Before long, we saw them.
Thirty thousand robots were moving like a coordinated army. Some were marching across the fractured rocky terrain below while others hovered in the air in a perfect formation. I pushed my perception further, scanning their energy signatures one by one.
"Thirty thousand units all at Divine Rank! The weakest are at Second Enlightenment and most of them sit around Third and Fourth. There are four Fifth Enlightenment units and two at the Sixth!"
Even from above, I could feel the shift on our side. Everyone there knew exactly what that meant. Sixth Enlightenment wasn't something you just "handled." That was the level where one wrong move could wipe out entire sections of the army if one wasn't careful. And they had two.
"They're splitting the formation. Each one is leading half."
Veneri didn't hesitate giving orders.
"I'll take one. Adela, you're with me. The other Sixth goes to Anamorsia and as for the Fifth Enlightenment units, leave them to the House leaders."
The four leaders stepped forward in the formation. Milliania leaned forward slightly on her Mystic Circle.
"And us?"
Veneri glanced at her, then at Leon and Leones.
"You'll lead the rest. Handle the main force. We're fifteen thousand and some of them are stronger on average."
But then Leones shook her head.
"No. That's not the best approach. We're wasting time. We take out the strongest first"
"The Sixth Enlightenment are already being handled—"
"I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about the Fifths. It's not about whether the House leaders can handle them. This is about efficiency. If we take out the Fifth Enlightenment units ourselves, the army loses its anchors. The House leaders can focus on maintaining formation and minimizing losses instead of dealing with peak threats. We'll finish faster. Also, we're splitting after this anyway. No point dragging this out."
There was a second of silence before Veneri nodded.
"Alright. You and the others handle the Fifth Enlightenment units. House leaders, focus on the army."
They all nodded in sync. His gaze turned his siblings.
"Be careful."
Leones rolled her shoulders. "You too."
Milliania scoffed. "Try not to die before the expedition gets interesting."
Anamorsia flapped her wings. "I'll finish mine first."
Leon didn't say anything. He just nodded but this time, he was smiling.
He looked at me next.
"Phae."
"Yeah?"
"Keep an eye on everyone. If anything goes wrong, I need to know immediately."
"Got it."
I wanted to go with him but this wasn't that kind of situation. We weren't just moving alone. This was an army and right now, information mattered more than anything I could do on the ground.
Veneri and Adelasta dropped first, cutting through the air where one of the Sixth Enlightenment robots hovered. On the opposite end, Anamorsia dove onto the second one. Leon, Leones, and Milliania broke formation next, each one targeting a Fifth Enlightenment unit. Below them, the House leaders raised their hands in unison.
I exhaled slowly, dividing myself into fragments across the sky with each one anchored to a different point in the battlefield. Every angle, every movement, every fluctuation in energy, I saw it all.
I'll admit it. This formation is really good. Above the battlefield, circular constructs—Veneri's Mystic Arrays—floated and glowed with that familiar sapphire hue. They weren't just for movement anymore. Ever since he hit Ninth Star, everything he made evolved. His Mystic Circles could turn to arrays now.
The Plasma Mystic Array was the star of the show.
Divine Rank mages from House Levenees stood across the arrays as they channeled raw energy into the structure beneath their feet. The Energy Divinity changed everything. Streams of energy flowed from their bodies into the array, amplifying it beyond what normal Magecraft should allow. Some of them focused purely on output, feeding the array with constant energy supply. Others guided the targeting systems.
A rain of plasma beams descended into the enemy. Entire rows of robots were erased in seconds. The heat distortion alone warped the air. Sylveira, matriarch of House Levenees, was right at the center of it all.
The moment the frontline clashed, the Barrier Divinity showed why Veneri even offered it in the first place. The fighters on the ground dropped from the arrays without hesitation, slamming into the battlefield like meteors. The moment they landed, layers of barriers wrapped around their bodies, forming reinforced constructs that absorbed shock, redirected force and kept them moving. Weapons formed instantly from their Nanorune Armor. Blades, spears, hammers, whatever they needed, it appeared.
House Maximilian, Viaca, and Obligatio tore through the robots. Damius, Landle and Vaskein, the patriarchs of the Houses respectively, were pushing the pace, forcing momentum forward. Every time a robot tried to retaliate, it got blocked or outright crushed. There were no deaths and the reason was right above them.
The Healing Mystic Array hovered next to the Plasma Mystic Array. Alexis and House Sarphie stood across it, constantly channeling energy downward. Every injury closed. Every broken limb was restored. Every near-fatal hit was restored in seconds. The enemy literally couldn't wear us down. This of course, didn't apply to the House leaders and the Richinaria siblings because of their high Enlightenment Stage. Healing them would consume a lot of energy.
Anamorsia's strategy combined with Veneri's execution created something that shouldn't even exist. This was a battlefield where offense, defense and sustain all operated at maximum efficiency without interfering with each other.
And then there was me. I glanced at my own hands, watching sapphire energy ripple across my fingers before scattering into dozens of fragments. While they handled the ground and the main offense, I handled the sky.
Robots weren't just marching but flying too. Aerial units moved fast and aimed straight for the arrays. If even one broke through properly, it could disrupt the entire formation. That wasn't happening on my watch. Every fragment of me acted independently, hovering across key points above the battlefield. The moment a flying unit got close, a spear of sapphire would form instantly and pierce straight through it or a barrier would manifest mid-air, redirecting incoming fire away from the arrays. Veneri cast the Protection Divinity on everyone on the Arrays and on the Arrays themselves. He also did it on me.
I wasn't holding back but I also wasn't wasting energy. That part still felt… weird.
I glanced toward Veneri for a split second, watching him fight alongside Adelasta against one of the Sixth Enlightenment units. His Base Tether Limitless changed everything for me, especially when he became a Grandmaster Mage. Because of his pseudo-cores and how his energy worked, I could operate like this without draining him dry. And because I was only using Sapphire Materialization, I avoided unnecessary strain.
I shook my head quickly.
"Focus, Phae."
A sudden spike in energy snapped my attention back down. Two massive energy signatures of the Sixth Enlightenment were finally visible. Both leaders were pushing forward now, cutting through the battlefield with overwhelming force. One clashed directly with Anamorsia in the distance and the other was being handled by Veneri and Adelasta.
I watched them for a second longer than I should have. Sapphire and flames collided against cold metal. Explosions, shockwaves, pressure, all of it turned into something chaotic and beautiful at the same time.