Interstellar Age

Lunaria was absolutely stunned by Erich’s remarks, and had immediately and instinctively found herself chasing after the man, something she never thought she would do in her life, and something she had never done since the moment she was born God only knows how many years ago. 

Before Erich could even exit the throne room, he felt a hand latch onto him and pull him into a mighty bosom. Where Lunaria looked down on him with a clear panic in her golden eyes. She then grabbed hold of Erich’s handsome face, and pleaded with him to stay as her Archon, or more importantly, to stay by her side. 

“Erich! You can’t be serious! Are you truly leaving me? Leaving Celestia? After everything we have been through? After all the love we share for one another, you’re going to leave me behind?” 

Erich, however, seemed determined to fulfill the role that he was born to play. And thus he pulled himself from the woman’s grasp and instead hugged her with a stoic look on his face. After kissing the woman on the forehead, he explained why he must leave. 

“If I stay as your Archon, I will always be your subordinate, and our relationship will remain the same. Secret and shameful. I am not content with such a life, even if it means I can be with you for eternity. I have no shame in loving you, but I know I am unworthy of your love. At least as I currently stand. So must resign from your service. 

Instead… I will raise an army, and claim my birthright, where under my guidance, I will ensure that I become an Emperor worthy of an Empress such as yourself. And when that day comes, I will force you to marry me. As the first among my wives…. Until then, I must walk a path filled with bloodshed and death. 

And since I can not implicate you in the actions, I must take to walk this path, then I am afraid I must do it alone. I appreciate all the support you have given me so far, both material and emotional. But the time has come for me to fly and soar the skies on my own. When I return, I will do so as an emperor who you can consider a man worthy of your hand in marriage. 

GoodBye Lunaria, and Celestia. We will meet again….” 

After saying this Erich stepped out of the door to the throne room, and left the world of Alfheim, where both Lunaria and her daughter broke out into tears over seemingly being tossed away by the man they both loved. 

Once onboard the vigilance and out of Alfheim’s orbit, Tia approached Erich with a particularly bitter expression on her face, as she expressed her own views on what the man had just done. 

“You didn’t have to do that, you know that, right? There is nothing in the code of conduct for an Archon that prohibits them from holding power. And the position of an Archon would benefit you in many ways on your journey to power!” 

Erich, however, shook his head before expressing his own thoughts on the matter.  𝒪𝚟𝗅xt.𝑐𝓞𝓜

“It wasn’t about that, it was letting Lunaria know that our current dynamic can no longer continue. I am not the weary man she first met, nor the pitiful boy she has always believed me to be. My path is certain, I will be Emperor…. And with your help, I will raise the greatest army this galaxy has ever seen, and turn my people into a galactic power. 

When I can stand as her equal, she will no longer treat me like a child, but as a man. Something that can only be achieved with violence. As the age gap between us is too severe. Tia, set course for the world which we are to have our battle.  I look forward to crushing the other warchiefs and annexing their hordes into my own.”

Tia smiled when she heard her master’s explanation and was quick to do as he said. After all, since the rest of his team had been dispatched to hunt down the remainder of the Sages, it was only Erich, Tia, and Mala aboard this ship. 

Mala had remained behind because she was not exactly what one would call subtle in her actions, and would likely cause a scene that would reflect poorly on both Erich and Lunaria. Thus, he kept the barbarian queen by his side, and intended to use her to win the war with the other Orc clans. 

Soon enough, the Vigilance pulled into the disputed system where the countless ships had gathered. The largest of which were the hulking cargo vessels which the other orc clans had scavenged and made use of for their homes. 

In fact, the dreadnoughts that Erich had created to carry his Horde were nowhere near the size of these heavily modified cargo ships, but held superior firepower, shields, and just about everything else.

If this were a fleet battle, then undoubtedly it would be the Iron Horde which emerged victorious but the Orcs preferred to settle their disputes on land, and thus, both sides would be waging war on the world below. 

Erich emerged from his captain’s cabin dressed in his tribal power armor, with Mala by her side. He was carrying the weapon which he provided to all of his troops, an explosive automatic cannon of fierce power. In fact, this was not the handheld version, but was the heavy version, to be wielded with two hands, as if it were a heavy machine gun. 

He had no use for a short range power hammer in a battle such a this, and thus, Erich had handed it over to Mala who seemed to prefer melee weapons. Once the couple had shown that they were fully equipped, Erich smirked, which was concealed beneath his helmet, before climbing into the shuttle on board their frigate, and deploying to the planet below. 

Where he and Mala met up with an army numbering in the millions. These were just the most elite forces that Erich had gathered. For the time being, his horde was lacking in officers and NCOs, as the young halfbreeds which were being born quite rapidly were nowhere near old enough to take command of a battlefield. Thus, the tactics they would employ were the simple berserker rage rush that the Orcs always used. 

There was just one problem: the enemy numbered over thirty times their numbers. And were howling in anticipation of this battle. Of course, Erich was not concerned, because his orcs were equipped with power armor, which made them damn near impossible to kill, and heightened their already extreme physical abilities. 

Erich raised his heavy cannon into the air with one hand, before taking the lead of his army, where he called out to them in a brief but violent speech. 

“These bastards think that we’re weak! That is because our numbers are few, that we are easily defeated! Let’s go kill them!” 

The entirety of Erich’s warriors began to shout, scream and howl their war cries, which sounded almost robotic through the voice modulators built within their helmets. 

“Kill! Maim! Burn!” 

With this Erich began to rush towards the enemy position with his army, as his warriors followed behind him. It was a very simple, and very chaotic battle. No tactics whatsoever were employed as both sides mob rushed each other. But as the two armies came into firing range, one thing stuck out. 

The rocket propelled explosive projectiles wielded by the Iron Horde were absolutely devastating to the enemy clans. Who blew up on the spot every time a projectile embedded itself into their flesh before exploding. Meanwhile the traditional kinetic projectiles used by the enemy simply bounced off of the advanced power armor which Erich’s warriors were equipped with. 

It did not even take thirty minutes for the battle to become one sided in Erich’s favor. If the enemy weren’t blown apart by the weapons that Erich’s warriors wielded, then they were cut to pieces by chain axes. It was an incredibly bloody affair. 

And it was only when the enemy army began to route, that Erich spotted the three warchiefs, who gazed in horror at how quickly their forces were absolutely decimated. Erich then called out to them, in a voice they could hear, while raising his heavy cannon and raining projectiles down upon them. 

“Time to die!” 

With a rate of fire of 250 rounds per minute, these rocket propelled explosive 30mm projectiles not only blew the three Warchiefs into a fine meat paste, but they also made a crater of the land which they once stood upon. The deaths of the three warchiefs were enough to cause the enemy’s side to surrender.

Which was a humiliating act for an Orcish warrior to commit. When the enemy threw away their weapons and knelt before Erich, they were surprised to see that he was merciful, as usually the Orc clans slaughtered the enemy males, and took the women as breeding stock. 

“You fought well! And if it were any other horde you were fighting against, you would have won. But the Iron Horde does not fight with brute strength alone… But powerful weaponry, and exceptional defense. Soon enough we will wield the tactics of those Empire who have routed the Orcs for a thousand years. Join me, and you will never be forced to surrender again in your lives!” 

It was an obvious decision. One which the three Orc Hordes accepted on the spot. Thus increasing Erich’s army by an enormous margin.