War on Geminar Arc - 1

As Khan looked around, he realized he was in the Holy Land. He first used Fate's Plan to determine the time Khan learned that he had a few weeks until the attack on Lashara. Khan pondered on his goals and how to achieve them. The Shtrayu empire could be obtained by killing Babalun and corrupting Lashara. She is a little young for Khan's taste, but that hardly matters these days.

The Shurifon kingdom could be obtained by killing King Shurifon and corrupting his daughter, Aura. She would actually be the easiest due to her little issue.

Then there is Havoniwa. That won't be so straightforward while corrupting both Queen Flora and her daughter, Princess Maria, would be a simple matter given their nature to act defenseless to lure or manipulate others, Flora especially, the problem is that Havoniwa also has a ruling council of nobles that only get together in person during times of national emergency. Otherwise, they handle affairs via transmission or by proxy.

Khan was pulled from his thoughts by a notice alert.

[War on Geminar, general objective:

Collect the appropriate amount of territory, resources, or personal.

War on Geminar, special objective:

Deal with Kenshi Masaki:

By killing - Reward: (Skill) Soul Devour

By breaking - Reward: random

By recruiting - Reward: Recruitment Feature]

Khan looked over the objectives. It was as he expected, except for the breaking reward. He thought it would've disappeared, but he guessed that it means that when he collects the killing and recruiting rewards, then it will be shortened to just deal for random reward.

Khan decided to check something. He pulled the tab on armies to see what he had access to. The first thing he noticed was a message that said, "War on Geminar: Freestyle, no ships that are capable of breaking atmosphere." Another thing he noticed was that in the Warhammer 40K section, there was a notice that said, "Only one Legion per planet."

Khan could understand that restriction, considering that each one could conquer multiple planets by themselves. The last thing he noticed was that he didn't have access to Tyranid, Eldar, Tau, or Necrons.

An attached notice stated that since none of his patron deities had authority over them, neither would he. Khan thought about it for a moment, going over a list he had access to the Imperiam of Man, the Chaos Legions, Orks, and Drukhari/Dark Eldar. Khan reluctantly thought that none of them were small fry so he could make due if push came to shove, and he could always get access to the Eldar, Tau, and Necrons later through the Companion Lottery. He would need to find an alternative to the Tyranids since they have no named heroes. Thinking about it further, he was glad Tyranids weren't an option since, given their nature, they would have turned on him, eventually system or not.

The last thing Khan noticed was that instead of minerals or money, everything simply cost time. Most buildings could take anywhere between a few hours to build or a few days depending on size and function, while standard infantry would take one minute per soldier. It also appears that the bigger and more powerful the unit, the longer it would take. And while it seems he can create any heroes from the factions that are currently loyal, most require their own special building before they are available.

Getting back to the task at hand, Khan decided to steal a Sacred Mechanoid. Slipping into the Shadow Nexus and finding one that was unattended turned out to be a simple matter. All the security surrounding it was dependent on someone trying to activate it and fly it away. Not slip it into a pocket dimension and melt into the shadows.

After finding an isolated spot, Khan tested it. The moment he started it, he got several notices. The first was a count down timer. It was counting down from 12 hours, Khan guessed it was his operational limit. The second was an image of his mech. It was bulky, like a suit of armor with three horns and no tail. It was pitch black in color. Khan knew it was a darkness type, which meant as soon as certain people saw it, they would assume he was bent on this world destruction, and they weren't technically wrong.

The final notice was an achievement.

[Congratulations, you've successfully acquired a Sacred Mechanoid for your own use. You have been rewarded the following:

Expert Mech Piloting: (Passive) No matter the origin of the mech, if it's meant to be piloted, you can control it like an expert.

Aho Battery: (Passive) You can operate your Mechanoid outside the Ena Ocean for the duration of your operational limit.]

Khan looked at his new perks. Both of them would be helpful well beyond his conquest of this world. Khan decided to experiment to see if he could use his powers with his Mechanoid as the conduit. It had mixed results. While he could use his shadow powers flawlessly, his Hollow abilities proved to be more difficult. The Cero could be used through Shadow Reach, but not the Mechanoid directly, and any skill attached to his Zanpakuto also proved ineffective, mostly because he couldn't summon one that could be used by the Sacred Mechanoid.

