The countdown to Operation Groundrazer had been established. All they had to do was to execute it.

  Twenty-four hours before the start of the operation, Charlene was talking with one of the bomber crew that would bring the atomic bomb to the designated location.

  “I have received permission from the commander. All that you need to do is bring me along.” Charlene said with a resolute tone.

  “But you are just a civilian before. Bringing you along is a bit inappropriate, no?” one of the crew was rejecting the idea.

  “I have permission. You just need to obey the order, this is not life-threatening at all. The Heavensend Kingdom does not have anti-air capability against our aircraft, which means that air supremacy belongs to us. There is nothing to worry about.” Charlene tried to persuade the crew.

  “Let her be.” The bomber pilot came to the location, which was actually the residence of the bomber crew. He continued, “This is the order from the commander himself. Although we will bear some responsibility, most of it is on the commander.”

  “Hmm.” Charlene nodded.

  “By the way, I have long heard about our little prodigy here.” The pilot extended his hand. Charlene knew the gesture and also extended her hand and their hand grasped each other.

  “You’ve heard of me? I guess my fame still lingers.”

  “Miss Charlene, we will bring you to see your own developed weapon in action. The commander told me not to disclose it to anyone but since it was you, you probably knew about it.”

  Charlene gave the pilot an approving look. Then she left the site.

  -

  Time flew fast. The Hinon Federation forces on the Heavensend Continent did not expand their influence anymore and stood their ground. Anyone who came in their direction would be given a warning, a warning shot, and then a true attack.

  However, the Heavensend Kingdom did not attack them in a fierce counterattack, which caused both sides to be wary of each other.

  Especially since they had realized that the enemy had even infiltrated their territory, they increased their vigince.

  Around morning, the airfield where the bombers were staying was busy arranging things. They were preparing for an operation that would affect the current situation, so they paid extra attention to it.

  The bomber that was appointed to carry the special cargo was already determined and they were loading the bomb to the two bombers.

  Each bomber would fly in a different direction to their destination. Their only task was to drop the bomb at the designated location and return.

  At this time, Charlene was among the bomber crew members who were already in their outfits, trying to do final preparation.

  “All preparations are complete. All crews, gather!”

  The leader of the crew was the pilot who would fly the bomber. He was also responsible for the crew members under him and that was the reason he gathered them.

  “As you all know, we will carry out an important operation. Even the commander of this campaign looks at us so that he can get the real-time result in the shortest time possible. We will not fail the expectation that nds on our shoulders!”

  As he said that, he raised his voice so that the crew members could feel a momentum building.

  “This is the critical moment where the Federation depends on us to deliver the result it wants. I can confidently say that the history of humanity is being written by us from this moment onward! All we have to do is bring the special cargo and drop it at the designated target area!

  “Do that and the entire humanity will remember us!”

  Charlene did not want to dampen the enthusiastic spirit that the leader had tried to raise but she felt like what was said to be a bit domineering and heartless.

  But as soldiers, they had to follow orders as it was required of them.

  The crew members then cheered out loudly. Charlene could see that they were veterans and did not even see hesitation in their expressions and eyes.

  ‘I can see why they were chosen. Dropping something that can potentially raze a rge area is something the best can only do. Well, I am here to watch how they operate.’

  As Charlene thought about that, the crew members had already gone to their position. Charlene followed suit and discovered that they were in front of their bombers.

  The bomber could carry up to seven people and that was the total number of people for a bomber. Including Charlene, there were seven people in total.

  They boarded the bomber while the pilot was checking for the condition of the bomber while the crews were checking the bomb bay.

  Charlene could only watch them do their annual things. Then she could hear the rotor of the propeller on the wings start to move at high speed. The sound of the engine was the first thing that Charlene noticed, it was loud.

  Then the pilot checked the instrument panel before he started with the flight control. Then he moved the ailerons, fps, rudder, and the elevator. He did this to check whether they functioned well or if there was some sort of malfunction.

  Seeing that there was no problem, the pilot then started to move the bomber to the runway.

  This was the first time Charlene had ridden an aircraft of any kind. So she was looking forward to the entire journey itself, becoming one of her precious memories.

  She sat on the designated seat along with the rest of the crew.

  Then Charlene could hear the engine of the bomber roar loudly. Soon after, there was a force that made her sit tightly on her seat. The bomber was taking off!

  Fortunately, she had worn her safety belt, preventing her from moving from the chair. That proved to be useful as the aircraft gained speed. On the runway, the bomber then lifted its nose as it attempted to fly.

  Then its fusege was lifted until the rear nding gear was lifted off the ground, taking off successfully. Charlene could see through the window that the bomber was officially flying.

