise photon strikes. A submarine was hoisted by the man in the combat suit and docked nearby. Their mission had failed.
"We… we must retreat now," the general ordered, his voice full of fear. Richard, beside him, tried to contact his brother Rock, who was on land. While monitoring the ground unit, Richard saw them stop moving. "Retreat now, Rock. This is a trap!" he shouted. No response came from Rock or other channels. "Rock!" After the ground troops were immobilized, the screen showed Granitz forces emerging from cover, slaughtering Yorkland's troops one by one with ease. Richard watched as his brother was beheaded and dismembered. Unable to bear it, he turned away.
"How could this happen?" Richard's mind raced with questions. His technology was flawless, and Ronnie, enhanced with algorithms, shouldn't have lost to a man in a combat suit. What happened to Rock and why the ground unit was immobilized baffled him. Most perplexing was the sudden liquefaction of the fleet's crew. He searched for Victor. Where was Victor? Richard couldn't find him in the command room. Either he had fled in fear or… "He betrayed us," Richard murmured.
"Who?" the general asked.
"Victor… he lured us to this island and fed us false intel," Richard said, his voice low. Suddenly, the command room was breached. A man in a combat suit appeared before them. His helmet was off, revealing his identity. Richard and the general recognized him instantly as the one who had slaughtered Frank's army on the southeast island.
"Karl Feta!," Richard gasped, shocked.
The general reached for his gun, but his hands were cut off instantly, followed by his scream and blood spread over. Richard couldn't believe he failed to track the movement, despite his implanted chip with the enhancement algorithm.
"Ho…" Before he could finish, Richard's head was sliced off and fell to the ground. His brain, still processing with heightened reactions, registered his headless body, and he screamed. "Aghhhh!" The scream faded seconds later. Karl, in the suit, bisected the general and reported back.
"The fleet command room is cleared."
"Congratulations Admiral." His members praised him followed by a lot of applause through his line.
(Somewhere inside the fleet carrier)
Victor escaped from the command area. Now he was wandering along the way to the emergency jet. His hand was holding a phone, which was connecting. His line was then picked up.
"Hey, Therma! I did what you ask. Now help me out of here."
Again. Victor sold his counties for the sake of himself and the raid was Pierre's plan. While talking, Victor saw all the York thousand troops were destroyed by Reich's aerial fighters.
"Hey! Therma!". This time another voice came in. A familiar voice.
"Hello, Victor."