He wasn't defenseless with his Shadow Blade. Looking at his timer, Khan noticed that he had spent only half an hour. He had two weeks at least. Proper training would kill some of that time, and some observations into his target would do that as well. Khan let out a sigh and muttered to himself, saying, "Hopefully, these next few weeks don't drag too much."

...

A familiar sight was unfolding. A young girl named Lashara Earth XXVIII was being crowned, empress of the Shtrayu empire. Individuals from all over the world showed up from royalty, ambassadors, and church officials. Anyone who was of note was there.

Khan wasn't there, of course. He was on the Pilgrimage Route watching it all with the Eyes of Hermaeus Mora. During his little training camp, he learned two things about his rifle that he acquired.

First was that for as long as he could see the target, then he could hit it. Second was that it didn't fire bullets, but mini-Ceros. The destruction caused by them was no different than a 22. caliber bullet. Which would be useful in a world with no magic awareness.

Why bring that up? Because he was looking at Kenshi Masaki. It would be so easy to shoot him right then, but Khan had a plan and a little more dramatic end for him.

...

Night has fallen, the newly crowned empress, standing there with her trusted associates. Lashara was discussing the uselessness of the Sacred Mechalord. Khan stood by in his mechanoid quietly, watching as Kenshi and Dagmeyr began their approach.

After quick search, Khan found Doll hanging back by the cliff. Khan watched and waited for the opportune moment. Kenshi was up in front acting the decoy. Khan began his approach, taking steps to avoid Doll's notice.

...

Chiaia was worried, not that she would let anyone else know. She was fighting a pure white sacred mechanoid. While fighting, Chiaia felt something was off. She felt like her opponent wasn't really trying.

An explosion behind her confirmed her worries. The one in front of her was just a decoy. Chiaia began rushing towards Lashara. Chiaia made it inside before she realized something else was going on. The white mechanoid had simply let her go instead of trying to stop her.

Chiaia's mind raced as she thought about why it was, but she tuned it all out. Chiaia quickly found two more mechanoids fighting, with the blue one being slowly driven back.

...

Dagmeyr was furious. First, there was a second mechanoid, and now Chiaia was there ready to interfere. The empress has already escaped. The mission was a failure, Dagmeyr would be able to put the blame on that off-worlder, so he was not worried in that regard. However, before he started making any plans, he would need to get their pawn's status.

As Dagmeyr grew increasingly annoyed with Wahanly's gunpowder, as he exited the Swan, Dagmeyr meant to yell at his pawn only to be stunned silent by what he saw.

The fool had been impaled by his own sword. Dagmeyr couldn't help but think, 'That fool! If he was going to kill himself anyway, then he should've waited until I was clear!'

Suddenly, Dagmeyr heard Doll's voice yelling at him to get out of there. Dagmeyr's Mechanoid shook as Wahanly continued to pepper him with her gunpowder. Dagmeyr's eyes shot upwards as the moon's light suddenly disappeared. The last thing Dagmeyr saw was a big ax blade come crashing down on him.

...

Doll sat there, smirking. She was back on their command ship. Dagmeyr laid on a bed in intensive care, the doctors say while he will survive he'll never be able to use his eyes again.

The other black Mechanoid really did a number on Dagmeyr. The moment she saw it, she knew the mission was a failure beyond recovery. Doll had even tried to warn Dagmeyr, but he didn't listen in time, and the consequences were clear to see.

While unfortunate, Doll already makes preparations for returning to her other life, giving little care for Dagmeyr's ultimate fate. She knew Babalun would be making arrangements for her other half to get closer to this mysterious pilot or, at the very least, convince the church to do so. For now, as usual, it was all out of her hands.

...

Lashara stood there on the balcony outside her room, thinking that this night was a mixed bag. On the one hand, the pilot of the white sacred mechanoid committed apparent suicide, a loss to be sure, especially after it was revealed that it was a guy piloting it. On the other hand, the appearance of two black mechanoids might balance it out, especially since one seems to be friendly.

The pilot, who is also male, is currently resting in a guest room. While none of the conspirators were captured, one of them was definitely severely injured. Lashara was curious if the injured pilot was somebody they knew or was somebody Babalun found disposable. That would be revealed in time. First, Lashara would have to determine the motivations of her potential rescuer.

She had to decide if this man was genuine, and if he was, she was how to make a profit. Knowing how powerful this mystery man was, Lashara couldn't help but smile at all the money she stood to make. She started to laugh out loud, not caring how sinister it made her look.