The coast of Chiapas had become a fortress.
From the cliffs to the shoreline, hundreds of soldiers from the Aguilar family worked without rest, connecting protective seals, loading energy turrets, and verifying communication systems. The sound of the ocean mixed with the hum of magical energy generators.
—The north sector turrets are online! —reported a technician through the communicator.
—South sector ready! —another voice responded.
Defense commander Carlos Fuentes observed the battle from the command room. The silhouettes of the Kartnod fleet were already visible, even from kilometers away.
He looked at a three-dimensional map showing the advance of the enemy fleet.
—I hope our defenses are enough —he muttered to himself.
At his side, Melissa Aguilar, Victoria's second cousin, adjusted the parameters of her own command station.
—We have no other option, Carlos. If those ships reach land, we're finished.
—I know. That's why we're not going to let them touch the shore.
Carlos activated the general channel.
—All units: the objective is to stop them from reaching land at all costs. We cannot allow them to get within five kilometers of the coast. Understood?
—Understood! —dozens of voices answered in unison.
All the weapon systems began turning toward the sea. They were structures nearly fifteen meters tall, covered in protective magic and capable of firing pure energy projectiles.
They had been built using ancient weapon designs.
Today, for the first time in centuries, they would face a real enemy.
Meanwhile, at the Orleans mansion in France.
The communications room never stopped receiving information.
Floating screens displayed images of the Mexican coast, the Pacific Ocean, and the positions of the enemy fleets.
Noah stood in front of the main screen. The mark on his back had stopped hurting, but it still remained active, as if it were watching everything from within.
Eleonor stood beside him, her arm still immobilized, but her gaze as sharp as ever.
—They're massacring them —Sophie said—. And they've only managed to destroy five ships and damage several others.
—But then reinforcements arrived. We believe they're the same ones who wiped out the Sevianko.
Eleonor clenched her teeth when she heard her family's name.
Noah placed a hand on her shoulder.
She did not pull away.
Suddenly, one of the screens lit up with multiple signals.
—They've activated all coastal defenses —Sophie said loudly—. All of their defensive weaponry, but I don't know if it'll be enough.
Noah watched the images in silence.
He saw the silver aircraft moving between the black ships in the middle of a storm of magical energy.
He watched them fall one after another.
Silence struck the room like an icy wave.
Noah lowered his gaze for a moment.
—There's another problem —a voice suddenly said—. We're detecting interference in the signals.
—That confirms there are infiltrators —Sophie said—. Someone is feeding them information from the inside.
—And we still don't know who —Étienne murmured.
Noah looked at the map once again.
He saw the red lines of the enemy ships drawing inexorably closer to the coast.
Coast of Chiapas — twenty minutes later.
The sky had darkened.
Not because of clouds, but because of the energy interference coming from the approaching Kartnod ships.
—Visual contact! —someone shouted.
Carlos continued analyzing the images projected across the remaining screens.
The first enemy ships could already be seen with the naked eye.
And behind them, the Annihilator.
—Commander, enemy ships are within firing range!
—Fire! —he ordered.
All weapons responded instantly.
Blue and white bursts of energy crossed the sky, creating a sight never seen before.
The projectiles slammed into the enemy ships' shields, creating waves of light that illuminated the coastline.
The first ships came to a halt.
Their shields flickered.
—Keep firing! —Carlos shouted—. Saturate their defenses!
Second volley.
Third.
Fourth.
Then the Kartnod responded.
From the enemy ships, beams of energy began raining down upon the coast.
The explosions shook the ground.
Several defense units were hit directly.
One of them exploded in a column of fire while fragments of metal flew in every direction.
Another lost its main weapon, but continued operating through its backup systems.
—Casualties in sector three! —a voice reported through the communicator.
—Keep firing! —Carlos ordered—. If we stop, we're dead!
Around him, the agents kept shooting.
Melissa remained at the command station, coordinating the attacks.
Her fingers moved rapidly across the screen, redirecting energy from damaged turrets to the ones still operational.
—Carlos, we're detecting the flagship aligning its main weapons. If it fires at the coast, the damage will be massive.
—I know —he replied—. That's why we're going to give it something else to think about.
He activated a direct channel with the Silver Eagles still fighting in the sky.
—Victoria, do you copy?
—Victoria here. Go ahead.
—I need you to attack that giant ship right now. It's about to fire on the coast.
—I know. We're already on it.
High above, Victoria led a group of eight ships in an attack against the Annihilator.
Around her, Melina and Valeria's ships formed a protective shield, firing at the enemy vessels trying to intercept them.
—Come on, girls! —Victoria shouted—. Everything you have against their cannons!
The eight ships fired simultaneously at the prow of the Annihilator.
The projectiles struck the exact point where the shields had already been weakened by previous bombardments.
For a second, nothing happened.
Then, a crack appeared across the armor of the colossal ship.
Suddenly, it emitted a deep sound.
Its main weapons, which had been moments away from firing, lost power.
—We did it! —Melina shouted.
But the celebration lasted only seconds.
The Annihilator answered with its secondary weapons: a barrage of smaller but much faster projectiles.
One of the ships was hit, but it did not explode.
—I'm hit! I can't continue! Requesting permission to retreat!
—Permission granted —Victoria replied.
—Unit twelve is out! —Valeria reported, her voice breaking.
Victoria clenched her teeth.
But she could not stop.
—Regroup! —she ordered—. We're making another pass.
Meanwhile, on the coast.
The enemy bombardment never stopped.
The coastal turrets had destroyed two enemy ships, but the cost had been high: five turrets were out of action, more than one hundred soldiers had fallen, and the Annihilator continued advancing.
Carlos Fuentes stared at the screens.
He watched the Silver Eagles attack once again.
Watched one of them fall wrapped in flames.
—We're not going to win —he said quietly.