  Only after reaching a certain altitude that the crew unfasten their belt. They then prepared themselves near the bomb bay where they stored the special cargo.

  Charlene soon followed and saw one of the two bombs. It was the slender one and it sat silently in its pce.

  “The estimated time until we arrive at the destination is thirty minutes. Until the st few minutes, you can wander around.” One of the crew reminded Charlene.

  She nodded and decided to spend her time familiarizing herself with the current situation aboard the bomber. So far, she had noticed no difference between being on the aircraft and on nd.

  No, actually she felt it but she had to focus on it.

  Other than that, Charlene also noticed that their bomber was escorted out by several other aircraft. According to what Charlene knew, those were the multirole aircraft designed to do many things with one aircraft.

  That was why they were designed and designated for multi-role purposes. Their purpose currently was to escort and secure the air superiority around the bomber.

  The clouds in the sky were scarce which did not hinder their objective. Charlene spent the time by chatting with the other crew members.

  Then the time comes for them to drop their bomb. The pilot indicated this by opening the bomb bay. The other crew members knew that the time was ripe for them to act.

  “We are almost there. We are likely above the perimeter of the city. Boys, this is it!”

  Cheers erupted as they prepared to drop off the special cargo.

  Charlene looked at the bomb nervously. But she hardened herself and resolved to see things through. She saw that the bomb was pced near the opened bomb bay, probably just one push away from being dropped off.

  Then all of a sudden, the bomb was dropped from the bomber. Charlene witnessed its fall as if in slow motion. She could also see a city below, she could see distinct roads branched out, and also several pces she presumed to be buildings.

  “Bombs away. Mission accomplished. Now we can return.”

  Charlene then realized that the bomb bay was closed off when she got off from her reverie. She also noticed that the bomber was taking a U-turn in the air, they were heading back.

  But she kept looking at the city below and behind her. Soon after, she saw something that she would not forget.

  First, she heard the loud noise reverberating despite being in the bomber. The next thing she saw was the mushroom-like cloud rising as if announcing an ill omen. Then she felt the air tremble slightly as the aircraft was slightly affected.

  Fortunately, she was in her seat and wearing a seatbelt so she could sit still.

  “Look at that, everyone!” one of the crew members pointed his finger at the scene outside the window. The others also looked at it and excimed something.

  “The special cargo we delivered could explode so big and loud!” another added.

  “Well, I bet that explosion can raze a lot of buildings. Just looking at the rising cloud from the explosion is all it took for me to realize that all the buildings will be down in the explosion radius!”

  Excmation of surprise, amazement, and also a bit of guilt crept in. But they commented on the explosion caused by the thing they dropped there.

  As for Charlene, she had seen with her own eyes what her creation could do. Of course, she would have to return soon since this pce was not good for overstay. Furthermore, she had a personal burden that she needed to address.

  On the other hand, Bruce received an important report from the deputy commander. The content…

  “So they have successfully dropped the bombs at the designated locations.” Bruce murmured before he said, “All of the forces in this nd, prepare for further movement to the hinternd! We will occupy the rest of the Heavensend Kingdom to its capital city itself!”

  “Order received.” The deputy commander replied before he too reyed the order to his subordinate.

  At that time, the war machine of the Hinon Federation decided to move further. They first occupied the nearby cities where the Heavensend Kingdom stationed its sentry.

  They were caught off guard and most of them were killed. The rest chose to surrender and they were taken in by the Hinon Federation Forces.

  Their armored vehicle proved to be useful during the warfare. Add to the fact that there was no artillery fire rained down upon the infantry was already fortunate.

  But what added to their luck was the fact that the Heavensend Kingdom was actually just a paper tiger. It looked strong but fell short under tight scrutiny. The fact became more apparent when they decided to just attack them mercilessly.

  Their offensive then became almost unstoppable. Even some people who were repressed by the Heavensend Kingdom spoke up to the Hinon Federation Forces.

  These people were exactly the people who the Heavensend Kingdom persecuted. Under the rule of the Heavensend Kingdom, they lived in misery as the majority of the people treated them as if they were outsiders and not part of the citizens of the kingdom.

  Since there was an invasion by outsiders, they decided to try to contact the outsiders and wait for them. After a few days of waiting in doubt, their effort was met with an answer.

  The answer they received was quite warm and their treatment was even better. They could see that the outsiders were a group of people who cared a lot about humans.

  “What is this!?” a squad leader could not help but excim in surprise upon seeing the situation. Their squad was met with the citizens from the Heavensend Kingdom who sabotaged their own.

