The feverish wave stirred by the speech reverberated through every corner of "Avalon." The generals who followed Steve now burned with desperate resolve, ready to lead the final clash against the Earth Federation. They expected the next meeting to be about negotiating each critical strategic node for minimal cost.
But soon, they realized just how poor and naive their conception of "war" truly was, compared to what Steve had planned.
Steve brought them to the Silent Supreme Strategic Bridge—a gigantic ring-shaped hall whose window walls looked out onto deep space and the distant Earth. Against a starry backdrop, the blue planet was coldly beautiful—almost intoxicating.
"Generals," Steve said quietly, still gazing out. "You must be thinking about our next battle plan. Force deployments, logistics, combat losses… am I right?"
General Harold, as always, took a step forward: "Yes, Supreme Commander! The First and Third Fleets are prepared to break through the Earth's orbital defenses as the vanguard!"
Steve chuckled. There was a curious gentleness in his smile, as if watching children at play.
"Break through their defenses? No, General Harold. I would never let human soldiers bleed for something like that."
He turned and walked to the titanic 3D strategic star map in the center. Addressing Sion, he issued an order unfamiliar to the generals:
"Sion, Authorization Level: Alpha. Commence [Hephaestus] Protocol."
A glint of pride and excitement appeared in Sion's eyes. She quickly moved to the console, her slender fingers dancing across the virtual keyboard. At the final confirmation, the entire bridge's lighting instantly dimmed—only the central star map illuminated with unprecedented radiance.
Icons representing planets, colonies, and fleets vanished from the solar system map. Instead, from the asteroid belt to the far Kuiper Belt and even the Oort Cloud, millions—tens of millions—of tiny lights suddenly shone forth!
These points of light overlapped into a dazzling ring, covering the Solar System's entire periphery, as if a slumbering galactic dragon had opened its eyes.
"What… what is this?" A young general, having never seen data close to this scale, exclaimed in shock.
Under the generals' incomprehending stares, Sion, her voice trembling slightly, revealed the true miracle hidden for thirty years:
"Generals, what you see before you is the real foundation of the Human Federation—and the only thing we can truly rely on."
"For thirty years, we expanded our colonies and human footprint into low orbit, but the Supreme Commander—simultaneously—launched the top-secret [Hephaestus Project]."
"Each of these points is an unmanned mine, refinery, or production platform, governed by AI 'worker bees,' automated to the utmost."
"They work like the most diligent cells, mining, refining, producing, 24 hours a day…"
"The armor of our fleet, every vehicle part, even the arks themselves—were all quietly built by these out in the frozen dark."
Her words hammered all the generals' hearts. The mighty Federation Fleet, their pride—was just a by-product of this terrifying industrial system?
Steve stepped forward and took over. His voice was calm, yet carried undeniable authority.
"The Hephaestus Project produces far more than warships."
He raised his hand and issued the next command: "Display [God of War Legion] standby units."
The star map changed. Amid the millions of industrial data lights, countless crimson data streams branched, converging like rivers of blood, finally condensing at various secret military bases into gigantic, scalp-numbing legion icons. It looked as if the Solar System's edges were drowning in a sea of red.
"These," Steve's voice was like divine judgment, "are the true products of this industrial system."
Sion took a deep breath, reporting a number that chilled any sentient being:
"They are the [Hell Diver] series of autonomous combat robots."
"They need neither food nor oxygen. They never tire, and do not fear death."
"We designed them with the most efficient kill logic and the strongest alloy frames. The number of deployed standard combat units currently awaiting order is… five hundred million."
"And as long as the Hephaestus Protocol runs, that number can double every 24 hours."
"Five hundred million…"
General Harold's one eye was bloodshot as he stared at the red data ocean. "My god… what have we created…?"
Steve turned back from the star map to face him.
"Victory, General—that is what we have created."
"Earlier, I said they are not hyenas but lions."
"Human soldiers' lives are the Federation's most precious treasure."
"Their courage and wisdom should only be spent at the most vital moments."
"The days when human flesh bled and broke against enemy artillery, when victory was measured by such crude consumption—are now history!"
"From today, the very shape of war is rewritten."
"This 'God of War Legion,' this endless cascade of steel, will clear all our ordinary battles."
"And you—and your most elite human fighters—will form the sharpest scalpel for our most crucial decapitation missions!"
"Your enemies are not Earth's mortal armies now, but the so-called 'gods' and 'monsters' lurking behind them!"
"That is your special glory!"
The generals' shock, little by little, turned to awe and blissful enlightenment. At last, they understood his real intent—not a conventional war, but a war of myths!
Without paying further heed to the now-dwarfed generals, Steve turned to the red star map representing hundreds of millions of iron soldiers and issued the first (and last) command he'd waited thirty years to give:
"God of War Legion, Legions 1 through 100—release hibernation lock."
"Objectives: All Earth Federation Orbital Defense Platforms and Lunar Bases."
"I command you—"
"Cleanse a path for our human fleet through the power of steel!"
"—Commence general offensive!"
His words fell. On the star map, hundreds of millions of crimson data streams instantly turned into actual troop movements. Across the vast coldness of space, from the shadows of the asteroid belt and the ice of the Kuiper Belt, innumerable barren worlds turned into arsenals. Countless metal bodies simultaneously opened brilliant electronic eyes. With no shout or cry, a torrent of steel, fiercer than any storm, surged through the void toward that blue planet.
War had begun—new, and unprecedented, in form.
…