[ Empire's Fleet ETA: 5 days ]

Almost all the magicians under Wallace have already mastered the Mana Artifact that they recently received.

This Magic Node is not just a normal 5th Gen Mana Artifact and it requires a bit of time for them to properly handle it…

After all, the shield or the barrier it can create would be capable of protecting them even if they fall from space to Earth, theoretically, at least…

They do not have a volunteer or even the time to do such a thing at the moment… Most importantly, anyone who could master the Magic Node is definitely a talented Magician and they can't just let them have such a highly dangerous mission.

It would be better to use their skills to fight against their invaders…

"Avalon… We should've spread the latest information to the public by now…"

[ That's correct. Almost everyone should be aware of their presence by now. ]

"Good… How was the sentiment of the public?"

[ They are rushing to learn anything that could help them in the nearing invasion. Some of them started finding ways to hide by building better underground shelters. ]

"Shelters… That won't work with the Empire's Life Sensors… I hope that there's not a lot of them."

[ Yes. They were mostly renowned people who can't afford to lose their riches. ]

"I understand. Just monitor them for me…"

Although Ace didn't want to meddle about the Earth's current situation now that Wallace is present there, he still wanted to know how they are coping up after he released the information about the Empire…

"How about the Arians? Are they still alive?"

[ Yes. Veda has finished their experimentation. We can call them up here at any time. ]

"Is that so? What do you think?"

[ We can ask them instead if they want to stay on Earth… ]

"That's a good idea. Go ahead and ask them…"

After saying this, he headed to the command center to meet with the officers.

He wanted to see if his strategist has any more suggestions…

After this, he would have to do his routine check with their Satellite and Impulse Canons.

***

Hilda and the First Knight Division pilots have just finished their training with the Magic Nodes…

It was quite a difficult Mana Artifact even for them. It was better to learn how to pilot the Mech Knights than to learn how to effectively use such a complicated Artifact.

They were all secretly wishing that Wallace would make it simpler but none of them dared to tell him about this… After all, he already put a lot of effort just to give this item to them.

So they have to at least show that they deserve having such a valuable item that could save their life. They don't want to be an ungrateful person to him.

They were also subtly aware of the price of this Magic Node if it was sold to the market…

It would easily be sold for 50 million to 100 million credits per piece…

One could just imagine how rich this man was… Anyway, now that he managed to build a base on the moon and create a small fleet of battle spaceships, Traceless Hands must've received a lot of support and weren't lacking in money at all…

"Do not let your Magic Node leave your body… Take it with you wherever you go… Even if you have to take a bath." Hilda instructed her team.

"Yes, Ma'am!"

"Urgh… Don't call me Ma'am…" The young girl said as she was not used to it.

However, her teammates wanted to call their Ace Pilot with respect…

"Ahh… We're supposed to let Avalon know once we learn how to use this."

They quickly informed Avalon about their progress…

They were expecting that they will be instructed to rest for now since that is what they normally do after training for long hours…

[ Very well. Visit the 4th Hangar where your Mech Knights are located. Have some final checks on it as we will advance our schedules… The First and Second Knight Division will move out tomorrow at 13:00. ]

Hilda squinted her eyes but she resolutely replied.

"Copy."

She relayed the information to her team as they clenched their fist…

It's coming… Their time to protect their home is getting near…

"Are we going with Providence?" Her team members asked.

"Mhmm… I didn't ask Avalon but there shouldn't be any changes with our carrier."

"I see… I'm more comfortable with Providence behind us."

"Haha… Don't be like that. Don't underestimate the first spaceship… Sir Wallace seemed to be very attached to Excellence and improved it several times…"

None of them seemed to be very nervous after hearing Avalon's orders…

It was because of Ace and Avalon's hard work to condition their state of mind… From the VR Pod, the Virtual Game, the 4th Phase of his Recruitment, his early creation of the Moon Base, and the battle against the Arians… All of this created a huge impact on the Magicians.

That was why they willingly decided to protect their own planet against the invaders…

If not for all of his efforts, they may still put up a fight against the Empire, but it wouldn't be as organized as his plans and their weapons wouldn't be as powerful as his own.

In short, he made them realize the difference between joining his team or going on their own…

"Alright, everyone… Let's proceed to the Hangar. Coordinate with the Magic Engineers if you found something off. Right… You also need to make sure that you have spare parts… We don't know for sure what will happen in the fight…"

"Yes, leader!"

They all shouted in unison before heading to the hangar…

They met with Zhilina's team as the latter also heard about the changes in the plans.

***

In the command center, Ace was holding a paper containing Escanor's plan to surprise the Empire's forces…

He found it really interesting that was why he decided to move up their plans…

Tomorrow, they will finally start their offensive operation…