  “Wait a minute. Let me ask since I am taught by that person.” A linguist stepped forward and communicated with the person.

  After that, they found out the reason.

  “So they are persecuted in the territory of the Heavensend Kingdom. It is the same as the intelligence received from that person. Should we take them in though?”

  “It is better to take them in. After all, they are also living proof of the terrible things the Heavensend Kingdom has done.”

  And that was how the persecuted people found their way to communicate with the ‘outsiders’.

  Meanwhile, the movement of the Hinon Federation was caught by the Heavensend Kingdom one step te.

  In the capital city, inside the royal pace in the Inner Pace.

  “What do you mean our perimeter is breached?” Chi Sen asked loudly.

  “The invaders caught us off guard by attacking at this time. It is also because of the surprise we had about something that has happened. It is about the two cities that are suspected to be attacked by the invaders.”

  The Marshal of the Heavensend Kingdom said sternly.

  “Are they attacked through the air which we don’t have the means to reach it?” Chi Sen had suspected that any attack from the air was the most likely cause of such a surprise attack.

  “It is as Your Majesty said. But this time, the center of the cities attacked by the invaders is razed to the ground. I am afraid that they have a lot of such weapons in their arsenal as they used it during their first air strike.

  “Furthermore, the destroyed area is even rger than some of our best explosives. What should we do?” the Marshall was asking for the order from the king.

  “How bad is the destroyed area?” Chi Sen asked.

  “A three-kilometer radius of the explosion caused the entire building in that radius to be razed to the ground and the lives within that radius are probably…”

  Chi Sen did not know what to do at this moment. He felt so helpless that he thought about surrendering. But he did not want to see the entire territory of the Heavensend Kingdom be reduced to nothing under the attack of the Hinon Federation.

  He coughed up and found out that blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. Chi Sen was surprised to see this. He did not expect that his emotions could affect his physical body to this extent.

  “Your Majesty!” the Marshall who had seen the king coughed up blood could not help but worry about him.

  “We…don’t have a choice.” Chi Sen uttered those words with difficulty. He also did not have a choice as the situation turned for the worse.

  Chi Sen continued, “We have to negotiate with the Hinon Federation.”

  “Understood, Your Majesty. I will contact a diplomat suitable for this task.” The Marshal then left the Throne Room to contact the reted people.

  Chi Sen sat on his throne, closing his eyes. He also understood that the Hinon Federation was doing this as a show of strength.

  If he insisted on battling against them, they would just drop down the terrible weapon upon his territory. Perhaps to the point where there would be no pce left standing.

  Chi Sen could not bring himself to that point so he would try negotiating with the Hinon Federation.

  However, he did not realize that the speed of the Hinon Federation Forces in invading the hinternd increased dramatically due to the people he had oppressed and persecuted.

  Of course, that would be the story for the future generations.

  When the bomber successfully nded on the airfield the Hinon Federation had prepared, Charlene got out of the bomber and inhaled the air outside.

  She did not expect that the air near the ground would be so good unlike when she was in the bomber. She then pced her clothes and equipment back to the pce it belonged and wore her usual outfits.

  She returned to her temporary residence where she id on the soft bed and closed her eyes.

  As she did, she dreamed of something. She was being surrounded by numerous people who she did not recognize. One thing for sure was that…

  “You’re the one who killed us and yet you justify yourself!”

  “Do our lives mean nothing to you? Is the glory for the Star Battle that important to you?”

  Charlene scoffed at their attempt to bme her. Although what they said was true, but without doing this she was sure that the Heavensend Kingdom would not surrender quickly.

  In fact, they may prolong the war in the hopes that the Hinon Federation Forces would exhaust themselves in their campaign.

  “Of course, your life matters. But if we don’t do something about the divided humanity, we will surely not be able to survive the future Star Battle!”

  “I also feel guilty because of this! But for the sake of a better future, I have no choice but to do this!”

  Charlene was convinced that doing this was for a better future, therefore she faced each and every one of these vengeful Nafs directly. She was not like before who was still hesitating. She now had a conviction and that conviction was to provide a better future for humanity.

  Any who hinder her conviction would be pushed aside. If not possible, eliminate them then.

  Then she saw the explosion of her own creation. This time, it was up close. She felt fear and helplessness as she watched the explosion bst hit her.

  ‘So this is what the people who are hit by the bomb feel.’

  After that, it was darkness. Charlene opened her eyes and realized that it was already te morning as the violet sun had already risen.

  “I feel like I dream about something but I can’t seem to remember…” Charlene did not mind the matter as she washed herself with a towel before she went out of her temporary residence.